eating 1200-1300 calories...

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HisBeloved65
HisBeloved65 Posts: 186
in Health and Weight Loss
each day. I am steadily inceasing my activity level and work out time. Has gone from burning 200 calories to around 500. I struggle so much to understand BMR/calorie deficit etc...is what I am doing good? will it get me where I want to be? I am ok with losing 1 lb a week but I want to be sure this is enough. any help?
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  • GreenGettingLean
    GreenGettingLean Posts: 252 Member
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    Your BMR is your basal metabolic rate, or what you burn everyday just doing essential bodily functions. This is what you would burn if you laid in bed in a coma all day, and as a general rule, you should not eat less than this number. MFP may still set you at less than this number, if it does, I would recommend manually changing your goals to at least equal your BMR.

    As far as the calorie deficit question, MFP builds in a calorie deficit to your daily total, meaning that if you stay near your stated calorie goal, you generally should lose weight regardless of exercise. However, should you choose to exercise, you should "eat back" at least some of these calories. If you do not, you may run too high of a calorie deficit and your body will fight losing weight. This is especially true as your get closer to your goal weight.

    All of that being said, eating 1200-1300 NET calories should be fine for you right now, especially if you've just started your weight loss journey. But don't be surprised if you eventually plateau and need to up your calorie intake - this is normal.


    All of the above is what has worked for me personally. Good luck!
  • HisBeloved65
    HisBeloved65 Posts: 186
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    Thank you. I appreciate the reply. I just upped my calories to 1470 (my BMR is 1561) I struggle a lot to consume 1200 so I think 1470 is more reasonable at this time. I have been stalled on the weight loss for a couple weeks now and I wonder if it is the working out and perhaps building muscle. I have lost 12.5 inches in 3 months but just over 19 lbs so...that being said- I think I am doing ok. I didnt even start out with fast weight loss, its been steady 1 lb a week for most of this time.
  • nosugarcoating
    nosugarcoating Posts: 194 Member
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    It may also be that you are not eating enough. Believe it or not, when you don't eat enough, your body can stop losing weight. If you start eating more, you will probably start losing more quickly again.

    Are you eating back any of your exercise calories? If you exercise as much as you say, you probably should.

    My goal is 1630 a day and I have no problem eating that much.
  • bhagavatilad1
    bhagavatilad1 Posts: 277
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    All I know is that after entering food and exercise into MFP you should be netting around 500 on your net calories on your home page and I think I'm losing 1.5lb a week. This is from what I've read/heard on this site and its working you'll notice it goes up if you eat more than some of your exercise calories.
  • Crystalchaos72
    Crystalchaos72 Posts: 531
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    All I know is that after entering food and exercise into MFP you should be netting around 500 on your net calories on your home page and I think I'm losing 1.5lb a week. This is from what I've read/heard on this site and its working you'll notice it goes up if you eat more than some of your exercise calories.

    I am sorry but netting 500 is underfeeding.......not a good idea. If you are set to reach 1200 NET, that is what is recommended. Or 2000 NET......depends on situation. When you exercise your body needs to be refueled.
  • nosugarcoating
    nosugarcoating Posts: 194 Member
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    All I know is that after entering food and exercise into MFP you should be netting around 500 on your net calories on your home page and I think I'm losing 1.5lb a week. This is from what I've read/heard on this site and its working you'll notice it goes up if you eat more than some of your exercise calories.
    No, you shouldn't. You should be netting 500 calories under your total metabolic rate in order to lose a pound a week, not netting a total of 500. You may be losing weight like this for a few weeks but you are wrecking your metabolism and putting your body in starvation mode in the long run.
  • HisBeloved65
    HisBeloved65 Posts: 186
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    what kinds of things to you eat all day to get the calaries in? I am so struggling just to eat 12-1400 calories. I am not hungry (very rarely hungry)
    I eat a lot of salad, chicken, fruits and veggies. Very little fat. Low on carbs, mediocre on protein.
    I just dont know how to eat more without making bad food choices. I also have trouble eating the exercise calories back (any of them) because I dont work out until I come home at the end of long work day. I struggle because that would mean to eat late in the evening and I dont want to do that...hmmm I need to think on this. I am using an HRM so I know my calorie burn is accurate.

