Still learning about "eating more to get lean"...

uvi5

I'm very interested in learning more about this. My husband is getting excited as well. (he's missing my cooking). Now that I have my food scale and am learning to properly weigh and log my food, intensifying/increasing my workouts, becoming all around more active, I am starting to understand I need and want to eat, but in a different way than I have in the past.

I need to understand how to use the "recipe builder"
Can I enter each ingredient, weighed out, create the recipe and does the "builder" separate by ounces/gram portions to give a calorie count?

This would help to understand and I can add variety and fun to meals. I could create, let's say a Lasagna and cut up into weighed out portions, freeze and use as needed.

I have been so conditioned for so long that just eat 1200 calories and whoa was i misinformed over the years. I had been anorexic off and on through my life and am fortunate I did not completely destroy my brain and body. Getting older has it's perks and the wisdom that comes with it. (not saying i'm wise at all, but willing to learn).

I'm still wrapping my head around eating back exercise calories. It takes discipline and registering what I am reading here from "real" people that are not trying to sell anything, just want to share their wisdom and what really works for them. Wow, I am overjoyed with what I'm learning. 18 days in and I am feeling better than I have in years. Also, not having a desperation to "get skinny fast" or even be "skinny". I like the idea of fit and lean, strong and healthy, happy and that my brain functions!

So, this post is 1) to thank all with their honest comments, no sugar coating, just straight up logic and what works. I never got the CICO before. When I was keeping "skinny" I just ate as little as I could tolerate (if at all some days) and moved like crazy. I never want to go back to that hell. Then when I got older, more sedentary, boredom eating kicked in and last November pounds started piling on, lethargic, getting the blues, irritated often for ridiculous reasons, almost like i was looking for an issue to feel like crap, then eat, lay around, sleep poorly, just to do the same the next day.

Now I'm understanding as my energy, motivation and exercise are increasing, as well as how CICO works, that eat at a deficit, weight loss, eat at a surplus, weight gain. But what I did not understand was that Exercise creates a deficit. I guess now i'm doing the NEAT method (still learning all the terminology). I set MFP to "sedentary" and add my exercise as I do it. I'm learning about over estimated burns in the database as well as underestimated calories in the food database, eyeballing portions (what an eyeopener!).

I am getting some sort of a tracking device next month. I have $150.00 next month that I can spend on myself and this is what I want. I'm doing research and reading members post and hear fitbit, so I looked it up and looks like fitbit charge HR could be the one for me and in the price range I want.

I would like to hear what others do in regards to eating back some calories, exercise, weight lifting (for women), how it works, calories consumed on "least amount days" and "high amount days", how it's working out.... etc

All this has been such great motivation.

Thank you all MFP members and your patients with us noobs.

cwolfman13

Don't over-complicate what is not at all complicated. A calorie is simply a unit of energy...and you need energy to function. Beyond that, the more moving you do, the more energy you need...thus someone who moves more is going to be able to consume more energy than someone who moves less regardless of their weight control goals.

For example, if I didn't do any exercise, I would maintain on roughly 2300 - 2400 calories per day...this means that to lose 1 Lb per week I could eat 1,800 - 1,900 calories per day...that's a 500 calorie daily deficit which adds up to the requisite 3,500 calorie deficit over a week.

Now for me, that's paltry and completely unacceptable...I'd be hungry as hell and pretty cranky and wouldn't have room for things like beer and what not...so I exercise. My regular excercise bumps my maintenance up to around 2800 - 3000 calories per day...so, I can accomplish that same 1 Lb per week loss consuming 2,300 - 2,500 calories per day. It's just math.

As for eating back exercise calories, that is simply the methodology used by the MFP calculator...your activity level is only supposed to account for your day to day hum drum...you account for exercise activity after the fact when you do it and log it and "earn" those calories to "eat back". Other calculators (most of them) as well as most trainers, dietitians, nutritionists, etc utilize the TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure) method for which exercise activity is included in your activity level and thus some estimate of those requisite calories are included in your calorie goals. This is the method I use as do many who are consistent in their exercise regimens as you have a consistent calorie goal to work with so I don't eat back exercise calories as an estimate of that energy requirement is already included in my goals. When I started out I used MFP as designed and ate back my exercise calories as prescribed (adjusted for estimation error).

