Advice Pls!

wyatt631

I started using MFP with a target calorie goal of 1,200 calories over two months ago. I have been very strict in counting calories, and I always err on the side of caution if I don't know the calorie intake of something, putting down more calories than I probably ate. However, I haven't been too strict adhering to the calorie limit, and probably average around 1,350 calories a day. Even on this, I am HUNGRY ALL THE TIME.

I have lost 4lb during this time. This works out about right... I have a BMR of 1,340, meaning that my maintenance calorie goal (BMR times 1.2) would be 1,608 calories. 1,608-1,350 = 258 calorie deficit every day. That's a 15,480 calorie deficit over 2 months. With 1lb = 3,500 calories, that's a 4.4lb weight loss. So far, the numbers add up.

This is seriously depressing, guys. I need to fit into my wedding dress. I need to start losing at least 1lb a week. Now, I don't have time to go to the gym. I know that everyone says that, but it's not so much the exercise as the time spent driving there, changing, showering, changing back, driving home, sorting and washing the gym kit, etc etc. I am very busy. I am also limited as to what I can do. I have to avoid any impact exercises, including running and jumping, due to knee, hip, and shin problems. I also struggle to cycle because of a previous spinal fracture (sitting on the bike hurts my back). I walk a fair bit though, just as part of my daily life.

Part of me just thinks I should aim for 1,000 calories a day (as starvation mode should kick in at around 60% of your maintenance calories, I would still be OK at 1,000 calories). However, even if I aim for a measly 1,000 calories, I only stand to lose 1lb a week. That's my target, sure... but it's a brutal way of getting there if I'm starving at 1,350. I know also that people will complain that 1,000 is too low, but this isn't actually true. Our received wisdom about dieting is based around the idea that most people fall within a certain height range. If you are a teeny tiny short person, you can indeed drop below 1,200 and be nowhere near starvation mode. This is why female dieters in Asia, where I used to live, are advised to aim for 800 calories rather than 1,200... because they are much shorter, and have smaller frames. If I reach my goal weight, my BMR will be 1,235 calories, and my maintenance calories just 1,482 a day. That's just to put this all into perspective. I'm still not saying that I should actually do it.

... advice, anyone?

wibutterflymagic

It seems you aren't eating the right types of food if you are hungry at 1350. I just raised my calorie intake for the holidays but my normal calorie goal is about 1300. I eat protein at every meal and I'm rarely hungry.

Sorry, in my opinion I think it's ridiculous for anyone to consciously try to eat less then 1200calories and do extreme measures such as your suggesting. I hope you choose to do it the smart way but if you're already thinking about it I'm guessing you've made up your mind.

tehzephyrsong

Unless you're actually 3 feet tall, there's no way you can maintain at 1400 calories. You're not eating enough.

BarackMeLikeAHurricane

Your diary is closed. I can help you if you open it.

superkrystal

Unless you're actually 3 feet tall, there's no way you can maintain at 1400 calories. You're not eating enough.

You can if you are gtting he proper nutrients. I've been doing 1200 cal for a long time(gave up for a year because of school/stress) but it worked well for me. I have taken diet & nutrition courses, and it is possible based on your body type, your metabolism, and what you are actually eating(im a vegetarian, and I have no problem having 4-5 small meals a day with my 1200.)

Keep in mind though, if you do a decent amount of exercise, you want to take in more

ktmmom189

Not sure how much you walk but at 10,000 steps a day and 1200 cals I've been losing 1 to 2 lbs a week. But I walk as fast as I can. I am now up to 4 mph which still isn't that fast. I walk at work breaks, lunch whenever, whereever. You can get a $4 pedometer to see how many steps you are really walking

jennieth

Can you make your food diary public so we can see what kinds of food you are eating? Hitting 1200 calories a day and staying satisfied is doable if you are eating the right foods and drinking enough water.

n_gal87

Like others have said calorie intake means very little without know WHAT you are actually eating, you should open your diary. One or two fast food meals per day can easily be 1,000+ calories but if that's all you eat each day you will still be hungry, try eating proteins, veggies, fruits, and the like, you can eat more and stay fuller longer for the same # of calories.

As for exercise, maybe there are some things you could do at home? Besides that, try walking more, taking the stairs when you can, basically just try to move more.

