Looking for some advice! A bit confused 1 month in

Crawkins

Hey everyone! You all are very helpful and supportive on these boards, so I'm gonna jump in and ask for some help/advice.
I've been using MFP for about a month, and I'm definitely noticing a pattern since I've been keeping track of what I eat. I'm doing the 1200/cal/day, and for 4 or 5 days out of the week I'm keep very close to that and am totally satisfied. Out of nowhere, I'll wake up one morning and just stuff myself silly for no real reason. I guess I just have lots of cravings? Sometimes I'll go 2 days in a row eating 1800-2200 calories, then wake up the next morning and be back to normal. Is this considered binge eating? I have a 90% vegetarian diet because I don't like the taste of meat, so perhaps I have a vitamin deficiency my body is trying to make up for? I'm 22 years old and 5'4", so I'm pretty young and petite, so I shouldn't require a ton of calories, right? I'm looking to lose about 20 pounds over the next few months. Any helpful, encouraging advice is greatly appreciated! Thanks everyone.

michellekicks

First, I'd like to know how much you weigh now, as well as what your exercise/activity schedule looks like. Is your lifestyle factor set to "sedentary"?

Here's my first-glance guess: You set your target to lose maybe 2 lbs/week and MFP gave you that target. I think you probably don't have enough to lose that you should be able to support a 1000 calorie daily deficit since you only have 20 lbs to lose. I recommend you aim for a 1 lb per week loss and see how many more calories MFP gives you... maybe even 1/2 a pound.

EDIT: Okay, so it looks like you weigh about 130 lbs... Without any exercise you're probably burning about 1700 calories/day... my first assertion could be wrong. Are you set to 1 lb/week? Maybe change it to 1/2 a pound loss, which would put you at a daily goal of about 1450 instead of 1200. That might help...

concordancia

Are you eating back your exercise calories?

Will_Thrust_For_Candy

First, I'd like to know how much you weigh now, as well as what your exercise/activity schedule looks like. Is your lifestyle factor set to "sedentary"?

Here's my first-glance guess: You set your target to lose maybe 2 lbs/week and MFP gave you that target. I think you probably don't have enough to lose that you should be able to support a 1000 calorie daily deficit since you only have 20 lbs to lose. I recommend you aim for a 1 lb per week loss and see how many more calories MFP gives you... maybe even 1/2 a pound.

EDIT: Okay, so it looks like you weigh about 130 lbs... Without any exercise you're probably burning about 1700 calories/day... my first assertion could be wrong. Are you set to 1 lb/week? Maybe change it to 1/2 a pound loss, which would put you at a daily goal of about 1450 instead of 1200. That might help...
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This ^^^^

The other thing that I'm considering as well is how nutritious your diet is on your 1200 cal days. Have you eliminated any food groups (besides meat)? Where are you getting your protein from? While you may be able to lose eating anything, how satiated you feel will vary greatly based on how nutritious your food choices are.

Crawkins

First, I'd like to know how much you weigh now, as well as what your exercise/activity schedule looks like. Is your lifestyle factor set to "sedentary"?

Here's my first-glance guess: You set your target to lose maybe 2 lbs/week and MFP gave you that target. I think you probably don't have enough to lose that you should be able to support a 1000 calorie daily deficit since you only have 20 lbs to lose. I recommend you aim for a 1 lb per week loss and see how many more calories MFP gives you... maybe even 1/2 a pound.

EDIT: Okay, so it looks like you weigh about 130 lbs... Without any exercise you're probably burning about 1700 calories/day... my first assertion could be wrong. Are you set to 1 lb/week? Maybe change it to 1/2 a pound loss, which would put you at a daily goal of about 1450 instead of 1200. That might help...

Thanks for the reply!
Yes, I'm at about 130-135 right now and I'd say I live a "moderately sedentary" lifestyle lol. I work in an office, but I walk about 5 miles/week between going to the grocery store/bank/ect. Maybe 1/2 week would be more reasonable. I haven't weighed myself in a few weeks, but I think I'm about the same as when I started using MFP...

Crawkins

First, I'd like to know how much you weigh now, as well as what your exercise/activity schedule looks like. Is your lifestyle factor set to "sedentary"?

Here's my first-glance guess: You set your target to lose maybe 2 lbs/week and MFP gave you that target. I think you probably don't have enough to lose that you should be able to support a 1000 calorie daily deficit since you only have 20 lbs to lose. I recommend you aim for a 1 lb per week loss and see how many more calories MFP gives you... maybe even 1/2 a pound.

EDIT: Okay, so it looks like you weigh about 130 lbs... Without any exercise you're probably burning about 1700 calories/day... my first assertion could be wrong. Are you set to 1 lb/week? Maybe change it to 1/2 a pound loss, which would put you at a daily goal of about 1450 instead of 1200. That might help...
[/quote

This ^^^^

The other thing that I'm considering as well is how nutritious your diet is on your 1200 cal days. Have you eliminated any food groups (besides meat)? Where are you getting your protein from? While you may be able to lose eating anything, how satiated you feel will vary greatly based on how nutritious your food choices are.

I cut out soda, even though Diet was the only kind I ever drank. My diet is not that great. I eat lots of cheese (that's protein, right!?), pasta, and cereal. Since qutting soda, sugar cravings have been through the roof. I ate an entire take-out container of desserts from the Chinese buffet yesterday!

Will_Thrust_For_Candy

Cheese is a great source of protein but the pasta and cereal are definitely not the best bang for your buck....especially if you are eating a sugary cereal and most have quite a bit of sugar. You can still have those things, but I wouldn't rely on them. Try increasing your fruit for your sugar kick, eat more veg, whole grains, and definitely protein. If you don't care for meat (maybe you should try some different chicken recipes or something) eat eggs or tuna or fish. And drink a ton of water.

Crawkins

Thanks for all the tips! It's the mouth-feel of meat that gets me... I can eat some types of chicken, sometimes. And I hate eggs, so that is another great source I'm missing out on. I don't get my sugar from my cereal, thank goodness. I have bran flakes with dried fruit for breakfast most days and I think that's a pretty good nutrient/calorie balance.