Do I have to eat over 1200 calories a day?
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You'd think it's simple, but there are many more things going on here. Although, honestly, I'd say that you should really be talking to a therapist. You clearly have a lot going on in your life that you're not handling well on your own, and this whole thing is adding stress to the breaking point.
It's not healthy to push yourself ragged to the point of being in tears every day. I'd say that's probably more detrimental to your overall health than being overweight. You clearly can't quite handle this process at the moment, so I suggest you get the rest of your life in order and get to a better place mentally before you try to tackle this.
I'm going to repeat to you what I told someone else.
It's more than a little discouraging to hear that I shouldn't try to address my physical needs until my mental needs have been taken care of. My physical needs are important to me. My mental needs are also important, but I'm thinking if I can do something to feel better about myself and be healthier at the same time, my mentality should shift.. at least a little. The depression I've dealt with for a long time. I could be dealing with it for the rest of my life. Does that mean I should not do anything to try to better my physical body because my mind is not right?0 -
Not comparing it to the op, just tired of the "you must weigh everything or why bother" crap...
No one said that. We are talking to the OP about the OP's specific situation, where she is ostensibly calorie counting but is using incredibly random and inaccurate logging practices.
The point is that weighing food is not strictly necessary depending on your method, but if you're trying to do it the way the OP is doing it, then it's really critical to log at least somewhat accurately. OP is not, however.
OP is already extremely overwhelmed, let's try to keep the offtopic stuff to a minimum for her benefit.
Ok. I may not be doing this perfectly, but I'm not using incredibly random logging practices. I'm doing what a lot of people here on MFP do. I am going by the calories on the boxes, cans, whatever, and for fresh produce and meats, I'm taking the larger of MFP's calorie counts that are in the database. I might not be doing things your way, but what I'm doing is not totally random. I appreciate all the helpful advice you are offering, but I don't really see a problem with anyone chiming in that wants to share their experiences on this thread.0 -
Thank you. Will read these later today.
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weighing and measuring foods is very important. If your portions aren't right - you can't be figuring your calories right. It doesn't take any time to weigh or measure your food. And if you are at home and your family knows what you are doing, it doesn't matter. Obviously I don't weigh stuff when I am out, but I've done it long enough that I can guesstimate pretty accurately, and if I'm not sure I ask my husband to estimate it (he's a chef and can get pretty darn close) I sometimes plate my food at the counter, and sometimes right at the table.
I can take the scale and a measuring cup and weigh it as I put it on my plate - why does it matter if you scoop out of the dish with a 1/2 cup measuring cup or a regular spoon?? Or if I drop a slice of steak on the scale before my plate?? IT DOESN'T. My kids laugh sometimes and when I am asked WHY I measure = if I say "its for my diet" - they correct me and say "no it's not - it's for your lifestyle mom!" (they are 8 and 11) Get them involved too. My 18 year old goes for walks with me - and the little ones will do other things with me. This morning my 8 year old counted while I jumped rope!0 -
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Thank you for your response. If I make this much more complicated than it already is for me, I'm afraid I will not have the strength to continue. I haven't been paying attention to the nutrient values too much. I just know that I've come a long way from my "everything fried" southern roots. Food just doesn't even taste the same anymore. I usually choose the granola bar because it's quick. I simply don't have time to measure using scales. We eat supper late enough as it is. I do tend to take the higher calorie counts in MFP as a safeguard against going over on my calories. If I hit 1200 daily, would that make a difference if I don't keep up with the nutrient values?
Frankly, if you're just going to haphazardly guesstimate at calorie content and portion sizes it doesn't really matter what your goal is because your logging will be so far off that you won't be getting a remotely accurate picture of your intake.
I don't want to sound insensitive or anything, but if you're going to log it needs to be somewhat accurate. Otherwise you're wasting your time logging in the first place.
If someone else can come by and restate this in a diplomatic way that helps prevent this from turning into a "mean people" thread I'd greatly appreciate it.
I agree with Jon, if your just going guesestimate, why bother counting.
It might be fine for awhile but eventually you will hit a wall, so why not start weighing now?
Well I guess I shouldn't have bothered then because I don't even own a food scale.
Your diary is closed, so it's tough to say how your approach compares to the OPs.
Not comparing it to the op, just tired of the "you must weigh everything or why bother" crap...
You've lost 130 lbs. The OP has lost 11 and is displaying borderline disordered eating behaviors b/c she's so afraid of going over her calorie goal. She sounds like she has some pretty severe anxiety when it comes to food and her weight and is at a point where she's considering JSF. The OP would benefit greatly from some consistency and accuracy so that she can see the cause and effect rather than just guessing and getting discouraged if she's wrong.
