No Idea What the Heck I'm doing

PhallicBaldwin

Can someone take a look at my diary and see if I will lose weight? I was told to avoid the scale for a couple weeks, as it takes a while for all of the work to register with body weight.

Seriously, though, I feel clueless as all get-out. If someone who knows what the heck they're doing could just take a look and let me know if I'm on the right track, that'd be great.

tamikawoodson

It looks like you are either over or under your daily calorie intake most days. Try to stick to eating your calorie allowance. I've been reading others posts about eating back their calories burned and you will get various opinions about that. I eat some of my calories back if I am feeling hungry but I try to stay within my 1200 calories. What ever you set your goals to , try to stick to the calories you have to achieve your goal-hope this helps

Coyla

It depends on several things, how you feel, and if you're losing weight. You should weigh yourself at least once a week to see if what you're doing is working.

I almost always advise people to go for a slower approach to weight loss, instead of the usual 2 lbs a week most newcomers aim for on MFP. The reason is to avoid burn out.

It looks like you're exercising, which is good, and eating back those exercise calories. Also good. I don't see any major problems with your diet. If you're not feeling deprived, and the weight is coming off, you're doing okay.

If you start feeling deprived, however, lower your weight loss goal to 1 lb a week or less, and settle into a more moderate approach.

PhallicBaldwin

It depends on several things, how you feel, and if you're losing weight. You should weigh yourself at least once a week to see if what you're doing is working.

I almost always advise people to go for a slower approach to weight loss, instead of the usual 2 lbs a week most newcomers aim for on MFP. The reason is to avoid burn out.

It looks like you're exercising, which is good, and eating back those exercise calories. Also good. I don't see any major problems with your diet. If you're not feeling deprived, and the weight is coming off, you're doing okay.

If you start feeling deprived, however, lower your weight loss goal to 1 lb a week or less, and settle into a more moderate approach.

I stepped on the scale this morning and weight exactly what I did last week. I'm thinking that my body might be bloated due to bingeing yesterday. Though, I am hesitant to call it a "binge" and feel more incline to call it "eating what I had to as to make it through the day without fainting." Another possibility is that I could be pms-ing.

Also, I am 30.5 years old, 5'6", and 135 lbs, so my body might be slower to let go of pounds, due to age and not necessarily having a "weight problem." Is this a proper assumption?

PhallicBaldwin

It looks like you are either over or under your daily calorie intake most days. Try to stick to eating your calorie allowance. I've been reading others posts about eating back their calories burned and you will get various opinions about that. I eat some of my calories back if I am feeling hungry but I try to stay within my 1200 calories. What ever you set your goals to , try to stick to the calories you have to achieve your goal-hope this helps

Hi, Tamika! I wish I could stay at 1200 calories, but every day is different except for one thing: I am always doing something active. With running at least 4.5 miles every day with only a couple exceptions, 1200 calories is not enough for me to function without feeling faint.

I think I read somewhere that I should be eating 2048 calories http://scoobysworkshop.com/accurate-calorie-calculator/ which puts me at a 20% deficit for my TDEE. This would mean, if I ate 2048, I would lose about 1 lb per week.

I'm a bit nervous if MFP's goal setting is accurate enough for a realistic and sustainable lifestyle. I figured I would come here and ask some experts.

Pinkranger626

The 1200 calories is the MINIMUM that one should be eating daily. If you're active the 1200 calories is going to be even harder to stick to as you will be burning more calories. I don't pay attention to my exercise calories and just focus on the net calories number (the number of calories that I actually put in my mouth) It was getting way to confusing and ridiculous when I was tyring to eat back calories etc. I too am really active and I find if I stay around 1800-2100 calories per day (depending on what type of workouts I did that day) I feel like I've eaten enough and still notice the numbers on the scale dropping or staying where I want them. Currently I'm sort of maintaining, I'm beginning my training for a half marathon in October, after that my goals will be switched over to weight loss for my wedding next year.

What I do is customize my goals, I found that MFP was seriously lowballing my calories, especially since I don't pay attention to the exercise add back in calories thing.

Google BMR calculator to find your BMR. The BMR is your basal metabolic rate, this is the number of calories that you need to consume to live i.e. breathing, pumping blood through your body etc. You always want to consume at least this number.

