Motivation for a newcomer??

brookie2983

OK here is the deal...

I have given myself a 1200 calories intake (and coming in less than that each day), and working out on an elliptical for 30 minutes a day for three days.

This morning I get on the scale and I gained! If anyone would like to share their beginnings I think this may help me stay focused and not get discouraged. Suggestions, comments, anything??!!

Thank you all!! XXxx

carolinedb

You need to eat more than 1200 calories and eat your exercise calories. Otherwise, you're going into starvation mode, and you can actually gain.

philOHIO

WHAT you eat is important. This is an extreme example but 1200 calories of HO-HOs is not the same as 1200 calories of lean protein-veges-fruits-whole grains. You should also be doing some physical activity, even if it is walking around the block a couple of times a day. Good luck!

betzeross

I know it sounds crazy but it's true - just like carolinedb said. Eat more than 1200 calories and eat your exercise calories (or most of them) Best wishes!

mbmorse1011

Well it could be all sorts of things! Water weight, etc. Depending on the time of day you will weigh differently. Make sure its the same time of day if you are tracking closely.

You should still be eating all your calories even if you exercise. Make sure you are burning the calories. 30 mins a day might not be enough to push yourself to lose weight.

julie204

are you writing in your food diary every thing that goes in your mouth are you eating enough healthy fresh food i advise not to eat back your exercise cals this is what my weigh in nurse said as you need to exercise to burn the fat and cals to loose weight if i eat a cake or chocolate tonight and its in my cal allowence i will be out tomorow exercising to burn it off hope this helps a bit on your journey

BlueStar1989

Counting Calories is only one part of losing weight. If you don't feed your body what it needs to get the job done it works with what it has. Eating to few puts your body into starvation mode and it holds on to everything it gets. I've personally been done the road your on and trust me its not fun to do all that work to see nothing good in return. Try balancing your exercise with healthier eating habits, lots of protein, and most importantly water.

brookie2983

Well it could be all sorts of things! Water weight, etc. Depending on the time of day you will weigh differently. Make sure its the same time of day if you are tracking closely.

You should still be eating all your calories even if you exercise. Make sure you are burning the calories. 30 mins a day might not be enough to push yourself to lose weight.

I wondered if I wasn't working out enough, so I incorporated crunches into my routine today as well. And even thought about using the elliptical again tonight. But if I have to eat the calories that I'm burning....that is way too much food!

Adelegervais

You don't necessarily need to watch your calories its everything else you need to watch!! something could be low in calories but high in fat.. so those other things is what you should be watching!!

brookie2983

WHAT you eat is important. This is an extreme example but 1200 calories of HO-HOs is not the same as 1200 calories of lean protein-veges-fruits-whole grains. You should also be doing some physical activity, even if it is walking around the block a couple of times a day. Good luck!

I hope I don't make this discussion go crazy, but I was so under calories last night, by 1,000!! That I did eat Chinese, which I felt really guilty about. Even though I didn't go over my cal. intake for the day I knew it couldn't be good....

brookie2983

are you writing in your food diary every thing that goes in your mouth are you eating enough healthy fresh food i advise not to eat back your exercise cals this is what my weigh in nurse said as you need to exercise to burn the fat and cals to loose weight if i eat a cake or chocolate tonight and its in my cal allowence i will be out tomorow exercising to burn it off hope this helps a bit on your journey

Yes, I have been putting everything in my food log on MFP. Actually have become a little obsessed with it. I am sooo determined to lose this 30 lbs!! Not willing to give up, just need a little push in the right direction

brookie2983

Well it could be all sorts of things! Water weight, etc. Depending on the time of day you will weigh differently. Make sure its the same time of day if you are tracking closely.

You should still be eating all your calories even if you exercise. Make sure you are burning the calories. 30 mins a day might not be enough to push yourself to lose weight.

I never used to drink water. Hate it, actually! But have made a HUGE effort to get my 8 glasses in EVERY day. Yay me!! Could this cause weight gain in beginning?

olyrose

It's hard to tell exactly, but a couple ideas...

If you had the gain after eating Chinese food, it's probably just that increased sodium/water retention. It sometimes doesn't matter how much you eta, if the ingredients aren't the best for you. High sodium can make you retain weight, but it will go away.

If you are newly working out again, then your muscles could be hanging onto water. I never understood this before, and would always get discouraged after a couple days of working out, because I would always gain. That weight will go away after a few days too, so just keep going.

Also, I wasn't sure whether your 1200 calories includes those exercise calories or not. I don't eat back ALL of mine, but I do eat back 200-300. Speaking for myself, what I was doing before this site didn't work, so it's been important to me to trust the formulas and recommendations it gives me.

If you keep doing what you're doing, though, you should see a loss within the next week or so. Good luck!