1200 calorie allotment
karen_hunter11
Posts: 20 Member
Hello, I've been reading a few different post and articles in these forms on this site trying to understand the losing weight process since I'm having such a hard time. I just read the "1200 Cal Exercise Food Help" forum and got so confused. Per MFP my daily calorie allotment is 1200. I'm 5 4" 189 lbs 56 yr old sedentary female. Reading the information in the above forum it basically mentioned the only person that should be eating such low calories are women that are 5 4" and around 110 lbs. While doing the math from that read my daily calorie allotment should be somewhere between 1815 -2720 to lose weight which is way higher than MFP's recommended 1200 a day. I did lose weight the first two weeks doing the 1200 cal allotment but then I gained 1 lb but I realized I had a few days that I ate under 800 calories so I spent two days making sure I ate at least 1200 and once again I was up on the scale by 1/2 pound. So I'm just really confused what's the accurate amount of calories I should being eating in order to have consistent weight lost of at least 1-2 lbs a week in order to lose 30 lbs. Any thoughts or ideas on this is much appreciated.
1
Replies
-
Are you weighting all foods and ensuring to use appropriate diary entries?
you will have daily fluctuations in weight. heck in a singal day you can fluctuate 1-5 pds. don't let those stress you. pick a time of day and wear clothes weighin about the same (or none) and weight yourself around that same time daily. Note the weight and don't worry about small increase and decrease but rather look at the overall trend over 1-2 week. (and then more).0 -
Thank you Panini911, yes I do all the things you mentioned above. My question in my post is more about the confusion of how many calories I'm really supposed to be consuming because if I'm doing that part wrong that will be a good reason why I'm having issues.0
-
karen_hunter11 wrote: »Hello, I've been reading a few different post and articles in these forms on this site trying to understand the losing weight process since I'm having such a hard time. I just read the "1200 Cal Exercise Food Help" forum and got so confused. Per MFP my daily calorie allotment is 1200. I'm 5 4" 189 lbs 56 yr old sedentary female. Reading the information in the above forum it basically mentioned the only person that should be eating such low calories are women that are 5 4" and around 110 lbs. While doing the math from that read my daily calorie allotment should be somewhere between 1815 -2720 to lose weight which is way higher than MFP's recommended 1200 a day. I did lose weight the first two weeks doing the 1200 cal allotment but then I gained 1 lb but I realized I had a few days that I ate under 800 calories so I spent two days making sure I ate at least 1200 and once again I was up on the scale by 1/2 pound. So I'm just really confused what's the accurate amount of calories I should being eating in order to have consistent weight lost of at least 1-2 lbs a week in order to lose 30 lbs. Any thoughts or ideas on this is much appreciated.
With only 30 pounds to lose your weekly weight loss goal should be a pound a week or less, not 1-2 lbs a week.
Keep it simple and use MFP to get your calories. MFP uses the NEAT formula, which does not factor in exercise in the base calories. You log exercise separately. Other tools use TDEE, and this will give you higher daily calories.
Expect weight loss to be up and down like this:
3 -
karen_hunter11 wrote: »Hello, I've been reading a few different post and articles in these forms on this site trying to understand the losing weight process since I'm having such a hard time. I just read the "1200 Cal Exercise Food Help" forum and got so confused. Per MFP my daily calorie allotment is 1200. I'm 5 4" 189 lbs 56 yr old sedentary female. Reading the information in the above forum it basically mentioned the only person that should be eating such low calories are women that are 5 4" and around 110 lbs. While doing the math from that read my daily calorie allotment should be somewhere between 1815 -2720 to lose weight which is way higher than MFP's recommended 1200 a day. I did lose weight the first two weeks doing the 1200 cal allotment but then I gained 1 lb but I realized I had a few days that I ate under 800 calories so I spent two days making sure I ate at least 1200 and once again I was up on the scale by 1/2 pound. So I'm just really confused what's the accurate amount of calories I should being eating in order to have consistent weight lost of at least 1-2 lbs a week in order to lose 30 lbs. Any thoughts or ideas on this is much appreciated.
With 30 lbs to lose, your goal shouldn't be more than 1 lb per week, more simply isn't realistic.
Also, MFP does not include exercise in your calorie goal, it expects you to log your exercise and eat back at least some of those calories.
