Trying to eat enough calories

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  • likitisplit
    likitisplit Posts: 9,420 Member
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    You'd be a little closer with fresh fruits and vegetables but even then there's a lot of variation in a "medium apple" or a "stalk of celery".

    This is why you want to weigh that "medium" apple, because then you're way the heck more accurate.
  • deksgrl
    deksgrl Posts: 7,237 Member
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    tumblr_mr62u5SCIx1sa0fj1o1_250.gif
  • likitisplit
    likitisplit Posts: 9,420 Member
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    tumblr_mr62u5SCIx1sa0fj1o1_250.gif

    Yeah, the high heels thread is still going.
  • Sherbear1109
    Sherbear1109 Posts: 155 Member
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    Thanks bajoyba. That is really helpful. I'm trying to make sure I do this in a healthy way and that really gives me some good guidelines.

    I do do some strength training, although it is only about 15 - 20 min. 5x a week. I just don't log that or yoga because they don't really burn many calories. When I realized MFP didn't count the cals burned for that, I didn't see the point in logging it.
  • _HeartsOnFire_
    _HeartsOnFire_ Posts: 5,304 Member
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    tumblr_mr62u5SCIx1sa0fj1o1_250.gif

    OMG I :heart: this!
  • Sherbear1109
    Sherbear1109 Posts: 155 Member
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    [/quote]not really. You obviously are more than that while gaining, so I'm guessing you are physically able to eat that many calories?
    [/quote]

    Actually, I wasn't. I wasn't eating enough, as I stated in my post, which slowed my metabolism way down. When I did eat it usually wasn't very nutritious. Poor guess.
  • TheVirgoddess
    TheVirgoddess Posts: 4,535 Member
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    I know it's hard to post here and ask for help sometimes - and this topic is especially sensitive (I know, I posted it, too :) ). But understand, people really are trying to help you - and getting a small scale might really surprise you - for me I was WAY over-estimating my intake.

    Anyway, congrats on the weight you've lost so far. This journey to better health will continue to baffle you sometimes, and you'll find yourself changing things up often. And most of the people here are genuinely invested in your success.

    Good luck :)
  • SueInAz
    SueInAz Posts: 6,592 Member
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    You'd be a little closer with fresh fruits and vegetables but even then there's a lot of variation in a "medium apple" or a "stalk of celery".

    This is why you want to weigh that "medium" apple, because then you're way the heck more accurate.
    So I'm either supposed to cut the apple into slices, put something on the slices so they don't brown and weigh them. Or weigh the whole thing, eat it and then weigh the core to subtract it? Sounds like a complicated process so that I can eat an apple at work. That 5-10 calories or so really doesn't matter in the long run. Close enough is good enough to me.
  • _Resolve_
    _Resolve_ Posts: 735 Member
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    Buy a scale and use it.

    that is all.
  • Sherbear1109
    Sherbear1109 Posts: 155 Member
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    I'm not upset, trogalicious, I'm just not willing to discuss it. I know that the food scale is a must to most people on this site, but I not going to do it. I know the arguments for it and all that. If I get to a point where it seems like I really need it to obtain my goals then I will get it. Right now I'm happy with being on the right track, but want to make sure I'm improving my eating habit and my metabolism.
  • HerbertNenenger
    HerbertNenenger Posts: 453 Member
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    Not weighing/measuring causes you to UNDERerestimate your calories, and depending on what you're using to measure calories burned, it usually OVERestimates. Put those two together and you might have trouble. And, have you noticed that the majority of the nutritional information listed for the food here on MFP is incorrect. Just be more aware of those thigns.
  • likitisplit
    likitisplit Posts: 9,420 Member
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    You'd be a little closer with fresh fruits and vegetables but even then there's a lot of variation in a "medium apple" or a "stalk of celery".

    This is why you want to weigh that "medium" apple, because then you're way the heck more accurate.
    So I'm either supposed to cut the apple into slices, put something on the slices so they don't brown and weigh them. Or weigh the whole thing, eat it and then weigh the core to subtract it? Sounds like a complicated process so that I can eat an apple at work. That 5-10 calories or so really doesn't matter in the long run. Close enough is good enough to me.

    If you ever feel the need to post a question about the calories you are consuming on the MFP boards, then it might be worth getting that extra information.

    As I said, I don't currently weigh my food. However, if I got to a point where I wasn't able to line up my CI-CO with my net gain/loss, I'd start there.
  • likitisplit
    likitisplit Posts: 9,420 Member
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    I'm not upset, trogalicious, I'm just not willing to discuss it. I know that the food scale is a must to most people on this site, but I not going to do it. I know the arguments for it and all that. If I get to a point where it seems like I really need it to obtain my goals then I will get it. Right now I'm happy with being on the right track, but want to make sure I'm improving my eating habit and my metabolism.

