NEED HELP from people who are around 214lbs and 5"9 ish

RockChick1984

Have been on here for 6 weeks now and although i have lost 9lbs in that time... i'm still really unsure of what amount of calories i should be eating to lose weight,,, it is really confusing me and really starting to stress me out... anyone got any advice that goes against what MFP states??? i am currently 214lbs and 5"9 tall i would consider my day to be sedetery but i do exercise 6 days a week burning anything from 200 cals to 1000 cals... plz help!!

cakeums

Can you open up your diary so we can take a look at it and check it out?

I am about 5'10 and my HW was 213lbs. When I started tracking on MFP again, I had last weighed in at 207.6lbs about three weeks earlier, on Dec 10th. (I didn't have a scale at home at the time, so I don't have a true idea of my starting weight.) I started at lightly active with a calorie goal of 1850 a day, weighed in at 202.5lbs on Jan 8th, 201.2lbs on Jan 22nd, 200.8lbs on Feb 5th - you can see a pattern where I plateaued pretty quickly. The last week of Jan, I increased to 2000cal (the active setting) because I was noticing I was pretty hungry; I had started taking classes at a local university and was doing more during the day. When I weighed in on Feb 19th, I was 198lbs! Yesterday I weighed in at 195.6lbs.

I also bought a FitBit and have been using it for just over a week now. According to how much I burn, I really should be eating in the 2000-2200 calorie range. So far, so good.

What are your calorie goals like on MFP? What do you have your weight loss goal/speed set at?

Ding724

I'm 5'9" and started at about 205. In the beginning I had my calories set to 1200 a day and was exercising like CRAZY burning between 500-1000 calories at least 5x a week. I hardly lost anything...it wasn't until I started to eat a bit more (around 1500 calories per day) that I started to consistently lose weight!!! You just need to find what works best for your body. I know it's frustrating, but nobody can really tell you what to do, because every body is different!!!! You'll learn in time how much to eat, how much to burn, what days you want to eat back your exercise calories, and what days your body just needs a break and a slice of pizza Best of luck to you on your journey!!!!

AvonLucyR

I am 5' 7 1/2" and started at 220 lbs...215 on MFP. Without seeing your diary it's hard to guess. I know a couple of mistakes I keep seeing with people is not eating breakfast, not having enough vegetables (I'm guilty), low fiber. Losing weight slowly is actually the best way. Try not to be discouraged with 9 lbs. That's a good start. If you lose slowly, you are much more likely to keep the weight off. Whenever I have lost a lot of weight quickly, I have always gained it back and then some. Also, remember that when you exercise you add muscle weight. You may be actually losing more fat and gaining muscle. Good luck to you!!

Jennifer7Five

Why do you want to go against what MFP states?? It sounds like you are on the right track. 9lbs in 6 weeks is about 1.5 lbs a week- and that is losing at a good healthy rate. I am about the same size and I have lost that same amount in about the same time. That doesn't really matter though, What matters is that it's working for you!
When I started I was set at 1570 per day and I found that I lost about .5 lb every week to week and a half. That was a little slow to me, so I lowered my activity to sedentary and now I get 1410. (I usually eat a range of 1300-1600, I'm not good with limits) I also added in some exercise and I usually eat my exercise calories (but will sometimes leave a couple hundred as a buffer). I try to keep my average per week right at my calorie target. So far so good, and I am not going to mess with it until it stops working for me.

CoryIda

I think that when I was around that weight (I'm 5'10" and obviously quite a bit lighter now, but I was there at some point) my goals were around 1500-1600/day for 2 lbs/week. Once I got below 210, however, I changed my goals to 1 pound/week so I was eating closer to 1750 or so (it's been a while, so I could be wrong, but I think that's about right).

Oh, and I always tried to eat a pretty decent chunk of my exercise calories.

lbibbens

9lbs in 6 weeks is amazing!! You are on the right track. Not only are you losing the weight, you are losing inches!! More importantly you are getting healthy...Be excited, celebrate a little. Don't be afraid to pat yourself on the back for your accomplishment over the last 6 weeks and now set your goal for the next 6 weeks. Also take your measurements, you will definitely notice the difference.

This quote was posted in another posts but I think it's awesome.
"Next time you go to the store, grab two 5lbs bags of sugar or Potatoes and carry them around with you...I guarantee you will notice a difference then!!"

SafireBleu

I was told the best way is to figure out your TDEE http://www.fitnessfrog.com/calculators/tdee-calculator.html Total Daily Energy Expenditure and your BMR http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/ and your Basal Metabolic Rate. You need to keep your deficit 500 calories a day less than TDEE for 1 lb loss or 1000 Calories a day less than TDEE for 2 lbs a week. Don't eat less than your BMR a day though. Seems to be working for me. I lose around 1.5 lbs a week.

RockChick1984

thanks everyone... guess i'm just having one of them days n need a good kick up the backside but its sooooo frustrating when you workout pretty hard 6 days a week, always eat at near NET cals... always eat as near to my macros as possible and i had no loss on the scales this week... really was gutted, as felt i had done well... ah well... win some, you lose some... onward we go