1200 is not enough!

LeanButNotMean44

OP - I just want to tell you that you’re doing GREAT! It’s awesome that you’ve been receptive to the advice you’ve gotten. Sometimes people make posts like yours and get very defensive when they’re given advice and refuse to believe they’re doing anything wrong (e.g. “I’ve done it this way before”, “My friend/family member/trainer/Dr. Oz said...”).

Keep up the great work!

dangerousdashie

Chelle8070 wrote: »

I found some things hard to find that had that green checkmart AND the option of 1g or 100g as a unit - but I'll work on it!

I found out the the green check marks are pretty bogus. They don’t mean the entry is verified for accuracy. The green check marks are applied to user entries when an algorithm determines the entry is “complete”, not “accurate”. Often times they are incorrect. For example, the green check mark for cauliflower shows that 1 fl oz of cauliflower is 700 calories.

Sometimes the non-check marked ones are better and I end up having to add in a lot of entries myself.

mookybargirl

You’ve done amazing. Congrats on the weight loss. Your rate of loss is great!

I’d second measuring absolutely everything on a food scale for a week or two. I don’t use ‘cups’ myself as I find the calories was often way out. If you prefer the simplicity, weigh once, tip into a cup to get a good idea on eye-balling it and just check back that’s it’s still the right serving size now and again. For high calorie items, I’d always use the food scale. Getting it wrong can add calories fast.

tinseltr

I didn't read all the other comments sorry, not enough time in the day lol.

One thing I will say is that your goal is to lose weight right? Well if you're setting yourself a goal that you're struggling with shouldn't you step back a bit with something more achievable? Afterall a step in the right direction is better than staying in the same place or back sliding.
I'm at 190lbs and I'm doing 1400 odd calories a day. I put your info into an online calorie calculator thing and it said to lose 2lbs per week you should have 1361 and 1lb per week you should have 1861. It seems to me but obviously totally ignore me if you like, that somewhere between the 2 would be more beneficial.
Also slow weight loss is beneficial, what do you think happens to your skin when you lose weight rapidly, it doesn't suddenly snap back into place.
If you're still intent on pushing your weight loss further there are foods out there that are natural metabolism boosters, just do a google and try to build them in.
On the exercise front, I wouldn't go near a personal trainer, they have ulterior motives. You should be your biggest motivator. You need to find exercises that you enjoy. There are consoles out there like Wii, Xbox and PlayStation they do fitness games and the often log the calories you burn. The beauty of some of these games is the variety of activities you can do. You can always look up fitness videos on various kinds of exercises including dance (which is fun) on YouTube.

Also eating the calories you burn should be based on the difference between the activity you do normally - for example for me that's sitting or walking - and the new activity you're doing in that hour. Don't blindly trust what the app puts on to your daily allowance. You need to remember that you are constantly burning calories no matter what your doing that's why how have to work out the difference. Sitting is calculated by your body weight in kg x1.1 and sleeping incidentally is your weight in kg X 1. If you're not sure about that conversion rate just google lbs to kg and you should find a conversion calculator.

Sorry if some of this is repeating what has already been said.
Grats on the weight loss so far, you should be proud
P.s the answer to your question - no, you're not eating enough calories.

Chelle8070

bigbandjohn wrote: »

Ok. Looked at the diary. You seem fairly active. Let me ask the question. Why did you chose 1200?

Also, i noticed that you aren't using your "earned" calories for exersize fully. Perhaps you do need to go a little higher

MyFitnessPal chose my 1200 calories and my trainer agreed with it so I went with it.

I like to leave a buffer with the earned calories - In case it's tracked too high or whatever... and I don't like to eat late at night, so If I workout and eat dinner at 7/730, chances are I won't snack again before bed.

AnnPT77

Chelle8070 wrote: »

bigbandjohn wrote: »

Ok. Looked at the diary. You seem fairly active. Let me ask the question. Why did you chose 1200?

Also, i noticed that you aren't using your "earned" calories for exersize fully. Perhaps you do need to go a little higher

MyFitnessPal chose my 1200 calories and my trainer agreed with it so I went with it.

I like to leave a buffer with the earned calories - In case it's tracked too high or whatever... and I don't like to eat late at night, so If I workout and eat dinner at 7/730, chances are I won't snack again before bed.

MFP "chooses" our calorie goals based on the target weight loss rate we tell it we want, and the daily life activity level we claim. It may spit out the number, but we set the controlling variables.

Around 5 pounds a month is a great loss rate - pretty fast at your current weight, as I think others have said. But if 1200 is too hard, not sustainable, then you can choose to eat more: If 1200 net has you losing a pound a week (maybe a little more), then 1450 should give you about 0.5 pounds a week loss rate, or a calorie level in between the two should result in a loss rate between the two.

Those are choices you can make . . . you, not your trainer, I'd say: Easier, but longer wait to reach ultimate goal weight; harder, but quicker to reach goal. Your call, 100%.

biokoarizona

I do 1200 or less--I try not to do less very often. And whenever I stop losing, I up the calories just a tad and exercise a little more, which for me isn't all that much, because I'm pretty sedentary as a writer and also because I'm 66 and have some physical restrictions. Usually, though, the extra calories get my metab going again, and the exercise (kettlebells) helps me get past the plateau. There'll be a really good loss for a few weeks, and then...repeat!