SO FRUSTRATED AND JUST ABOUT TO GIVE UP

jaxandmaksmom

Seriously..... Everyday it is a diffrent story on what a person should do.

MFP tells me to eat 1450 calories and eat back my work out calories.. which i am pretty sure they are over estimating.. so how many should I eat a day...

I look through the forums and am told that my BMR is 1499 and with the workouts i do i should eat 2099 calories a day...

ummmmmmm which is it.. cause I am pretty sure that there is a huge diffrence between 1450 calories and 2099...

I am getting frustrated.. i am am on the verge of walking away and just saying f it.... i wish someone could explain to me what the hell is going on.. in human terms not this bull**** medical term... i dont get that..

lets use the KISS method.. keep it simple stupid...

PLEASE HELP

spudlovie

Have you been eating 1450 calories and losing?

Athena98501

The way I've heard the BMR explained is that it's the number of calories you'd need to maintain if you were in a coma. You burn more than that being up and around, and even more the more active you are.

I would follow MFP's recommendations, unless you aren't losing. Then I'd consult a professional or two (nutritionist, personal trainer, etc).

Edit: Did you use MFP's BMR calculator? It told me mine's well over 1700.

jaxandmaksmom

i was eating more than that because i was at 1700 and then MFP changed it suddenly down to 1450.. i dont get how i ( i am high ends of 200s) can only be at 1450.. when others like me are up near 1800... it is such a mess of confuesion and i am having a totally pissy day... I just want to know what i am supposed to do to lose weight.. do i eat at 1400 or do i eat more..

I am so tired of do this no do that no do this..

This situation is why in the past i have said ahh screw it and just went back to lying about being ok.... I am tired of telling people i am happy as a bbw and happy with myself.. IM NOT HAPPY i want to lose the weight i want to make a diffrence in my future...

jennifer52484

Read this book:
The Diet Docs'® Guide to Permanent Weight Loss: Secrets to Metabolic Transformation
Joe Klemczewski (Author), J. Scott Uloth (Author)

It is amazing and I can tell you it works because I've lost 58lbs using their method. Barnes and Noble carries it.

You will always get a million different ways to lose weight. You just have to find the right way for you to lose. I wish you the best and I hope you stick with MFP.

Athena98501

i was eating more than that because i was at 1700 and then MFP changed it suddenly down to 1450.. i dont get how i ( i am high ends of 200s) can only be at 1450.. when others like me are up near 1800... it is such a mess of confuesion and i am having a totally pissy day... I just want to know what i am supposed to do to lose weight.. do i eat at 1400 or do i eat more..

I am so tired of do this no do that no do this..

This situation is why in the past i have said ahh screw it and just went back to lying about being ok.... I am tired of telling people i am happy as a bbw and happy with myself.. IM NOT HAPPY i want to lose the weight i want to make a diffrence in my future...

My guess is that the people you see who are supposed to have 1800 went with a plan to just lose a pound a week. That's recommended for people who don't have all that much they need to lose.

I need to lose around 90, so I went with a 2 pound per week calculation. It has me at 1300 calories on days when I don't log any physical activity.

jaxandmaksmom

i was eating more than that because i was at 1700 and then MFP changed it suddenly down to 1450.. i dont get how i ( i am high ends of 200s) can only be at 1450.. when others like me are up near 1800... it is such a mess of confuesion and i am having a totally pissy day... I just want to know what i am supposed to do to lose weight.. do i eat at 1400 or do i eat more..

I am so tired of do this no do that no do this..

This situation is why in the past i have said ahh screw it and just went back to lying about being ok.... I am tired of telling people i am happy as a bbw and happy with myself.. IM NOT HAPPY i want to lose the weight i want to make a diffrence in my future...

My guess is that the people you see who are supposed to have 1800 went with a plan to just lose a pound a week. That's recommended for people who don't have all that much they need to lose.

I need to lose around 90, so I went with a 2 pound per week calculation. It has me at 1300 calories on days when I don't log any physical activity.

ok ya.. but the thing with that is if you do my BMR thingie on the military body calculator it says i should eat a min of 1499 a day.. and i am only doing 1450 (before workouts)

and then do i eat the workout calories back or dont i ..

i am at the point right now where i am stuck at the same 3-4 pounds coming and going.. and all of sudden in two days i have GAINED 2 pounds.. which is impossible i work out 30 on ellipitcal every day and do 30 day shred.. how is it at 280ish pounds while working out i am not dropping weight..

i dont get it..

