1200 Cals

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roobella
roobella Posts: 59 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi guys. In just getting back into calorie counting after being miserable trying WW or SW with limited success.

MFP has put my calories at 1200, but I thought this would be too low. Can anyone advise me please?

Thanks

Replies

  • Yivs_87
    Yivs_87 Posts: 246 Member
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    Check this thread:
    https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1399829/step-by-step-guide-to-losing-weight-with-myfitnesspal
  • MichelleSilverleaf
    MichelleSilverleaf Posts: 2,028 Member
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    roobella wrote: »
    Hi guys. In just getting back into calorie counting after being miserable trying WW or SW with limited success.

    MFP has put my calories at 1200, but I thought this would be too low. Can anyone advise me please?

    Thanks

    Without knowing what weight you're at now, how much you're trying to lose and what rate of loss you set MFP to, it's hard to say whether 1200cal is appropriate or not.
  • roobella
    roobella Posts: 59 Member
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    Yivs_87 wrote: »
    Check this thread:
    https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1399829/step-by-step-guide-to-losing-weight-with-myfitnesspal


    That was really helpful thanks
  • Strudders67
    Strudders67 Posts: 978 Member
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    Also, how old are you, how tall and how active? Multiple factors determine how many calories you need to lose weight and still function.

    I'm set at 1200, but I'm only just over 5ft and have a sedentary office job. I'm also down to my 5 pounds to lose. On top of those 1200, I get some more for my walk to and from the office each day. And on the days that I go to the gym, I track that exercise too and eat most of the calories given.
  • PrincessMel72
    PrincessMel72 Posts: 1,094 Member
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    I'm 46, 4'11" and work a sedentary office job as well. I've been at 1100-1200 calories this month and have lost 10lbs. 1200 works for some, not for others. A lot of factors play in.
  • roobella
    roobella Posts: 59 Member
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    After reading the other tagged post I checked my TDEE Which is 1825. So for the supposed 500cal deficit I should be at 1325
    Based on a sedentary life, being 5'4" and 182lbs aiming to get back to 133lbs pre kids and other health issues.
  • roobella
    roobella Posts: 59 Member
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    Strudders67 wrote: »
    Also, how old are you, how tall and how active? Multiple factors determine how many calories you need to lose weight and still function.

    I'm set at 1200, but I'm only just over 5ft and have a sedentary office job. I'm also down to my 5 pounds to lose. On top of those 1200, I get some more for my walk to and from the office each day. And on the days that I go to the gym, I track that exercise too and eat most of the calories given.

    See that confused me to whether or not to eat back those calories or not
  • Yivs_87
    Yivs_87 Posts: 246 Member
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    https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10503681/exercise-calories-do-i-eat-these-a-video-explanation/p1

    :)

    I'd honestly recommend reading carefully all topics here: https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10300331/most-helpful-posts-getting-started-must-reads#latest
  • MichelleSilverleaf
    MichelleSilverleaf Posts: 2,028 Member
    edited April 2019
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    roobella wrote: »
    Strudders67 wrote: »
    Also, how old are you, how tall and how active? Multiple factors determine how many calories you need to lose weight and still function.

    I'm set at 1200, but I'm only just over 5ft and have a sedentary office job. I'm also down to my 5 pounds to lose. On top of those 1200, I get some more for my walk to and from the office each day. And on the days that I go to the gym, I track that exercise too and eat most of the calories given.

    See that confused me to whether or not to eat back those calories or not

    MFP doesn't include purposeful exercise like going to the gym, so you're expected to eat some or all of those extra calories back.
  • eljaywow
    eljaywow Posts: 1 Member
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    Roobella we are the same well im a little bit heavier 192 and 5ft 3. I am also at 1325
  • Strudders67
    Strudders67 Posts: 978 Member
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    Go to the Home page on MFP and put in your stats. The usual suggestion is to aim to lose about 1 or 1.5 lb a week, which may seem slow but will enable you to form a life-long habit of eating a sensible amount rather than crash dieting. See how many calories MFP gives you and eat that many a day. Try it for 4-6 weeks weeks and see how you're doing. Adjust up / down after that, if you're losing too fast or too slow.

    A Sedentary lifestyle assumes you do about 2500-3000 steps a day, walking around the house, maybe to and from the car or shops etc. On top of normal day-to-day stuff, if you do any deliberate exercise, you need to log that and eat (most of) the calories allocated. If you have a fitbit, others can tell you how to synch it / use it with MFP. I just go to the Exercise tab, select 'walk' plus the speed I know I walk at, then enter how many minutes my walk was for. I do the same for exercise at the gym. I log my walk to and from work as it's done at a fairly brisk pace but I don't track the walks around the office, to and from the kitchenette etc.

