2470 calories? Is that right?!

If you're big and tall then that might be your number. We have no way of knowing unless you share your stats with us of course as gender, age, size, current weight and desired weight loss rate per week all play a role in your calorie goal. do you feel comfortable to share?

FullBodyKraken wrote: »

cmriverside wrote: »

You still need to run your basic functions, get through the day and be able to have energy and nutrition.

Try it. If you're big and tall, it's a good number.

Log for one month. See how you do. I bet you'll be surprised at how much you lose. (Keep in mind, it won't be 60 pounds like on "Biggest Loser.") Eight pounds a month loss for a large person would be very good - and still leave you able to eat food you like and have energy to do your life without being irritable and fatigued.

Cutting calories too low leads to inability to adhere and giving up. You're in for the long haul, do it in a healthy way that leaves you feeling like you can do it.

This was really comforting, thank you! I will try to remember this and not worry too much and just try to make sure I make healthy choices.

yirara wrote: »

If you're big and tall then that might be your number. We have no way of knowing unless you share your stats with us of course as gender, age, size, current weight and desired weight loss rate per week all play a role in your calorie goal. do you feel comfortable to share?

Of course!I didn't think of that.

I am female, 6'0" tall, weighed in this morning at 433 *cringe* which is why I joined here again! I am 34 years of age and I'd like to lose at least 2 lbs a week, which is what I have it set at! Hope that helps!

You may want to read and/or join in this special Group, it has a lot of people who started with a lot of weight to lose, and many of them have been super successful. There's so much good info and support there:
https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/133315-larger-losers
Of course, any questions or issues you have, post here in the regular forums too if you want! There's always someone around. :flowerforyou:

You can do this. Stick with your 2470. Learn how to log food, and hang on! You may have days where you just say, "Ugh," and eat everything in sight. When/if that happens, get right back at it the very next day - and try to log the binge days. It helps.

FullBodyKraken wrote: »

cmriverside wrote: »

You may want to read and/or join in this special Group, it has a lot of people who started with a lot of weight to lose, and many of them have been super successful. There's so much good info and support there:
https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/133315-larger-losers

Of course, any questions or issue you have, post in the regular forums too! :flowerforyou:

You can do this. Stick with your 2470. Learn how to log food, and hang on! You will have days where you just say, "Eff it." and eat everything in sight. When/if that happens, get right back at it the very next day - and try to log the binge days. It helps.

That's really wonderful, thank you. I will give the group a read for sure! I need all the darn help I can get!!! I have tried this on here a few times, but I have sticking power problems... save to donuts, I'm good at sticking to those.

I am going to give the 2470 a go and hope for the best! Scary, but it can't get too much worse at this point! I'll remember about the binge days too, as I am positive that'll appear. -deep healing breaths-.

Thank you for the links and the help, I am beyond grateful. I feel more secure now, thanks to you.

You're welcome, and don't worry, your allotted calories are going to go down as you lose weight... enjoy it while it lasts,

You've likely been eating 5000+ calories every day so 2470 isn't really going to feel like much.

You can have *A* donut here and there. For me a donut would not be worth the calories and would trigger me to eat lots more, but I do have an occasional treat cupcake. Occasional. Like once a week - not every day. It did take me time to learn to do that.

Log it! Study that food diary. Try to hit your goal for protein and fiber and stay close on the carbs and fats.

What the others have said. Given your current weight there's another reason for your weight going up: just normal fluctuations due to variations in water and waste content. The bigger the body, the bigger those fluctuations can be. Heck, they are easily 2-4lbs for small me, especially during onset of menstruation or after airtravel. For you these could be quite substantial. But the important thing is: it's not body fat but the normal ebb and flood of your body. If you've not used a scale a lot before you might not have noticed.

lynn_glenmont wrote: »

FullBodyKraken wrote: »

lynn_glenmont wrote: »

Based on the stats you gave later, if you are eating less than 2470 and still gaining weight, either

1) you're mistaken about how much you're eating and need to get a food scale and be sure to log everything you eat. This isn't an accusation that you're lying or incompetent. Underestimating how much you're eating is nearly as common as breathing.

or

2) you should see a doctor, for a hormone workup and to check for dangerous water retention issues.

Oh, no, this is my very first day starting to count my calories! (I have done all this before! I know about BMR and TDEE and all that!) I was just surprised at how high the calories were when I inputted this go around (Been about 4-5 years since my last attempt at MFP). I have my scales and I log everything that touches my mouth!

Sounds good then. FYI, I weigh much less than half what you do (closer to a third), and I maintain on about 2370 calories, before exercise. Admittedly, I'm an unusually high calorie burner, to borrow a phrase from Ann (sorry, I'm bad with remembering full screen names), but I'm still confident 2470 should be a meaningful deficit for you.

That'd be me, I think. At 5'5"/165cm, currently about 130 pounds/59 kg/9 st 4, very sedentary outside of intentional exercise, and age 67, I maintain at around 2100 before exercise, depending on season.

I'd phrase it, in my case, as "I'm a mysteriously good li'l ol' calorie burner for some reason" but I won't impose that terminology on Lynn! 😆

The point is that I think a lot of us get infected with the popular mythology that all women need to eat like delicate little birds or eat 1200 calories (regardless of current size) to lose weight, and it isn't so. That's not a path of thriving for a lot of women.

Beyond that, some people are non-average in their calorie needs, so it's important to stick with it for a month or so (at least a whole menstrual cycle if that age/sex, to compare body weight at the same relative point in at least 2 different cycles). After that, you'll have enough personal experience data to adjust using the concept that 500 calories daily is roughly a pound a week.