Calorie goal too low?

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SarahBear9708
SarahBear9708 Posts: 71
in Health and Weight Loss
I have a lot of weight to lose....about 90ish more to go. Therefore, I have my goal set to lose 2 pounds a week. This puts my calorie goal at about 1360. I am losing weight incrediblyyyy slow, and sometimes fluctuate a lot. I'm beginning to wonder if that is just too low of a number for me? I really want to lose this weight, but I don't know how to know if I am doing it right!

Help?

Replies

  • I_GoT_ThIs
    I_GoT_ThIs Posts: 170 Member
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    if your losing it slow, then that's good. If you drop a ton of weight to fast, chances are your going to gain it right back.. If your not already try eating all of your excersise calories back.
  • Coltsman4ever
    Coltsman4ever Posts: 602 Member
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    If you're losing a pound or even a half pound a week I wouldn't worry about it. As long as you're losing. If you hit a plateau and stop losing, then I would change things up a little to confuse your body. That's the key. Keep your body guessing.
    Eat fruits, vegetables and lean meats along with lots of water and get plenty of exercise and you'll be great!
  • SarahBear9708
    SarahBear9708 Posts: 71
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    I think what frustrates me is that some days I weigh myself and it seems like I've gained. Then I get frustrated. I really need to jump on this whole one day a week weighing thing.
  • SarahBear9708
    SarahBear9708 Posts: 71
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    if your losing it slow, then that's good. If you drop a ton of weight to fast, chances are your going to gain it right back.. If your not already try eating all of your excersise calories back.

    True true. Hey are you still doing that weighing only on Tues thing? I might have to join you! I think weighing myself everyday is what is driving me crazy!
  • Jarvis95
    Jarvis95 Posts: 157 Member
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    i found that MFP calculated lower then livestrong.org, you could check it out there what it calculates for you!

    For instances right now MFP calculates that i'll only lose 0.6lbs per week eating 1390 and i kinda don't believe it :P

    The standard response i BELIEVE from RDs is that an average 150lb women burns 2000 a day so you should deficit 500 a day thru exercise and diet so that you reduce by 3500 a week (500*7) which is 1lbs a week. This worked well for me until I was lower than 150lbs and MFP / livestrong was calculating that i should eat less.
  • shesblossoming
    shesblossoming Posts: 426
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    What kind of food are you eating and what kind of exercises do you do?
  • Jarvis95
    Jarvis95 Posts: 157 Member
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    sorry i think it's livestrong.COM not org
  • wearystar
    wearystar Posts: 72 Member
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    exercise more, not only will it boost your metabolism, but will give you more calories to work with.
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,293 Member
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    TO get more calories to eat you can workout, you are suppose to eat those calories back. If you do that and you are still not getting enough, try changing your goal to 1.5lbs/week.
  • bevskiwolf
    bevskiwolf Posts: 296 Member
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    First off, weigh yourself once a week. Unless of course you weighed yourself every day gaining. If so, I'll allow it. :bigsmile:
  • Jarvis95
    Jarvis95 Posts: 157 Member
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    also fluctuating is completely NORMAL! you can by at least 5lbs which is frustrating if you're trying to lose 1-2lbs a week! there's def. pros and cons to weighing everyday! :D:D
  • SarahBear9708
    SarahBear9708 Posts: 71
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    What kind of food are you eating and what kind of exercises do you do?

    Breakfast varies for me, but usually toast and peanut butter or something of the sort. A yogurt lots of days too. For lunch, I usually have a salad, and I add chicken into it for protein. Dinner is my hardest meal. It varies a lot, but I usually am able to stay under my calorie goal.

