Some MFP Basics

KatyG0409

Great post! I have a hard time meeting my calories but I have tried much harder lately. Today was much better than the past few, and my exercise was up pretty high as well. I have made sure to eat several snack and my "6 small meals" so to speak. I eat as much as I can at one time. I add in extra walnuts or pecans here and there. I even had two protein shakes today! I am meeting my protein, which is what a dear friend of mine who is a personal trainer and nutritionist said is most important, so long as I am eating at least 1400 calories a day period. I know this is to aid in my body's processes post workout. I hate feeling guilty for not eating those extra cals though! I do have 108 lbs left to lose though so perhaps this deficit is okay right now? I mean I cannot make myself eat anymore and I am increasing my intake as it is. I also drink tons of water. I guess I am really just looking for an opinion, because I definitely want to lose the weight and lose it right.

Celo24

*sigh* I really wish more of the "I'm not hungry" folks would read this - and heed. Why is it easy to understand that "listening to your body" when it tells you to eat 5 donuts is foolish... But NOT understand that listening when it tells you to eat 500 cals in a day is JUST as foolish?

:sad:

Amen!! Great post!!

tgh1914

*sigh* I really wish more of the "I'm not hungry" folks would read this - and heed. Why is it easy to understand that "listening to your body" when it tells you to eat 5 donuts is foolish... But NOT understand that listening when it tells you to eat 500 cals in a day is JUST as foolish?

:sad:

I agree 100%. I eat on schedule (every 3 hours) and don't "wait" until I "feel" hungry. Funny how I don't have trouble cleaning my plate. Weird.

You know what would be cool is, not only to make this a sticky post, but have Mike create something where if you're cals are consistently low then it forwards you links like this one - force feed the education. HA, we can dream right? :laugh:

ladyhawk00

Great post! I have a hard time meeting my calories but I have tried much harder lately. Today was much better than the past few, and my exercise was up pretty high as well. I have made sure to eat several snack and my "6 small meals" so to speak. I eat as much as I can at one time. I add in extra walnuts or pecans here and there. I even had two protein shakes today! I am meeting my protein, which is what a dear friend of mine who is a personal trainer and nutritionist said is most important, so long as I am eating at least 1400 calories a day period. I know this is to aid in my body's processes post workout. I hate feeling guilty for not eating those extra cals though! I do have 108 lbs left to lose though so perhaps this deficit is okay right now? I mean I cannot make myself eat anymore and I am increasing my intake as it is. I also drink tons of water. I guess I am really just looking for an opinion, because I definitely want to lose the weight and lose it right.

Protein is definitely important (as are carbs and fats). That is critical to maintaining muscle.

I don't know your stats, but if you have that much still to lose, you can likely withstand a SLIGHTLY greater deficit. There are two things you want to aim for - quality and a minimum. The minimum is probably around that 1400 - but we're talking 1400 NET. That means if you burn 500 in exercise, you want to eat 1900 to get to a net of 1400 (1900 - 500 = 1400). That is pretty low, but again you can probably handle that. The key is to stay within the range that your body feels comfortable burning fat, AND ensuring that you're feeding the muscle and maintaining energy levels so that you can put your all into your workouts.

As for quality, if you are well under some days, those days you need to make absolutely sure you are getting high quality, nutrient dense foods. Not processed, empty cals. This will help ensure that you are getting quality nutrition - as one of the key problems with eating too little cals is that your nutrition suffers and you're not providing all of the macros (protein/fat/carbs) and micros (vitamins/minerals) your body needs.

Nuts are great for boosting cals. Some other things - more protein, milk, cheese, natural oils (olive/canola), fruit.

And lastly, remember that as you lose weight, your cal goals will decrease a bit. But also remember that you will not be able to maintain a high deficit. So it becomes more important to keep nutrition in line. Good luck to you! :flowerforyou:

ladyhawk00

*sigh* I really wish more of the "I'm not hungry" folks would read this - and heed. Why is it easy to understand that "listening to your body" when it tells you to eat 5 donuts is foolish... But NOT understand that listening when it tells you to eat 500 cals in a day is JUST as foolish?

