To beat a dead horse to death...

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shanlynt
shanlynt Posts: 754 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
So, I'm 5'3.5", 210lbs. According to FitPal, I should be at a daily calorie intake of 1200 to lose 1.5 lbs per week. To me and my hubby this seems really low. He thinks I should consume 1500. What do you all think?
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Replies

  • mikesnwgirl
    mikesnwgirl Posts: 112
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    I started about that weight, and MFP put me at 1450 per day. I still only ate aroung 1200-1300. That does seem really low. Maybe you entered something incorrectly. Make sure your weight age and sex is correct. I hope this helps.
  • mowu
    mowu Posts: 245 Member
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    When in doubt trust hubbie.....I think 1500 will do you just great
  • bmmarti3
    bmmarti3 Posts: 53 Member
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    Work out 300 calories a day and eat 1500. Then you're all set.
  • JeSuisPrest
    JeSuisPrest Posts: 2,005 Member
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    Yes....listen to your husband. I was eating 1200 calories for a month and lost nothing. Last week I raised my calories and starting eating half my excercise calories and as of this morning I have lost two pounds!
  • dipsl19
    dipsl19 Posts: 317 Member
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    Work out 300 calories a day and eat 1500. Then you're all set.

    EXACTLY. thats what MFP wants you to do :) workout and eat the calories, or at least some of them. you have to move your body to lose weight and tone!
  • vettle
    vettle Posts: 621 Member
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    Some of these sites don't take into consideration actual health. They just give you a number from what you've entered. So yes, in a perfect world based on bodies that are purely scientific this would work. But you need to eat more. Ideally, above your BMR and below your maintenance. and eat back all your exercise calories. You need to lose weight slowly not drastically or it'll never stay off, you will plateau and be very frustrated, and your body will slow down.
  • LorinaLynn
    LorinaLynn Posts: 13,247 Member
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    Make sure you're activity level is set correctly, too.

    I don't think many people are truly sedentary, even if they have a desk job. If you're chasing, carrying and keeping up with that adorable little boy in your arms, I'd say you're at minimum lightly active. :wink:
  • PalmettoparkGuy
    PalmettoparkGuy Posts: 212 Member
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    Poor horse.
  • porffor
    porffor Posts: 1,212 Member
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    Above advice sounds well.. sound! lol
    I'm the same height and have only this year (derrr to me) figured out that the 2000 'average' doesn't apply to someone of my height.. and I wonder why I have struggled to actually eat real food and not gain weight!

    I am eating around 1200 a day and exercising.. I'm not eating my exercise calories with the exception of things like treat night and a meal out with friends we haven't seen for 4 years. This is not frequent and not a totaly blow out. So the weight is moving.

    See how you 'feel' on 1200 or as said above, eat more but exercise. If you start to plateau though then you know what you've got to do. :)

    The goal tool is really good I think for 'seeing' what you have available to eat to get to a weight loss amount. :)

    keep up the great work!
  • Qarol
    Qarol Posts: 6,171 Member
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    Aiming for 1.5 lbs a week is ambitious. That's a 750 daily calorie deficit. And I've read that jumping into such a huge deficit can be detrimental. While I would LOVE to lose at that pace, my body just won't do it. Maybe try losing only 1 lb a week for a while and ease into a bigger deficit, if you must.
  • yente
    yente Posts: 5
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    I have started out at 1500 calories per day and not counting my exercise out calories. So I am really using them but eating 1500 so technically have less calories. I have lost 2 lbs in the each of the last two weeks. I will decrease my calorie intake by 100 calories each 2 weeks until I get to 1200 calories then I will start to phase out some carbs. DO NOT go below 1200 calories as you will go into starvation mode and NOT loose weight.
  • ladyhawk00
    ladyhawk00 Posts: 2,457 Member
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    Smaller women often have trouble finding a moderate deficit for weight loss. As Lorinna said, make sure your activity level is accurate for you and that you're logging activty/exercise appropriately, this thread may help:

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/291071-activity-level-and-logging-exercise

    And aside from that, the point is that you need to find what is sustainable for you. Losing weight won't be painless, but there shouldn't be a constant feeling of deprivation. So if right now, 1200 feels too low, try lowering your loss per week goal to 1 lb and that will give you a higher cal goal. Trying to drastically reduce your intake all of a sudden usually doesn't go very well psychologically. So you may want to start out more moderate, to help you ease into the routine.

    Also, to help stay within cal goals, make sure what you're eating is nutrient dense foods, without too many empty cals. Focus on protein and healthy fats, with some complex carbs.
  • sleepytexan
    sleepytexan Posts: 3,138 Member
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    It's low. You probably put your weekly weight loss at 2 lbs/wk, right? If you adjust it to 1 lb/week that it would be 500 more cals/day.

    blessings.
  • HisBeloved65
    HisBeloved65 Posts: 186
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    So, I'm 5'3.5", 210lbs. According to FitPal, I should be at a daily calorie intake of 1200 to lose 1.5 lbs per week. To me and my hubby this seems really low. He thinks I should consume 1500. What do you all think?

    When I started I was 206 and I am 5 3. I have been at 1200 calories as well. I bumped it up to 1300 but still am usually under. I am losing a lb a week with is satisfactory to me. I think if you follow the 1200 calorie plan but if you work out and get more calories added and you are hungry, eat! Thats what I do. I looked on another website and it said I should consume between 1400-1500 calories but I am struggling just to eat 1200 so it is working for me.
  • shanlynt
    shanlynt Posts: 754 Member
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    Thank you for all the advice everyone. This site is great :)
  • MissingMinnesota
    MissingMinnesota Posts: 7,486 Member
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    So, I'm 5'3.5", 210lbs. According to FitPal, I should be at a daily calorie intake of 1200 to lose 1.5 lbs per week. To me and my hubby this seems really low. He thinks I should consume 1500. What do you all think?

    I am 5'5 and when I was around 210 I think myfitnesspal had me eating around 1450 + excercise calories per day to lose 2lbs a week.
  • HisBeloved65
    HisBeloved65 Posts: 186
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    Thank you for all the advice everyone. This site is great :)

    after reading and replying to your post I decided to change my settings. I am losing 1 lb a week so I changed my goals. Now it has me set at 1470. I will nont consume that much but I think its a healthier limit. We will see how it goes. I am working out 6 days a week and I think maybe I am not eating enough. Its all such an experiment :-) Good luck to you in your journey!
  • tigersword
    tigersword Posts: 8,059 Member
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    deadhorse.gif

    I'll just leave this here...

    It's a trial process. MFP can estimate calories for a goal, but it's just an estimate. Everything you will ever do toward figuring out a calorie limit, and how many calories you eat, how many calories you burn, the best anyone can do without being trapped in a calorimeter 24/7 is estimate. So start a little higher, and see how it goes. Or start with MFP's suggestion, and see how it goes. Then adjust. When I started here I was 240 pounds (male) and MFP gave me calorie limit of about 1490 or so. Since then I've bumped it up to around 1900 (plus exercise) and I'm maintaining an average of about 1.5 to 2 pounds of weight loss a week (and dropped 5 inches and 5% body fat in the past month.) So, it's all a guessing game. Just keep your eye on it, and make changes as needed.
  • MrsCon40
    MrsCon40 Posts: 2,351 Member
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    Work out 300 calories a day and eat 1500. Then you're all set.

    EXACTLY. thats what MFP wants you to do :) workout and eat the calories, or at least some of them. you have to move your body to lose weight and tone!

    ^^This :bigsmile:
  • bobbybdoe
    bobbybdoe Posts: 472 Member
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    beatingadeadhorse.gif

    Pic semi-related.

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