Very confused newbie looking for advice

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jen1127
jen1127 Posts: 19
in Health and Weight Loss
Hello! I'm 36 yrs old, female, 165#, 5'2". Goal weight is 125#. When I set up my account MFP put me on a 1200/day goal. I've been reading the message boards and am VERY confused if this is correct. My BMR is 1392. I do a 60 minute cardio class at the Y 3x/week, group lifting class 2x/week, and a 45 minute spin class once a week. Otherwise I'm pretty sedentary. I have been trying to eat back exercise calories after reading all the posts about the subject. I guess I just need someone knowledgeable to give me their opinion on the 1200/day. Thank you for any words of wisdom!

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  • AutumnBreeze07
    AutumnBreeze07 Posts: 49 Member
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    Did you change your activity settings to active? If you work out as much as you do, I wouldn't enter "sedentary". It will give you too few daily calories.
  • FlaxMilk
    FlaxMilk Posts: 3,452 Member
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    I would go ahead with the 1200 calories if you are eating back your exercise calories. A lot of people do 1200 and don't eat back exercise calories and end up in trouble with their metabolisms or nutrients.
  • jen1127
    jen1127 Posts: 19
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    Autumn, I just changed the setting to active and it still kept me at 1200 calories. :(
  • jen1127
    jen1127 Posts: 19
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    And I have the loss set at 1.5#/week.
  • Dezzie046
    Dezzie046 Posts: 4
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    It seems like 1200 calories + the amount of excercise you do gives you a too large deficit. If your deficit is too large, your body may go to "starvation mode" (or in other words: your body is going to store everything you eat because it thinks you're starving).
    Therefore, it's important to eat back your calories, and don't go under 1200 net calories a day.
  • AutumnBreeze07
    AutumnBreeze07 Posts: 49 Member
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    I am a 39 year old, female, 170 lbs, 5' 4'', and they have me set at about 1200 cals a day too. My BMR is about 1430. From everything I have read on this site, I will try to eat back my exercise calories to "net" 1200 - 1300 cals a day. I just started on MFP too -- so we will see how this goes! :)

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