Athena98501

i was eating more than that because i was at 1700 and then MFP changed it suddenly down to 1450.. i dont get how i ( i am high ends of 200s) can only be at 1450.. when others like me are up near 1800... it is such a mess of confuesion and i am having a totally pissy day... I just want to know what i am supposed to do to lose weight.. do i eat at 1400 or do i eat more..

I am so tired of do this no do that no do this..

This situation is why in the past i have said ahh screw it and just went back to lying about being ok.... I am tired of telling people i am happy as a bbw and happy with myself.. IM NOT HAPPY i want to lose the weight i want to make a diffrence in my future...

My guess is that the people you see who are supposed to have 1800 went with a plan to just lose a pound a week. That's recommended for people who don't have all that much they need to lose.

I need to lose around 90, so I went with a 2 pound per week calculation. It has me at 1300 calories on days when I don't log any physical activity.

ok ya.. but the thing with that is if you do my BMR thingie on the military body calculator it says i should eat a min of 1499 a day.. and i am only doing 1450 (before workouts)

and then do i eat the workout calories back or dont i ..

i am at the point right now where i am stuck at the same 3-4 pounds coming and going.. and all of sudden in two days i have GAINED 2 pounds.. which is impossible i work out 30 on ellipitcal every day and do 30 day shred.. how is it at 280ish pounds while working out i am not dropping weight..

i dont get it..

If you can, I would consult with a nutritionist and personal trainer. With the info from MFP on what you've been doing, they could formulate a custom plan that should do the trick.

Jesstruhan

Hi!! I was SUPER frustrated and confused too, but I think the rule of thumb is just to stick with it and calories in, calories out.

I read a site that pretty much "changed my life" - or at least changed how I understand the BMI/calories, food, exercise thing.

http://www.acaloriecounter.com/weight-loss.php

If you go by what the site says - basically, you need a certain number of calories (food) to just get by. "Maintenance" calories.
The "maintenance" calories are what you need just to live. If you ate that, you would neither lose nor gain weight. Sure you can get into one calorie being better than another, but we all know eating veggies is better for you than pizza. That's the easy part.

The link above has how to get that number, but it's here, too: http://www.acaloriecounter.com/weight-loss.php#section3

After that, it's all loss, right? Let's say you eat 1800 calories a day for maintenance (that's mine, so you'll need to find out yours. I'm 5'8" and sedentary).

NOW - one pound of fat is 3500 calories. That's 500 calories to either burn or *not* eat every day. This really works for me when I am measuring exactly and not lying to myself about what i have been eating. That handfull of M&M's just slips my mind. Often.

So - find your maintenance calories (mine for reference): 1800
To lose 1 lb per week, kill 500 calories a day: -500
You should NET = 1300 calories.

The NET is if you ended up eating 1800 calories anyway, but you exercised it off instead of not eating it. :-)

I am NOT a dietittion or fitness expert or anything, just a girl trying to lose a pound - but this seems to be working for me. Usually. I ignore BMI and all the other stuff. I just don't understand it. I need it simple. I do take my measurement and weigh myself. I need to know where I'm starting from. Just keep going!! You can do it! Keep it simple and you'll do great!

lambertj

Let me see if I can explain this as I see it anyway. There are two ways to look at weight loss.

MFP gives you a calorie deficit via the food you eat only, that is why they tell you to eat back your exercise calories. Thing of it as earned calories. The downside to that is that without a heart rate monitor to keep track of calories burned you could inadvertently eat back more calories than you burn. Additionally, I had a professional BMR test done and my BMR was tested a lot higher than the one that MFP calculators gave me. This method works best for people who are not consistent with exercise and/or just beginning to incorporate exercise into their lives.

The other way to look at weight loss is to take your BMR and times it by your TDEE (TDEE is basically your weekly exercise level) and you eat approximately 15-20% less than that amount every single day (even on your rest days).

(Copied the following from a blog I wrote about this)

Sedentary - 1.2 (little of no exercise, desk job)

Lightly Active - 1.375 (light exercise/sports 1-3 days/wk)


Moderately Active - 1.55 (moderate exercise/sports 3-5 days/wk

Very Active - 1.725 (hard exercise/sports 6-7 days/wk

Extremely Active - 1.9 (hard daily exercise/sports & physical job or 2x days)

The downside to this method is that if you are not consistently working out at the rate you set your TDEE at, you will eat too much. The upside to this is you are not trying to stuff all those extra calories in your mouth the day you exercise them off but instead get a daily increase. This is my preferred method and after an initial 2 lbs gain the first 2 weeks I am now losing again.

If you eat below your BMR for month on end, your metabolism will slow down and you will initially gain a bit as your body gets used to the extra food but trust me it will even out. You need to give it 4-6 full weeks before freaking out.

