Am I doing this right?

ArkMom35

Hi there. This is my first post on here and I was just hoping to make sure I've got this all down right. I'm sure this has been asked before but please bare with me. I started using MFP on January 1st. I was 242 lbs (5'6"), mostly sedentary (if you call chasing after four little ones sedentary, but I wasn't exercising). I wanted to lose 2 lbs a week and planned on exercising 20 minutes a day. I believe that's what I put into the calculator anyway. It suggested I go with 1770 calories a day to lose weight. So I've been tracking my calories and exercising. I usually eat around 1600-1800 calories a day and then I've been exercising twice as much as I thought, so I'm netting between 1200-1500 calories a day. I've lost 8 lbs since January 1st which is great. Today I decided to go back and log a few days of my old eating and I was getting ranges from 3300-4300 calories/day (I ate fast food every day or two). I know to lose two pounds a week I'm supposed to drop 1000/calories a day. Well I'm dropping more than that so I'm wondering if I'm doing a disservice to myself by only netting 1200-1500? I feel great! I'm not feeling restricted at all. But if I should/could eat more without sabotaging my weight loss I'd like to know I can. Any thoughts are appreciated. Thank you!

P.S. All the success stories are really inspiring.

kristen6350

If MFP is telling you to eat 1770/day, you should be NETTING closer to 1770/day.

And 8lbs in 13 days is WONDERFUL. Give yourself a pat on the back. Keep going.

CupcakeCrusoe

Hi, and welcome!

Calories in/calories out (people sometimes call it CICO) is just science, but sometimes how many calories you burn can be difficult to gauge. It's easy to track calories in, though, which is why this site is so helpful.

So long as you're netting above 1200 and you feel good, no reason to stop what you're doing. As you go along, you'll get to know how much you can and can't eat for weight loss.

You can play around with it by, say, raising your calorie allowance by a hundred or so for the next week, see what your results are, etc. Weight loss doesn't happen overnight, might as well be happy while you're at it.

I've been at this a long time, mostly because I don't like cutting drastically for long periods of time, so I know the ins and outs pretty well. Feel free to add me if you'd like.

VickiL4872

Congrats on your weight loss! That is terrific! Are you drinking your water? I would continue with the suggested calorie intake + the calories that you burned through exercise. Depending on what you burned add that back in. You will still lose weight. Just make sure you are getting all your proteins, fat, carbs etc. It is important that your body doesn't feel starved (even though you are not hungry) because it will hold on to fat. Good luck! You are doing great! Such an inspiration.

NikiSchurzFitness

You are doing great!! Awesome job on 8lbs down :-) That is such a great start! Just make sure you're not feeling hungry, are getting as close to the target calories each day and they are clean & healthy calories while also hitting the protein, fat and carbs goals too.

ArkMom35

Thank you! I wanted to make sure I wasn't going too low-calorie too soon. I want to have somewhere to go when I've lost weight, if that makes sense. I will try eating back some of the calories I exercise off and hopefully still lose at a healthy rate.

Thank you for reminding me to watch my protein, fat, and carbs too. I've been eating really low-calorie meals and then eating several snacks. Over-eating is such a hard habit to break, so I really need to work on bulking up my meals and cutting out some snacks.

Out_of_Bubblegum

Awesome job! You are getting some great advice here - but I do want to add to be sure that changes that you make for this weight loss are changes you are prepared to keep doing long term... Don't think of this as a "I'll eat like this now and then later I can go back to normal." - these changes need to be your new normal... so make ones that you are sure you can live with.

SueInAz

ArkMom35 wrote: »

Thank you! I wanted to make sure I wasn't going too low-calorie too soon. I want to have somewhere to go when I've lost weight, if that makes sense. I will try eating back some of the calories I exercise off and hopefully still lose at a healthy rate.

Thank you for reminding me to watch my protein, fat, and carbs too. I've been eating really low-calorie meals and then eating several snacks. Over-eating is such a hard habit to break, so I really need to work on bulking up my meals and cutting out some snacks.

