Confused and Frustrated

Jred36

I'm confused on what I should be doing as far as eating so I get frustrated and make bad choices. I drink protein shakes and have seen results with that. I originally lost 25 pounds in 90 days with the shakes, then I quit smoking and gained back 7 pounds. I have lost only about a pound of that. Some people tell me to eat more calories, others say only eat 20 carbs a day and more protein, paleo diet, only eat 1,200 calories, take your BMR and subtract 500 and that is the amount of calories I should consume, eat only vegetables, the list goes on and on. I'm looking for guidance from people who have lost a lot of weight and realize that some will probably advise from what I just said I have been told before. I do know I need to get in more exercise and realize you need to eat back those calories. Maybe this is more venting out of frustration.

Jerrypeoples

i dont know if it is the right word to use or not but the "mistake" you are making is the trying of all the diets (this is just my personal opinion)

diets have an expiration date. you have to change the way you eat. 8 months ago i cut fast food completely out of my life. i am not going to lie and say i dont miss them cause let me tell you, a double whopper with cheese no tomato tastes a whole lot better than chicken and rice and anyone who says different is lying.

just this past week i have given up my other vice, diet soft drinks. i was never much of a candy eater or ice cream eater so i dont worry about those.

the key is to just start making wiser choices in what you eat and use to nourish your body and finding out what works for you. eat less calories always seems like the smart choice to lose weight in conjunction with exercising. the problem is if you eat to little your body goes into defensive mode and turns to muscle as its power source instead of the stored energy we call fat.

so try to find a balance that will help you. MFP will give you a general outline and allow you to customize your new eating habits along with any exercise to reach your goal

dschassie

I know how overwhelming it can be in the beginning. I started this journey in September last year and I have learned so much on the way. Here are some of the main key points that might help you out:

BMR
You use energy no matter what you're doing, even when sleeping. Your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) is the number of calories you'd burn if you stayed in bed all day. Since this number is calculated using your age and current weight, it is important to update this on a regular basis if planning on losing a lot of weight.

http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/

TDEE
A formula that uses your BMR and then applies an activity factor to determine your Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE). The only factor omitted in this equation is lean body mass. Leaner bodies need more calories than less leaner ones. Therefore, this equation will be very accurate in all but the very muscular (will under-estimate calorie needs) and the very fat (will over-estimate calorie needs). Your TDEE is the amount of calories you need to MAINTAIN your body weight.

- If you exercise regularly and routinely do the same workouts, you can choose a higher activity level. This means that you would not log your workouts in MFP as you already included them in your TDEE number.
- If you set your activity level to “sedentary” but you work out at the gym, log your work outs

http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/harris-benedict-equation/

Setting a daily calorie goal for MFP
You will get a lot of different answers here as to what number is the best number, here are two methods:

- When setting up MFP, it automatically calculates your TDEE. When you then select the amount of weight you want to lose per week, it subtracts the calories it takes to burn those pounds from your TDEE and thus provides you with a suggested number.

Example: I am 5’4”, weighed 236 pounds and was 30 years old when I started. My BMR at that point was 1,841. With a desk job, my activity level is sedentary so you multiply your BMR by 1.2. This gives me a TDEE of 2,209. I wanted to lose 2 pounds a week. It takes your body 3,500 calories to lose 1 pound of fat so I would need to create a weekly deficit of 7,000 calories. My daily TDEE x 7 days a week= 15,464 calories a week. 15,464 calories minus a 7,000 deficit = 8,464 calories a week which comes out to 1,209 a day. That’s what MFP automatically calculated for me.

- Another common method is to use your TDEE number and set your goal as a percentage of the TDEE. If you are starting with a BMI (Body Mass Index http://nhlbisupport.com/bmi/) of “obese” with a lot of weight to lose, you might use your TDEE – 30%, once your BMI changes to “overweight”, make sure to update your numbers and possibly adjust to TDEE-20%.

*Please note that it is not recommend to go below 1,200 a day for females. MFP’s default settings will not go below 1,200 when you set up your account.

Workout Calories
If you picked an “active” activity level on MFP when you first set up your account or when you calculated your TDEE, the workout calories are already figured into you daily calorie allotment. Picking “active” it assumes you will be working out consistently. This means you do not log your workouts and you don’t eat back any “extra” calories.

If you are using a calorie goal that doesn’t have workouts figured into the number and you end up logging your workouts separately, eat the calories back.

*A personal note; no machine at the gym or pre-sets in MFP will give you a 100% accurate reading on how many calories you burned, neither will an HRM (Heart Rate Monitor). I decided to only a certain amount of my workout calories back.*

And here is another great resource if you need more reading material:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12

Best wishes, let me know if you have questions!

AmyRhubarb

Yep, diets are temporary, changing the way you eat is key, so it needs to be something you can stick with, or once you're "done" with whatever diet, the weight comes right back.

