WAAAH! I'm doing it WRONG!!!!

Buhbeee

So, I've been on my weight loss journey for a couple of years (seasonally). I mostly followed Jillian Michaels and was part of her site for those couple of years. Now feeling like I’ve prepared myself and I’m good to go and maybe have something to offer this lovely MFP community (I especially love recipes, motivating folks, celebrating victories, and getting a boost when needed myself), I joined up with MFP. I’ve been here for two weeks. Inches have been coming off in the last three weeks, but nothing is getting my weight ticker moving.

Then I read a thread about calories and eating the exercise calories and I spoke COMPELETELY out of turn advising again eating the exercise calories. There were A LOT of people at the ready and setting me straight right away! Clearly, we’re supposed to be eating our exercise calories. This is not at all what I learned from my J.M. days. If my scale didn’t move, I got an instant response from the site saying, “it’s ok, you’ve slipped get back on track” or “Check your calories, are you eating too much?” I was never advised to eat the exercise calories, rather to avoid the calories as burned calories were reflective of bonus weight loss. BOOOO! (Let it be known I ADORE AND LOVE my girl J.M. She’s got fun workouts, great recipes and a heck of a program, but I do wish I had a better picture of what I was supposed to do every day.

So, for those of you who were a part of that thread, I’m really, really sorry! I didn’t realize that MFP plans so well. No wonder I haven’t been losing much of well, anything but inches. Now I’m feeling a little lost and I’m afraid I’m going to overeat. I have tons of awesome recipes, but . . . This completely goes against what I understood to do. The worst of it is, had I known I was supposed to fuel up against the burn, it probably wouldn’t have taken two years (seasonally) to knock off a measly 25lbs. This is a really tough decision to make - eating more than I’m used too. I’m not hungry or cranky so . . . I suppose I just have to close my eyes, take a deep breath and jump onto the bandwagon. (Oh this feels soooo wrong!) Perhaps my a.m. 30 minutes of cardio with Circuit training at night will break my fall. Or I'll just burn so much that I'm eating constantly.... I thoroghly enjoy both workouts and don't want to give up either of them.

StrawberrySuzyQ

Thanks for the insight. I just recently signed up for Jillian Michaels online and have her 30 Day Shred Program (sadly I haven't been doing it since mom had to go have surgery and I live with her ...).

I noticed that when I would log exercise and food it told me that I "earned" X number of calories from my exercise and if I DIDN'T use them then I would get that little notice at the bottom of the food diary about "not eating enough calories".

Since I was introduced to MFP and started actually tracking my food and exercise I've lost 8 lbs and have managed to reach one of my first goals, which was to get back into a pair of pants that I wore just two days before my dad passed away the beginning of June 2009. The next goal is to feel comfortable wearing them (LOL).

Again, thanks for the insight and sharing ... I must now go workout!! :flowerforyou:

KeyMasterOfGozer

Losing inches is better than losing weight. If you are eating enough and exercising a lot, it probably means you are replacing fat weight with muscle weight. That will burn fat faster in the long run, so keep it up.

chevy88grl

It is hard to accept the "eat to lose" concept. I mean, let's face it... isn't eating the thing that got us here in the first place? It is hard to turn that voice off in your head.

Once you accept that you HAVE to fuel your body in order to lose weight in a healthy way - it'll be like the skies open up and you see the light.

The best way I can explain how to use this website? Log your food. Log your exercise too. Aim to get your calories as close to zero as possible each and everyday. This website isn't designed to have 200, 300 or more calories leftover at the end of the day. You'll find a lot of people will say that being within 100 calories either way is considered a "successful day".

Also, keep in mind that some people have to watch their macros (carbs, protein, sugar, sodium) far closer than other people do. For me, as long as I simply watch what I eat - I do just fine. My body loves carbs, isn't affected by sugar or sodium. For other people, it is a different story though.

So, learn what your body needs and wants.


