Am I eating bad foods for my calories

josiebearly11209

So as I am pretty sedentary MFP has set me at a 1,200 calorie per day intake with no exercise. I have been following it, as I used to battle an Eating Disorder I have made the conscious decision to only weigh myself once a month with the same scale to avoid confusion/obsession. I am just worried I am not making the best caloric choices. Here's what I eat most days:

Breakfast- 2 packets of oatmeal, 2 pieces of Weight Watchers Bread and a triangle of laughing cow lite cheese
Lunch- 1 bagel with cream cheese, 2 yogurt cups
Dinner- A piece of meat of some sort or a vegan burger, a salad and veggies.

Does it "Technically" matter what you eat for your calories? Should I make any changes, suggestions welcome!!

Psychgrrl

Great job really trying to make some intentional choices to help you with the mental aspects of managing your diet! Personally, I think the nutritional content is very important!. Looking at your sample, I think you need some more fruits and veggies (at least 5 servings a day). Can you toss some fruit in with the yogurt? Or have an apple as a snack?

I'd also look at your protein--how are your macros coming in? You seem low on protein/fat and very carb heavy. How hungry are you between meals? You may be used to ignoring bodily signals, but I'd really encourage you to tune in as best you can. What about a hard boiled egg at breakfast? Oatmeal is usually a great choice! One thing to check is added sugar. Protein will help keep your energy levels more stable throughout the day.

Bagels vary widely regarding nutritional content and calories. I'd look for one not made of white flour--simple carbs won't fill you up as long as whole grains.

Hang in there--you've got this!

JossFit

Even if you are sedentary 1200 calories is still too low for 99.9% of the population. You should never eat below your BMR. I suggest you figure out what your BMR is and add a few hundred calories to that and concentrate on losing in a slower but healthier manner.

Once you know how many calories you should be eating, you can change the ratios of macronutrients to include more protein and healthy fats into your diet. For women in general, I would recommend eating a bit more fat, such as a 30% fat, 35% protein and 35% carbohydrate ratio to start.

There really aren't "good foods" and "Bad foods" unless you have specific medical issues (allergies, etc.) so you can eat what you like, however focusing the majority of your calories on whole foods that are full of vitamins and minerals and minimally processed is generally a good idea.

retropactum

Personally I think it does matter. I lost weight eating nothing but breakfast shakes and Taco Bell, but it doesn't mean that was a healthy lifestyle. For example, a McDonalds cheeseburger is about 300 cals but think of all the lean protein and filling veggies you can eat for 300 cals. The key is getting the most bang for your calorie allotment. While I wouldn't suggest depriving yourself, it still goes to show that the nutritional value of an item should be considered. That being said, you should be meeting your macronutrients as well. Though the seem a bit skewed, MFP sets those automatically so be sure to watch all of the fields in your food diary to make sure you are being properly nourished.

During your journey, you will have to realize that the goal should be to live a healthy lifestyle. Weight loss is just a very awesome side effect. That being said, I know a lot of people including myself care more about the lbs. Like JossFit say, you really need to take some time to do some research on BMR, TDEE and other common terms you probably have seen floating around these forums. You should not eat below your body's BMR. At the same time, these calculators can only give you an estimate. Personally, I recently started eating just at my calculated average BMR and lose about 1 lb per week because a lot of trial an error helped me figure out THAT is just my sweet spot right now. You should be using the amount of weight you have to loss to set the -lbs/wk setting. If you have less than 30 lbs to loss, you should probably stick to setting -1/2 or -1 per week. Whereas, if you are like me and have 100 lbs to lose, -2 lb per week is okay.

Go play with these calculators and start the trial from there:
http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/
http://iifym.com/iifym-calculator/


Ultimately: Do some research. Test it out for a month. Re-evaluate. //End of story.



[Edit for additional info]

retropactum

Also, an example day doesn't mean much. Consider opening your food diary so that it can reviewed properly.

Sending you luck on your journey!