Understanding numbers

Options
FireVixen_Fayth
FireVixen_Fayth Posts: 154 Member
edited August 2015 in Health and Weight Loss
So.. I been doing this now for more then 5 days, but for the last 5 I been logging my food and stuff. Can someone help me understand this information? So far every day I been well under my recommended calorie intake.

And yes I have been logging every little thing I eat, I know my numbers are low but I honestly have not been hungry that much and I think some of it my be attributed to other factors.
Here is my last 3 days results, for some reason I have not saved one of them. https://www.dropbox.com/sh/g7lnhwddt5hmafb/AABTgV9O9lp0Oyurd7CVkvFra?dl=0
«1

Replies

  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,565 Member
    Options
    It'll be easier for people to help if you open up your diary and give your stats.
  • FireVixen_Fayth
    FireVixen_Fayth Posts: 154 Member
    edited August 2015
    Options
    Should be able to view even without a dropbox.
    B1qNmbB.png
    Here is a screen shot of it, not sure how to make the diary "public" Public now.
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/food/diary/bigdaveberg
  • afatpersonwholikesfood
    afatpersonwholikesfood Posts: 577 Member
    Options
    I noticed a lot of stuff says "homemade." Are these just entries you found in the database or are they entries you added to the database yourself and then used?

    Also, are you weighing your food?
  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,565 Member
    edited August 2015
    Options
    Log everything. Weigh everything. Aim for 1500 calories MINIMUM, if not your goal. The longer you eat at such a low amount, the more health problems you can potentially incur.

    Also, take a look at these threads for tips:
    community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1080242/a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants
    community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1296011/calorie-counting-101
    community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1234699/logging-accurately-step-by-step-guide
    community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10142490/a-list-of-calorie-dense-foods (for foods to add in when you can't reach your goal)
  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
    Options
    bigdaveberg wrote: »
    So.. I been doing this now for more then 5 days, but for the last 5 I been logging my food and stuff. Can someone help me understand this information? So far every day I been well under my recommended calorie intake.

    What don't you understand ? You seem to miss a lot of meals, or not log them.
  • FireVixen_Fayth
    FireVixen_Fayth Posts: 154 Member
    edited August 2015
    Options
    It is entries in the database, that have been the closest match without the weight of the food going over. I am logging absolutely everything, this is how we normally eat here, albiet I used to eat more. And yeah I am weighing my food.

    What I want to make sure I am understanding correctly is, if my intake is lower then my recommended intake, is that okay for loosing weight? I know by the charts, my intake is lot lower then the recommended but I honestly do not feel hungry.

    I understand if people do not believe me, am used to it by now, but its the simple truth, I have cut back my intake a lot and feel completely fine about it. Only thing on me that hurts right now is my feet from walking in bad shoes.
  • barryplumber
    barryplumber Posts: 401 Member
    Options
    If that's how you normally eat there one suggestion i have MOVE.
  • Timelordlady85
    Timelordlady85 Posts: 797 Member
    Options
    your diary for today only shows 210 calories and says you earned like 500 from exercise. did you not post the rest of your meals for the day yet? I'd aim for more calories with how much weight your aiming to lose. Also, what is your activity level set at and how much weight are you wanting to lose each week?
  • afatpersonwholikesfood
    afatpersonwholikesfood Posts: 577 Member
    Options
    bigdaveberg wrote: »
    It is entries in the database, that have been the closest match without the weight of the food going over. I am logging absolutely everything, this is how we normally eat here, albiet I used to eat more. And yeah I am weighing my food.

    What I want to make sure I am understanding correctly is, if my intake is lower then my recommended intake, is that okay for loosing weight? I know by the charts, my intake is lot lower then the recommended but I honestly do not feel hungry.

    I understand if people do not believe me, am used to it by now, but its the simple truth, I have cut back my intake a lot and feel completely fine about it. Only thing on me that hurts right now is my feet from walking in bad shoes.

    Men shouldn't go below 1,500 calories per day. With the amount of extra weight on you, you can actually eat quite a bit more than that and lose. That's why MFP set your target at 3,100. Your body burns more than that each day. Losing too quickly means you lose muscle, feel tired, and can feel deprived.