Weight loss isn't linear, it's perfectly normal to gain weight from one day to the next or one week to the next sometimes, usually due to water weight. You are looking for the trend over time, not one day to the next.
All any calculator can do is give you a generalized starting point. You need to start somewhere, log accurately and consistently for at least 4-6 weeks, and then start to tweak if necessary based on your results.
As far as that 1815-2700 range, I am 5'4 125lbs and I maintain my weight at 1800 cals. I know full grown men who would gain weight at 2700 calories. That range is way too large to draw any conclusions from, and seems high to me regardless.1 -
karen_hunter11 wrote: »Thank you Panini911, yes I do all the things you mentioned above. My question in my post is more about the confusion of how many calories I'm really supposed to be consuming because if I'm doing that part wrong that will be a good reason why I'm having issues.
enter stats in MFP, select like 1pound/week loss and use that. remembering that if you exercise you are meant to eat those back.
Then try that for 2 weeks and see where things are at. If you are loosing too fast add some cals. If you are not loosing 1 pound per week, double check your logging, ensure you are not over estimated exercise cals. If you are eating above 1200 you can skim it down a bit but don't go under 1200.
at 5'1, 139pds and walking a lot (as I can't run these last few weeks) I lose at 1350-1400 cals a day.2 -
hi karen_hunter11,
first of all let me tell you this is the first time i've ever commented or even looked up community posts. I just opened MFP on my laptop and decided to look at the forums. Your post caught my eye because I am 5'4'' 185 lbs and a 54 year old female. I lost approx 25 lbs last year using MFP food log. My calorie allotment was 1200 cal. With 1200 calories I lost on average 1-2 lbs per week. Of course not every week I stuck to my 1200 calories but it really made me accountable and it is a great tool to use because you can see every calorie you've consumed (that is if you write down all of the food you ate). I believe a 1200 calorie limit is the right amount. Even eating 1200 calories a day the body fluctuates and in my experience if I really stuck to the calorie limit and didn't lose weight that week, the next week or two it eventually came off . As most people know (and we've all been told), its hard for women our age to lose weight but logging it really showed me that it is possible. Eating 1200 calories/day and eating a little more now and then, I averaged approx 1 pound/week.
3 -
judinotjodi wrote: »hi karen_hunter11,
first of all let me tell you this is the first time i've ever commented or even looked up community posts. I just opened MFP on my laptop and decided to look at the forums. Your post caught my eye because I am 5'4'' 185 lbs and a 54 year old female. I lost approx 25 lbs last year using MFP food log. My calorie allotment was 1200 cal. With 1200 calories I lost on average 1-2 lbs per week. Of course not every week I stuck to my 1200 calories but it really made me accountable and it is a great tool to use because you can see every calorie you've consumed (that is if you write down all of the food you ate). I believe a 1200 calorie limit is the right amount. Even eating 1200 calories a day the body fluctuates and in my experience if I really stuck to the calorie limit and didn't lose weight that week, the next week or two it eventually came off . As most people know (and we've all been told), its hard for women our age to lose weight but logging it really showed me that it is possible. Eating 1200 calories/day and eating a little more now and then, I averaged approx 1 pound/week.
I think we just need to stop listening to this (bold part), stop believing it, and stop repeating it because it is false. Women of ANY age CAN and DO lose weight. This is what we need to hear and believe. Yes, I thought this once too, that it was impossible for my body to lose weight and I was too old to make changes at age 59. Once I found the right situation for me (a trainer near home, daily walks, and logging on MFP) I began losing weight and lost every month for 2.5 years, 150 total loss. I am 5'6" and ate around 1700 most of the time. Eventually I just evened out near the high end of my target range and then I called maintenance. Yes, some weeks were up and some down. I weighed daily and tracked in Happy Scale so I could learn my fluctuations and track my trend. I've maintained for 2 years and am in the best fitness shape of my life.18 -
What happen if you can not eat 1200 calories? There are times when I’m a little over or way under . It’s really hard to just hit her 1200 on the dot0
-
If MFP is the tool you have committed to, plug in your stats and do as it says. Eat back exercise. Other tools use other methods, it’s hard to mix and match until you are super dialed in0
-
orientalfreak04 wrote: »What happen if you can not eat 1200 calories? There are times when I’m a little over or way under . It’s really hard to just hit her 1200 on the dot
Try to average at least 1200 calories (net) over time. There are people who eat less during the week to make room for a restaurant meal, or dessert, or whatever on weekends.
