Taking in less calories than what is recommended??
I heard from a doctor years ago that taking your current weight x 15 = the weight you are maintaining. In order to lose, reduce those calories (via a chart that was given to me) and go by that number to lose a pound a week. I'm hearing mixed things on these boards and would like someone to help me if possible. This website recommends that I have 1200 calories a day.. According to this chart I am only suppose to intake 900 which I have been doing. Which is right?
31 years old, 139lbs 5'2"tall .. goal weight 125
Thank you for your help!!!!
At least 1200 is correct. That chart might work for seriously overweight people, but at 900 calories you can't get all the nutrients you need and you slow down your metabolism.
I have heard some pretty unreal/unsafe/unhealthy advice from people said their doctors said about losing weight on the forums (maybe it is for the extremely obese or people who need to lose fast for health reasons/surgery or meant for very short term, that never seems to be mentioned). Mine even said when I asked what is healthy way to lose the weight I gained from the meds I was on, "Oh, I don't know, maybe try a diabetic diet?"
These Hgc/Dr. Bernstein diets, as long as they can monitor you during that period, if it go amiss they can step in. But I know 2 people who did those diets (under 1200 with doctor supervision), gained it all back and more.
If you want to be monitored by your doctor by all means but this site does not want an adult females to eat under 1200 calories and has deemed it starvation numbers type thing (sadly the dashboard/calorie camp isn't monitored and show frighting numbers).
But if you want people who have lost weight on their own healthily without extreme numbers, that is the kind of stuff we will help with :) BMR is a good minimum rule of thumb for people. Yours is 1300, with exercising intakes 3 times a week 1430 and 1521 with 5 days of exercise a week.
Bottom line, I am not a doctor, I am not saying I supersede yo urs or any of them but I am skeptical when I hear that kind of advice from doctors. But in the end it is your call, I suggest a healthier route of course :)
Good luck and be safe :)
I was eating around 900 calories a day and got a lot of warnings from people about health and metabolism shutting down. I started eating 1200 calories a day and exercising more. Now I feel better, look better and am healthier, PLUS I am losing more weight than before. Who knew you could eat more to lose more? :)
Good luck to you!
Umm I see no stone throwing in any of the posts prior to yours.
The one mention of the word "starvation" was used in the context of this website's guidelines and rules. I suggest that if you take issue with that poster's weight or weight loss methods and feel you MUST express these opinions, whether asked for and wanted or not, perhaps a PM might be more appropriate than in the forum of another person's valid question.
Also, did you give any thought at all to your response to the OP's question, other than to finally agree (!!!) with the person you criticized?
starvation, extreme, yada yada...that tall and that thin is extreme. LOL but thanks for feeling the need to reply to me vs. message me privately and also, duhhh I gave thought to it, hence the she needs to eat more comment.
You'll have a much easier time maintaining your loss when you're at your goal weight if you eat close to your BMR, and perhaps even a little above it if you exercise. It may take a little bit longer, but the journey there will be far more pleasant.
General practitioners tend to have little to no training in nutrition so take their advice with a grain of salt. If you want professional diet advice, look for a Registered Dietician.
I agree-- up your calorie intake, especially if you are exercising as well. Also, make sure you are drinking TONS of water, no soda if possible and GOOD protein. I have found making sure that my protein is up up up has been a huge help in adding lean muscle and losing fat. You don't want your body to eat its own muscle, because thats what it does when it thinks its starving. It stores more fat and eats away at your muscle. Good luck! And I have very similar stats to you!! so I am a supporter!
You and I are both only slightly overweight (well, I was. I'm 5'7" and started at 175. Currently 140-ish). My weight-loss calorie intake was in the 1600-1700 range, with light exercise. I would expect yours to be a bit lower since you're shorter than I am and less overweight than I was, but it shouldn't be a lot less.
I've kept the weight off with basically no effort for about a year and a half now, so I think I can say it worked. Don't undereat! It will just make it all harder.
Your BMR is 1400, so that would be a better minimum intake.
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