idea! and question.

Erica92627

I just totally thought of an idea! Currently I have my calories set at 1200. Problem with that by lunch time I have come really close to going over with only 20 calories to go (such as the case today) and then when dinner comes obviously will put me way over. Lately, now that I am back tracking again dinner comes around and you cannot eat anything 20 calories and make a meal out of it so I basicly say forget it and eat whatever not really paying attention to how many calories I am eating. I think this has been the problem of why it has been super hard for me to loose weight faster or at all and why I keep gaining a pound here and there then loosing it and putting it back .

My idea is, up my calories to 2000 and this way I wont feel like I am depriving myself of too much. This way I can still try to stay at 1200 and if I go over that I can still be okay as long as I don't go over 2000.

Does this sound like a good idea or am I setting myself up for gaining more if I did this?

Erica92627

I just totally thought of an idea! Currently I have my calories set at 1200. Problem with that by lunch time I have come really close to going over with only 20 calories to go (such as the case today) and then when dinner comes obviously will put me way over. Lately, now that I am back tracking again dinner comes around and you cannot eat anything 20 calories and make a meal out of it so I basicly say forget it and eat whatever not really paying attention to how many calories I am eating. I think this has been the problem of why it has been super hard for me to loose weight faster or at all and why I keep gaining a pound here and there then loosing it and putting it back .

My idea is, up my calories to 2000 and this way I wont feel like I am depriving myself of too much. This way I can still try to stay at 1200 and if I go over that I can still be okay as long as I don't go over 2000.

Does this sound like a good idea or am I setting myself up for gaining more if I did this?

Hannah_Banana

Unfortunately, calories are completely dependent on the person and take quite a lot into account. Since 1200 is the minimum that you should safely consume and not send your body into starvation mode - I will hazard a guess and say you want to loose 2 pounds a week. Try dropping that down to 1 pound a week (using MFP) and see how you do.

Also, what are you eating in the mornings/afternoons? My breakfasts are around 200 cals, lunch is 250 - 400 and my snacks are 100 cals. Also, exersicing gets you extras :bigsmile: That is the only reason I like it.

dothompson

You might want to try starting your day with dinner. That helps me a lot. My day starts at 5 PM. I just advance the date in MFP and put dinner in first. Then the next day I put in breakfast and lunch. I find that this allows me to allocate my calories much better. Also if I find myself out of calories I can usually white knuckle my way to 5 pm.

Erica92627

I usually do not eat breakfast. Today , I am going to try to start again, I had oatmeal this morning. a small portion of chicken of only 70 calories, A small portion of lays (15 chips, 2 cookies) no soda, the slice of cheese, the bread, all the clories added up to be shy of 20 calories. Maybe I will change it to one pound a week. I will try to do more exercise which I have been really bad at lately.

Erica92627

You might want to try starting your day with dinner. That helps me a lot. My day starts at 5 PM. I just advance the date in MFP and put dinner in first. Then the next day I put in breakfast and lunch. I find that this allows me to allocate my calories much better. Also if I find myself out of calories I can usually white knuckle my way to 5 pm.

this sounds interesting. You don't mean you have dinner for breakfast do you? hehe

So you start tracking at 5 pm rather then 7 am?

I start tracking when /if I eat at 7 am.

upskari4

Hi! My calories are 1680 but I always try to stay between 1200 and 1400 so you can do that and then if you do go over one day no big deal! Thats how I do it anyways! Good Luck!:happy:

diannholland1965

I usually do not eat breakfast. Today , I am going to try to start again,

If you are not eating breakfast NO WONDER you are going over your calories!!
Your Blood Sugar is too low and you go into starvation mode and then start to eat twice as much as you should when you do eat.
THAT SAID, if you have not been a breakfast eater in the past, You need to start slow.
Like an apple or other piece of fruit. or as you said, Oatmeal.
Heck two egg whites are VERY low in cals, and will get you through till your first snack.
The NORM that you will hear is 6 small meals a day.
And this is my motto... Fruit and veggies, veggies and fruit, YUM!!!
--Diann...

pettmybunny

15 lays chips has 150 calories. Not sure what kind of cookies you had, but that has to be at least 100. What kind of bread are you eating? I eat Sara Lee 45 cal and delightful. Some days, I use only one slice and the regular amount of meat, so it seems as if I'm eating a super thick sandwich. Other days, I use 2. But the two slices is only 90 calories. Are you eating regular cheese, or the low fat or fat free? You can save calories with that change too.

Having raw veggies with your sandwich will fill you up for a lot less calories than chips, and you still get that satisfying crunch. Or maybe soup before, the heat and the flavor helps you feel satisfied. I know that I had to learn to substitute more healthy nutritious foods for the regular stuff I ate.

TaraMaria

A friend of the family is an actress and she always tries hard not to get wrapped up in any of the stage ways to loose weight fast. She swears by the following method:

Eat like a king for breakfast
Eat like a queen for lunch
Eat like a peasent for dinner!

You are fueling up at the beginning of the day and lowering your body's need to continue digesting in the evening (makes for a better night's sleep!)

I'm trying it out now! :-)

Kimlane70

A friend of the family is an actress and she always tries hard not to get wrapped up in any of the stage ways to loose weight fast. She swears by the following method:

Eat like a king for breakfast
Eat like a queen for lunch
Eat like a peasent for dinner!

You are fueling up at the beginning of the day and lowering your body's need to continue digesting in the evening (makes for a better night's sleep!)

I'm trying it out now! :-)

The Reverse Diet by Tricia Cunningham
I just bought it and started this diet on Monday...I've lost 7lbs.

aerome

I'd suggest calculating your BMR in the tools section of the site-this tells you how many calories you burn a day just to stay alive-and try and make that your goal. Of course if you work out add what you burn to your calories. This is what I've been doing for the past couple of days, and I have enough cals to last the entire day. At first I was doing just 1200, but my blood sugar kept getting too low and I would get really shaky, so I decided to up it.

Another thing that might help is each day plan out what you're going to eat. Before I eat anything I stick it in my food diary and see if I'll still have enough calories to last the whole day. If not, I find something that has fewer calories.

Good luck!