Help! Day 2 and I've already gone way over my goal?

lizmannn

Hey guys,
I'm new to this, and SO enthusiastic and ready to do this, but to my dismay I went about 900kcal over my goal of 1200 today. And it's day TWO!! I feel very disappointed in myself. Wah.

Liz
xxx

Carfoodel

Hey Liz - it get's easier, just try harder tomorrow and maybe log what you are wanting to eat before you eat it so you can see the impact it will have - this method can take a bit of adjusting to - the trick is to just try and improve all the time.

ubermensch13

First, don't get discouraged, figure out what you ate or drank that caused the splurge. If you eat out a lot, for social or convenience reasons, you need to really plan out where you eat and what you are ordering. If you are a social drinker, you might want to keep it to only 1 drink, and milk it. Alcohol will add calories quickly without the benefit of getting full. Add exercise to your daily routine, it helps give you more calories to work with, for those days you slip up. This really takes discipline and being aware of what you eat each meal. I only allow myself one or two days a week to have a drink, and I keep it at wine or spirit without any mixers. Like anything in this world, it takes awareness and work to make things work. Keep trying!

cmriverside

As a 22 year old woman, with 16 lbs to lose, you should be eating WAY MORE than 1200 calories a day. Just because "Lose 2 pounds a week" is an option, doesn't mean you should blindly set your goals that way.

Redo your Goals with this in mind:

If you have 75+ lbs to lose 2 lbs/week is ideal,
If you have 40-75 lbs to lose 1.5 lbs/week is ideal,
If you have 25-40 lbs to lose 1 lbs/week is ideal,
If you have 15 -25 lbs to lose 0.5 to 1.0 lbs/week is ideal, and
If you have less than 15 lbs to lose 0.5 lbs/week is ideal.


And I'm guessing you don't sit on your bum all day and do nothing, so don't set it at "Sedentary" either.

If you have any kind of job, or are caring for children, or go to school, set it at "Lightly Active." If you are on your feet and walking for 5-6 hours a day, use "Moderately Active".

You will be given a lot more calories and you will not feel deprived and hungry. You can't starve yourself into weight loss. It's dangerous, and you will most likely give up.

That 2100 calories you ate, that's probably about what you need to maintain your weight. .

Go to this Group and read all the sticky posts at the top of the list:

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/groups/home/3817-eat-more-to-weigh-less

lizmannn

Thanks to you both, and you're both absolutely right. I had been doing fine today, until my dad came to visit and dragged me for a pub dinner of horrors! Who knew roast chicken, fries and a pint would leave such a scary impression on my food diary?! Ick. Lesson learned!

RunXstrong

You can do it! Keep after it, and find ways to enjoy getting to your goal. Make if fun!

Diyah13

It is only two; however, I understand. Maybe you want to set the goal so that it's easier to achieve? For example, my goals is one pound per week. I've gone over the calorie intake four to five times in the 85 days I've been using MFP. When I went over, it's because I was RAVENOUS. Good luck.

Rainmann75

It definitely takes around a week to figure out your menu plan. The first few days I was doing it, my numbers were all
over the place! But it gets easier. WAY EASIER! Eating smaller amounts more often seems to be the key. That way your never
starving yourself, and your metabolism will always be operating, (which is a very good thing). Be patient, and don't give up! You'll have it down by no time. Good luck!

californiagirl2012

Every day is a new day. You must forgive yourself and move on.

lizmannn

Thanks for this info! I actually don't know why it says I only have 16lb to lose.. On my goal settings it is 21lb!! Strange!!

Sharon_C

I think in the beginning its a trial and error process until you get a good grasp of what calorie values each food has. This is definitely a learning curve but don't give up. You'll get the swing of things really fast.

