Unrealistic Goal Weights (Long post)

Options
245

Replies

  • RyonsLions2
    RyonsLions2 Posts: 350 Member
    Options
    OH, GOAL weight not CURRENT weight for loss. Right?? But the calorie level is still 3036. That's too high! I don't get it.
  • LorinaLynn
    LorinaLynn Posts: 13,247 Member
    Options
    Like everyone else on the planet, once I decided to lose weight, I wanted it gone as quickly as possible, so I set my goal to 2 lbs a week. Since I was only a little overweight, the most I could lose by MFP calculations was 1.3 lbs a week. Tried that for a while, and never lost more than one pound a week. So I changed my calorie goal to one pound a week, and lost on average 1.5 lbs a week!

    Less food does not equal faster weight loss. Eat!
  • foremant86
    foremant86 Posts: 1,115 Member
    Options
    1200 calories was set for me ( and most every woman I know on this site) ... Set for me by the website calculator. at first it was hard to find the right foods to eat too stay within that range but after a while you get good at it and it's not hard... It's like any basic diet plan - stick with the healthy foods (fruits, veggies, lean meats) and take it easy on the sugars and starches - eat in moderation - and in doing so your calorie intake is naturally low.


    1200 is only if you don't do any exercise at all, once you exercise you need to eat more calories.
  • Rompa_87
    Rompa_87 Posts: 291 Member
    Options
    Does it depend on what you are eating as well? I mean if you ate 1200 to 1500 calories a day in milk and cookies for instance, you would not lose right? How can I calculate the number of calories?? I had a doctor do a body scan??? on me at an office, and it measured water weight, fat weight, bone weight and skin weight... I don't know how but I got a print out of it and it said I, just sitting around doing nothing burn like 1274 calories a day. I am 5 ft tall and I was 167 lbs at the time. I can't eat ANYTHING or I gain weight. If I eat NOTHING I gain or maintain. I have lost a lot of weight in the last couple years. I don't know how I did it exactly, but I did. I've lost about 38 lbs. or so. NOW I have 28 left and I can't seem to lose it! I am aggravated! Please help if someone can.

    There are individual differences and of course quality of food is always going to be important. Now as for helping to burn more calories at particular weights the best advice is just eat clean but sufficient. Also throw in lots of resistance training. The less bf% and more muscle mass you have the more energy you burn. For example someone 6' and 180lbs at 40% bf would burn less than someone 6', 180lbs and 15%bf.

    If you want to lose weight and eat more then start lifting heavy to build some muscle
  • kmeekhof
    kmeekhof Posts: 456 Member
    Options
    I saw a professional and asked what I should be eating.... They have a chart for height/weight that says what your minimum calories is...

    I can't eat less than 800... They say it's because my body has so much stored up fat that it lives off of, that's why I don't have to eat as much as someone who's a lot more fit and don't have the fat to live off of.

    So my advice to people, is to see a professional if you have questions.

    A professional what?! In all of my nutrition can exercise physiology classes I learned you should not got lower than 1200 a day unless (regularly) medically supervised.
  • SiltyPigeon
    SiltyPigeon Posts: 920 Member
    Options
    Hmmmm... I'm 5'5'' and 122 lbs. My BMR is 1301. Considering my activity level that puts me at 1788.
    So... 1200 would put me around a 500 calorie deficit per day.
    Sounds about right to me!
  • julesmcclelland
    julesmcclelland Posts: 17
    Options
    I had always just ignored the preprogrammed 1200 cals as I know that I should eat about 2000. I finally took the time to manually reset the calorie amount.
    I have read posts where people wondered and lamented the low calorie amount but never took the time to respond that 1200 is really too low, esp if you are exercising.
    Thanks for taking the time to explain this.
  • fiberartist219
    fiberartist219 Posts: 1,865 Member
    Options
    Honestly, I don't feel like converting my measurements into metric or doing the calculations, but here's what I've been doing.

    First of all, I'm 5'2", and 162lbs, on a good day. So, yes, I'm short, and I probably shouldn't eat much. MFP says I should eat 1270 on a day that I don't exercise. I'm quite sedentary. According to the tools, my BMR is 1400 or so. I imagine that my daily expended calories isn't much higher since I sit at a desk all day.

    So, I know I want to eat more than 1200 calories. I just work out more. Then I have more that I can eat. I build muscle, and get to have a snack later. How great is that?

