What's your daily calorie goal?

Options
2»

Replies

  • ouryve
    ouryve Posts: 572 Member
    Options
    5'4, middle aged and currently 148lb. Losing hand over fist on 1600 plus extra exercise calories awarded by fitbit (set at lightly active, so usually have a tweak unless I spend the day sat on my *kitten*) , plus a couple of days a week when I give up counting in the evening because I know it will be way over.
  • Charlotteincharlotte
    Charlotteincharlotte Posts: 6 Member
    Options
    When I was trying to lose weight I aimed to net around 1200-1400 and lost weight pretty consistently and quickly. I ended up eating total for the day anywhere from 1800 to 2000 depending on activity level/workout. I wear a heart rate monitor to see what I am burning that day to keep it in control. Now in maintenance and I eat about 2200 calories a day (except on vacation I don't track and I imagine its more) I definitely felt a little crazy after a few months of that deficit though so I would honestly suggest listening to your body and seeing what works for you. Like others have suggested, maybe adjust/set up amount of weight to lose a week for more wiggle room and calories if you feel a little weak/crazy like I did! Best of luck to you :)
  • sugaraddict4321
    sugaraddict4321 Posts: 15,720 MFP Moderator
    Options
    VegjoyP wrote: »
    ...We all need to find our own plan. If something works then stick with it. If not, question the methodology...

    I agree with the first statement, that we all have to find our own plan. However, I wouldn't automatically question methodology when something doesn't work quickly. There are a number of sound plans as well as a lot of woo. Many people want to lose weight far more quickly than is safe for them (I'll lose 20 pounds this month!). Many people don't track and log everything they eat and drink, and simply estimate calories then blame whatever plan it is for failing. ;) Or we try "quick fixes" like shakes, which can be a good jump start, but if we don't change our long-term eating habits it is just one yo-yo after another.
    tchiotos wrote: »
    ...I was just surprised that it factored such a slow rate of loss.

    MFP is set to help people lose weight in a healthy, sustainable way. :) For the vast majority of people, that means no more than 2 pounds per week (give or take some water weight and undigested food). Even then, when a person doesn't have much to lose, the sustainable thing to do is to take it slower and one has to be MUCH more diligent about tracking everything. @AnnPT77 perhaps you have that handy list showing how much weight one should aim for per week, depending on how much there is to lose? I can't find it just now.

    We also must remember that weight loss isn't linear. Some days the scale goes up even if you've eaten under your goal the previous day. ;) This is especially true if you've increased activity recently, had a very salty meal, or for the ladies ovulation and TOM can make the scale swing wildly.

    I try to remember that I didn't put on all this weight in a few weeks, so it is not going to come off in a few weeks. I try to pay attention to how I feel and how my clothes fit, and not let the scale reading become an obsession. For me, my goal weight is a range of numbers (i.e. 150-160 pounds), not a specific number that if I don't reach it I am a failure.

    Wishing you all the best on your journeys :flowerforyou:
  • Lillymoo01
    Lillymoo01 Posts: 2,865 Member
    Options
    tchiotos wrote: »
    My goal is 1200 according to MFP, but I have never lost weight eating that many calories. I'm 5.2ish and 144 lbs. According to MFP, it will take me five weeks to lose 4 lbs! I do have it set to sedentary but that is not reasonable in my mind. In the past I can lose 1.5 -2 lbs a week by going around 850 to no more than 1000. I'm trying the keto diet to see if I can tolerate it.

    I am 4'11 and when I was losing weight I was eating 1200 plus 2/3rds my exercise calories and still losing at a pace of 1/2-1 pound a week (which is actually quicker than is recommended for health), even when I was close to 100 pounds. There is no way you would not be losing weight eating 1200 calories all up when you are both taller and heavier than me.

    For your long term health (brittle bones, muscle loss, thinning hair, brittle nails, stress on vital organs .... is not an outcome I'd enjoy) it is very important to eat at least 1200 plus your exercise calories. Also undereating can help you reach your calorie goal but it is very unlikely that you will be happy once you get there because muscle loss will result in a less defined and 'toned' body.

    Tighten up your logging to ensure greater accuracy and set a goal of no more than 1 pound a week (1/2 pound would be even better though). Your body will thank you for it AND you are more likely to stick with weight loss and keep it off long term without aggressive goals.
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,811 Member
    Options
    ericadcruz32 wrote: »
    According to my settings I am allotted 1200. I chose sedentary because I had never seen the inside of a gym in my life. A week or so after starting MFP I started walking on an incline on the treadmill, pretty briskly. I log that burn and therefore get more calories. I don't eat them all back but I do eat a third or so.
    I'm 5'4"
    SW: 165
    CW: 153
    GW: 120

    @ericadcruz32

    Whether you go to a gym or not is an irrelevance for your activity setting as that setting nothing to do with exercise. That's why you add exercise separately.

    You don't compensate your activity setting either up or down because you do or do not exercise purposefully.
    Set your activity setting for your job and lifestyle.

  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 32,154 Member
    Options
    sugaraddict4321 wrote: »
    <snip>
    @AnnPT77 perhaps you have that handy list showing how much weight one should aim for per week, depending on how much there is to lose? I can't find it just now.
    <snip>

    There are different versions. Basic suggestion is to target losing no more than 1% of body weight per week, but possibly slower as one gets closer to goal. I usually suggest something like 1.5 pounds at around 50 to go, 1 at 25 pounds, 0.5 at 10 or so.

    In practice, it varies a little: Someone who's very active or prioritizing good appearance or muscle maintenance/gain, or who has health issues that cause physical stress by themselves, might sensibly target a slower rate. Someone with an acute health condition that will be relieved by weight loss might go faster (but should be under close medical supervision). (Just a couple of examples; I'm sure there are others.)

