high calories...does it work? pmt

dragoncake79

I think my calorie allowance is so high...

Has anyone thought this and continued to lose weight themselves.

I'm only on day 2 so I'm kind of nervous about what seems like a lot, but I guess it's good food and I've exercised everyday this week.

Do you think PMT affects weight? I'm due in 10 days and I feel like I have water retention. I guess afterwards. My weight will drop.

elyelyse

Be careful about your exercise calories. Today shows a burn on over 1200 and that's really high (though you did spend a lot of time being active so, I don't know) . Where are you getting those numbers from? Unfortunately, MFP exercise estimates are usually greatly inflated. If you are getting that info from the MFP database, I'd only eat back half.

I think your base calorie goal is probably close to appropriate but that will depend on your current weight.

lua_

Water retention is *kitten* but it'll come off if you drink water and limit your salt intake. As long as you eat less calories than you burn (a 5-25% deficit) you will lose weight.

bkyoun

It's only your second day. Give it a couple of weeks to see how your body responds and then adjust if necessary.

Francl27

Your basic calorie goal is probably fine, or if anything, too low. But yes 1200 calories from exercise seems highly unlikely, unless you spent 2-3 hours running or something. The only way to be accurate (sorta) is to use a heart rate monitor with a chest strap. But eating half your exercise calories like you did today will probably work well enough short term.

And make sure you weigh all your food and log it properly.

dragoncake79

I swam moderately for an hour and walked about 90 minutes spread out over the day (measured by the ipod nano).

So maybe that's accurate?

Does anyone have any tips on protein levels. I don't eat meat, so besides soya, eggs and cheese. What other lunch foods are protein based?

Thanks

marise29

go for the nuts.. and maybe a protien shake

bridgie101

I think my calorie allowance is so high...

Has anyone thought this and continued to lose weight themselves.

I'm only on day 2 so I'm kind of nervous about what seems like a lot, but I guess it's good food and I've exercised everyday this week.

Do you think PMT affects weight? I'm due in 10 days and I feel like I have water retention. I guess afterwards. My weight will drop.

Looks good to me. You are getting what I was getting on 'light activity' and I have about the same weightloss goal as you.

when I retain fluid, it can affect me to the extent of about 2kg or 4lb. As such, maybe don't expect to 'lose' anything on the scales for those 2 weeks - but then after Auntie Flo shows up you might find yourself losing three weeks' worth at once.

If you're highly 'tidal' maybe weigh once a month? Good luck.

bridgie101

I swam moderately for an hour and walked about 90 minutes spread out over the day (measured by the ipod nano).

So maybe that's accurate?

Does anyone have any tips on protein levels. I don't eat meat, so besides soya, eggs and cheese. What other lunch foods are protein based?

Thanks

Beans and pulses. milk has protein. So do yummy deliciousnesses like daal.

elyelyse

I swam moderately for an hour and walked about 90 minutes spread out over the day (measured by the ipod nano).

Was that 90 minutes from your general getting around for the day, a few minutes here and a few minutes there? Or were you walking briskly, actively exercising, getting your heart rate up for significant chunks of time? If that 90 minutes is from your general daily activity, those should not count towards exercise calories. For it to be exercise there needs to be a level of exertion that goes beyond that. (maybe you did have 3 sessions of 30 minutes where you got your heart rate up each time, but if that 90 minutes is 5 minutes here, 15 minutes there of normal walking around, then that's just daily activity, and doesn't "earn" more calories.)

dragoncake79

i had three fast 30 minute walks and measured calories with nano. Thanks for your comments,very helpful for a newbie x

erickirb

I would be weary of the cals burned on MFP for exercise

WaterBunnie

I wear a fitbit and the first couple of miles I walk a day are included under sedentary. I only get extra exercise calories if I've done over that. Worth considering for people who log every walk they take!

Mr_Knight

I swam moderately for an hour and walked about 90 minutes spread out over the day (measured by the ipod nano).

So maybe that's accurate?

Looking at today's entry:

Walking, 10.5 mins per km, brisk pace 65 401
Swimming, breaststroke, general 35 569

To get to 400 calories on a 6km walk you have to either walk straight up a mountain or weigh around 350 lbs. To get to 500 calories of breaststroke, assuming a weight of around 200 pounds, you're looking at swimming 70 lengths of a pool - basically, a full mile - which is a very aggressive pace.

Adjust accordingly. I'd probably cut those numbers in half, to start with.

dragoncake79

does the calorie thingy change depending on your weight?

My ipod nano is accurate because I inputted my weight.

Just checked swimfit.org; 30 mins of Front Crawl Slow will burn 257 Kcal

Does mfp calorie measure work or is it just random

Mr_Knight

does the calorie thingy change depending on your weight?

For most exercise, yes.

Does mfp calorie measure work or is it just random

It's not random, it's that the numbers are based on assumptions that don't hold for most people. Plus, IMO, they confuse things by having users select things like effort level (eg, "vigorous") when what they really mean is speed. IE, "vigorous" doesn't actually mean "wow, i feel like I'm working hard", it means "wow, I'm swimming as fast as Michael Phelps".

It's possible to calculate good numbers for running, cycling, walking, swimming, if you have the body weight and the distance, as those numbers alone will get you to +/- 10% accuracy (which is as good as it's going to get, outside the lab).