Confused about calorie and staying under

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bradynsmom
bradynsmom Posts: 23 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
When I changed the goals I wanted to reach and everything MFP put my calorie intake as 1200 at first. However in order to lose I needed to be under that on a regular basis, right? But if I was always under 1200 then my body would go into starvation mode and then I wouldn't lose any either?

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  • purpleipod
    purpleipod Posts: 1,147 Member
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    You need to be at 1200, not under it. Try to get as close as you can, being off by a few calories isn't really a big deal.
  • ILiftHeavyAcrylics
    ILiftHeavyAcrylics Posts: 27,732 Member
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    if you're going with 1200 then you want to get as close to 0 as possible. Don't go for "under 1200" go for "1200." Or even a little more wouldn't hurt.
  • Way_2_a_Healthy_Mel
    Way_2_a_Healthy_Mel Posts: 175 Member
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    Did you click on maintenance or losing so many pounds per week. If you changed it to lose, then the 1200 is your goal to help you lose the amount of weight per week you chose.
  • tmbobe
    tmbobe Posts: 11
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    Your daily calorie intake should be already reflecting your goal. If it says that you should eat 1200 calories, it is already including a deficit for weight loss. If you check what you burn daily at rest, it will be more than that. If you exercise, you add the exercise calories to the 1200 because you need to eat 1200 MINIMUM/per day to not go into starvation mode...
  • bradynsmom
    bradynsmom Posts: 23 Member
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    Yeah I just changed it from one pound a week to two pounds a week and it went to 1200 so I thought i had to be under that. Thanks for clearing it up
  • LorinaLynn
    LorinaLynn Posts: 13,247 Member
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    It's not like being on The Price is Right where you have to stay under the number. :wink: Aim as close as you can, and don't get upset if you get red number. Going over by 50 or 100 is fine. It's still considerably under what it takes to maintain your weight, so you'll still lose.

    Go to your goals page - http://www.myfitnesspal.com/account/my_goals - and on the right it will list "Calories Burned From Normal Daily Activity." As long as you're under that number, you're going to lose weight.

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