JustANumber85

This is seriously depressing, guys. I need to fit into my wedding dress. I need to start losing at least 1lb a week. Now, I don't have time to go to the gym. I know that everyone says that, but it's not so much the exercise as the time spent driving there, changing, showering, changing back, driving home, sorting and washing the gym kit, etc etc. I am very busy. I am also limited as to what I can do. I have to avoid any impact exercises, including running and jumping, due to knee, hip, and shin problems. I also struggle to cycle because of a previous spinal fracture (sitting on the bike hurts my back). I walk a fair bit though, just as part of my daily life.

TBH- these ARE excuses. Dress for the gym before you go. Dont shower there- shower at home. Dont sort/wash except on normal laundry days.

you can swim, walk, lift weights, etc.

Im sorry but your diary is closed and your cals are too low.

Lake_Po

I agree that you're probably just not eating the right foods if you're still so hungry. I had the same problem. I wasn't eating enough protein and too many carbs. It resulted in blood sugar spikes and then plummeting left me really hungry. Now I try and eat much more protein and less carbs and add in veggies until I'm full. Good luck.

Devil6972

I have been there before. you are not eating enough...1200 calories is 1200 calories...anything you burn you must eat in order to stop your body from going into starvation mode.

neurochamp

If you want to rock a wedding dress, eat healthy food and WORK OUT. 10lbs lighter and flabby with loose skin will look WAY less hot than 5lbs lighter and firming up from regular exercise. Seriously - and I mean this in the nicest, most encouraging way possible - nobody at your wedding will know what your number is on the scale...but they (and you, when you look back at your pictures) WILL notice rolls and folds.

Save yourself a lot of misery - eat high protein and low(-ish) carbs, a reasonable amount of healthy fats, low salt, drink plenty of water, and WORK OUT. Buy a Jillian Michaels video or a Zumba home kit if you don't want to go to the gym, but work out - you will be MUCH happier with the results come wedding time.

Oh, and at 5'4" and 150lb I'm losing weight eating 1700 calories/day with NO exercise ( I know I should practice what I preach...I have no excuse other than a busy semester of teaching). You can eat more (within reason) as long as you eat good, healthy food. And working out will allow you even more good, healthy food. You will be happier, less stressed, and way more prepared to enjoy your wedding! :flowerforyou:

neurochamp

Sorry, I missed your limitations on what exercises you cannot do (didn't mean to be ignorant) - sounds like hitting the pool is a good option for you (so making time for the gym is a must)

maqsmj

to me it seems like excuses

alisiaendris

If getting to the gym is the problem, not the actual time working out, take the money you would have spent at the gym and invest in some home gym equipment. I highly recomend an eliptical machine. That is my favorite to use.

wyatt631

Okies. Thanks. I suspect I might be making several mistakes. Firstly, I'm not eating enough protein. Secondly, I've been trying to eat 3 meals a day (in order to follow the received wisdom that you need to eat more earlier in the day to prevent being hungry and gorging later) and it just doesn't work for me. Regardless of what I eat, I am STARVING at 2pm, and again at about 8pm. I think I just need to eat at these times and stop eating breakfast (except for maybe some green tea, or half an unsweetened grapefruit). I'm never hungry in the mornings anyway.

I'm also one of life's grazers, but I think I need to limit my mini meals at 100 calories a pop (I eat a lot of salmon and olives, for example, and it's so easy to just nom your way over, especially on the salmon). I also need to stop eating those weightwatchers ready meals. I started eating them when my other half would make himself junk food, and he wanted company eating. He'd complain if I joined him and ate rabbit food, so those meals were great because they looked like proper meals, but were only 250 calories. It's too much food in one go for me though, plus it's probably full of additives. I had the lasagne last night for dinner and felt sick afterwards. Then at 8pm I was hungry again (naturally). The question is how to balance my actual hunger with the social side of eating.

I also have a choice of two paths. I find that when I'm hungry, the best way to fight that is to either eat 200-300 g of raspberries (raspberries seem to work better than other berries... I don't know why), or to eat a crumpet with butter. I try to avoid processed carbs usually, but I confess that I usually give into the temptation of either one slice of bread with nutella (a whopping 180 calories) or one crumpet with butter (113 calories) every day. I can either accept this, or try a new diet approach. The paleo diet was suggested to me by a few people. However, I love dairy (tea with milk, and cauliflower/broccoli cheese, are real weaknesses of mine), and I'm not sure how I'd cope without bread/crumpets/fruit during my hungry periods. That said, I would only have to cut fruit for the first two weeks...