    As for using the homemade entries, you don't know how those people made those foods. The salad that you logged as homemade could have been logged as its individual ingredients instead. For example, you could have searched for "USDA carrot" and "USDA lettuce" and weighed and logged them. Check MFP database entries against the USDA Nutrient Database regularly as well.
  • FireVixen_Fayth
    FireVixen_Fayth Posts: 154 Member
    edited August 2015
    Options
    Timelordlady85 wrote: »
    your diary for today only shows 210 calories and says you earned like 500 from exercise. did you not post the rest of your meals for the day yet? I'd aim for more calories with how much weight your aiming to lose. Also, what is your activity level set at and how much weight are you wanting to lose each week?

    I have not ate anything else yet today, and I just got back from a 2.5 mile
    walk.
    afatpersonwholikesfood wrote: »
    bigdaveberg wrote: »
    It is entries in the database, that have been the closest match without the weight of the food going over. I am logging absolutely everything, this is how we normally eat here, albiet I used to eat more. And yeah I am weighing my food.

    What I want to make sure I am understanding correctly is, if my intake is lower then my recommended intake, is that okay for loosing weight? I know by the charts, my intake is lot lower then the recommended but I honestly do not feel hungry.

    I understand if people do not believe me, am used to it by now, but its the simple truth, I have cut back my intake a lot and feel completely fine about it. Only thing on me that hurts right now is my feet from walking in bad shoes.

    Men shouldn't go below 1,500 calories per day. With the amount of extra weight on you, you can actually eat quite a bit more than that and lose. That's why MFP set your target at 3,100. Your body burns more than that each day. Losing too quickly means you lose muscle, feel tired, and can feel deprived.

    As for using the homemade entries, you don't know how those people made those foods. The salad that you logged as homemade could have been logged as its individual ingredients instead. For example, you could have searched for "USDA carrot" and "USDA lettuce" and weighed and logged them. Check MFP database entries against the USDA Nutrient Database regularly as well.



    Got it, will have to make sure I do it that way for now on.

    Also like I said, I do not feel hungry/tired etc. The fries I had earlier, filed me up. Normally I would eat like the whole plate but less then half and I feel full and good. I plan on making me a "homemade" salad again here soon.
  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,565 Member
    Options
    bigdaveberg wrote: »
    It is entries in the database, that have been the closest match without the weight of the food going over. I am logging absolutely everything, this is how we normally eat here, albiet I used to eat more. And yeah I am weighing my food.

    What I want to make sure I am understanding correctly is, if my intake is lower then my recommended intake, is that okay for loosing weight? I know by the charts, my intake is lot lower then the recommended but I honestly do not feel hungry.

    I understand if people do not believe me, am used to it by now, but its the simple truth, I have cut back my intake a lot and feel completely fine about it. Only thing on me that hurts right now is my feet from walking in bad shoes.

    At the amount you're eating, it is not okay. You're putting your body at risk for muscle loss, hair loss, weakened organs, and other health issues that come from malnutrition. Read the links I provided earlier. Add in some of the calorie dense items listed in the final post. Just because you aren't hungry doesn't mean you don't need to fuel your body.
  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,150 Member
    Options
    You did NOT come to need to lose 205 pounds by not eating. Are you not logging?
  • FireVixen_Fayth
    FireVixen_Fayth Posts: 154 Member
    Options
    Liftng4Lis wrote: »
    You did NOT come to need to lose 205 pounds by not eating. Are you not logging?

    I am logging, but yet it seems like people are not understanding that. I do not feel hungry with how much I been eating, I feel perfectly fine. I also take a multivitamin daily as well. If you read my bio, you may understand more why I am trying to loose weight.
  • pstegman888
    pstegman888 Posts: 286 Member
    Options
    For logging convenience, especially if you tend to make the same dishes again & again ...Once you make a meal, salad or whatever, and log it in, you can click on the three dots on the lower right side and Save as a Meal to your My Meals database. Then you can log it as an entire meal another day, and just click & hold on ingedients to adjust or delete them. That way you don't have to re-enter the whole shootin' match each time.
  • FireVixen_Fayth
    FireVixen_Fayth Posts: 154 Member
    Options
    sunparakeet wrote: »
    A 2.5 mile walk does not burn 500 calories. There are height/ weight tools online to estimate calories burned from walking and jogging. For example, I only burn 35 calories on a mile walk. Someone who is super morbidly obese MIGHT burn 80 or maybe even 100 calories a mile but even that is pushing it. You can't trust the estimated "calories burned" on MFP or on exercise equipment. You probably burned 150 calories or maybe 200 on that walk depending on how heavy you are. The same 2.5 mile walk would be a <100 calorie exercise for me because I'm pretty small.

