asking for guidance - opened diaries.

marialydia

One thing I noticed is that you are eating one large meal, and using up a good half of your calories there.

My own experience -- and I have a long way to go but have lost 10kg/ 22 pounds so far in 3 months at age 60 -- is to space out the calories much more evenly. Also, it has really helped me not to eat after 7 or 7:30 PM most days; hard to do if you are eating out, but it does seem to speed things up. Finally, more vegetables and fruit could help. The weeks when I eat the most veg are the weeks when I lose best.

And, I agree with those who said you are eating too little; just suggest you need to jigger the timing and composition as well.

diannethegeek

One thing I noticed is that you are eating one large meal, and using up a good half of your calories there.

My own experience -- and I have a long way to go but have lost 10kg/ 22 pounds so far in 3 months at age 60 -- is to space out the calories much more evenly. Also, it has really helped me not to eat after 7 or 7:30 PM most days; hard to do if you are eating out, but it does seem to speed things up. Finally, more vegetables and fruit could help. The weeks when I eat the most veg are the weeks when I lose best.

And, I agree with those who said you are eating too little; just suggest you need to jigger the timing and composition as well.

Meal timing is irrelevant to weight loss. It doesn't matter when you eat your calories. As long as one big meal doesn't cause you to overeat at other times, keep it up.

sarahstrezo

Thanks. 1600 net is what I will shoot for. No way could I consume 2700 calories in a day, unless I sat down with a jar of peanut butter!

There is nothing wrong with sitting down with some PB to add in some calories!

michellesz

You have the right idea. I would limit your white starchy carbs like white bread, pizzas, pastas, shells & nachos for a treat day & try to get your protein up from eating fresh chicken, turkey, tuna, fish, beans & dairy. Make sure you eat a good breakfast to start your day & make sure you drink at least 8 glasses of water or more. A good rule of thumb is to start at the 1200+ calories & eat back about 1/2 of your workout calories. If you were to burn say 500 calories a day, you will eat around 1450 while trying to stay within the allotted carbs, proteins, fats etc. You can always work with how much of the exercise calories you eat back. That's how I steadily lost 48 pounds in almost 26 weeks healthily losing 1-2 pounds a week. Healthy diet & cardio & strength training were my workout as well as aerobic activity. I started with 1200 & ate 1/2 back, then all back & now I am maintaining at around 2,000 calories a day. I also would suggest not using quick added calories as that may be your culprit. They only add calories, but never add a calculation for carbs, fats etc. therefore having it look like your under but you're probably over in all the other areas. I would also suggest adding sodium as a lot of what you are eating is processed and you will see those numbers are excessive & it will help you to control some of that. I know that helps me. Keep at it!

auddii

Thanks. 1600 net is what I will shoot for. No way could I consume 2700 calories in a day, unless I sat down with a jar of peanut butter!

There is nothing wrong with sitting down with some PB to add in some calories!

I do it daily

I'd be sure you are weighing everything you are eating. Anything that isn't a liquid should be weighed, not measured in spoons and cups. They are highly inaccurate (see link below).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVjWPclrWVY

Also you seem to have some strange measurements, like a third of an ounce of goat cheese and a tablespoon of almonds (that's what, 3?!) Be honest with yourself.

That said, I agree with what everyone is saying about eating more. MFP is giving you a total daily calorie goal, which is what you should be aiming to eat. And yes that number increases when you exercise. However, I think MFP tends to lie about calorie burns, so personally, I only counted 2/3 of the calories it told me. But I would eat those back. I've switched to the in place of a road map plan that someone else posted. This allows me to eat the same amount of calories every day, no matter what exercise I do. I started mid December, and as of today I've lost 12lbs switching to that plan. It's working for me, and I love eating a lot of calories.

fausonk

I do appreciate the help. I try to be accurate in what I record, and I do weigh most things (yes, it was a tablespoon of almonds, they were just sprinkled on a salad for some crunch, same with the goat cheese - just a little on the salad). I'm a little daunted at the idea of eating 1600 net calories a day... it's 3pm and I just looked and I'm only net 214 for the day! I can't imagine what I'd have to eat to get in another 1400 calories. Yikes!

