calories

zanthee66
zanthee66 Posts: 41 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
when started mfp set my caloreis at 1200 i thought that was a bit low so now with the help of a freind on this site i've changed it to 1400 could you tell me what you have done and why thank you Zanthee.

Replies

  • ladyraven68
    ladyraven68 Posts: 2,003 Member
    when started mfp set my caloreis at 1200 i thought that was a bit low so now with the help of a freind on this site i've changed it to 1400 could you tell me what you have done and why thank you Zanthee.

    I started at 1200 plus exercise, but switched to TDEE-20% after about 3 weeks, which is 1600.

    Why? I prefer to eat a consistant amount every day rather than swicth calories depending on my activity, plus I found 1200 too low for me.
  • haylz247
    haylz247 Posts: 435
    mine was set at 1200 as well which is so low! mine is now 1440 which i think is about right. Although when i do exercise i do struggle to eat!
  • DanaDark
    DanaDark Posts: 2,187 Member
    Mine was set at 1200. I thought it was low but I knew weight loss would be a challenge. Reading information made me change it.

    Got my BMR: 1500 roughly.
    Got my TDEE at Sedimentary: 1900

    I set my calorie GOAL to 1600, with a mental note that my MINIMUM GOAL is 1500. I do not want to eat less than my BMR.

    I want to have a 500 to 900 calorie deficit in a day. So if I eat my goal, I have a 300 calorie deficit, so I need to exercise enough to burn 200 to 600 calories a day more.
  • CoderGal
    CoderGal Posts: 6,800 Member
    I started on 1200 and felt starved. I HATE that hungry feeling. So then I learned to eat healthier foods and fill up on fiber, essentially. So basically, I ate a lot more vegetables. That would bloat me but for little time and then I'd feel hungry again so I'd repeat. All the while I was doing research on how weight loss works. I realized I didn't have to take such a huge cut to lose weight. So I went from 1200 calories a day to NETTING over 1650 (the magic number seems to usually be 2200). I still lost a pound a week, which is what I was losing before. My nails got longer, my hair got nicer, so did my skin. When I got the flu on the low cal thing I'd get pretty sick, and I've been feeling pretty fantastic since. I wasn't hungry anymore, and I got to goal.

    To many people fall off the weight loss wagon because they go on the extreme diet (usually 1200 for women, 1500 for men). I don't see any point of it. I know people who were monitored by doctors who still agree that slow was the best way to go (and they had to go that route after they gained their weight back when they came off the low calorie diet).

    FYI My BMR is about 1303 now, and it was higher before. Taking 500 cals from my tdee is less then 1200 calories, and that just wasn't right.
  • kylebusch
    kylebusch Posts: 14
    I have been struggling with this. My BMR is around 2900 and have been trying to keep calories around 1400 and trying to exercise to drop it lower. Personally I feel fine with it but is eating lower than needed doing more harm than good? I figure this should be working better than it has. I have a lot to lose.

    Anyone have some research on this?
  • _TastySnoBalls_
    _TastySnoBalls_ Posts: 1,298 Member
    Mine was set at 1200. I thought it was low but I knew weight loss would be a challenge. Reading information made me change it.

    Got my BMR: 1500 roughly.
    Got my TDEE at Sedimentary: 1900

    I set my calorie GOAL to 1600, with a mental note that my MINIMUM GOAL is 1500. I do not want to eat less than my BMR.

    I want to have a 500 to 900 calorie deficit in a day. So if I eat my goal, I have a 300 calorie deficit, so I need to exercise enough to burn 200 to 600 calories a day more.

    ^^^this^^ i did this as well...1200 cals/day is just too hard for me...which is detrimental to long term success. So i messed with my numbers a bit..now i never eat below my BMR (1488) ...i average anywhere between 1500-1600 cals a day and this is really working for me...and the numbers on the scale are going down.
  • DanaDark
    DanaDark Posts: 2,187 Member
    I have been struggling with this. My BMR is around 2900 and have been trying to keep calories around 1400 and trying to exercise to drop it lower. Personally I feel fine with it but is eating lower than needed doing more harm than good? I figure this should be working better than it has. I have a lot to lose.

    Anyone have some research on this?

    2900 BMR?!?! ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!
  • rose313
    rose313 Posts: 1,146 Member
    I started at 1200, went down to 1000, learned that wasn't okay, went back up to 1200, went up to 1300, then 1500, gained, stopped eating exercise cals back, still eating 1500, lost the weight I gained, started eating clean, was able to manage 1200-1400 without starving, and that was my year.

    I love the amount of food I can eat when I eat healthy and not even hit 1200. My goal is still set to 1500 because I don't want 1200 to become my whole life. But I'm usually always around there.
  • _TastySnoBalls_
    _TastySnoBalls_ Posts: 1,298 Member
    I have been struggling with this. My BMR is around 2900 and have been trying to keep calories around 1400 and trying to exercise to drop it lower. Personally I feel fine with it but is eating lower than needed doing more harm than good? I figure this should be working better than it has. I have a lot to lose.

    Anyone have some research on this?

    you're depriving your body and it's not liking it. You have a lot to lose, so your BMR is higher, at a bare minimum, you should be eating your BMR cals...this is the amount of calories you'd be getting if you were in a coma...don't deprive your body of the proper nutrition it needs. as you start lo lose weight, your BMR will also decrease, so recalculate after a 5-10 lb loss.
  • rose313
    rose313 Posts: 1,146 Member
    I have been struggling with this. My BMR is around 2900 and have been trying to keep calories around 1400 and trying to exercise to drop it lower. Personally I feel fine with it but is eating lower than needed doing more harm than good? I figure this should be working better than it has. I have a lot to lose.

