Calories allowed per day?

Yes, it is supposed to update your calorie goals automatically if you are tracking your weight in the app. You can go into “Goals” and see if it’s listing your current weight correctly, if not then update it and it will adjust your calories if needed.

I wouldn’t be worried about eating too much solely based off your roommates have a lower calorie allotment. You are heavier, you can eat more and still be losing weight. You should only worry about it if you stop losing weight for a few weeks (not one week, a few weeks of no weight loss).

caitlinltuttle wrote: »

Thank you guys so much for the feedback! It really answered my questions. I know 2lbs a week is pretty vigorous but I have about 100+ pounds to lose. I started at 280 lbs and I’m 19 years old. I need to lose at least 100 lbs to be healthy. I have lost 30 so far.

Congrats! 30 lbs in 2 months is great for your current weight. The rate of loss may slow down soon but you should keep losing. You are at sustainable calorie goal. I lost 140 lb eating about 1700.

lgfrie wrote: »

MFP's goals tool has been an amazing tool for me. Over six months and 60+ pounds lost, it has not been off by more than a pound or two in its calorie guidance and its estimation of how much weight I'd lose per week. I really trust it at this point. Of course, results will vary from person to person, but I think even if it's a bit off for someone else, it isn't going to be crazy, totally off, just a little off. If it says to eat 1800 to lose X pounds per week, you can be reasonably confident for now that if you eat 1800, you'll lose X pounds per week.

But as someone else said, adjust as you go and tweak. MFP's numbers are starting points to get your organized and focused. Once you have 5 or 6 weeks of knowledge and data under your belt as to how fast you lose weight, how you feel being on 1800 cals, etc., you can fine-tune things. In fact, you can keep fine-tuning things after you fine-tune things; there is no obligation to ever arrive at The Number or The Perfect System. It can be a work in progress forever. The only thing you have to do is eat a calorie deficit on most days and not overdo it too much on the other days, and you will lose weight; everything else is up for grabs as you learn and tweak things.

I can attest to this! As I’ve lost more weight, my calorie allotment has gotten smaller. It has gotten to the point where I had to become more active to keep it at a reasonable level. At one point I plateaued at around 158 for months, because I thought that the 1700 allotment I had started with coming down from 170 was supposed to continue to work, but it was too large for me at that point.

Another thing I will second is don’t be afraid to go a little over or under your calorie allotment AFTER you have learned more about your bodies needs and the way your activity level affects your energy levels. I say this not to encourage you to throw caution to wind with your calorie allotment, but when I first started I followed it strictly, and felt guilty whenever the numbers were red. Especially if you are aiming for something closer to losing 2lbs a week, sometimes in my experience there are days where my activity levels create an even larger deficit than what MFP recommends(aka sets me on track to lose closer to 2.5-3lbs a week if I am extra active that week). You can see this when you complete your diary and subtract the weight MFP estimates you will be in 5 weeks from your current weight. In those cases I do allow myself to eat 50-100 calories over my limit to avoid undereating. Again, like Igfrie said, MFP is a guide, and the more you use it, and notice trends, you can make your own adjustments to fit your needs. I’ve only JUST started doing this after about a year of intensively using MFP and a few months of being more physically active, but I still think this is something you should keep in mind especially once you begin moving forward. There will be times you have to make additive adjustments like that or even negative adjustments lowering your allotment.