daily calories and general question open to suggestions

bluedog290
bluedog290 Posts: 11 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi. I started using my fitness pal about 50 days ago. I'm a 59 year old male, 6ft. When I started i was 245lbs and olny down to 238 now. I'm using the free app.
So after losing weight do you lower your daily calories? And if so how do you do it?
According to to bmi chart I should be around 180lbs for not being over weight so I have a ways to go.
I'm walking for exercise.
Open to any suggestions to lose more weight.
Thx

Replies

  • quiksylver296
    quiksylver296 Posts: 28,439 Member
    Do you use a food scale, weighing and logging everything you eat? No skipping, cheating, or forgetting? If not, I'd start there. Check out the attached threads.

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10634517/you-dont-use-a-food-scale/p1

    https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10697068/how-i-stopped-kidding-myself/p1


  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
    You do burn less daily for several reasons after losing weight.

    If burning less, you need to eat less.
    In a diet a tad less even yet.

    MFP used to adjust when 10 lbs was gone - otherwise it's just not a meaningful amount.
    You can make this happen right now, go through the setup again, and save out. Your current weight should already be there.
    You'll be shown new eating goal, which will probably be around 50 cal lower.
  • bluedog290
    bluedog290 Posts: 11 Member
    yes I bought a food scale, been logging everything for 51 days.
    I don't weigh everything if I find it listed as a food like 2 pieces of bread, an egg or a medium peach. Should I weigh those too?
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,454 Member
    edited August 2020
    That seven pounds you lost isn't really enough to worry about calorie-wise. (Congrats, though!)

    Like heybales said, if you go into Goals > View guided setup ....and change your weight and then "save" it will automatically change your calories when warranted (about every 10 pounds it will adjust if you do this.)


    How many calories per day are you eating now? Are you adding in Exercise and eating more on those exercise days?



    _____________________________
  • quiksylver296
    quiksylver296 Posts: 28,439 Member
    bluedog290 wrote: »
    yes I bought a food scale, been logging everything for 51 days.
    I don't weigh everything if I find it listed as a food like 2 pieces of bread, an egg or a medium peach. Should I weigh those too?

    I would, at least for awhile.

    I learned a lot by weighing everything. My tortillas are pretty spot on every time, so I quit weighing them. Eggs, especially if store-bought, were also pretty spot on. Other things can vary wildly and so I keep weighing them. The things you want to be weigh the most are the high-calorie foods, like peanut butter, oils, etc.
  • bluedog290
    bluedog290 Posts: 11 Member
    quiksylver296 wrote: »
    bluedog290 wrote: »
    yes I bought a food scale, been logging everything for 51 days.
    I don't weigh everything if I find it listed as a food like 2 pieces of bread, an egg or a medium peach. Should I weigh those too?

    I would, at least for awhile.

    I learned a lot by weighing everything. My tortillas are pretty spot on every time, so I quit weighing them. Eggs, especially if store-bought, were also pretty spot on. Other things can vary wildly and so I keep weighing them. The things you want to be weigh the most are the high-calorie foods, like peanut butter, oils, etc.

    Yes I learned a lot about pepperoni portions lol
  • bluedog290
    bluedog290 Posts: 11 Member
    edited August 2020
    cmriverside wrote: »
    That seven pounds you lost isn't really enough to worry about calorie-wise. (Congrats, though!)

    Like heybales said, if you go into Goals > View guided setup ....and change your weight and then "save" it will automatically change your calories when warranted (about every 10 pounds it will adjust if you do this.)


    How many calories per day are you eating now? Are you adding in Exercise and eating more on those exercise days?



    _____________________________

    My iphone keeps track of my steps but only if it's in my pocket. I do a lot around the house cleaning, gardening , mowing grass and all that stuff I don't usually enter.
    When I started I used the 1 pound a week setting and it said to use 1960 daily calories so that's what I've been going by.
  • Mithridites
    Mithridites Posts: 600 Member
    edited August 2020
    Bread is one of the most calorie-dense things on my menu, and the one that the pieces vary most widely in weight. So yes, I have learned to weigh it. If you go to your goals again and reenter the info with your current weight, you will see a few less daily calories alotted. Sometimes that makes me a little sad, because I want to eat more, lol. But then I realize I would only sabotage my good progress, and I find it in myself to accept that I no longer need those 140 or so calories that were used to keep 30 pounds of fat alive daily :neutral:
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
    bluedog290 wrote: »
    cmriverside wrote: »
    That seven pounds you lost isn't really enough to worry about calorie-wise. (Congrats, though!)

    Like heybales said, if you go into Goals > View guided setup ....and change your weight and then "save" it will automatically change your calories when warranted (about every 10 pounds it will adjust if you do this.)


    How many calories per day are you eating now? Are you adding in Exercise and eating more on those exercise days?



    _____________________________

    My iphone keeps track of my steps but only if it's in my pocket. I do a lot around the house cleaning, gardening , mowing grass and all that stuff I don't usually enter.
    When I started I used the 1 pound a week setting and it said to use 1960 daily calories so that's what I've been going by.