    I did not input custom calorie loss, I used the tool here to do it, with my measurements. And when I put in how far I went in the time, it came out to that. all HERE FROM THE SITE. I did no extra, nothing.
  • afatpersonwholikesfood
    afatpersonwholikesfood Posts: 577 Member
    edited August 2015
    Options
    sunparakeet wrote: »
    A 2.5 mile walk does not burn 500 calories. There are height/ weight tools online to estimate calories burned from walking and jogging. For example, I only burn 35 calories on a mile walk. Someone who is super morbidly obese MIGHT burn 80 or maybe even 100 calories a mile but even that is pushing it. You can't trust the estimated "calories burned" on MFP or on exercise equipment. You probably burned 150 calories or maybe 200 on that walk depending on how heavy you are. The same 2.5 mile walk would be a <100 calorie exercise for me because I'm pretty small.

    How long does it take you to walk a mile? Can you sing while doing so? Can you talk? Do you sweat?

    I'm making assumptions here, but if OP is, say, 6' and 400 lbs, those 2.5 miles may have been an hour or more of moderate intensity activity for him.

    OP, it is true that you should be wary of most activity calculators. They tend to overestimate calories burned.
  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,150 Member
    edited August 2015
    Options
    bigdaveberg wrote: »
    Liftng4Lis wrote: »
    You did NOT come to need to lose 205 pounds by not eating. Are you not logging?

    I am logging, but yet it seems like people are not understanding that. I do not feel hungry with how much I been eating, I feel perfectly fine. I also take a multivitamin daily as well. If you read my bio, you may understand more why I am trying to loose weight.

    Yes, yes, read that. The WHY is irrelevant. The HOW, is very important. Eating 69- 1000 calories a day is ridiculous and unhealthy. So you'll be thin but will have lost your hair and nails, in addition to have lost muscle mass. You DO realize your heart is a muscle right.
  • FireVixen_Fayth
    FireVixen_Fayth Posts: 154 Member
    edited August 2015
    Options
    Unfortunately yes that is correct. All my walks at least, in the very minimum an hour, weather permitting. And I have a preplaned route every single time, clocked it in a vehicle and google maps. I listen to music while walking, sing to myself, and of course sweat. I take 1 litre bottle of water with me and that is generally gone 3/4 of the way back home.

    Yes I do realize my heart is a muscle, thats why I am walking so my cardiovascular system gets in check. What I do not get is the hostility coming from some people. If I need to record a day of exactly what I do then I while. My general day is, looking for jobs online and calling around, checking email for college information, checking email for UofM to find my acceptance into the gender program, eat lunch when I am hungry, which tends to be around 1300-1500. Go for a walk around 1800-1900, which takes an hour, get home, have supper and hang out with the family. And I eat a snack or something else around 2200-0000. I am normally up to 0300-0430 at times.
    That is my average day right now.
  • afatpersonwholikesfood
    afatpersonwholikesfood Posts: 577 Member
    Options
    bigdaveberg wrote: »
    Unfortunately yes that is correct. All my walks at least, in the very minimum an hour, weather permitting. And I have a preplaned route every single time, clocked it in a vehicle and google maps. I listen to music while walking, sing to myself, and of course sweat. I take 1 litre bottle of water with me and that is generally gone 3/4 of the way back home.

    It's not unfortunate; it's just what you're working with and reality at the moment. Things will get easier as the weight comes off. You deserve credit for walking for an hour.
  • macgurlnet
    macgurlnet Posts: 1,946 Member
    Options
    bigdaveberg wrote: »
    Liftng4Lis wrote: »
    You did NOT come to need to lose 205 pounds by not eating. Are you not logging?

    I am logging, but yet it seems like people are not understanding that. I do not feel hungry with how much I been eating, I feel perfectly fine. I also take a multivitamin daily as well. If you read my bio, you may understand more why I am trying to loose weight.

    The big problem with malnourishment is you may feel perfectly fine now and then in a few months you start noticing your hair falling out and a whole bunch of other issues.

    Eat what MFP tells you to get to. Add in calorie dense stuff like nuts, nut butters, cook with oil, etc.

    ~Lyssa

Categories