Calories per day

hiimshadoe
hiimshadoe Posts: 122
edited September 30 in Food and Nutrition
So.I'm currently at a 1200 calorie diet.
Should I be this low or a tad higher? Because I know this is the cut off point for starvation mode
I'm pretty sedentary
21
Female
185 lbs
Would like to lose 2 pounds a week or so.
What should I be eating for a 7 day stretch
I heard it's good to jump up and down with daily calories
Help please I don't want to go into starvation mode but i doo want to lose a couple pounds a week or so

Replies

  • sleepytexan
    sleepytexan Posts: 3,138 Member
    You will likely have greater success by choosing 1 lb/week loss. 2 lbs/week is really for people who are obese.

    blessings.
  • honeyX0
    honeyX0 Posts: 26
    As long as you have a substantial amount of weight to lose you won't slip into starvation mode... I'm sure lots will disagree but I find it to be true from my personal research.
  • hiimshadoe
    hiimshadoe Posts: 122
    Okay so how's 1-1.5 pounds a week.at the very least I want to lose 1.what should I be doing?
  • maillemaker
    maillemaker Posts: 1,253 Member
    http://www.caloriecontrol.org/healthy-weight-tool-kit/weight-maintenance-calculator-women

    The above calculator (and it was the first one I found, there are many on the internet) will tell you how many calories you need to consume to maintain your weight. Eat less than that and you will lose weight.

    This web site also tells you how many calories you need to eat per day to achieve a target goal that you specify.

    Steve
  • maillemaker
    maillemaker Posts: 1,253 Member
    As long as you have a substantial amount of weight to lose you won't slip into starvation mode... I'm sure lots will disagree but I find it to be true from my personal research.

    I agree with you. When you are seriously overweight it is nearly impossible not to lose it just by eating less than you need to maintain your weight.

    You will eventually plateau, though. You just have to push through it.
  • sleepytexan
    sleepytexan Posts: 3,138 Member
    Okay so how's 1-1.5 pounds a week.at the very least I want to lose 1.what should I be doing?

    Sure, go into your settings and reset your weekly loss goal to 1 lb/ week. That will give you 500 more cals than the 2 lbs/week.

    blessings.
  • hiimshadoe
    hiimshadoe Posts: 122
    http://www.caloriecontrol.org/healthy-weight-tool-kit/weight-maintenance-calculator-women

    The above calculator (and it was the first one I found, there are many on the internet) will tell you how many calories you need to consume to maintain your weight. Eat less than that and you will lose weight.

    This web site also tells you how many calories you need to eat per day to achieve a target goal that you specify.

    Steve
    I understand that.it says I need to eat like 14xx calories for extreme weight loss.I dot feel comfortable eating that many.bubi don't want to go into starvation mode by eating to little.I want no more than 1350 but I want to know if I should bounce up and down and if I will go into starvation mode from 1200
  • heathermnrd
    heathermnrd Posts: 73
    http://www.caloriecontrol.org/healthy-weight-tool-kit/weight-maintenance-calculator-women

    The above calculator (and it was the first one I found, there are many on the internet) will tell you how many calories you need to consume to maintain your weight. Eat less than that and you will lose weight.

    This web site also tells you how many calories you need to eat per day to achieve a target goal that you specify.

    Steve

    not so sure how i feel about this website...it just told me i should be eating 1000 calories to lose weight...thats a bit extreme.
  • Kowalskikm
    Kowalskikm Posts: 4 Member
    Losing "a couple pounds per week" is not very realistic. I know we all want to see the number on the scale drop fast, but the best way to lose weight and keep it off for life, is to aim for no more then 2# per week, and even that is hard unless you are very obese. I would recommend about 1350-1400 calories per day. Based on your weight and the average needs of a sedentary person you should need about 2100 calories per day to maintain your current weight, by reducing that amount by 750 calories per day you should be losing about 1.5 pounds per week which is more realistic. Instead of changing your base line of calories to eat every day try to be physically active at least 3 times per week and then eat back those extra calories you burned. This will help your body from going into starvation mode.

    Hope this helps
  • robpett2001
    robpett2001 Posts: 320 Member
    Taking a look at a fairly common BMR calculation (Harris-Benedict)....at 21 years old, with your current weight and your goal weight, and assuming you're around 5'4", with a sedentary lifestyle (little or no exercise), you should be able to eat 1930 calories once you hit your goal weight. Assuming a commonly-suggested calorie deficit of no more than 500 calories, that means your net calories at the end of the day ought to be 1430 calories a day right now, to get you to your goal weight.

    I'm certainly no pro, I'm just looking at a BMR calculator, but based on that I'd wager that you're not eating enough calories to maintain a consistent, healthy weight loss.

    Best wishes!
  • yramesor333
    yramesor333 Posts: 152
    As long as you have a substantial amount of weight to lose you won't slip into starvation mode... I'm sure lots will disagree but I find it to be true from my personal research.
    i soooooooooooooooooo AGREE with you !!!
  • bbbbb33333
    bbbbb33333 Posts: 1,107 Member
    I would go with the calories MFP recommends. It has worked well for me. It will set a recommended calories based on your current weight, lifestyle and desired weight loss. It will build in a deficit so you will loose..


    Since you've decided to change the way you eat, now would be a great time to change your sedentary lifestyle. It doesn't have to be big. Try walking 10-20 minutes every other day and gradually build minutes. Eventually, you can get up to light exercise 5-6 days a week. Stick with every other day for several weeks until you get used to it (so you don't injure yourself). When you exercise you will burn calories. These calories will add to how much you can eat every day. Getting more calories on days you exercise makes it a lot easier to stick with it in the long run. Good luck
  • maillemaker
    maillemaker Posts: 1,253 Member
    I understand that.it says I need to eat like 14xx calories for extreme weight loss.I dot feel comfortable eating that many.bubi don't want to go into starvation mode by eating to little.I want no more than 1350 but I want to know if I should bounce up and down and if I will go into starvation mode from 1200

    Well, all I can say is pick an online calculator and give it a shot. This web site will tell you how many calories to consume every day if you want to loose 2 pounds a week or less. You plug in your statistics, and it tells you how much you should eat every day to achieve that goal.

    I don't know about "bouncing up and down". I tend to max out my calories because I'm fraking hungry all the time. :)
  • maillemaker
    maillemaker Posts: 1,253 Member
    not so sure how i feel about this website...it just told me i should be eating 1000 calories to lose weight...thats a bit extreme.

    Like I said, it was the first one that came up in Google, so I don't know how good it is. It could be garbage for all I know. There are many calorie calculators out there, and this site has it built-in once you tell it your stats and how much you want to lose.
  • emmalene1984
    emmalene1984 Posts: 137 Member
    you are unlikely to go into starvation mode at 1200, that is why MFP sets it as the lowest it will give you, however it is NOT the holy grail of calories, some people can go lower than this and some need more, depending on their age, height, weight, lifestyle etc. for instance, i find i dont loose weight at 1200, i have to go for 1100 net calorie intake (thats 1100 calories 'left' for my body to survive on after exercise, so i eat the majority of my exercise calories.

    the only real way to know what you and your body needs is to experiment, so give 1200 a go if thats what MFP tells you to do for about ten days- two weeks and see what happens, it could be that you need more or less or that 1200 works well for you.

    good luck :-)
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