I feel that MFP put my calorie goal too high?

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Cipink
Cipink Posts: 2 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I’m 5’6”, almost 200 pounds (gained a lot of weight from drinking/my birth control) and it says that a day 1700 while active will help me lose 2 pounds a week. I’m not sure if this is correct? Has anyone else gotten a calorie goal that they felt was too high but actually helped them lose weight?

Overall I want to lose 50 pounds but I set a 15 pound weight loss goal to make it easier on myself instead of immediately trying to lose 50

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  • emmylootwo
    emmylootwo Posts: 172 Member
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    Are you really active in terms of your daily lifestyle? We're talking 10,000+ steps a day.
  • callsitlikeiseeit
    callsitlikeiseeit Posts: 8,627 Member
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    how are you defining that you are 'active'?

    how much weight have you lost so far and how quickly?

    trial and error sometimes tells us where adjustments need to be made
  • Cipink
    Cipink Posts: 2 Member
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    emmylootwo wrote: »
    Are you really active in terms of your daily lifestyle? We're talking 10,000+ steps a day.

    I'm a college student and walk around all day so its not abnormal for me to get over 10,000 steps. According to my fitbit I get around 63,000 per week
    callsitlikeiseeit wrote: »
    how are you defining that you are 'active'?

    how much weight have you lost so far and how quickly?

    trial and error sometimes tells us where adjustments need to be made

    I work out at least 3-4 times a week and walk around a lot for classes/work

    I've lost about 5 pounds since the beginning of the month but I ate badly this week so it went back up again and due to water weight I can't really tell how much I've gained back
  • try2again
    try2again Posts: 3,562 Member
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    2 lbs/week is actually quite aggressive with only 50 lbs to lose. But 5 lbs in a month sounds perfect, so I wouldn't mess with success right now :)
  • NovusDies
    NovusDies Posts: 8,940 Member
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    1700 is not very high so I believe this is a perception issue more than an actual problem. In any case, you should check your rate of loss after about 8 weeks of being in a deficit and then adjust your calories up or down if needed.

    You are right on the line of being too aggressive at 2lbs per week. The recommended rate of loss is 1 percent of your total weight each week and less as you approach your goal. You will need to bump your calories very soon by 250 and drop your RoL to 1.5lbs per week.
  • apullum
    apullum Posts: 4,838 Member
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    Have you ever logged your food before? Most people who have never weighed and logged their food don't have a clear idea of what a particular number of calories is actually like.

    I agree with others that 1 lb/week is probably a more reasonable goal for you.
  • Fflpnari
    Fflpnari Posts: 975 Member
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    Try it and see.

    Im losing a pound a week at 2400 cals. I weigh 204
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,012 Member
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    It sounds about right for your stats, try it for a while. Log everything you eat. Log your purposeful exercise if you do any and eat a little more on those days.

    I lost at 1600+ exercise calories and I wasn't going to school or working and I live in a tiny place so not a lot of housework either. I'm 5'7" and I was in my mid-fifties.

    I also think "lose 2 pounds per week" is too aggressive, but try it anyway. If you are really hungry you can always eat a bit more. Setting it at, "Lose 1 pound per week," is the recommendation.

    She who loses and eats the most food wins.
  • DancingMoosie
    DancingMoosie Posts: 8,613 Member
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    I can lose on 1700 at only 5'3", so try it. It's actually better to eat a little more than to cut aggressively.
  • lorrpb
    lorrpb Posts: 11,464 Member
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    What is your basis for "feeling" it's too high? I'm about your height and lost weight on about 1700 per day. I suggest you weigh all your food on a digital food scale, log meticulously, follow the 1700 for 4-6 weeks, then share your results and ask us to revisit your question here. Good luck!

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