I think people are probably right that I need to look at what I'm eating and at what times I'm eating it. However, this still won't solve the problem of creating enough of a calorie deficit. It won't really solve the long term exercise problems either. In the longest term, I would love to get a cross trainer, but I live in an absolutely minute cottage, so it would have to wait until I lived somewhere it would actually fit without blocking a door (!). This was the problem when I got an exercise ball to do my spinal exercises on. Every time I wanted to use it, I had to move some of the furniture out of the room to create enough space, and it was a pain in the backside. I do think a lot of people struggle to go to the gym though.... it's not just me. For example, my total commute to and from work is a little over 3 hours a day. I tried to go to the gym near where I work, but like I said, once you've changed twice, showered, and left to go home, you're not getting home until after 9pm and it's just too much for me (this is considered an above average, but not excessive, commute where I am). Hopefully I can change jobs after 18 months to make life easier.

People are dead wrong when they say 1,200 is always too few calories, or 1,400 is not enough maintenance calories. You only need to be around the 5 foot tall mark and have a BMI of around 20 (my goal) to hit the types of figures I mentioned in my last post. Just do the maths yourself using the same equations you use for your own weight, and you'll see for yourself. Now, my weight did used to be stable for many years. I did this by eating no bread, potatoes, rice, pasta, crisps, chocolate, sweets etc etc, eating two meals a day of fish and vegetables, and working out for two hours every day. I also had the occasional piece of meat and fruit. I don't want to be that obsessive again though (I used to weigh my protein in order to make sure I was getting enough grams to maintain my muscle mass... can you believe it?), and I realise that this means I won't be as slim. C'est la vie. I miss being really hot though... I used to have a four pack and everything. But those days are gone...

It all went wrong when I got a boyfriend and started cooking for him and being tempted by some of his food... a bit of broccoli with stilton here... a teaspoon of mashed potato there. Then, after I fractured my spine (it took me two years to recover), it all spiraled out of control. I kept trying to get back into exercise by running, and the impact eventually caused fractures to my shins, and split the backs of both kneecaps. I was lucky enough to avoid surgery... however, these problems have accelerated my arthritis. No problems when it's warm, but I've been suffering during the cold weather. I suppose PPs are right when they suggest swimming, although I'm a bit worried about the damage to my hair (I dye my hair brown, because I have quite a lot of white hair, and the chlorine turns it green).

... I'll try and eat cleaner for a month to see if that makes a difference. Who knows? Maybe I'll feel so full if I only eat fish, lean meat, veg, and a bit of fruit that I'll cut back to 1,000 calories automatically. It'll be the death of my social life, though! In the UK, your social life revolves around eating out and going to the pub...

asarwe

As someone who spends a lot of time in chlorinated water: If your hair goes green (it may, it may not) it could be because of the dye you use. I've only ever heard of people with very light blonde or grey hair having it turn green. If you want to protect your hair, try using a swimcap and cover your hair in conditioner before putting it into the cap. Also: wash your hair before going in the pool! I know it sounds backward, but the chlorine reacts with dirt in your hair and on your body. Less dirt means less chlorine. And lastly: the water may be treated with something else than chlorine. In Sweden most pools use iodine instead. Much kinder on hair and skin.

Devil6972

I am a chronic grazer as well...but I learned to graze on raw fresh veggies Protein will fill you up and keep you fuller longer. I do not crave carbs like I used to...I actually feel better without them. Good luck! I am sure you will figure this out. You have to do what works for YOU not what works for everyone else.

brittamh

You don't need a gym to get exercise. Step outside and go for a walk or run. Or check out some exercises you can do in your own living room.

cgarand

Check out bodybuilding.com and the Jaime Eason 12 week weight training program. You can do it at home, I modified the workouts so I can use 10 lb dumbells. You will build a little muscle (you won't bulk up, don't worry) so you will burn more calories at rest. And, your arms and shoulders will look amazing in your gown. Congratulations!

treagal

We are all busy.
I go at lunch, don't care if I stink afterwords, and keep the same workout close for the entire week.