    The answer is that nobody knows how much you're eating so nobody has insight into whether you might be under eating.
  • deksgrl
    deksgrl Posts: 7,237 Member
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    I'm not upset, trogalicious, I'm just not willing to discuss it. I know that the food scale is a must to most people on this site, but I not going to do it. I know the arguments for it and all that. If I get to a point where it seems like I really need it to obtain my goals then I will get it. Right now I'm happy with being on the right track, but want to make sure I'm improving my eating habit and my metabolism.

    This is a decision some people make, (I also do not weigh) but then you can't discuss the finer details without true and accurate data. So be aware of that any time you want to discuss it, this point will be made that you don't really know how much you are eating.
  • mereditheve
    mereditheve Posts: 142 Member
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    not really. You obviously are more than that while gaining, so I'm guessing you are physically able to eat that many calories?


    Actually, I wasn't. I wasn't eating enough, as I stated in my post, which slowed my metabolism way down. When I did eat it usually wasn't very nutritious. Poor guess.

    You do realize that not eating enough does not cause you to gain weight, right? The heavier you are, the higher your metabolism is. You had to be consuming more calories than you were burning in order to gain weight.

    You do not need to weigh food, but understand that what you log will not be completely accurate, although it has always been close enough for me. Like many others have said, calorie burn varies from individual to individual and I would not use MFPs calorie burn estimates as they are almost always overstated.
  • Sherbear1109
    Sherbear1109 Posts: 155 Member
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    Thanks for getting back to the topic sueinaz. Thank you also for the good suggestions of adding extra cals w/o junk or a ton of food. Might come in handy down the road. That's why I started adding protein powder once a day. I know it sounds stupid, but it's hard to get back to eating a good amount of food after not eating most of the day for almost two years. Good luck on you journey as well.
  • likitisplit
    likitisplit Posts: 9,420 Member
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    Thanks for getting back to the topic sueinaz. Thank you also for the good suggestions of adding extra cals w/o junk or a ton of food. Might come in handy down the road. That's why I started adding protein powder once a day. I know it sounds stupid, but it's hard to get back to eating a good amount of food after not eating most of the day for almost two years. Good luck on you journey as well.

    Not eating most of the day =/= under eating

    My problem before I came on MFP is that every time I tried to cut back on portions, I'd dramatically under eat because I didn't understand my calorie needs. That would work for a day or two and then I'd be forced by hunger to eat. And I'd eat whatever was at hand. So, I'd gain weight.

    What you were doing sounds similar - you wouldn't eat and then you'd over eat snack food. It's a classic way of killing your metabolism while gaining weight. Your weekly net calorie consumption was over maintenance though. You weren't undereating all the time.
  • Sherbear1109
    Sherbear1109 Posts: 155 Member
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    The virgogoddess I wish I had been able to find your post because I agree that it is rough posting in here. Lol

    Mereditheve when yo do not eat enough calories for a long period of time your body goes into starvation mode and your metabolism slows down. Add this to severe sleep deprivation, for over a year I was lucky to get more than 20 hours of sleep a week, and you now have very low energy. I was not excersising and was honestly, barely functioning. So I seriously doubt I was burning many calories to start with. All in all my lifestyle over the last couple of years was an unhealthy mess, but I wasn't just sitting there cramming my face. That would have taken energy I just didn't have. ;-)

    MFP definitely seems off on most things. I use the calorie count Zumba gives me for my workout, which is usually 100 or so calories less than MFP's suggestion and I drop 100 calories off of what they say you burn walking and carrying 15lbs. ( my son actually weighs 27 lbs.) With food, I adjust the nutrition info. To the correct amount if it's packaged. That's the best I could come up with on the calorie burn corrections.
  • Sherbear1109
    Sherbear1109 Posts: 155 Member
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    Pretty much vardaemi. I also wasn't excersising or anything. Just not a healthy living at all. Before that, I had a lot of muscle, too. I went from very active and cut to inactive and totally unhealthy lifestyle. It made for some rather rapid changes and not good ones. Haha. I don't think I convey what I'm trying to say very well, sometimes.
  • wilsoje74
    wilsoje74 Posts: 1,720 Member
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    not really. You obviously are more than that while gaining, so I'm guessing you are physically able to eat that many calories?
    [/quote]

    Actually, I wasn't. I wasn't eating enough, as I stated in my post, which slowed my metabolism way down. When I did eat it usually wasn't very nutritious. Poor guess.
    [/quote]sorry don't believe this. Why aren't malnourished children in Africa overweight then?

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