Can you take a look at my diary?

FitBun9

I opened my diary so i can get an opinion for the first time!
My daily goal is about 1400cal and i also added the calories i earned from going on the stationary bike. I also do some pilates but usually i don't add it.
I don't really eat my calories back unless i feel hungry.

I try to get protein mostly from eggs and cheese because i'm not much of a chicken lover and i don't eat beef.
As for carbs i eat two cups of cooked carbs like either rice or spaghetti, it changes. And also two slices of light bread.
I'm at a healthy weight (124lb, 5'3.5) my goal is to just lose extra fat and tone up.
What do you think?

4legsRbetterthan2

Your diary looks pretty good, looks like you weigh your food which is the big thing. Make sure you log everyday to see results.

Also if your biggest goal is to tone then you should look into a weight lifting routine.

MinnieInMaine

Are you tracking everything? You only have one thing logged yesterday and came in way under on Saturday. I only went that far back in case you're missing entries. Today looks pretty good but I'd try to eat back at least half of those exercise calories.

If you're truly eating that little, please stop. In order to reach your goal of losing fat and toning up, your body needs adequate calories and nutrition. In fact, if you eat so little, you're likely to lose mostly muscle, not fat. The word goal means something you strive to reach - you should aim to eat all of those 1400 cal per day. And I'd encourage you to eat a bit more protein - go with protein shakes if you feel like you can't eat much more food.

FitBun9

Oh i forgot to mention only look at what i ate today since i didn't log so much lately, i'm trying to get back into it better this time that's why so many days are empty.
I actually don't want to eat less than 1300.

So if i eat 1400 but burn 350 it means i must eat at least half back?
And aren't protein shakes too much protein for me? Aren't protein shakes high in calories?

MinnieInMaine

Ok, good. Question - where did you come up with the 1400/day goal (meaning what did you put in for goals, activity level, etc)?

Yes, you should eat at least half of them back, if not more. If you have trouble eating a higher volume of food, look into adding calorie dense foods into your day like nuts, seeds, meats, whole eggs, avocado, healthy oils, even chocolate.

Unless you have a kidney problem, there is no need to worry about going over your protein goal. As you may have noticed, when you log execise, you not only get more calories, your limits for fat/protein/carbs also increase. The limit for protein set by MFP is quite low, especially for someone who is active and trying to tone up. Don't worry, you won't gain weight or bulk just from eating more protein.

_lyndseybrooke_

Oh i forgot to mention only look at what i ate today since i didn't log so much lately, i'm trying to get back into it better this time that's why so many days are empty.
I actually don't want to eat less than 1300.

So if i eat 1400 but burn 350 it means i must eat at least half back?
And aren't protein shakes too much protein for me? Aren't protein shakes high in calories?

Yes, if you're goal is 1400 calories, then you should eat your exercise calories back in order to bring your NET calories to 1400. I actually rarely do this because I'm scared to overestimate my exercise calories but I'm not willing to drop $50 on a heart rate monitor. MFP is designed for you to eat back your exercise calories.

No, protein shakes would not result in too much protein. Your protein intake for today was 69 and your goal is in the 90s. You should be taking in at least your goal, but more would be even better, especially if you're working out. Take 3/4 of your weight and change your protein goal to that number of grams. For example, if you're 150 lbs, make your protein goal 112 g. It's awesome if you can get that amount of protein in your food, but a protein shake would be good if you don't have the calories to spare.

My protein powder is 115 calories per scoop, which provides 24 g protein and almost no fat, sugar, or carbs. I mix it with 1/2 cup of water and 1/2 cup of unsweetened almond milk. Basically one cup of fluid for a nice protein boost - it's awesome, especially as a post-workout snack.

FitBun9

Ok, good. Question - where did you come up with the 1400/day goal (meaning what did you put in for goals, activity level, etc)?

Yes, you should eat at least half of them back, if not more. If you have trouble eating a higher volume of food, look into adding calorie dense foods into your day like nuts, seeds, meats, whole eggs, avocado, healthy oils, even chocolate.

Unless you have a kidney problem, there is no need to worry about going over your protein goal. As you may have noticed, when you log execise, you not only get more calories, your limits for fat/protein/carbs also increase. The limit for protein set by MFP is quite low, especially for someone who is active and trying to tone up. Don't worry, you won't gain weight or bulk just from eating more protein.

I used to do that mistake of setting for 1kg per week and after realizing it's not normal i set it to just 0.25 per week. It tells me to actually eat 1540 calories but i used to get advice from a nutritionist who told me that about 1400 calories would be good for me if i want to lose weight, so i just decided to stick with 1400 since it neither makes me too full or too hungry and it's not too low.

MinnieInMaine

Good for you for knowing that higher goals are unrealistic. However, with custon setting your calorie goallower than the MFP recommendatation, you're basically doing the same thing as setting your calorie goal to 1/2 kg per day rather than 1/4 kg per day because (if my math is right), your daily deficit is a bit over 400 rather than 250 per day. For someone who's basically trying to maintain and tone, this is too high of a deficit.

To put it in perspective, let's talk about BMR. This is your Basal Metabolic Rate, or the estimated # of calories your body needs just to cover basic functions, as if you were in a coma - breathing, blood circulation, brain function, digestion, healing, etc. MFP has a calculator right on the website. It should prefill to your current info but if not, it's pretty easy to fill it in correctly.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/tools/bmr-calculator

Your daily goal should be no lower than this number. If it is, you are not getting enough calories/nutrients per day.