Just starting out [NEED HELP AND TIPS]

I am 18 years old and I am 5’6 and currently weighing 255 I want to slim down to a midpoint of 200 and then at least 170-180 by August. Just yesterday I joined planet fitness and started focusing on my cardio and burned 300 calories all together and I have cut all my junk foods off. I feel motivated but I do not wanna mess up and go back to my old ways like I have over a 1000 times. I’ve been drinking water and naked and have been eating fruits and tunas and only eat 11-7/8pm [intermittent fasting]. I also try to eat below 1200 calories. Am I doing this right?

Replies

  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    edited January 2019
    No, it is completely unnecessary for you to be eating so little.
  • jennifer_417
    jennifer_417 Posts: 12,344 Member
    It looks like you're trying to do too much, too soon.
    You can work "junk" food into your calorie allowance. Trying to them all out entirely is a great way to end up bingeing on them.

    Also, 1200 calories is a really, really small amount of food. It sounds good on paper because in theory it means faster weight loss. But the problem is that it's really tough to stick with it. It doesn't do any good to lose the weight quickly if you find it too hard, fall off the wagon, and put it all back on. I highly recommend setting your calorie goal at least a little higher.
  • snowflake954
    snowflake954 Posts: 8,399 Member
    Did you plug your stats into MFP? What daily calorie goal did it give you? I'll give you a great tip right now. He wins who eats the most food and still loses. So, you are not going about this correctly. Get a digital food scale, start weighing and measuring all your food and drink. Try to stay within your calorie goal everyday. Exercise, but this just means you can eat more--log your exercise into MFP and it will give you more calories that day, but cut them in half, since your burn may not be that high. BE PATIENT. You may retain water if not used to exercise. It will go away. Take your measurements weekly or monthly and keep a journal. When your weight loss stalls, or you feel down about it all--do 2 things: read the success threads on MFP and take a look at the progress in your journal. Good luck to you and hope to see you on the success threads in the future.
  • BMsJourney
    BMsJourney Posts: 106 Member
    Welcome, and congratulation on making the decision to become a healthier you :smiley:

    First off, I'd like to say that I agree with @jennifer_417 - too much too soon... I'll break it down a little;

    You've set a fairly aggressive goal - 75#/32weeks = 2.34 #/week ... The recommendation would be to target somewhere between 1 & 2/week, and so you might want to consider giving yourself a little more time...

    1200 kcal is not a lot of energy - based on your age and weight, your (theoretical as there are individual variations) RMR (resting metabolic rate) would be in the range of 2000 kcal, which means you're at 800 kcal below the level needed to maintain your vital functions... My recommendation would be to not drop below 1800 kcal as a starting point..

    When it comes to exercise, you should try to do a combination of cardio and strength training, to avoid loosing too much muscle mass...

    I could add a lot more...

    If you have questions or need support, feel free to add me/send a DM.

    BR,
    B