What's too little?

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chubbytojumpy
chubbytojumpy Posts: 2 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi all,
Been seeing a lot of people talking about not eating below 1200 for women to lose weight. Mfp suggests 1000~1200 for women daily to lose, so am I doing it right or should I be eating more?
I have only been doing this for a little over 3 weeks and can see the weight loss is slowing slightly but it's expected, but I'm wondering if I can eat more and still get results I want. Would like to lose 1~2 a week
I'm 5'8, 149lb ish and 22. Goal: 126. My daily should be open

Replies

  • toxikon
    toxikon Posts: 2,384 Member
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    Minimum calorie goal will be very dependent on your weight, height, activity level and sex.

    A short, sedentary woman without much weight to lose may need to dip to 1000 calories per day to see results.

    A tall, active man may be able to eat 2500 calories per day and still lose weight at a reasonable pace.

    Judging by your height, weight and sex, I wouldn't suggest going below 1400.
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
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    MFP should not be suggesting less than 1,200 calories for women. If it is, there may be some sort of bug.
  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
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    chubbytojumpy wrote: »
    Hi all,
    Been seeing a lot of people talking about not eating below 1200 for women to lose weight. Mfp suggests 1000~1200 for women daily to lose, so am I doing it right or should I be eating more?
    I have only been doing this for a little over 3 weeks and can see the weight loss is slowing slightly but it's expected, but I'm wondering if I can eat more and still get results I want. Would like to lose 1~2 a week
    I'm 5'8, 149lb ish and 22. Goal: 126. My daily should be open

    Where does MFP suggest that women eat 1000-1200 daily in order to lose weight? As far as I know, 1200 is the minimum calorie goal given to a woman who does no exercise at all. Once you exercise, you add it into MFP and your goal increases.

    At your stats, a loss of .5 to 1 pound per week should be celebrated. More than that would be very difficult to maintain for any extended period of time. I think you need to rethink/reconsider your expectations as far as weight loss goes. You are aiming at a goal that is appropriate for somebody who is obese while you are already at a very healthy weight for your height.
  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,565 Member
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    1200 is the minimum, and it's generally recommended for those who are older, shorter, and more sedentary. You're taller, younger, and already at a healthy weight so anything over a pound a week is going to be aggressive.
  • ottermotorcycle
    ottermotorcycle Posts: 654 Member
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    Find a BMR calculator and use that as a minimum. It's a gentler system than MFP can be. Your BMR is the vare minimum your body really needs to like, have your organs function. Everything you burn above that is a loss! Depending on your activity level, even that may be too low.
  • darlibby
    darlibby Posts: 37 Member
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    I set my mfp goal to 1000 calories, but I had to manually enter it because it was giving me a minimum of 1200. But I'm only 5 feet tall, small frame, weighing in at 107 with goal of 100.
  • BusyRaeNOTBusty
    BusyRaeNOTBusty Posts: 7,166 Member
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    cathipa wrote: »
    Since you are within a normal BMI weight loss would (and should) be slower. And at 5'8" eating under 1200 calories a day would not be healthy. Set a goal of 0.5 pounds per week. The initial loss was probably some water retention. You can eat more and still see results.

    This.

    I'm 5'8" and eat at 1800 to 2000 to lose a half pound a week.
  • Psychgrrl
    Psychgrrl Posts: 3,177 Member
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    You’re at a healthy weight, yet your user name has “chubby” in it. What’s driving your need to lose weight, OP? If it’s an aesthetic thing, you might want to consider a recomp—generally this is a progressive heavy lifting program where you build muscle and lose fat. There is some great info over on the “Gaining Weight and Body Building” forum. Plus, you get to eat at maintenance!

    In answer to your question: yes, you are eating too little for your current height and weight.
  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
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    jemhh wrote: »
    chubbytojumpy wrote: »
    Hi all,
    Been seeing a lot of people talking about not eating below 1200 for women to lose weight. Mfp suggests 1000~1200 for women daily to lose, so am I doing it right or should I be eating more?
    I have only been doing this for a little over 3 weeks and can see the weight loss is slowing slightly but it's expected, but I'm wondering if I can eat more and still get results I want. Would like to lose 1~2 a week
    I'm 5'8, 149lb ish and 22. Goal: 126. My daily should be open

    Where does MFP suggest that women eat 1000-1200 daily in order to lose weight? As far as I know, 1200 is the minimum calorie goal given to a woman who does no exercise at all. Once you exercise, you add it into MFP and your goal increases.

    At your stats, a loss of .5 to 1 pound per week should be celebrated. More than that would be very difficult to maintain for any extended period of time. I think you need to rethink/reconsider your expectations as far as weight loss goes. You are aiming at a goal that is appropriate for somebody who is obese while you are already at a very healthy weight for your height.

    1200 is the minimum calorie goal given but if one closes their diary out below 1200, then MFP pops up a warning saying that they recommend between 1000 and 1200 for women. It's come up on the boards before.

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