auddii

I eat a total of 1850ish calories a day, every day regardless of any exercise I do because I based my calories on TDEE (total daily energy expenditure). Essentially it takes an average of all the calories you burn for a week and then you eat below that average. It's all explained in the road map post. I find it much easier than eating back calories.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12

You might find this method easier. Although I also don't do much cardio, which is why my TDEE is lower than some other people who exercise all the time (I do weight train 3x a week though). An easy solution is less cardio :laugh: (No seriously, one of the reasons to do a ton of cardio is to eat more; if you don't want to eat more, do less cardio.)

tennesseeleigh

I have no answers for you, just wanted to say that you can feel free to add me to view my diary. I am a soon to be 39 female, working out 4 x a week and eating about 1600 calories + exercise calories. Currently a size 14 trying to make it to a size 8.

sarahstrezo

I eat a total of 1850ish calories a day, every day regardless of any exercise I do because I based my calories on TDEE (total daily energy expenditure). Essentially it takes an average of all the calories you burn for a week and then you eat below that average. It's all explained in the road map post. I find it much easier than eating back calories.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12

You might find this method easier. Although I also don't do much cardio, which is why my TDEE is lower than some other people who exercise all the time (I do weight train 3x a week though). An easy solution is less cardio :laugh: (No seriously, one of the reasons to do a ton of cardio is to eat more; if you don't want to eat more, do less cardio.)

I just started doing the same thing....eating the same each day based off a small deficit of my TDEE. Although...I'm thinking that I'm going to up mine 100 cals a day. I'm so tired and worn out each afternoon and I think that's a sign, i need more fuel.

As for adding more cals...I just don't get where people have a problem with that. Eggs, Peanut Butter, Butter, Cheese, Nuts, Ice Cream, Pizza.......I could go on and on....

fausonk

In case anyone is still reading, I have another question... Looking at my BMR vs calorie expenditure, it was suggested I try to net 1600 calories a day. Other people suggested that the Road Map plan worked better for them because it was easier to follow. I logged in my information, and that suggested that I should eat 2400 calories a day for maintenance, take away 25% for weight loss, and I'm at 1800 calories gross for the day. On a day like today, though, that comes out to 1800 calories for one method, and over 2100 calories for the "eating back exercise" method. That's kind of a big difference. How do you reconcile?

concordancia

In case anyone is still reading, I have another question... Looking at my BMR vs calorie expenditure, it was suggested I try to net 1600 calories a day. Other people suggested that the Road Map plan worked better for them because it was easier to follow. I logged in my information, and that suggested that I should eat 2400 calories a day for maintenance, take away 25% for weight loss, and I'm at 1800 calories gross for the day. On a day like today, though, that comes out to 1800 calories for one method, and over 2100 calories for the "eating back exercise" method. That's kind of a big difference. How do you reconcile?

For one thing, you should only subtract 20%, so that brings the two numbers closer. Pick one and see how it works for you. Personally, I feel more hungry when I workout more, so I like the net calories method.

You calories burned will always be off, your calories eaten can be off by 20%, if you are eating packaged food. You don't know your actual BMR. Yet many of us still manage to lose weight with all of these variables because it all comes down to averages. You just have to play around a little to see what feels right or you.

auddii

In case anyone is still reading, I have another question... Looking at my BMR vs calorie expenditure, it was suggested I try to net 1600 calories a day. Other people suggested that the Road Map plan worked better for them because it was easier to follow. I logged in my information, and that suggested that I should eat 2400 calories a day for maintenance, take away 25% for weight loss, and I'm at 1800 calories gross for the day. On a day like today, though, that comes out to 1800 calories for one method, and over 2100 calories for the "eating back exercise" method. That's kind of a big difference. How do you reconcile?

With the eating back method you will have rest days that are much lower. It balances out in the end. The road map is looking a weekly deficit spread out evenly over each day, eating back is a similar weekly deficit amount, but the calories vary depending on the amount of exercise.

ETA: And I agree. With less than 50lbs to lose (according to your ticker), you should be at TDEE-20%