MFP is actually set up so that you should eat back the calories you burn during exercise. The 1000 calorie per day (2 pounds per week) deficit is already in your daily goal so you'd need to eat back your exercise calories to maintain that 1000 calorie deficit. Now the caveat... if you aren't using a heart rate monitor while you exercise, the calorie burns you're getting from MFP or a cardio machine could be a bit off so you have to be careful. Many people choose to only eat back 50-75% of calories reported that way just to be on the safe side.

Congrats on your success so far!

ruffnstuff

Oh good, someone mentioned the "don't count 100 % of your exercise calories as really being burned" factor. MFP is notorious for overestimating burns. That said, could you eat a bit more...probably. But also remember that the first few weeks/month will see more weight loss than any other time, usually. I remember when I first started I shed quickly (water retention and some fat), then after 4-5 weeks it settled into a more regular pattern. Can I just say how nice it is to see a new person come on wanting to do this right and not deprive themselves?!?! Good for you - you have an attitude that seems like it will breed success. Good luck.

ArkMom35

bwmalone wrote: »

Awesome job! You are getting some great advice here - but I do want to add to be sure that changes that you make for this weight loss are changes you are prepared to keep doing long term... Don't think of this as a "I'll eat like this now and then later I can go back to normal." - these changes need to be your new normal... so make ones that you are sure you can live with.

Thank you I will keep that in mind.

ArkMom35

SueInAz wrote: »

ArkMom35 wrote: »

Thank you! I wanted to make sure I wasn't going too low-calorie too soon. I want to have somewhere to go when I've lost weight, if that makes sense. I will try eating back some of the calories I exercise off and hopefully still lose at a healthy rate.

Thank you for reminding me to watch my protein, fat, and carbs too. I've been eating really low-calorie meals and then eating several snacks. Over-eating is such a hard habit to break, so I really need to work on bulking up my meals and cutting out some snacks.

MFP is actually set up so that you should eat back the calories you burn during exercise. The 1000 calorie per day (2 pounds per week) deficit is already in your daily goal so you'd need to eat back your exercise calories to maintain that 1000 calorie deficit. Now the caveat... if you aren't using a heart rate monitor while you exercise, the calorie burns you're getting from MFP or a cardio machine could be a bit off so you have to be careful. Many people choose to only eat back 50-75% of calories reported that way just to be on the safe side.

Congrats on your success so far!

Thank you! I appreciate the information and will shoot for eating back 50%. And preferably in meals, as opposed to the snacks I like.

ArkMom35

ruffnstuff wrote: »

Oh good, someone mentioned the "don't count 100 % of your exercise calories as really being burned" factor. MFP is notorious for overestimating burns. That said, could you eat a bit more...probably. But also remember that the first few weeks/month will see more weight loss than any other time, usually. I remember when I first started I shed quickly (water retention and some fat), then after 4-5 weeks it settled into a more regular pattern. Can I just say how nice it is to see a new person come on wanting to do this right and not deprive themselves?!?! Good for you - you have an attitude that seems like it will breed success. Good luck.

I'm sure hoping to be successful. I figure it took me seven years to gain all this, it's going to take me more than a few weeks to lose it. I'm hoping to have lost at least 52 lbs by Jan 1st next year. Every other pound will be a bonus. I'm in this for the long haul.

ArkMom35

I have another question regarding measuring food. When you measure vegetables in a cup, do you pack them in? Like spinach for example. I can put it in loosely, but my husband says to pack it. Which is correct?

SueInAz

ArkMom35 wrote: »

I have another question regarding measuring food. When you measure vegetables in a cup, do you pack them in? Like spinach for example. I can put it in loosely, but my husband says to pack it. Which is correct?

I actually don't measure vegetables or other solid food by cups. I weigh them on a kitchen scale. It's much more accurate for exactly the reason you're asking the question.

ArkMom35

SueInAz wrote: »

ArkMom35 wrote: »

I have another question regarding measuring food. When you measure vegetables in a cup, do you pack them in? Like spinach for example. I can put it in loosely, but my husband says to pack it. Which is correct?

I actually don't measure vegetables or other solid food by cups. I weigh them on a kitchen scale. It's much more accurate for exactly the reason you're asking the question.

I can do that, thanks!