    I wasn't losing any weight at all until I started restricting my calories and paying close attention to it. I can lose weight slowly on 1400 or 1500 calories a day, but I lose more when I work out more and eat less. If I ate like a man, or a taller person, I would not lose anything.
  • jamiegirl816
    jamiegirl816 Posts: 11
    Options
    I agree that eating too few calories can have serious repercussions, but as for 1200cals a day, my DOCTOR says it is a healthy amount for a weight loss program and I am a 5'6" lady who is certainly not tiny. You should eat back your exercise cals, but even today. I worked out, I had a busy day, it's now after 8pm here, and I have a lot of calories left. Will I try to eat most of them? Yes. But I am not going to eat too much and be overfull, just so I can hit some calorie requirement. How is that learning to improve my habits? Eat until your satisfied, and only eat when you are hungry, that's what I am here to learn how to do. I have not had any trouble sticking to a 1200cal diet, I eat a lot of vegetables and lean meats. I also avoid the pre-packaged diet foods, I find their portions to be too small for the calories. I am working on portion control, but certainly I am never left hungry, at least not physically. I have lost 15lbs so far and have had very consistent and healthy weight loss.
    All that said, it is sad to see people starve themselves, and make poor, unhealthy choices in the quest for happiness and health. It's hard enough to change, and to teach yourself self control without being grumpy and hungry all the time. Good luck everyone!
  • Rompa_87
    Rompa_87 Posts: 291 Member
    Options
    Hmmmm... I'm 5'5'' and 122 lbs. My BMR is 1301. Considering my activity level that puts me at 1788.
    So... 1200 would put me around a 500 calorie deficit per day.
    Sounds about right to me!

    For someone your weight and height 500cal a day deficit is massive!
    Considering you are already within a healthy weight range for your height a 500cla deficit a day is likely to be eating away at your lean body mass. You would be better off just having a 100-200cal a day deficit perhaps. Faster weight loss is not indicative of the quality of weight loss
  • baisleac
    baisleac Posts: 2,019 Member
    Options
    No, it is not setting 1,200 as our BMR, the 1,200 is creating a deficit so we can lose weight!
    BMR is what your body will burn if you don't do anything.. so obviously you need to eat less than that to lose weight!
    for example my BMR is around 1,700 so eating 1,200 means I have a deficit of 500 a day = 3500 a week = 1lb loss a week

    :)

    WRONG! Try again.

    Your BMR is what your body burns doing nothing. You got this part correct.

    However, the minute you get out of bed to go to the bathroom, you have burned more than your BMR. Your TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure) is the number you subtract your deficit from.

    If your BMR is 1700 and you have a sedentary lifestyle your TDEE is 2040 calories. A 500 calorie deficit would put you at 1540.

    Your BMR should be the BARE MINIMUM that you consume each day.
  • CherryOnionKiss
    CherryOnionKiss Posts: 376 Member
    Options
    uh, I don't get why eating 1900 cals a day would make me lose weight faster than by getting 1320 cals like MFP suggested. How can you lose weight if you eat more?
  • SiltyPigeon
    SiltyPigeon Posts: 920 Member
    Options
    Hmmmm... I'm 5'5'' and 122 lbs. My BMR is 1301. Considering my activity level that puts me at 1788.
    So... 1200 would put me around a 500 calorie deficit per day.
    Sounds about right to me!

    For someone your weight and height 500cal a day deficit is massive!
    Considering you are already within a healthy weight range for your height a 500cla deficit a day is likely to be eating away at your lean body mass. You would be better off just having a 100-200cal a day deficit perhaps. Faster weight loss is not indicative of the quality of weight loss

    I'm lucky to lose 1 pound per week, I only lost 3 last month..... how much slower can I get without calling it "maintenance"?
  • baisleac
    baisleac Posts: 2,019 Member
    Options
    Hmmmm... I'm 5'5'' and 122 lbs. My BMR is 1301. Considering my activity level that puts me at 1788.
    So... 1200 would put me around a 500 calorie deficit per day.
    Sounds about right to me!

    If you are 5'5 and 122 lbs you should not be on a 500 calorie deficit, unless under medical supervision for an unknown requirement.
  • Rompa_87
    Rompa_87 Posts: 291 Member
    Options
    Hmmmm... I'm 5'5'' and 122 lbs. My BMR is 1301. Considering my activity level that puts me at 1788.
    So... 1200 would put me around a 500 calorie deficit per day.
    Sounds about right to me!

    For someone your weight and height 500cal a day deficit is massive!
    Considering you are already within a healthy weight range for your height a 500cla deficit a day is likely to be eating away at your lean body mass. You would be better off just having a 100-200cal a day deficit perhaps. Faster weight loss is not indicative of the quality of weight loss

    I'm lucky to lose 1 pound per week, I only lost 3 last month..... how much slower can I get without calling it "maintenance"?

