Have signed up on MyFitnessPal which I'm finding quite helpful and fun to use. But I feel its not really allowing me sufficient calories - anyone else experienced this?
It may be that you've set the rate of weight loss too high. The simple rule iirc is that 1lb of fat = 3500 calories, so to lose 1lb a week, you need a net daily loss of 500 calories. If you find this too hard to manage, do what I did and set the weight loss to 1/2lb a week!
Also think about what you're eating - try to find foods that are more filling with fewer calories. My biggest weaknesses are cheese and butter but you'll very quickly use up your calorie allowance with cheese and butter without filling yourself up, so I've found that reducing (but not cutting out completely) my cheese and butter intake has made quite a big difference. Others have found similar benefits from reducing how much bread they eat.
I find eating lots of fresh veg a good way to increase the quantity of food I can eat without piling on the calories. High protein food (eg lean meat) is also quite filling.
Initially I was told I could have 1200 daily cals....horror! I 'customised' it to 1400.
Your individual calorie allowance is based on your activity level and your base metabolic rate, which is calculated from your age, weight, sex and height, so it's hard to say what these figures mean without knowing this information about you. I'm 175cm, 39 and currently weigh 71kg, so to lose 1/2lb (230g) a week, MFP has calculated my daily net calorie allowance at 1780. But the calculation is highly individual - the same calorie intake for a woman who is smaller and lighter than me (eg Feline) would see her quickly putting on weight.
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