2010 Calories!?

Selenium1
Selenium1 Posts: 11 Member
edited November 2024 in Health and Weight Loss
Hi everyone. I’m pretty new on here and I was shocked to see that I should be eating 2010 Calories a day to lose weight. I’ve been eating about 1000 for the last few days which seems like a lot of food. I’ve never been one to eat a lot, but I’ve spent my life eating the wrong things and not exercising. I’m trying to lose at least 100 pounds as I’m currently at 250 (bad, I know). I’m an 18 year old female and 5”7. Does this seem odd to anyone else? :)

Replies

  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,432 MFP Moderator
    edited October 2017
    Selenium1 wrote: »
    Hi everyone. I’m pretty new on here and I was shocked to see that I should be eating 2010 Calories a day to lose weight. I’ve been eating about 1000 for the last few days which seems like a lot of food. I’ve never been one to eat a lot, but I’ve spent my life eating the wrong things and not exercising. I’m trying to lose at least 100 pounds as I’m currently at 250 (bad, I know). I’m 18 and 5”7. Does this seem odd to anyone else? :)

    Seems reasonable. One of the biggest mistakes i see people take (especially women) is aggressively cutting calories.. you are young, don't go down that route. Why not try to start at 1700 calories, use a food scale, aim for 100 to 130g of protein and track for 2 or 3 weeks to see how much per week you lose.

    You can always taper down if things arent working.
  • Selenium1
    Selenium1 Posts: 11 Member
    malibu927 wrote: »
    If you were able to get to 250 pounds, you've been eating way more than 1000 calories.

    I was eating lots of junk food like McDonalds and whatnot which mean a lot of calories. However, I’m now trying to eat mainly chicken, vegetables, fruits, and eggs now so it seems like a lot more food now since everything I eat has less calories, if that makes sense :)
  • Selenium1
    Selenium1 Posts: 11 Member
    psuLemon wrote: »
    Selenium1 wrote: »
    Hi everyone. I’m pretty new on here and I was shocked to see that I should be eating 2010 Calories a day to lose weight. I’ve been eating about 1000 for the last few days which seems like a lot of food. I’ve never been one to eat a lot, but I’ve spent my life eating the wrong things and not exercising. I’m trying to lose at least 100 pounds as I’m currently at 250 (bad, I know). I’m 18 and 5”7. Does this seem odd to anyone else? :)

    Seems reasonable. One of the biggest mistakes i see people take (especially women) is aggressively cutting calories.. you are young, don't go down that route. Why not try to start at 1700 calories, use a food scale, aim for 100 to 130g of protein and track for 2 or 3 weeks to see how much per week you lose.

    You can always taper down if things arent working.

    I’ll try that. Thanks! Just wanted to be sure early on.
  • NicoleMckenzie2017
    NicoleMckenzie2017 Posts: 141 Member
    edited October 2017
    Yeah I would up the calorie intake a bit. 1,000 calories is not healthy- trust me I tried for a week or two and upped it to 1200 and it makes a WORLD of difference. I think a good intake for you would be between 1400-1500 :) and good job cutting out the fast food!!
  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
    I'm about your height, almost twice your age, and started around 215 pounds. I lose on around 1700-1800 calories, so it doesn't surprise me that you'd be able to lose at a little higher goal. Try it out and adjust downward after a few weeks if you need to.
  • Lounmoun
    Lounmoun Posts: 8,423 Member
    You are 18, 5'7" and 250 lbs, sedentary... male? That seems about right for someone your size to lose about 1 lb a week without exercise.
    1200 is the minimum recommended calories for women. You should be eating more than that.

    What were you eating before you started cutting down?
    Some foods can be very calorie dense in smaller quantities. If you used to eat that kind of stuff and switched to lower calorie foods it would seem like a lot of food in comparison but not more calories.
    http://www.wisegeek.com/what-does-200-calories-look-like.htm
  • 90Ibs
    90Ibs Posts: 22 Member
    1200 is the recommended minimum for women, 1500 for men. I'd also drop calories slowly. So if you're starting off at 2010, drop to 1910 after a week, 1810, etc until you're at a calorie intake that you feel works for you, but don't go below 1200.
  • Selenium1
    Selenium1 Posts: 11 Member
    NicoleMckenzie2017 wrote: »
    Yeah I would up the calorie intake a bit. 1,000 calories is not healthy- trust me I tried for a week or two and upped it to 1200 and it makes a WORLD of difference. I think a good intake for you would be between 1400-1500 :) and good job cutting out the fast food!!