You can also use the calculator at http://www.fat2fitradio.com/tools/bmr/ Fill out the information, it will give you your BMR and you choose the level of exercise you do. Take that amount and minus anything between 15-20% off that and eat it every single day. So basically you eat the amount of calories between your BMR and your TDEE.

I hope this helps. Please try to be patient, it is a slow path but you must be consistent and you can't give up. If you have any questions, please feel free to send me a message.

Edited to clarify, the amount of calories you eat is BMR x TDEE - 15-20% every day

strikerjb007

I have an idea. Pick a number and stick with it. After a week, if you lost 1 lb. WIN, if you didn't then go up 200 more.

By the way, eating back calories is not the most efficient way of losing weight IMO. You should start at 1400-1500 and stick with it. Also high protein. And no, this is not after exercise. This 1500 calories, period.

Forget about all these numbers and stick with this. See what your body does. Eating back calories is not gonna help. And HRM are inaccurate to begin with.

byock

Striker is right on the money. People complicate it so much. At the end of the day it's calories in vs calories out. Eat 1500 calories, DON'T count exercise at all. weigh yourself once a week at the same time preferably first thing in the morning.

If you are not losing weight, cut calories by 300 and try that for a week. If you are not losing weight, you are eating too many calories. Count everything. Keep protein high to minimize losing muscle.

Once you lose weight, you will need to adjust your calories again as you need less as you weigh less. Don't give up! Just make some small adjustments.

jaxandmaksmom

ok so what about the theroy everyone blasts over here that if i am not eating enough calories i am going to not lose etc etc

Sksieger

ok so what about the theroy everyone blasts over here that if i am not eating enough calories i am going to not lose etc etc

Find out what works for you and your body. It is different for everyone. For example if your daily calorie goal is 1800 to lose and you burn 800 calories in your workout, then you have only really eaten 1000 for the day. Which for some people that is low. So a lot of people will eat the 800 back they have burned if they are losing weight at 1800.

For me, I dont eat back my calories but I also dont do a lot of work out when I am trying to lose weight, because my body just does not work that way. I will not lose weight. I have to be close to my goal weight and focusing on maintenance to do a lot of workout and eat back my calories I burned.

I hope this helped! And dont give up!

jaxandmaksmom

or "stravation mode" lmao.. at 280 lbs i dont think i will die from it.. but i really want to lose a bunch more.. no not want.. need to .. so i just want to do what is best for long term success

mikek333

Look at the thread started by the Original Epic, this is dealt with multiple times on that thread. I hope this helps.

Sksieger

or "stravation mode" lmao.. at 280 lbs i dont think i will die from it.. but i really want to lose a bunch more.. no not want.. need to .. so i just want to do what is best for long term success

It would take a lot for anyone to really go into starvation mode. I believe it would be something like 3 weeks of not eating anything at all! Its not as common as people make it. Just make sure you are actually eating something.

Pakitalian

bump

MicheleTh

I was in the same boat! Counting exercise and getting confused as to eating more to loose. For 6 weeks my weight was up 3 pounds and down one. Kept loosing the same weight I had already lost. Yes it is absolutely frustrating. I was able to speak to a trainer / nutrition person that told me to eat my 1200 calories, exercise and drink water.

I started eating just my 1200 - 1300 a day and getting at least 12 glasses of water daily for the last 2 weeks and the scale has not gone up. I am loosing at least 1 pound a week.

So, I believe someone else said to just eat the calories suggested.

Britt2Fitjrny

Give me your stats and i will try to dumb it down for you.

Height:
Weight:
Age:
Level of activity throughout the day without your work outs:

jaxandmaksmom

Look at the thread started by the Original Epic, this is dealt with multiple times on that thread. I hope this helps.

i wouldnt have a clue how to find it..

and i just am wanting simple answers rather than the ongoing babble happening in most threads.. thus far i have gotten some amazing advice being upfront and just asking for no medical garble..

so thus far i am to eat... i would say 1500- 1700 calories a day ( pick a number and stick with it.. ) and NOT eat back the calories i earn... but still wondering about the whole going under net calories..

i will give an example.. i go to work all day and eat about half my calories maybe 700. and that leaves me with about 800 for dinner and snack at night. Then on the way home i go to the gym and i work out.. and i work out hard... i do 30 min on the ellipitcal doing intervals then 10- 15 min stair master (if i can handle it that is damm hard) according to MFP i am gaining about another 600 calories.. which now gives me a net of 100 so i have to eat a full days worth at night... that scares the crap balls outta me

this is why i am confuesed.. and to be honest. i would love someone to give a simple this is how you do it answer.. i think if this was easier to understand.. obesity wouldnt be such an issue. I am not going to give up i have to do this.. i just am so stressed by it all my coritsol levels are sky high right now i am sure...

