Two questions for those at or near goal weight

amychantel
amychantel Posts: 52 Member
edited December 21 in Food and Nutrition
For those of you who are at are near goal weight...

1. Did you eat the number of calories that MFP recommended to lose max weight or something higher? If more, how much more?

2. Did you eat your exercise calories back or not?

3. If you are comfortable saying, how much weight did you lose total?

Ok - I know that's 3 questions - sorry!

No offiense, but I would really love to hear only from those who are at or near goal weight - I am interested in the experience of those who actually made it all the way to goal (or really close).

Thanks!
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Replies

  • pbl1966
    pbl1966 Posts: 207 Member
    My calories were set to 1200 and I think that was supposed to be about 1lb a week. I ate most of my exercise calories back (did not use a HR monitor so was not confident in what MFP assigned). I lost about 35 lbs in about 7 months. Working on maintenance now and toning up what is left.
  • smbyrd13
    smbyrd13 Posts: 52 Member
    I averaged around 1450-1550 calories a day, found that was a good place for me. Yes, I did eat back all of my exercise calories. I've lost about 18lbs, I'm very happy with where I'm at but would like to lose a few more lbs. We're leaving for a European vacation on Wednesday so doubt I'll be losing those lbs anytime soon :)
  • shaycat
    shaycat Posts: 980
    Honestly, I lost about 40lbs eating MFP's recommended 1240 calories a day. Most days I didnt eat back my exercise. I didnt know I was suppose to. I ended up dropping to a much lower number than my goal weight. I stopped logging and went on a few month binge and gained 10lbs back. I now eat 1700 calories a day and dont eat my exercise back. I am not losing weight, but I am shaping my body and losing fat.
  • keeponkickin
    keeponkickin Posts: 1,520 Member
    Hi,

    1. I have to say I never ate the recommended number of calories that MFP recommended. It was just too low for me. I probably ate 300 more.

    2. Exercise calories. It really depends on how much exercise I got in that day and if my body is more hungry. I wear a HRM and I don't use the MFP database.

    3. I lost a total of 112 pounds in exactly one year. I've now been on a plateau for 6 months but I've continued to lose bodyfat and have lost a size in my clothes though the scale remains the same. I would like to lose 10 more pounds but it's really hard at this stage of the game. I will just keep living the healthy lifestyle and feeding my body. I currently eat 1800 to 2000 a day.
  • Anthonydaman
    Anthonydaman Posts: 854 Member
    I always try to end the day with a surplus of calories(200-400) , I rarely eat back all of my exercise calories, and in 105 days I have dropped 36 lbs...
  • kashmyre
    kashmyre Posts: 105 Member
    1. Did you eat the number of calories that MFP recommended to lose max weight or something higher? If more, how much more? - I tried to stay around 1200 calories, especially on the weekdays. Weekends were a little higher. I excersized 5-6 times a week for about an hour, burning anywhere from 600-950 calories depending on the workout (Zumba, Running, Eliptical, Weights, etc). I was set at 2lbs a week and have averaged that through the whole "journey" without plateauing.

    2. Did you eat your exercise calories back or not? - I only ate back excersize calories if I felt I was hungry or had a special occasion (ladies night out, holiday, whatever)

    3. If you are comfortable saying, how much weight did you lose total? - I started at 230lbs (I'm 5'8") in November 2011. I am currently 158.8 with a goal of 150.

    Hope this helps!
  • MissFit0101
    MissFit0101 Posts: 2,382
    I ate the 1200 that MFP calculated for me, for about 2 months. I ate back all my exercise calories; every last one of them. Then I realized 1200 was way to low and went up to 1350. (I still ate back all my exercise cals.) I stayed at 1350 until the last 5lbs when I increased up to 1450ish. Now I eat maintenance calories. I lost 25 lbs. total.
  • anner53108
    anner53108 Posts: 103
    1. I ate what MFP recommended to lose 1.5 lbs/week at first, then tapered off to 1 lb/week and then half lb/week. Now I'm at maintenance, but I'd love to lose a few more pounds to get to 40 lbs lost even (I know -- like it matters!).

    2. I ate most of my calories back. I tried to stay within 300 calories of what MFP says with eating calories back.

    3. I've lost 37.5 pounds.

    And I agree with plb1966 -- an HRM is a MUST.
    In my experience (and those of some others, I hear) weight loss slows greatly the closer you get to goal. In the past 6 months or so, I have gone months without losing any weight. So I try to change things up calorie- and workout-wise to lose another lb or so.

