Please explain

kristies73

How do I figure out what I need to do. I have my goal set for 1350 calories. (I'm 5'2 165 lbs). I'm using MyFitnessPal, MapMyWalk, and FitBit to help me get where I need to be, but all of this data is confusing. I'm very inactive. I've been adding in some activity, mostly just walking. But I need to understand more on what I need to do. How many calories to eat, and how many calories to burn. I feel dumb not knowing. But I can't seem to get in a rhythm of consistent weight loss.

BigT555

i would go up to 1500 for now (before adding exercise calories) and see where that gets you for a month. nobody really knows exactly how many calories they burn in a day unless they have been meticulously counting calories for months. tdee is an estimate, you need to do some trial and error with it to find out how much you personally need to eat to lose weight.

exercise isnt necessary for weight loss, it just helps retain muscle, build higher endurance, and of course it allows you to eat a bit more since you burn more calories

leannwheeler

why does my thing keep telling me i am in starvation mode, i am only eating 700 to 800 calories a day , i walk alot at my second job.. should eating less calories not be good

Branstin

Here is a great place to start:

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

SezxyStef

for MFP do the following:

Enter your stats and a weekly weight loss goal of 1/2-1lb...preferably the lower as you don't have a lot to lose.

MFP will give you the calories to eat every day...

weigh solids/measure liquids and log it all accurtely and consistently...bam weight loss.

mapmywalk turn it on go for a walk let it sync with MFP and eat back 50-75% of those calories ...bam health and fitness.

fitbit no idea..I don't use one of those.

Losing weight is about eating at a reasonable calorie deficit. Exercise is for fitness.

SezxyStef

why does my thing keep telling me i am in starvation mode, i am only eating 700 to 800 calories a day , i walk alot at my second job.. should eating less calories not be good

no your goal should be to eat as much as you can and still lose weight not as little as you can and punish yourself with hunger.

You should be netting at least 1200 calories a day...

BigT555

why does my thing keep telling me i am in starvation mode, i am only eating 700 to 800 calories a day , i walk alot at my second job.. should eating less calories not be good

nope. youre doin some damage to your body m80. up those cals

Branstin

why does my thing keep telling me i am in starvation mode, i am only eating 700 to 800 calories a day , i walk alot at my second job.. should eating less calories not be good

Eating that much is terrible. You are not meeting your body's nutritional needs by any stretch of the imagination. This will interfere with your weight loss efforts. The goal is to eat less in order to lose weight while eating enough to be healthy and not be hangery (hungry and angry). You have to have a balance and not focus just on eating less.


Use the link I posted guidance above.

frangrann

How do I figure out what I need to do. I have my goal set for 1350 calories. (I'm 5'2 165 lbs). I'm using MyFitnessPal, MapMyWalk, and FitBit to help me get where I need to be, but all of this data is confusing. I'm very inactive. I've been adding in some activity, mostly just walking. But I need to understand more on what I need to do. How many calories to eat, and how many calories to burn. I feel dumb not knowing. But I can't seem to get in a rhythm of consistent weight loss.

Hi I am 5'2" and starting weight was 158.8 lbs so very similar to you. I use MFP and fitbit. I am Physical Therapist and I work at a rehab so I am pretty active, however I list myself as inactive on MFP. My calorie goal is set at 1200/day
I try for 10,000 steps a day per fitbit. And I go to the gym (weights/cardio/classes) 6-7 day a week. Even with that activity level, fitbit usually estimates b/n 200-400 additional calories burned which I sometimes eat back. I have lost 33 lbs in 9 months.

That's me tho and everyone is different. I think if you log your food and increase your activity, you will see some changes. If not you may need to decrease your calories. Keep track of everything. It holds you accountable.

You can friend me if you want. My diary is open and I track daily. Good Luck!

AmyRhubarb

why does my thing keep telling me i am in starvation mode, i am only eating 700 to 800 calories a day

You answered your own question.

Goal means GOAL, something to reach for, achieve, not something to fall well short of. Food is fuel, and while slashing calories super low may seem like a good way to lose weight fast (which may happen at first, but say goodbye to good lean muscle along with any fat that might come off) , but it's a short cut to disaster - screwed up hormones & metabolism, hair loss, exhaustion, moodiness, and crashing and burning on the diet, resulting in yoyo dieting, losing and regaining even more. Suuuuucks.

As Stef posted above, your goal should be to eat as much as you can and still lose weight. MFP is very handy for doing this very thing. Enter your info accurately and set up reasonable goals. Log food and any activity as accurately as possible - a food scale and a good HRM are excellent tools to have.

Eat well, exercise, drink water, take rest days, get good sleep. Fuel your body with the proper amount of cals. Track your measurements, not just scale weight. And have patience.

kristies73

Thanks for the feedback. I just need a ballpark to start with. 1350 calories to eat, but then I do some activity and burn 300 calories. It says I can eat more, but it seems like I shouldn't so my body will start shedding the pounds? I know that I have to keep the calories low because one I'm not consistently active enough (I hope I get there), and two because I'm short, and 3 because I'm over 40. UGH!

bwogilvie

Thanks for the feedback. I just need a ballpark to start with. 1350 calories to eat, but then I do some activity and burn 300 calories. It says I can eat more, but it seems like I shouldn't so my body will start shedding the pounds? I know that I have to keep the calories low because one I'm not consistently active enough (I hope I get there), and two because I'm short, and 3 because I'm over 40. UGH!

This post explains things pretty well:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/818082-exercise-calories-again-wtf

Here's a quote from it that explains why you should eat back your calories from exercise (or at least some percentage of your estimate):

You tell MFP: I'd like to lose 1lb/week.

MFP says: Hey, you should eat X calories every day to lose 1lb/week.

You then decide to exercise and you burn 400 calories.

MFP says: Hey you [rude word], you said you wanted to lose 1lb/week. Now you need to eat X+400 because you told me you wanted to lose 1lb/week.

But really, read the whole thing. It doesn't take long.

erickirb

why does my thing keep telling me i am in starvation mode, i am only eating 700 to 800 calories a day , i walk alot at my second job.. should eating less calories not be good

Because 700-800 cals is not enough fuel, should probably be eating 1500-1800 if you walk a lot and just to live and still lose weight.

madhatter2013

why does my thing keep telling me i am in starvation mode, i am only eating 700 to 800 calories a day , i walk alot at my second job.. should eating less calories not be good