Calorie goal: Ok, so now I'm confused...

spara0038

I'm 5'2", 145 lbs cw, 120 lbs gw (or at least satisfied when I look in the mirror- I know I tend to build muscle easily and lose fat slowly so my gw may be higher than that). I want to try to lose about 1lb/week, so that I hit my gw by the end of summer. When I started, I was 150 lbs, so I have been making SOME progress, although I feel a lot of that has to do with water weight. MFP said that based on 150lbs, exercise 3 days/week, and 1lb/week weight loss, I should aim for 1200 cal/day.

Due to a number of things- work, busy schedule, wedding planning, IBS, etc- I don't eat a ton anyway. I've found that 1200 cal/day is really easily achievable for me, based on what I was eating before MFP. I haven't had to make many changes. But- I'm finding conflicting info from different sources. The goal seems to range from 1160 to 1500.

It doesn't seem like I've been making much sustained progress, and I was wondering- do I need to up my calorie intake? Lower it? Eat something different? I'm already upping my cardio to 5 days/week and mixing in different types of cardio- rowing, bike, etc. I had been down to 141, but then my weight jumped back up with no real change in habits (ok, so I had ONE cheat day... come on!)

I haven't seen the 130s since Thanksgiving and I'm really looking forward to getting there, but I just want to make sure that I'm on the right track.

Advice/help plz? I'm just looking for general advice here- raise/lower calories, avoiding certain foods, exercise tips, etc. I don't weigh my food, and I don't plan on starting. I measure my liquids (especially alcohol), but as far as weighing out my veggies, I don't have the time for that right now, nor do I think that is worthwhile.

hill8570

Open up your diary and you can get a lot better advice

spara0038

There we go!

And I filled out dinner already because that's what I have prepped/anticipate having. I go back the next morning and correct it if it's wrong.

cwolfman13

First of all, you planned exercise that you tell MFP you're going to do has no bearing on your calorie goal...MFP doesn't take it into account...essentially, it doesn't believe you are going to do it which is why you log exercise and MFP gives you additional calories to "eat back". If you don't believe me, go in and change your exercise goals...it will have no bearing on your calorie goal.

Your calorie goal is based on what you put in as an activity level (Not supposed to include exercise, just your day to day living) and your desired rate of loss, along with your current stats.

When you change up exercise or increase intensity, duration, etc of exercise you will gain weight as you are putting increasing stress on your muscles...this requires repair, thus you retain more fluids to aid in that repair.

Make sure you're not overestimating your exercise burn and make sure your intake is as precise as possible. This would mean using a food scale for most things and measuring cups/spoons for everything else. Those are usually the most common reasons why, "it's not working"...that and lack of patience...losing weight is a slow process.

MinnieInMaine

Some calorie calculators include exercise (like MFP) and others do (which is why they give you more calories). Because MFP doesn't, you're supposed to eat back at least some of your earned calories - 1/2 is a good start.

Do you weigh/measure your food or guesstimate? Do you check the listings you're using against food labels or other online sources? Not sure if you know this but many entries in the food database are user entered and could be old, have missing/wrong info, or could even be from other countries and have slightly different ingredients/nutrients. You can't even trust the label scanner 100%. Point is, the more accurate you are, the better off you'll be.

fast_eddie_72

It doesn't seem like I've been making much sustained progress, and I was wondering- do I need to up my calorie intake? Lower it? Eat something different?

How long are we talking about? You lost 5 lbs, so things are moving. If it's a week or so, just stick with what you're doing and see if it starts moving again.

If you give it time and you're not losing weight, you're not at a calorie deficit. Make sure you're being as accurate as possible in your log, and be conservative in counting "exercise" calories. Many estimates are very high. If you aren't already, use a food scale to make sure you're actually eating what you think you are.

