Need help with eating....

Dml_1993

I want to lose weight and Myfitnesspal has me at 1200 calories. This is fine and sometimes I'm struggling to eat that many, not very often though. My biggest concern is carbs. I know carbs make you gain weight but they also give you energy also. MFP is set at 100 or less. I eat more than that, which I end up hating myself for every day. I try not to eat them but I count carbs in everything and I constantly look at the carbs I ate. I'm scared to eat an apple, or strawberries because it add up my carbs, and I love peanut butter but I'm scared cause of the carbs. How do I get over this "fear".

SconnieCat

OP...welcome to the community. There are a TON of users who can provide more detailed information than I can; however, I wanted to give you something to chew on.

Carbs won't make you gain weight. They aren't your enemy. Carbs have gotten a bad reputation, but they're not the end-all-be-all of weight-gain. Excess calories cause weight gain. Not an apple.

A great resource is: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1080242/a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants#latest

It's a bit long, but will be REALLY helpful in giving you some additional knowledge.

missiontofitness

Dml_1993 wrote: »

I want to lose weight and Myfitnesspal has me at 1200 calories. This is fine and sometimes I'm struggling to eat that many, not very often though. My biggest concern is carbs. I know carbs make you gain weight but they also give you energy also. MFP is set at 100 or less. I eat more than that, which I end up hating myself for every day. I try not to eat them but I count carbs in everything and I constantly look at the carbs I ate. I'm scared to eat an apple, or strawberries because it add up my carbs, and I love peanut butter but I'm scared cause of the carbs. How do I get over this "fear".

If you have 75+ lbs to lose 2 lbs/week is ideal
If you have 40-75 lbs to lose 1.5 lbs/week is ideal
If you have 25-40 lbs to lose 1 lb/week is ideal
If you have 15-25 lbs to lose 0.5 to 1.0 lb/week is ideal
If you have less than 15 lbs to lose 0.5 lb/week is ideal

With 54lbs to lose, you can drop your goal down to 1.5lb a week.

Carbs do not make you gain weight. A calorie surplus does. Unless you have a medical reason to track carbs, (example: a family member of mine needs to track them to keep their diabetes in check, and to not rely on insulin), don't be afraid of eating fruit, peanut butter, ect.

I used to eat 200+ when I started in carbs, and I'm down nearly 30lbs.

Try eating more calorie dense items when you can to hit your calorie goals, and make sure you are hitting what MFP tells you to eat. Also, get a food scale to weigh your food if you don't already have one.

SueInAz

missiontofitness wrote: »

Dml_1993 wrote: »

I want to lose weight and Myfitnesspal has me at 1200 calories. This is fine and sometimes I'm struggling to eat that many, not very often though. My biggest concern is carbs. I know carbs make you gain weight but they also give you energy also. MFP is set at 100 or less. I eat more than that, which I end up hating myself for every day. I try not to eat them but I count carbs in everything and I constantly look at the carbs I ate. I'm scared to eat an apple, or strawberries because it add up my carbs, and I love peanut butter but I'm scared cause of the carbs. How do I get over this "fear".

If you have 75+ lbs to lose 2 lbs/week is ideal
If you have 40-75 lbs to lose 1.5 lbs/week is ideal
If you have 25-40 lbs to lose 1 lb/week is ideal
If you have 15-25 lbs to lose 0.5 to 1.0 lb/week is ideal
If you have less than 15 lbs to lose 0.5 lb/week is ideal

With 54lbs to lose, you can drop your goal down to 1.5lb a week.

Carbs do not make you gain weight. A calorie surplus does. Unless you have a medical reason to track carbs, (example: a family member of mine needs to track them to keep their diabetes in check, and to not rely on insulin), don't be afraid of eating fruit, peanut butter, ect.

I used to eat 200+ when I started in carbs, and I'm down nearly 30lbs.

Try eating more calorie dense items when you can to hit your calorie goals, and make sure you are hitting what MFP tells you to eat. Also, get a food scale to weigh your food if you don't already have one.