1200 calories (before exercise) is a default minimum. Most women can lose weight while eating more. Why would someone want slower weight loss? Slower weight loss helps your body support existing lean muscle mass. Lowering your body fat % (not just the number on the scale) is healthy weight loss.3 -
orientalfreak04 wrote: »What happen if you can not eat 1200 calories? There are times when I’m a little over or way under . It’s really hard to just hit her 1200 on the dot
Nothing important happens if you're a little off your goal every day, or way off your goal on very rare occasions (regardless of whether these a off upwards, or off downwards).
If you persistently or frequently under-eat by a good bit - even if you hit your goal spot on, but the goal is too aggressive - that's an unhealthy thing to do. First, you'll feel a little draggy, then weak, then exhausted, and you may experience hair loss, sallow complexion, brittle fingernails, and loss of muscle alongside fat loss. You could even have various health problems happen. Because of fatigue, your daily-life calorie burn would decrease, and your weight loss would slow (not stop, as long as a calorie deficit remains, but slow down to slower than you expect). Under-eating is a very bad plan.
If you persistently eat above your goal, but you still eat below the calories it would take to maintain your current weight, you'll still lose weight, but more slowly than your goal calories would have you losing.
If you eat above the calories it would take to maintain your current weight, you'll gain weight.
Being a little up or down every day (50 calories or so) is perfectly fine and normal. You can look at your weekly total, and as long as you average your goal calories, you'll be fine.
Don't sweat about being exact.
3 -
I think we just need to stop listening to this (bold part), stop believing it, and stop repeating it because it is false. Women of ANY age CAN and DO lose weight. This is what we need to hear and believe. Yes, I thought this once too, that it was impossible for my body to lose weight and I was too old to make changes at age 59. Once I found the right situation for me (a trainer near home, daily walks, and logging on MFP) I began losing weight and lost every month for 2.5 years, 150 total loss. I am 5'6" and ate around 1700 most of the time. Eventually I just evened out near the high end of my target range and then I called maintenance. Yes, some weeks were up and some down. I weighed daily and tracked in Happy Scale so I could learn my fluctuations and track my trend. I've maintained for 2 years and am in the best fitness shape of my life.
Harder to lose weight after a certain age is NOT false. Its medically proven. And i never said it was impossible. In fact that was my exact point that by logging and tracking it is the best way to see what we eat ever day. So many women say its more difficult than when we were younger. You can say don't repeat it, don't believe it but I want to know the real facts. It was helpful to me to understand why I lost weight twice as fast when I was younger. And how losing 1 pound a week last year added up to significant weight loss with dieting and logging in to MFP.7 -
judinotjodi wrote: »I think we just need to stop listening to this (bold part), stop believing it, and stop repeating it because it is false. Women of ANY age CAN and DO lose weight. This is what we need to hear and believe. Yes, I thought this once too, that it was impossible for my body to lose weight and I was too old to make changes at age 59. Once I found the right situation for me (a trainer near home, daily walks, and logging on MFP) I began losing weight and lost every month for 2.5 years, 150 total loss. I am 5'6" and ate around 1700 most of the time. Eventually I just evened out near the high end of my target range and then I called maintenance. Yes, some weeks were up and some down. I weighed daily and tracked in Happy Scale so I could learn my fluctuations and track my trend. I've maintained for 2 years and am in the best fitness shape of my life.
Harder to lose weight after a certain age is NOT false. Its medically proven. And i never said it was impossible. In fact that was my exact point that by logging and tracking it is the best way to see what we eat ever day. So many women say its more difficult than when we were younger. You can say don't repeat it, don't believe it but I want to know the real facts. It was helpful to me to understand why I lost weight twice as fast when I was younger. And how losing 1 pound a week last year added up to significant weight loss with dieting and logging in to MFP.
It's not a universal. Many women say they lose slower. Some don't. TDEE calculators estimate lower TDEE with age . . . but not much lower (it's on the order of 5 daily calories difference per year of age, at my size; it adds up, but it's still a small fraction of overall calories). There's also scientific research suggesting most of the reason for that calorie decline is reduced daily life activity, and reduced muscle mass, both of which we can influence.
