Calories??

Rishaschultz94 · March 2019

I'm 5'4 female.
SW: 230
GW:130
I've seen alot of before and after pictures and stories but not alot of people talk about how much calories they ate to get to goal. I have been eating 1200 calories, but I find I am still hungry and find myself over indulging after a week because I feel soooo hungry.
My question is, how many calories do you guys do? And will I mess myself up if I eat 1500 Cals a day + eat back my workout calories?

L1zardQueen · March 2019

1200 is too low for you, especially if you are hungry. What did MFP give you to start with?

Rishaschultz94 · March 2019

MFP gave me 1220 because I am mostly secondary. But when i work out I do track my calories.

californiagirl2012 · March 2019

The TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure) for the average 5'4" females is approximately 1731. So that means that is what you typically need to stay the same, not lose, not gain, with a few rare exceptions and the fact that metabolism does have some ebbs and flows.

That means they you can certainly eat 1500 calories a day and lose body fat over time, if you really do it, and you really are patient. Protein is super important (for smaller females like us 100g is usually a good suggestion). Your body stores carbs as glycogen and fat of course in fat cells, but protein is constantly being turned over in the body all day long, so getting protein in each meal will help you feel less hungry if you eat enough calories overall.

Anything under TDEE is a deficit. Don't focus on a specific deficit, instead just try to get most days under TDEE. Remember that exercise helps cause a deficit even if we don't "eat back" the calories since estimates can be exaggerated.

It's also good to eat up to your TDEE at least one day a week to keep your hormones stable and to know you get to enjoy a treat. TDEE is always a win because you can't gain weight even if you ate up to that every day. It's something everyone seems to forget about.

In theory if you exercise hard every day you could lose body fat eating at TDEE every day. The reality is we are not close enough on food energy estimates to walk that tight of a line, so most of us have to create a slight deficit under TDEE to really make it happen.

Fflpnari · March 2019

Look up your TDEE. I weigh 200 and losing eating 2400 calories a day

shanteel612 · March 2019

1200 is not sustainable for you. MyFitnessPal may give you 1220 based off of your weekly deficit go but that does not mean this right for you. I agreed that 1700 is a good starting place. Try it for a week see how it is. With how much weight do you have to lose 1700 still shall create a great deficit for you.

The goal is for this to be sustainable so you can do it week after week, not for you to semi torture yourself and make it hard to keep with it week after week.

12garlandj · March 2019

Morning,
I would agree with the overall consensus that 1200 is too low for you. A few questions: 1) How aggressive is your weight loss? 2) Do you workout regularly, if so what is your exercise routine? 3) What is your meal intake like?

My maintenance weight is 2900ish calories so I’ve been given a 1000 calorie deficit (1900 calories) which I have to increase sometimes because I’m “cutting” after “bulking” at the gym but I want to retain as much muscle as possible at the same time. To do this I increased my protein intake because the thermic effect on protein burns at least 30% of the calories to digest.

I found researching the thermic effect of macros pretty helpful to my diet plan.

James

seska422 · March 2019

I'm about 5'6" was at about 285 pounds when I started this try at weight loss. I was very sedentary, about 1000-3000 steps per day.

I don't like a moving calorie target so I experimented to find a mix of foods that were satiating enough at a calorie point that was slightly below maintenance for my goal weight at that activity level.

I had a "problem" for months of not being hungry and needing to force myself to get at least that many calories every day. That's hard for some people to believe. However, I'd changed up my foods so that I ate low calorie / high volume rather than high calorie / low volume and drank tea or water between meals. That's what worked for me to keep me feeling full. It still does. I do have to stay vigilant so that I don't backslide and go back to eating the way that I used to eat because that would be so easy to do.

I'd planned on 1500 calories but that was a struggle. I ended up eating a spoonful of peanut butter every evening to bump up my calories and that got old. I settled at 1350 and stayed at that calorie level until I was almost at my goal weight. Weight loss wasn't fast but my weight was a downward trend over time.

Panini911 · March 2019

- MFP is set up for your to eat back your exercise calories. so the days you work out you are SUPPOSED to eat all thsoe exercise calories. the 1220 it gives you is to lose the requested rate of loss WITHOUT purposeful exercise. the deficit is already in there.

- if you put sedentary but walk a lot during the day that would be over what MFP considers sedentary (even if not purposeful exercise). you may need to raise the activity level.

Rishaschultz94 · March 2019

12garlandj wrote: »

Morning,
I would agree with the overall consensus that 1200 is too low for you. A few questions: 1) How aggressive is your weight loss? 2) Do you workout regularly, if so what is your exercise routine? 3) What is your meal intake like?

My maintenance weight is 2900ish calories so I’ve been given a 1000 calorie deficit (1900 calories) which I have to increase sometimes because I’m “cutting” after “bulking” at the gym but I want to retain as much muscle as possible at the same time. To do this I increased my protein intake because the thermic effect on protein burns at least 30% of the calories to digest.