:sad:

I agree 100%. I eat on schedule (every 3 hours) and don't "wait" until I "feel" hungry. Funny how I don't have trouble cleaning my plate. Weird.

You know what would be cool is, not only to make this a sticky post, but have Mike create something where if you're cals are consistently low then it forwards you links like this one - force feed the education. HA, we can dream right? :laugh:

:laugh: If only

emtgirl14

Bump:)

KatyG0409

Thank you so much! I will keep working towards eating at least most of my exercise cals. It may take me a while, but I will get there. I am currently burning between 500 and 900 ish a day. Sometimes more, sometimes less.

Great post! I have a hard time meeting my calories but I have tried much harder lately. Today was much better than the past few, and my exercise was up pretty high as well. I have made sure to eat several snack and my "6 small meals" so to speak. I eat as much as I can at one time. I add in extra walnuts or pecans here and there. I even had two protein shakes today! I am meeting my protein, which is what a dear friend of mine who is a personal trainer and nutritionist said is most important, so long as I am eating at least 1400 calories a day period. I know this is to aid in my body's processes post workout. I hate feeling guilty for not eating those extra cals though! I do have 108 lbs left to lose though so perhaps this deficit is okay right now? I mean I cannot make myself eat anymore and I am increasing my intake as it is. I also drink tons of water. I guess I am really just looking for an opinion, because I definitely want to lose the weight and lose it right.

Protein is definitely important (as are carbs and fats). That is critical to maintaining muscle.

I don't know your stats, but if you have that much still to lose, you can likely withstand a SLIGHTLY greater deficit. There are two things you want to aim for - quality and a minimum. The minimum is probably around that 1400 - but we're talking 1400 NET. That means if you burn 500 in exercise, you want to eat 1900 to get to a net of 1400 (1900 - 500 = 1400). That is pretty low, but again you can probably handle that. The key is to stay within the range that your body feels comfortable burning fat, AND ensuring that you're feeding the muscle and maintaining energy levels so that you can put your all into your workouts.

As for quality, if you are well under some days, those days you need to make absolutely sure you are getting high quality, nutrient dense foods. Not processed, empty cals. This will help ensure that you are getting quality nutrition - as one of the key problems with eating too little cals is that your nutrition suffers and you're not providing all of the macros (protein/fat/carbs) and micros (vitamins/minerals) your body needs.

Nuts are great for boosting cals. Some other things - more protein, milk, cheese, natural oils (olive/canola), fruit.

And lastly, remember that as you lose weight, your cal goals will decrease a bit. But also remember that you will not be able to maintain a high deficit. So it becomes more important to keep nutrition in line. Good luck to you! :flowerforyou:

runningneo122

Big bump for the weekend newbies!! Good job, ladyhawk!!

yoghurtand

MFP does not allow for a daily cal goal below 1200. This number was provided by WHO as the lower limit for the average woman to receive adequate nutrition each day. The lower limit for men is 1500 calories. Unless you are much smaller than average, or are under the care of a professional who has provided a specific diet, attempting a regular intake lower than this is asking for trouble.

Just so you know, MFP does allow you to do this, but you have to set it yourself.

jane77

Bump thans great post I'll be sending the link around for sure very readable easy and right on

sherrymo6

What a great post! Thank you

ladyhawk00

MFP does not allow for a daily cal goal below 1200. This number was provided by WHO as the lower limit for the average woman to receive adequate nutrition each day. The lower limit for men is 1500 calories. Unless you are much smaller than average, or are under the care of a professional who has provided a specific diet, attempting a regular intake lower than this is asking for trouble.