She's already lowered her calorie goal from the 1400s to 1200 and now is asking if it's okay to eat below that. Lets say OP is off by 400 calories everyday and is actually eating between 1400 and 1600 and she's not losing. She thinks she's not losing at 1000-1200 calories/day so she lowers her goal to 800 calories and starts losing weight b/c now she's actually eating 1200-1400 calories. But she doesn't know that so when her friends and family ask "you look great! How are you doing it?" She says "I'm eating 800-1000 calories/day!" Now one of those people might start counting cals and maybe they go out and get a food scale and ACTUALLY start eating 800-1000 calories/day. Or maybe she'll come in here offering advice to the masses.
Congrats on your weight loss w/out a food scale. Just please don't go telling people how many calories you ate or averaged b/c you don't have a clue.
It's fair to say that I have some severe anxiety that includes my weight, but is not limited to my body image. I have a lot of stuff going on. No one cares to hear all that. So can we move past that already?
I have not lowered my calorie goal. My calorie goal has been the same all this time. It is just difficult to stay within the proper calorie range. I can easily be above 1200 or below 1420, but it's hard to do both at the same time, especially when I'm not using a food scale, such as many have mentioned. I am not intentionally staying below 1200 everyday.
To set your mind at ease, I promise you I won't be giving advice in the forums. I know that I am not knowledgeable enough to do that. However, I don't see anything wrong with me sharing my personal experiences if someone asks me. I won't be telling them I ate 800 calories a day or anything like that. I would just tell them that I tried to stay within my personal calorie range and tried to eat healthier foods and didn't give up. That's it. That's my success story written out for ya right there. So you can rest your head easy tonight, knowing that I won't be handing out advice to the masses.0 -
we're in pretty much the same boat. same height, almost the same weight, and i average in about 900 cal a day. I eat breakfast, lunch, dinner, and a snack a day >.< yesterday i made sure i got up to 1,000 cal (a little over) and felt so sick and over fed.
I'm no expert by any means, i havent been doing this that long and im still learning a lot. but my body tells me what i need, and when a doctor has tried to control my diet every thing went terribly wrong. im still in the process of speeding up my metabolism, one day i'll eat more. today is not that day.
Here is what im doing for it:
waking up earlier (this helps with eating breakfast sooner and working out earlier)
drinking more water
Drinking natural teas (green tea, helps me get nutrients i may not be getting from food)
Taking vitamins (to fill in some gaps)
I know someone here is going to disagree with me, but as i said, my body tells me what i need.
MOST people will disagree with your post.....not "someone."
900 calories a day? Oh - but you ARE taking vitamins.......so your existing muscle mass should be protected......not!!
Under a doctor's care......this might be ok for the very OBESE pateint....but OP is not under a doctor's care, or very obese.
Here's what happens to people who are merely overweight (and on 900 calories)...............your heart, lungs, kidneys, brain need fuel everyday (fuel = calories, not vitamins).......fat stores cannot provide 100% of that fuel. So your body will have to make choices..... heart or existing muscle tissue......lungs or existing muscle tissue......kidneys or the hair on your head......you can guess what your body is going to choose to fuel.
If you want the same body fat % that you had before dieting.............900 calories (is dangerous) ......but you can become a smaller person and still be fat.
I actually do fit into the obese category. Well.. I did when I started at 200 pounds anyway.0 -
weighing and measuring foods is very important. If your portions aren't right - you can't be figuring your calories right. It doesn't take any time to weigh or measure your food. And if you are at home and your family knows what you are doing, it doesn't matter. Obviously I don't weigh stuff when I am out, but I've done it long enough that I can guesstimate pretty accurately, and if I'm not sure I ask my husband to estimate it (he's a chef and can get pretty darn close) I sometimes plate my food at the counter, and sometimes right at the table.
I can take the scale and a measuring cup and weigh it as I put it on my plate - why does it matter if you scoop out of the dish with a 1/2 cup measuring cup or a regular spoon?? Or if I drop a slice of steak on the scale before my plate?? IT DOESN'T. My kids laugh sometimes and when I am asked WHY I measure = if I say "its for my diet" - they correct me and say "no it's not - it's for your lifestyle mom!" (they are 8 and 11) Get them involved too. My 18 year old goes for walks with me - and the little ones will do other things with me. This morning my 8 year old counted while I jumped rope!
