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MyFitnessPal Community

another help me understand how and why to eat

woolfman72

I have seen many threads on here and have read quite a few and still am a bit confused. as with alot of other people I am confused on the food part of my weight-journey. While what i have been doing is working for me , I just am worried i am not eating enough. Most days at the end of my day i am trying to find things to eat just to bump up my caloric intake. So what i am asking is if you as a community can look at my diary and possibly make suggestions on what i should change or add. I generally log my food everyday , this sunday being an oddity . i had a breakfast meeting and we went to golden corral and i did not track that day . ( i know bad me!) Anyways any help or suggestions or ridicule is welcome!

Replies

Ninkyou

I would really work on your consistency. Some days are under 1200 calories, some are over 2000. Try to meet somewhere in the middle everyday. Also, your calorie burns look really high... I'm guessing you're using MFP's database. So in that case, eat half of your exercise calories back. So if it says you burned 588 calories, eat like 275ish back.

I would also really encourage you to invest in a food scale and weigh your food.... because looking at your diary, I can tell you're probably eating more than you think.

Other than that, just strive to always hit your protein goal so you can preserve as much LBM as possible.

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

missiontofitness

Your intake is way too low many days the past week, and it looks like you don't eat back some of your exercise calories.
To up your calories, I'd start with that chicken you eat. Maybe eating 1.5 to 2 times the amount you're eating now, to get a calorie and protein boost. You can also add calories to what I'm assuming is that salad that shows up in your diary by adding homemade guacamole and sour cream as a dressing, and adding in black beans and more vegetables.

Definitely up your intake, and always make sure you log everything! It'll help you keep track and make sure that you're netting a healthy amount for the day.

missiontofitness

Your intake is way too low many days the past week, and it looks like you don't eat back some of your exercise calories.
To up your calories, I'd start with that chicken you eat. Maybe eating 1.5 to 2 times the amount you're eating now, to get a calorie and protein boost. You can also add calories to what I'm assuming is that salad that shows up in your diary by adding homemade guacamole and sour cream as a dressing, and adding in black beans and more vegetables.

Definitely up your intake, and always make sure you log everything! It'll help you keep track and make sure that you're netting a healthy amount for the day.

And also agreeing with the poster above. Food scale is your friend! I made this suggestion in another thread, but if you do not have access to one, I ask the butcher at my supermarket to weigh out half lb (8oz) packages of meat for me, and I eat half of however close he/she is able to get to 8oz, since I eat around 4oz at a time. Maybe that can help you with your intake.

woolfman72

Every thing i have eaten this week has been weighed on a food scale(just finally got new batteries to put in it). In the past that was not the case and actually in most cases it is the other way around. I am lazy on the logging to the point like last night .. I actually had 7.2 oz of tilapia (i did weigh it) for dinner but logged it in as 8oz , which i will start working on being more accurate. But like my lunch today . When i made it i weighed out the chicken and the cheese to the exact gram serving. As far as my calorie burn .. I have a fitbit flex and that is synced with MFP. My normal day i walk around 45 minutes at lunch (generally get in about 2 miles ) and then after work i do an hour jogging/walking (generally just about 3 miles) and as an example today between making sure i am getting my butt up from my desk and walking around during normal working hours and my lunch and after work i have walked/jogged almost 9 miles today. With 93 very active minutes. But thank you all for your insight .

Chris_Pierce

Don't you hate it when people here make insulting assumptions about you and ignore your original question?

I do

Anyway, I'm not sure what your asking. You want to eat more calories? And want to know how?

You've lost 38 pounds. I think you know what your doing.

Ninkyou

Then I'd work on logging accurately.

For example, you have a banana for breakfast, but you're logging diameters and such... which isn't accurate. Type in "Banana raw" in the food database and select the options without a *. Those are going to be the most accurate calorie counts. Or choose options with like 50+ confirmations (like yogurt, for example, the one I log has 65 conformations).

Literally weigh everything (except liquids unless you have a ml option on your scale) and really work on your consistency and accuracy. Once you have that down, then you can really begin to look for areas to improve.

Ninkyou

Don't you hate it when people here make insulting assumptions about you and ignore your original question?

I do

I'm not sure where you're seeing insulting assumptions? Are you reading the same thread?

Op clearly stated: " So what i am asking is if you as a community can look at my diary and possibly make suggestions on what i should change or add"

So I said to work on consistency. Without more information, all you can do is assume. I thought her burns looked high, but she says she's using a fitbit. That's fine. She can still fiddle around with the numbers. Not sure how anything stated was insulting.

woolfman72

Don't you hate it when people here make insulting assumptions about you and ignore your original question?

I do

Anyway, I'm not sure what your asking. You want to eat more calories? And want to know how?

You've lost 38 pounds. I think you know what your doing.

My question basically is more focused towards my diet. Just trying to prevent going into starvation mode and i guess i just am confused about if what i am consuming is really enough and if not what changes or additions would people suggest.

woolfman72

Don't you hate it when people here make insulting assumptions about you and ignore your original question?

I do

I'm not sure where you're seeing insulting assumptions? Are you reading the same thread?

Op clearly stated: " So what i am asking is if you as a community can look at my diary and possibly make suggestions on what i should change or add"

So I said to work on consistency. Without more information, all you can do is assume. I thought her burns looked high, but she says she's using a fitbit. That's fine. She can still fiddle around with the numbers. Not sure how anything stated was insulting.

Its all good. thank you for the advice.. but i do have one bone to pick ... The pic is of my wife and kid.. I am a male

lol

Ninkyou

Don't you hate it when people here make insulting assumptions about you and ignore your original question?

I do

I'm not sure where you're seeing insulting assumptions? Are you reading the same thread?

