Calorie Intake for summer weight loss

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Brianhb2
Brianhb2 Posts: 7 Member
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Ok so I gained weight while lying to myself for the last 5 years ...now it's
time to do something about it.....Any advice on the minimum amount of calories ? I've heard 1000 and this APP says 1200 for men...I feel too full and dont feel like Im doing enough when I eat this much. Anyway, have a great day folks

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  • Neufae
    Neufae Posts: 38 Member
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    Maybe separate your meals where you are eating small snacks in the day instead of meals to get up past 1200 calories? Mine are set at 1400(ish) and some days its over and some days its under but I am still losing weight. I wouldn't recommend going under 1200 calories.
  • kami3006
    kami3006 Posts: 4,978 Member
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    My advice is not to eat the bare minimum of calories, which is 1500 for men, because you'll set yourself up for muscle loss and ultimate burnout. That you've gained weight means you've been eating significantly more than the 1000-1200 you think you can't eat right now. How much you have to lose makes a difference to the rate at which you should be trying to lose. What are your stats? Height, weight, age, goal weight?
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
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    You need to go log some meal days you would normally eat to get a clue as to how much you used to eat that led to wait gain, which was probably slowly accomplished.
    Therefore the amount you ate is probably just a little above maintenance.

    Unless you've started doing more now, which means you keep eating same way/amount - you'll slowly lose weight, probably just fat weight.

    Summer is usually an automatic increased activity time, so even easier.
  • Spliner1969
    Spliner1969 Posts: 3,233 Member
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    kimny72 wrote: »
    Brianhb2 wrote: »
    Ok so I gained weight while lying to myself for the last 5 years ...now it's
    time to do something about it.....Any advice on the minimum amount of calories ? I've heard 1000 and this APP says 1200 for men...I feel too full and dont feel like Im doing enough when I eat this much. Anyway, have a great day folks

    I'm going to be blunt, you aren't eating 1000 calories. I am a petite woman and I lost weight on 1500 cals. 1000 cals is jut not a lot of food. You are probably making some common logging errors and eating more than you think. Which is good, because you would be hurting yourself if you were really eating that little!

    What is your height, current weight, and goal weight?
    Double check that the entries you are using in the database are accurate. Measure portions carefully, and consider using a food scale at least for a couple of weeks to get an idea of what a portion of your common food choices look like.
    The minimum recommended cals for an adult male is 1500. If MFP gave you a 1200 goal there was a glitch.

    If you'd like to make your diary public, we might be able to spot some common logging errors. Logging is a skill that requires practice, and we all had to learn to do it accurately when we started. Good luck!

    Agreed. Minimum for men is usually in the 1500-1600 range, and that's a severe deficit for most men unless you are very short. I'm 6'2" tall and lose weight on anything in the 1800-2000 range without much exercise at all. Remember if it isn't water you log it, and if you didn't weigh it with a scale it probably isn't accurate.
  • gothchiq
    gothchiq Posts: 4,590 Member
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    1200 for a man? unless you are like five foot, that sounds drastically low. Make sure you are weighing your foods so that you get the accurate calorie count. I'm five three, female, and nearly 50, and I feel pretty hungry and deprived eating 1200. :( Which is what I do anyway because of hypothyroidism and other jiggery-pokery of ailments. I would imagine that an accurate 1200 would leave a man ready to fall over and pass out. What the nutritionist told me is to look for database entries that say "USDA" if possible, because user entered ones can be inaccurate, and that may throw your logging off even if you are weighing the food.
  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,565 Member
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    mcash540 wrote: »
    I done it when I first started out. You will lose weight at 1000-1200 calories for awhile but it wrecks your metabolism in the end and you will stall out simply because your body assumes you are starving. Find your BMR then drop it down to a daily 400-500 calorie deficit to start.

    Weight loss doesn't stall from eating that little. And it should be 500 calories off TDEE, not BMR.

    OP, 1500 is the minimum to ensure you're getting adequate nutrition, but you can most likely lose on more calories than that, which will be easier to sustain. Make sure you're logging everything as accurately as possible (if you don't have a food scale, you may want to invest in one to start weighing things on) and if you're still having trouble hitting your goal add in some calorie dense items.
  • Brianhb2
    Brianhb2 Posts: 7 Member
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    Ok thanks and I will buy a kitchen scale

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