Just so you know, MFP does allow you to do this, but you have to set it yourself.
[/quote]

Yes, it is possible, but not recommended unless under medical supervision.

ladyhawk00

Bump thans great post I'll be sending the link around for sure very readable easy and right on

Thanks!

ladyhawk00

Bump

Pebble321

As always, great info from Ladyhawk, I love the idea of having people automatically directed to this post, but I don't suppose that could happen so I will send people here manually instead.
Thanks for the voice of reason

ladyhawk00

As always, great info from Ladyhawk, I love the idea of having people automatically directed to this post, but I don't suppose that could happen so I will send people here manually instead.
Thanks for the voice of reason

Thank you! :bigsmile:

ladyhawk00

Bump

sxymilf

im still new here and trying to get my head round not eating as little as possible for the best weight loss and this post really helped me, thank you

nicolej216

Thanks for that info i am new here to MFP and im making better eating habits for myself i in the past drink pop/soda and chips and candy alot all day everyday anything i seen and wanted .Im not sure but i fill as if i eat more now to get my cals in could you look at my food diary and give my some feed back if its two much .Thanks again.

ladyhawk00

Thanks for that info i am new here to MFP and im making better eating habits for myself i in the past drink pop/soda and chips and candy alot all day everyday anything i seen and wanted .Im not sure but i fill as if i eat more now to get my cals in could you look at my food diary and give my some feed back if its two much .Thanks again.

Your diary isn't open, so I can't check it. If you want to open it, I'll be happy to take a look. But it is common to feel like you're eating a ton when you begin switching to healthier foods. It does take a higher volume of healthy foods to reach a certain cal level than it does with junk food.

Take it slow and just try to gradually increase your intake of healthy foods. Make small changes and work on them until they're a habit, then add some more changes. If you're meeting or coming close to your cal goal each day, and working on cutting out the processed foods, while adding in fresh foods, you're on the right track. Make sure you're getting enough water, keep an eye on the sodium, eat frequently and get your exercise in. It's a learning process and takes some time, but it's so worth it! Congrats on making the commitment to get healthy! :flowerforyou:

Minnie_Moo

Ladyhawk,
This was a very helpful post..... and thanks for sharing it with us

ladyhawk00

Ladyhawk,
This was a very helpful post..... and thanks for sharing it with us

Thank you, and you're quite welcome! :happy:

ladyhawk00

Bump

cmriverside

:flowerforyou:

hedleyrocks247

Thanks for the post!! Awesome information and advice!!!!

ladyhawk00

:flowerforyou:

:bigsmile: Thanks CM!

ladyhawk00

Thanks for the post!! Awesome information and advice!!!!

Quite welcome, hope it helps. :flowerforyou:

north35

Bump
Thanks!

DeniseGdz

*sigh* I really wish more of the "I'm not hungry" folks would read this - and heed. Why is it easy to understand that "listening to your body" when it tells you to eat 5 donuts is foolish... But NOT understand that listening when it tells you to eat 500 cals in a day is JUST as foolish?

:sad:

I just had this "im not hungry" conversation with someone else. I didn't understand why I was just NOT HUNGRY. now I understand that perhaps I'm not listening to my body like I should! Trying to learn what you should know is definitely not easy!

Thanks for the info...

ladyhawk00

*sigh* I really wish more of the "I'm not hungry" folks would read this - and heed. Why is it easy to understand that "listening to your body" when it tells you to eat 5 donuts is foolish... But NOT understand that listening when it tells you to eat 500 cals in a day is JUST as foolish?

:sad:

I just had this "im not hungry" conversation with someone else. I didn't understand why I was just NOT HUNGRY. now I understand that perhaps I'm not listening to my body like I should! Trying to learn what you should know is definitely not easy!

Thanks for the info...

I think we get poisoned by the media into this mentality that weight loss REQUIRES deprivation - so we end up feeling proud when we aren't hungry, like we're beating the system. But unfortunately, lack of hunger is often a sign of slower metabolism - the exact thing we DO NOT want.

Our bodies can tell us a lot of good things, but it definitely takes time to train it to send the right cues and to learn how to listen to them. Good luck with it!