Help please?

bsbprincess

I would like some advice on a couple things, please.

1. I did a search on here and couldn't find a post about this. When I'm near the end of the day I usually have a bit of calories left... sometimes maybe 100-200 or so. I do earn about 160-450 when I exercise, according to my fitbit. Now, when I scroll back, I have a lot less "remaining" and some days are in the negative!! How does this happen?

And 2. Since last monday I am down .5 lbs. For my first week, this is really frustrating. I opened my diary (much to my nervousness, lol, I find this embarrassing for some reason). I eat as well as we can afford. I started buying fruits and salad, I stopped salting any of my food, I drink plenty of water, had not a sip of alcohol. I've been working out most days. Went through a few days of Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred Level 1 and on Friday I went up to Level 2... I've been sore almost every day. Me and my fiance went for an hour walk on Saturday... I'm trying. I really am.

Is this muscle gain? Am I eating too much? It was suggested to me to increase my fat and protein but I found it much harder to stick to and adjusted my macros to be somewhere in-between what he suggested, and what the default is. I was also told I should change my expected loss per week setting to -1 lb a week instead of shooting for -2. But maybe I'm eating too much now?

I am 29 years old, 5'9" and 187. I am hoping to get to 150. I've been at 161 before... but when I was losing then it was on WW. It's never been difficult for me to lose weight around these numbers. I usually get stuck at 170. I have taken measurements and before photos last week.

I should note, lastly (sorry!!), that it's been about a year and a half since I was working out regularly. I just know I've had "week 1" before where I was working out, gaining muscle, and still lost at least a pound that week.

I'm so frustrated. Feel like I'm failing already.

callsitlikeiseeit

its not muscle gain but you could be retaining water from the new workouts.

and .5/ week is a good, sustainable loss! Great job!

if you are not, use a food scale to measure your food.

i dont connect my fitbit to mfp at all because i use tdee for my calories (so i dont eat back exercise calories, its built in). if its connected, it will adjust your calorie intake based on your activity level. most of us recommend eating back HALF those calories.

Talan79

Hi...I have a jawbone fitness band. I work out early am, then go to work and sit. So the calories earned disappear bc it's designed to think you will be just as active for the rest of the day. If you are not, the earned calories go away.
Muscle gains are hard. You can't gain much muscle in a week. It's a process which involves progressive overload and proper nutrition.
How carefully are you tracking your calories? Are you weighing on a digital scale? If not, I highly suggest getting a digital scale. You can log an apple into MFP and it will say 80 calories. If you cut out the middle and weight by ounce, you can end up with 120 calories.
How many calories are you eating? Use the goal setting in MFP. Plug in your current weight and your goal weight. It will give you your daily calorie goal. I don't use the default macros. I change my macros weekly. But you can try something like 40C-30P-30F. This is a good balance of carbs, fat and protein.

bsbprincess

Thanks guys

I've been eating around 1600-1700 a day when I exercise. My daily calorie goal is 1550 after going through the settings and selecting 1 lbs a week, as was recommended to me by another user. I want to lose faster, but maybe that's not a good idea...? Half a pound feels so little... Like I'll never reach goal.

So I shouldn't really trust calories in MFP database? That's really frustrating. Making me miss WW... although I can't afford the new program.. *sigh*

That's roughly what my macros are set at too. Thanks.

No scale yet, just using measuring cups, etc. I can get one.. just not yet. Money is very tight right now.

bsbprincess

So if in the end I'm losing what MFP thinks I've earned... should I maybe try not eating any earned calories this week?

Talan79

I say go with a 500 calorie daily deficit since you have more than 20 pounds to lose. Track carefully. Get a digital scale and weigh everything.
I like this calculator. Plug your numbers here and see what it gives you.

http://www.weightloss-calculator.net/

bsbprincess

Ok, It gave me this:

Your TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure, based on your BMR and your activity level)
1988 cals per day

To lose 0.5lb per week, you would need to consume
1738 cals per day

To lose 1lb per week, you would need to consume
1488 cals per day

So, you're saying -500... so that would mean 1488 for me?

EDIT: And does this mean I shouldn't eat calories earned? It seems I'm losing quite a bit of them by the end of the day..

missblondi2u

Talan79 wrote: »

Hi...I have a jawbone fitness band. I work out early am, then go to work and sit. So the calories earned disappear bc it's designed to think you will be just as active for the rest of the day. If you are not, the earned calories go away.
Muscle gains are hard. You can't gain much muscle in a week. It's a process which involves progressive overload and proper nutrition.
How carefully are you tracking your calories? Are you weighing on a digital scale? If not, I highly suggest getting a digital scale. You can log an apple into MFP and it will say 80 calories. If you cut out the middle and weight by ounce, you can end up with 120 calories.
How many calories are you eating? Use the goal setting in MFP. Plug in your current weight and your goal weight. It will give you your daily calorie goal. I don't use the default macros. I change my macros weekly. But you can try something like 40C-30P-30F. This is a good balance of carbs, fat and protein.

