To Increase or Decrease?

how often r u working out? i have a bodymedia that tells me how many cals i burn each day, so i know what to consume, but before i got it, i used the calorie calculator on freedieting.com -- use the harris benedict method. VERY accurate! i would normally eat any where in the range of 'extreme fat loss' and 'fat loss' hope that helps! also, take a look at the calorie zig zag underneath the calculator, its really good to zig zag calories, so ur body doesnt get too used to processing the same amount all the time

Angelica

I think we need more information. What is the time period of this so-called "stick"? Are you exercising? Do you think you could possibly be underestimating your caloric intake? Do you drink plenty of water and avoid excess salt?

My guess is that it's time to move more and lower your calorie goal, but without the answers to the above questions, it's hard to say.

I am 5'6" and MFP set my calories at 1,200 per day. "MY" goal is just 3.5 lbs away at 145.

My doctor, who made me sign up for MFP while I was in his office, would like me to be eating between 800-900 calories a day. He wants me at 135, right in the middle of the healthy BMI range.

I guess you just have to figure out what your actual calorie deficit is ... Total Calories Consumed minus Total Calories Burned.

Or, maybe you should have a conversation with your doctor. I can imagine you will get a whole bunch of differing opinions from members. You might want to take the best advice from the people who are losing or have lost weight :-)

Best wishes on your health and wellness journey!

toasterlisa -- i in NO way want to negatively critisize ur efforts, so please forgive me if i come across in any other way that helpful my dr wanted me to eat 1200 a day, and exercise as well, but not eat exercise cals back. i did so for a while, but found that i would binge and get discouraged VERY easily because i was depriving myself of having any type of food i liked. I started INSANITY (a SUPER intense cardio program) last spring, and that is when i started learning about proper calorie intake. I have since befriended a few nutritionists, and many others who have/are on the same weight loss journey as i. When i upped my calories to 1800, at first i was REALLY nervous, because i have NEVER been taught that eating more could help me MORe than eating less! It took some adjusting, but since doing that, i have lost at about 1.5/2 lbs per week on average, consistently. even if i dont exercise at all for a few weeks, i eat about 1700 a day at the lowest. I have several friends as well who had been eating 1200 or less a day, and they werent losing that fast, or at all. when they finally agreed to up there calories -- for a few WEEKS (initially u might gain a few lbs, because of ur body adjusting, dont get discouraged) they lost A LOT more than when they ate LESS! please know that doctors, however well-intended there advice is, they are in NO WAY certified on proper nutrition. PLEASE eat more, ur body will indeed thank u! If u want, (hopefully ive not offended u in any way), feel free to friend me! I share my diary daily, so u can always take a peek. I am also in an EXTREMELY motivational group of WOMEN on facebook, i'd love to add any of u gals to it -- just let me know!

Is the calories you consume on a daily basis including your exercise calories? Do you eat them back?
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This is TOTAL -- i dont go by MFPs calorie intake calculations, i use the freedieting.com ones. So i personally set my 'goal' on maintaining on MFP, and then just eat 1800-1900 (not net) back. does that make sense? sorry if its confusing. lol

How active are you throughout the day, excluding exercise/workouts? You need to take into account the energy you burn in an average day also.

Increase your fitness. Life is a math problem…., so is your body.

ok. sorry. according to freedieting.com, if u are not exercising AT ALL, u should eat about 1500/ day. If u exercise 3x per week, u should eat 1700 per day (yes, EVERY day). if u exercise 5x per week its 1800 per day. That is INCLUDING exercise calories. so every bite u take, should total the above amounts at the end of the day. just ignore the NET calories for now, and focus on calories consumed -- THAT is the number that you are lookin at.

On an average day I wouldn't be hugely active, but in saying that I would do a little walking. I am in school, so ever 40 I will be going to different parts of the school. I wore my HRM from 8am to 10pm on a typical non workout day and it told me I burned 2400 calories, would you count that as a sedentary, lightly active lifestyle?

I ran your stats, using some assumption re hours walking etc and I get the same number - about 2400. So, if you log your workouts into MFP then you should set your calories goal, assuming 1lb per week, at 1900. (2400 - 500 = 1900). A 500 calorie deficit each day = 1lb per week). You should eat most if not all of your exercise calories back. When you log your exercise, MFP adjusts your calorie goal - thats what you should aim for.

I know this seems really high, but at 1500 you really are not eating enough - you do not have too much to lose and so 1lb a week is a reasonable target (you should drop to 1/2 lb a week the nearer you get).

I just rechecked my HRM and in that particular day it was 2200 calls burned not 2400 so I decreased it by 500 which is 1700 cala. I have just changed my food diary to this too! Fingers crossed it works!

Sounds sensible - the calculators that MFP and other sites use are really just math for an 'average' person that does not take into account an individual's specifics. Isn't it great when you realize you can eat more!!

It. Does feel great. I was just afraid to up them because i don't exercise a huge amount!b

The great thing about the tool is that you can track your exercise calories - if you exercise, try to eat them back to stay at the same equivalent deficit. Iyou don't exercise, you just have less that you can eat - but you still should eat 1600 - 1700 calories without working out.

I think you made the right decision to up your calorie goal at least for awhile. I agree don't go below your BMR in fact you should stay above it depending on your activity level. I haven't tried it but I think zigzaging is worth a try to shake things up sometimes too. I am now spending a few weeks on maintenance to get my metabolism back up again. Best wishes.