Good Luck!

michedarnd

The worst of it is, had I known I was supposed to fuel up against the burn, it probably wouldn’t have taken two years (seasonally) to knock off a measly 25lbs. This is a really tough decision to make - eating more than I’m used too. I’m not hungry or cranky so . . . I suppose I just have to close my eyes, take a deep breath and jump onto the bandwagon. (Oh this feels soooo wrong!) Perhaps my a.m. 30 minutes of cardio with Circuit training at night will break my fall. Or I'll just burn so much that I'm eating constantly.... I thoroghly enjoy both workouts and don't want to give up either of them.

I'm with you on this one. I did the same thing. In fact, I aimed too high on MFP and had the same result -- plateau after three weeks. I went somewhere and used some calculators, and they recommended that I eat more than I had MFP set up for (I had aimed for 2 pounds per week -- I lowered it to 1).

Now, one thing to keep in mind, is that MFP sets you up for a NET calorie intake, which is why you need to eat back the calories. The calculators I've used elsewhere set you up for TOTAL calories and make suggestions on an average daily TOTAL intake based on that input. If you are using a calculator that is setting you up for total intake and taking your level of activity into account, then you DON'T eat back your calories. However, with the way MFP is set up, you should.

The way I am doing things... I set myself up to do zig-zag dieting. I aim for a level of intake on that day, and except for the high-calorie days, I try to make certain that I excercise off at LEAST the amount that I'm over my recommended "daily net" so that I am netting what is suggested. On the "break-the-starvation-cycle" days, I let myself be over by 300-400 calories, and I'm making certain that I DON'T exercise those calories back. That's my interpretation of the suggestion of some other zig-zag dieters. It only took one of those "high-calorie" days to break me back out of a plateau, although some of that might have been water weight.

You have to play with it a bit. It's just that, like you, I've done INSANE amounts of exercise and dieting to try to peel off weight, and I tend to lose minimally. Alas for the "eat to gain weight" article in the weight-loss book. We are trained to look down on the overweight as perpetual jelly-doughnut eaters with no self-control who are too lazy to get off of their butts and move. The idea that many of them are eating too LITTLE and exercising too MUCH isn't what we hear, so it's VERY difficult to make yourself raise your calorie count while trying to lose. It's the right choice, though.

OtakuEngineer

For me it would be near impossible to eat all of my exercise calories back, as it is I'm currently getting 1850 calories a day, that's with a 2 pound a week loss, with that I'm never hungry, never over full, and feel great. I'm not an expert, but I think there is a line to be drawn with eating back exercise calories. My mom for example is on MFP as well and only gets 1200 or so calories a day to lose half a pound a week, since she's very close to her goal. So for her eating her exercise calories back is easy and very necessary to eat enough throughout the day.

Me for example... I have 2,851 calories for the day today with my exercise, at a 2 pound a week setting, I do the equivalent of about a 5.5 mile jog everyday, so I burn a TON of calories. Makes having a beer at night very comfortable, but I couldn't imagine eating that much more in food. The only time I eat close to my calories is when I'm taking a day off or just doing weight lifting, which burns far fewer calories... those days are the ones where I eat up to 0 left so I at least have a day or two during the week where I'm burning very little, and eating, still within the goal. I read that somewhere quite awhile ago to change your intake back and forth throughout the week, and it has certainly helped me. Even on the days where I have a large deficit due to exercise I still vary my intake from day to day.

I'm sure once I get down closer to my goal weight, and that calorie count starts to become smaller and smaller I'll be wanting those exercise calories back.

Jenlwb

Try it and see!!

hahnstein

OK..............Its starting to make sense.

Buhbeee

Thank you so much!!! What a great reply. The plateau is what caused me to only work out seasonally in the first place. I would lose great weight, and then boom! Nothing. So I gave myself the summer off every year and only worked out between November and May. I'd break out of plateau and lose a good amount. Now, I'm hooked on working out, can't stand my rest days, and want to get to where I want to be. Patience, is such a virtue and education is the only roadmap to it.

fyfi_fendir

I think people have said it all. If you plateau your food and exercise. your body will plateau your weight loss.
My aim is eat my exercise calories 4 days,don't eat them for 1 or 2, go over (~300cal) once a week. My weekly total is almost dead on. I am not paying that much attention but it just happened that week-end tend to be higher, early in the week seems to be lower. Has worked for me so far...

