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Mfp set calories too much?

Posts: 535 Member
edited November 2024 in Food and Nutrition
Mfp set my calorie goal per day to 1800 in order to lose 2lbs per week. I find that it's too much, that I won't lose weight set at that amount. I try to be as accurate in my recordings as possible and just in case, I try to eat under my calorie goal by 200 cals daily. On the exercise front, I do at least an hour of exercise everyday. Yoga, free weights, tension bands, sit ups etc.
My point, I don't feel that I can lose weight following the recommended amount of calories. Does anyone else feel that mfp is offering too many calories for weight loss?

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  • Posts: 28,439 Member
    edited April 2017
    No. What is your height and weight?

    I'm 5'9", 172 lbs, 42 yoa female and I'm losing, slowly and steadily, on 2075 calories per day.

    ETA: How long have you been eating like this? How much weight have you lost?

  • Posts: 17,562 Member
    Nope. You'd have to have been eating much more than 1800 calories if you need to lose.

    When I started I was given 1900 to lose 1.5 a week. And it worked.
  • Posts: 1,758 Member
    have you been eating 1800 and not losing? and if so for how long? or are you just guessing that it is too much, it's hard to tell from your post.
  • Posts: 17,562 Member
    quiksylver296 wrote: »
    A wise rabbit once said, "She who eat the most and still loses, WINS!"

    I miss that wise rabbit
  • Posts: 535 Member
    I was eating 1800 and found that I wasn't losing. I adjusted to 1200 and I was loosing but always hungry. I'm 5'7 large build and 282lbs currently. I'm struggling to find a right balance.
  • Posts: 34,716 Member
    Can you open your food diary - set it to Public here:

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/account/diary_settings


    1800 sounds reasonable if you are significantly over weight.



  • Posts: 1,669 Member
    You wrote that you "feel" it's too high. Feelings about food are what got a lot of us into this mess. Consider that your feelings may have lead you astray in the past, and may be doing the same thing now.

    Give MFP's (math and science based) suggestion a couple of weeks to work.
  • Posts: 28,439 Member
    malibu927 wrote: »
    show previous quotes

    I miss that wise rabbit

    She reincarnated, but I can't remember the new name.
  • Posts: 439 Member
    edited April 2017
    shans34 wrote: »
    I try to be as accurate in my recordings as possible and just in case, I try to eat under my calorie goal by 200 cals daily.

    How do you track your foods? Do you weight solids and measure liquids? For everything you consume? "Trying" doesn't work as well as "doing". There's a good chance if you aren't measuring accurately, you're eating more than you think.

    ETA: On my active days, I eat 1800-1900 calories and I'm 5'3" 140lbs. I lose about .5 to 1 pound a week.
  • Posts: 28,439 Member
    shans34 wrote: »
    I was eating 1800 and found that I wasn't losing. I adjusted to 1200 and I was loosing but always hungry. I'm 5'7 large build and 282lbs currently. I'm struggling to find a right balance.

    Are you using a food scale, weighing and logging everything?

    6ltuwp1lwge1.jpg

    This video shows why a food scale is so crucial...

    https://youtu.be/XpHykP6e_Uk
  • Posts: 41,865 Member
    shans34 wrote: »
    I was eating 1800 and found that I wasn't losing. I adjusted to 1200 and I was loosing but always hungry. I'm 5'7 large build and 282lbs currently. I'm struggling to find a right balance.

    You shouldn't have any problems losing on 1800 calories if your logging is accurate (i.e. not eyeballing amounts, selecting correct database entries, etc)...particularly if you're doing something active every day.

    My wife can drop about 1 Lb per week on 1800 and she's only 5'2.5" and 125-130 Lbs.
  • Posts: 28,439 Member
    shans34 wrote: »
    I was eating 1800 and found that I wasn't losing. I adjusted to 1200 and I was loosing but always hungry. I'm 5'7 large build and 282lbs currently. I'm struggling to find a right balance.

    How long of a time frame does your statement above encompass?
  • Posts: 1,758 Member
    i think 1200 is probably too low for you, i would be starving on that and i'm your height and weigh about 200. i lose on 1600. i lose slowly but that downward trend is there and i'm happy on it. i recently switched to 1300 during the week so i can indulge more on the weekends but on my 1300 days i eat back ALL my exercise calories.

    i would see if you can tighten up on your logging, experiment with different macro percentages for satiety and bump your calories up to at least 1500. 1500 accurately logged calories when you eat mindfully may be a good middle ground for you.

    *by "mindfully" i mean paying attention to what meets your nutritional as well as emotional goals. some people feel better on low carb, others when they combine fats with proteins. it's really individual and can be tough to find the sweet spot.
  • Posts: 42 Member
    I'm sorry but I think the answer is pretty obvious. You jumped 600 calories, so go somewhere in the middle, like 1500 or 1600 and see how it goes.
  • Posts: 535 Member
    Thank you for your help. I set my calorie goal to 1500 a day. I do measure everything, but I don't have a food scale to weigh. I follow the technique Chris Powell set in his book about using your hand to measure and I have small hands. My food diary should be open to the public, I opened it. Thanks for your help.
  • Posts: 28,439 Member
    edited April 2017
    shans34 wrote: »
    Thank you for your help. I set my calorie goal to 1500 a day. I do measure everything, but I don't have a food scale to weigh. I follow the technique Chris Powell set in his book about using your hand to measure and I have small hands. My food diary should be open to the public, I opened it. Thanks for your help.