    Those are the kind of activities that would make you Lightly-Active as a daily activity level. Not sedentary.
    Then indeed you would not enter them separately.
  • bluedog290
    bluedog290 Posts: 11 Member
    Ok, I thought whole wheat bread would be good for high fiber like oatmeal.
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    bluedog290 wrote: »
    Ok, I thought whole wheat bread would be good for high fiber like oatmeal.

    Whole wheat bread is a source of fiber, but when our goal is to lose weight we still want to make sure we're accurately measuring the calories it contains.
  • bluedog290
    bluedog290 Posts: 11 Member
    heybales wrote: »
    bluedog290 wrote: »
    cmriverside wrote: »
    That seven pounds you lost isn't really enough to worry about calorie-wise. (Congrats, though!)

    Like heybales said, if you go into Goals > View guided setup ....and change your weight and then "save" it will automatically change your calories when warranted (about every 10 pounds it will adjust if you do this.)


    How many calories per day are you eating now? Are you adding in Exercise and eating more on those exercise days?



    _____________________________

    My iphone keeps track of my steps but only if it's in my pocket. I do a lot around the house cleaning, gardening , mowing grass and all that stuff I don't usually enter.
    When I started I used the 1 pound a week setting and it said to use 1960 daily calories so that's what I've been going by.

    Those are the kind of activities that would make you Lightly-Active as a daily activity level. Not sedentary.
    Then indeed you would not enter them separately.

    Ok, I changed it to lightly active and my daily calories went up to 2210 from 1960. Should I put it back?
  • Mithridites
    Mithridites Posts: 600 Member
    bluedog290 wrote: »
    Ok, I thought whole wheat bread would be good for high fiber like oatmeal.

    Nothing bad about bread. Just needs to be weighed for an accurate measurement of all the calories eaten that day.
    Anecdotally, when I started to read labels, I found my first 'healthy' bread was a little lower in fiber and higher in calories than my regular light rye bread. So I switched back, because the sacrifice of taste did not bear out in the numbers. I eat a lot of vegetables now and so get lots of fiber, but my 'fiber hero' still remains: rasberries!
    7g fiber per 100g berries! That's almost my whole daily dose in a single pint pack, and I love them. So pick and choose where you get your healthy nutrients. Just another way to enjoy the process.
  • lesdarts180
    lesdarts180 Posts: 3,101 Member
    bluedog290 wrote: »


    When I started I used the 1 pound a week setting and it said to use 1960 daily calories so that's what I've been going by.

    So it's been 7 weeks and you've lost 7 lbs - spot on! Congratulations and keep on doing what you're doing.

    As you get closer to goal you will have to be extra careful with weighing calorie-dense stuff but otherwise you seem to be doing OK.
  • bluedog290
    bluedog290 Posts: 11 Member
    edited August 2020
    yes i switched brands of whole wheat bread and now 2 slices are the same as one slice of the old brand.I'm learning a lot reading labels.
    I switched it back to not very active and it lowered my calories from 1960 to 1920 after I changed my goal weight to 180.
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
    I'll bet you find with better accuracy on the eating side, it balances out the better estimate on the burning side that went up by 250.

    Now, that being said - at this point in your "journey" you do have enough to lose (58 lbs), that unless you have some other medical issues going on stressing your body badly - you could select the 1.5 lb weekly loss and still be in a reasonable zone for rate of loss. If desired.
    Down until you have 30 lbs to lose - then switch to 1 lb weekly.
    Until 15 lbs left, then 1/2.

    So while you lose weight you will keep burning less, at several points you'll take less deficit and be eating more.
  • bluedog290
    bluedog290 Posts: 11 Member
    heybales wrote: »
    I'll bet you find with better accuracy on the eating side, it balances out the better estimate on the burning side that went up by 250.

    Now, that being said - at this point in your "journey" you do have enough to lose (58 lbs), that unless you have some other medical issues going on stressing your body badly - you could select the 1.5 lb weekly loss and still be in a reasonable zone for rate of loss. If desired.
    Down until you have 30 lbs to lose - then switch to 1 lb weekly.
    Until 15 lbs left, then 1/2.

    So while you lose weight you will keep burning less, at several points you'll take less deficit and be eating more.

    I switched the goals to lightly active and 1.5 lbs a week and it went back to 1960 calories so I'll stick with that lol and see how it goes. I'll be going back to work september 8th and will be walking more too which will help.

  • Fflpnari
    Fflpnari Posts: 975 Member
    My calorie deficit is actually my goal weight maintenence calories. I dont reduce calories, but I do lose slow when close to goal weight
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
    Fflpnari wrote: »
    My calorie deficit is actually my goal weight maintenence calories. I dont reduce calories, but I do lose slow when close to goal weight

    If you set it for 5lbs under goal weight, the deficit won't go to a crawl of like 50 calories near the end - which is about impossible to obtain.

    You are doing the Eating For Future You method!

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