    As for exercises, I go to the gym a lot with my best friend, so things like the treadmill, elliptical, etc. On days I don't go, I play DDR on workout mode :)
  • I_GoT_ThIs
    I_GoT_ThIs Posts: 170 Member
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    Yes ma'am Im only weighing myself on Tuesdays. :) Just pick whatever day works for you, and then weigh yourself... then HIDE the scale or put it up somewhere where it's not easily accesible. Mine was always right on the bathroom floor, so any time I went in there... I would weigh myself. BAD IDEA!!!!
  • soaringwings
    soaringwings Posts: 3
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    Yes i beleive your calorie goal is too low. Unless you are very petite, your body needs more calories to function and stay healthy. Otherwise you will end up feeling very hungry and tired, malnutritioned even. I have been working out 5 or 6 days a week and being a diabetic, my body is constantly telling me when i need more to eat because my bloodsugar will drop cos my metabolism is revved up from my workout. I have lost about 20lbs from exercising and eating the right foods but i eat well over 1,300 calories a day. My advice to you is try to do some form of exercise everyday, best time is in the morning after you eat a small breakfast, and eat the right foods. Make sure you get your protein, whole grains, fiber, healthy fats like nuts and olive oil, and plenty of water and fruits and veggies. Try setting your calorie goal to 1,600 a day and you may even need more or a little less depending on how you feel throughout the day. If you feel you've had enough calories for that day but you're still feeling hungry, the best things to eat are fruit, nonfat yogurt, or a serving of nuts. That way, you're getting something filling and satisfying and eating something healthy at the same time with minimal calories. Also, I've learned the best way to burn a lot of calories is try mixing cardio or walking with strenght training exercise like squating with light weights, abs workouts, etc. The cardio will burn a lot of calories and rev up your metabolism while the strength training will build muscle and muscle burns more calories throughout the day even at rest. Plus having muscle helps you to feel stronger and healthier and prevents injury. Dont forget to warmup before a work out and do some light stretching and stretch after each workout as well. I hope this has helped you.
  • Fat_2_Fit_Mommy
    Fat_2_Fit_Mommy Posts: 569 Member
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    Yes ma'am Im only weighing myself on Tuesdays. :) Just pick whatever day works for you, and then weigh yourself... then HIDE the scale or put it up somewhere where it's not easily accesible. Mine was always right on the bathroom floor, so any time I went in there... I would weigh myself. BAD IDEA!!!!

    This is about the same with me. My scale is in my bathroom every time I see it I get on it.. So now I hide it under the sink.
  • ATT949
    ATT949 Posts: 1,245 Member
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    I have a lot of weight to lose....about 90ish more to go. Therefore, I have my goal set to lose 2 pounds a week. This puts my calorie goal at about 1360. I am losing weight incrediblyyyy slow, and sometimes fluctuate a lot. I'm beginning to wonder if that is just too low of a number for me? I really want to lose this weight, but I don't know how to know if I am doing it right!
    Well, if you eat below 1200 calories, you will either fall over dead or burst into flames…

    :-)

    When I was losing weight, I ate 800 to 1000 net cals/day and had a superb weight loss experience.

    My results are here:

    http://cbeinfo.net/weight.htm


    Very few people would suffer adverse effects from eating 1360 calories and many people would actually gain weight at that calorie level.

    I haven't checked your diary (my browser's giving me fits) but, if you care to, have a look through mine to see what foods I ate (I was losing weight between Dec 2010 and July 1, 2011)

    Two simple suggestions:
    - weigh/measure all of your food
    - weigh yourself every morning after going to the bathroom

    Those two things make it easier to nail down what's going on with your weight loss.
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,293 Member
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    I have a lot of weight to lose....about 90ish more to go. Therefore, I have my goal set to lose 2 pounds a week. This puts my calorie goal at about 1360. I am losing weight incrediblyyyy slow, and sometimes fluctuate a lot. I'm beginning to wonder if that is just too low of a number for me? I really want to lose this weight, but I don't know how to know if I am doing it right!
    Well, if you eat below 1200 calories, you will either fall over dead or burst into flames…

    :-)

    When I was losing weight, I ate 800 to 1000 net cals/day and had a superb weight loss experience.

    My results are here:

    http://cbeinfo.net/weight.htm


    Very few people would suffer adverse effects from eating 1360 calories and many people would actually gain weight at that calorie level.