Britt2Fitjrny

Hi!! I was SUPER frustrated and confused too, but I think the rule of thumb is just to stick with it and calories in, calories out.

I read a site that pretty much "changed my life" - or at least changed how I understand the BMI/calories, food, exercise thing.

http://www.acaloriecounter.com/weight-loss.php

If you go by what the site says - basically, you need a certain number of calories (food) to just get by. "Maintenance" calories.
The "maintenance" calories are what you need just to live. If you ate that, you would neither lose nor gain weight. Sure you can get into one calorie being better than another, but we all know eating veggies is better for you than pizza. That's the easy part.

The link above has how to get that number, but it's here, too: http://www.acaloriecounter.com/weight-loss.php#section3

After that, it's all loss, right? Let's say you eat 1800 calories a day for maintenance (that's mine, so you'll need to find out yours. I'm 5'8" and sedentary).

NOW - one pound of fat is 3500 calories. That's 500 calories to either burn or *not* eat every day. This really works for me when I am measuring exactly and not lying to myself about what i have been eating. That handfull of M&M's just slips my mind. Often.

So - find your maintenance calories (mine for reference): 1800
To lose 1 lb per week, kill 500 calories a day: -500
You should NET = 1300 calories.

The NET is if you ended up eating 1800 calories anyway, but you exercised it off instead of not eating it. :-)

I am NOT a dietittion or fitness expert or anything, just a girl trying to lose a pound - but this seems to be working for me. Usually. I ignore BMI and all the other stuff. I just don't understand it. I need it simple. I do take my measurement and weigh myself. I need to know where I'm starting from. Just keep going!! You can do it! Keep it simple and you'll do great!

Do you understand this??
You need to know what your body burns on its own without any activity. That is your BMR.
If you eat over your BMR you will gain (unless you work out and burn extra calories)
If you eat under your BMR you will lose.
Simple as that.

espinozAgal

I don't have a scientific answer for you. I'm not a numbers person and don't know exactly how many calories you should be eating... but I do know you should NEVER GIVE UP. Don't do it. Just keep swimming. (i have three kids, I often make references to disney movies) LOL

Have a beautiful day and keep going.

Britt2Fitjrny

Look at the thread started by the Original Epic, this is dealt with multiple times on that thread. I hope this helps.

i wouldnt have a clue how to find it..

and i just am wanting simple answers rather than the ongoing babble happening in most threads.. thus far i have gotten some amazing advice being upfront and just asking for no medical garble..

so thus far i am to eat... i would say 1500- 1700 calories a day ( pick a number and stick with it.. ) and NOT eat back the calories i earn... but still wondering about the whole going under net calories..

i will give an example.. i go to work all day and eat about half my calories maybe 700. and that leaves me with about 800 for dinner and snack at night. Then on the way home i go to the gym and i work out.. and i work out hard... i do 30 min on the ellipitcal doing intervals then 10- 15 min stair master (if i can handle it that is damm hard) according to MFP i am gaining about another 600 calories.. which now gives me a net of 100 so i have to eat a full days worth at night... that scares the crap balls outta me

this is why i am confuesed.. and to be honest. i would love someone to give a simple this is how you do it answer.. i think if this was easier to understand.. obesity wouldnt be such an issue. I am not going to give up i have to do this.. i just am so stressed by it all my coritsol levels are sky high right now i am sure...

I understand. Basically when i work out i will only eat back some of my calories. If I’m hungry I will eat if not then i won’t. As long as you’re not under 1200 calories you should be good. At least that's what has been working for me. If you don't want to eat that much at night then don't maybe save some cals for in the morning or the next day. You don't have to go day by day you can go week by week. As long as you’re not eating more than what you burn then you WILL lose weight. Also you want to be drinking A LOT of water because it helps flush out your system and helps other body parts function properly. The reason you are probably seeing a gain is because of the 30DS when I did that video i gained as well because of the muscle i was building. This is still a good thing because muscle burns fat. You will be losing inches even though the scale doesn't say your weight is going down. If you are eating right and moving your body then you WILL lose weight. Just stick to it! Because it is so worth it! You didn't gain all that weight over night so don't expect to lose it so fast. One baby step at a time! Everyone loses at their own pace

Raenstoirm

I doubt you are burning that much in a half hour, no matter how hard you are working. I am part of a boxing club. "burn 1000 calories an hour!!!" yada yada club. I always took them at face value and put in 1000 calories on class day. Then I got a somewhat reliable heart rate monitor and found out it was closer to 600 calories an hour! I was so upset! Makes sense why I wasnt losing!

