just counting calories no excercise ?

kiminikimkim

I am currently at 1200 calories and I don't exercise much.

The only time I find to exercise is to skip escalators, elevators and I walk to buy groceries. Walk or jog everywhere you need to go: to class, work, home, shopping. Take the stairs all the time!

There is this awesome 4 minute exercise on YouTube, it works wonders: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AimPOSXe7n4

heybales

I also want to lose the wt by calorie/carb restriction since I am physically challenged and very limited as to what exercises I can do. Any helpful suggestions?

With no formal workout exercise really available, perhaps just increased daily activity as many suggested, you have the easiest setup to come by.

Use the MFP calculator for your BMR and note it. Despite that being a calculation, it is within 10% of the vast majority of people. Unless you have slowed down your metabolism, or have thyroid problems, or take meds for thyroid and run much higher.

Go to Home - Goals - Change - Custom - Net Daily Calories.

Set this to your BMR figure. Your basic energy needed to take in for the body's basic functions of life while sleeping.

Done.
Eat that much every day. Forget the MFP suggested goal or your desired weight loss goal amount in Profile setup.

Increase amount of loss by increasing daily activity as much as possible. Don't worry about any formal exercise program.

It could be as simple as that.

LilacDreamer

what happens if i eat under that number? like instead of 1200 i eat 1000 or 800

i lost 50 lbs in 2007 by eating 1 meal a day (usually a large side order of mashed potatoes from boston market OR half of a subway 6 inch sandwich) and getting the bulk of my calories from apple juice. I would go through a 64oz bottle of juice in 2 days. I did this for 8 months...and the only reason i stopped was because my hair got very thin and patchy. i never did any real exercise during that time, but i was also very unhealthy...which is why i lost hair.

I was consuming about 800-900 calories a day. it eats away at your body.

when i lost the weight everyone was like "Oh wow you look great what did you do to lose weight" i told them flat out "i dont eat food" and they encouraged me.

so how much do you eat now

well, to elaborate further: i kept the weight that i lost off for 18 months - it helped that i became more active...but then i went on birth control and the hormones made me gain 35 lbs and depression set in. I've maintained my weight (in the 260s) for about 2 years. thankfully i didnt "balloon" up any further. i attribute that to the fact that i've never been a big eater. but now i'm back at square 1.

Since joining MFP, it has me set at 1,570 calories (originally 1600). 200 of those calories come from my medicine - so that right there is 200 calories im not eating. If i take vitamins and supplements thats another 100-150 calories i wont be eating as well. I try to meet my calorie goals within 100 calories.

I exercise several times a week (3-5) but im not great at eating my exercise calories...so when i exercise i always end up with 200-400 extra calories.

I have some bad days, days where i just dont feel like eating, or i get a late start....but then i throw a super healthy smoothie in to the mix.

So in answer to your question...i TRY to consume at least 1450-1500 calories...im not perfect at it. theres stuff i have to work on (like eating breakfast and not trying to get all my calories in at night) but its a learning process.

In all honesty it doesnt matter what time you eat... What matters is what you eat and how often. I eat breakfast at 12 noon and have my last meal at 3 am... Ive lost 20 lbs in last 90 days!

1. We have all dieted before, crash diets or what have you so our metabolisms have slowed down... So speed it up! By eating every 3 or so hours about 250 to 300 cals each meal.

2. Eat fresh foods rather than frozen, stay away from processed foods and sodas for sure! Even diet soda (thats the worst)

3. Drink lots of water! (try not to make a habit of drinking your calories...eat them) I only drink water or coffee (black) during the week and save the calorie drinks for cheat days... (unless its a meal replacement smoothie).

4. Have cheat days...like a reward! I only do cheats when I hit a plateau, which happens on low cal diets about every 6 to 10 lbs or so

5. Eat back your cals from exercise..if you are exercising

6. Definitely park farther away and take the stairs instead of elevators

I'm not sure where i said it matters what TIME you eat....i simply said i need to work on eating breakfast so i can have a more well rounded, spaced out diet - which would give me an overall feeling of wellness.

kcoftx

I have a suggestion. Buy a pedometer. Take a baseline of steps on an average day. Then aim to do better. Increase it over time. I found myself walking a few laps while supervising recess (teacher), parking further in the parking lot so I could get those steps in, going up stairs instead of elevators, etc. It became like a game.

maryrr88

wow thanks i know i can stay on 1200 past 3 days was eating about 700 calories then my friend told me to stop

I'd bet, if I was a betting man, that your BMR is 1500 plus/minus 100.

Whatever the number. Do you want to lose (your BMR) - 1200 = ? number of calories in free burn each and every day eventually?

You may get a month out of it, but then what?

If you were eating at 700 and not hungry, you may have accomplished it already.

Thanks for posting this. MFP estimates my BMR to be ~1500 calories/day, but at the weight loss goal I was at (1 lb/wk), it had me eating 1380 calories on days I did not exercise. My activity level is sedentary since I have a desk job. I've now gone in and modified my base calorie intake to be 1500 on a day I don't exercise. No wonder I've been so hungry on days I don't work out - I'm eating too little! I don't want to lose any of my "free" calorie burn by consistently not eating enough.

chic_mama_25

I totally sympathise with not having time to exercise - I work from 6am to 6pm and I have a 7yr old to look after. Is there any way you could incorporate a workout in your journey to work? For example, I cycle to work and back every day. This is using time that would otherwise be spend sitting on the train. If I did not do this, I would not exercise except for on the weekend, as I have NO spare time.

You must get a couple days off week? What about exercising then? I do Bikram yoga on saturdays or sundays which is gentle enough to be relaxing but hard enough to burn 400 cals in 90 mins. I also try to go for a run on the weekend but it doesnt often happen what with my busy schedule.

Not preaching, just trying to help. I don't think you need to exercise to lose weight (it truly is 80% diet 20% exercise) but it will make sure you stay toned while you are losing weight. Good luck!

annabellj

as a nursing student, you must know that exercising changes not only your body but also changes the composition of your blood, elevates your mood and lengthen life. I read somewhere that not exercising is like treating your body to cigarettes daily. you wouldnt smoke so why would you not exercise? our bodies were made to move. when working, maybe do a little stretching, take the stairs to get your heartrate up, work it in. you can figure it out if you really want to. my job is very physical also, i have three jobs, three kids, three dogs and one husband, if i can fit it in, you can

michael300891

OK first up. Loosing fat through dieting IS the FASTEST and most effective SHORT-TERM way to lose body-fat. However, within a year of losing any weight 98% of all people regain all of the fat and many put even more back on. This is has been shown in many scientific research studies.

Secondly, loosng fat through exercise is SLOWER and less effective SHORT-TERM than dieting. However, the majority of people will hold all of their fat loss from exercise for 2 years + again this has been shown by scientific research.

Finally, when people combine diet and exercise there is the greatest overall affect but if people are told to stop their exercise after 1 year their weight will shoot up. However if they are told to stop their diet after 1 year and stay on their exercise program their weight remains stable.

This shows that for long term weight loss, exercise is more important than dieting but short term dieting is more effective. However, for optimal results, combine the two. Hope this helps.

emmab0902

It's amazing how much time you can find when you hunt hard.

I am a single mum to four children and work fulltime. I honestly believed I had no/minimal time but a few months down the track I am exercsing at least 30 minutes most days. Even if sometimes I just take my kids for a hike, play tennis with them, or run round the school field while they play.

I try to make my exercise about my fitness and strength goals as opposed to burning calories for weight loss.