I want to CHANGE my diet

CPAmommy
CPAmommy Posts: 15 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I started 3 months ago and lost about 6 lbs. Start 165lbs, now 159 lbs. 5 ft 7" -55 year old female.
I have meticulously counted calories by weighing food on the scale. I had 2 short (3-4 days) of vacation where I strayed from the plan. I do exercise average 3-4 days a week with a combo of weight training and run/walk.

I think I really need to cut way down on the carbs. Does anyone know a plan I can follow? Anyone had success with this? Any advice?
If you want to look at my diary, let me know .I don't know how to make it public but will try to figure that out.

Thank you for any suggestions on how to lose some more weight a little faster.

Replies

  • tiptoethruthetulips
    tiptoethruthetulips Posts: 3,371 Member
    Not a specific plan, but a my fitness pal staff blog post provides some suggestions for low carb swaps maybe you can incorporate them into your calorie counting.

    http://blog.myfitnesspal.com/2014/05/20-low-carb-substitutions-that-taste-great/
  • nosebag1212
    nosebag1212 Posts: 621 Member
    figure out your tdee and eat 10-20% less, that's all you need to do
  • _Zardoz_
    _Zardoz_ Posts: 3,987 Member
    I think I really need to cut way down on the carbs.
    Why? Cutting down on carbs won't increase your weightloss.
  • _HeartsOnFire_
    _HeartsOnFire_ Posts: 5,304 Member
    No need to cut carbs unless you have a medical condition.

    I agree you should figure out your TDEE.

    Read these:
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1235566-so-you-re-new-here?hl=so+you're+new+here

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/974888-in-place-of-a-road-map-2k13

    TL:DR the link right above this one then->http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/975025-in-place-of-a-road-map-short-n-sweet

    If you have 75+ lbs to lose 2 lbs/week is ideal
    If you have 40-75 lbs to lose 1.5 lbs/week is ideal
    If you have 25-40 lbs to lose 1 lbs/week is ideal
    If you have 15 -25 lbs to lose 0.5 to 1.0 lbs/week is ideal
    If you have less than 15 lbs to lose 0.5 lbs/week is ideal

    Want to lift heavy things?
    http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2011/07/21/meet-staci-your-new-powerlifting-super-hero/

    Stronglifts Summary
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/560459-stronglifts-5x5-summary

    Stronglifts Womens Group
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/groups/home/4601-stronglifts-5x5-for-women
  • DuckDynastyMakesMeLaugh
    DuckDynastyMakesMeLaugh Posts: 363 Member
    Congrats on your weight loss…be patient! Weight loss is not linear! That being said...
    What's your weight loss goal? Do you have a scale and weigh and measure your food? Would you consider opening your diary?

    Have you read any of these articles?


    http://body-improvements.com/2013/05/24/undiet-your-diet/

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1122891-9-reasons-fat-loss-is-always-slower-than-you-d-like

    http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/why-big-caloric-deficits-and-lots-of-activity-can-hurt-fat-loss.html

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1105036-article-on-flexible-dieting-by-armi-legge?page=1#posts-17068746

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/ihad/view/the-myth-of-good-and-bad-foods-by-eric-helms-588801
  • CPAmommy
    CPAmommy Posts: 15 Member
    What is tdee
  • nosebag1212
    nosebag1212 Posts: 621 Member
    total daily energy expenditure, i.e. your maintenance calories, use this and input your stats : http://iifym.com/iifym-calculator/

    then just eat 500 cals less each day to lose 1 lb per week, 1000 to lose 2 etc, carb intake is irrelevant as long as you're in a deficit you will lose fat
  • _Terrapin_
    _Terrapin_ Posts: 4,301 Member
    go to settings>go to diary settings>scroll down to change diary settings to public.........
  • CPAmommy
    CPAmommy Posts: 15 Member
    done - thanks, changed my diary to public so you can look and suggest things.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    What is tdee

    To make it simple, the MFP goal you get is how much you burn on a regular day not including exercise (this is also called NEAT). TDEE is the amount with exercise included. There are lots of TDEE calculators out there that use a variety of methods to estimate how much you burn with the exercise you do or say you intend to do. ALL of these, including MFP, are estimates based on the average person of your sex, height, weight, and, ideally, body fat percentage. You don't really know what yours is until you experiment.

    MFP then gives you the number of calories you'd cut to lose your goal weight per week assuming you don't exercise at all, and then when you do exercise you get those calories back. TDEE already includes the planned exercise, so you don't get calories back for doing it and if you don't exercise as anticipated when you set it up you lose less than planned.