    Also: Don't only pay attention to the scale! Measure and pay attention to changes in your size and how your clothes fit. And scale can be evil! :laugh:

    ~ Ann
  • DixiedoesMFP
    DixiedoesMFP Posts: 935 Member
    I have lost ten pounds with five to ten more to go eating 1700 - 2100 depending on the day. I don't eat my exercise calories back because that calorie goal is fairly high, but that worked better for me. I couldn't stick to a lower calorie goal very well and I exercise nearly every day this way.
  • ZombieSlayer
    ZombieSlayer Posts: 369 Member
    I started by eating what MFP told me. I lost very little. 10/2010
    I took my base calories up to my BMR, also ate exercise calories, and started shedding. 04/2011
    Got pregnant, miscarried, off track, gained some back. 09/2011 - 12/2011
    Got back on track at just under maintenance (calculated manually) plus exercise calories and am losing the last few pounds slowly but steadily. 01/2012 - present.

    I'm pretty much at maintenance now, just working on shedding the last couple pounds of fat without losing the muscle underneath.

    Oh... total weight lost (not including regain) - 30.8 lbs.
  • bethie624
    bethie624 Posts: 16 Member
    1. Did you eat the number of calories that MFP recommended to lose max weight or something higher? If more, how much more?

    Yes, I ate what MFP told me to. I usually stayed a little under.

    2. Did you eat your exercise calories back or not?

    I tried not to eat my exercise calories back. (There were days where I had to do extra exercise to be under on my calories though)

    3. If you are comfortable saying, how much weight did you lose total?

    I've lost 60 lbs total ~ MFP works! I have maintained it also....I am in maintenance now
  • wild_wild_life
    wild_wild_life Posts: 1,334 Member
    1. I ate at a 1lb or .5 lb per week loss (500 to 250 cal daily deficit). When i was at a 500 cal deficit, i had a cheat day once a week where i ate whatever i wanted. It went without a hitch.

    2. I set my activity to sedentery and ate cals burned from dog walking and running

    3. 20 lbs.
  • jennifershoo
    jennifershoo Posts: 3,198 Member
    At first, I set my daily cals at 1200 like most people here.
    After 3 months, I upped to 1400 cals + eating the exercises cals back, so I was eating around 1700-1800 cals per day.
    I didn't have that much to lose. I started at 144 lbs and went down to 114 lbs.
    Now I've been maintaining at 116 lbs for the past 3 months. I don't count my cals because it's not the way to live your life everyday.
    I estimate that I eat around 2000 cals a day. I run and lift and I've been gaining muscles.
    I just eat whole food, LOTS of organic veggies and fruits, non fat dairy (except cheese, I love full fat cheese!), grass fed meat, cage-free chicken and eggs, fish and lots of good fat (avocados, nuts and seeds).
  • Yanicka1
    Yanicka1 Posts: 4,564 Member
    For those of you who are at are near goal weight...

    1. Did you eat the number of calories that MFP recommended to lose max weight or something higher? If more, how much more?
    I eat between 1700 and 2000 calories a day. For me it mean TDEE minus 15%

    2. Did you eat your exercise calories back or not?

    No since it is included in my TDEE calculation

    3. If you are comfortable saying, how much weight did you lose total?

    Lost 20 pounds and working on the last 5
  • mgram2
    mgram2 Posts: 128 Member
    1. Did you eat the number of calories that MFP recommended to lose max weight or something higher? If more, how much more?

    Ate 1200 a day (sometimes between 1000-1200) everyday for a few months. Just bumped it up to 1350.

    2. Did you eat your exercise calories back or not?

    Honestly during most of my weight loss I hardly exercised at all (no time to - just ate right).. it's just now that I've upped my calories to 1350 that I've really started working out (5x a week.. 20 minutes on the elliptical and some weights). And yes for the most part I eat back my calories.. not all the time though.. just depends how I'm feeling.

    3. If you are comfortable saying, how much weight did you lose total?
    Started at 163. .and now at 130-131.
    Just trying to lose the last couple lbs and tone my body a bit more. (I'm 5'5")
  • iron_jj
    iron_jj Posts: 446 Member
    I never ate MFPs numbers. Over the past 7 months I averaged 1500-1800 net calories. Went from 194-148.3lbs.
  • kayleesays
    kayleesays Posts: 564 Member
    1. Did you eat the number of calories that MFP recommended to lose max weight or something higher? If more, how much more?

    For a while, it recommended 1340, but I couldn't take that kind of punishment for long. I stuck to that guideline and only lost about 4 pounds in 3 months. I upped to 1640-1800 and lost another 11. So, I would say no.

    2. Did you eat your exercise calories back or not?

    I always eat them back to at least my BMR, which is around 1400, and usually I eat more.

    3. If you are comfortable saying, how much weight did you lose total?

    15 lbs so far, 17 pounds is my goal.
  • SmartAlec03211988
    SmartAlec03211988 Posts: 1,896 Member
    - I started out at 1200, then gradually changed it from 2lbs/week to 1lbs/week, then finally when I was within about 20 lbs of goal I went for .5lbs/week, and finally to maintenance. Eating more helped me lose more.

