Confused

Ayne6246
Ayne6246 Posts: 37 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Ok so here it is....I'mm 66 years old and have battled overwieght since I was 11. Well, to clarify from age 19-31 I was actually thin (just felt fat because I was told I was fat for so many years) but after my last child was born when I was 35 I started gaining a little at a time then would lose then gain again with no rhyme or reason to the pattern. I was a nurse for 30 years so did a lot of walking on the job, worked nights and got accustomed to eating only once or twice a day. I retired 5 years ago. Anyway....I've gained 30# over the last year or so, partly because I've not been very active due to severe arthritis in my knees which has limited my activity. I know stress is a factor in weight gain so it is a ficioius cycle.....family stress, stress over weight gain = more weight gain.

I've been doing the AdvoCare 24 day challenge, today is my last day, and have managed to get in at least 30 minutes of low impact aerobics (either Advocare "Can You 24?" or Richard Simmons Sweatin to the Oldies) almost every day. I've been tracking on this site for a week now and I'm getting very confused. I have a very hard time getting in all the calories they say I need. It says for me to lose, I need to limit calories to 1200/day but when I add in the exercise it ups the calories required. Am I doing this right???? I have gained back the 4# I had lost during the challenge AND most of the inches I had lost. Maybe the problem is trying to do the AdvoCare low carb-High protein and this program at the same time??? I do my official measurements & weight-in for AdvoCare tomorrow.

Replies

  • Mokey41
    Mokey41 Posts: 5,769 Member
    Forget about Advocare and all the other quick fix diets. Set a reasonable goal, track all your food intake and learn healthy eating.
  • Ayne6246
    Ayne6246 Posts: 37 Member
    Won't be doing the challenge again just sticking to possibly the vitamin packs and the Spark energy drink, I think. What I'm confused about is this site tells me that I need to consume 1200 calories to lose but when I add exercise, it tells me to add more calories. If I am adding back calories that I have exercised to burn, how am I going to lose weight?
  • JesterMFP
    JesterMFP Posts: 3,596 Member
    Won't be doing the challenge again just sticking to possibly the vitamin packs and the Spark energy drink, I think. What I'm confused about is this site tells me that I need to consume 1200 calories to lose but when I add exercise, it tells me to add more calories. If I am adding back calories that I have exercised to burn, how am I going to lose weight?
    The 1200 goal that MFP has given you already has a calorie deficit built in, so that even if you never exercise, you can still lose weight. MFP does not factor exercise into the calculation for your your calorie goal. The assumption is that any extra exercise you do - you log that and eat back the exercise calories. Otherwise, your calorie deficit may be too large, which would be counter-productive, especially long-term. If MFP had factored in exercise, it would have given you a higher goal.

Categories