Good luck!

spara0038

Do you weigh/measure your food or guesstimate? Do you check the listings you're using against food labels or other online sources? Not sure if you know this but many entries in the food database are user entered and could be old, have missing/wrong info, or could even be from other countries and have slightly different ingredients/nutrients. You can't even trust the label scanner 100%. Point is, the more accurate you are, the better off you'll be.

I ususally try to overestimate what I'm having, but a majority of what I don't measure is raw fruits and veggies, so does that really make a difference? I mean, I usually estimate x cups of spinach, but judging by the serving size listed on the package, I've usually overestimated by almost double, so I'm recording fewer. In cases where there are multiple listings, I will look for the higher one. For milk, alcohol, sauces, and other liquids, I do measure.

I used to severely undereat- 600-900 calories/day without feeling hungry, although most of that is because I would eat raw spinach like a fiend. I can go through the club packs of spinach by myself in 2 days. And I guess that's part of why I'm confused- if I'm eating a lot of veggies, I typically have very low caloric intake but I feel full. Is that essentially sabotaging my weight loss? Am I undereating? I went to a dietician before and that's what they said, and I've tried to include more carbs and protein but it really makes my IBS flare up.

spara0038

How long are we talking about? You lost 5 lbs, so things are moving. If it's a week or so, just stick with what you're doing and see if it starts moving again.

It's been about 5 weeks, but losing 5lbs is a bit of an overexaggeration. That was during PMS time AND an IBS flare. A few days before that, I had been about 145 so it's been about 4 weeks with 0 progress.

SezxyStef

Advice/help plz? I'm just looking for general advice here- raise/lower calories, avoiding certain foods, exercise tips, etc. I don't weigh my food, and I don't plan on starting. I measure my liquids (especially alcohol), but as far as weighing out my veggies, I don't have the time for that right now, nor do I think that is worthwhile.

weight out all your food except liquids...and if you don't have time for that (maybe a total of 5mins everyday) then just go through life yoyoing on your weight and don't reach your goal...

Quick and simple

fast_eddie_72

It's really hard to say. It sounds like you're estimating a lot. I understand you're trying to estimate over what you're eating, but to figure out what is happening in your body, you really need accurate info. I'd get a food scale and try to be very accurate for a while to get some good data to use to make decisions.

TR0berts

It doesn't seem like I've been making much sustained progress,

...

I don't weigh my food, and I don't plan on starting. I measure my liquids (especially alcohol), but as far as weighing out my veggies, I don't have the time for that right now, nor do I think that is worthwhile.

Yes, it is worthwhile. And that should be obvious, given what you've said.

dawlschic007

I am 5'2 and started out at the same weight as you. I think you may have your calories set too low. Try changing your settings to lose 1/2 pound per week instead. I figured out my BMR & TDEE and try and eat between 1400 to 1700 calories per day depending on the workout. I find that I tend to lose more weight if I'm eating more. When I try and do 1200 calories I'll end up stalling out until I up my calories again.

I'd also try and measure/weight your food if you can because eyeballing it makes a big difference.

hill8570

Unfortunately MFP makes it pretty much impossible for the rest of us to graph your calorie intake, so it's somewhat difficult to get a good view of your long-term calorie intake (both with and without exercise). However, eyeballing the last couple of weeks it looks to me like you're generally eating back way too many of your exercise calories.

Since most excercise numbers in the MFP database are wildly inflated, my rule of thumb (since I don't weigh stuff) is that I'm going to be 10% over on my calories, and I consider any exercise under ~600 calories to be my buffer against overeating -- I figure my body can just make it up from reserves. Bigger burns, yeah, I have to eat some of them back otherwise I'm a zombie the next day.

This is just sort of a guess -- I don't know enough about your body makeup and general activity level to know your BMR or TDEE, I'm just *kitten*-u-ming that the 1200 cal that MFP assigned you is reasonable.

You might want to go to Reports on the web, and run a Calorie (not Net Calorie) report for the last 30 days, and try to eyeball how far over your target your're going, on average.

wyattj99

I know when I'm in a middle of a plateau I change some eating habits around and my workout routine...normally helps.