Too many calories??

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jillaudraclark
jillaudraclark Posts: 4 Member
in Getting Started
Hi all,

MFP has my daily calorie intake at 2200. Holy cow! That seems really high to me. But I'm wondering if my thinking that 1500 calories per day is what is sabotaging me. I'm 5'9" and want to lose 220 pounds. Any advice is welcome.

Have a blessed day!

Jill

Replies

  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,811 Member
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    Try it for a month and then you will know.

    No it doesn't seem at all high to me as 2,000 is often given as the maintenance calories for a mythical "average" adult woman and with a high weight you are far above average, that extra body weight all consumes energy.

    With a lot to lose you need to make the process as sustainable as possible. Best of luck.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 32,170 Member
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    At 5'5" and an advanced age (64), I maintain my weight in the mid 130s on something around those calories. Given that you're substantially taller, younger, and currently also heavier, it seems completely plausible that you'd lose weight at 2200. (I admit I'm mysteriously a pretty good li'l ol' calorie burner for my age . . . but still.)

    Sometimes, I think we women get sold on the idea of waif-like calorie counts being necessary for everyone, when they really, really, aren't.

    Best wishes!
  • bmeadows380
    bmeadows380 Posts: 2,981 Member
    edited February 2020
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    I'm 5'9" and started at 375 lbs and sedentary. At 2 lbs/wk setting, I got around 2200 - 2400 as my starting limit, and I very much lost easily at that amount. You have a lot of mass that has to get moved around - your body needs those calories just for movement! The more you lose, the lower that number will go. I'm down to 265 now, and sedentary 2lb/wk is now down to around 1500.

    You can lose weight without starving yourself! (I wish I could get my sister to understand that.....)
  • try2again
    try2again Posts: 3,562 Member
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    That sounds right. When we are bigger, our bodies actually burn more calories just from daily living. I would say use this as an opportunity to get accustomed to logging accurately and meeting your calorie goal and to learn what foods satisfy you the most for the calories. Then you'll be in a great position to start cutting what you deem to be "non-essential" calories as your goal starts to go down. Wish you the best :)
  • conniewilkins56
    conniewilkins56 Posts: 3,391 Member
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    Enjoy the bigger amount of calories as you begin your journey...believe me, the amount goes down faster than you think!....the Larger Losers Group is a great group of people who are all working to lose excess pounds...I started out at about 1800 calories and 66 lbs later I get about 1400.... best of luck in your progress
  • jillaudraclark
    jillaudraclark Posts: 4 Member
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    You all are amazing. I did the InBody machine last night at the gym and currently at 374. Thank you all, and Connie, I'll join that group. Thank you so again! ❤️

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