I NEED HELP PLEASE!!!

jabby2us

I am a 48 year old women weighing in at 148 lbs. I would love to just start by loosing 10 lbs. I have been working out forever but I'm just maintaining my weight -- in fear that if I eat stuff that's not in my diet -- I will gain instead of maintain. I work out 5 days a week in the gym. This is what I do -- Monday, Wednesday and Friday I will do some form of cardio. Today it was 5min on the stair machine at a level 5, 5 minute on the rowing machine and 30 min on the eleptical (interval training mode) -- I've learned to change this up often so my body doesn't get use to it and it's always guessing. Tuesday and Thursday I strength train using weights and I try to do a whole body workout (this usually last me 40-45 min.) -- I switch up on this as well. I take off from exercising on Saturdays and Sundays -- eating whatever I want on Saturday.

Unfortunately the scale has not moved and I'm sure I'm doing something wrong. I have not been using MFP until just recently because I remember the old saying -- calories in and calories out. Therefore when I put in what I wanted to do in MFP -- it gave me a calorie for the day of 1,200 something -- and it increased some with lightly active with a calorie goal of 2,093. I was eating less because I thought -- calories in -- calories out -- if I eat less I will loose.

So -- based on what MFP says, should I indeed be eating 2,093 calories per day? And if I want to increase muscle add 250-500 more calories???

Can you PLEASE look at what I've said above and tell me what you think I should change (in laymens terms) in order to see the scale go in the opposite direction.

SezxyStef

Your diary is closed...to open it up for viewing go to settings, diary setting and click view for public.

That being said...it is as simple as calories in vs calories out.

In order to know what calories are going in you need to weigh your solids on a digital scale and log accurately...meaning log everything and ensuring the entires you use are correct. Don't use entries with the word generic or homemade and try to use entries without * in front of them...but if you have to make sure they have confirmations and you look at the nutrional data to make sure it's right.

I know sounds like a lot but it isn't.

MFP will give you calorie goals based on what you entered...and if it gave you 1200 (minimum for women) it is probably due to you wanting to lose 1-2lbs a week and at 10lbs you shouldn't lose that fast.

Now for the exercise...yes eat those calories back ( at least 50% of them anyway) to ensure you are fueling your body for the next workout.

MFP is already set up with a deficet to reach your goal so the exercise just allows for more food.

If you want to lose weight do the following:

1. weight solids/measure liquids
2. Log everything accurately
3. switch your lifting and cardio 3x resistence and 2x cardio.
4. Eat at a reasonable deficet...put your weight loss goal in at 1/2lb a week

If you do the above you will lose weight...

You can't gain muscle at a deficet tho...just maintain what you have with adequate protien and lifting

And to give you an idea of what i mean...I eat 1600-1700 calories a day and lift 3x a week and HIIT 2x a week and lose anywhere between 3/4lb and 1 1/2 a week...

jabby2us

Thanks for filling me in on the settings of the diary -- I am now open.

I'm not sure what you mean by "don't use entries with the word generic or homemade & * in front." Can you give me an example?

I will change my weight loss to 1/2 lb each week -- I didn't know that was possible.

Thanks for the info regarding the deficit MFP gives. I will eat those calories that I gain back with exercise. Now for exercise I use a heart rate monitor (watch & strap) -- and I've put in with my fitness what my exercise is and what my calories show on my heart rate monitor. I did this because I'm just not sure MFP's built in exercises will be accurate for what I actually did -- so in order for it to be, I've included my own exercises with the calories burned from my monitor.

My food scale is not digital -- do you think that will matter?

I thought about 3x resistance and 2x cardio -- so thanks for this tip.

Do you think that my calories are too high? 2,093?

Is you diary open to look at.

Thank you so much for responding to my post. I appreciate it.

wilsoje74

Where did you get the 2093 cals? That's a lot it you want to lose. I eat 1450-1600 and still lose very slow.

SezxyStef

Thanks for filling me in on the settings of the diary -- I am now open.

I'm not sure what you mean by "don't use entries with the word generic or homemade & * in front." Can you give me an example?

I will change my weight loss to 1/2 lb each week -- I didn't know that was possible.

Thanks for the info regarding the deficit MFP gives. I will eat those calories that I gain back with exercise. Now for exercise I use a heart rate monitor (watch & strap) -- and I've put in with my fitness what my exercise is and what my calories show on my heart rate monitor. I did this because I'm just not sure MFP's built in exercises will be accurate for what I actually did -- so in order for it to be, I've included my own exercises with the calories burned from my monitor.

My food scale is not digital -- do you think that will matter?

I thought about 3x resistance and 2x cardio -- so thanks for this tip.

Do you think that my calories are too high? 2,093?

Is you diary open to look at.

Thank you so much for responding to my post. I appreciate it.

One example of one of those entries would be

Generic - pork chop roasted 1 piece.
*Homemade peanut butter and jelly

Food scales are more accurate when digital but something is better than nothing...you can pick them up at walmart pretty cheap tho if you do find yourself stalling

It wont give you a measurement in oz or grams usually.

yes my diary is open feel free to take a look...3rd week of feb is empty as I did not have access to the internet...but all other entries are accurate.

as for the 2093...at 148lbs...probably maintenance actually...you could take 20% of that for about 1600 and eat back exercise calories...which will have you at about 1800 a day..that will give you 1/2lb weight loss if not a bit more.

I eat on average 1700 a day and lose between 3/4lb and 1lb a week doing lifting 3x and HIIT 2x a week.

jabby2us

wilsoje74 -- I believe it was that I started @ a certain calorie allotment and then because of exercise it went up.

I have since changed it to 1/2 lb per week (148 lbs. trying to loose 8 lbs) and now it gives me 1,860 for the day. But when I put in my exercise -- it will give me more calories to eat.

Thanks for asking -- I had to check that because it sounded high to me as well.:blushing:

jabby2us

SezxyStef,
Thank you so much -- you don't know how much you have helped me today!!! I really appreciate it!:flowerforyou:

jabby2us

SezxyStef,

One more question...do you use a heart rate monitor? How do you keep an accurate account of your exercises? I noticed that you put down what you did for strength training but for cardio you did not this week. (I didn't check the past weeks). So it does not show how many calories you burned. Are you not putting in what you do for exercise for cardio and strength training -- meaning you would not be getting the calories back from MFP?? Is that right?

wilsoje74

wilsoje74 -- I believe it was that I started @ a certain calorie allotment and then because of exercise it went up.

I have since changed it to 1/2 lb per week (148 lbs. trying to loose 8 lbs) and now it gives me 1,860 for the day. But when I put in my exercise -- it will give me more calories to eat.

Thanks for asking -- I had to check that because it sounded high to me as well.:blushing:

This also seems really high if you are going to add exercise cals. What calculator are you using?