Failed my first day calorie counting....

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Replies

  • betsij
    betsij Posts: 299 Member
    log it BEFORE you put it in your mouth

    amazing how this helps stop the mindless eating and hoping

    Every time I go into a forum I love your comments!
  • UKMarjie
    UKMarjie Posts: 257 Member
    Pretty much same here. When I first started a diary and weiging and measuring food, I didn't make any real changes initially. I wanted to use the first couple weeks for education...see what I was eating and where I was going wrong, not only in RE to my calories, but also in RE to other things I needed to watch (i.e. processed sugars, sodium, saturated fats) due to health concerns and my doc putting a foot up my *kitten*. I started disecting my diet and was pretty well on track within about a week and a half.

    Also, I had to play with my calories a bit. I found MFP's recs to be a bit low for me and I upped them and losing about a pound per week, which is my goal. Obviously I was never at the 1,200 level, but just an FYI, it can be a bit much for some and completely unnecessary in most cases. I know the urge to just jump right in and go all out and lose as much as possible as fast as possible...but trust me, you will find more success in going slow and low and you'll be more likely to make lasting habits going forward to maintenance.

    THIS!
  • nashsheri33
    nashsheri33 Posts: 225 Member
    I am really proud of you for posting everything you ate. i have been tempted to 'forget' to post something that wasn't a good food choice. i admire your committment.
    i also agree that 1200 calories a day would be too much of a hardship. not an impossibility, but it definitely seems like torture, and maybe even foolish, if you are working out! your car won't go anywhere with no gas, and your body won't go with no food. i think you were wise to raise the number to a more reasonable one. the best number is the one you can stick with.
    by the way, i don't believe you failed. you counted your calories, and that's the point. maybe you feel bad about consuming too many calories, but please forgive yourself and remember that every day is a new beginning.
    keep up the good work.!
  • krissielynn87
    krissielynn87 Posts: 214 Member
    I pre-log as much as possible. Especially on days I don't go to the gym or plan on doing anything extraordinary. It seems to be helping me. I find that weekends are much harder for me to do than anything
  • nicleed
    nicleed Posts: 247 Member
    Thanks for the support guys....I've only got about 12 pounds to lose so I've changed my weight loss goal to 1 and a half pounds per week which has upped my calories to 1370 which is more realistic.....especially if I am going to be adding exercise into the mix too. I'll see if I can stick to 1370 tomorrow! No quitting! lol

    Hi there and welcome.

    Just a couple of points. If you only have 12 pounds to lose, try setting your goals to 1 or even .5 pound a week. Yes, it will take longer, but you will be SO, SO much more content. When I first started, I had about 20 pounds to lose, set my goals at 2pd a week, MFP gave me 1200 cals and I was STARVING and STABBY. Someone pointed me to this: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/804485-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12 and I started upping cals. In the end, I lost the weight (and a couple of pounds more) in about 4.5 months eating around 1700 a day. And didn't have to give up any treats, just limited them. and I prelogged main meals so I knew if I had leftover cals for "treats"

    Also, given that a 2 pound weightloss a week is 1000 cal deficit, 1800 was still likely to be under your TDEE (the amount of cals you use going about your day-to-day activities), so yay you!
  • Rays_Wife
    Rays_Wife Posts: 1,173 Member
    I always count up how many calories is in something first, then decide if I want to "spend" my calories on it. Now that I've been at this awhile, it's pretty much like second nature to me. It is tough at first learning how to log food, but once you get the hang of it, things go very smoothly. You will start to build up foods you normally eat on a regular basis that MFP will save for you and after some time it becomes just a matter of clicking boxes off. Logging my food literally takes me 10 minutes a day. If I decide to plan my day, maybe 15.

    So don't worry, you will learn and it will get easier. It's normal to "mess up" at first but you are doing great. You are trying! That is the first step. And I agree with others that with only 12 pounds to lose you should set your goals to .5 pounds-1 pound a week. That will make it easier and most sustainable for you. Then when you reach your goal it will be easier to maintain. Plus you'll retain more of your muscle that way :smile:

    If you really want to get into the nitty gritty of it all, I recommend this link to figuring out your maintainance calories and BMR :
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12

    You should be eating somewhere between your BMR and your TDEE (maintenance). I'd say 10-15% below TDEE given the small amount of weight you'd like to lose. Good luck, I hope that helps!

    ETA looks like someone beat me to posting the Roadmap link LOL! Good job nicleed.
  • bronnyd
    bronnyd Posts: 278 Member
    log it BEFORE you put it in your mouth

    amazing how this helps stop the mindless eating and hoping

    Yes, this is really good advice. Especially with snacks, I always log it before I eat it. I like to see how much my afternoon snack is going to cost me and cut in to what I can have for dinner.
  • Surreallia
    Surreallia Posts: 16
    log it BEFORE you put it in your mouth

    amazing how this helps stop the mindless eating and hoping


    Sounds like good advice to me!

    LOVE this. 2 days in and let me tell you... I added in an iced capp from timmy's and wouldn't even finish it because I saw the calorie jump in my diary =(
  • mathematical2011
    mathematical2011 Posts: 55 Member
    I agree with what others have said!

    Also, I see that baby in your picture! If the baby is yours and you're breast feeding, you need to consume calories for that too! It's in the database as negative calories.
  • bronnyd
    bronnyd Posts: 278 Member
    log it BEFORE you put it in your mouth

    amazing how this helps stop the mindless eating and hoping


    Sounds like good advice to me!

    LOVE this. 2 days in and let me tell you... I added in an iced capp from timmy's and wouldn't even finish it because I saw the calorie jump in my diary =(

    Those things are addictive but EXPENSIVE in the calorie department! After a while you'll start to get a knack for knowing what is worth spending your calories on and what is not. :smile:
  • UKMarjie
    UKMarjie Posts: 257 Member
    log it BEFORE you put it in your mouth

    amazing how this helps stop the mindless eating and hoping


    Sounds like good advice to me!

    LOVE this. 2 days in and let me tell you... I added in an iced capp from timmy's and wouldn't even finish it because I saw the calorie jump in my diary =(

    It is amazing how this helps with your willpower. My husband is amazed at what I can resist...and all because of the numbers in the log.
  • Lainn
    Lainn Posts: 281 Member
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/Lainn?month=201110

    My very first blog post was about this exact thing.
  • Ready2Rock206
    Ready2Rock206 Posts: 9,487 Member
    if you logged all 1800 calories you didn't fail! For your first day just logging everything is great. Don't try and be perfect right out of the gate - baby steps. And I agree w/the others 1200 is really low and HARD to stick to.
  • Pekelder
    Pekelder Posts: 5
    Starting MFP definitely changed the way I grocery shopped and cooked. Whenever I go over my calories, it seems to be from snacking too much. What I found helps for me is to type in all of my main meals in the morning before I actually eat any of them, then I have an idea of how many calories I have left over for snacks throughout the day. You can add me as a friend and I'll try to shoot some extra motivation your way! Don't give up :)

    Hm perhaps not such a bad tip after all...

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