Advised on scale shopping/loosing 10 lbs. goal in a month

Sh5073a

I'm new to MFP and I have an old fashion scale with the red needle and the wheel that ocassionally needs adjustment if I move the scale from a different place. I want to start tracking my weight, and don't want anything super fancy ($$$). Is a digital scale the way to go? what types of scales are most accurate?

I've been trying to move towards a more healthy lifestyle since the end of spring, I was exercising 3-4 times a week, and even though I was trying to eat healthier (more veggies, different grains, tofu, etc) I wasn't thinking too much about my food intake because I have never dieted in my life but it has meant that I haven't really seen as much progress as I wanted.

I was out of commission due to hip and back pain but I'm getting back to exercising again, trying to really watch my calorie intake this time around (which is how I found MFP). I have an ambitious goal to really get myself psyched and motivated. I want to loose 20 lbs by the beginning of February but I'm not sure if I'm going about it the right way. I read that in order to loose approx. 10lbs./month you have to have a caloric intake of 1200 (which I'm committing to) and I'm also exercising 4-5 days a week (jogging for 3 or 4) and some other kind of activity on the other day. Any advise on what a good strategy is for this goal? What I should be addting? Not forgetting? Watching out for?

I don't have a gym membership and jog outside. I'm also trying a couple of method bar classes and have thought of dancing as a fun way to exercise. This is the first time I ever do something like this so I really appreciate people's feedback.

RitaB19

I would recommend a Taylor Digital Scale. I bought mine at Target and it works great, very consistent. Just a basic digital scale. I rec. daily weigh-ins or at least weekly. To lose 1 lb. of body fat you need a deficit of 3500 cals. So that is about 500 cals less than what you were eating pre-diet. Exercising will just help you lose the weight faster. But weight loss is more successful when your diet is healthy and doesn't exceed your calorie goal. 1200 cals may be too low for some individuals, depends on how much you currently weigh. Good luck with your weight loss!

Sh5073a

Rita,
Thank you for the response. I'll be checking out the digital scale you mentioned. I have to say I am so hungry with this 1200 cals!!!! I'm at 210, so I'm wondering if I need to be consuming 1500 instead of 1200... I am definitely not trying to starve myself or slow down my metabolism, just not 100% sure how all these factors are supposed to align.

By the way, if I am supposed to be eating 1200 cals per day, but loose 300 cals through exercise, does that mean that I have to eat a total of 1500 or am I supposed to keep the 1200 cals?

Thanks again!

RitaB19

HI,

I would suggest eating 1500 calories per day, due to your current weight. If you exercise, you don't need to eat back exercise calories. Perhaps changing your goals to lose only 1 lb per week will give you more cals. I am only 106 lb and can't survive on 1200 calories, even on a non-exercise day its tough. So I suggest upping your cals or you may be very hungry and/or moody.

Sh5073a

Ah! No wonder! I've been soooo hungry!!! I did adjust my goal and hope that by increasing my exercises (cardio/strength combo) I can still be able to work on loosing the weight! Thanks again for your advise Rita. :-)