Help! My dieting sucks

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  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
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    rdl81 wrote: »
    Try and eat whole foods so you can eat so much vegetables for very little calories it's hidden sugar in food that add extra kcal. Also 1g fat = 9kcal vs 1g protein/carb is 4kcal. Have a look at my diary things like chicken breast really filling low kcal add some veg and total kcal is low but you will be full. You need to eat food that fills you up but low kcal. Try eating 1200 kcal of green veg for example

    Why on earth would anyone want to eat just green vegetables?? Plus fat doesn't make you fat, women especially need fat to regulate hormones.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
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    FaileBashere wrote: »
    I'm very short, 4'11", and I was given the 1200 calorie limit from MFP. I am working out, so I do add in the calories from working out, so it's 1200 net. I think eating "smart" is hard, I didn't realize just how many calories are in foods...it's really difficult to find enough food that fits into the net 1200 without only being able to eat like two or three times a day. Suggestions?

    I have a wedding in May , trying to lose 10-15lbs by then :/

    Pre-logging your day might help. Are you set to lose 0.5lb per week?
  • Savannah2990
    Savannah2990 Posts: 19 Member
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    Buncha36 wrote: »
    Here is a website I use to figure out how much i should be eating.
    It has you enter your weight, (i put the weight I want to go down to) and your height, how much you exercise/intensity and it gives you the calculation of how much calories you should be intaking.

    If you want to get more specific, on the left hand side, you can use that NET caloric intake number it gave you, and chose it to calculate your macro nutrients for the day. meaning your protien, carbs and fats.

    Its a wonderful tool!!!! I promise it is soooo helpful and makes 'dieting' a little less confusing :)

    http://www.freedieting.com/tools/calorie_calculator.htm

    Thank you for above info .. I'm on a 1200 calorie intake and work out 6 days at least .
    Weight not coming off as I expected, just learning the in and outs of all this .
    I think I need more calories and definitely lower sodium choices .
  • ritzvin
    ritzvin Posts: 2,860 Member
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    FaileBashere wrote: »
    I'm very short, 4'11", and I was given the 1200 calorie limit from MFP. I am working out, so I do add in the calories from working out, so it's 1200 net. I think eating "smart" is hard, I didn't realize just how many calories are in foods...it's really difficult to find enough food that fits into the net 1200 without only being able to eat like two or three times a day. Suggestions?

    I have a wedding in May , trying to lose 10-15lbs by then :/

    You are close to my height and near your goal weight, so the 1200s is a reasonable net calorie goal (unless you are muscular).

    At that point, you have to really cut down on "filler" foods (the cheap starchy stuff with little added nutritional value - breads, pasta, rice - their purpose is to add calories cheaply but us petite folks don't need extra cheap calories). Make sure you are getting protein, fat, fiber.. So you feel full. Make most of your calories serve a nutritional purpose. Bulk out recipes with as many vegetables as possible. Very little room for junk food or wine without getting a workout in.
  • ritzvin
    ritzvin Posts: 2,860 Member
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    I eat a lot of the following: yogurt with jam, cottage cheese, egg/tuna/salmon/tilapia/etc salads (using sparing amounts of diet mayo) on thin arepas or crackers, stir fry vegetables with beans, meat, & (small amount of) rice, apples. I pre-portion pretty much everything out.
  • ritzvin
    ritzvin Posts: 2,860 Member
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    and don't forget to eat back those spin class calories.
  • rdl81
    rdl81 Posts: 220 Member
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    People are totally missing my point. I am saying if you struggle to feel full and are trying to stick to a calorie target which u are finding a challenge then you could eat more green vegetables as this will make you feel full up but contribute very limited calories. That is the point I am trying to make. I also said that processed foods tend to be not very filling and high kcal so try sticking to whole foods such as meat vegetables etc. The point I was making is that it would be physically impossible to eat 1200 kcal of green veg as that would be loads and loads and loads
  • FaileBashere
    FaileBashere Posts: 27 Member
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    I'm really struggling with this, i'm going to re-try and do the 1200 calorie thing again, but with 8 hours of exercise a week i can't tell how many calories i should be allowed to add back in, and MFP seems to grossly overestimate this. 4 months til my wedding and I haven't lost any weight :/
  • rdl81
    rdl81 Posts: 220 Member
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    You could use an online fdee calucualor to work out your kcal and then add those here manually as your target....that's what I do
  • getupforchange
    getupforchange Posts: 86 Member
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    Do you use a HRM when going to your exercise classes? The machines in your gym will often over estimate your burn but if you use a HRM it's more accurate and you know how many extra calories you have to play with. Some people swear by eating back all their calories after exercise, but you can always start off by eating back half of them and see how you go? 1200 sounds way too low with that much exercise and if you're struggling to fill up you'll most likely fall off the wagon eventually because you can't do it long run if it leaves you so hungry.
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
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    FaileBashere wrote: »
    I'm really struggling with this, i'm going to re-try and do the 1200 calorie thing again, but with 8 hours of exercise a week i can't tell how many calories i should be allowed to add back in, and MFP seems to grossly overestimate this. 4 months til my wedding and I haven't lost any weight :/

