Minimum # of calories each day??

The way MFP works is that your daily calorie goal is before exercise. So if you are not an exerciser, you would aim for the 1400 each day. If you do exercise, MFP wants you to eat back your exercise calories. I generally would aim to eat back about 50% of the calories, because I found the calorie estimates for exercise to be way too high.

The best way to find your best calorie goal is track your intake for about a month and your weight loss, since MFP's calorie goal is just an estimate. You'll able to figure out how much flexibility you have with calories to still hit your weekly weight loss goal. I recommend giving it at least a month because you will likely see a big loss the first week (water weight), and weight loss is not linear. One week it might be 1.5 lbs per week, another week you barely hit 1 lb of loss, but over time you'll notice a trend and an average emerging.

I think the key is that everyone is different. "Starvation mode" can exist but it depends on the person. Of course you have likely heard that the key to losing weight and keeping it off is lifestyle changes. Clearly those of us that have weight issues usually get to the point of "dieting" because we move less and eat more.

If you are concerned about "starvation mode"... don't. As long as you spread your 1400 calories out through the day, your body won't go into starvation mode.

If you do enough reading you will find that Doctors and Health experts will all agree, fad diets or program diets like WW, JC, SF, Atkins etc. will likely help you lose weight but in the long term you will gain all or some of it back. Why? because your falling back into old habits.

The key to losing weight and keeping it off is lifestyle change over a long period of time. Weight loss should never be considered a short term thing because look how long it took to become overweight in the first place!

MFP can only help you if you are honest about your entries. Personally I find that creating my own foods (My Foods) is the most accurate I can be because I am getting the Nutrition info directly from the label on the package. In terms of whole foods like fruit, vegetables, nuts, seeds, meat/fish etc from whfoods.org. This way I know my consumption is accurate as long as I enter the correct portions.

Adding exercise is a little more complicated as there is no hard and fast rule regarding calories burned per hour because everyone is different. Do some research when entering exercise in MFP so that you can get as accurate a reading as possible because some exercises listed in the database over rate the amount of calories burned eg. walking at a moderatae pace burns 300 calories per hour yet some entries in the database say 400 or 250...you get the idea.

Just remember like a home weigh scale, the numbers can sometimes lie! Nothing in MFP is 100% except you!

TavistockToad wrote: »

Starvation mode isn't a thing

^^^ This. ^^^

VVV NOT this. VVV

Dilvish wrote: »

"Starvation mode" can exist but it depends on the person.

While weight loss is not linear, and what may work for one person will not work for another with regards to creating a calorie deficit, essentially weight loss is no different for one person than for another, it's an equation: Calories in < calories out = weight loss OR Calories in > calories out = weight gain.

Short yourself on calories and you run a risk of shorting yourself on essential vitamins and nutrients and that can absolutely take it's toll on your body in a very real and risky way over time. It's every bit as dangerous as remaining overweight or obese.

Weigh your food, log your food, eat your food, stick to your calories and you'll be fine. Good luck.

lowcarbmale wrote: »

hippysprout wrote: »

Calories in < calories out = weight loss OR Calories in > calories out = weight gain.

Correct. Calories out is not a constant though. If you eat less of the foods that your body needs to maintain its functions it will try to conserve energy and will eventually try to burn less calories. Have you ever heard of people being cold or tired on a diet? If the body kept up the same rate of metabolism you would not feel cold. Use the search for tired or cold - there are literally thousands of results with people having that exact problem.

You would believe it when myfitnesspal.com writes it right?
https://blog.myfitnesspal.com/ask-dietitian-whats-deal-starvation-mode/

One can certainly eat too little, so become fatigued and undernourished, slow down, rest more, move less, thus burn fewer calories in daily life and sap intensity out of workouts, thus lowering TDEE, and losing more slowly than expected at a particular calorie level.

Often, people here who mention "starvation mode" mean that they're worried that if they eat too little, they'll stop losing weight altogether. If that were really routinely possible, no one would ever starve to death, and sadly many people do starve to death worldwide every day.

Undereating is a bad plan. Fatigue/slowdown is only one reason. The optimum calorie intake for weight loss is not the minimum calorie intake that a particular person can tough out, for many reasons.

(And no, I wouldn't believe something just because it was written in the MFP blogs. There's a mix of solid info, and complete click-bait nonsense in the MFP blogs. This particular article is fine, but it doesn't include the "too low calories so no weight loss" possible definition of "starvation mode" . . . and yes, I've literally seen people here spell out that they believed it was possible to eat so little they'd stop losing weight, and call that "starvation mode", where your body adds fat even though you're in a calorie deficit. SMH.)