It's important to be realistic, sure . . . but it's also unhelpful to foster a "so hard when old" mindset. Most of my real-life friends have just given up on it, and are sicker, less independent, less able to do fun things, taking more meds, getting sick more often, requiring more surgeries (and recovering from them more slowly) as a consequence.
You absolutely should tell the truth as you see it. But your experience isn't universal.
For the record, I'm 62, and going into year 3 of maintenance after losing around 50 pounds.3 -
I copy and pasted lorrpb but it didnt highlight her comment. Could you tell me how to comment and get another post highlighted. thanks0
-
judinotjodi wrote: »I copy and pasted lorrpb but it didnt highlight her comment. Could you tell me how to comment and get another post highlighted. thanks
Before you type your response, click on "quote" below the post you want to quote, and wait for it to get copied into the reply box (it will have quote tags around it - a q in square brackets, then a /q in square brackets. You can also put those in by typing them).0 -
[judinotjodi wrote: »I copy and pasted lorrpb but it didnt highlight her comment. Could you tell me how to comment and get another post highlighted. thanks
oh i figured it out 3 -
Judinotjodi, thank you. I guess I will just keep sticking to the 1200 calories MFP recommended. And hes it has been much more difficult for me to lose weight at this age versus 10-20 yrs ago, have to much much harder.
Thank you all for your feedback. I'm still a bit confused on what the right amount of calories I should be eating per my original post but I will just keep trying with the 1200 daily calories. I appreciate all your feedback and ideas!3 -
karen_hunter11 wrote: »Judinotjodi, thank you. I guess I will just keep sticking to the 1200 calories MFP recommended. And hes it has been much more difficult for me to lose weight at this age versus 10-20 yrs ago, have to much much harder.
Thank you all for your feedback. I'm still a bit confused on what the right amount of calories I should be eating per my original post but I will just keep trying with the 1200 daily calories. I appreciate all your feedback and ideas!
MFP didn't recommend 1200 calories, it spit out a goal based on the info you entered. If you chose an aggressive weekly goal, you will get an aggressive calorie goal.
Are you exercising at all? Are you logging your exercise?
Regardless, log accurately and consistently for at least 4-6 weeks, don't get hung up on daily fluctuations, and if at that point you are losing faster than 1 lb per week, increase your calorie goal. If you are struggling to stick to 1200 cals, change to 0.5lbs per week. Losing slowly and eventually hitting your goal is better than losing quickly but crashing and burning and possibly gaining it all back.
Read the Most Helpful Posts thread pinned to the top of each forum too, lots of helpful info there.4 -
karen_hunter11 wrote: »Judinotjodi, thank you. I guess I will just keep sticking to the 1200 calories MFP recommended. And hes it has been much more difficult for me to lose weight at this age versus 10-20 yrs ago, have to much much harder.
Thank you all for your feedback. I'm still a bit confused on what the right amount of calories I should be eating per my original post but I will just keep trying with the 1200 daily calories. I appreciate all your feedback and ideas!
I put your stats into MFP and it gave me 1500 calories at one pound a week. As others have said, you should not be trying to, nor expecting to, lose more than that. You should be aiming for .5 to 1 pound per week with only 30 pounds to lose. So change your expectations, weigh your foods, log correctly and you'll get there. You should also expect to see the scale go up and down regularly as, stated above, weight loss is not linear. You have to look at it over time.6 -
I'm no expert or whatever, but if it helps, I too got that I have to eat 1200 calories a day. I'm 5 4" too and currently down to 180 lbs (started with 205 lbs). I have a sedentary life, desk job, long hours,... getting to be more active now. I'm eating around 1300-1400 calories and I'm loosing weight. Not consistently, but I'm getting there. Once I start exercising more, I will increase my calories a bit. Feel free to add me to see my diary, etc.2
-
I agree with the others. Choose a less aggressive goal so that you are eating more. It will not only make the diet more sustainable but also will give you better results as quick weight loss results in more muscle loss and hair loss. Not to mention the brittle nails and the stress it puts on vital organs like your heart.