    Here is what works for many people: just pick a set percentage of exercise calories to eat back, say 50%. Log consistently and reliably. If you find yourself losing faster than expected, you can increase the percentage that you're eating back. If you're losing more slowly, try reducing the percentage you're eating back.

    Pay attention to how much fiber and protein and fat are in your meals and how you feel after specific meals. Some people find that fiber helps them feel fuller, for others it may be protein or fat. By paying attention to how long specific meals make you feel full, you can adjust from there. I personally always feel starving when I try do do low fat, other people don't mind it.

    You may also want to double-check your logging. Are you weighing your solid foods for accuracy? Are you avoiding "generic" or "homemade" entries from the database? Are there any foods or (caloric) drinks that you aren't logging?
  • WinoGelato
    WinoGelato Posts: 13,454 Member
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    FaileBashere wrote: »
    I'm really struggling with this, i'm going to re-try and do the 1200 calorie thing again, but with 8 hours of exercise a week i can't tell how many calories i should be allowed to add back in, and MFP seems to grossly overestimate this. 4 months til my wedding and I haven't lost any weight :/

    I don't think this was asked upthread but sorry if I missed it - are you using a food scale for weighing your solid foods for logging accuracy? If someone isn't losing, it is almost always that they are eating more than they think, or that they are overestimating exercise burns (I know you mentioned this). What percent of your exercise calories are you eating back now?
  • FaileBashere
    FaileBashere Posts: 27 Member
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    I don't use HRM because i'm mostly taking classes, so i'm doing spin class, yoga, barre, kickboxing, and P.A.C.E. I have hinted at my husband to get me a fitbit though for this purpose. What I am guessing is happening is that MFP is overestimating how many calories I'm burning so I'm probably eating back too many. I'm hoping that getting a fitbit will help clear this up and let me know more accurately how many calories I'm burning when I workout. Has anyone else tried this and seen better results?
  • ritzvin
    ritzvin Posts: 2,860 Member
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    FaileBashere wrote: »
    I don't use HRM because i'm mostly taking classes, so i'm doing spin class, yoga, barre, kickboxing, and P.A.C.E. I have hinted at my husband to get me a fitbit though for this purpose. What I am guessing is happening is that MFP is overestimating how many calories I'm burning so I'm probably eating back too many. I'm hoping that getting a fitbit will help clear this up and let me know more accurately how many calories I'm burning when I workout. Has anyone else tried this and seen better results?

    Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think the Fitbits are mainly step trackers - so they'll somewhat accurately gauge walking and running, but not much else, except maybe with a HRM. (From what I can tell, they're mainly a tool for less active folks wanting to get their exercise in by walking more). Do the spin class bikes have power meters-I've been told those are more accurate than HRM for estimating calorie burn?
  • sllm1
    sllm1 Posts: 2,114 Member
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    There are fitbits with heart rate monitors, and mine seems to do well with calorie estimation.

    In the meantime, underestimate your calories burned and eat back half. (Or at least that's what I'd do). :)
  • ZephieC
    ZephieC Posts: 162 Member
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    I've eaten 1200 calories for the last month. Feel free to nose around my diary to see what I have been eating. I am just gradually adding workouts. You sound much more active so you would want to make sure you eat back a chunk of those exercise calories to keep you going. I am careful to try and eat balanced so I haven't had any issues.

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