After you find your BMR, look up the Harris Benedict's formula and choose your activity level. That number is the amount of calories that you should consume with your physical activity level to stay the same weight that you're at currently. To lose, you'll want to take that number and create a deficit of 350-500 calories (depends on your current activity level and how much wiggle room you have from your BMR) you can created the deficit buy eating less or exercising more, or a combination of both.

That's what I do, that way I was less confused and felt like I had more control over my numbers. Plus this way I know the number that I'm shooting for first thing and can make choices without having to think about adding in more exercise to make up for something, or feeling guilty because I accidently go over my allotted calories. I'm a little bit of a control freak though, so this is what works for me. It also keeps me from turning exercise into a punishment as I really enjoy it. Hope this helps

Pinkranger626

Also, don't forget to reevaluate your numbers as the scale starts dropping!! I usually check mine every few months or so to make sure that I haven't started eating too many calories. Unfortunately, as you get smaller you don't need as many calories... although, I still find that I eat waaay more than I had when I was bigger, just better foods and smaller portions (no more Wendy's for lunch and McDonald's for dinner).

mazdauk

If you think 30.5 is an "age problem" try doing this at 48.5 :grumble: Oh, look at my ticker - yes it IS possible.

If you are hungry, try eating protein instead of leafy veg, eat bak your exercise calories AND set your goal for only 1lb a week. You are the same height as me (approx) but already 12lb less than my goal weight so I doubt you actually have much to lose! Its this which will make things difficult, not your age.

Are you weighing your food? I really think if not you need to invest in a scale - its amazing the difference between what you might think is 75g dry pasta and what 75g dry pasta really looks like! Its so easy to over-estimate "loose" stuff (cereal is another example).

ETA and eat back your exercise calories - if you don't no wonder you feel faint!

lshender

At 5'6" and 135 pounds, you should communicate with your doctor. That's a perfectly healthy weight. Actually, i would cry tears of joy if I could get there some day.

Bekahmardis

I think I read somewhere that I should be eating 2048 calories http://scoobysworkshop.com/accurate-calorie-calculator/ which puts me at a 20% deficit for my TDEE. This would mean, if I ate 2048, I would lose about 1 lb per week.

I'm a bit nervous if MFP's goal setting is accurate enough for a realistic and sustainable lifestyle. I figured I would come here and ask some experts.

According to http://www.fat2fitradio.com/tools/bmr/ your BMR is 1411, which means you need to eat at LEAST this amount every day PLUS your exercise calories.

The big thing to remember is that MFP is notorious for overcalculating the number of calories you burn for exercise. Do you have a heart rate monitor? Or could you get a FitBit? Either of those could help calculate your exercise burn more appropriately...

BeachGingerOnTheRocks

You're eating at maintenance.

Based on what I am seeing of your exercise burns, you have probably overestimated your TDEE. Ignoring that you have the 1200 calorie listed, you never eat at 1200 calories. You're normally over 2000. Drop your calories to 1700 and see what happens. Be consistent with it. Don't have 900 calorie days, and don't have days where you're 800 calories over your targeted goal.

I'm an inch taller and pretty active. I also determined after a lot of trial and error that my maintenance when I weighed 135 pounds was 1900. I had to eat less than that to lose. Now that I am 120 pounds, my TDEE is still around that number because I have built up muscle and lost a good bit of body fat.

Because you don't have a lot to lose, you are already well within a normal weight range, you need to go very slow. You can't drop really fast without starving, and it will all come back anyway if you go that route.

I_Will_End_You

Also, I am 30.5 years old, 5'6", and 135 lbs, so my body might be slower to let go of pounds, due to age and not necessarily having a "weight problem." Is this a proper assumption?

I am 31, 5'6 and when I started getting into fitness weighed 135 lbs.....so we have/had really similar stats! I'm losing weight regularly eating an estimate of 1900-2100 calories a day and doing strength training. You don't have to restrict yourself so much, especially since you're not overweight.

rebeccaabel

It's possible you're not losing because you're already at a great weight for that height. Your BMI is 21.8% which is normal. How much are you trying to lose? How do your clothes fit? Are you gaining muscle and that's why weight loss isn't showing up? Have you taken measurements?