Conflicted about what to eat to lose weight

iDance2010

I'm so confused about how weight-loss works, honestly. So people are telling me to eat healthy which is what I do. But, they tell you to consume food to fuel your body but you need to burn however much you eat to lose weight which doesn't make sense to me because how could you sustain yourself and stay alive if you're burning off any nutrition that your body needs. But I also hear that you shouldn't burn off all you eat because that's sort of like anorexia, right?? I'm so conflicted and confused, I don't know what to do!! I run 8 miles everyday and don't lose anything, inches / pounds, nothing! What do I do? I'm sick of working my tail off for the love of the sport and get nothing in return. Please Help. Much thanks, Kayla.

brianpperkins

Let's start at the basics.
How tall are you?
How much do you currently weigh?
What is your goal weight?
How much do you want to lose each week?
How active are you not including intentional exercise such as running?

From there the community can provide advice and possibly suggest improvements.

Confuzzled4ever

If that's you in the picture there isn't much to lose. You definitely do not want to under eat. If you dance as your name suggests you'll need to eat more, as dancing burns a TON of calories. You should net your BMR at minimum.
Google to scooby's workshop and fill in the tdee calculator. Be honest with your exercise level and other information and it will give you a good starting point.

Then adjust to your specific body.

Francl27

It's pretty easy... It doesn't matter what you eat. What matters is how many calories you eat, and all you have to do is eat less calories than you burn in a day (which includes your basic metabolic rate, daily activity, and exercise).

Set a goal on MFP and start logging your food.

iDance2010

That's not me in the photo, it's just my inspiration. The numbers in my username are a year, 2010...I've been dancing since 2010..

iDance2010

Let's start at the basics.
How tall are you?
How much do you currently weigh?
What is your goal weight?
How much do you want to lose each week?
How active are you not including intentional exercise such as running?

From there the community can provide advice and possibly suggest improvements.

- I'm 5'9"
- I weight 144 pounds
- I don't have a goal weight per say, I just really want to be almost all lean muscle. None of the unhealthy fats.
- I want to lose anywhere from maybe 1-2 pounds a week
- I'm still in high school, a senior, so I spend most of my days in a desk getting an "education".

iDance2010

It's pretty easy... It doesn't matter what you eat. What matters is how many calories you eat, and all you have to do is eat less calories than you burn in a day (which includes your basic metabolic rate, daily activity, and exercise).

Set a goal on MFP and start logging your food.

So, what you're saying basically is that people should eat 1,200 calories and then spend 2 hours burning 1200 calories off??? That doesn't sound right at all.

Camo_xxx

Lots of great people on this site and you can get some amazing inspiration and support. But please please do some reading on your own to get a basic understanding of the process.

Regardless if you want to gain , lose or maintain your weight he is a good overview of the process.

http://www.acaloriecounter.com/diet/



.

rinjin86

It's pretty easy... It doesn't matter what you eat. What matters is how many calories you eat, and all you have to do is eat less calories than you burn in a day (which includes your basic metabolic rate, daily activity, and exercise).

Set a goal on MFP and start logging your food.

So, what you're saying basically is that people should eat 1,200 calories and then spend 2 hours burning 1200 calories off??? That doesn't sound right at all.

I think what he/she means is, you should eat less calories than what your body essentially needs to function (and this includes what it needs for maintenance + the calories you spent exercising).

You're burning fuel even though you're sitting on the couch and not moving, as your "resting" body needs energy to function (think heart pumping, liver and kidneys working to clear toxins, etc). This is what is called Basal Metabolic Rate. You can determine how much you need a day to maintain all these basic functions, and if you're mostly sedentary, should be eating less than this to lose weight. Calorie in < calorie out.

kimny72

It's pretty easy... It doesn't matter what you eat. What matters is how many calories you eat, and all you have to do is eat less calories than you burn in a day (which includes your basic metabolic rate, daily activity, and exercise).

Set a goal on MFP and start logging your food.

So, what you're saying basically is that people should eat 1,200 calories and then spend 2 hours burning 1200 calories off??? That doesn't sound right at all.

No, that's not what they said at all.
Considering your stats, it doesn't seem like you have much weight to lose at all. So you should only set your goal to half a pound a week. Fill in your info accurately, and MFP will give you a daily calorie goal - that is how much you should eat. If you log exercise, MFP will add it to your calorie goal, giving you more calories to eat, because you need to fuel your exercise.

If your primary concern is reducing your body fat %, since you are already at a healthy weight, you should really focus more on building muscle, which would mean eating more and lifting weights.

Edited to add: Go to the Getting Started forum and read the "Sexypants" thread pinned at the top. Super informative.

brianpperkins

Let's start at the basics.
How tall are you?
How much do you currently weigh?
What is your goal weight?
How much do you want to lose each week?
How active are you not including intentional exercise such as running?

From there the community can provide advice and possibly suggest improvements.

- I'm 5'9"
- I weight 144 pounds
- I don't have a goal weight per say, I just really want to be almost all lean muscle. None of the unhealthy fats.
- I want to lose anywhere from maybe 1-2 pounds a week
- I'm still in high school, a senior, so I spend most of my days in a desk getting an "education".

A few things jump out here. First of all, two pounds per week is completely unrealistic for you. It's too much with your place right in the middle of a healthy BMI. Secondly ... "unhealthy fats" is a telling term. The body needs fats, both in the diet and on the person, to remain healthy. If you really want lean muscle with a low, but healthy, body fat percentage then you need to fuel your body.

Just sitting in the classroom all day and not exercising, you need around 1800 calories per day to maintain your current weight. That means about a 1500 calorie per day intake to lose a little over half a pound of fat per week. That is in the healthy and sustainable range. Of course, none of those numbers factor in your running. Eight miles of running burns over 700 net calories at your weight meaning you should eat around 2200 calories per day if you are truly running eight miles every day.

If all you do is run, you will never have a balanced lean composition. Your legs will show adaptations from the stresses you place on them but you'll lack musculature in other areas. Relook your exercise ... relook your eating ... read the pinned threads in the getting started area until you understand what a deficit is (it isn't eat 1200 calories then burn 1200 calories off ... that's a formula for eating disorders and death).