I am only 4'11 and was given this amount to lose weight at just 1/2 pound a week and there is simply no way I could eat so little. I just walked enough to give me the calories I wanted to be able to enjoy my life and have a treat every now and then. The end result. I am now around 95 pounds and fitter and healthier than I have been for many years. Not bad for a 46-year-old.3 -
karen_hunter11 wrote: »Hello, I've been reading a few different post and articles in these forms on this site trying to understand the losing weight process since I'm having such a hard time. I just read the "1200 Cal Exercise Food Help" forum and got so confused. Per MFP my daily calorie allotment is 1200. I'm 5 4" 189 lbs 56 yr old sedentary female. Reading the information in the above forum it basically mentioned the only person that should be eating such low calories are women that are 5 4" and around 110 lbs. While doing the math from that read my daily calorie allotment should be somewhere between 1815 -2720 to lose weight which is way higher than MFP's recommended 1200 a day. I did lose weight the first two weeks doing the 1200 cal allotment but then I gained 1 lb but I realized I had a few days that I ate under 800 calories so I spent two days making sure I ate at least 1200 and once again I was up on the scale by 1/2 pound. So I'm just really confused what's the accurate amount of calories I should being eating in order to have consistent weight lost of at least 1-2 lbs a week in order to lose 30 lbs. Any thoughts or ideas on this is much appreciated.
With 30 lbs to lose, your goal shouldn't be more than 1 lb per week, more simply isn't realistic.
Also, MFP does not include exercise in your calorie goal, it expects you to log your exercise and eat back at least some of those calories.
Weight loss isn't linear, it's perfectly normal to gain weight from one day to the next or one week to the next sometimes, usually due to water weight. You are looking for the trend over time, not one day to the next.
All any calculator can do is give you a generalized starting point. You need to start somewhere, log accurately and consistently for at least 4-6 weeks, and then start to tweak if necessary based on your results.
As far as that 1815-2700 range, I am 5'4 125lbs and I maintain my weight at 1800 cals. I know full grown men who would gain weight at 2700 calories. That range is way too large to draw any conclusions from, and seems high to me regardless.
This thread is a good example of why advice (and that chart that circulates on MFP) based on want to lose or how much to goal weight are not that helpful. I have no problem with OP's goal, but it will leave her overweight (BMI of 27.3). Frequently we see people's stated goals that would put them right at the borderline between underweight and healthy weight based on BMI.
If OP were the same height but was 149 lbs and wanted to lose 30 lbs to get down to 119 lbs (a BMI of 20.4), would it seem reasonable to say that the same rate of weight loss would be advisable as someone wanting to lose 30 lbs but starting out 40 lbs heavier? What about someone who was severely obese at 5'4" and 219 lbs, and just wanted to get down to 189, moderately obese, because a healthy weight seems like an impossible goal and the last time they were 189 they could at least go about their daily activities without being out of breath. The same rate of loss is not appropriate for all three, even though the number of pounds they want to lose is the same.
I think it would be much better if the advice (and the chart) were based on "how far you are above [the top-point/mid-point/bottom-point] of a healthy weight," so it wouldn't depend on the varying desires of the OPs.
1 -
Kami3006, thank you. Not sure why we both got different numbers putting in my stats unless it had something to do with the fact that I said I wanted to lose 1-2 lbs a week. Not even sure how to change it.
I'm trying to lose weight consistently, not to continue going up and down. I've been doing the up and down with the same pounds this whole year thus far so enough is enough. Prior to starting with MFP about 4 weeks ago I've been doing Weight Watchers for the last 2 1/2 yrs. I lost 60 lbs by just following their point system and exercising quite a bit but then I got injured so my exercise ceased and I started gaining weight back 18 lbs to be exact. 😔
I'm still not able to exercise as much as I was before but I do get some swimming in.
I just can't seem to find the right amount of calorie intake to continue with my weight loss inspite of not exercising every day which is why I decided to give MFP a try. I haven't quit weight watchers I'm basically watching my points and counting calories with more emphasis on the calories at the moment.
I'm just trying something different to see if I can get my weight moving in the right direction again. If I don't start to lose weight on a consistent basis again this whole losing weight thing is gonna cause me to end up in a crazy house. Nothing more annoying with doing your best to do everything right and not seeing the results. I have changed my diet so much and watch my portion sizes and weigh and measure my foods..all of which gets on my nerves to have to do but I do it to get results. I'm gonna give this a few more weeks and then just say forget it if I still don't lose weight. Spending the last 12 months trying to get back to losing weight and not seeing much results is taking it's toll on my mindset!
