AM I DOING IT RIGHT? PLEASE LOOK AT MY FOOD DIARY..HELP!

lorimitchell9081
lorimitchell9081 Posts: 5
in Health and Weight Loss
I am a female 31, weight up and down right now from 275-280lbs, 5'6" ... I have been working out for the past week and a half now, taking a break on Saturday and sunday, however I do go for a walk for about an hour. when I dont' go the gym or if I feel up to it, after the gym and supper I will go again, I did this twice. I eat three meals a day, snack in between meals with a fruit such as a banana most of the time, and I drink water all day long. What other suggestions can I get regarding my intake, Calorie wise. I ate a watermelon today and was worried about the things I go over like my sugar intake or my sodium, or whatever it may be, like carbs. I need to know if i'm on the right track, I do feel like my clothes are getting loose, however the scale tells me otherwise, just get confused about all the calorie thing, and when I exercise it says you've earned calories again, so does that mean I eat and for how long and when? Please help, I want to succeed and feel like I've been doing good this far, but everyone tells me i'm eating too few calories, how do I eat more, without gaining weight? any suggestions or helpful hints will be appreciated . Thanks :)

Replies

  • jwdieter
    jwdieter Posts: 2,582 Member
    If you're logging everything and moving around more, that's a fantastic start. There's no need to go overboard with really low calorie days, and no need to fear gaining weight with moderate eating and exercise.
  • Mistyvs
    Mistyvs Posts: 56 Member
    I don't think you're eating enough. You are choosing a lot of processed, higher calorie, or higher fat foods which will cause you to be hungrier, and it is harder for your body to process it so you will hold onto it longer. Try to make one or two healthier choices a day. Try making some of your own meals, instead of a frozen meal, or going out. Honestly, this is the hardest part for me because I hate cooking, but it really, really does make a difference. You will be amazed at how much more you can eat with less calories and how much more efficiently your body will work to lose weight with those choices. Good luck!
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
    how long have you been on current program?
  • prairiewinds
    prairiewinds Posts: 7
    I did look at your diary. I try to eat the same thing for breakfast, lunch and snack when I can. I find it makes easier to plan. The great thing about fruit and vegies is they are low calorie. I make sure that I exercise daily with a DVD. I find it helps a lot. You are doing well.
  • bajoyba
    bajoyba Posts: 1,153 Member
    What I notice right off the bat is that your calories are all over the place, including a couple of days where you're eating around 1000 calories or less (one day was logged at 790!). There's really no need to eat so little and leave such large deficits.

    If you're using MFP to calculate your calorie needs, the necessary deficit to reach your weight loss goal is already built into that number. You're supposed to MEET that calorie goal every day AND eat back at least some of your exercise calories. I started at 235 pounds and have been eating 1500 - 2000 calories a day depending on exercise, and it's been working just fine. :smile: If you're having trouble reaching your calorie goal, eat more calorie dense foods like avocado, nuts, seeds, cheese, and peanut butter, or choose regular versions of foods rather than low-fat/no-fat/light versions.

    Also keep in mind that a week and a half is not long enough to determine how successful your routine is. Sometimes calorie goals do need to be adjusted, but give it a few weeks before you decide to add or subtract any significant amount from your daily calories.
  • shed50kg
    shed50kg Posts: 69 Member
    It is great if you are combining calorie intake and exercise at the same time. However, I see a lot of people on here go all out with cutting calories and lots of exercise but then struggle to keep it up.

    When decided to change my lifestyle habits to healthier ones, I found it is easier to do it in stages otherwise I would not be able to stick to so many changes at once. I started my life change over about a year ago, the first thing I did was to stop smoking and it took me around 8-9 months to get used to it.

    I then focused on my daily eating habits, I did lots of research and I decided that eating the calories for my "goal weight" was the best way to go. This is because the calories I eat now are the calories I need to eat for the rest of my life, I do not want to make more changes down the line, as I would rather get into a routine now. Once I get used to my eating routine I will concentrate on the next stage which will be exercise.

    I have actually started to do some VERY light exercising, basically just moving around a bit more. However, I am not going to start regular exercise until my body tells me it is ready for it, which maybe next week, next month or next year. I will start when my body tells me. I also think people exercise too much, personally I think 3 times a week will be enough, it has to be something you can do for the rest of your life.

    Patience and will power are going to get me to my desired weight and lifestyle.