This is what's happening to those lost calories. Fitbit is estimating your calories burn for the whole day based on your activity so far, and if you're more active in the am you could lose calories because you're not maintaining the same activity level throughout the day.

You can change this setting though. If you go to the food plan section on your fitbit dashboard and click on "See More," you will bring up your food page. Where you see the "Food Plan (how much you should eat for the day)" section, there should be a blue gear icon. If you hover on the icon, you can change the "Daily Calorie Estimate Setting" from "Personalized" to "Sedentary." What this does is start you off with a low calorie estimate based on a sedentary day and only adds calories as you are active (rather than assuming what your activity will be throughout the rest of the day). Some people find this setting to work better for them.

try2again

One week in, and one number on the scale, means nothing. Please don't fret about it. You are likely retaining water from the new workout routine- it is temporary. But even so, you're not going to get a great number on the scale every week- it just doesn't work that way- and women in particular have so many fluctuations. Never judge this process, or start tweaking, due to one week's results. I'm bad with links, but do a search for the thread "It is unlikely that you will lose weight consistently (i.e., weight loss is not linear)"- it will put your mind at ease for the months to come! But other than that, you seem to be taking a very reasonable, educated approach and you will succeed with time!

bsbprincess

Thank you, missblondi!!! Had no idea that was an option! Will change it for sure.

Thanks, try2again I'll keep going and see what happens.

Talan79

@bsbprincess When you plugged your numbers in to that link, did you choose lightly active or sedentary?
I think 1488 seems low for you. I don't know your age, but when I plugged your weight, and a 40 pound weight loss goal and lightly active, I got 1727 to lose one pound a week.

bsbprincess

I selected Sedentary. I'm a stay at home fiance right now, so to be honest I don't do much when I'm not exercising. Which is why I was only eating a bit more when I worked out.

kshama2001

bsbprincess wrote: »

Thanks guys

I've been eating around 1600-1700 a day when I exercise. My daily calorie goal is 1550 after going through the settings and selecting 1 lbs a week, as was recommended to me by another user. I want to lose faster, but maybe that's not a good idea...? Half a pound feels so little... Like I'll never reach goal.

So I shouldn't really trust calories in MFP database? That's really frustrating. Making me miss WW... although I can't afford the new program.. *sigh*

That's roughly what my macros are set at too. Thanks.

No scale yet, just using measuring cups, etc. I can get one.. just not yet. Money is very tight right now.

The system entries (as opposed to user entries) in the MFP database are by and large accurate, although there are some weird glitches like when it says 1 gram but you get results for 100 grams. These are easy to spot and don't happen very often.

You can find the system entries by first looking up your foods in the USDA database and using the same search string. http://ndb.nal.usda.gov/ndb/foods You'll get the hang of the syntax quickly and all your Recent foods will be in your food diary.

What the apple example above meant that using "Apples, raw, with skin, 1 small (2-3/4" dia)" is not as accurate as getting the weight by using a digital food scale and using the actual weight instead of estimating the size. I was shockingly inaccurate with bananas before I got the scale.

missblondi2u

bsbprincess wrote: »

Thanks guys

I've been eating around 1600-1700 a day when I exercise. My daily calorie goal is 1550 after going through the settings and selecting 1 lbs a week, as was recommended to me by another user. I want to lose faster, but maybe that's not a good idea...? Half a pound feels so little... Like I'll never reach goal.

So I shouldn't really trust calories in MFP database? That's really frustrating. Making me miss WW... although I can't afford the new program.. *sigh*

That's roughly what my macros are set at too. Thanks.

No scale yet, just using measuring cups, etc. I can get one.. just not yet. Money is very tight right now.

Yes and no. The MFP database is great, but it is also user-populated, so a lot of questionable entries make their way in. Never choose entries that say generic or homemade unless you entered them yourself. Look for verified entries, but it's also a good idea to double check against usda website and others as well. Another thing you should do is avoid entries like "1 small apple" or "1 medium avocado." You have no idea how your fruit compares to what's in the entry. Look for entries with grams listed, so you can weigh your fruit and enter the correct amount.

It can be a pain to find the right entries, but once you do they will be easily accessible in your recent foods list. Same thing with the recipe builder. It can take a while to put all of your ingredients in, but it makes things super easy later on.

bsbprincess

Thanks so much! Really appreciate the advice. Will keep an eye out for that stuff, and get a scale as soon as I can.