calories counting please help

Canbfit4life

ok to lose weight i need to burn 3,500 calories to lose one pound ????? but i only suppose to intake 1,240 ?? n what else should I Be looking at & watching besides how many calories is in the serving size I eat.

anneyeats

tHE FAT CONTENT OF THE FOOD.

mssgirl11

keep an eye on your sodium intake too. that can cause water retention which will show as a gain

UsedToBeHusky

I watch fat, protein, carbs, sodium, and potassium. I also follow fiber on my phone app since there isn't enough room for it in the diary. You want to go a litte over on protein, keep sodium and potassium equal, and get around 35 g of fiber everyday. That is what has worked for me. Someone else might have a different opinion.

sweetheart03622

Contrary to popular belief, food that is high in fat will not inhibit your weight loss. Regarding burning 3500 calories, you just need a defecit of 3500. So if you're eating 1,240, your deficit (per day) is probably somewhere close to 1,000. Multiply that by 7 days and you have 2lbs gone per week.

Focus on eating nutritional, healthy food. Lots of fruits and veggies, whole grains, etc. I'd recommend keeping your macronutrients at about 50% carbs, 25% fat, and 25% protein. No need to be drastic with any of the numbers until you realize how your body will react to them. Keep tabs on things and notice the way your body feels and is losing weight. Then, adjust accordingly. Good luck!!

CharlieBarleyMom

At first just make small changes. Start with trying to stay within your calorie goal. Once you start feeling under control, you could try to start exercising... use less processed food and switch it out for fresh, home cooked, meals.... hang out in the forums and read the information that people are talking about... then DO MORE research (don't take anyone's word on any one thing) and work from there.

Good luck.

engineman312

ok to lose weight i need to burn 3,500 calories to lose one pound ????? but i only suppose to intake 1,240 ?? n what else should I Be looking at & watching besides how many calories is in the serving size I eat.

welcome to the site, i hope that you will learn a lot from here, and pick and chose what works best for you. remember, no two ppl are alike, and what works for me, might not work for you.

that being said, i think you should up your calorie intake a little more. on the home screen, go to goals->change goals->guided, continue->and scroll to the bottom where it says "what is your goal?" you should really put it at 1lb per week, especially if you are new to this. ease into it, and you will be less likely to fail and go over your calories.

remember, you are already at a calorie deficit, so you should be coming as close as possible to the number MFP gives you. plus or minus 100 calories is not a big deal.

portion control was personally my biggest hurdle. you should defintely pay attention to serving sizes. start serving your food with measuring cups, measure your drinks, and weigh your food too. buy yourself a nice food scale, which go for about $20, and get into the habit of using. pre-log all your foods too, before you eat them. when i first started, i entered everything the night before for the next day, and really had to be disciplined to control my appitite. after a while, i realized i was hungry, but i just wanted to pig out. when i started to tell the difference, things got easier.

and i don't know about that "3,500 calories to burn one pound" but it kind sounds like broscience. losing weight is 80% nutrition. if you watch your calories, eat the right foods, and stay at calorie deficit, you'll be dropping those pounds effortlessly.

capergal

At first just make small changes. Start with trying to stay within your calorie goal. Once you start feeling under control, you could try to start exercising... use less processed food and switch it out for fresh, home cooked, meals.... hang out in the forums and read the information that people are talking about... then DO MORE research (don't take anyone's word on any one thing) and work from there.

Good luck.

That is great advice!!!!

JulieSD

ok to lose weight i need to burn 3,500 calories to lose one pound ????? but i only suppose to intake 1,240 ?? n what else should I Be looking at & watching besides how many calories is in the serving size I eat.

welcome to the site, i hope that you will learn a lot from here, and pick and chose what works best for you. remember, no two ppl are alike, and what works for me, might not work for you.

that being said, i think you should up your calorie intake a little more. on the home screen, go to goals->change goals->guided, continue->and scroll to the bottom where it says "what is your goal?" you should really put it at 1lb per week, especially if you are new to this. ease into it, and you will be less likely to fail and go over your calories.

remember, you are already at a calorie deficit, so you should be coming as close as possible to the number MFP gives you. plus or minus 100 calories is not a big deal.

portion control was personally my biggest hurdle. you should defintely pay attention to serving sizes. start serving your food with measuring cups, measure your drinks, and weigh your food too. buy yourself a nice food scale, which go for about $20, and get into the habit of using. pre-log all your foods too, before you eat them. when i first started, i entered everything the night before for the next day, and really had to be disciplined to control my appitite. after a while, i realized i was hungry, but i just wanted to pig out. when i started to tell the difference, things got easier.

and i don't know about that "3,500 calories to burn one pound" but it kind sounds like broscience. losing weight is 80% nutrition. if you watch your calories, eat the right foods, and stay at calorie deficit, you'll be dropping those pounds effortlessly.

*this*

mistysmuse

Your body, even at rest, burns 1300-1500 calories a day. When you add activity and exercise to that it will be more. So let's say you are eating 1200 calories a day and burning 1800...at the end of one week you will have eaten 8400 calories and burned 12,600 with a calorie deficit of 4200. that is a little over a pound a week. If you want to lose more, burn more with more activity. I also pay attention to protein and try to get at least 80 grams a day, which helps me keep muscle mass while restricting calories and helps to curb hunger as well. I am new to this site, but have lost about 35 pounds altogether.