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Although the Calories In, Calories Out is mathimatically correct - eating in moderation is not what got me to be overweight. So no chips, icecream, candy, etc. in the house for me to avoid temptation. To each their own.
My advice - weigh everything. Do your best to stay away from processed foods - a sandwich of white bread, sodium filled turkey isn't going to fill you up. Buy things on sale and plan around it that way. Don't eat canned beans - eat dry beans and freeze them. Frozen fruits and veggies are a good option this time of year. Wait for sales and then stock up on lean proteins, etc. Pinterest is your friend. Find budget friendly/diet friendly recipes.
Good luck.
Setting aside that some people might find a sandwich of white bread and deli turkey to be a satisfying lunch, there are some processed foods that are filling, convenient, and healthy options for people who are watching calories. I may not like a turkey sandwich, but a sandwich thin with hummus and baked tofu (all of which are processed) is a quick and filling lunch for me. Avoiding a food just because it has undergone processing is less useful than paying attention to which processed foods fit into your goals and satisfy you and which don't.
I ate processed foods every single day when I was losing weight. If someone chooses to avoid them for particular reasons, that's fine. But there is no reason one has to stay away from them in order to lose weight while also meeting their nutritional needs.3 -
Yeah the eating exercise calories back question really depends on the individual
A small woman on 1200 should probably eat all her calories back
A huge fat man like me gets enough food anyway and has plenty of energy stored so doesn't need to replenish burnt calories.
The principle is there to see. Dieters need to be their own lab rat. See what works for them in terms of successful, healthy weight loss, sustainable eating patterns, nutrition and establishment of long term eating habits.
I know for instance that when I get closer to target I will have to start eating them back and therefore eating closer to TDEE.
This is why logging food and exercise consistently and accurately is so important. As well as aiding in the actual weightloss journey, it provides vital information to help design your own individual diet plan0 -
Rickster1967 wrote: »Yeah the eating exercise calories back question really depends on the individual
A small woman on 1200 should probably eat all her calories back
A huge fat man like me gets enough food anyway and has plenty of energy stored so doesn't need to replenish burnt calories.
The principle is there to see. Dieters need to be their own lab rat. See what works for them in terms of successful, healthy weight loss, sustainable eating patterns, nutrition and establishment of long term eating habits.
I know for instance that when I get closer to target I will have to start eating them back and therefore eating closer to TDEE.
This is why logging food and exercise consistently and accurately is so important. As well as aiding in the actual weightloss journey, it provides vital information to help design your own individual diet plan
I would think that when a larger man is deciding whether or not to eat back his calories his initial calorie goal and his level of activity would be important considerations as well. Your size isn't the only thing to consider.1 -
janejellyroll wrote: »Rickster1967 wrote: »Yeah the eating exercise calories back question really depends on the individual
A small woman on 1200 should probably eat all her calories back
A huge fat man like me gets enough food anyway and has plenty of energy stored so doesn't need to replenish burnt calories.
The principle is there to see. Dieters need to be their own lab rat. See what works for them in terms of successful, healthy weight loss, sustainable eating patterns, nutrition and establishment of long term eating habits.
I know for instance that when I get closer to target I will have to start eating them back and therefore eating closer to TDEE.
This is why logging food and exercise consistently and accurately is so important. As well as aiding in the actual weightloss journey, it provides vital information to help design your own individual diet plan
I would think that when a larger man is deciding whether or not to eat back his calories his initial calorie goal and his level of activity would be important considerations as well. Your size isn't the only thing to consider.
I didn't say it was, size was only used to define the type of individual0 -
Rickster1967 wrote: »janejellyroll wrote: »Rickster1967 wrote: »Yeah the eating exercise calories back question really depends on the individual
A small woman on 1200 should probably eat all her calories back
A huge fat man like me gets enough food anyway and has plenty of energy stored so doesn't need to replenish burnt calories.
The principle is there to see. Dieters need to be their own lab rat. See what works for them in terms of successful, healthy weight loss, sustainable eating patterns, nutrition and establishment of long term eating habits.
I know for instance that when I get closer to target I will have to start eating them back and therefore eating closer to TDEE.
This is why logging food and exercise consistently and accurately is so important. As well as aiding in the actual weightloss journey, it provides vital information to help design your own individual diet plan
I would think that when a larger man is deciding whether or not to eat back his calories his initial calorie goal and his level of activity would be important considerations as well. Your size isn't the only thing to consider.