Tracking your food is key. MFP works great and it's simple - enter your info, including a realistic weight loss goal (meaning if you've only got 20lbs to lose, don't choose 2lbs a week - that's too agressive, 1lb a week is better). Then track all your food, log your exercise, and eat what you're supposed to - meaning eat to goal, or close to it, and eat those exercise calories as well - MFP is set up that even before exercise, your daily goal has a deficit, so you would lose weight eating to goal even without exercise. Not eating them back creates too large a deficit, which is no good.

In tracking your food, try to meet your goals for your macros as well, carbs, fat & protein are important. If you tend to eat a lot of salty foods, add sodium to your tracking as well. Over time, you can see where you're lacking - if you are always low on protein, work on ways to add more of it to your day. If sodium is through the roof, drink more water for one thing, and figure out which foods are loading you up. Either cut down on those items, or find a lower sodium alternative. Get your healthy fats in too - avocado, nuts, olive and coconut oils are good sources.

It takes time - tracking my food was a huge step for me in seeing what sort of things I was eating that were working, and those that were not. I still eat the foods I enjoy, including burgers, pizza, desserts, pasta, rice, etc because I fit them into my goals.

Whatever you do, stick with it for at least 6 weeks before you decide whether or not it's working. Things don't change overnight and it takes time for the body to adjust to changes. Weight once a week or so, take measurements and photos - very often you won't see any movement on the scale, but will find that your body has been quietly dropping inches.

Hang in there!

tabbyrose727

I know how overwhelming it can be in the beginning. I started this journey in September last year and I have learned so much on the way. Here are some of the main key points that might help you out:

BMR
You use energy no matter what you're doing, even when sleeping. Your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) is the number of calories you'd burn if you stayed in bed all day. Since this number is calculated using your age and current weight, it is important to update this on a regular basis if planning on losing a lot of weight.

http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/

TDEE
A formula that uses your BMR and then applies an activity factor to determine your Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE). The only factor omitted in this equation is lean body mass. Leaner bodies need more calories than less leaner ones. Therefore, this equation will be very accurate in all but the very muscular (will under-estimate calorie needs) and the very fat (will over-estimate calorie needs). Your TDEE is the amount of calories you need to MAINTAIN your body weight.

- If you exercise regularly and routinely do the same workouts, you can choose a higher activity level. This means that you would not log your workouts in MFP as you already included them in your TDEE number.
- If you set your activity level to “sedentary” but you work out at the gym, log your work outs

http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/harris-benedict-equation/

Setting a daily calorie goal for MFP
You will get a lot of different answers here as to what number is the best number, here are two methods:

- When setting up MFP, it automatically calculates your TDEE. When you then select the amount of weight you want to lose per week, it subtracts the calories it takes to burn those pounds from your TDEE and thus provides you with a suggested number.

Example: I am 5’4”, weighed 236 pounds and was 30 years old when I started. My BMR at that point was 1,841. With a desk job, my activity level is sedentary so you multiply your BMR by 1.2. This gives me a TDEE of 2,209. I wanted to lose 2 pounds a week. It takes your body 3,500 calories to lose 1 pound of fat so I would need to create a weekly deficit of 7,000 calories. My daily TDEE x 7 days a week= 15,464 calories a week. 15,464 calories minus a 7,000 deficit = 8,464 calories a week which comes out to 1,209 a day. That’s what MFP automatically calculated for me.

- Another common method is to use your TDEE number and set your goal as a percentage of the TDEE. If you are starting with a BMI (Body Mass Index http://nhlbisupport.com/bmi/) of “obese” with a lot of weight to lose, you might use your TDEE – 30%, once your BMI changes to “overweight”, make sure to update your numbers and possibly adjust to TDEE-20%.

*Please note that it is not recommend to go below 1,200 a day for females. MFP’s default settings will not go below 1,200 when you set up your account.

Workout Calories
If you picked an “active” activity level on MFP when you first set up your account or when you calculated your TDEE, the workout calories are already figured into you daily calorie allotment. Picking “active” it assumes you will be working out consistently. This means you do not log your workouts and you don’t eat back any “extra” calories.

If you are using a calorie goal that doesn’t have workouts figured into the number and you end up logging your workouts separately, eat the calories back.

*A personal note; no machine at the gym or pre-sets in MFP will give you a 100% accurate reading on how many calories you burned, neither will an HRM (Heart Rate Monitor). I decided to only a certain amount of my workout calories back.*

And here is another great resource if you need more reading material:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12

Best wishes, let me know if you have questions!

This is the best & most thorough information I've gotten on MFP, thank you!!

Jred36

Thank you all for the responding and providing me this helpful information!!! I greatly appreciate it and will post updates as I continue on this journey!

Allegi32

This is what I did, and it's been working for me:

I picked a number, somewhat arbitrarily, somewhat guided by the TDEE calculator at fat2fitradio.com. And then I stayed around that number and saw what happened - did I lose, gain, stay the same? Was I super cranky and hungry? Was I stuffed (not likely!)?

You find what works for YOU. People choose to eat "cleaner" foods than others - some people don't. But in the end, it's calories in, calories out. It might take some trial and error, but you'll be able to make a lifelong change a lot easier when you take the time to figure out what works for you.