My daughter is 18 months. I hope to God that by the time she is old enough to count that I have this figured out because I do not want to relay any of my calorie counting, food weighing, body measuring, habits onto her at such a young age.0 -
OK. I have my meal plan for the day except my lunch. I need between 400-623 calories for lunch if I don't have any other snacks. Will someone please look at the diary and tell me if I am at least on the right track with the nutrients? Better than other days?0
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I would really try to up that protein some more. I'd drop the Advocare drink and get some protein powder instead. You can add it to milk or yogurt or oatmeal, sometimes I put the chocolate flavor in coffee for a mocha drink.
Even if you had that different in the log, you want a balanced lunch with protein too.0 -
I personally don't see a problem with cereal/granola bars but you MUST be careful of the added sugar - many of these snacks are laden with sugar. Perhaps try alternatives like Nakd bars or a low fat protein bar.
Completely understand where you're coming from with not having the time to weigh everything, but if you have time to log, surely you have time to weigh? I use the MFP app when I cook so I weigh and log as I go, and it doesn't take much more time than normal. If you're really serious about losing weight you need to monitor your intake with as much accuracy as possible, or you run the risk of over/under eating.
Regarding your intake - it's hard to eat if your body is telling you it's not hungry, but meeting your calorie goals is vital for weight loss. Based on your age, height and weight your BMR is 1576kcal (http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/). You should not be eating less than this, and that's before any exercise is taken into account.
The hardest thing about losing weight is coming round to the idea that sometimes you need to eat more to lose more. Once you've come to terms with this your weight loss will be much more successful.
I wish you all the luck!!
Sugar is completely irrelevant. There's nothing wrong with sugar.
Please at least read the thread before offering advice.
I'm not saying there is anything wrong with sugar. Processed sugar is not irrelevant if you're trying to lose fat. When I started I sought fitness and nutritional advice from an expert - they told me to limit the refined sugar to help with fat loss, and stick to sugars from natural, wholesome foods, such as fruit and veg. I followed the advice...I'm sure you can guess what I'm going to say.
:laugh:0 -
I would really try to up that protein some more. I'd drop the Advocare drink and get some protein powder instead. You can add it to milk or yogurt or oatmeal, sometimes I put the chocolate flavor in coffee for a mocha drink.
Even if you had that different in the log, you want a balanced lunch with protein too.
thanks for the feedback!0 -
Not comparing it to the op, just tired of the "you must weigh everything or why bother" crap...
No one said that. We are talking to the OP about the OP's specific situation, where she is ostensibly calorie counting but is using incredibly random and inaccurate logging practices.
The point is that weighing food is not strictly necessary depending on your method, but if you're trying to do it the way the OP is doing it, then it's really critical to log at least somewhat accurately. OP is not, however.
OP is already extremely overwhelmed, let's try to keep the offtopic stuff to a minimum for her benefit.
Ok. I may not be doing this perfectly, but I'm not using incredibly random logging practices. I'm doing what a lot of people here on MFP do. I am going by the calories on the boxes, cans, whatever, and for fresh produce and meats, I'm taking the larger of MFP's calorie counts that are in the database. I might not be doing things your way, but what I'm doing is not totally random. I appreciate all the helpful advice you are offering, but I don't really see a problem with anyone chiming in that wants to share their experiences on this thread.
Okay so yesterday your complaint was "people just need to answer my question and not give me any off topic advice because I didn't ask for it". Now today, you say you really don't see a problem with people sharing their experiences. So which is it? jonnythan has been the most helpful and understanding out of this whole thread and here you are pooing on him. Man you are hard to please!!!!!0 -
Not comparing it to the op, just tired of the "you must weigh everything or why bother" crap...
No one said that. We are talking to the OP about the OP's specific situation, where she is ostensibly calorie counting but is using incredibly random and inaccurate logging practices.
The point is that weighing food is not strictly necessary depending on your method, but if you're trying to do it the way the OP is doing it, then it's really critical to log at least somewhat accurately. OP is not, however.
OP is already extremely overwhelmed, let's try to keep the offtopic stuff to a minimum for her benefit.
Ok. I may not be doing this perfectly, but I'm not using incredibly random logging practices. I'm doing what a lot of people here on MFP do. I am going by the calories on the boxes, cans, whatever, and for fresh produce and meats, I'm taking the larger of MFP's calorie counts that are in the database. I might not be doing things your way, but what I'm doing is not totally random. I appreciate all the helpful advice you are offering, but I don't really see a problem with anyone chiming in that wants to share their experiences on this thread.