    Anyone have some research on this?

    2900 BMR?!?! ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!

    Probably means TDEE, or has a lot to lose. If a female was 5'2, 20 years old, and weighed 450 pounds, their BMR would be 2900. It's possible.
  • camelgirlmn
    camelgirlmn Posts: 226 Member
    All this has really got me confused. But im not sure where im suppose to be at. Its got me at 1200 which i been managing. and then eating back my exercise calories. Does that sound right? I just found out that you have to net the 12 which i wasnt doing.
  • rose313
    rose313 Posts: 1,146 Member
    .
  • DanaDark
    DanaDark Posts: 2,187 Member
    All this has really got me confused. But im not sure where im suppose to be at. Its got me at 1200 which i been managing. and then eating back my exercise calories. Does that sound right? I just found out that you have to net the 12 which i wasnt doing.

    Lost 25 pounds so far? Whatever you're doing seems to be working.
  • livigabihuni
    livigabihuni Posts: 18
    MFP tells me to eat 1290 but my BMR is 1434... so should I be eating more? I don't even know what TDEE or whatever is so I don't know what mine would be...
  • DanaDark
    DanaDark Posts: 2,187 Member
    Get your TDEE here: http://www.fitnessfrog.com/calculators/tdee-calculator.html

    BMR is energy to simply be alive
    TDEE is energy to be alive AND just do whatever it is you do in the day

    You WANT to give enough energy for your organs and such, so eat your BMR at least. It is OKAY to have your muscles take fat stores to go running, walking, etc... it is a bad idea to force YOUR HEART to depend on fat to prevent from dying. This usually is what causes the body to enter "starvation mode" after a few months which brings that "plateau".

    Eat somewhere between BMR and TDEE. From there, make a 500 to 1000 calorie deficit via the spare calories in food and exercise.

    If your exercise makes your deficit greater than 1000 calories, eat some back till the deficit is in that range. Excessive deficits can do quirky things on the metabolism (Also can lead to saggy skin in the long run).
  • camelgirlmn
    camelgirlmn Posts: 226 Member
    Thanks :) I actually lost just over 30. But its from cutting my calories down to 1200 a day and exercising every day.


    It says my bmr is 1601 amd my tdee is 2481. AM I eating enough at 1200 calories or will that put me into starvation mode?
  • kylebusch
    kylebusch Posts: 14
    Yea I have a lot to lose. Pair that with a being a guy (higher BMR) and not 5' 2" and you get the point.

    I feel fine on the reduced calories though. Water weight seems to be most of my fluctuations. I see people saying "didn't feel good, didn't have enough energy, etc" and I don't have any of this going on. Feel fine lol.
  • camelgirlmn
    camelgirlmn Posts: 226 Member
    Yea I have a lot to lose. Pair that with a being a guy (higher BMR) and not 5' 2" and you get the point.

    I feel fine on the reduced calories though. Water weight seems to be most of my fluctuations. I see people saying "didn't feel good, didn't have enough energy, etc" and I don't have any of this going on. Feel fine lol.

    I dont seem to have them problems either. Some days I feel a bit bloated from drinking to much water but I feel pretty good. Just thought that there was some certain way to do this because i never understood all the calorie stuff :)
  • livigabihuni
    livigabihuni Posts: 18
    Thank You!
  • MtnKat
    MtnKat Posts: 714
    I lost weight at 1200 cals (plus exercise calories)

    I lost weight at 1947 (TDEE minus 20%)

    Why would I choose to eat less lol?

    I did stall out on 1200 cals. Have tried that "diet" for years and have always failed and went back to my old ways. I was always angry at the small amount of food I got eat....I often felt victimized.

    At 1947, I feel energetic, full and satisfied. And there's no resentment for the low amount of food I could eat. I enjoy exercising so eating a steady base amount works for me....I love having an active lifestyle (that is what I strive for now that I have so many calories to work with).

    It's a mental thing. Both ways worked for me. One way felt like punishment; the other way feels like how I could live my life.

    I use this site to calculate my calories I need: http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/
  • kylebusch
    kylebusch Posts: 14
    Get your TDEE here: http://www.fitnessfrog.com/calculators/tdee-calculator.html

    BMR is energy to simply be alive
    TDEE is energy to be alive AND just do whatever it is you do in the day

    You WANT to give enough energy for your organs and such, so eat your BMR at least. It is OKAY to have your muscles take fat stores to go running, walking, etc... it is a bad idea to force YOUR HEART to depend on fat to prevent from dying. This usually is what causes the body to enter "starvation mode" after a few months which brings that "plateau".

    Eat somewhere between BMR and TDEE. From there, make a 500 to 1000 calorie deficit via the spare calories in food and exercise.

    If your exercise makes your deficit greater than 1000 calories, eat some back till the deficit is in that range. Excessive deficits can do quirky things on the metabolism (Also can lead to saggy skin in the long run).

    That site shows TDE around 3100 for me. I work at a desk job. Well I guess I will try to ramp up closer to the 1800 range. MFP puts my goal at 1900 per day. 1200 hasn't been much of a problem but with that my sodium intake has been high which may be why water weight has been most of my fluctuation.

    Thanks
  • Nessiechickie
    Nessiechickie Posts: 1,392 Member
    I started at 1200 as well for about a week.
    But would sometimes go over.
    So switched it to 1400 and now rarely go over it... except on the weekend :blushing:

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