    You are already considered healthy for your height. Why would you want to lose more weight? Wouldn't you be better off maintaining your current weight but focussing more on bf% than numbers on the scale?
  • kje2011
    kje2011 Posts: 502 Member
    Options
    bump
  • SiltyPigeon
    SiltyPigeon Posts: 920 Member
    Options
    Hmmmm... I'm 5'5'' and 122 lbs. My BMR is 1301. Considering my activity level that puts me at 1788.
    So... 1200 would put me around a 500 calorie deficit per day.
    Sounds about right to me!

    For someone your weight and height 500cal a day deficit is massive!
    Considering you are already within a healthy weight range for your height a 500cla deficit a day is likely to be eating away at your lean body mass. You would be better off just having a 100-200cal a day deficit perhaps. Faster weight loss is not indicative of the quality of weight loss

    I'm lucky to lose 1 pound per week, I only lost 3 last month..... how much slower can I get without calling it "maintenance"?

    You are already considered healthy for your height. Why would you want to lose more weight? Wouldn't you be better off maintaining your current weight but focussing more on bf% than numbers on the scale?

    My personal goal is 120. That's why.
    I wonder about my body fat %... but don't have a clue how to figure out what that number is without seeing a doctor. I don't want to go to a doctor (and pay the co-pay) for something that silly and unnecessary. I also don't have a clue how to alter my body fat %.
  • fiberartist219
    fiberartist219 Posts: 1,865 Member
    Options
    If it takes 3500 calories to lose a pound, the 500 calorie deficit a day is what it would take to lose a pound a week.

    In the month of July, I lost 3 pounds. At this rate, it will be about a year before I am able to lose 35lbs and hit my goal weight.

    If I don't see a few pounds in a month, I probably won't see them at all. I have had bowel movements bigger than the amount of fat that I've lost. I know that sounds gross, but our weight fluctuates with every drop of water we drink, bite of food we eat, and every menstrual cycle. So, if I don't see that scale go down more than a poop, I lose motivation.

    I don't expect to lose 30lbs in 3 weeks, but I certainly expect to lose it in a year. If it takes me longer than that, and I have to count calories and lift heavy weights for that long and not see a change, I'm going to be angry and depressed, because life is too short to be logging in all the time to track food. Someday, I'd like to be small again, and get to a point where I can look at my food, know what a portion size is, and eat it without tracking. I don't mind exercising and lifting heavy for the rest of my life, but I sure better see some muscle and not flab because of it. If I look like a blob three years from now, I promise you, I'm going to eat a pile of brownies and not pick up a weight again.

    I'm doing this to see results. If I can't see results, I'm not going to do it.

    Taking a dump is not the result I want either. I need to see FAT loss, and it's not going to happen without some sacrifice.

    That being said, I don't starve myself. I would be angry or lightheaded if I were starving. I'm not. I might feel a little grumble in my tummy, but there is a huge difference between hungry and starving.
  • yanicka
    yanicka Posts: 1,004 Member
    Options
    uh, I don't get why eating 1900 cals a day would make me lose weight faster than by getting 1320 cals like MFP suggested. How can you lose weight if you eat more?

    If your body feel you are in danger, (IE starving) it will slow down things in order to survive as long as possible. First to go with be muscles mass since muscles use more energy (you will see a weight loss here) so with less muscles, your metabolism goes down. Then it will slow down lateral system, (digestion, hair and nail growth, the energy used by the brain) since you have no control over those system..... you will plateau. You have to find that magical point where your body is comfortable to lose weight. It does not think you are starving. The problem is that point can change for a multiple of reasons.

    The human body is really complexe. Less calories = more weight loss is true when you have 100 pounds to lose but not when you try to lose the last 10 pounds.
  • springtrio
    springtrio Posts: 429 Member
    Options
    I know I'm one of MANY on this site but I am TERRIFIED of putting more than 1,200 calories a day into my body. It's more of a psyhological issue than anything (at least for me it is) because I dread the disgusting person I was back then. I see it on here day in and day out...while many of you may be health advocates many of the women including myself are seeking help for our issues, but being condescending about it isn't going to help when it's not a nutrition issue. It's something I'm trying hard to break because I am a runner and would eventually like to do a marathon, and quite possibly work up to ultramarathon. I know that til I get past my fear of food, it's not going to happen.

Categories