340 lb'ers, calorie allowance?

I started at 329 and my calories/day was at 1770. I lost 20+ pounds the first month and another 13 the second month with little exercise. I would suggest going with MFP's reccommendations.

2000 sounds about right to me. I started at 380 with an allowance around 2500 and now I'm down to 363 with an allowance of 2220 and have been losing steadily when I stay within my allowance.

I'm 319lbs. My calorie allowance is 1670 per day.

I'm sedentary and have my excercise goal at the lowest of 30 mins 1 x week (which it puts at 350 calories burned)

I have mine set this way to get the minimum allowed amout of calories to lose 2 lbs a week.

(if you are active daily instead of sedentary this will bring your calorie allowance up and you're excercise goal amount will affect your calorie allowance)

don't know if this will help any, just thought i'd post it to compare?

I am 356 pounds at the moment, down from 401. MFP allows me 2060 per day for a 2 pound per week loss. I will sometimes undercut this by 200-300 calories on net, but I often do that because I will spike over that amount once or twice a week in an effort to zig zag my calories.

The reality is, it really does take more calories to be so heavy. We use more calories than a normal weight person when we stand up, when we walk down the street. Our heart has to pump blood to a larger volume of tissue than a normal weight person, electrical signals from nerves have farther to travel, etc. All of this takes calories/energy for your body to maintain. Also, it has been shown that heavy people tend to have more muscle mass than a normal weight person, simply because it takes that much muscle to move ourselves around every day. I have had people be shocked that I can easily leg press 300 pounds, but the reality is, that's less than me just standing up. My legs lift that kind of load EVERY day.

So, main thing is, listen to your body, listen to your gut (literally and figuratively) but yes, it is entirely possible for you to be in a calorie deficit at 2k calories per day because of your size.

I'm hesitant to post because of the whole "starvation mode" and "eating exercise calories back" debates that have raged from the inception of this site, but I wanted to answer as someone who has been there, and still doing that.

I set my goal at 1200 calories daily back in August of last year and I use this as what it is, a tracking tool. Some days I go over, but don't let it bother me because of the quality of foods I'm taking in for example nuts, avacado etc. Somemdays I actually may not quite make it there, especially in summer when I'm eating more salads, veggies, etc. I work out 5 to six days a week and I have yet to eat an exercise calorie back. I've lost 93 lbs in 7 months, have yet to hit a plateau due to "starvation mode" .

I realize as my body changes, adjustments will have to be made, but I started at 328 and I just wanted to give an answer as someone who was there.

2000 sounds right .... i get 1710 and im at 212lbs but im a man we get more

Second this. I'm about 240 and get a little over 1800 cals (and I'm a woman).

To the OP - Is there a particular reason why 2000 seems like a lot?

At your weight, you can probably afford to tweak it a lot more than people closer to their "normal weight range," so if you're eating balanced for your meals and are eating enough to the get the nutrients you need (I'd say at least shoot for around 1500-1700 and see how you feel), then I wouldn't worry about the number too much, as long as you don't go too much over what MFP recommends.

Also, make sure you have your settings are set to the activity level you actually do (and either don't include exercise, or include it and don't track it). Setting it too high can sabotage your efforts by having you eat more than you actually need to lose weight.

As for whether or not to eat back exercise calories - I go by what my body says to determine whether or not I eat, but try to stay within my calorie allotment if I do eat. Remember - you're probably burning less than what numbers say (unless you're using a heart rate monitor AND it's properly set up), so it's not a big deal if you don't eat them all back, but if you're hungry, fuel your body! (And protein shakes or even just plain milk are a good way to get that fuel without feeling like you're force-feeding yourself.)

MFP numbers are generally pretty accurate for steady weight loss, but everyone is different, and some people need to tweak it more than others. You can change all of the goals manually if you find the recommended ones too far from what works for you (or if, for example, you've talked to a doctor and they've set up goals for you).

I started my journey at 352 pounds. I know I was more then that, but that was the first time I actually stepped on the scale. When I started my journey I ate around 1300 calories a day, and worked out 5 times per week. I have lost almost 100 pounds now, and have increased my calorie to 1500 a day, and work out 3-4 times per week. I still see a very steady weight loss. I think you need to focus on what you're eating not the calories so much. Recently I switched all my food to fresh veggies, fruit, lean meat, all natural peanut butter, and cut out any boxed stuff, cereal bars, etc, and had a 4.5 lbs weight loass that week! I eat apples and bananas all day everyday, and enjoy sweet potatos (they really fill you up!) I haven't looked at your diary to see what you eat, so if it isn't public could you change it, and I'll check it out?! Are you workin gout at all?

I walk on average, 3 times a week, for 2 hours, sometimes an extra 2 hours at the weekend.
Did you not get hungry on 1300 cals? What sort of thing did you eat? did you eat back your exercise cals?

No I didn't/don't get hungry often. If I do I eat a string cheese, or some cottage cheese, or drink a protein shake or something. You can look back at my food diary since I started, and you'll see exactly what I ate ,and how much its imporved now! I have mfp at 2 pounds a week with no exercise. When i do exercise I eat more throughout the day, but usually stay at 1500 cal a day. I have been steady losing about 3-4 pounds per week on average. Try premier nutrition protein shakes...they are low cal high protein, and taste really yummy!!! You can buy them at sams club. Also, for noodles I eat Shirataki noodles instead of regular noodes, and save 200 calories and eat more!!!

Female, 30 years old, 370 lbs, eating at 2500/day (this is my BMR and I am sedentary).

It's good you are going to eat 2000 calories. There is no reason to starve yourself and eating below the recommended amount won't make you lose faster. Your body and especially the metabolism is a complex tool that will adapt based on nutrition. If you eat under your metabolic rate, it will just slow down. So it's better to feed the beast and keep it pushing heavy. If you really want benefit, look to do weight training (even walking with weights). If you can maintain lean muscle mass through your weight loss your metabolism will keep high which makes long term success easier and less likely to plateau.

PS - I eat 2800 calories and cutting body fat and some weight.

I'm not 340, but the heavier you are, the higher your maintenance calories are. To me, it does not seem like too much - so many people on here are given just 1200 which in my opinion is completely unnecessary 99% of the time.

I'm 145lbs and am losing on 2000 net. Which means I eat my exercise calories back as well, making my total between 2000 and 2600.