This is great information. The only caveat I might add is that if you have diabetes or PCOS you may find that you do need to limit carbs to lose weight. An average, healthy person will find, however, that carbs are not the enemy and they won't make you gain weight more than fat or protein does.

missiontofitness

SueInAz wrote: »

missiontofitness wrote: »

Dml_1993 wrote: »

I want to lose weight and Myfitnesspal has me at 1200 calories. This is fine and sometimes I'm struggling to eat that many, not very often though. My biggest concern is carbs. I know carbs make you gain weight but they also give you energy also. MFP is set at 100 or less. I eat more than that, which I end up hating myself for every day. I try not to eat them but I count carbs in everything and I constantly look at the carbs I ate. I'm scared to eat an apple, or strawberries because it add up my carbs, and I love peanut butter but I'm scared cause of the carbs. How do I get over this "fear".

If you have 75+ lbs to lose 2 lbs/week is ideal
If you have 40-75 lbs to lose 1.5 lbs/week is ideal
If you have 25-40 lbs to lose 1 lb/week is ideal
If you have 15-25 lbs to lose 0.5 to 1.0 lb/week is ideal
If you have less than 15 lbs to lose 0.5 lb/week is ideal

With 54lbs to lose, you can drop your goal down to 1.5lb a week.

Carbs do not make you gain weight. A calorie surplus does. Unless you have a medical reason to track carbs, (example: a family member of mine needs to track them to keep their diabetes in check, and to not rely on insulin), don't be afraid of eating fruit, peanut butter, ect.

I used to eat 200+ when I started in carbs, and I'm down nearly 30lbs.

Try eating more calorie dense items when you can to hit your calorie goals, and make sure you are hitting what MFP tells you to eat. Also, get a food scale to weigh your food if you don't already have one.

This is great information. The only caveat I might add is that if you have diabetes or PCOS you may find that you do need to limit carbs to lose weight. An average, healthy person will find, however, that carbs are not the enemy and they won't make you gain weight more than fat or protein does.

I'm aware; that's why I added in the part about needing to track for medical reasons, and provided an example of a diabetic family member doing so.

SueInAz

missiontofitness wrote: »

SueInAz wrote: »

missiontofitness wrote: »

Dml_1993 wrote: »

I want to lose weight and Myfitnesspal has me at 1200 calories. This is fine and sometimes I'm struggling to eat that many, not very often though. My biggest concern is carbs. I know carbs make you gain weight but they also give you energy also. MFP is set at 100 or less. I eat more than that, which I end up hating myself for every day. I try not to eat them but I count carbs in everything and I constantly look at the carbs I ate. I'm scared to eat an apple, or strawberries because it add up my carbs, and I love peanut butter but I'm scared cause of the carbs. How do I get over this "fear".

If you have 75+ lbs to lose 2 lbs/week is ideal
If you have 40-75 lbs to lose 1.5 lbs/week is ideal
If you have 25-40 lbs to lose 1 lb/week is ideal
If you have 15-25 lbs to lose 0.5 to 1.0 lb/week is ideal
If you have less than 15 lbs to lose 0.5 lb/week is ideal

With 54lbs to lose, you can drop your goal down to 1.5lb a week.

Carbs do not make you gain weight. A calorie surplus does. Unless you have a medical reason to track carbs, (example: a family member of mine needs to track them to keep their diabetes in check, and to not rely on insulin), don't be afraid of eating fruit, peanut butter, ect.

I used to eat 200+ when I started in carbs, and I'm down nearly 30lbs.

Try eating more calorie dense items when you can to hit your calorie goals, and make sure you are hitting what MFP tells you to eat. Also, get a food scale to weigh your food if you don't already have one.

This is great information. The only caveat I might add is that if you have diabetes or PCOS you may find that you do need to limit carbs to lose weight. An average, healthy person will find, however, that carbs are not the enemy and they won't make you gain weight more than fat or protein does.

I'm aware; that's why I added in the part about needing to track for medical reasons, and provided an example of a diabetic family member doing so.

And that's what I get for typing while I'm on the phone. Wasn't trying to make it look like you missed anything, I just missed that part your post. I'm sure the OP probably doesn't have either condition, I just wanted to be clear for anyone else who stumbled in.