Suggestions please!

bjmgillet1142013

Hi my name is Jen and I'm a 3rd grade teacher. I have a 3 year old and in my mid 30's. I've struggled to lose weight since my son was born and even before then. I have a Fitbit and I have been running at the gym 3-4x a week. I've been doing WW but don't like the new program, I feel like I'm starving myself. I like MFP because I can track nutrients like carbs, protein, and sugar. My question is what is the percentage of those items supposed to be? What should my total calorie intake be? And how often should I be going to the gym? I have gone down two dress sizes, but I have not moved on the scale. I can't seem to get down past 185, no matter what I do! Help!!!

TavistockToad

put your stats in MFP and it will tell you the number of calories, and give you a macro breakdown.

i think going down dress sizes is much better progress than scale weight personally, so you cant be doing that badly!

dmt4641

I always felt starving on weight watchers too.

You can either put your stats into MFP and get your calories and add on 50-75% of your exercise calories OR you can use a TDEE calculator and eat the same number of calories each day (TDEE number includes your exercise calories, so don't add them on top). Make sure you are setting a reasonable weight loss goal, probably 1 lb a week.

Once you figure out your calories, you need to accurately count them. It will never be 100% accurate, but the most accurate is using a food scale. Eyeballing portions can lead to overeating by a lot. Check out this post on how to count calories accurately.

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1234699/logging-accurately-step-by-step-guide/p1

That is really all you NEED to do to lose weight. Some people try to follow a certain macro split. 40c/30f/30p is pretty popular. Others make sure they get a minimum grams of certain macros (.8 grams per LBM of protein and .3 grams per LBM of fat). Getting enough protein can help you maintain muscle mass as you lose weight and will help you feel full. Eating the minimum amount of fat will make sure your body and hormones function properly and can also help with fullness. Once you meet the minimum amounts, the macros that the rest of your calories come from is down to personal preference. What makes you feel full and works for your body and lifestyle.

Running is great if you enjoy it. A lot of people also perform strength training to help maintain muscle mass.

RoxieDawn

Setup your MFP account with your personal stats and the number of pounds you would like to loose each week (i.e. 1 pound/week), when this is completed it will auto generate your calorie goal and macro splits. You can change the macro split percentages if you choose to, but not necessary.

You can go to the gym or exercise anytime you can work that into your schedule. No special requirements there.

If you want to make the absolute best out of the MFP app, then buy a food scale. These two tools used together will bring you weight loss sucess.

smantha32

I use this calorie calculator. So far it's helping.

http://mytdee.com/

StaciMarie1974

Based on the stats you provided - I'd estimate you could eat ~1600 per day and aim to lose 1 pound per week. Work out for health/fitness, and feel free to eat a little additional on days you work out if you feel you need it.

My math:

Based on 35 years old, 185 pound pounds, 5'5" (pure guess but it won't change results in a significant way) your BMR is about 1535 per day. BMR is the energy your body uses to handle basic functions like circulating oxygen and blood thru your body, food digestion, brain activity, etc. Then you also use energy to move thru your day. How much depends on how active you are. I assumed lightly active, as you're often on your feet teaching 3rd grade and/or chasing a 3 year old. Daily activity calories are generally a function of BMR so I added 35% of BMRL: 1535 x .35 = 537. So your body uses approximately 2072 per day. Deduct 500 (to aim for 1 pound weight loss per week) and rounded off, that puts you at a calorie goal of roughly 1600/day.

Keep in mind you burn additional calories when you exercise but its hard to know exactly how much. Machines and online estimators tend to give high #s.

There is no perfect answer as to macro breakdown. Some people like low carb, some do not. You do need to get 'enough' protein, but there is no definitive answer as to what 'enough' is. Personally I say to assess if you have any problem areas. For me, if I did not make the effort I'd easily have next to no fresh veggies/fruits each week. So that is something I focus on. Identify a problem area, and address it. You don't have to perfect all things nutrition related NOW but look for ways to make improvements here & there.