Calorie intake

I think it is too high also. I was discouraged because the weight was not coming off when I ate the calories they suggested. I need to keep it between 1200-1500 in order to lose no matter how much exercising I am doing. I guess just try it to see if it will work for you.

If you normally ate unhealthy foods, it can take a very large number of healthy foods to fill that daily calorie limit. When I first started and was eating healthy foods, I felt like I was eating ALL the time and couldn't hit the numbers. You adjust. but if it still feels too high, you can readjust it yourself just don't go below 1200!

Nope. It's not too high. Go eat your calories.

I lose most when I go around 1200-1400. 900 calories is ridiculous and not giving your body what it needs. If you are exercising you need energy and you need protein to build and maintain cells and muscles. I've done the dumb eat less and less and exercise more and more thing and it did not work.

I found this. A lot of people are adamant about not going below 1,200 calories, so this will be my last interjection, but I thought this was interesting.

""A starvation diet does not mean the absence of food. It means cutting the total caloric intake to less than 50% of what the body requires.

Using myself as an example, my current weight is 183 lbs. and my bmr is 1450. So, I would have to cut my calories to below 725 per day. However, if I were at my goal weight of 109 lbs., my bmr would be 1129, and so I would have to cut my calories to below 565 calories. ""

...Wait for it....

BAM!

Everyones body is a bit different.
If I eat less than 1500 I'll lose close to a pound a day merely doing 30 mins on the bike (222 cals).
Other people wouldn't lose weight on that at all.

Basic rule here is to stay at (not below) 1200, because the body requires at least 1200 to function properly (so *they* say...)
so if you eat 1200, and burning 200, then eat 1400.

In my opinion you have to play with it until you figure it out. :] you'll get a feel for your metabolism and caloric needs/vs/exercise and find what works best for you. Theres lots of support here, so don't be afraid to make some mistakes. And ignore the naysayers!

I found this. A lot of people are adamant about not going below 1,200 calories, so this will be my last interjection, but I thought this was interesting.

""A starvation diet does not mean the absence of food. It means cutting the total caloric intake to less than 50% of what the body requires.

Using myself as an example, my current weight is 183 lbs. and my bmr is 1450. So, I would have to cut my calories to below 725 per day. However, if I were at my goal weight of 109 lbs., my bmr would be 1129, and so I would have to cut my calories to below 565 calories. ""

I there's a misunderstanding in this statement of what "requires" and "BMR" mean. BMR is the calories that your body needs if you were to stay in bed all day and have NO activity. If that were the case then yes your body would require 1450 calories. But my guess is that you're a real person.. you have to go to school, or a job or other activity that you do during the day. You should find out what your real daily caloric requirement is before you decide to cut it in half.

So lets say you have a BMR of 1450 but then you have a desk job.. your daily caloric need might be 1800 (for example sake - don't know if this is the real number). Then your body requires 1800 to get through your day. Now lets say you burn 500 of that through exercising or other activities through your day (walking the dog/cleaning/going dancing for ladies night/ etc).. your body now requires 2300 calories, so then yes if we take your logic (still don't know where you found it), starvation would happen (over time of course) of consuming less than 1150 calories. I think 1200 is a baseline but it's a pretty good baseline for most people. Some people will be under, but you'll never be over your daily calories at 1200.

My suggestion is to keep playing around with the food diary and log your food for awhile before adjusting it. After you start logging and working out, you may find that you're thankful that you have the extra leeway. You don't have to eat ALL of the calories but you'll be a lot more satisfied and have the energy to use during the day. MFP isn't about dieting, its about having a healthy and maintainable lifestyle. Many people use and have lost a lot of weight using MFP's suggestions.

This the most intelligent, completely non aggressive response I've read on here in response to this whole 'too many calories' debate. YOU'RE GREAT.

:indifferent:

Most people underestimate the amount of calories they eat by 30-40% The average meal is about 1000 calories for most americans. You do not want to create to large a deficit.. if you need 1500 calories to maintain your wt and eat 1600 you store 100 calories for later. Remember 3500 calories equals 1lb of fat. to lose wt you need to eat less than your body needs to maintain. for example 2000 to maintain eat 1500 create a 500 calorie deficit 500x7 =3500 calories withdrawn from your stored energy(fat) Start wt training to build muscle and sculpt your body and increase your metabolism, For every lb of muscle you gain you will burn 40-70calories at rest.. Gain ten lbs your now burning 400-700 more calories a day.. Most ppl think their metabolism slow down with age, it does not. Your muscles atrophy with disuse. Thus you can eat the same thing and gain wt. gaining or losing wt is an accumulative process.

I believed that muscle burned quite a few calories myself until recently. Apparently that's not true- the figure is about 3-7 calories more. I wouldn't lie, I recommend looking it up yourself, you'll be as surprised as I was.


"More than one study has shown that untrained men who lifted weights could burn an extra 30-35 calories for each pound of muscle gained.

However, other experts, including Dr. Cedric X. Bryant, the American Council on Exercise's Chief Science Officer, suggest a pound of muscle only burns about 6 calories a day.

So why the difference? The confusion exists because of different studies using different ways to test metabolic changes after exercise. There are other mechanisms involved with metabolism as well (including gender, age, fitness level and how active you are otherwise) and, frankly, there's still plenty of controversy about how much exercise really influences metabolism.

Some readers have emailed me after reading this, discouraged about their weight training goals. They wonder: "If I'm not burning as many calories as I thought, what's the point of lifting weights?" Whether you believe muscle burns 6 calories or 60 doesn't change the fact that strength training is incredibly important for losing fat and keeping your body strong and healthy. Just some of the benefits include:

•Increased after burn - High intensity strength training can actually help you burn extra calories for hours after your workout
•Prevents loss of lean body mass that happens from dieting and/or aging
•Burning calories - While strength training doesn't burn as many calories in one sitting as cardio, it does contribute to your overall calorie expenditure
•Changes your body composition, which helps shape your body and keep you healthy
•Strengthens bones and connective tissue along with muscles
•Keeps you strong and active as you get older
•Improves coordination, balance and may help prevent injuries"