How many calories for a 400+ person?

Hi.  I'm new to this website and have been marking my calories down for the last two weeks since I started my new weight loss journey.  I keep seeing that most people say about 1200 calories is good to have a weight loss and so I have been sticking to that along with trying to ride my exercise bike about 20 minutes every other day (as that is all I can handle right now) 

However, I weigh over 400 lbs (started at 442 and am now 424) and wondered if I should be consuming more than 1200 to remain healthy???  Any suggestions?  Thanks in advance!

Hi!  I am new as well but if you go to "my account" and put in your statistics it will tell you how many you need.  It depends on your height and your frame and your activity level.  HTH and welcome.

You need to be eating SIGNIFICANTLY more than 1200 calories. (I weigh 293 and I need to eat a minimum of 1400 calories per day.)

Go to the TOOLS section, input your information, and CC will tell you exactly how many calories to eat so that you don't have more than a 1000 calorie per day DEFICIT.

=^..^= MOLLY

I went to the tools section and imputed my information and it's stating 2450 calories per day!!! Is this possible?  I'm barely loosing weight on a 1200 calorie per day diet let alone adding another 1400 calories!  Please help anyone!

Believe it or not, you'll lose MORE weight by eating more.  By eating so little, your body is hanging on to every calorie because it thinks it's starving.  By eating the minimum amount suggested (2450), your body will function better and be able to burn fat.

 

Original Post by mwiowa:

I went to the tools section and imputed my information and it's stating 2450 calories per day!!! Is this possible?  I'm barely loosing weight on a 1200 calorie per day diet let alone adding another 1400 calories!  Please help anyone!

You are "barely losing" because you've eaten too few calories and your body thinks you are starving ... so it has brought your metabolism to a screeching halt. You want to have a 1000 calorie per day DEFICIT and no more ... for optimum weight loss. Trust me.

I started at 369 pounds in August ... and my first inclination was to eat as few as calories as possible to "speed up" my weight loss .... and soon learned that approach doesn't work. So, I used the CC tools and .... woo hoo! ... I've lost 75 pounds in 5 months.

You can do this. PM me if I can help, k?

=^..^= MOLLY

Just to add, as you lose weight the calorie intake will also decrease, when I went from the 160's to the 150's, my recommended intake went down 100 calories (boohoo lol). So while it might seem like a lot to eat now, it will go down.

I understand where you are coming from I am around 450 

I actually have to make myself eat more since I am on this site since for the first time I am eatting healthy and it takes a lot of food to get that many calories.

On the other hand I am disabled with severe arthritis and my mobility is limited so sedentary for me is even more so than most people my size so I adjust my calories downward but I still try to get in about 2000 very healthy calories.

Hi mwiowa and welcome to CC!!

First off, yes you are in starvation mode, and you probably need to be eating no less than 2000 cals a day.  And depending on how much activity you have, the number of cals you need will probably go up from there. 

I know this is a difficult idea to get your head a round, but take it from the King of Starvation mode, you need to eat MORE to loss weight.

For me, ever since joining CC it has been a struggle for me to eat enough.  When i first joined my weight was 530 something pounds, and I was eating about 800 cals.  And now, nine months later, I am 385ish and I am eating an average of 3000+ cals a day.

And I still have trouble with starvation mode.  I have increased my activity so much that here recently I saw all the signs of being in starvation.  My weight went into a plateau as my body began to hold onto the fat.  I was slow of mind and grumpy because my brain was not getting all the energy it needed.  and i was tired all the time because my body, believing that food was in short supply, began to hord energy, instead of letting energy flow freely througout my body. 

So eat up, but good food please, keep up the activity, and you'll be fine.

It's a difficult path you have undertaken, but it is far from impossible.  Just try to remember this is a long journey full of all sorts of unexpected twists and turns.  But when something unexpected happens feel free to bring it to CC.  because you can just about bet there are others wanting to ask the same question, and there will certainly be folk who have had the same experience. 

So hang tough, be strong, and feel free to PM me, or read up on my latest starvation mode in my journals.  I'm here to help. 

Duke of Indiana

PS  Eat 2000 cals today!!  You'll feel better!!

At 400 pounds you need a LOT more energy to keep your body going than somebody even half your size... so no, 1200 calories won't cut it - you can safely DOUBLE that amount and still expect to lose weight! (DH is roughly 400 pounds and his amount for weightloss is 3000 calories! But it's bigger since he's a guy...)

I started at 343 and I ate 2250 calories/day for the first 4 months.. and lost 45 pounds. I did not drop my calories again until after that. Now I am aiming for 1850. Don't make the mistake of eating too little now - you will have nowhere to go when you get down into the 300s and your weight loss inevitably starts to slow down. It is also much easier on your body to lose slower, and much easier to stick to your new healthy lifestyle if you do not do anything too drastic.

Hi, I think you should increase the amount of calories you are eating.

When I started I was weighing 456 pounds and been eating between 1500 and 1600 calories a day that was in November 11, 2007. Today I am down to 391 pounds. I could barely walk from the door down to our mailbox but today I am walking 2 miles a day. I started walking 5 to 10 minutes 3 times a day and little by little went increasing the time I spent walking.

I wish you lots of luck with your new life style.

Diane

Hi!  I think this place is GREAT!  So you are in good company with all the folks on here who have experience!  I was also alarmed when CC told me to eat 2050 calories.  I'm 5'10" and weighed 260 on the day I started.  I kept thinking, no way I need to be down to 1400=1600 but since I was still always used to consuming more volume I went with the flow.  And guess what?  I'm eating HEALTHY and making good choices and the weight has started to  come off.  I'm sure that the amount of calories will come down in time as my body weight decreases, but for now I'm going to do whatever CC tells me to do and just focus on good choices, planning my meals so that I don't get famished in between and stay on track.

You know that saying "Let Go and Let God?"  Well, I have altered it a bit and say to myself "Let Go and Let CC" and I thank Him for helping me find this place. 

 

Best of luck to you!

Glad to meet you and add you as a friend. I try to eat 1120 as my Dr. has me on that, along with 1200 mg of salt a day. Yet I am in a diffrent category as I have no thyroid function and some other issues. I think it best to check with your Dr. and have the doctor in combination with a nutritionists guide you.  We are all diffrent with diffrent health needs, sort of trying to fit that square peg in a round hole.  I do eat this power salad with lunch and dinner, fills me up. I also make sure I eat my afternoon and evening snacks. I also eat very healthy, I cook most all my meals. I have found that salt is in all processed food, I now use sea salt as it adds more flavor for less salt. I do take supplements that Dr. recommended. My biggest challenge is keeping my motivation, I need a diet buddy that can give me a push when I need one.

  Sandie

Thank you everyone for your great advice!  I appreciate it.