How many calories?

SophiaJane81
SophiaJane81 Posts: 40 Member
edited November 23 in Health and Weight Loss
Hi I am 5ft 2 woman and have about 40lbs weight left to lose. I have just left slimming world (points based) and joining mfp.

I am a homeschooler so I am typically sitting down apart from housework.

For 1.5 to 2lb loss mfp is saying 1,200 calories?? Is that correct. And if I exercise should I eat back those calories.

Thanks

Replies

  • SophiaJane81
    SophiaJane81 Posts: 40 Member
    Is that calorie amount low because of my height?
  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,562 Member
    With 40 pounds to lose you should set your goal to a pound a week. 1200 is the minimum MFP will give and usually says your goal is too aggressive. And yes, you should eat back at least a portion of your exercise calories.
  • SophiaJane81
    SophiaJane81 Posts: 40 Member
    What would I do if I would like to lose 2lbs a week?
  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,562 Member
    SophiaJane81 wrote: »
    What would I do if I would like to lose 2lbs a week?

    You would have to eat, at most, 950 calories a day. But it's not recommended to eat below 1200 net calories after exercise. You would end up losing a lot of muscle mass and causing other serious health issues caused by malnourishment.
  • Elise4270
    Elise4270 Posts: 8,375 Member
    edited December 2017
    @SophiaJane81 Start making better food choices andbe sure to track all your calories. Use a food scale to get as accurate as possible. This will give you an idea what your calorie consumption is and how you'd like to adjust it from there.

    If you not feeling slimmer or seeing the scale move, adjust your daily goal downward by 100 calories a day after a week at a time.

    There is no right calorie goal, no magic number. There's just the right calorie goal for you. There's no reason to cut calories to a minimum. Choose quality over quantity.

    Add some exercise to "buy" you a bit and increase your metabolism and maintain muscle mass. Oh and for bone health :wink:

    Good luck! You got this!

    ETA I try not to eat my exercise calories back unless I'm hungry. Just because they are there, doesn't mean I should eat them. Veggie steamer bags are great snacks.
  • kimny72
    kimny72 Posts: 16,011 Member
    SophiaJane81 wrote: »
    kimny72 wrote: »
    SophiaJane81 wrote: »
    What would I do if I would like to lose 2lbs a week?

    You would have to undereat and risk your health or hitting the wall and gaining it all back.

    Yes, when you're shorter it can be more difficult to lose quickly because you need less calories in the 1st place. Regardless, 2 lbs a week is really only appropriate for someone who is very obese.
    If you lose too quickly, you risk losing a fair amount of muscle mass, and may not like the way you look as much once you get to goal

    Set your goal to lose 1 lb per week, and log accurately and consistently. Log your exercise and eat back at least some of those calories. Good luck!

    Thank you so much. I am going to set it as 1lb a week which gives me 1,380 calories a day.

    :smiley:
  • Spiderpug
    Spiderpug Posts: 159 Member
    I'm on 1200 sedatory 5'3" but i log daily exercise and eat 1/2 to 3/4 of those cals. Some weeks i lose 2lb most i lose 1lb but its only doable if your hunger is managed.
    It took me a good few months to learn what foods filled me up rather than grabbing tthe first thing i found and getting hungry later.

    :)
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