Eating Routine

LoveChantal

Hello !

1. MFP set my calorie intake at 1200 to lose weight. It seems impossible and I'm constantly going over.
What does your eating routine look like when your trying to lose weight? ps. Im 5'2" 135 lbs goal 125 lbs and muscular.
2. Does MFP consider calories burned BMR just sitting and breathing or should I add that in?

Ill post my plan/ the groceries I bought, let me know if I'm way off track or how I can tweak things for results
I live in Manhattan and my refrigerator is non-existent. I cant buy things in bulk of store food for the week so some ideas on quick easy to make meals, that I can grab from the grocery store on my way home would be helpful.

Should dinner be my smallest meal?

Thanks!!!!

Breakfast
1. Raisin Bran & skim milk
2. Quakers Brown sugar Oatmeal
3. Belvita breakfast cookies (really fill me up all morning)

Lunch
1. Special K protein Shake
2. 4oz piece of salmon from TreeHaus
3. Peanut butter and Jelly on whole wheat bread

Dinner
1. Protein Shake
2. Losttttt dont know what people do. I could stop at the grocery store and grab uncooked chix breast

Snacks
1. Fiber One bar - chocolate and oats
2. nutri grain bar-apple cinnamon


Dessert (some nights)
1. Luigis Italian Ice in watermelon or lemon

KarenJanine

You only have 9lbs to lose. 1200 is too aggressive when you don't have much weight to lose. Set your MFP to lose 0.5 lb per week and eat back exercise calories. You will have a much more realistic calorie goal that you can stick to.

SugaryLynx

Imo, with only 10 lbs to lose, 1200 is too big of a deficit for you. I'd find a TDEE calculator like Scoobyworkshop or iifym.com and calculate in your exercise (this method you won't eat back exercise).

Aim to lose .5-1 lb a week. With less to lose, you have higher odds of risking muscle over body fat if you take it too aggressively. When you eat is personal preference. It holds no relevance in weight loss. Just find a calorie deficit catered to your needs and hit your macro / micro targets and win! I'm 5'3.5" and lost a majority of my weight at 1650 net before I switched to TDEE. I maintain around 2200. Hope this helps! Oh ans Read this

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

mebepiglet123

What the other2 posters replied to.... Up your calories...eat plenty of protein with 9 lbs to lose what do you want to achieve. Skinny fat or muscle?

alauzon

My caloric goal is also 1200 and can be difficult to maintain. You can get more calories by excercising which I definitely suggest. Another thing that I noticed is that you don't have any fresh produce in your eating plan. If you were to increase your vegetables it would become easier to to meet your goal. You would also need to cut down on your processed foods. Something simple like having carrots and hummus as a snack. Just a suggestion and hope it helps.

_lyndseybrooke_

At your height, weight, and age with light activity, you should be able to eat 1680-1700 calories (gross, not net) per day and lose .5 lb/week. That means not eating back exercise calories.

Your BMR is 1438. That means, if you were lying in a coma all day, your body would burn 1438 calories just by functioning. So, if you were to get up and going to the bathroom, you'd burn more than that. So, yes, 1200 is way too low for you. You shouldn't be eating under your BMR, especially if you only have 10 lbs to lose.

As for when to eat dinner, it doesn't matter. Meal timing makes no difference - eat when you want to eat.

If you still experience hunger after increasing your calories, I'd consider swapping out the bars and packaged foods for real food. Weight loss is all about calories in vs. calories out, and you can lose weight while eating snack bars and multiple sugar-laden protein shakes (seriously, find a better protein powder and stay away from Special K shakes), but you might still be hungry after each meal thanks to all that sugar. Just a suggestion. Eating real food is so much more satisfying anyway.

LoveChantal

Thank you so much ! I'm really just wanting to lose inches and tone back up! This s definitely going to help.

segovm

As far as the being hungry thing, switching to as much real food as you can really helps. I'm a big guy but a 5 oz turkey burger and a side of broccoli is really MUCH more filling than any shake I have ever drank and still comes in at just under 300 calories.

The diet industry has latched onto the word "Shake" as a means to lose weight because a lot of big people like shakes and really want to believe in magic. The reality is, food is pretty good at filling people up and in my limited personal experience shakes simply are not.

In all likelihood with just a few pounds to lose you'll want to up the calories, but ditch some of the shakes for real food, the stuff you chew, and you'll probably be a whole lot more satisfied.

LeeMarie1985

Don't rely on the scale as much. I really should follow my own advice but if you're really only looking to just tone up and lose inches, the scale shouldn't even factor into the equation. Do your measurements; neck, chest, waist, hips, thighs, etc.. and measure yourself every month. Toning up doesn't happen overnight and remember, muscle has a higher density than fat so the scale could go up even if you're losing weight.