Grad Student Starting MFP for the First Time. Needing Advice and Friends!

rlstover1714

Hi everyone,

I just recently started using MFP to try and reach my fitness goals (lose 2 lbs/week). I have a couple of age old questions that I would like to ask the community, and see the responses I get:

1. What should my activity level be? I am a full time grad student (I attend class 3 days a week) and have two jobs (one is in an office setting, the other is retail. I work both jobs two days a week. I currently have it set to sedentary, as I am sitting most of the day - my classes are two and three hours long. I have a 10-15 minute walk (one way) from my car, to the bus stop, to class on my class days; otherwise, I sit at a desk for job #1 and I do stand/walk around for job #2 (although this is only for about 15 hours a week). I try to exercise 3-4 times a week (I usually do a stationary bike because I have bad knees and anything else hurts). I was wondering if I should keep my activity level as sedentary or change it to lightly active?

2. This next question is about exercising. When I put my exercise into MFP, it gives me a really high number of calories burned that I am just not convinced is right, as the machine says I burned about half as much. Which is more accurate? Also, what is a good "rule of thumb" when it comes to "eating back" the calories you have burned? As of now, I am limited to 1200 calories a day, which isn't too bad, actually. But I also don't want to be "eating back" calories I have yet to burn.

3. The last question is regarding HRMs - I was looking at a Jawbone UP move. I have a very limited budget and cannot spend more than $60 for one (Amazon has a deal going on right now for them). Is it any good, or are there better ones? I like the way MFP logs my food, so I would only use the app to log calories burned during exercise (and maybe use the sleep function, although it is not that important.)


Thanks! Feel free to add me as well

veganbaum

1. You may want to start with one or the other and just see what the results are. When I started MFP I was a grad student and set mine to sedentary, though I walked to campus/class every day. Other than that walking and purposeful exercise, I sat on my butt in class or studying. You can always try one or the other and just see what your results are and adjust accordingly, though I would probably start with sedentary. Exercise is NOT included in your activity level for MFP.

2. A lot of people will eat 50-75% of their exercise calories specifically because they are easy to overestimate. On a different note, what did you set your weekly goal for weight loss at? With 20 pounds, you shouldn't have a weekly goal of more than 1 pound, and may even want to lower to .5 lb. But, make sure you are accurately logging (weighing all solids). That .5 can be easily eaten into.

3. I've had a Polar FT7 for a few years. I got in on Amazon for around $60. I like it. But I don't really have much to say about HRMs.

FeliciaLam49

I can't comment about #3 but I agree with veganbam for 1 and 2. I started MFP 2 weeks ago and I'm a college student who goes to school 5 times a week and over all I'm not really active (especially when it's winter and all I want to do is hibernate). I set my activity level to sedentary because even if you are a bit active, I think to get better results you should go with the sedentary because it restricts you more and you won't eat more calories than you are eating.

Second, trying to lose 2 pounds a week is a bit much and I think you have to build momentum first. For me losing half a pound a week wasn't enough to keep me driven so I went with the medium of trying to lose a pound a week and so far it's been working. Ofcourse what works for me may not work for you so it depends on the pace your taking. You seem really busy so if I were you, I'd set it for .5-1 pounds a week.

You should really try swimming! It works your whole body, shreds fat, and is easy on your body!

Also with the whole bike thing, I would go with what your machine said since it was the machine you used.

rlstover1714

Thank you for the reply! Currently, my goal is 2 pounds a week. Could you tell me why that would not be a good goal, please? This is the first time I've ever really been serious about weight loss.

cheshirecatastrophe

"You get to eat more" is the only answer I, personally, need.

To lose 2 pounds a week, you need a daily calorie deficit of 1000 calories (3500ish kcal is approximately one pound of weight loss/gain). As a lightly active (accounting for the stationary bike) woman with not a ton of weight to lose, I'm going to guess it is basically impossible for you to create a 1000 kcal deficit every day. Chances are that the 1200 target MFP set is not actually 1000 below the number of calories you burn in a day--it's the default minimum (barring bugs in the app) that is considered necessary to get in all the nutrients we need to keep our bodies running (protein, fat, vitamins, etc).

Also, the human body can only catabolize (burn) so much existing fat at one time. Losing weight more slowly helps ensure that the weight you lose is as much fat and as little muscle as possible. Since most people only losing a little weight have a goal of vanity rather than health (hi!), probably you want to keep your muscle and lose fat, yeah?

And, again, slower weight loss rate = eat more. I am down for anything that lets me eat more and still lose weight.

Here's a good guideline for healthy and sustainable weightloss: (copypasta, not my original)

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

veganbaum

You should read the following:

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1235566/so-youre-new-here/p1

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1080242/a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants/p1

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/833026/important-posts-to-read/p1

You don't want to set a goal that's too aggressive. The more a person weighs, the bigger deficit they can maintain, for a while. As a person has less weight/fat to lose, their deficit needs to become smaller to maintain healthy weight loss. The links above provide a wealth of information. Trust me, you want to lose more slowly and maintain as much of your lean body mass as you can.

ben_100

I have been on for over a month, and weight seemed to come off fast, but then you are making some changes so that makes sense- but then it will slow down, and you may have set backs, so actually you are probably better off with 1 lb a week... Better chance to have positive results and avoid discouragement, and best way to establish good habits, so you will be able to.maintain the new you.
The more active you are the more calories it will allow you, so that we don't have mailmen and carpenters fainting on the sidewalk or jobsite.. You mention 1200 call is not bad, so you are correct to choose sedentary, then those walks or steps will help in your calendar burn..you will be surprised how recording this will subconsciously drive you to want to do more... Maybe you will park even further away:)

You can adjust the calories on the cardiovascular exercise, and if you feel it is not accurate, then yes do change it, I have to do that, and sometimes even the other way as when I wear a weigh the vest .. Longrun the scale and the tape measure will help you to determine if your data entry is accurate, then you can adjust... It's all about slight adjustments -. Happy Melting

rlstover1714

Thanks for the replies everyone! I decided to scale back my weekly goal to see if that works better for me. I've been logging for less than a month (I will be getting a food scale today, much to my dismay. I loathe the idea of doing it! Just seems too meticulous), but am excited to see how this works. My biggest issue is going to be patience. I feel like I already eat pretty well (with the exception of a cheat meal. At least, I think I do. My diary is public if anyone wants to tell me otherwise - I'd love to know! I've been reading and my information is probably not that accurate based on my readings about weighing foods, but I mean I try to stay away from fatty and processed foods), but I know these things take a lot of time.