    I appreciate your time and response.
  • navyw1fe
    navyw1fe Posts: 313 Member
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    All I know is that after entering food and exercise into MFP you should be netting around 500 on your net calories on your home page and I think I'm losing 1.5lb a week. This is from what I've read/heard on this site and its working you'll notice it goes up if you eat more than some of your exercise calories.

    I am sorry but netting 500 is underfeeding.......not a good idea. If you are set to reach 1200 NET, that is what is recommended. Or 2000 NET......depends on situation. When you exercise your body needs to be refueled.

    I AGREE!! your NET on homepage shouldnt go under 1200 after food/exercise for the day! if it does over a period of time your body goes into(starvation) mode and hangs onto everything little thing that you put into your body! my NET is around 1300 everyday for losing 1lb week..im currently 147lbs and hope to be 140 by Oct!
  • nosugarcoating
    nosugarcoating Posts: 194 Member
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    what kinds of things to you eat all day to get the calaries in? I am so struggling just to eat 12-1400 calories. I am not hungry (very rarely hungry)
    I eat a lot of salad, chicken, fruits and veggies. Very little fat. Low on carbs, mediocre on protein.
    I just dont know how to eat more without making bad food choices. I also have trouble eating the exercise calories back (any of them) because I dont work out until I come home at the end of long work day. I struggle because that would mean to eat late in the evening and I dont want to do that...hmmm I need to think on this. I am using an HRM so I know my calorie burn is accurate.

    I appreciate your time and response.
    I sometimes eat my exercise calories before I burn them. It hardly matters whether you exercise first and eat afterward or the other way around. But obviously, you probably want to make sure not to skip any workouts then.

    What I eat? I eat lots of fruit and veggies too. I also try to have one meal a day that has more carbs, one that has more protein. Why don't you eat more carbs and protein? They are not bad. There are so many things you can eat that are good choices:
    meat, fish, eggs, legumes and beans for protein
    wholemeal pasta, bread, rice and potatoes for carbs - just stay away from refined carbs, they are the bad ones, but not all carbs in general
  • Crystalchaos72
    Crystalchaos72 Posts: 531
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    Nuts are calorie dense and nut butters, peanut butter, almond butter. String cheese,......maybe an occasional sweet treat......I have a state of mind unfortunately that says "do what you have to to meet your daily goals".....yep peanut butter easter eggs are my weakness, but it gets the job done and it hasn't been for a while (I used to have 2 every day and it never hindered my sucess) planning is key. Try to plan your meals in advance, so if you know you are going to exercise, eat a little more to get that big red number.......than do your workout.....then see where you are at.
  • Crystalchaos72
    Crystalchaos72 Posts: 531
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    I also want to add that my caloric goals are 2200-2700.......without exercise.......
  • HisBeloved65
    HisBeloved65 Posts: 186
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    what kinds of things to you eat all day to get the calaries in? I am so struggling just to eat 12-1400 calories. I am not hungry (very rarely hungry)
    I eat a lot of salad, chicken, fruits and veggies. Very little fat. Low on carbs, mediocre on protein.
    I just dont know how to eat more without making bad food choices. I also have trouble eating the exercise calories back (any of them) because I dont work out until I come home at the end of long work day. I struggle because that would mean to eat late in the evening and I dont want to do that...hmmm I need to think on this. I am using an HRM so I know my calorie burn is accurate.

    I appreciate your time and response.
    I sometimes eat my exercise calories before I burn them. It hardly matters whether you exercise first and eat afterward or the other way around. But obviously, you probably want to make sure not to skip any workouts then.

    What I eat? I eat lots of fruit and veggies too. I also try to have one meal a day that has more carbs, one that has more protein. Why don't you eat more carbs and protein? They are not bad. There are so many things you can eat that are good choices:
    meat, fish, eggs, legumes and beans for protein
    wholemeal pasta, bread, rice and potatoes for carbs - just stay away from refined carbs, they are the bad, but not all carbs in general

    I am still learning about the good carb stuff. Its not really that I avoid it, I just am trying to figure out the best choices for my body. I will work on adding some of the things you have listed. Thank you! I havent eaten unhealthy all my life, its a bit of a learning curve to think differently and finding a place in the middle without extremes :-)
    what are considered refined carbs?
  • nosugarcoating
    nosugarcoating Posts: 194 Member
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    This article explains it pretty well: http://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/features/carbohydrates