    I haven't checked your diary (my browser's giving me fits) but, if you care to, have a look through mine to see what foods I ate (I was losing weight between Dec 2010 and July 1, 2011)

    Two simple suggestions:
    - weigh/measure all of your food
    - weigh yourself every morning after going to the bathroom

    Those two things make it easier to nail down what's going on with your weight loss.

    Who would gain weight on 1360/month? Maybe if you are 4'5" and 70 lbs. or if you lose a lot of muscle due to under feeding your body for a long period of time like a800-1000 diet would do. 800-1000 is not enough especially if you were active. you may have lose quite a bit of weight, but most likely you lost a large % of your lean muscle mass, if you were still eating that little as you got closer to your goal weight.

    OP: You will lose weight eating anything less than maintenance. If your goal to lose 2 lbs/month is 1360, then your maintenance is 2360 and you will lose eating anything less than 2360 Net.
  • SarahBear9708
    SarahBear9708 Posts: 71
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    Who would gain weight on 1360/month? Maybe if you are 4'5" and 70 lbs. or if you lose a lot of muscle due to under feeding your body for a long period of time like a800-1000 diet would do. 800-1000 is not enough especially if you were active. you may have lose quite a bit of weight, but most likely you lost a large % of your lean muscle mass, if you were still eating that little as you got closer to your goal weight.

    OP: You will lose weight eating anything less than maintenance. If your goal to lose 2 lbs/month is 1360, then your maintenance is 2360 and you will lose eating anything less than 2360 Net.

    Awesome, thanks! I wanted to make sure it wasn't too low!
  • ATT949
    ATT949 Posts: 1,245 Member
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    Who would gain weight on 1360/month? Maybe if you are 4'5" and 70 lbs. or if you lose a lot of muscle due to under feeding your body for a long period of time like a800-1000 diet would do.
    I'll assume that you meant 1360/day.

    Hit this link and punch in some numbers:

    http://howmanycaloriesshouldieat.blogspot.com/

    I just threw in a 60 year old, 5' 3" 105 pound female and came up with a calorie need of just over 1300 cals. As we know, 100 extra cals/day = 10 pounds/year (rough math)

    Based on site, and many others like it, I think it's true that 1360 cals/per day will cause many people to gain weight or have I, perhaps, misunderstood the calculation?


    800-1000 is not enough especially if you were active.
    "not enough" to…?

    That calories range worked well for me - I've lost 100 pounds and am able to run. I did a half marathon on August 21 and am training for the CIM in December.

    I've never felt fatigued and only felt hungry a few times in the months that I was losing. My BP is way down.

    I had very comprehensive bloodwork done with "superb" results and have had my doctor and another doc check me over with no serious findings except that I'm overweight still (BMI isn't "normal").

    Also,you might want to check out lindora.com

    Those folks use a 800 to 1k cals/day diet. They've been around for over 40 years and have helped hundreds of thousands of clients lose a lot of weight.
    you may have lose quite a bit of weight, but most likely you lost a large % of your lean muscle mass, if you were still eating that little as you got closer to your goal weight.

    A couple of thoughts come to mind:
    Can you be so good as to point me to medical literature that shows how different diets impact the amount of lean body mass lost during the weight loss period?

    Second, could you explain to me how eating more food helps dieters retain lean body mass?

    The reason I ask this is because I can understand how exercise helps retain muscle mass but, absent exercise, I'm not familiar with how the human body, with the exception of the muscles needed to prepare and consume food, can increase muscle mass by eating.


    You response raises a good point - when humans lose weight, they will lose lean body mass. We can exercise to get our muscle mass back and, especially as we get older, it's good to not lose muscle mass.

    The issue, then, is how much lean muscle mass should one have at a given weight. For example, as a 295 pound, 6' 1" male, I had X pounds of lean body mass, some of which is muscle. When I weigh 100 pounds less, one would expect that my lean body mass would decrease because I don't need the same amount of muscle at 200 pounds as I did at 300 pounds. I need less skin, too, for example.

    I'm interested to know what else do we have less of 'cause there's less of us? Do we lose capillaries, for example? I'd also be interested to know represents a good ratio of fat loss to lean body mass loss.

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