    I would urge you to get a food scale. They're $10-$20 at Wal-mart or Target. I found it amazingly eye-opening, especially for peanut butter and ice cream. Did you watch the food scale video above?
  • Posts: 439 Member
    edited April 2017
    Food scales are cheap. Got mine for like $13. The only way you're really going to know what you're eating is to measure/weigh. So, if you decide to reduce your calories and still don't lose, you likely are going to need to really tighten up the tracking.

    ETA: You really should watch that video @quiksylver296 posted. It's crazy how much variance there can be.
  • Posts: 34,716 Member
    Yeah, I took a quick peek at your food diary for the last few days. "a quarter of a bologna sandwich...." :huh:

    Absolutely agree that accurate logging and 1500-1600 calories will help you a lot. Plus - eat a little more on days you get an hour of exercise.
  • Posts: 535 Member
    I watched the video, thank you. I will invest in a food scale soon.
  • Posts: 28,439 Member
    edited April 2017
    shans34 wrote: »
    Thank you for your help. I set my calorie goal to 1500 a day. I do measure everything, but I don't have a food scale to weigh. I follow the technique Chris Powell set in his book about using your hand to measure and I have small hands. My food diary should be open to the public, I opened it. Thanks for your help.

    Checked your food diary. Your logging doesn't look very accurate. I suspect you really need to tighten up on your logging. A quarter of a bologna sandwich? Lots of quick add calories? A quarter of a chicken breast?

    I'm going to beat the dead horse. Buy a food scale. Weigh your food in grams. Log everything - every bite, lick, taste, sip.


    ETA: Just saw your post above mine. YAY!!! Report back and tell us what you found.
  • Posts: 535 Member
    Oh i should explain, the quarter sandwich or chicken breast is only when I take a few bites. The quick add is when I read the calorie count on an item I am eating and instead of finding it, I just record the calories on that item. Ie a smart one frozen dinner.
  • Posts: 34,716 Member
    edited April 2017
    well, if your diary is reflective of what you eat, I'd say eat the whole sandwich. :) It's okay.

    And also, don't guess or use someone else's guess from the database. Check against labels and/or the USDA database.
  • Posts: 14,517 Member
    shans34 wrote: »
    I was eating 1800 and found that I wasn't losing. I adjusted to 1200 and I was losing but always hungry. I'm 5'7 large build and 282lbs currently. I'm struggling to find a right balance.

    One estimate of your TDEE (total daily energy expenditure) aka maintenance (if you were sedentary) is 2,438 calories. Under this scenario 1800 would still have been weight loss.......

    http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/

    I would double check your database selections (lots are wrong) and look into using a food scale if you don't already use one.
  • Posts: 16,049 Member
    If you start accurately logging your food you will have no problem losing eating 1800 calories.
  • Posts: 8,488 Member
    shans34 wrote: »
    Oh i should explain, the quarter sandwich or chicken breast is only when I take a few bites. The quick add is when I read the calorie count on an item I am eating and instead of finding it, I just record the calories on that item. Ie a smart one frozen dinner.

    Do you know that if you have MFP on a smart phone you can scan the packaged item?

    It is worth checking that the data that comes up in MFP is the same as on the item, but it gives you a better understanding of your macro breakdown.

    Your macros are not your most important worry right now, getting your calorie deficit at a good level is. But you will in the future probably get more interested in hitting your nutritional goals and what is most satiating for you- protein, carbs, or fats and in what levels, this more detailed information will be invaluable for you to look back on.

    Oh if you can't scan on your phone, find it in the data base, once you have the data in your recents etc, it is easier to enter the next time.

    Cheers, h.
  • Posts: 7,682 Member
    middlehaitch wrote: »
    show previous quotes

    Do you know that if you have MFP on a smart phone you can scan the packaged item?

    It is worth checking that the data that comes up in MFP is the same as on the item, but it gives you a better understanding of your macro breakdown.

    Your macros are not your most important worry right now, getting your calorie deficit at a good level is. But you will in the future probably get more interested in hitting your nutritional goals and what is most satiating for you- protein, carbs, or fats and in what levels, this more detailed information will be invaluable for you to look back on.

    Oh if you can't scan on your phone, find it in the data base, once you have the data in your recents etc, it is easier to enter the next time.

    Cheers, h.

    even some of the entries for scans are inaccurate too,weighing would be best. I have had frozen dinner be less than the package states and some were more.
  • Posts: 8,488 Member
    CharlieBeansmomTracey wrote: »
    show previous quotes

    even some of the entries for scans are inaccurate too,weighing would be best. I have had frozen dinner be less than the package states and some were more.

    Yes I know some of the entries of the scans are wrong. That is why I said to double check against the packaging.

    I didn't belabour the point of weighing as that has been emphasized a number of times on this thread.

    Cheers, h.
  • Posts: 7,682 Member
    middlehaitch wrote: »
    show previous quotes

    Yes I know some of the entries of the scans are wrong. That is why I said to double check against the packaging.

    I didn't belabour the point of weighing as that has been emphasized a number of times on this thread.

    Cheers, h.

    :)
  • Posts: 13,454 Member
    malibu927 wrote: »
    show previous quotes

    I miss that wise rabbit

    x1000
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