Can I Trust The Process?

CarolynKlum

Hi all! My first post! I have found that my yo-yo weight loss/gain is enough. I'm done looking "soft" at 130, and toned at 150, and avoiding the scale, and trying to "intutively eat" but then realizing when I step back on the scale after months of being afraid to that all the working out and intuition is off when I see a number that is so much higher than I thought I would.

I have a question: Are you finding that the numbers this site gives you for daily calorie intake are accurate for weight loss? It keeps telling me I need to "eat more" but I am unsure that I can fully trust this process.

I would really appreciate posivity, I am trying exceptionally hard to do this the correct, healthy way this time. I want to learn my body, and fuel it. I also want to finally maintain my goal weight. No more speedy weight loss, but I do want it to be effective, you know?

Thanks guys!!

marquesajen

Some things may not be quite right, but overall I've had a good experience with it. I work out, I eat back my exercise calories, and I lose weight. Do remember that everyone is different and it is your body. We all get different results.

SONIA820

Welcome to MFP! I am finding it pretty helpful. I double check anything that I log with what I have in my hand and it's pretty accurate. The one thing that most people might tell you is that the exercise calories that are counted may not be correct because it's not based off your current weight and that a heart monitor might be a better way of helping you in the regard. GOOD LUCK!!! Add me if you would like, we can all use a little support around here!

deksgrl

I would encourage you to learn and understand the process. Know what BMR is and TDEE. Understand that when you click the little button on MFP that says "I want to lose 2 pounds a week" that you might be setting your numbers below what might be healthy. Understand that MFP sets your goals so that you will lose weight with no exercise so when you do, you need to eat enough so your "net" calories is correct.

CarolynKlum

That's actually really helpful! I think it's great to try to understand it before I use this tool. But you're right - my calories are at 1200 and I burn around 700 calories from my spin class and toning afterwards (I really enjoy exercise!!) so it just feels SO counterintuitve to eat more...

SueInAz

I have to wonder, if you aren't going to trust the process, then why even bother using it? The only reason MFP would be telling you to "eat more" is if you are eating less than 1200 calories per day. If you are working out, unless you are very short, you should definitely be eating more. Eat the calories MFP is telling you to and give it a couple of weeks. If you don't see success, then think about tweaking things.

ETA: 1200 calories a day is before exercise. You should really be keeping that at 1200 net, too. Net calories are calories consumed - calories burned in exercise. If you are burning 500 calories per day in exercise, then you should be eating 1700 calories since 1200 + 500 = 1700.

PinkEarthMama

Carolyn, think of it like your car...

Your car can only drive so many miles / kms before it NEEDS fuel. No fuel, no going anywhere. You can beg, plead, scream, and threaten your car, but you still can't MAKE it go an extra 500 km without gas.

Your body needs fuel for those workouts.


You cannot ask your body to go the extra distance if you do not give it extra fuel. You're not working out to lose weight ( your diet will do that alone, by mfp standards ). You are working out to make your body healthier and stronger... and THAT needs fuel.

CarolynKlum

Thanks everyone, like I said, regardless where we all come from on a scale of progress, I am coming from a place of trying to un-do unhealthy habits in the realm of food as fuel. I know this is a kind of funny metaphor but I have begun to think of my body as a campfire...if you don't stoke the fire it just eventually goes out!! I am trying to stoke my metabolism every hour with food and eat when I am truly hungry! Emotional hunger takes a few moments to develop while physical (real) hunger develops slowly! Learning!

Mamaincali

Carolyn, think of it like your car...

Your car can only drive so many miles / kms before it NEEDS fuel. No fuel, no going anywhere. You can beg, plead, scream, and threaten your car, but you still can't MAKE it go an extra 500 km without gas.

Your body needs fuel for those workouts.


You cannot ask your body to go the extra distance if you do not give it extra fuel. You're not working out to lose weight ( your diet will do that alone, by mfp standards ). You are working out to make your body healthier and stronger... and THAT needs fuel.

This is a very good example.

LuckyLeprechaun

Yes, you can trust the process. Check out my ticker! And peek around on the boards, look at ALL the amazing tickers that people can proudly display!

It works! I promise!!

picassoadagio

I find MFP to be helpful. I use the numbers as a guide. Only you can be the judge of if your body is hungry or not.

davitalynette

It's working for me! I've been here for about 2 weeks and I'm seeing great results (11lbs lost). I try to eat my exercise calories back unless it's too late at night or I can't find something to eat that's healthy enough to fill my calories deficit without overdoing it in another category (like sugar, fat, cholesterol, etc.) Add me or just look through my diary but this website is really helpful for me so far as a newb

bugnbeansmom

I have to wonder, if you aren't going to trust the process, then why even bother using it? The only reason MFP would be telling you to "eat more" is if you are eating less than 1200 calories per day. If you are working out, unless you are very short, you should definitely be eating more. Eat the calories MFP is telling you to and give it a couple of weeks. If you don't see success, then think about tweaking things.

ETA: 1200 calories a day is before exercise. You should really be keeping that at 1200 net, too. Net calories are calories consumed - calories burned in exercise. If you are burning 500 calories per day in exercise, then you should be eating 1700 calories since 1200 + 500 = 1700.

Not arguing against your main point here but I have been logging for over a year now and I have been "warned" that I am eating too many calories but been above a 1200? happened Tuesday as a matter of fact.

OP- If you are short one day, you are NOT going to throw yourself in to starvation mode. Don't stress yourself out over it if it is a once in a while thing. That said, everytime this subject comes up, and it does often, I have to remind myself that it is not just the quantity of cals but the quality as well. You can eat half a candy bar for a few hundred calories or a handful of a tasty, nutrient/fiber dense trail mix for the same calories. Obviously the quality of those cals are not equal. I think when I was new, I was confused thinking that they meant just get to the cals. Now I appreciate that I can actually eat well and fuel, not fill my body with appropriate number of calories from a good source. I still have my treats and I am medicated for my thyroid function so my numbers are always a little bit off but I can tell you that I feel better, my skin is healthier, I get less headaches and have more energy when I stick to the program.

Also, follow that HRM advice, it really is the best way to know what you burn but my HRM and site are usually fairly close to one another.

Best of luck. Trust the process and committ to it. if you don't, you can't truely know if this works for you. :flowerforyou:

ahinski

You don't have to trust the process... do it first and see if it works.