Is there anything I'm doing wrong?

OtakuMusician

I just got back into MFP and calorie counting and exercising last week, and before I officially get into this mindset, I want to make sure there's nothing I'm doing wrong.

I'm 19, I'm 5'6, and I weigh 270. I eat around 1500 calories a day (my diary is open if you can take a look); I've started exercising but I can only go about 20 minutes without getting dangerously tired, which I'm sure will change over time.

So, will someone review me?

trickyfoxster710

Just build gradualy. Listne to your body. Try adding a minute each time you work out. Good luck feel free to friend me!

ashdawg8790

Veggies. Don't be scared of them!! They make you feel full and make you poop!

OtakuMusician

Phew! It's good to know I'm not doing something horribly wrong! Thanks a lot, everyone!

Ed98043

Your food choices are not the best, but I'm sure you know that. Just make sure that you're as accurate as possible on the calories and it should work. At some point if you're feeling too hungry I'd recommend swapping out that daily Pepsi or two for the same calories worth of fruit and veggies, and maybe cutting back on the processed sugary foods because sugar just makes you crash and crave more sugar to get back up again.

penelope76

Make sure you drink lots of water and eat foods rich in fiber like oats and veggies....try to stay away from fast foods and if you go pick healthy choices which alot of places offer now

farway

I only looked at a few days, but there does seem to be plenty of Pepsi , cheese & carbohydrates and very little vegetables

Could you make a start by going low cal Pepsi for instance?

Ed98043

You might want to confirm your calorie counts on multiple sites, too. For example, I saw that you entered a cup of macaroni as 105 calories...it should be more like 220. Or your homemade cheeseburger as 280 calories...a bun and 3 oz ground beef patty and a slice of American cheese should total about 400 calories. That 3 cups of homemade spaghetti that you entered as 576 calories is actually 660 calories for the pasta alone, add the beef and sauce and that meal was probably 850 calories. MFP calorie counts are notoriously unreliable because they're user-generated.

kellyskitties

I'm with the above posts.


I would encourage you to look for ways to incorporate more fruits/veggies. I would say at each meal think "what veggie could I work into this" and go from there. I'd load that burger up with veggies. Throw some chopped zucchini into the spaghetti sauce. Add some apple to the oatmeal or a small banana. You can always just add a side salad or a handful of snack sized veggies on the side of a meal.

I agree on the soda. I was horribly addicted to diet coke. (up to 2L a day plus) I quit them multiple times. Look for a way you can work on that without feeling "deprived." It is just empty calories.

As far as cheese - I see that often as well. It's not unhealthy but it is calorific. Sometimes when I eat something I know is high on calories (or carbs for my DH who is low carb for health reasons) I incorporate a load of veggies to cut the carbs/calories down. Add broccoli to the mac and cheese for example. I made us red beans and rice the other day - and I added tomatoes, okra and spinach to reduce the carb/calorie load per cup. I know it wasn't traditional red beans and rice anymore - nope, it was better.

Message me if you need any tips - and/or friend me - I'd be happy to help.

mahanaibu

Others are giving you great advice. I would add to that, it might be worth doing exercise that is lower intensity but doing it longer. I found that helped me build up better when I got started,

But mainly I wanted to say, hurray to you for asking these questions. I wish I had asked them when I was your age.

thesophierose

hello!

Good for you starting the life style change! All you have to do is listen to what your body is telling you. Start slow, add in more fruits and veggies, and it'll happen. You've got this!

jenniferwoodweeg

I try to include as much protien, veggies and fruits as possible. I am on the 1200 cal per day allowance so I do try and incorporate as many nutrient-dense foods as I can. Protein helps keep me full: hard boiled eggs, tuna and chicken are easy lower calorie ideas to include in your diet rather than hamburger-which tends to have more fat, thus more cal.. Also, I would cut down -as mentioned- the soda. I do drink a diet coke every now and again. One regular coke is as many cal as a small egg, egg white omelet, etc.

OtakuMusician

Thanks for everyone's feedback.

In responses to everyone's replies saying that my food choices aren't the best; we're just getting out of a one month visit with my sister and her two kids, so the food we've had around the house haven't been the best because of snacks and going out to eat a bit, but hell, that's all we had. This week we're going grocery shopping and we'll get much better foods. I just drank the last Pepsi last night and I've requested that we don't buy anymore, which will result in me drinking more water as well. Also, we've had no fruits or veggies for the last week because we're on our last stretch before going to the groceries, so we'll fix that as well.

NormInv

doubting yourself!

Sjenny5891

Start slow. You can try to do something easy like walking and adding in the harder things as you build the stamina.

HeidiCooksSupper

I would look, too, at how you have your carb and protein goals set. I would definitely up your protein and reduce your carbs. See http://www.sparkpeople.com/resource/nutrition_articles.asp?id=372 for a table of suggested ranges. Recent research favors protein over carbs for weight loss. You also may want to look at the calculator at http://www.globalrph.com/protein-calculator.cgi which suggests an even higher number for protein.

BeachGingerOnTheRocks

Do you have a food scale? I harp on this a lot but it is important. Pasta is a big one to think about. Weighing out 56 grams of dry pasta per person and seeing what a serving of pasta looks like is a huge eye opener for those of us who love it. I know it was for me.

As far as diet, lean proteins, whole grains, fruits and vegetables, poly and monounsaturated fat sources, foods rich in calcium (reduced fat cheese or full fat cheese where calories permit, yogurts, etc.) incorporating foods rich in Vitamin A (cantaloupe, romaine lettuce, cilantro, fresh herbs, carrots, sweet potatoes), foods rich in potassium (white potatoes), are best to be the bulk of your diet. Treats in moderation.

Think about what your goals are, and if you want to know what foods contain what nutrients, use google. That way you can look at lists of foods and see which ones meet your specific nutritional needs and that you and your family enjoy the most. You might want to up your Vitamin A, but you may hate cantaloupe, for example (not saying you do), googling foods rich in that nutrient will help you select what you do enjoy.

kellyskitties

When you hit the grocery store - if the grocery trips are not regular - load up some frozen fruits/veggies to work in - they keep a long time and are not nutritional wastelands. I would consider them nutritional equals unless they are coated in some bizarre sauces - then just watch what you are picking - I get them in sauce sometimes - just depends.

Good for you on the soda.

I agree with the scale recommendation - I need to think about that too.

I think it's great you can put yourself out there and you have gotten a lot of good advice from what I see!

edited to add: the potatoes might be a good idea too if you have irregular or long times between grocery trips - pretty long shelf life. Winter squashes do as well.