0 -
lynn_glenmont wrote: »karen_hunter11 wrote: »Hello, I've been reading a few different post and articles in these forms on this site trying to understand the losing weight process since I'm having such a hard time. I just read the "1200 Cal Exercise Food Help" forum and got so confused. Per MFP my daily calorie allotment is 1200. I'm 5 4" 189 lbs 56 yr old sedentary female. Reading the information in the above forum it basically mentioned the only person that should be eating such low calories are women that are 5 4" and around 110 lbs. While doing the math from that read my daily calorie allotment should be somewhere between 1815 -2720 to lose weight which is way higher than MFP's recommended 1200 a day. I did lose weight the first two weeks doing the 1200 cal allotment but then I gained 1 lb but I realized I had a few days that I ate under 800 calories so I spent two days making sure I ate at least 1200 and once again I was up on the scale by 1/2 pound. So I'm just really confused what's the accurate amount of calories I should being eating in order to have consistent weight lost of at least 1-2 lbs a week in order to lose 30 lbs. Any thoughts or ideas on this is much appreciated.
With 30 lbs to lose, your goal shouldn't be more than 1 lb per week, more simply isn't realistic.
Also, MFP does not include exercise in your calorie goal, it expects you to log your exercise and eat back at least some of those calories.
Weight loss isn't linear, it's perfectly normal to gain weight from one day to the next or one week to the next sometimes, usually due to water weight. You are looking for the trend over time, not one day to the next.
All any calculator can do is give you a generalized starting point. You need to start somewhere, log accurately and consistently for at least 4-6 weeks, and then start to tweak if necessary based on your results.
As far as that 1815-2700 range, I am 5'4 125lbs and I maintain my weight at 1800 cals. I know full grown men who would gain weight at 2700 calories. That range is way too large to draw any conclusions from, and seems high to me regardless.
This thread is a good example of why advice (and that chart that circulates on MFP) based on want to lose or how much to goal weight are not that helpful. I have no problem with OP's goal, but it will leave her overweight (BMI of 27.3). Frequently we see people's stated goals that would put them right at the borderline between underweight and healthy weight based on BMI.
If OP were the same height but was 149 lbs and wanted to lose 30 lbs to get down to 119 lbs (a BMI of 20.4), would it seem reasonable to say that the same rate of weight loss would be advisable as someone wanting to lose 30 lbs but starting out 40 lbs heavier? What about someone who was severely obese at 5'4" and 219 lbs, and just wanted to get down to 189, moderately obese, because a healthy weight seems like an impossible goal and the last time they were 189 they could at least go about their daily activities without being out of breath. The same rate of loss is not appropriate for all three, even though the number of pounds they want to lose is the same.
I think it would be much better if the advice (and the chart) were based on "how far you are above [the top-point/mid-point/bottom-point] of a healthy weight," so it wouldn't depend on the varying desires of the OPs.
I think it IS based on how far you are above a healthy weight. I did focus incorrectly on how many lbs she wanted to lose, and not on how many lbs she needs to lose to get in the healthy weight range. I missed her current weight. But if 2 lbs per week limits her to 1200 calories, I still think it's not realistic.4 -
lynn_glenmont wrote: »karen_hunter11 wrote: »Hello, I've been reading a few different post and articles in these forms on this site trying to understand the losing weight process since I'm having such a hard time. I just read the "1200 Cal Exercise Food Help" forum and got so confused. Per MFP my daily calorie allotment is 1200. I'm 5 4" 189 lbs 56 yr old sedentary female. Reading the information in the above forum it basically mentioned the only person that should be eating such low calories are women that are 5 4" and around 110 lbs. While doing the math from that read my daily calorie allotment should be somewhere between 1815 -2720 to lose weight which is way higher than MFP's recommended 1200 a day. I did lose weight the first two weeks doing the 1200 cal allotment but then I gained 1 lb but I realized I had a few days that I ate under 800 calories so I spent two days making sure I ate at least 1200 and once again I was up on the scale by 1/2 pound. So I'm just really confused what's the accurate amount of calories I should being eating in order to have consistent weight lost of at least 1-2 lbs a week in order to lose 30 lbs. Any thoughts or ideas on this is much appreciated.
