Web MD diet, are you serious?
 

Huh. So I just went to web md and used the weight loss tools, including this one:

http://www.webmd.com/diet/calc-bmi-plus

has anyone here used that before? It seemed like a really good tool, until....

It told me that at my size (around 230) I should be eating 1200 calories a day.

It also tells you your body shape...based only on your jean size. Go figure. It told me I was a pear, and that I'm at increased risk because of it. According to them, I should be an hourglass shape in order to be healthy.
I thought I was an hourglass....
Bust 45
Waist 33.5
Hips 49.5
(I know it's not 36 24 36, but still....)

What's up with this site? 1200 calories, really?

Yeah, I wouldn't be eating 1200 calories a day if you are 230. You should be right around 1600 a day. Some sites are kind of off on a lot of this kind of stuff.

I've always read that "pears" are the healthiest women, besides which the only difference between a pear and an hourglass is boob size, so you're telling me that boob size is associated with health? Don't think so.

And yes, 1200 calories seems an extremely low place for anyone with a significant amount of weight to lose.

Just to prove how crazy that WedMD deal is, it is telling me that not only should I weigh 98 to 132 pounds (yeah, I sort of expected that), but that I should be eating 1467 calories a day. I eat 1200 calories a day presently (1300-1400 on days when I workout a lot).

On the good side, it does tell people not to go below 1200 calories which is correct.

wow, 98 pounds would make you so tiny! What were they thinking?

Hmm it said I should eat around 1700 calories to lose 1 lb per week and a little over 1200 to lose 2lbs per week. But it doesn't matter anyway cause I'm counting ww points now lol.

It told me I should eat 2169 calories/day. Seems a little high to me. Did you put in that you were completely sedentary and wanted to lose 2 lbs per week? Thats the only thing I could think.

1200 seems very, very low. I am at 1500 and still lose.

LOL--I am going to Web MD now.

It said I should take in less than 1654 in order to lose 1 pound a week. I wonder why it gave you 1200??? That is probably accurate. However, it also said 118 is in the normal range for me. There is absolutely no way I could get that small and be healthy.

They told me I need to eat a little over 1500 cals a day in order to lose 2 pounds a week on a moderately active lifestyle (I exercise for at least an hour a day, 5 days a week plus do the mom to young kid thing lol)

It took me several tries, but I finally duplicated your results. It is because you put in that you are sedentary and want to lose 2 pounds per week.

I'm active (6 days a week of workouts) and it says I need to eat 1888 to lose 2 pounds per week--which is actually pretty high for me. I usually stick between 1200-1400 in order to lose 1-2 pounds per week.

My suggestion? Start an exercise regimen if you want to lose and keep your calories higher. (I redid your stats with exercise 3-5 days per week and your calories are a little over 1700 to lose 2 pounds per week).

Honestly, I don't see anything wrong with what they're saying. I looked over it myself, entered my stats and everything - it about matches what I do, they are saying a little bit higher on calories than I eat - but nothing ridiculous.

On the ideal weight ranges, with my height at least, there's a generous 45 pound range for what's considered healthy.

Webmd just told me I was a pear shape based on my height, current weight and pants size. Uhhhh, noooo...almost all my fat is carried in my midsection and torso!

I was going to say the exercise thing- because for me I put moderate exercise and it said 1607 calories a day, when I changed it to light it said 1313.

Right now I'm doing around 1400 to 1700 calories a day, that's with exercise that the machines usually say has been around 330 calories a day :D

If I lose 2 lbs a week then that means I should be my goal weight by october/november- woot :D

alinnel- I would love to take your advice, but it's simply not possible. I am a very very busy sedentary person. Most of the time I'm "working" on something, but I'm just at desk. Trust me, when you've done mental work for a whole day, you body is too physically wiped to do anything.

I still think it's weird that it told me I needed to eat 1200 cals/day to lose 2 pounds a week, because most days I eat 1500-1700 and I still lose two pounds a week.