Op clearly stated: " So what i am asking is if you as a community can look at my diary and possibly make suggestions on what i should change or add"

So I said to work on consistency. Without more information, all you can do is assume. I thought her burns looked high, but she says she's using a fitbit. That's fine. She can still fiddle around with the numbers. Not sure how anything stated was insulting.

Its all good. thank you for the advice.. but i do have one bone to pick ... The pic is of my wife and kid.. I am a male lol

Haha, then HE. lol Sorry :P

melissa_tn

If you're losing and not hungry, you're prob fine. If you weren't losing, I would say you aren't eating enough judging from looking at a few days of your diary. Some ways to add some calories are with healthy fats like peanut butter and almonds. I am not someone who can eat very large meals in one sitting, so I eat six times a day and that helps me reach my daily goal. Otherwise, I end up at the end of the day with too few calories.

Well, done for both you and your wife's loss!

lindsey1979

Man, I wish I had your issue. If you're looking to add calories, plenty of easy things to do:

(1) Nuts
(2) Avocado
(3) Cheese (the good stuff especially -- smoke gouda, triple creme brie, manchego, etc.)
(4) Cook your meat or veggies in butter or coconut oil
(5) Cream or butter based sauces for meats or veggies
(6) Protein shakes with full-fat milk, cream and nut butter -- get your protein up and extra calories

wonderwoman234

If what you are doing is working for you and you feel satisfied (not starving) at the end of the day, why do you worry you need to eat more? Most of us underestimate how much we are eating so there is a good chance you are eating more than you think.

If you stopped losing weight or started gaining, then I think I would question your eating, but you said things are going well. You've lost 38 lbs!

ForeverSunshine23

An easy way to get a few extra calories is to drink a glass or two of milk or juice liquid calories count and for me it's easy than trying to force myself to eat food when I don't feel hungry.

wonderwoman234

I would also add that you are adding in calories of just existing during the day with exercise calories. I think that is WAY overestimating what you need to eat to lose. Wogging 3 miles in an hour is slow (no offense and good job for doing it) and even if you ran fast for one hour, it would not add up to more than probably 600 calories. Walking for 45 minutes in addition to that would not equal 1200 total calories burned. You mentioned you are adding in getting up from your desk, and moving around, but lifestyle activity is factored into your base calorie allotment, so you are probably double counting those cals.

If you weigh your food, why is cheese listed as 1/6 cup? It should be in ounces for accuracy.

woolfman72

I would also add that you are adding in calories of just existing during the day with exercise calories. I think that is WAY overestimating what you need to eat to lose. Wogging 3 miles in an hour is slow (no offense and good job for doing it) and even if you ran fast for one hour, it would not add up to more than probably 600 calories. Walking for 45 minutes in addition to that would not equal 1200 total calories burned. You mentioned you are adding in getting up from your desk, and moving around, but lifestyle activity is factored into your base calorie allotment, so you are probably double counting those cals.

If you weigh your food, why is cheese listed as 1/6 cup? It should be in ounces for accuracy.

Its listed as 1/6th a cup because when i added that item to "my foods" i scanned the bar code on the bag. a 1/3 of a cup is the serving which is 28 grams. and when i put it on my broc this evening i only weighed up 14 grams.. I just put a little on it to add a little flavor. My scale does oz also . But since the serving suggestions on the bag is in cups and grams i chose to go with grams. Also on the exercise calories.. I do not add anything to MFP for exercise. Everything listed is how fitbit and MFP sync , I honestly do not know how between the two they come up with the numbers.

Nedra19455

I would also add that you are adding in calories of just existing during the day with exercise calories. I think that is WAY overestimating what you need to eat to lose. Wogging 3 miles in an hour is slow (no offense and good job for doing it) and even if you ran fast for one hour, it would not add up to more than probably 600 calories. Walking for 45 minutes in addition to that would not equal 1200 total calories burned. You mentioned you are adding in getting up from your desk, and moving around, but lifestyle activity is factored into your base calorie allotment, so you are probably double counting those cals.

If you weigh your food, why is cheese listed as 1/6 cup? It should be in ounces for accuracy.

Its listed as 1/6th a cup because when i added that item to "my foods" i scanned the bar code on the bag. a 1/3 of a cup is the serving which is 28 grams. and when i put it on my broc this evening i only weighed up 14 grams.. I just put a little on it to add a little flavor. My scale does oz also . But since the serving suggestions on the bag is in cups and grams i chose to go with grams. Also on the exercise calories.. I do not add anything to MFP for exercise. Everything listed is how fitbit and MFP sync , I honestly do not know how between the two they come up with the numbers.

Isn't that annoying about the cups/grams thing? I totally know what you mean as I often end up weighing out 14 grams of cheese too! I wish more items in the database would include both units if the package includes both units. I have the same problem with my cheese. Some of them -- if you click on "serving" -- have more than one type of unit given (like you can change the "serving" to 1 gram and then say you had 14 servings in order to get 14 grams). Others don't. It's a pain when you have to weigh in fractional parts of a serving in order to make the math easier.

The Fitbit communicates with MFP and tells MFP when you seem to be exercising more than would be expected for someone of your stated daily "activity level." For example, I told MFP that I am "lightly active" because I am a teacher and teacher was given as one of the example professions for lightly active. I don't know what MFP thinks teachers do all day, but it must be less than what I actually do because I am always getting exercise calories just from being at work. In any case, the only thing you have to watch out for is that the extra calories are "projected" calories for the day, based on whatever you are doing so far. So if you're super active in the morning and less active in the evening, you will think you're going to get more calories, but then if you are sedentary later, you will "lose" those calories because you haven't remained active. It doesn't sound like that's a problem for you, though, since you do a jog later on in the day -- meaning you are remaining as active, or more active, later in the day as you are in the morning.

I don't have any advice on your diary. It looks tasty, though!