    The reason I say I eat most of them is that MFP isn't 100% accurate in terms of how many calories you burn. Walking is probably accurate, my time on the cross trainer definitely isn't. The usual wisdom on here is to eat 50-75% of your exercise calories.
  • roobella
    roobella Posts: 59 Member
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    eljaywow wrote: »
    Roobella we are the same well im a little bit heavier 192 and 5ft 3. I am also at 1325

    Do you find its working for you?
  • roobella
    roobella Posts: 59 Member
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    Strudders67 wrote: »
    Go to the Home page on MFP and put in your stats. The usual suggestion is to aim to lose about 1 or 1.5 lb a week, which may seem slow but will enable you to form a life-long habit of eating a sensible amount rather than crash dieting. See how many calories MFP gives you and eat that many a day. Try it for 4-6 weeks weeks and see how you're doing. Adjust up / down after that, if you're losing too fast or too slow.

    A Sedentary lifestyle assumes you do about 2500-3000 steps a day, walking around the house, maybe to and from the car or shops etc. On top of normal day-to-day stuff, if you do any deliberate exercise, you need to log that and eat (most of) the calories allocated. If you have a fitbit, others can tell you how to synch it / use it with MFP. I just go to the Exercise tab, select 'walk' plus the speed I know I walk at, then enter how many minutes my walk was for. I do the same for exercise at the gym. I log my walk to and from work as it's done at a fairly brisk pace but I don't track the walks around the office, to and from the kitchenette etc.

    The reason I say I eat most of them is that MFP isn't 100% accurate in terms of how many calories you burn. Walking is probably accurate, my time on the cross trainer definitely isn't. The usual wisdom on here is to eat 50-75% of your exercise calories.

    Thanks
    I have a Samsung galaxy smart watch and it tracks all my steps through the day. I'll try and see how I go sticking to my 1325 limit and use any extras as a buffer if needed.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,897 Member
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    roobella wrote: »
    Strudders67 wrote: »
    Also, how old are you, how tall and how active? Multiple factors determine how many calories you need to lose weight and still function.

    I'm set at 1200, but I'm only just over 5ft and have a sedentary office job. I'm also down to my 5 pounds to lose. On top of those 1200, I get some more for my walk to and from the office each day. And on the days that I go to the gym, I track that exercise too and eat most of the calories given.

    See that confused me to whether or not to eat back those calories or not

    Unlike other sites which use TDEE calculators, MFP uses the NEAT method (Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis), and as such this system is designed for exercise calories to be eaten back. However, many consider the burns given by MFP to be inflated for them and only eat a percentage, such as 50%, back. Others, however, are able to lose weight while eating 100% of their exercise calories.

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/818082/exercise-calories-again-wtf/p1
  • roobella
    roobella Posts: 59 Member
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    Strudders67 wrote: »
    Please don't use any extras as a buffer "if needed". If your watch tells you you've walked more than 3000 steps that day, you need to eat back the calories those extra steps equate to. Otherwise, your NET calories for the day will be considerably lower than 1325. If you do that over an extended period, you are likely to experience health issues.

    Silly question though... what if your just jor hungry. I assume the odd occasion is fine then
  • lesdarts180
    lesdarts180 Posts: 2,713 Member
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    You can average your calories over the week - if you find it relatively easy to be strict during the week and want to eat out or have more generous family meals at the weekend for instance. I'm also only 5'1" and have successfully lost over 50 lbs in 9 months while enjoying a lot of holidays and days out (I'm retired) by averaging calorie intake over time. I mostly stuck to just below 1200 cals per day to balance out the holidays, family occasions etc when it could go much higher. So by all means "bank" those extra exercise calories for a few days.
  • Chelle8070
    Chelle8070 Posts: 163 Member
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    If I under eat for a day or two, I am STARVING come the next day and have a hard time keeping myself in check. One can only eat so many carrots when starving.

    My daily goal is 1590 without exercise... if I workout an hour or two and only eat 1400 calories, the next day I can't get enough, so I have to be really mindful of that.
  • roobella
    roobella Posts: 59 Member
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    lesdarts180 wrote: »
    You can average your calories over the week - if you find it relatively easy to be strict during the week and want to eat out or have more generous family meals at the weekend for instance. I'm also only 5'1" and have successfully lost over 50 lbs in 9 months while enjoying a lot of holidays and days out (I'm retired) by averaging calorie intake over time. I mostly stuck to just below 1200 cals per day to balance out the holidays, family occasions etc when it could go much higher. So by all means "bank" those extra exercise calories for a few days.

    Yeah I think having a few extras stored for the weekend to enjoy would help

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