Originally Posted by kelly315:
alinnel- I would love to take your advice, but it's simply not possible. I am a very very busy sedentary person. Most of the time I'm "working" on something, but I'm just at desk. Trust me, when you've done mental work for a whole day, you body is too physically wiped to do anything.

I still think it's weird that it told me I needed to eat 1200 cals/day to lose 2 pounds a week, because most days I eat 1500-1700 and I still lose two pounds a week.

I get you. I sit at a desk all day myself and am pretty wiped out by the time I get home. All I want to do once dinner is over is sit in front of the TV and veg out. And that is exactly what I do. Instead I get up early and walk for 45 minutes on the treadmill before I head to work.

I agree that it is weird that WebMD says to eat 1200 when you are eating 1500 and still losing. Maybe your one of those miracle people who don't have to exercise! Darn, if only I were one, too!!!

I put in that i have a sedetary lifestyle (since i'm not back working out yet), and it told me i burn 1680 calories on my own and to lose one pound a week, i should drop down to 1200. Doesn't really sound that absurd to me...the only thing i don't really agree with is the body shape thing. I may naturally have a tendency to be an hour glass (most people in high school told me i had no shape, when i weighed 100 pounds) but i am certainly not one now. I definately hold ALOT of weight in my abdomen area. Even though i was 134 and in a size 4 misses....there was still nothing skinny about my abdomen area. It has PLENTY of fat on it. But anways, i think it was pretty accurate to me. Going to go back and plug in when i start excersizing and see what it says i can take in calorie wise. :-)

Ohhh....reading the post above me...about walking on a treadmill before work because the desk job thing wipes you out...i soooo can't wait to try that. I am getting an elliptical at home this weekend and am hoping maybe i'll be able to do the same thing. Get up early and at least start off with 5 or 10 minutes in the morning. Still planning on getting my gym membership back next month...but who knows. Maybe the home elliptical thing will work out better than the gym membership. Sure would save me money every month.

Originally Posted by :
alinnel- I would love to take your advice, but it's simply not possible. I am a very very busy sedentary person. Most of the time I'm "working" on something, but I'm just at desk. Trust me, when you've done mental work for a whole day, you body is too physically wiped to do anything.

I totally get it - and I want you to know that I'm not outright arguing or being purposefully disagreeable or nasty (I accidentally offend a ton of people in real life, so I always feel the need for a disclaimer). I want to say this - because I've seen where you have mentioned it before, not exercising and I've always meant to reply, but didn't.

I think that most of the women on this board can relate. There are very few of us, that I've seen that are construction women, carpenters or the like. Most of us have desk jobs, myself included.

I spend many, many, many hours at the desk. My day is filled with mental challenges and trials. My hours at the computer will run 12-14 hours, daily - 7x per week.

But you know - doing the exercise regardless, not giving into excuses (because not doing it is an excuse) makes me FEEL better. I preform at my job better, I sleep better and my free time is spent better. I too am mentally WIPED at the end of the day. I lay down and am asleep in seconds - ready to do it again the next day.

I did the same work 140 pounds ago - but I was completely miserable, drained and unhappy. It's amazing how clearheaded a little exercise can make things.

I understand time crunches very very well. I own my business, boss my employees (nicely), run my house, mother my son, baby my pets and husband, cook meals and shop - all in between putting 12-14 hours in on the computer 7 days a week. I do these things because I have to.

I swear to you - I totally understand - I also swear that a bit of activity thrown into the day makes the day itself easier to deal with.

I used my work and schedule as an excuse for so long. I allowed to compromise my health and happiness. I really believe that exercise is an integral part of a healthy body. It's not just weight loss, a slender figure - it's the complete picture, spiritual and physical health. Exercise has given the spiritual/mental health I was missing.

So that made me laigh that it said i was a pear. At this current moment i am more of an apple or a upside down triangle. But im working back into that hourglass shape i once had.