    - I always eat my calories back.

    - 81 lbs.
  • litatura
    litatura Posts: 569 Member
    1. Did you eat the number of calories that MFP recommended to lose max weight or something higher? If more, how much more?
    MFP set me at 1200 calories and most days I range from 1200-1400 calories (usually closer to 1400). My BMR is around 1350 so I try to stay around that.


    2. Did you eat your exercise calories back or not?
    Nope, I don't eat my exercise calories back or if I do, very few. The reason being is that I'm not confident in how many calories I'm actually burning (I run 5km on the treadmill 4X/week and do Shred it with Weights 2-3X/week), so I don't factor them in.

    3. If you are comfortable saying, how much weight did you lose total?
    I've lost 68lbs in total so far (started in July 2011) with 5.5lbs. left to go to a healthy BMI and 7 lbs. to my goal.
  • Meggles63
    Meggles63 Posts: 916 Member
    1. Did you eat the number of calories that MFP recommended to lose max weight or something higher? If more, how much more?
    MFP set me at 1200 calories originally, and that was way too low. I was starting Insanity, so I upped them to 1600 then 1700 and ended up at 1800!


    2. Did you eat your exercise calories back or not? I did eat them back. Now that I'm on maintenance, I just set my cals. at TDEE - 2100 - and don't eat them back. However, I am trying to build muscle, and on my lifting days, I try to gross 2500.


    3. If you are comfortable saying, how much weight did you lose total? I lost 20 lbs. since I started working out and logging MFP.
  • krisaddress
    krisaddress Posts: 43 Member
    I'm 2.5kgs away from my goal weight but to get there for the first 4wks I ate 1200 cals per day and did not eat my exercise calories back at the time I was averaging around 400 exercise cals per day.

    After the first 4 weeks I increased my calories to 1350 and did not eat my exercise calories back.

    Now I'm almost at my goal weight and my calories are at 1500 and I eat some of my exercise cals back - but I usually have at least 400cals left (in the MPF green)

    My exercise is:
    Monday: 5.6km rum and Personal Training doing upper body strenght
    Tuesday: RPM (cycle)
    Wednesday: Day off
    Thursday: Strenght training (legs)
    Friday: 40mins of Interval training (Treadmill, after warm up - run 12kmsph for 20seconds, jump off for 10seconds x5. Rest 40seconds, increase speed to 13kmph and perform the same. Get to 17kmph do the same twice then perform the same but going back down in speed)
    Saturday: Day off
    Sunday: casual cycle around 20kms.

    I also walk to and from work which totals 40mins per day...

    Funny thing is I didn't have that much weight to loose but I have completely changed my body shape - I wanted to loose 8kgs and get from a size 12/14 to size 10... I am now a size 8 and I'm still not at my goal weight... but I am very happy where I am at.

    I am going to Thailand in 1.5 weeks to do a Thai fitness camp for a week so I figure ill hit my goal weight then.
  • tarapickett
    tarapickett Posts: 34 Member
    Great questions!

    1. Did you eat the number of calories that MFP recommended to lose max weight or something higher? If more, how much more? MFP recommends that I eat 1490 every day and I generally eat about that with the exception of one cheat day a week.

    2. Did you eat your exercise calories back or not? If I'm hungry, I eat them. If not, I don't. I figure it's all about how I feel.

    3. If you are comfortable saying, how much weight did you lose total? I came to MFP to lose about 10-12lbs and so far am down 7+lbs.

    Good luck to you. Feel free to add me.
  • Di3012
    Di3012 Posts: 2,247 Member
    For those of you who are at are near goal weight...

    1. Did you eat the number of calories that MFP recommended to lose max weight or something higher? If more, how much more?

    2. Did you eat your exercise calories back or not?

    3. If you are comfortable saying, how much weight did you lose total?

    Ok - I know that's 3 questions - sorry!

    No offiense, but I would really love to hear only from those who are at or near goal weight - I am interested in the experience of those who actually made it all the way to goal (or really close).

    Thanks!

    1. I ate the number of calories that MFP recommended - 1200
    2. Many times I did not eat them back, sometimes I go into them by 50 to 100, the rest I leave
    3. I have lost just under 30lbs - I have 0.8lbs to go lol
  • EpiGaiaRepens
    EpiGaiaRepens Posts: 824 Member
    For those of you who are at are near goal weight...

    1. Did you eat the number of calories that MFP recommended to lose max weight or something higher? If more, how much more?

    2. Did you eat your exercise calories back or not?

    3. If you are comfortable saying, how much weight did you lose total?

    Ok - I know that's 3 questions - sorry!

    No offiense, but I would really love to hear only from those who are at or near goal weight - I am interested in the experience of those who actually made it all the way to goal (or really close).

