2 lbs per week is a very ambitious target; it requires a calorie deficit of 1000 calories/day, and that is why MyFitnessPal sets your target so low. It means that MFP thinks you maintain at 2450 calories/day, which sounds pretty reasonable to me.
MyFitnessPal also is specifically designed for you to eat your activity calories - so that if you exercise or do any activity, your calorie allotment goes up.
The upshot is, 1450 is a bit low for your height and weight and doesn't leave you much wiggle room, as you note. But, 2 lbs loss per week might be more than you should aim for. Also, if you exercise for 30 minutes or an hour a day, MFP will give you another couple hundred calories to eat (depending upon how strenuous the exercise is).
So, it's up to you - do you want to rush to lose as quickly as possible, or do you want to take a slower, easier, and probably healthier and more sustainable approach? If it were me, I'd set my target to a pound a week instead of 2 pounds a week, and go with that instead - 1950 calories a day is not difficult to achieve at all. Or, split the difference. But you don't need to be in a great big hurry.
Last edited by carter; 11-14-2011 at 02:28 PM.
|