    So, my advice would be to concentrate more on your eating habits first. Like mentioned by others, eat more fruit, veggies and more lean meat. Cut back on processed foods.

    Good luck.
  • AleciaG724
    AleciaG724 Posts: 705 Member
    What I notice right off the bat is that your calories are all over the place, including a couple of days where you're eating around 1000 calories or less (one day was logged at 790!). There's really no need to eat so little and leave such large deficits.

    If you're using MFP to calculate your calorie needs, the necessary deficit to reach your weight loss goal is already built into that number. You're supposed to MEET that calorie goal every day AND eat back at least some of your exercise calories. I started at 235 pounds and have been eating 1500 - 2000 calories a day depending on exercise, and it's been working just fine. :smile: If you're having trouble reaching your calorie goal, eat more calorie dense foods like avocado, nuts, seeds, cheese, and peanut butter, or choose regular versions of foods rather than low-fat/no-fat/light versions.

    Also keep in mind that a week and a half is not long enough to determine how successful your routine is. Sometimes calorie goals do need to be adjusted, but give it a few weeks before you decide to add or subtract any significant amount from your daily calories.

    This^

    Be consistent day to day. Eat all of your basic calories plus at least half of your exercise calories. Also sodium plays a huge role - high sodium causes water retention so your weight loss will not show on the scale. If you eat at a huge calorie deficit your body holds on to the weight rather than letting you drop it.

    I've lost 2 1/2#/week since starting in April by eating 1500-1900 calories/day and burning about 400-500 calories by swimming, walking & hiking at least 30 minutes every day. I only take a day off, or have a cheat day of eating about one day every two weeks or so. I log everything I eat and my diary is open. Feel free to add me as a friend.
  • mazdauk
    mazdauk Posts: 1,380 Member
    As others have said, you need to eat "real" food rather than processed. You don't need to cut anything out, just reduce the quantities and/or frequency when you have them. Making things from sctach gives you more control over what you're eating, but if you do buy pre-made stuff check what the serving size is - sometimes you look at a packet and it says one serving 300 calories. Then you find the pack is supposed to serve six not four, so you've immediately taken in an extra 150 calories you didn't expect. And you're still hungry.

    The important thing is to make sure your lifestyle changes are sustainable - if you cut the food too low and go manic with exercise, you'll get fed up and quit.

    What worked for me (with apologies to those who've heard it)

    1. Set your profile to sedentary and eat back your exercise calories. As you have quite a lot to lose you mgiht want to start with 2lb a week weight loss, but even if you set it to 1lb you'll probably lose more than that to start with.
    2. Try to build in lots of extra bits of exercise - no need to spend hours in the gym if its not your thing, going for walks, DVD work-outs, even things like Wii fitness or Wii Zumba all count! (I love Zumba - its a really non-judgemental class as no-one cares what size you are or even if you're in time!!) Some poeple say the MFP calorie estimates are too high, but I've found them fine - just be realistic about the effort you're putting in (don't put "aerobic - intense" just because you're really tired and sweaty, think about whether you were following the easy or harder version!)
    3. Weigh and log everything. If you haven't got a food scale get one, and use it for everything (I'll let you off lettuce!), especially hard-to-measure stuff like cereal and pasta. Really log everything - even that half fish-finger left on the kids plate. Log it or throw it.

    You can do this.
  • depresseddancer
    depresseddancer Posts: 29 Member
    Hiya!

    You're doing awesomely - exercising lots, drinking water, and having a great mindset!

    Your calories look a bit wobbly. Every body is different, but I aim for between 1200 and 1500 calories a day. Starving yourself makes the weight harder to keep off, and will probably make you feel very miserable too.

    I did notice (and I don't mean to judge :-) ) you don't have many fresh vegetables in your diary. I know having a baby makes it hard to find time to prep fresh food, but it will really help your body, and you can eat loads and loads of fresh veg for very few calories. It's a great habit to get baby into as well.

    If you really can't bear fresh veg (my parter took a lot of persuading) then you could try roasting them with a couple of sprays of cooking spray or a teaspoon of oil, or maybe putting them into ratatouille with a little sausage and some cheese on top. I'm making it for tea tonight, it's very quick and it gives me 4 of my '5 a day'. I use this recipe: http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/2903/ratatouille

    Good luck, and keep going. Can I add you as a friend? We can keep each other motivated.
  • lorimitchell9081
    lorimitchell9081 Posts: 5
    It will be a week and a half. I'm looking for ideas on healthier foods as well...
  • BeccaSkinnyMoo
    BeccaSkinnyMoo Posts: 6
    Hi there - two words for you for starters - DON'T PANIC! You can do this!