    Thanks!

    1. I set it to net 1200
    2. Yes! Not if i wasn't hungry, but if i was hungry I did.
    3. 50 lbs (20 more than my original goal!)

    sw: 174
    OGW: 145
    LW: 123
    CW: 128
  • spammyanna
    spammyanna Posts: 871 Member
    1. Did you eat the number of calories that MFP recommended to lose max weight or something higher? If more, how much more?

    For the majority of my weight loss, I ate what MFP recommended, which was 1200. I then upped my calories to 1400, and lost there for a while. I now eat at maintenance and let my exercise create a deficit.

    2. Did you eat your exercise calories back or not?

    YES! But not all of them all the time. I eat back to at least 1200, or more if I am hungry.

    3. If you are comfortable saying, how much weight did you lose total?

    I've lost 50lbs.
  • atjays
    atjays Posts: 797 Member
    I'm within 5 lbs of what I'd consider goal weight. I don't think I'll lose much while lifting weights so I'm happy where I am. I like how I look and that's really what matters.

    1. I generally eat 1600-1800 calories worth of food everyday. On days I exercise I typically will add a light snack somewhere,

    2. I'm hesitant to eat back ALL of the exercise calories, because actual calories burned can vary so much. I'm just trying to lose fat and tone the muscle I have.

    3. I'm at 24 lbs lost. If I wanted a "healthy" BMI, I could try to lose another 20 lbs but I think I'd look like just skin and bones and that's not attractive.
  • SPNLuver83
    SPNLuver83 Posts: 2,050 Member
    1. Yes, I netted 1200 calories. Though last week I upped them to 1300 and this week to 1550. My BMR at my goal weight is 1650 is really I'm still kinda low.

    2. YES!

    3. 55 lbs and went from a 14 to 3-5, some 1s in pants/shorts and dress size xs/s 1/2.
  • robot_potato
    robot_potato Posts: 1,535 Member
    For those of you who are at are near goal weight...

    1. Did you eat the number of calories that MFP recommended to lose max weight or something higher? If more, how much more?

    2. Did you eat your exercise calories back or not?

    3. If you are comfortable saying, how much weight did you lose total?

    Ok - I know that's 3 questions - sorry!

    1- i started here after i had lost 45 pounds on my own. The first few months i was set to lose 2 pounds a week, 1350 calories. as i got closer i backed down to 1 pound a week, a few months ago that meant 1680 cals, now it's 1470.

    2- in the beginning i did not, i was struggling to eat that much in good healthy foods. I was too strict with myself i think. Now i am a bit less cautious and i do eat my exercise calories most of the time.

    3- i lost 46 pounds on my own before i started here, it took about 8 months. I've lost an additional 35 pounds since joining MFP at end of January. 81 pounds total.
  • Scorpioangel
    Scorpioangel Posts: 951 Member
    For those of you who are at are near goal weight...

    1. Did you eat the number of calories that MFP recommended to lose max weight or something higher? If more, how much more?

    2. Did you eat your exercise calories back or not?

    3. If you are comfortable saying, how much weight did you lose total?

    Ok - I know that's 3 questions - sorry!

    No offiense, but I would really love to hear only from those who are at or near goal weight - I am interested in the experience of those who actually made it all the way to goal (or really close).

    Thanks!

    Hey there!!! I am at my goal weight and to answer your questions:

    1. MFP stated I should eat maybe 1,230 or something like that. I ate 1,600 calories on a 50/30/20 ratio I set for myself. I knew that I would need more calories than the suggested amount so I went with the 1,600 and it worked out perfectly!

    2. I didn't make it a point to eat them back since I set them myself but on days that I have super big burns (over 800 caloriess) I may go eat up to half of them :)

    3. I lost a total of 47 pounds :)
  • mauryr
    mauryr Posts: 385
    My initial goal was BMI of 24.9 (highest "normal" value). I'm past that by a little now.


    1. Did you eat the number of calories that MFP recommended to lose max weight or something higher? If more, how much more?

    I ate the recommended calories. Still do.


    2. Did you eat your exercise calories back or not?

    When I had much weight to lose I didn't eat 'em back, and it was no problem. As I got about halfway between "overweight" and "normal" BMI, my appetite started kicking in, and I started eating back exercise cals, or most of 'em.


    3. If you are comfortable saying, how much weight did you lose total?
    Fluctuates between 73-78 lbs. (start weight 224, start BMI >35, start BF > 30% current weight 145, current BMI 22.7, current BF <16%. I'm 5' 7")

    It seems to me that the simple calories in-calories out equation of MFP works quite well, especially when one is significantly overweight. My weight loss graph was a straight line, pretty much exactly as MFP predicted (that is, until I got close to goal, then it got harder).
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