    Also, please do make sure to eat some good fats as well. Good fats can for example be found in walnuts and other nuts, and oils such as EVOO. Avocado is also high in good fats.
    Bad fats are monosaturated fats (check the nutrition labels of the food you buy) and fats that originate in animals (i.e. meat, dairy).
  • HisBeloved65
    HisBeloved65 Posts: 186
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    Nuts are calorie dense and nut butters, peanut butter, almond butter. String cheese,......maybe an occasional sweet treat......I have a state of mind unfortunately that says "do what you have to to meet your daily goals".....yep peanut butter easter eggs are my weakness, but it gets the job done and it hasn't been for a while (I used to have 2 every day and it never hindered my sucess) planning is key. Try to plan your meals in advance, so if you know you are going to exercise, eat a little more to get that big red number.......than do your workout.....then see where you are at.

    I plan my whole eating day in the morning and dont stray from what I have chosen. I hadnt thought about eating the exercise calories back during the day before I work out. I dont stray from the workouts either so I think that might be a good way for me to up my calories. I will try this. Thank you.
  • Crystalchaos72
    Crystalchaos72 Posts: 531
    Options
    Nuts are calorie dense and nut butters, peanut butter, almond butter. String cheese,......maybe an occasional sweet treat......I have a state of mind unfortunately that says "do what you have to to meet your daily goals".....yep peanut butter easter eggs are my weakness, but it gets the job done and it hasn't been for a while (I used to have 2 every day and it never hindered my sucess) planning is key. Try to plan your meals in advance, so if you know you are going to exercise, eat a little more to get that big red number.......than do your workout.....then see where you are at.

    I plan my whole eating day in the morning and dont stray from what I have chosen. I hadnt thought about eating the exercise calories back during the day before I work out. I dont stray from the workouts either so I think that might be a good way for me to up my calories. I will try this. Thank you.

    Awesome! And you are welcome. Keep up the good work :)
  • brantsmom1
    brantsmom1 Posts: 10 Member
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    Whooo. Ok, I know this sounds stupid, but I kind of blindly signed up for this site and really don't know what all the stuff means but have been entering in my stuff. I need someone to break it down and explain it to me like I'm stupid because I do not understand what all this stuff means. So I'm set at 1200 calories a day to lose 1 and 1/2 lbs a week. On days I don't exercise I should eat right at 1200 calories? On days I exercise and burn 500 calories I should eat 1700 calories to make up for the 500 I burned? I exercise five days a week and still only eat 1200 calories a day and on those days I have just come in way under my calorie intake. This could be messing up my metabolism or will this actually help me lose weight?
  • nosugarcoating
    nosugarcoating Posts: 194 Member
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    Yes, when you exercise and burn 500 you should eat your normal calories and the 500. Whether you eat back all is up to you, but I probably would (maybe leave 50-100 depending on how it works out).

    If you never eat back your exercise calories when you are already only eating 1200, you are likely not doing yourself a favor and it will not help you lose weight in the long run. Sometimes it is actually better to eat more.
  • brantsmom1
    brantsmom1 Posts: 10 Member
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    Thank you. I was wondering why when I close out they day I kept getting messages I was entering starvation mode... duh.
  • caroltina
    caroltina Posts: 453 Member
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    I have this problem, I work out in the evening too. So MFP set me 1340 as my goal, but as I train about a minimum of 500 cals in the evening I can not eat just 1340 ( I can't eat back after training, I can't eat so heaving in the evening) so I manualy set a goal of 1500, that way I eat back before i work out and I know that I will not feel poorly. My BMR is 1850 so I am still well under even without the exercise. This is a good motivator to exercise too
  • memosa
    memosa Posts: 5 Member
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    Can anyone give me tips, I am under eating in Starvation mode, my husband is doing the same and lost 20 lbs, I am stuck after 8. I need carbs, been doing high protein. I need carbs or I get shaky but don't want to over do it.

    What fruits and vegetables are best. I don't want high carb or high sugar, but need to get my calorie intake up I guess.

    I am doing Zumba exercise with Wii (LOVE IT!) and Elliptical, Richard Simmons 1 & 2 and Treadmill (hurts hip?) so far. I try to get 30-60 minutes a day in.

    Any lunch or dinner recipes (especially salad dressings) would be greatly appreciated along with other weight loss tips.

    I am 52, want to lose about 25 lbs, 5.5. Thanks!!

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