    My goal for each day is supposed to be 1200 calories, however if I stick exactly to this and only consume 1200 calories worth of food each day, (and I have done this on occasion for several weeks) I don't lose the 2 lbs a week that I'm supposed to - in fact, I don't lose anything!

    I have found that my body simply needs more calories to function properly. Instead, I deliberately overeat by about 200 to 300 calories a day and then exercise these off. Eating significantly under the recommended calories each day probably isn't going to help so try and keep each day at roughly the same level.

    Try and remember that like others have said - it's not a very long timescale to judge yourself, give your body more time to adjust to its new lifestyle and don't be too hard on yourself! There's no rush, this should be a change for the rest of your life not a quick fix!!

    Above all, keep smiling and think how good you'll feel when the lbs eventually start to come off! :smile:
  • mazdauk
    mazdauk Posts: 1,380 Member
    It will be a week and a half. I'm looking for ideas on healthier foods as well...

    You're just at the beginning, you need to adjust. People have all sorts of ideas about what constitutes "healthy" - low/no carbs, high protein, no/high fat, paleo, vegan - you name it there will be a thread on here about it! No-one has the perfect answer, but as I did used to work for the Govt. department responsible for agriculture and food :blushing: my view is as likely to be right as any:wink:

    1. Eat 5 portions of different fruit and vegetables a day - the wider range of colours the better. Fruit juice only counts as one, however many servings you have, because you're not taking in the full fruit. Smoothies are better, particularly fresh homemade ones - watch out for sweeteners and thickeners in shop versions.

    2. Eat at least two portions of fish a week, one to be oily fish (salmon, mackerel, sardines etc.) Tuna is an oily fish if fresh but not if canned - the canning process removes the beneficial oils (but not of other oily fish - don't as me why, I was a policy maker not a scientist!:tongue: )

    3. Try to cook from scratch as much as possible - yes, this means peeling and chopping things:bigsmile: However, there are many "convenience" foods which are as good as fresh - for example frozen peas, broad beans, tinned chopped tomatoes, frozen or tinned sweetcorn, tinned fruit (in juice NOT syrup) - which can be kept in the freezer or cupboard ready for use. Also frozen or canned fish is a great standby. But make your own sauces, soups, stews/casseroles etc. as far as possible so you can control what goes into them. This is a good habit to get into if you have a baby anyway (try Anable Karmel's recipe books for babies and toddlers - they have great, easy recipes you can make for the whole family, adding salt/increasing seasoning once you've taken out the small person's portion).

    4. If you don't have one, get a slow cooker. I'd recommend this with a baby anyway, as you can throw the stuff in when you have a moment and know it won't spoil if you get distracted later - the food will be ready when you are! This is great for things like bolognaise - make a big batch then freeze in portions and cook the pasta fresh when you need it. I also like to roast a leg of lamb, arge piece of silverside or a whole chicken - it just sits there cooking nicely without making the kitchen hot and then you've got beautifully cooked meat to eat now AND freeze portions - I often make up and freeze sandwiches, or else freeze slices in gravy ready for a quick dinner adding rice or potatoes and veg another day.

    5. Finally, don't feel you have to give up anything (other than second helpings!). If you want a burger, skip the fries, or do some extra exercise. If you want a doughnut, have just one and make sure you have a lighter meal later. Basically, if you can fit it in yur calorie allowance have it - but make sure you're not skimping on fruit and veg to accomodate it.
  • amtru2015
    amtru2015 Posts: 179 Member
    I know it can seem really complicated so dont get overwhelmed. Heres my two cents:

    1. Remember it took a long time to get where you are and it will take time to lose it--dont be discouraged =)
    2. One basic rule that i try to follow is this....make dinner light. A meat and a veggie. Make lunch or breakfast your biggest meal.
    3. Exercise 6 days a week, rest 1.
    4. Have a cheat day. I usually conjoin my rest day and my cheat day---your call.
    5. I cut out most processed carbs like pasta, bread, rice. You dont have to do that, but they can be really heavy so if you do eat them, try to keep them at brkfst or lunch.

    Thats it! =) Keep it up girl!

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