Okay so yesterday your complaint was "people just need to answer my question and not give me any off topic advice because I didn't ask for it". Now today, you say you really don't see a problem with people sharing their experiences. So which is it? jonnythan has been the most helpful and understanding out of this whole thread and here you are pooing on him. Man you are hard to please!!!!!
I'm not pooing on him. I told him I appreciated all the helpful advice. This is also not the first time that I've told him that. Giving advice and sharing personal experiences are two different things. Yes, I approve of sharing your experience, but know that it's YOUR experience. I would, however, like to limit the amount of ADVICE (telling me what to do) and try to stick to the main topic. That is being hard to please? Really?0 -
I would, however, like to limit the amount of ADVICE (telling me what to do) and try to stick to the main topic.
:huh:0 -
OK, comments on your diary:
1) Your protein goal is very low and you are consistently under. Protein goals should be treated as absolute minimums; your goal should be approximately 1.1 - 1.4 grams of protein per lb of lean body mass. That probably puts you somewhere around 110-140 grams of protein per day.
2) Your fat goal is also low. Science shows that people should be eating about 0.3 to 0.35 grams of fat per pound of body weight per day for optimal hormone and neurological function. That puts your fat goal around 56-65 grams of fat per day. This should also be treated as a minimum.
3) You pretty much never hit 1200 calories, let alone the 1420 that represents your actual goal.
4) Your diet includes few vegetables or fruits, and contains a lot of carb-heavy snacks like crackers and granola bars.
Recommendations:
1) Significantly increase your protein and fat intake. You have many days where you eat extremely low fat and low protein. This is counterproductive.
2) Try to limit the carb-heavy snacks and focus on eating more balanced meals.
3) You must eat more vegetables and fruits. Find some vegetables you enjoy and make a concerted effort to work them into 2 meals a day.
4) In general try to focus your meals around meat and vegetables.
5) Hit your calorie goal. Consider any day where you end more than 75 calories away from your goal, in either direction, as a mistake. Hunger is misleading and often nonexistent. If you're "not hungry" but have not yet met your nutrient and calorie goals for the day eat anyway.
6) Buy a food scale. You don't appear to be weighing food and, believe me, this is critical. There is simply no way to accurately estimate portion size and calorie intake without a food scale. A good digital one is only about $15.
Long story short: eat more calories, and try to limit the carb-heavy snacks. Focus on getting more meat and more vegetables at every meal. Hit your calorie goal consistently.0 -
Honestly, Susie, I think you should kill this thread. Don't respond anymore or whatever you gotta do.
There is way too much going on here and people are all on the defensive.
We all appreciate the feedback from other people, but bottom line is tough love doesnt work for everybody. Also, more protein, less carbs, less sugars, more sugars do not work for all. So while sharing your experience is great and helpful, you shouldnt force your ideas on people and get mad when they dont agree with it.
My opinion. Shrug.:ohwell:0 -
Honestly, Susie, I think you should kill this thread. Don't respond anymore or whatever you gotta do.
There is way too much going on here and people are all on the defensive.
We all appreciate the feedback from other people, but bottom line is tough love doesnt work for everybody. Also, more protein, less carbs, less sugars, more sugars do not work for all. So while sharing your experience is great and helpful, you shouldnt force your ideas on people and get mad when they dont agree with it.
My opinion. Shrug.:ohwell:
There is a lot of great info in this thread. Why should she stop it if she is getting good information? Jonnythan especially gave some great info, and he didn't just pull it out of thin air, it is research proven effective for weight loss - not just personal experience.
My opinion.0 -
I would really try to up that protein some more. I'd drop the Advocare drink and get some protein powder instead. You can add it to milk or yogurt or oatmeal, sometimes I put the chocolate flavor in coffee for a mocha drink.
Even if you had that different in the log, you want a balanced lunch with protein too.
Your lunch yesterday looked good, and your planned dinner today looks good too. You just need both of those in a day
I second the vote for more protein! Really, the Advocare drink is 90cal, so it's not killing your diet. Adding some protein powder would be a really good idea. If feeling stuffed is an issue for you, you could split up a serving of protein powder and milk (or whatever), between breakfast and later in the day so you're getting calories in without feeling uncomfortable.0 -
I see a few replies that mention people do not eat the same calories everyday. this is totally true. In fact many nutritionists recommend varying calorie intact daily as weekly calories is what matters. One day eat 1,000 the next day 1,400 or similar. Good luck!
(I am also a late eater and would become overweight if forced to eat breakfast. It is just not something I do and I am and always have been healthy - including my weight).0
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