Britt2Fitjrny

I doubt you are burning that much in a half hour, no matter how hard you are working. I am part of a boxing club. "burn 1000 calories an hour!!!" yada yada club. I always took them at face value and put in 1000 calories on class day. Then I got a somewhat reliable heart rate monitor and found out it was closer to 600 calories an hour! I was so upset! Makes sense why I wasnt losing!

You do burn more when you weight more though. Not saying your wrong! I'm just saying you may weigh a lot less than her. IDK

Mindful_Trent

Do you understand this??
You need to know what your body burns on its own without any activity. That is your BMR.
If you eat over your BMR you will gain (unless you work out and burn extra calories)
If you eat under your BMR you will lose.
Simple as that.

Er... you're misunderstanding BMR. BMR is what you burn in a coma. without any daily activity. You burn more than BMR every day by getting up and moving around, going to work/school/whatever. You will not automatically gain weight eating over BMR. "TDEE" is the correct term - that is BMR + daily activity calories. MFP estimates this for everyone in your "goals" page as "Calories Burned - From Normal Daily Activity", which is based on your height/weight/age/gender and normal daily activity level.

Edited to add: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/390142-what-is-tdee <--- check this out for an understanding of BMR vs TDEE

kyt1206

As a biomedical scientist, I would say, if you're eating the right amount of calories and you're not losing, have you taken a very close look at exactly what you're eating? And ask yourself this as you go through your food diary (btw, don't get tied up on the daily stuff, look at weekly-monthly habits, those I find give you a bigger and better picture of how your habit tends to be):

1) Have I eaten enough fiber per week?

2) Do I drink enough water to pass that fiber along?

3) Are all my vitamins sufficient or am I missing a specific one or ones?

4) How much green leafy veggies am I getting? (Chances are if you get less than a cup a day, you're going to have to increase and you'll start losing weight).

5) Do I have enough muscles to burn the amount of fat energy that I do eat or should I increase my protein intake/decrease my fat intake?

6) Do I enjoy a lot of salty foods?

7) Do I choose to eat cheese or dessert or do both? (Why do I ask this? Because the French are very well known for their love of dairy and dessert, yet they don't face an obesity epidemic as we face here today, why is that? Well one of the glaring eating habits that they have is that they don't eat their cheese with their food, they eat it like they eat dessert, by itself to enjoy the flavor. They choose cheese or dessert not both and it really helps with their portion control.)

8) Do I eat in a hurry a lot? (Sometimes eating on the run can cause logging accuracy issues.)

A lot of people like to tout that they don't have to exercise to lose weight, just calorie count, but your body has so many ways to get around changing eating habits metabolically that really, exercise so you can eat more of a variety and alternating the gross amount of calories you eat per day can help you avoid being stuck in a rut.

dehliahopp

why don't you just figure out how many calories you are eating now -- without any changes.

and then eat 500 calories less a day.

= 1 pounds loss per week.

want to lose more? burn 500 or so calories most days per week.

Britt2Fitjrny

Do you understand this??
You need to know what your body burns on its own without any activity. That is your BMR.
If you eat over your BMR you will gain (unless you work out and burn extra calories)
If you eat under your BMR you will lose.
Simple as that.

Er... you're misunderstanding BMR. BMR is what you burn in a coma. without any daily activity. You burn more than BMR every day by getting up and moving around, going to work/school/whatever. You will not automatically gain weight eating over BMR. "TDEE" is the correct term - that is BMR + daily activity calories. MFP estimates this for everyone in your "goals" page as "Calories Burned - From Normal Daily Activity", which is based on your height/weight/age/gender and normal daily activity level.

Edited to add: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/390142-what-is-tdee <--- check this out for an understanding of BMR vs TDEE

No I'm not misunderstanding BMR. "You need to know what your body burns on its own WITHOUT ANY ACTIVITY. That is your BMR."

I was explaining in simple way (like she has asked) how this whole thing works.
If you eat over what your body is burning (BMR and OF COURSE other movements throughout the day) you will gain weight!
If you eat under you will lose.
I think your misunderstanding my way of explaining this whole thing. So cool it down a little. okay?

Britt2Fitjrny

Calories are energy. Your body need energy to run its normal functions plus more. If you take in too much energy, your body will store it (aka weight gain) but if you use more energy than your body is taking in (by eating or drinking- calorie consumption) then you start to lose weight because your body starts using the already stored up energy.