Food Diary Discussion Only - chat, ask questions, what works for you, encouragement

kaliswalker

Tough love week! We are here to lose weight! To do that we need to 'Eat Less & Exercise More!’ Excess calories eaten are stored as fat, and consistently eating more than you burn causes weight gain over time. When you expend more calories than you take in, it's a calorie deficit which results in weight loss. Any weight-loss plan that includes regular exercise is not only more successful — it's also healthier. By eating a healthy diet and exercising, you're keeping your bones, muscles, and heart strong. But you can also lose weight without exercise, just reduce your calories.

When you joined MFP, you input your information and Your Daily Goal (calories) was determined. In MFP click on your “Food Diary” and scroll to the bottom to see it. As you lose weight and record it in MFP this number is updated. https://www.myfitnesspal.com/food/diary/

When you add up the number of calories per serving of all the foods and drinks that you consume and factor in what you burn through activity, you can calculate your goal calorie deficit. For example, if you burn 2000 calories a day but only eat 1500, you’ll be in a 500-calorie deficit, and in a week that would be a total calorie deficit of 3,500 calories. Understanding this relationship should help you make better food and activity choices. Will this food or activity get me closer or farther from my daily weight loss goal? For the best success, record your meal BEFORE you eat it so you can adjust the quantity or type of food.

Note: 500 calorie deficit per day X 7 days = 3,500 calorie deficit per week = 1 pound weight loss per week.

Here are some videos to learn how to use MFP Food Diary

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fu9RKqlmD1Q
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oro5W85oRRM

Keep track of the calories you eat by measuring and weighing your portions, and recording the food for these calculations. When you look at your daily MFP Food Diary calories today – ask did I lose? Gain? Or maintain my weight? What can I improve on? On special occasions if I exceed my planned calories, I will be careful not to exceed my Daily Calorie needs based on my Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) activity level; no loss but no gain. Note - Do not eat under 1,200 calories a day unless on doctor’s orders.

Examine your habits – both in the kitchen and gym – and decide where you can make sustainable changes to have long term success for weight loss. If you are already pushing yourself 2 hours a day at the gym, but don’t pay attention to your diet, it might be time to cut out junk food, make better food choices and reduce your portions to see weight loss changes.

You can track your meals by whatever method you choose - pen and paper - calculate, Weight Watchers Points Plus, My Fitness Pal, etc.

Feel free to share information or post questions. Your teammates will be happy to help.

kaliswalker

question - I calculated my BMR, as instructed in the week 1 challenge, but don't really know what to do with this information. Is the point that if we consume less calories than our Activity level lists, we will start to lose weight? But that we need to consume at least the listed at-rest BMR to stay healthy?

BMR shows the calorie ranges where you can gain, maintain or lose weight based on your activity level. To lose weight MFP and nutritionist usually recommending not consuming less than 1,200 calories daily.

A calorie deficit simply means you're eating fewer calories than you're burning. People use a calorie deficit to lose weight or maintain weight loss. If you want to lose weight with a calorie deficit, track what you're currently eating before making any changes. It’s good to understand your starting point. Source Cleveland Clinic

Aside from dietary changes, it should encourage you to do some level of exercise to strengthen you and burn more calories.

My BMR = 1,424 Calories/day

Daily calorie needs based on activity level
Activity Level Calorie
Sedentary: little or no exercise 1,708
Exercise 1-3 times/week 1,957
Exercise 4-5 times/week 2,085
Daily exercise or intense exercise 3-4 times/week 2,206
Intense exercise 6-7 times/week 2,456
Very intense exercise daily, or physical job 2,705
Exercise: 15-30 minutes of elevated heart rate activity.
Intense exercise: 45-120 minutes of elevated heart rate activity.
Very intense exercise: 2+ hours of elevated heart rate activity.

If I eat 1,424 calories a day I will maintain my weight, no weight loss. I want to lose 1 pound a week so I need to eat few calories, MFP recommends 1,200 calories and start or increase my exercise level.

Marileighea

Comment- It’s probably me, but I’ve always found mfp Trackers difficult to find and use. Your posting the above links helps tremendously; I copied them into my Diary, and can get there much easier. After locating the calorie counts, I paste them into my iPad Diary where I can also comment on the whys and wherefores. ThankYou, Kaliswalker.
Also, I put my goal weight in the BMR calculator, and used that number as my maximum daily cals. 😎