    Thank you! I’ll try sticking close to the suggested amount.
  • Selenium1
    Selenium1 Posts: 11 Member
    diannethegeek wrote: »
    I'm about your height, almost twice your age, and started around 215 pounds. I lose on around 1700-1800 calories, so it doesn't surprise me that you'd be able to lose at a little higher goal. Try it out and adjust downward after a few weeks if you need to.

    Guess I really had the concept of weight loss wrong :P I’ll try it out for a bit and see how it goes.
  • Selenium1
    Selenium1 Posts: 11 Member
    Lounmoun wrote: »
    You are 18, 5'7" and 250 lbs, sedentary... male? That seems about right for someone your size to lose about 1 lb a week without exercise.
    1200 is the minimum recommended calories for women. You should be eating more than that.

    What were you eating before you started cutting down?
    Some foods can be very calorie dense in smaller quantities. If you used to eat that kind of stuff and switched to lower calorie foods it would seem like a lot of food in comparison but not more calories.
    http://www.wisegeek.com/what-does-200-calories-look-like.htm

    I am a female. And, yes, I was eating calorie-dense junk. I’m eating healthier now so it does seem like quite a bit of food!
  • Selenium1
    Selenium1 Posts: 11 Member
    90Ibs wrote: »
    1200 is the recommended minimum for women, 1500 for men. I'd also drop calories slowly. So if you're starting off at 2010, drop to 1910 after a week, 1810, etc until you're at a calorie intake that you feel works for you, but don't go below 1200.

    Got it! I’ll be sure to take it slow.
  • MichelleSilverleaf
    MichelleSilverleaf Posts: 2,027 Member
    Selenium1 wrote: »
    Hi everyone. I’m pretty new on here and I was shocked to see that I should be eating 2010 Calories a day to lose weight. I’ve been eating about 1000 for the last few days which seems like a lot of food. I’ve never been one to eat a lot, but I’ve spent my life eating the wrong things and not exercising. I’m trying to lose at least 100 pounds as I’m currently at 250 (bad, I know). I’m an 18 year old female and 5”7. Does this seem odd to anyone else? :)

    I got bumped down to 2040 when I hit 245 (at 236 now). Only a wee bit shorter than you, so no it's not too unreasonable :smile:
  • Nony_Mouse
    Nony_Mouse Posts: 5,646 Member
    OP, if you're struggling to get your calories up, incorporate more nutrient-dense high calorie things such as avocado, nuts and seeds, nut butters, full fat dairy, oils for your salads and cooking. You can also eat the foods you used to eat, just in smaller quantities. It's perfectly okay to have some ice cream for dessert, or a small chocolate bar, so long as the majority of your food is coming from nutrient dense sources :)
  • dwilliamca
    dwilliamca Posts: 325 Member
    Your BMR (which you can calculate under tools) is 1947 which is how many calories it takes to keep your body functioning at your current weight. As you lose weight your BMR will drop and so will your calories needed to maintain you. If you are sedentary you will burn 2433 calories per day (more if you are more active). You don't say if you are aiming to lose a pound or two pounds per week but for a pound you subtract 500 calories per day from 2433 and for 2 lbs you subtract 1000 calories/day. So for you, if sedentary (such as desk job), you will want to eat between 1433 and 1933 per day. You can adjust your numbers once you've been logging a couple of weeks and see how you feel and how you're losing. As you read and get oriented to the site you will learn how important it is to log everything accurately including weighing most foods. If you exercise you will add those calories on top of your daily quota and get to eat some of those calories as well. However to lose weight you must be in a deficit....burning more calories than you are eating. Here is a link to my favorite explanation as to how this all works. https://us.v-cdn.net/5021879/uploads/editor/76/8kn2ubmrqx6s.jpg
  • misnomer1
    misnomer1 Posts: 646 Member
    edited October 2017
    I would give 1600-2000 kcal a day a shot for 3-4 weeks. Track your weight loss and then reassess. You can include some foods which you like but deem 'unhealthy' to reach that goal. That would help make your weight loss efforts sustainable for the long haul.
    No food is unhealthy if you are within calorie goals and the food doesnt have toxins or aggravate some of your medical conditions.
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