    In theory if you cut the same amount you should get about the same number of calories, but with TDEE you will have a consistent number of calories per day, whereas with MFP you will have fewer on non-exercise days and many more on heavy exercise days. (This latter bit is an issue for me lately, but I'm not sure if it's enough of an issue so that I personally will change to TDEE, although many people prefer it.)

    The other thing with TDEE is that people usually recommend cutting a percentage (10 or 20%) vs. the 500 calories or 1000 calories that you cut with MFP for 1 or 2 pounds. It's worth noting that if your TDEE isn't that high (mine is about 2200, I think) even a cut of 20% might be less than a pound/week on average, so you can't compare it directly to an MFP goal that aims for higher loss amounts.

    (Note: I think you don't have that much to lose, so I'm not suggesting this is a problem, just speaking generally.)
  • Seabee74
    Seabee74 Posts: 314
    Sorry for this But I am wondering why someone would ask if you have a scale and do you weigh everything when you said right from the beginning that you weigh everything with a scale etc.. Are people answering the question Without reading it ???? Just curious,, thats all.
  • CPAmommy
    CPAmommy Posts: 15 Member
    thanks for the clarifications! I just went to the grocery store and planned a menu for tomorrow. I just put it in my diary, so I know exactly what I am going to eat - instead of eating then put in diary and hoping for the best.

    RE the scale question - I think there are just so many messages to read on this board, sometimes its easy to just read quickly and they missed that part. I am just so grateful when people answer my posts at all.
    thank you
  • DuckDynastyMakesMeLaugh
    DuckDynastyMakesMeLaugh Posts: 363 Member
    Sorry for this But I am wondering why someone would ask if you have a scale and do you weigh everything when you said right from the beginning that you weigh everything with a scale etc.. Are people answering the question Without reading it ???? Just curious,, thats all.

    I ca't believe I missed that…because in fact I thought I had reread the OP so that I wouldn't make unnecessary suggestions! :grumble:

    I have benefitted so much from using my food scale! :laugh:
  • motivatedmartha
    motivatedmartha Posts: 1,108 Member
    I find it really helpful to prelog - I usually plan my family's weekly menu in advance as that produces my weekly shopping list. Each morning I then plug into my food diary everything I am planning to eat that day - saves me from eating something then thinking 'rats!'. I can then juggle my menu before eating to make sure it's reasonable balanced and within targets. Takes about 5-10mins while I'm eating my breakfast. I build in treats (usually in the form of a glass of wine and bedtime chocolate) Meals out are also preplanned where possible - if I go over because of a family event I won't stress.
    If for any reason I don't eat what I planned I can just amend my diary accordingly before I close it for the evening.

    While I usually know what exercise I am planning each day I do not log that until I have actually done it :wink:

    It's all a bit of a faff at first but it very quickly becomes habit and when you have logged for a while your foods are easier to find and you can build up a good set of logged recipes.

    Good luck - enjoy a wide variety of interesting food and exercise - much more enjoyable than slobbing out and eating stuff just because it's there!
    :happy:
  • swilkinson0705
    swilkinson0705 Posts: 40 Member
    I am a 47 year old female attempting to lose a 1lb a week. I am very similar to you in height and weight. I have lost about a 1lb a week. Like you I find eating a lot of carbs slows my progress regardless of what others say here. You will find people in the carb camp others out. I can only speak for myself and how they affect my body. I allow myself only one per day of bread, rice or noodles. The rest of the day I do not eat those type of carbs and add more protein. I found success with this and also as much as I hate this I can't really eat snacks. Not even healthy ones as I ended up going over my calorie allotment. Anyway, that's what is currently working for me. Good luck to you!
  • swilkinson0705
    swilkinson0705 Posts: 40 Member
    I also agree with prelogging your meals for the day. That has truly helped me turn the corner. I think I too often just let things happen in the day but having logged it in the morning I know exactly what I need to do for that day.
  • itsadogslife
    itsadogslife Posts: 209
    I think I really need to cut way down on the carbs.
    Why? Cutting down on carbs won't increase your weightloss.

    Agreed to a point. The only time low-carb truly is beneficial is if you are insulin resistant. Other than that, 40-50% of your calories should come from carbs, including vegetables, fruit, and whole grains. I stick to sprouted grain flourless ezekiel bread myself for the most part, but quinoa and brown rice are great substitutes. The calories can creep up on you, so make sure you weigh everything!

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