I didn't say it was, size was only used to define the type of individual
I was responding specifically to this: "A huge fat man like me gets enough food anyway and has plenty of energy stored so doesn't need to replenish burnt calories." A larger man would still want to consider his initial calorie goal and his activity level -- not just his size -- when deciding whether or not to eat back some or all activity calories. It was the "doesn't need" that prompted me to respond -- I think there are some situations where a larger person absolutely should consider eating back activity calories -- an aggressive calorie goal, a higher level of physical activity, etc.
If I'm misunderstanding you, then I apologize.1 -
seaglasstreasure wrote: »seaglasstreasure wrote: »Joanna2012B wrote: »IMO I wouldn't start with such a drastic calorie cut. What calorie goal does MFP give you to lose a pound a week with your stats? You definitely don't need to eat organic. You can eat fresh or frozen veggies, both equally good. It took me a while, but I do a lot of food prep with fresh, non processed foods. It has actually turned out to be cheaper than buying canned or boxed foods. I just look for sales and will freeze meats.
To lose 1lb per week it says 1,550. I have a very short height - 5'1" barefoot, 5'2" with regular tennis shoes. The lowest safe it says to eat is 1,200 so I couldn't even lose two pounds without exercising a lot and not eating the exercise calories back which people said you need to eat your exercise calories back.
What is your current weight? If you need to lose 100 lbs, there's no way it set you up with 1550 calories. Put in the correct stats in MFP and see what it says. You have to put your current weight in, and your goal weight. It sounds like you put your goal weight in as your current weight. Only very small 5'1 people would need 1500 calories.
See for yourself; I inserted a picture. If I'm doing something wrong please let me know how to fix it.
Your goal weight of 110 seems an aggressive place to start. I would think something that is just the other side of healthy/normal to start with would be an easier to get going/see results. Once you hit that goal (maybe 130), reevaluate and adjust then.2 -
You've got great advice on this thread so I can only repeat: put your stats into mfp and eat within your calorie allowance. Get a food scale and weigh your food. If you buy items you can use the mfp barcode scanner to get the product calories - very convenient. Weight loss is about developing a personal eating plan so eat the food you like. I went through stages - initially I kept 1/4 of my calories for snacks and eventually didn't snack as much. I watched an obesity documentary every day for the first month for motivation. It seems to get easier. You can eat fast food too - use the search facility on the forum for tips. I eat taco bell chicken fresca tacos, egg mcmuffins and McDonald cheeseburgers regularly. All of this is fine as long as you stick to your calorie allowance. The skinnytaste blog has great low-fat recipes. The chicken enchilada slow cooker soup is basically canned veg plus chicken. The slow cooker hamburger stroganoff is tasty and cheap. Keep experimenting as you go. Read the forum threads for tips. Read the maintenance threads so you understand that once you get the weight off, you need to keep it off. Mfp works. I dropped from obese to fat in 3 months. I'm tackling the next stage in 3kg mini-goals. Good luck!!!0
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I think 110 is too low of a goal. I’m 5’3 and my lowest weight ever was 136 (see profile pic) and I knew then that going below 125 would probably be the least I could maintain. Set a less aggressive goal (mine is 130 right now (losing baby weight)). Once there evaluate how you look and feel and adjust your goals. My calories for losing a pound a week is 1510 so your calories seem fine too. I’m too hungry with less then 1400 so 1200 would not work for me. Slow and steady wins the race. As for food organic isn’t necessary and you could make a good meal out of canned or frozen fruits, veggies, inexpensive cuts of meat, etc. Buy fresh when you can and it’s ok if it’s not a Instagram worthy looking meal.0
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Folks, the 110 pound goal has no effect on how her calorie target now is calculated by MFP. Zero. None.
All goal weight affects is things like the profile page progress ticker (display of how many pounds to go until goal and that sort of thing).
Please don't overcomplicate the setup & getting started issues by questioning her goal. She has plenty of time to decide and adjust that later if necessary.
Furthermore, she's 5'1". 110 may be perfectly sensible.
OP, you've gotten some great advice above about starting, and your current calorie target seems sensible. There's no need to worry about goal weight precision right now. Plenty of time for that later!
Best wishes for success!
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