irishredgirl70

I'm new to Mfp. Only been here five days. This is a great thread. I lost 3.5 pounds on day 3 and nothing these last 2 days. I'm exercising every day and have left over calories. I was not working out at all before Mfp. I feel great already and love this site I wish everyone success on this journey.

chevy88grl

For me it would be near impossible to eat all of my exercise calories back, as it is I'm currently getting 1850 calories a day, that's with a 2 pound a week loss, with that I'm never hungry, never over full, and feel great. I'm not an expert, but I think there is a line to be drawn with eating back exercise calories. My mom for example is on MFP as well and only gets 1200 or so calories a day to lose half a pound a week, since she's very close to her goal. So for her eating her exercise calories back is easy and very necessary to eat enough throughout the day.

Me for example... I have 2,851 calories for the day today with my exercise, at a 2 pound a week setting, I do the equivalent of about a 5.5 mile jog everyday, so I burn a TON of calories. Makes having a beer at night very comfortable, but I couldn't imagine eating that much more in food. The only time I eat close to my calories is when I'm taking a day off or just doing weight lifting, which burns far fewer calories... those days are the ones where I eat up to 0 left so I at least have a day or two during the week where I'm burning very little, and eating, still within the goal. I read that somewhere quite awhile ago to change your intake back and forth throughout the week, and it has certainly helped me. Even on the days where I have a large deficit due to exercise I still vary my intake from day to day.

I'm sure once I get down closer to my goal weight, and that calorie count starts to become smaller and smaller I'll be wanting those exercise calories back.

I think it really depends on the person. I'm currently maintaining my weight and am still consuming 2200-2500 NET (yes, NET) calories a day. I've learned that I burn a large amount of calories in my day to day life and I NEED to consume that many in order to maintain where I am. So, as you get smaller and get closer to goal -- it IS possible that you'll need to UP those calories vs lowering them. Now, I'm not saying what *I* am doing works for everyone - but, please keep it in mind. Our bodies are funny things. One size doesn't fit all with them - and the key to a long, successful journey is taking the time to learn what YOUR body needs in order to function at its best.


Good Luck to you!

anotheryearolder

bump

Buhbeee

I think it really depends on the person. I'm currently maintaining my weight and am still consuming 2200-2500 NET (yes, NET) calories a day. I've learned that I burn a large amount of calories in my day to day life and I NEED to consume that many in order to maintain where I am. So, as you get smaller and get closer to goal -- it IS possible that you'll need to UP those calories vs lowering them. Now, I'm not saying what *I* am doing works for everyone - but, please keep it in mind. Our bodies are funny things. One size doesn't fit all with them - and the key to a long, successful journey is taking the time to learn what YOUR body needs in order to function at its best.


Good Luck to you!
[/quote]

Holy Catzola! How the heck do you ever manage! I guess I shouldn't be complaining about a 1300 Net!!!! I did it today, I ate my exercise calories. It was tough!!! I wasn't hungry so I drank them.

chevy88grl

I think it really depends on the person. I'm currently maintaining my weight and am still consuming 2200-2500 NET (yes, NET) calories a day. I've learned that I burn a large amount of calories in my day to day life and I NEED to consume that many in order to maintain where I am. So, as you get smaller and get closer to goal -- it IS possible that you'll need to UP those calories vs lowering them. Now, I'm not saying what *I* am doing works for everyone - but, please keep it in mind. Our bodies are funny things. One size doesn't fit all with them - and the key to a long, successful journey is taking the time to learn what YOUR body needs in order to function at its best.


Good Luck to you!

Holy Catzola! How the heck do you ever manage! I guess I shouldn't be complaining about a 1300 Net!!!! I did it today, I ate my exercise calories. It was tough!!! I wasn't hungry so I drank them.
[/quote]

I've cut back on a lot of the "light" stuff I used to eat. I also eat almonds (which are higher in calories) every single day.

I can NOT imagine only having 1300 net calories for a day. I would be starving to death. I would be so grumpy - I'd probably be threatening to eat an arm off a passing stranger. LOL