2hobbit1

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12

Check out this thread - it will show you how to find a realistic calorie goal that you can maintain.

toaster6

I think you can either try upping your calorie intake and maybe working your way down and/or find and consume more filling foods. For myself there have been three things that have helped me keep my calories at my allowance:
1. Oats and a small amount of fruit for breakfast and a higher protein lunch and dinner keep me full for a long time so I don't really feel like snacking much. I also make sure to get enough fiber.
2. Drink LOTS and LOTS of water. I found sometimes I was eating when I was actually thirsty, not hungry. I'll try to get at least 8 cups of water a day and that cuts out mindless eating. Also, if you can, reduce the amount of calories you drink! I used to drink raspberry lemonade with literally every meal and substituting that with iced tea or water meant that I cut out nearly 400 calories a day that were doing nothing to fill me up or provide me with very much nutritional value.
3. Reduce sugar intake-- I've found that the less sugary junk food I eat over the course of the day, the less I eat period. I think sugary junk food really can make you want to just eat more.

butlerangelia

your pic shows a glass of wine. be careful w/ alcohol as they are full of empty calories! if i know i will be drinking, i definitely will make sure to exercise that morning to give me extra calories and then i will eat a light breakfast and maybe a hearty salad for lunch w/o adding things like crackers or croutons. then i can eat a great dinner and enjoy my drinks. also, i immediately add my drink when i get it because if i wait till the next day, i no doubt went over my calories. when i do it immediately i can keep track and know when to stop. (i go into the bathroom to do it so people don't think i'm obsessed).
next, i can't believe 1200 calories is all you are allowed; 400 calories a meal? you may need to reevaluate this.
i quit eating meat about a month and a half ago to see if it would help w/ my acid reflux and use my fitness pal daily and i've lost 15 pounds...using this app makes me so much more aware of what i am eating and when i check to see how many calories i might be ingesting before i do it, sometimes i am amazed and make a different choice--example: 1 packet of chick fil a sauce is 140 calories!! aaaaggghhhh! i love this stuff and was eating it on my veggies for extra flavor but now i'm staying away from it! just not worth that many calories
it does get easier and sometimes is hard to log in when you are limited on time and have to search for foods, but if you add foods you eat repeatedly it's faster. good luck and hope this helps! don't give up

GlitterMamma11

You just started! It takes some time to get adjusted. You can do it!

SomeoneSomeplace

It seems you weight about 160 according to your ticker

This means just by existing you burn about 1600 calories a day. So 1200 is not a reasonable goal for you! 1200 means your body is running on nothing; Up your calls to something like 1500 or closer to your BMR.

It's also good because 1200 is the lowest you can go so if you start to plateau you can always start to lower your calories a bit.

There is a BMR and TDEE calculator on here I believe, if not there are several online.

Otherwise if you go out to eat a lot think about lower calorie options...chicken, fish, ask for things to be prepared with less oil or sauce/dressing on the side.

Portion control your food, eat what you want but pay attention to how much you're eating. On days you're already over go for a run or some other form of exercise to afford yourself some extra calories. Open up your diary and add friends for further advice and encouragement!

Hertford86

My first week or so I was absolutely horrified at how many darn calories were in every little thing, and how few I actually needed. If I'd been doing it to fit into my old jeans, I would have walked away right then and learned to love my chub. But I was doing to help prevent my cancer recurring, so I was really really motivated, and I stuck it out. You do, really, I promise, get used to it - physically and psychologically. Just keep telling yourself "my body doesn;'t need that - it really doesn't" and you eventually get the difference between feeling not-stuffed and actually being hungry. Just make sure the calories you do eat are good nutritious ones, and be patient with yourself. It will get easier.

Growtinymusclesgrow

Every day is a new day. You must forgive yourself and move on.

Well said...spend more time moving on and less time beating yourself up! This is a journey and lifestyle change, it is not a sprint!

MyaPapaya75

adjust your calories this is going to be a long rooad it makes no sense to be miserable and have set backs increase by 400 and see if you can manage that..its possible you can still lose weight with that amount