The most difficult aspect of using the MFP method (NEAT method...Non Exercise Activity Thermogenesis) is that it is often difficult to estimate exercise burn, particularly for exercise that is not steady state aerobic cardio.

jessjess210

I'll try to help with the recipe builder. I use it almost every day

1. Decide what unit you want to use to portion your food, ounces or grams?
2. Weight the vessel you will cook in...or your serving dish...empty
3. Weigh and measure ALL your ingredients.
4. Re weigh the vessel or serving dish after you are done cooking.
5. Subtract 2 from 4. (Cooked-empty)
This will give you the total grams or ounces of food. Put that in as the "# of servings"
One more thing. There's a glitch with the system. After you save the recipe, you will notice the calories are somehow different than they were while you were entering. At this point you have to edit recipe, and just keep hitting the forward arrow til you reach the end and save again. This should fix it. Now you can weigh out your portions and know exactly how many calories. Sounds tedious but you will get the hang of it.
I usually done revisit some of these threads, but feel free to message me if you have any questions

uvi5

cwolfman13 wrote: »

Don't over-complicate what is not at all complicated. A calorie is simply a unit of energy...and you need energy to function. Beyond that, the more moving you do, the more energy you need...thus someone who moves more is going to be able to consume more energy than someone who moves less regardless of their weight control goals.

For example, if I didn't do any exercise, I would maintain on roughly 2300 - 2400 calories per day...this means that to lose 1 Lb per week I could eat 1,800 - 1,900 calories per day...that's a 500 calorie daily deficit which adds up to the requisite 3,500 calorie deficit over a week.

Now for me, that's paltry and completely unacceptable...I'd be hungry as hell and pretty cranky and wouldn't have room for things like beer and what not...so I exercise. My regular excercise bumps my maintenance up to around 2800 - 3000 calories per day...so, I can accomplish that same 1 Lb per week loss consuming 2,300 - 2,500 calories per day. It's just math.

As for eating back exercise calories, that is simply the methodology used by the MFP calculator...your activity level is only supposed to account for your day to day hum drum...you account for exercise activity after the fact when you do it and log it and "earn" those calories to "eat back". Other calculators (most of them) as well as most trainers, dietitians, nutritionists, etc utilize the TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure) method for which exercise activity is included in your activity level and thus some estimate of those requisite calories are included in your calorie goals. This is the method I use as do many who are consistent in their exercise regimens as you have a consistent calorie goal to work with so I don't eat back exercise calories as an estimate of that energy requirement is already included in my goals. When I started out I used MFP as designed and ate back my exercise calories as prescribed (adjusted for estimation error).

The most difficult aspect of using the MFP method (NEAT method...Non Exercise Activity Thermogenesis) is that it is often difficult to estimate exercise burn, particularly for exercise that is not steady state aerobic cardio.

Great information. Thank you. I believe over time and with confidence that I am going to do what I've been doing consistently, I will start TDEE. I think getting the fitbit hr with add to my being successful at it. I'm even switching it up a bit today. I'm just about ready to start my first walk for the day. I had a pedometer that had me at 3mph when I just started out. It stopped working the first week I had it, so now I use a stopwatch, but I feel I'm moving much faster, to the point of almost running, can't really hold a conversation w/ hubby while he's in garage lifting or lounging in the sun (my hips move wildly at the rate I walk now). I circle figure 8's in my drive way to do this or in the living room and my heart pounds hard (fitbit will help me know for sure)But for now I am entering it now as 3.5 mph. This will be my warmup for the day, then the stationary bike 15 min, step 6in 20 But, my hubby suggested 1/2 english muffin and a poached egg before the 1 hr lift session today. I'm going to do this after the first workouts. Then I will rest, write, draw, read, create and meditate for a part of the day, then another 1/2 speed walk, Supper, rest, write, draw, read, create, meditate and even watch some tube:) Then another 1/2 speed walk, snack ?? fruit & yogurt maybe leftovers from supper that I did not finish, sleep (oh there's bathing, teeth brushing, kitty playtime, hubby time...etc) Full day. I've been doing this, but not fueling enough and I am seeing this now. Hey thanks for this input and advice!

uvi5

jessjess210 wrote: »

I'll try to help with the recipe builder. I use it almost every day

1. Decide what unit you want to use to portion your food, ounces or grams?
2. Weight the vessel you will cook in...or your serving dish...empty
3. Weigh and measure ALL your ingredients.
4. Re weigh the vessel or serving dish after you are done cooking.
5. Subtract 2 from 4. (Cooked-empty)
This will give you the total grams or ounces of food. Put that in as the "# of servings"
One more thing. There's a glitch with the system. After you save the recipe, you will notice the calories are somehow different than they were while you were entering. At this point you have to edit recipe, and just keep hitting the forward arrow til you reach the end and save again. This should fix it. Now you can weigh out your portions and know exactly how many calories. Sounds tedious but you will get the hang of it.
I usually done revisit some of these threads, but feel free to message me if you have any questions

I just bookmarked this thread, copy and pasted this into notepad. I will make my first recipe when I get the digital scale (mine is not digital and I lowball the amounts and may be eating less than I could)
This is awesome! We have a huge freezer and I can prepare lower calorie options for light exercise days and higher calorie options for heavy days! I love to cook and this should be fun. Thank you so much!