How many of you went with the calorie goal MFP set for you,

I adjusted my MFP recommendation upward as I felt 1300 cals would have me climbing--or eating--the walls. My base is 1420, I always eat back my exercise calories, and I don't sweat it if I go over. And I have cheat days. And I'm losing at the rate that feels right for me.

It's not a science, it's an art. :drinker:

ETA: when I tried to keep to a low calorie amount, I found myself REALLY going overboard on the weekends. Now that I pretty much eat enough every day, I don't feel like I need or want to do that anymore.

I changed my Calorie goal to 1,200 per my boot camp coach...

I stuck with the recommended 1200 calories and had no issue with losing weight. Every once in awhile I'd have a cheat meal and eat some exercise calories back.

I do stick with the calories they give me and usually eat about 100 under just because I am paranoid about if all the numbers assigned to my foods are accurate. I rarely eat my exercise calories but when I have a good work out that is my excuse to have some ice cream or a glass of wine

I've been doing 2 things: stick with 1200 calories on MFP, but I'm not super strict about it; most days I actually eat anywhere from 1400-1700 calories, if I exercise maybe closer to 2000-2200 (burning 400-800 calories depending on the day, about 3 days a week). For me I think if I set the calories higher than that then I would potentially exceed even that. But in my mind I know 1200 is too low and if I go over I don't feel bad about it.

The second thing I've been doing is losing 10% body weight, then taking a break for two months. I started at 190 pounds and lost 19 pounds (10%) in about 2 months or so, then break for 2 months (maintenance). Still set calories at 1200 but would be more consistently at 1700-2100 cals per day. Then restarted at goal of 1400-1700 again, starting at 171 pounds, and have now lost 16 pounds (goal is 17 lbs, which is 10% of 171). Once goal is reached in a week or so, I will go back to maintenance for another couple of months.

Although this is very "slow" compared to other people's weight loss, (now over 6 months into it with 35 pounds lost), from what I've read, the in-between maintenance allows the body to reset all its food/hunger/fat hormones including insulin, ghrelin, and leptin. Otherwise they are out of whack by the time you lose all your weight and maintenance becomes physically very difficult. A 135 pound person who has always been thin, and a 135 pound person who started out overweight; the previously overweight person will tend to gain more weight eating the exact same things as the naturally thin person. Allowing your hormone levels to reset puts you at the same starting point as the naturally thin person, therefore making it easier to maintain.

I've told lots of people about this, but it rarely seems to be put into practice. It was kind of frustrating not to lose weight for two months, but now since I've started up again, the weight is honestly coming off with not a ton of effort. So I think it's worth it. It's kind of like putting in my own plateaus which seems to happen at a certain point for everyone.

I figured it's worth a shot to start out as simply as possible, so did go with the calories MFP set for me. I was set at 1 pound a week and lost that very steadily for about 23 weeks. When I hit a plateau, I rode it out, and after 2-3 weeks changed my settings to a 1/2 pound loss per week, bumping up my cals a bit. After a month of that, I started losing again. For now I am leaving it at 1/2 pound, though I may go back to the 1 pound loss soon. I eat back most of my exercise cals most days. I was honest with my activity level and am honest with my food journal, though there are times I don't log exercise or log less than I do. I am not sure that has helped - maybe I've needed to eat back ALL my exercise cals all along?

For me, though, simple means it's less time consuming, less mentally consuming, and therefore less likely to get skipped altogether. I have stuck to it for nine months and am not weary of it.

Hello! I'm new to the forum and the site (though not to weight loss...) and everyone seems really friendly!

I am at the smaller end of the scale (5ft 1) and if I ate 1800 calories I would gain weight (and have done so in the past and most recently over the festive period hence why I am on here). This is also including that I jog every day, run around after my littlest and walk the dog x times a day. I am the first to admit I am not huge and am looking to lose 10lbs in total and I don't mind if its 1/2 lb a week or whatever, but 1300 calories a day allowance for me is more than ample. Just adding this because some are 'so sure' that anything as little as 1300 is unhealthy and causes the body to starve, but I think this is relative to your height and size.

I also don't pay much attention to that whole thing that MFP gives you about not eating enough calories and putting your body into "starvation mode". As long as you eat at least 1200 calories, you are not going to go into starvation mode. The biggest thing with starving yourself is that your metabolism drops and you don't lose weight. Exercise raises your metabolism so you don't have to worry about that. You need fuel (in the form of calories) to exercise but unless you are into body building and gaining muscle mass, I wouldn't eat back those exercise calories

I don't know where you got that information, but your body burns around 1200-2000(depending on your weight) calories per day just doing normal things, like digesting food, and such. So yes, eating just 1200 calories a day and burning 500 exercising is starving your body.

And the point of exercise is to be healthy. If you are only doing cardio, you won't lose a ton of weight. Cardio builds endurance. Lifting builds the muscle which raises your metabolism which then burns the fat. When you do cardio, your metabolism is only raised during exercise.

It's science!

I do both cardio and strength exercises. I meet with a trainer 3 days a week. and do cardio 3-4 days a week. I eat at least 1200 calories a day but I don't eat back my exercise calories. As a result my net calories are typically 500-800. I'm not starving myself. I'm eating. I'm just working as much of it off as I can