Using my fitness pal. Have it logged in to lose 2 pounds a week, and it's telling me 1200 calories is my number. It just seems like such a low number to me. It's probably my choices, but dang.

I'm not a tiny thing either, so you'd think it would allow me to eat a little bit more. Anyone else seeing this when using online calorie counters?

I think you can workout and add as much as you burned to the 1200.
i.e., walk 5 miles = about 450 extra calories for your current weight.

1200 calories is starvation. At least to me.

May I recommend the book fat2fit. It's a great book and explains how to calculate your BMR (basal metabolic rate) and then factor in extra calories for any movement you do. Great book. I got mine on amazon.

I use MFP and when I set my goal for 2lbs loss a week it gave me a similar number. I would set your goal for 1.5 lbs or less a week so you can have more to eat, because for many people 1200 per day isn't sustainable. Also a previous poster mentioned Fit2Fat, which is a great tool concerning exactly how much you should be eating! Check out the book and look up the website for it, you can get a calculation of your BMR and get a better idea of what your goals should be!

It might not consider any exercise. When I saw my nutritionist, she recommended 1500 on the days I didnt work out and on the days I did, 2000. And I’m 5’0 soooo..

I'm struggling with the 1250 cals LoseIt gives me, especially after several months on it. I can get enough food on that amount but it leaves no wiggle room for a fun beverage or a treat. You'll have to play around with it and see how much you can budget and still lose.

i'm glad you posted this, because i was just about to! looking back at my food diary..i'm like.."wow! i have 1390 calories to play with and some days i still struggle to stay under, i can't imagine how someone doing 1200/day manages!"

my MFP username is valalltogether, feel free to add me!

I LOVE my fitness pal! Don't worry about the calories if you are working out... each time you burn, it will tell you that you've "earned" more calories for the day

I stick to 1200 but its nice to know there are "extra" ones if you need them!

I've read that myfitnesspal starts everyone off at 1200 regardless of their current weight but that you can go in a fiddle with it and get something that actually applies to you.

Again, this is what I've read. I don't actually know anything about myfitnesspal.

My counselor recommended I not do 1200, but 1500. I have to lose over 100 pounds, so I could probably eat 1600 and still lose weight. 1200 does make me feel like I am starving. I set my fitness pal at 1320, just to remind me I am getting close to 1500. Then let my physical feeling help decide if I want to go over. Some days I am good and some I am not. Also I have found that fluctuating my calories is best. Eating the same calories everyday sets my system for that amount and I start to not lose. So I fluctuate.

Thanks for this... and to think that all this time I thought that myfitnesspal chose 1200 calories a day for me in some highly individualized way and because I was unique

I use other counters and input that number into mfp, I use this formula...

It's called the Olivia method but I've had more consistent results with it Of course you'd want to find your own numbers, these are mine from two months ago




*Bmr*1715 x 1.3(activity level) =2230

Set mfp to 2230
You must eat 1715 this is to survive!*

The 515 that is 2230-1715= 515 is part of your deficit from diet alone.*

1715+1000= 2715 this is maintenance*

2715-2230=485??? If I burn more than in this exercise, I need to eat that back*

I really hope that's not too confusing pm me if you have any questions

Never under estimate the power of vegetables. For dinner I had a 500 gram bag of broccoli florets, 4 huge roasted carrots and a omelet made with 1 jumbo egg and a tablespoon of real butter. For about 400-ish calories, I am completely stuffed. No reason to be hungry on a low amount of daily calories.

Thedollylala That is similar to fat2fit calculator or any calulator for BMR and TDEE. http://www.fat2fitradio.com/tools/bmr/

I too started at 1200 calories a day on My fitness pal. I was able to eat at that level for several weeks. After starting to work out consitantly I felt soo tired and grumpy. I upped my calories to 1500 then found out about BMR and increased it again to 1700. My BMR is 1690. With lifting weights and cardio I needed those calories.

There are 2 groups on my fitness pal that encourage higher calories and exercise (lifting weights) to lose in a healthy way. You do not loose as fast but you also don't lose muscle in the process. Eat more to weigh less http://www.myfitnesspal.com/forums/s...-to-weigh-less and In place of a road map http://www.myfitnesspal.com/forums/s...-of-a-road-map Both suggest eating above your basic body requirement and below your TDEE (total daily enegry requirment). Most suggest 15% below your tdee. I am very overweight so am going for 30% below.

I try and eat at 30% below my TDEE which is about 1900-2000 cal/day. I lift weights 3x a week and do cardio (walk 1.6 miles in 30min) 3x a week. I am still trying to work my way up to that level. Its hard psychologically to eat more. I am eating about 1800 on nonlifting days and 2000 on lifting days.