New to this!!!

simplesarah1982

How is everybody getting on? This is the first time iv counted calories

Subrisii

Hey, welcome to MFP!

I've noticed that counting calories is definitely a great way to help monitor how much you're eating and adjust accordingly, but having a goal is definitely the best way to keep yourself going! May I ask what you're counting the calories for, ie. losing or gaining weight, gaining muscle, etc?

simplesarah1982

Thank you!!

Losing weight. I train 3 to 4 times a week currently but seem to gaining wait at the moment but not really been on a diet as such so I thought I'd give this a go! Any recommendations??

Subrisii

You're very welcome!

I'm relatively new myself, so I found out days afterwards that you can track your exercises, too! I would definitely suggest doing that so you can make sure you're consuming the proper amount of calories, as lowering your intake of calories and increasing your workouts can cause your metabolism to slow and basically put your results at a stand-still.
Additionally, muscle weighs more than fat, so if you feel like your body is healthy, pay attention to that moreso than numbers! There are tons of great threads and groups that may have people who specialize in those areas more than me, so I'm sure they'll have much better advice.

I wish you the best of luck!! Feel free to add me if you'd like!

simplesarah1982

I'v managed to link my Fitbit so fingers crossed that will help me track my exercise more precisely!

Iv taken my body measurements too as Iv also never done this before either.

So do you suggest using my full 1200 calories daily or can I save up unused calories for say the weekend??

I'll be sure to add you once I figure out how to lol

Subrisii

In my personal opinion, 1200 calories in a day isn't enough to sustain a person healthily, especially if you're working out 3-4 times a week. Unfortunately MFP only allots calories for cardio and not really strength building unless you have Premium, but I believe there should be a way to quick-add calories burned to your daily goals. I'm in the process of trying to lose about 80lbs, at ~1.5 lbs a week, and along with about 20-30 minutes walking a day I'm set to consume about 1500. While 300 calories doesn't really seem like a lot, there's plenty of veggies that are packed full of vitamins and minerals that you can jam into those 300 calories to make sure you're losing weight healthily and - more importantly- safely.

May I ask how much you're attempting to lose per week? Also, I believe it may be dependent on how much you weigh so if we're different sizes, the numbers may not match up as well as they could!

simplesarah1982

That's interesting I was just going with what MFP app suggested as I would like to lose 1.5 weekly but I only have a stone to lose and I'm currently 11st1b and height 5.7. It's only my first day so I'm sure I'll work out the correct balance over time. I'v learned so much from yourself and others already. I'm glad I joined the community

Subrisii

One stone shouldn't be too much trouble, but I wish you the best of luck nonetheless! Let me know if there's anything else you have questions about and I'll do my best to help you out!

simplesarah1982

Thank you and the same to you