Confused about how many calories

Have you inputed your excersize and enabled negative calories in your diary? 1,200 sounds too low, but the diary should recalculate based on this info...

If you don't eat enough you won't be able to excersize effectively and your quality of health will drop. Sure you would lose weight fast but you have to go about these things in moderation or you could get really sick and lose energy.

Best wishes!

Have you read the stickied "Most Helpful" posts a the top of the forum threads? I think most of the answers to your questions (including the ones you haven't even asked yet!) can be found there...

In particular I like:
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1235566/so-youre-new-here/p1

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10260499/i-like-old-posts-and-i-cannot-lie/p1


Quick response for you though - 2 lbs/week may be too aggressive of a goal depending how much weight you have to lose, and 1200 cals is definitely too low if you are exercising. You should be eating back some of those calories, but first you need to make sure your calorie goal is appropriate for you.

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/819055/setting-your-calorie-and-macro-targets/p1

Lastly, are you logging accurately using a food scale?

MFP says to eat 1200 + what you burn during exercise. If you have Fitbit & MFP synced, they should end up at about the same point assuming you eat your additional earned calories. If you choose not to, that might be why you're having trouble.

PS-eating more will not help you lose weight in the short term. Though being more satiated may help you perform your workouts better. Eating more in the long run helps you to stay the program to reach your end goals rather than giving up, going back to old habits, gaining more weight...

StaciMarie1974 wrote: »

MFP does not consider your workouts in activity level. That's why you log workouts, and earn additional calories for them. OR use a tracker and have it sync the data on your actual activity to MFP.

MFP activity level is based on your job/hobbies/regular life not counting exercise.

bemyyfriend0918 wrote: »

If you are working out 30-60 minutes a day, I wouldn't really consider that "lightly active" - maybe change that to the next highest option, and see if that calorie amount works better? I know for mine, if I select "lightly active" I get a recommended 1310 calories daily, but if I change it to "sedentary" I get 1200.

I personally do not eat back exercise calories, which is why I use the lifestyle option.

So set a more reasonable goal than trying to lose 2 lbs a week? And eat back at least a portion of your exercise calories so that you're using MFP properly.

1200 is way too few calories a day. You're showing your metabolism down.

1) 1200 calories is the recommended Minimum for women. (1500 for men)
2) The maximum recommended weight loss rate is 1% of your weight per week. This rate is AFTER the initial 3 weeks of dieting.
3) Looks at weekly weight loss averages, not individual weeks. I try to weigh in only once a week, the same day, the same time. Keep in mind you are looking to loose fat, not weight. We all have the pesky "weight variables" that make it harder to keep track of fat loss (water and "various stomach contents").
4) I personally don't eat more due to exercise.
5) I've seen it said "Don't try to loose the weight all at once. You didn't add it on in month, don't try to loose it in a month." Constant progress is what you want to see.
6) Yeah, you're going to feel hungry for the first couple months. Well, part of it will be "I want to eat", not that you are actually hungry.
7) Once you've been dieting for 8 weeks, take a look at your average weightloss. If the last 3 weeks are more than 1% of your body weight, add in more calories. I recently had to do this. Take the number of pounds over what your 1% limit is and multiply it by 500. That's your additional daily calories. You can do an adjustment the otherway as well, but don't go below 1200 calories (as a woman).
8) One thing that has kept me going is WRITING PROGRESS DOWN! Use the check ins, use the reports.
9) Always record accurately. You don't have to get down to the last estimated calorie, but the cookie you sneak in still adds calories even if you don't record it.
10) Initially, measure everything. Inaccuracies add up.
11) You'll get the initial big weight loss. Don't lose heart when your weight loss slows down. Its progress you want to see.

And lastly KEEP IT UP! Its always disheartening seeing a status quo on the scale, but where would you have been if you hadn't been dieting/exercising? Most of the time the no loss week is just due to weight variables and the next week turns into a big loss.

michellefoye wrote: »

Thanks all for the advice. One question I forgot to ask. My fitbit says I burn 2800 calories daily on average. How many calories should i actually be eating then?

I recommend sticking with 1500 for 3 weeks. Adjust off average weight loss for those 3 weeks. Increase/decrease by 500 calories per pound.

Lose 1 + 2 + 0? Average is 1 pound a week, don't change.

Lose 2 + 3 + 1? Average is 2 pounds a week, desired 1 pound a week, add 500 more daily calories.

Don't go below 1200.

billglitch wrote: »

if you are always hungry try LCHF

Per her FitBit, she is burning 2800 cals/day (maybe overstated, but likely in the ballpark).
Per her OP, she was eating 1200 cals/day (maybe underestimated, but likely in the ballpark).
That's a deficit of 1600 cals/day.
Even accounting for overestimating CO and underestimating CI - it is likely that she is just not eating enough calories, period, for her level of activity and her total energy needs.

Eating more calories in general is what she needs to do - not necessarily trying LCHF.

WinoGelato wrote: »

billglitch wrote: »

if you are always hungry try LCHF

Per her FitBit, she is burning 2800 cals/day (maybe overstated, but likely in the ballpark).
Per her OP, she was eating 1200 cals/day (maybe underestimated, but likely in the ballpark).
That's a deficit of 1600 cals/day.
Even accounting for overestimating CO and underestimating CI - it is likely that she is just not eating enough calories, period, for her level of activity and her total energy needs.

Eating more calories in general is what she needs to do - not necessarily trying LCHF.

it was a suggestion, not a command

KristyAMartinez wrote: »

omg it is so hard to eat at least 1200 to 1500 calories a day, after doing my food diary this past couple of days, i find out i average about less then 900 a day on a normal bases, i have to try an make myself eat more to get to at least 1000 to 1100 calories a day, how can people eat so much

I have some guesses. Please change your Diary Sharing settings to Public: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/account/diary_settings

KristyAMartinez wrote: »

omg it is so hard to eat at least 1200 to 1500 calories a day, after doing my food diary this past couple of days, i find out i average about less then 900 a day on a normal bases, i have to try an make myself eat more to get to at least 1000 to 1100 calories a day, how can people eat so much

Calorie dense foods (cooking oils, butter, nuts/nut butters, full fat dairy products) help to go a long way. Honestly, I can't eat less than 1500 or I'll get hangry.

OP, connect your Fitbit to MFP and eat the calories given to you to lose a pound a week plus a portion of those added on from Fitbit. Start with 50%, then adjust up or down depending on your loss after 3-4 weeks.

kimny72 wrote: »

KristyAMartinez wrote: »

omg it is so hard to eat at least 1200 to 1500 calories a day, after doing my food diary this past couple of days, i find out i average about less then 900 a day on a normal bases, i have to try an make myself eat more to get to at least 1000 to 1100 calories a day, how can people eat so much

Sometimes when people drastically change their diet, they feel full or bloated on less calories for the first few days. But honestly, if you are not hungry, you are not really eating 900 calories. It is really common to have logging errors when you start out (happened to me too!). There are a lot of incorrect entries in the database, and if you are eyeballing portions there may be some innacuracies as well. 900 calories isn't enough for a toddler.

an tbh, i am never hungry lol its been this way for years