1900 calories? should I be eating that much?

thuderousthighss · January 2017

So I've just joined, I'm 359lbs and I have a 100lb goal in one year. I set my activity to sedentary and I want to lose 2lbs a week. It says I should eat 1900 something calories a day but being mindful of portion size I'm only eating about 1600 a day on average and I'm completely satisfied and full. So why is it wanting me to eat 300 more calories than I have been. Should I set my goal time sooner than a year so that I'm challenging myself?

30kgin2017 · January 2017

You dont have your height or weight listed but @359lbs your TDEE (sedentary) is probably around 3000 cals. To lose 2lbs a week you need a daily deficit of 1000 cal which is why MFP has 1900 (its calculated your TDEE to be 2900).

Your body can only metabolize so much fat for energy before it using muscle for energy so having your defict too large will result in more muscle loss. You will of course lose some muscle as you lose weight but you want to preserve muscle as it is more aesthetically pleasing and also your heart is a muscle so going to too long can affect your health (not just your heart its just one example).

Another thing to consider is while 1600 might be satisfying now it also wont leave you as much room to lower calories later. As you lose weight your will need to eat less calories to maintain the same deficit, there's only so far you can lower calories and also over restricting yourself is more likely lead to diet exhaustion/giving up.

Good luck with it.

cathipa · January 2017

Make sure you are weighing and logging everything. Use correct entries (no homemade or generic). Drink water. Have patience. And yes 1900 a day you will lose. You were eating far more than that to get to where you are. Good luck!!

SusanMFindlay · January 2017

cle602891 wrote: »

So I've just joined, I'm 359lbs and I have a 100lb goal in one year. I set my activity to sedentary and I want to lose 2lbs a week. It says I should eat 1900 something calories a day but being mindful of portion size I'm only eating about 1600 a day on average and I'm completely satisfied and full. So why is it wanting me to eat 300 more calories than I have been. Should I set my goal time sooner than a year so that I'm challenging myself?

You're being told to eat 1900 calories/day because that will give you a daily deficit of 1000 calories/day which corresponds to the 2 pounds/week choice you made. For a person with less than 100 pounds to lose, that would be the fastest weight loss advisable. This tells us that MFP calculates you to burn 2900 calories/day

It's often recommended to aim to lose no more than 1% of your weight per week - which is why MFP doesn't allow us to choose more than 2 pounds/week. In your case, aiming for a 3 pound/week loss isn't actually unreasonable. If you're burning 2900 calories/day and eating 1600 calories/day, you've got a 1300 calorie/day deficit - which should correspond roughly to losing 2.5 pounds/week. At your current weight, your body ought to be able to handle that - though you'll need to slow down the loss as you get closer to goal.

You should, however, consider raising your calories a bit if you start to find 1600 unsustainable.

1princesswarrior · January 2017

I understand physical activity is probably very difficult for you at this stage but I would recommend trying to start walking and some kind of strength training (even if you are lifting penny rolls) to help preserve lean muscle. Exercise will get easier as the weight comes off.

Also make sure you are eating a good amount of protein to help feed your muscles as well.

There is a lot of great information I believe in the getting started section to get you started on the right path.

Good luck.

CafeRacer808 · January 2017

30kgin2017 wrote: »

You dont have your height or weight listed but @359lbs your TDEE (sedentary) is probably around 3000 cals. To lose 2lbs a week you need a daily deficit of 1000 cal which is why MFP has 1900 (its calculated your TDEE to be 2900).

MFP uses NEAT (daily activity minus exercise) to calculate daily calorie deficits, not TDEE.

Theo166 · January 2017

As long as you don't feel deprived, I'd stay with 1600-1900. The weight loss calculation is linear for the year but it's always harder to lose the final pounds when you are closer to goal. This should give you a bit of a lead on reaching your goal within the year.

thuderousthighss · January 2017

Sorry I left that part out, other info: I am 26 and I'm 5'3". I'm not TRYING to eat less than the 1900 is why I was concerned. I didn't know if I should actively be trying to meet that 1900 mark. I have been weighing and logging everything that I eat. Each day I go over on my protein allowance but the calories are still low. Each meal has been 500 calories more or less. I have satisfying meals as well as snacks. I just wasn't sure if I was doing anything wrong, either with portion sizes or with my entered in information.

PAV8888 · January 2017

You will lose weight fairly fast by eating 1900 and slightly faster by eating 1600.

If you consider yourself likely to fail, then losing super fast gets you some quick losses before you give up! Even though it achieves nothing for you long term, you maximise your total time at a reduced weight by eating the least possible so as to lose the most you can, fast, and then regaining it all when you give up!

If, however, you're in this for the long haul then I believe that you should try to optimise your chances for long term success!

Your TDEE was calculated at 2900 as sedentary before exercise. If you are walking more than 3500 steps a day you are probably burning even more than that. This means that you WILL lose weight at 1900 and even 2000, assuming your food intake logging is semi-accurate.

One of the benefits of losing while eating at a higher level of calories is that it gives you the flexibility of dropping your calories down the road.

And while eating more calories now slightly slows down your rate of loss, it also potentially reduces the amount of lean mass you will lose.

In any case you're looking at a good 2-3 years of weight loss. And a lifetime of maintenance. Getting there is much more important than getting there six months sooner.

And a higher caloric intake also makes it more likely that you will be able to comply with the caloric restriction you're implementing.

Since your weight trend over time is what really matters, I am a firm advocate of it never being too early to start using a trending weight application (trendweight.com; libra/android; happy scale/iphone, weightgrapher.com)

Best of luck... and take it easy.

Don't think of this as a diet but start thinking of it as a period of experimentation where you discover the type and quantity of foods you will be eating in the future, how you will move, the habits you will cultivate. A time where you will also explore how to deal with emotions and the way they affect your eating, how to deal with friends, family.... so much stuff, and it takes time to slowly build up on the various changes you make!

serindipte · January 2017

You could also "bank" those calories for a day later in the week when you really crave a bit more. I usually hit lower through the week, then have that one meal I love. I prefer to look at my weekly average on calories rather than just daily as I'm not always the same level of hungry each day.

1900 calories? should I be eating that much?

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