    I hope it goes without saying that slower is always good if it's more sustainable. It's more effective to lose half a pound a week for a year, while happy and comfortable, than it is to white-knuckle 10 pounds in a month, give up, binge, regain 8 (or 12), restart an extreme deficit . . . and repeat, repeat, repeat. Even if both reach the same result in a year, the slow loser will look better, feel better, and be healthier, not to mention experiencing less drama and misery along the way. (Also, equal results are unlikely based on watching people succeed/fail here on MFP for a few years now. IME, the slow/steady person is more likely to hit 25 pounds in a year than the yo-yo-er),
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,874 Member
    Options
    trippsj3 wrote: »
    Hello community! I just started back up after 2+ years off. I have a 10month old and want to reboot my weight loss to get rid of this excess baby weight and then some. I updated my profile and want to know how realistic the daily calories for you have been. I have been recommended just over 2000 because I'm hoping to start exercising again. Have you found the recommendation to little or to much? Do you adjust depending on activity level (I put in lightly active) but I may not always be active depending on the day with my daughter, my life style right now is more sedentary. Just wondering what has worked best for others out there.

    With MFP, your activity level is only your day to day goings on and doesn't include deliberate exercise. You will note that there is no mention of exercise in the activity level descriptors. This is to allow you to have a calorie target before exercise to lose weight...so someone not exercising or who is inconsistent in their exercise can still lose weight.

    You account for exercise with MFP by logging it and then MFP will give you additional calories. I initially used MFP as designed and had a before exercise calorie target of 2000 calories...with exercise I was eating around 2300-2500 calories depending on the day, and losing about 1 Lb per week.

    I eventually switched over to the TDEE method when I became more consistent with my exercise and was eating roughly the same total calories as with MFP, just not logging my exercise separately.
  • Bwilty7
    Bwilty7 Posts: 45 Member
    edited March 2019
    Options
    Find somewhere to get an InBody scan and look at your BMR. Account for your activity and subtract 500 cals. My BMR is 2415 and my goal in a cut is 2310. I work out about 4-5 times a week and have a desk job. I recently did a nutrition challenge and lost 12lbs and 2.5% body fat in 6 weeks with this method.

    Don't be afraid of calories, but be mindful of WHAT you eat, in what ratios and when. If you put yourself in too deep of a deficit your metabolism will slow down.
  • MamaKL5
    MamaKL5 Posts: 69 Member
    Options
    5'7, currently 165lbs and set at 1680 and losing. I'm set to lightly active, and I eat back most purposeful exercise calories. I didn't use whatever MFP gave me, because it was too low for me. I used a TDEE calculator and then went from there. Could probably lower my cals a bit, but don't want to. I'm fine losing a little slower if it means more food.
  • daklock
    daklock Posts: 54 Member
    Options
    mscheftg
    I am NOT following MFP's set caloric goal. When I started, I was at about 245 pounds. MyFitnessPal was telling me to eat 1200 calories a day to lose 2 pounds a week. That's ridiculously low for my body weight. Instead I found the posts on using outside calculators to determine your caloric intake based on TDEE and other settings. Those posts helped me immensely and found that 1500 is actually the low end of what I should be eating, which is where I try to keep my calories. I have lost close to 20 pounds since I last did that, so I will be doing my measurements and math again this week.

    I can relate to this. I started at 260 pounds, and set my desired weight loss to 2 pounds a week, with a sedentary activity level. MFP suggested 1200 calories, but I knew that I would not be able to continue at this level. So I also checked other calculators and determined my caloric intake on TDEE - for my weight and height and age and gender, TDEE suggested 2075 calories. I deducted 500 from there (for a weekly 1 pound loss), but with some exercise and nutritional food, I am losing about 2 pounds per week. I am happy and successful at about 1500 calories for now. Sometimes I go over up to 1700 calories. So far, a loss of 24 pounds in about 10 weeks, so I'm happy with this rate. I will reevaluate again when I feel things are not working.
  • blushingmommy
    blushingmommy Posts: 1 Member
    Options
    Sami1601 wrote: »
    Which calculator did you use?

    https://tdeecalculator.net
  • StellaNova72
    StellaNova72 Posts: 16 Member
    Options
    I had to drop my calories from 1300 to 1000, I wasn't losing anything after 15 days. I am back on track. Please consult your Dr because I have a nutrition plan etc set up and had my metabolic rate tested.
  • texasredreb
    texasredreb Posts: 541 Member
    Options
    I'm female and 54 years old. I started on March 11 at 225lb. MFP recommended 1290 calories for me with my activity set at lightly active. I indicated that I wanted to lose 2lbs/week. I lost 4lbs the first week. I don't expect that great of a loss every week. If it happens, I'll up my calories so that I'm consistently (with metabolic fluctuations) losing 2lbs/week.
  • MarisaMSimon
    MarisaMSimon Posts: 277 Member
    Options
    I have approximately 56.8 pounds left until my goal. I've lost 21.4 pounds so far following the calorie goal given by MFP (1280 calories a day) and I eat all my exercise calories back. I have successfully lost 14 out of the past 15 weeks...the one week I didn't lose was Valentine's Day/my bday week hehe. I have it set to lose 1.5 pounds a week. I think MFP is a perfect tool for me! I don't have a goal date in mind and I just go day by day and try to do the best that I can with mini goals along the way.
  • stricklee11
    stricklee11 Posts: 218 Member
    Options
    I'm 5'9, set to sedentary and the daily caloric goal originally set by MFP was 1590. I'm down 17 lbs and my revised daily goal is now 1510. I have 28 lbs to go so I expect further downward revisions in my daily allotment.

    It took some adjusting to eating less but I have lost slightly more than a pound a week (on average) since starting 12/21/18.

Categories