With 30 lbs to lose, your goal shouldn't be more than 1 lb per week, more simply isn't realistic.
Also, MFP does not include exercise in your calorie goal, it expects you to log your exercise and eat back at least some of those calories.
Weight loss isn't linear, it's perfectly normal to gain weight from one day to the next or one week to the next sometimes, usually due to water weight. You are looking for the trend over time, not one day to the next.
All any calculator can do is give you a generalized starting point. You need to start somewhere, log accurately and consistently for at least 4-6 weeks, and then start to tweak if necessary based on your results.
As far as that 1815-2700 range, I am 5'4 125lbs and I maintain my weight at 1800 cals. I know full grown men who would gain weight at 2700 calories. That range is way too large to draw any conclusions from, and seems high to me regardless.
This thread is a good example of why advice (and that chart that circulates on MFP) based on want to lose or how much to goal weight are not that helpful. I have no problem with OP's goal, but it will leave her overweight (BMI of 27.3). Frequently we see people's stated goals that would put them right at the borderline between underweight and healthy weight based on BMI.
If OP were the same height but was 149 lbs and wanted to lose 30 lbs to get down to 119 lbs (a BMI of 20.4), would it seem reasonable to say that the same rate of weight loss would be advisable as someone wanting to lose 30 lbs but starting out 40 lbs heavier? What about someone who was severely obese at 5'4" and 219 lbs, and just wanted to get down to 189, moderately obese, because a healthy weight seems like an impossible goal and the last time they were 189 they could at least go about their daily activities without being out of breath. The same rate of loss is not appropriate for all three, even though the number of pounds they want to lose is the same.
I think it would be much better if the advice (and the chart) were based on "how far you are above [the top-point/mid-point/bottom-point] of a healthy weight," so it wouldn't depend on the varying desires of the OPs.
I think it IS based on how far you are above a healthy weight. I did focus incorrectly on how many lbs she wanted to lose, and not on how many lbs she needs to lose to get in the healthy weight range. I missed her current weight. But if 2 lbs per week limits her to 1200 calories, I still think it's not realistic.
Healthy rate of loss isn't only about how fast you can lose without doing damage to your body, but how well you can mentally handle it. OP may be able to physically handle losing two pounds per week but if she is mentally having a hard time sticking to 1200 calories, she may be better off with 1450 calories and aiming for 1.5 pounds per week.
"Yeah, yeah, but your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could that they didn't stop to think if they should."
-Ian Malcolm1 -
lynn_glenmont wrote: »karen_hunter11 wrote: »Hello, I've been reading a few different post and articles in these forms on this site trying to understand the losing weight process since I'm having such a hard time. I just read the "1200 Cal Exercise Food Help" forum and got so confused. Per MFP my daily calorie allotment is 1200. I'm 5 4" 189 lbs 56 yr old sedentary female. Reading the information in the above forum it basically mentioned the only person that should be eating such low calories are women that are 5 4" and around 110 lbs. While doing the math from that read my daily calorie allotment should be somewhere between 1815 -2720 to lose weight which is way higher than MFP's recommended 1200 a day. I did lose weight the first two weeks doing the 1200 cal allotment but then I gained 1 lb but I realized I had a few days that I ate under 800 calories so I spent two days making sure I ate at least 1200 and once again I was up on the scale by 1/2 pound. So I'm just really confused what's the accurate amount of calories I should being eating in order to have consistent weight lost of at least 1-2 lbs a week in order to lose 30 lbs. Any thoughts or ideas on this is much appreciated.
With 30 lbs to lose, your goal shouldn't be more than 1 lb per week, more simply isn't realistic.
Also, MFP does not include exercise in your calorie goal, it expects you to log your exercise and eat back at least some of those calories.
Weight loss isn't linear, it's perfectly normal to gain weight from one day to the next or one week to the next sometimes, usually due to water weight. You are looking for the trend over time, not one day to the next.
All any calculator can do is give you a generalized starting point. You need to start somewhere, log accurately and consistently for at least 4-6 weeks, and then start to tweak if necessary based on your results.
As far as that 1815-2700 range, I am 5'4 125lbs and I maintain my weight at 1800 cals. I know full grown men who would gain weight at 2700 calories. That range is way too large to draw any conclusions from, and seems high to me regardless.
