How many calories ?

Sammi_2014
Sammi_2014 Posts: 18
in Health and Weight Loss
OK I am 26 and I weigh 191 and am 5'1. I have been eating 1000-1200 calories a day for about a month and now that I have started REALLY working out I don't think that is enough. I have been going to the YMCA 5 days a week and doing at least an hour and twenty minutes of cardio and weight lifting a day. I also have a pedometer that I keep on me and I try and get it around 7,000-10,000 steps and generally hit that mark every day. I redid the calorie intake and it says 1400-1600 , but that was on another website.
I also am wondering if when I am working out and losing calories am I supposed to be eating that back to hit my daily intake goal ??? I am so confused right now lol

Replies

  • Sammi_2014
    Sammi_2014 Posts: 18
    Oh, I am also taking a vitamin daily , B-Complex and a green tea pill ...Don't know if that helps or not.
  • KylaDenay
    KylaDenay Posts: 1,585 Member
    Aye yai yai 1000-1200 at 191 lbs was still low. You should never eat less than 1200 calories. If you are following MFP pals goals set for you then you should be eating back your exercise calories.

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

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1235566-so-you-re-new-here

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/819925-the-basics-don-t-complicate-it

    These links should help you.
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
    Aye yai yai 1000-1200 at 191 lbs was still low. You should never eat less than 1200 calories. If you are following MFP pals goals set for you then you should be eating back your exercise calories.

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

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1235566-so-you-re-new-here

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/819925-the-basics-don-t-complicate-it

    These links should help you.

    This! ^ These threads are super helpful

    MFP is different from other websites. MFP gave you a deficit BEFORE exercise. So yes, you should be eating (at least) some calories back. "Some" calories because calorie burn estimates are hard to pin down.
  • norcalskater
    norcalskater Posts: 194 Member
    Yeah you want to eat those calories back. If you are given 1200 calories and burn 250 on a run then your allowance bumps up to 1450 calories. Or the other way to look at is. Lets say you ate 700/1200 calories you can minus the 250 you burned from the 700 you ate. So now it becomes 450/1200 calories leaving you 750 calories left for the day.
  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,151 Member
    Yes, you should.
  • Sammi_2014
    Sammi_2014 Posts: 18
    OK. I was confused about that part , I thought I just took it the allowance of 1200. Could me not eating enough cause me to not lose weight ? I know I have only been "dieting" for a month now but I dropped 9 lbs the first week and I am thinking that is because I stopped drinking red bulls and soda and I was drinking a lot of them and now I am just on water and a cup of coffee a day but now I haven't lost a single lbs in 3 weeks and all week this week I have worked out !!
    I am not going to lie , I had a melt down today and just bawled my eyes out and my husband I don't think quite gets it lol.....I don't expect it to happen over night but I do want to see some results , I mean at least a pound would be good haha! I know this is a long road and since I have done this my whole families diets have changed because they now eat what I eat but different portion sizes of course.
    I still eat bread but I eat whole grain or whole wheat , should I just cut breads out all together and potatoes ? Potatoes and breads are my down fall I guess, I love Subway and I love baked potatoes . I still have some things to change but it is a working progress I guess.
  • Sammi_2014
    Sammi_2014 Posts: 18
    I have been logging exercises this whole time and not eating back my calories ....I really didn't think I should and thought I would gain weight if I did...I will change that up then.
  • norcalskater
    norcalskater Posts: 194 Member
    "Could me not eating enough cause me to not lose weight ? "

    Yes it's possible. When you don't get enough calories the body reacts by burning calories much slower to prevent starving.
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
    OK. I was confused about that part , I thought I just took it the allowance of 1200. Could me not eating enough cause me to not lose weight ? I know I have only been "dieting" for a month now but I dropped 9 lbs the first week and I am thinking that is because I stopped drinking red bulls and soda and I was drinking a lot of them and now I am just on water and a cup of coffee a day but now I haven't lost a single lbs in 3 weeks and all week this week I have worked out !!
    I am not going to lie , I had a melt down today and just bawled my eyes out and my husband I don't think quite gets it lol.....I don't expect it to happen over night but I do want to see some results , I mean at least a pound would be good haha! I know this is a long road and since I have done this my whole families diets have changed because they now eat what I eat but different portion sizes of course.
    I still eat bread but I eat whole grain or whole wheat , should I just cut breads out all together and potatoes ? Potatoes and breads are my down fall I guess, I love Subway and I love baked potatoes . I still have some things to change but it is a working progress I guess.

    Weight loss can come in fits and spurts. Annoying (I know). Hang in there.

    I've lost weight cutting out this, and cutting out that, but I've always regained it. No more - now I'm trying to do the lifestyle change. I will "cut back"....but not "cut out." I need to figure out how to manage these foods for now and the future.
  • Sammi_2014
    Sammi_2014 Posts: 18
    Y'all are being so helpful ! Thanks so much ! Let's see if these changes will make a difference ....how often do y'all weigh yourselves ? I am doing it daily right now but I think that is part of what is getting me down and maybe I should do a weekly thing ?
  • norcalskater
    norcalskater Posts: 194 Member
    I've been weighting myself every day for about a year just to learn about my body better. I've seen interesting results. I have a really cool line graph going of my weight Don't ever get discouraged. Around once a week or more I will have a 4-6 lb spike in weight and around 2-3 days later it's dropped back down to what it was. So if you see large gains it's not fat. It's just water and food that you are holding onto for various reasons. Carb, sodium and activity levels can really fluctuate your weight for a day or two.
  • tmathador
    tmathador Posts: 1 Member
    Just out of curiosity, how much have you lost with you routine?
  • Raclex
    Raclex Posts: 238
    Also remember that many factors can affect that pound or two on the scale. salty food, TOM, not sleeping well 1 night, major workout the day before, not enough water, etc.

    If you wish to weigh everyday, perhaps log your weight daily and calculate the average after 7 days. Give yourself at least a month to evaluate the weekly average. That will give yo a good idea of your weight loss.
  • Sammi_2014
    Sammi_2014 Posts: 18
    Just out of curiosity, how much have you lost with you routine?

    If you are asking me , I have only lost 9lbs and that was in the first 10 days and since then I have maintained the same weight , some days a pound more but mostly just at 191 ......I am going to try and eat some of what I burn and see if that helps. I also bought some green tea pills and B-complex vitamins cause I think it's my metabolism and hopefully that will give it a boost...I dunno , this is all so new haha
  • Sammi_2014
    Sammi_2014 Posts: 18
    Also remember that many factors can affect that pound or two on the scale. salty food, TOM, not sleeping well 1 night, major workout the day before, not enough water, etc.

    If you wish to weigh everyday, perhaps log your weight daily and calculate the average after 7 days. Give yourself at least a month to evaluate the weekly average. That will give yo a good idea of your weight loss.



    I have been watching my sodium intake and most days I don't even hit what MFP has for me , I don't salt my foods anymore either and I hardly ever use butter.
    I am a full time college student so during the week I got to bed anywhere from 11pm-1am and wake up at 6:30am ...I can almost bet I am not getting enough sleep.

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