I found researching the thermic effect of macros pretty helpful to my diet plan.

James

To answer your questions, yes I work out regularly, I try to go to the gym everyday for at least a half hour. Mostly I go on the elliptical 7 days a week (half hour a day) and do weight training 2 times a week for about 30 -45 mins. Also I go to the reccenter every Sunday with my boyfriend (Swimming) but I don't track the calories for that.

I am also a traffic controller so I am standing for hours outside but not with much walking or moving. And don't have alot of work right now so I am mostly just home being lazy lol.
And my meal intake? I don't know if u mean what i usually eat or how much calories I usually eat? I usually try to eat 1200 but I find myself getting hungry and if I eat 1200 for a week or so, I indulge myself way to much and lose most of my progress. I find when I am eating around 1500 or a little more I am less hungry and less chance of me messing up.

Caecile84 · March 2019

1200 is not a lot, you will probably feel better eating 1400-1500 a day, but will need to accept that it will take longer to reach your goals. Make sure to also make the right food choices if you eat only 1200-1500 calories. If you eat the right things (lots of veggies and lean meats or fish) you can eat more mass and will therefore feel fuller.
It is possible to create 550 calorie dinners you will not be able to finish...

Dilvish · March 2019

losing 100 pounds is no small feat and absolutely cannot be accomplished without changing habits/lifestyle change.

Losing that much weight means an overhaul of how you live and eat.

You have already likely made the first mistake and that's the assumption that you will lose weight every week if you hardly eat anything. You may be able to sustain 1220 calories but likely not for very long. Even the Mifflin-St. Jeor equation calculates fast weight loss for you at almost 1300 calories per day (sedentary) so no, you aren't getting enough calories and that's why you feel so hungry. Considering you do exercise and are on your feat most of the day you need around 1500 calories per day (slightly active).

Losing that much weight will take a lot of time and effort and you need to tell yourself that losing it quickly will almost assuredly mean you will gain it all back. That's a proven fact.

Slow and steady is what you need to aim for in order to be successful. .5 lb to 1.5 lb loss per week is sustainable and I realize that it may take a long time but it's really the best way to ensure success.

If you haven't any health issues, you need to up your weight training. It will get you to where you want to be faster than cardio. Muscle is 3 times more metabolically active so the more you build/tone/ the more weight you lose. Just make sure you get lots of healthy protein and plenty of fluids. Cut out refined sugars and reduce your sodium intake to 1600mg -2300mg per day and you'll start seeing results.

zeldon919 · March 2019

As long as you’re in a deficit, the best number of calories is the number that you can maintain. If you eat 1200 then binge all weekend, the only thing you’re losing is joy. If 1500 is maintainable without hunger or deprivation, than that’s where you should be. Start there.

And 2 things have helped me not feel deprived:
1. realizing what my eating patterns are, and working with them. For me it’s things like I need both protein and carbs at breakfast, and I need to eat breakfast. I tend to snack between lunch and dinner and after dinner - I plan for it. I don’t eat lunch on weekends, just big late breakfast then graze until dinner.
2. Find ways to get your fix within calories. If you like chips, find something salty and crunchy that satiates that craving most of the time. The rest of the time just have the chips.

kam3190 · March 2019

Im 5ft6 220 lbs and lose a 1b a week eating around 2500 calories a day. I couldnt ever eat 1200. I dont think I cluld regularly eat under 2000 without being a hot angry mess.

shadow2soul · March 2019

Rishaschultz94 wrote: »

I'm 5'4 female.
SW: 230
GW:130
I've seen alot of before and after pictures and stories but not alot of people talk about how much calories they ate to get to goal. I have been eating 1200 calories, but I find I am still hungry and find myself over indulging after a week because I feel soooo hungry.
My question is, how many calories do you guys do? And will I mess myself up if I eat 1500 Cals a day + eat back my workout calories?

I averaged 2000 calories (Total...not NET) a day for the majority of my weight loss.
Stats:
5’4.5”
HW: 260lbs
LW: 120lbs
CW: 132lbs

In Feb I was on doctors orders not to workout. I averaged 1600 calories a day and my trend weight dropped 4.3lbs that month. I’m still seeing a slow downward trend now and I have increased my intake to an avg of 2000 calories a day since I am working out again.

DDBooBoo57 · March 2019

I try to eat 1500 calories a day, but sometimes I really blow through it. (I ate 2600 calories last Friday.)

On the days that I can stay at 1500, it is because of no junk food and no alcohol.

So cereal, fruit, and coffee for breakfast (300 calories); a salad with beans and no oil--just white vinegar, salt and pepper for dressing (400 calories); snack--usually the Sabra pretzels and hummus (370 calories); and a 500-ish calorie dinner with sparking water. If I have one glass of wine, I go over. If I have one candy bar, I go over. If I have one snack size bag of Doritos, I go over.

Calories??

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