This thread is a good example of why advice (and that chart that circulates on MFP) based on want to lose or how much to goal weight are not that helpful. I have no problem with OP's goal, but it will leave her overweight (BMI of 27.3). Frequently we see people's stated goals that would put them right at the borderline between underweight and healthy weight based on BMI.
If OP were the same height but was 149 lbs and wanted to lose 30 lbs to get down to 119 lbs (a BMI of 20.4), would it seem reasonable to say that the same rate of weight loss would be advisable as someone wanting to lose 30 lbs but starting out 40 lbs heavier? What about someone who was severely obese at 5'4" and 219 lbs, and just wanted to get down to 189, moderately obese, because a healthy weight seems like an impossible goal and the last time they were 189 they could at least go about their daily activities without being out of breath. The same rate of loss is not appropriate for all three, even though the number of pounds they want to lose is the same.
I think it would be much better if the advice (and the chart) were based on "how far you are above [the top-point/mid-point/bottom-point] of a healthy weight," so it wouldn't depend on the varying desires of the OPs.
I think it IS based on how far you are above a healthy weight. I did focus incorrectly on how many lbs she wanted to lose, and not on how many lbs she needs to lose to get in the healthy weight range. I missed her current weight. But if 2 lbs per week limits her to 1200 calories, I still think it's not realistic.
I think a lot of people don't use that chart/formula as though it is based on how far you are above a healthy weight, and the versions of the chart that I have seen don't reference distance to a healthy weight, so far as I recall. But I agree with you that if her calorie needs are such that a 1,000 calorie deficit would mean a daily goal of 1200 calories (or less, because MFP won't show the real number), it's probably not realistic for her to adopt that goal.1 -
karen_hunter11 wrote: »Kami3006, thank you. Not sure why we both got different numbers putting in my stats unless it had something to do with the fact that I said I wanted to lose 1-2 lbs a week. Not even sure how to change it.
I'm trying to lose weight consistently, not to continue going up and down. I've been doing the up and down with the same pounds this whole year thus far so enough is enough. Prior to starting with MFP about 4 weeks ago I've been doing Weight Watchers for the last 2 1/2 yrs. I lost 60 lbs by just following their point system and exercising quite a bit but then I got injured so my exercise ceased and I started gaining weight back 18 lbs to be exact. 😔
I'm still not able to exercise as much as I was before but I do get some swimming in.
I just can't seem to find the right amount of calorie intake to continue with my weight loss inspite of not exercising every day which is why I decided to give MFP a try. I haven't quit weight watchers I'm basically watching my points and counting calories with more emphasis on the calories at the moment.
I'm just trying something different to see if I can get my weight moving in the right direction again. If I don't start to lose weight on a consistent basis again this whole losing weight thing is gonna cause me to end up in a crazy house. Nothing more annoying with doing your best to do everything right and not seeing the results. I have changed my diet so much and watch my portion sizes and weigh and measure my foods..all of which gets on my nerves to have to do but I do it to get results. I'm gonna give this a few more weeks and then just say forget it if I still don't lose weight. Spending the last 12 months trying to get back to losing weight and not seeing much results is taking it's toll on my mindset!
1. You set your weekly weight loss goal here: https://www.myfitnesspal.com/account/change_goals_guided
2. Your weight will go up and down. This is normal. It's the overall downward trend that is important. This is what weight loss looks like:
2 -
Thank you, I updated my info so I'll see what happens this week. 😊1
Categories
- All Categories
- 1.4M Health, Wellness and Goals
- 393.3K Introduce Yourself
- 43.8K Getting Started
- 260.2K Health and Weight Loss
- 175.9K Food and Nutrition
- 47.4K Recipes
- 232.5K Fitness and Exercise
- 424 Sleep, Mindfulness and Overall Wellness
- 6.5K Goal: Maintaining Weight
- 8.5K Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
- 153K Motivation and Support
- 8K Challenges
- 1.3K Debate Club
- 96.3K Chit-Chat
- 2.5K Fun and Games
- 3.7K MyFitnessPal Information
- 24 News and Announcements
- 1.1K Feature Suggestions and Ideas
- 2.6K MyFitnessPal Tech Support Questions