Calorie wise it days 1597 a day was good for me. I try to stick between 1500 and 1600 so it seems pretty accurate.

I don't find it strange at all that WebMD would over or underestimate someone's calorie needs - or that it would be spot on for some folks, either, because there's no way for a web calculator to determine your metabolic rate through a questionairre. It's a "guess" at best because everyone's metabolic rate is completely unique to them. The calculators are all based on averages of huge numbers of people - so how average are you?

I've been using these calculators since I was 12, when you had to do the math with pencil and paper (dieting definitely improved my math grades in school). Their accuracy has waned through the years, with almost every successive diet. This might be (as some research has shown) because each diet reduced my metabolism slightly - or it could be the natural slowing of metabolism with age, and also the metabolic decline from becoming less active for many reasons. More probably, it's a combination of all three.

If you're young, healthy, and active, and have never dieted before, perhaps the calculators are fairly accurate. Or possibly, they're just incredibly inaccurate for almost everyone.

I think a better way to determine your unique metabolism is trial and error. Pick a fairly high calorie level (don't start with 1000 or even 1200 calories) and see how much weight you lose (not counting the first couple weeks). Tweak as needed, allowing yourself not to feel horrendously starving all of the time, and to lose weight at a regular, but fairly slow pace (crash dieting also can slow metabolism).

IIRC, I don't think it tells you you're a pear. It just makes a statement about pears having a healthier fat distribution.

I agree the calculator doesn't really know much about you- it probably takes averages of people in similar weight and size ranges.

You say you work at a desk all day- have you tried working out during your lunch hour? This is what I do- there is a gym 5 minutes from my job- so I change at work, go to the gym, work out half an hour, come back, shower, and go back to work- helps my day go SO MUCH FASTER I love it. :D I don't know how flexible your work is, or if you have showers there- but even if you just half an hour lunch, maybe the first half get up and go for a walk just half an hour- then come back and have your lunch and rest for 30 minutes before going back to work :)

Congratulations on your loss so far :D

Hey kelly315, :wave:

My own experience as a very very busy sedentary person who sits at a desk all day is that exercise/physical activity actually makes me feel better rather than worse--especially once you get used to doing it.

I started out by walking in the morning for 20 or 30 minutes. Nothing really strenuous, just to get myself moving. Then I joined the YMCA and got evaluated there, started using the treadmill etc. on my own. I am not into punishment--I went by my heart rate and got a good workout, but I never felt like I was going to die from it. ;) To me that's not necessary.

Anyway, I always figure those numbers are probably not accurate for everyone. For one thing, the ranges depend on age as well as height, weight, activity, etc.

Congratulations on your loss so far! :cheer2:

Jay

If I have to have big boobs to be healthy then I'm screwed.

I looked at it. It doesn't actually know your body shape. That is just silly. I've also never heard that being a pear puts you at increased risk. How I am supposed to make myself NOT a pear? I was a pair at 85lbs. That is my shape!

It says my target heart rate is 97 to 146 beats in 1 minute, and it should not exceed 194 per minute. Sweet. I am above 97 right now sitting on my butt doing absolutely nothing (my heart rate is usually around 100 beats per minute at rest). I guess that means I don't have to workout anymore. :lol:

WebMD is pretty close to what I should be eating. I eat about 1,500 - 1,800 calories a day in rotation. I aim for 1,800 on workout days and less on the less eventful days. I work out 3-5x a week. I'm aiming to do 6x a week, even if it's just for 30 minutes.

Your calories will go down if you choose 2 lbs per week. Also, the scale measures your activity levels.

For me to lose 1 lb per week, and I'm at a moderately active level (workout + keeping busy walking around campus 5 times per week minimally), I would have to eat 2868 calories. I stick to 1650-1900, sometimes on an off day up to 2200.

It told me 1200 calories too. I try to stick to around 1350.

