I need advice....

LKArgh

jcondeee wrote: »

Susieq_1994 wrote: »

jcondeee wrote: »

I didn't see this as being a long term solution to weight loss, I wanted to lose at least 90% of my goal weight and then start uping my calorie intake with healthy foods and then go to the gym on a more scheduled basis. I'm clearly not on the right track from hearing all the advice from everyone. What exactly is the right about of calories I should be consuming? What foods should I be sticking with? As of right now, I am eatting tons of chicken, fish, and veggies. I have a protein bar every morning, protein soups, and protein shakes with salads. Ugh! I am learning this all on my own and have a family who doesn't necessarily eat right but are all athletic, with smaller bodies. Something I once had, but older now that I don't have time to play sports. We are all 5'5 and under. I am aiming to be lean and tone.

Protein and veggies are great, but they aren't the only things you should eat. Add calories by adding nuts, oils, and even butter to your meals. Bread and pasta are not evil, and they can also be eaten. For more help, give us your stats: Height, current weight, goal weight, age. You should be eating a bare minimum of 1200 calories, probably more, since your height is almost the same as mine.

For leaning up, it's all about calories, but for "toning", you need to be doing some form of resistance training. You don't need to be consuming your calories in protein shakes or protein supplements.

Just for starter points:

• Immediately up your calorie intake to a minimum of 1200 calories--Not knowing much about your stats, I can't recommend a better number right now, but 800 is a no-no.
• Eat things that you LIKE within your calories, along with all of the other nutrient dense foods like veggies and lean proteins. This will keep you from going crazy with temptation and binging on a large amount of foods that you've restricted yourself from.
• Don't feel guilty about treats, they're all good in an overall healthy diet!
• Carbs aren't bad for you unless you have a medical condition--You can eat bread and pasta and those types of things to help increase your calories.
• Make sure you get enough protein and fat. Fat isn't bad, and you need it to keep your skin healthy.

Hi! Thank you so much for kindly giving me advice I need! I'm 23, had one child, 5'1" and currently 130.

Since you have very little weight to lose, you should be on a very slow weight loss journey. Aim for something like 0.5 to 1 lb per week. So, increase your calories ASAP. Weight loss that happens very fast is not good for you and it is not sustainable.

rocknlotsofrolls

higgins8283801 wrote: »

You asked for help so here is my advice.

Ditch the diet you're on.

You shouldn't feel guilt about eating a little ice cream.

There is no such thing as a bad food.

And you shouldn't be eating 800 calories.

Ditch the diet and just be mindful about what you're eating. Relearn how to eat, learn proper portions.

You can still eat the ice cream and be ok. I am in maintenance now and eat whatever I want, did it while losing too.

ditch the diet.

I agree with this 100%

Susieq_1994

jcondeee wrote: »

Susieq_1994 wrote: »

jcondeee wrote: »

I didn't see this as being a long term solution to weight loss, I wanted to lose at least 90% of my goal weight and then start uping my calorie intake with healthy foods and then go to the gym on a more scheduled basis. I'm clearly not on the right track from hearing all the advice from everyone. What exactly is the right about of calories I should be consuming? What foods should I be sticking with? As of right now, I am eatting tons of chicken, fish, and veggies. I have a protein bar every morning, protein soups, and protein shakes with salads. Ugh! I am learning this all on my own and have a family who doesn't necessarily eat right but are all athletic, with smaller bodies. Something I once had, but older now that I don't have time to play sports. We are all 5'5 and under. I am aiming to be lean and tone.

Protein and veggies are great, but they aren't the only things you should eat. Add calories by adding nuts, oils, and even butter to your meals. Bread and pasta are not evil, and they can also be eaten. For more help, give us your stats: Height, current weight, goal weight, age. You should be eating a bare minimum of 1200 calories, probably more, since your height is almost the same as mine.

For leaning up, it's all about calories, but for "toning", you need to be doing some form of resistance training. You don't need to be consuming your calories in protein shakes or protein supplements.

Just for starter points:

• Immediately up your calorie intake to a minimum of 1200 calories--Not knowing much about your stats, I can't recommend a better number right now, but 800 is a no-no.
• Eat things that you LIKE within your calories, along with all of the other nutrient dense foods like veggies and lean proteins. This will keep you from going crazy with temptation and binging on a large amount of foods that you've restricted yourself from.
• Don't feel guilty about treats, they're all good in an overall healthy diet!
• Carbs aren't bad for you unless you have a medical condition--You can eat bread and pasta and those types of things to help increase your calories.
• Make sure you get enough protein and fat. Fat isn't bad, and you need it to keep your skin healthy.

Hi! Thank you so much for kindly giving me advice I need! I'm 23, had one child, 5'1" and currently 130.

You're very welcome! Everyone was new once, and we all had to learn what we were doing wrong. This is the very best thread I've ever seen on MFP for learning the ideal way to lose weight: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1080242/a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants

At 5'1, you can probably stick with 1200 calories because your TDEE won't be too high. I've plugged your numbers into this calculator, assuming a sedentary lifestyle: http://www.fitnessfrog.com/calculators/tdee-calculator.html

The information I got from there is that you'll need to eat around 1700 calories without ANY activity to maintain your current weight. To lose one pound a week, you can eat 1200 calories OR eat around 1350 or so and do some exercise to make your deficit a little steeper. Whichever one is easier FOR YOU is the best one to go for. If you're active and do exercise, you'll want to check out the calculator again and select a more active option, then subtract 500 calories from that for a 1 pound per week weight loss.

The fact that you don't have a ton of weight to lose means that you want to lose it slowly, because you want to maintain your muscle mass so that you look good instead of squishy. Doing some form of weight training or resistance training will also help you a lot in this aspect.

Remember that you want to lose weight in a way that's sustainable to you for life; losing weight is not just getting rid of weight, it's also learning healthy habits that will take you through maintenance. You don't want to feel guilty every time you eat ice cream for the rest of your life, do you?

All the best! You're welcome to send me a private message if you need any more help, and I highly recommend reading the link I provided above. It helps, trust me!