Why is my calorie allowance so low?

runefinder
runefinder Posts: 26 Member
edited December 3 in Health and Weight Loss
Why is it when you get older you are put on such a low calorie allowance? I have four stone to lose yet mfp is saying 1200 cals a day.. Where do I go when I need to drop my allowance. I'd be on a vlcd!! I'd put my info as lightly active. So it gave me 1430. Im inactive really. Bit jeez I can't START on 1200 a day. It must be my age. I'm 61. Anyone else had this problem? Xxxx

Replies

  • AlabamaMama224
    AlabamaMama224 Posts: 137 Member
    edited September 2016
    Did you put in that you wanted to lose 2 lbs a week?
  • runefinder
    runefinder Posts: 26 Member
    No 1.5!!
  • AlabamaMama224
    AlabamaMama224 Posts: 137 Member
    Is there any way for you to increase your activity?
  • tryett
    tryett Posts: 530 Member
    Put 1 lb a week, that will give you more calories.
  • runefinder
    runefinder Posts: 26 Member
    I'm riddled with arthritis so not really. But I do try. I've donatello in my first week. Lost four pounds. So maybe the 1430cals is OK for now? I was shocked it dropped down by 230 cals a day when I have so much to lose!! X
  • runefinder
    runefinder Posts: 26 Member
    Donatello ROFL.. Erm done well. Lol
  • RoxieDawn
    RoxieDawn Posts: 15,488 Member
    edited September 2016
    Unfortunately 1200 is the lowest you can go.. Basically if you start at 1200 you continue with 1200 until goal. Weight loss will slow (not stop) so you change it to .5 to 1/lb a week and eat more that way. You can also add in exercise.

    MFP allows you eat back your exercise calories. This is the great part cause you can beat that number with exercise and/or increase you total daily total energy expenditure by adding in activities/moving more.

    edited: its my age and height that are contributors as to why MFP gives me this 1200 calorie thing when I am losing.. not fun in the least, so I beat it with exercise.
  • runefinder
    runefinder Posts: 26 Member
    Ah I'll put in a pound then thank you. Sadly I can't exercise much roxie as I have mobility issues. X
  • runefinder
    runefinder Posts: 26 Member
    That worked. On 1430 with my true activity level. Thank you so much Tryett. Night night xxxx
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,585 Member
    runefinder wrote: »
    I'm riddled with arthritis so not really. But I do try. I've donatello in my first week. Lost four pounds. So maybe the 1430cals is OK for now? I was shocked it dropped down by 230 cals a day when I have so much to lose!! X

    It's probable that you lost a little more this first week partly in water weight, so that's just fine.

    With 4 stone to lose, you probably don't want to be losing more than about 2 pounds a week after this, especially if you're not able to work out. (There's only so much weight you can lose by metabolizing fat, and the less fat you have on your body, the less weight that is. If you cut more calories than the amount of fat you can metabolize, you can start to lose lean body tissue, which - at our age - you don't want to do. Muscle is so, so slow to rebuild!)

    So, if you lose 2 pounds or less next week, all well & good. If you lose more, consider increasing the calories you eat to slow things down. I know that seems counterintuitive, and maybe even frustrating . . . but I just wanna see you stay strong while you achieve your weight loss goal, OK? :)

    Eventually, once you get down to around 25 pounds to goal, it would be smart to slow your loss to 1 pound a week, then to half a pound a week at maybe 10 pounds away from goal. (Less fat on your body means less you can metabolize to lose weight healthfully.)

    The calorie estimators, such as the one built into MFP, are just a starting point. They're close to accurate for most people, but can be high or low for some folks. If you log your eating accurately, your own results are your best guide to how much you can eat to achieve weight loss at a healthful rate.

    You can do this! I'm close to your age, and lost 63 pounds between April 2015 and around February/March 2016.
  • Cahgetsfit
    Cahgetsfit Posts: 1,912 Member
    have you tried the TDEE calculator https://tdeecalculator.net/ ? I like it better than the MFP minimum default. First time I did MFP default it gave me 1200 cals I was starving, lost weight, stacked it all back on again and had to go through the whole thing again. My trainer (that I got after the 1200 debacle) then told me that ideally people shouldn't be eating that little. (of course it depends on the person blah blah blah won't get into it here)

    Anyway - give the TDEE calculator a go - it also gives you some macros.
  • ninjastud
    ninjastud Posts: 3 Member
    Be patient. You did not gain your "unwanted" weight quickly, so don't try and lose it quickly. The key is consistency over a sustained period.
  • runefinder
    runefinder Posts: 26 Member
    Thank you so much for your advice. It's going to help me no end. If any if you want to friend me on here that would be fab too. Really appreciate your input. Xxxx
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