Originally Posted by LandonsBaby:
It says my target heart rate is 97 to 146 beats in 1 minute, and it should not exceed 194 per minute. Sweet. I am above 97 right now sitting on my butt doing absolutely nothing (my heart rate is usually around 100 beats per minute at rest). I guess that means I don't have to workout anymore. :lol:

LOL- yeah really I mean when I work out I get to like the 160s! It also told me no higher than 146 I was like uh yeah that's not going to work for me- no matter what I do my heart rate shoots up that high- I guess it's good though cuz before it used to shoot up to the 180s.

Your Personal Summary

* Gender: Female
* Height: 5' 6"
* Age: 30
* Current Weight: 195
* Current Pant Size: 16
* Weight Goal: Lose 2 pounds per week
* BMI: 31.5
* Wast to Height Ratio: 0.55
* Healthy Body Weigh Range: 115 and 154
* Target Heart Rate: 95 to 143
* Target Caloric Intake to Meet Weight Goal: 1516

I work out everyday (30-60 mins treadmill 6-7 days a week) and I stay between 1300 and 1600 cals a day (honestly I eat mostly junk), so I'd say it's pretty close to what I was doing anyway.

I don't get how it figured out my waist size by my jeans size. I take quite a large jeans size because I have big legs, and usually need jeans taken in at the waist because I have a small waist.

According to this thing, I just need to lose another 2 inches from my waist to be healthy! Wow!

It said I should eat 1329 calories a day to lose 2lbs a week with light exercise.
I think that's about right, and aim for 1200 anyway.

Oh something I just remembered. I just watched the 1st season of The Biggest Loser and Jillian said that the red team should be eating 1200-1500 cals a day. I mean...don't they work out for hours a day? And only that little food?

Originally Posted by Jeannette311:
Oh something I just remembered. I just watched the 1st season of The Biggest Loser and Jillian said that the red team should be eating 1200-1500 cals a day. I mean...don't they work out for hours a day? And only that little food?

And from what I've read, behind the scenes that while they're supposed to have a calorie minimum, many of the contestants "cheat in reverse" by shortchanging themselves on calories to try to win weigh-ins.

Originally Posted by georgiad:
I don't get how it figured out my waist size by my jeans size. I take quite a large jeans size because I have big legs, and usually need jeans taken in at the waist because I have a small waist.

Me too. That made no sense to me. What if they asked for dress size? I've picked up a size 4 and been able to wear it. My clothing size doesn't tell you much. :dizzy:

Originally Posted by Jeannette311:
Oh something I just remembered. I just watched the 1st season of The Biggest Loser and Jillian said that the red team should be eating 1200-1500 cals a day. I mean...don't they work out for hours a day? And only that little food?

I listened to an interview with Jillian about the show- and she said Biggest Loser is like the Olympics of weight loss- these people lose weight much more quickly than the average person- their diets are extremely controlled and they have doctors/EMT's available round the clock.

I think they are shocking their bodies into purging the fat- I wouldn't be surprised if they pooped pure fat! That show is grueling.

Originally Posted by kaplods:
And from what I've read, behind the scenes that while they're supposed to have a calorie minimum, many of the contestants "cheat in reverse" by shortchanging themselves on calories to try to win weigh-ins.

That's not good at all. Makes me wonder if that show is doing more harm than good.

Originally Posted by beerab:
I listened to an interview with Jillian about the show- and she said Biggest Loser is like the Olympics of weight loss- these people lose weight much more quickly than the average person- their diets are extremely controlled and they have doctors/EMT's available round the clock.

I think they are shocking their bodies into purging the fat- I wouldn't be surprised if they pooped pure fat! That show is grueling.

Oh god...well, call me gross but I wonder if they DO poop pure fat! And what it looks like. I did two hours on the treadmill yesterday and I thought I was gonna die. I couldn't do what they do. Well. I COULD but do NOT want to.