New and need help!

ljayy30
ljayy30 Posts: 3
in Introduce Yourself
Hi,
I've been using my fitness pal for around 2 weeks. I have decided today that it's time to get serious about it (after a blow out weekend) I find it hard to stay under my target of 1200 calories a day, but think as long as I am eating less than before I started tracking (2500 a day) I should see results :-) .

Looking for some people to add to keep me motivated and get ideas from.

Thanks

Replies

  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
    Hey - feel free to add me if you like....

    Are you working out/exercising too or just cutting calories...? That is a pretty drastic calorie cut. Do you have a plan? I.E six small meals a day of 200 calories each or three big meals of 400...?
  • ljayy30
    ljayy30 Posts: 3
    I'm just going by the target my fitness pal set, is that not right?
    I have heard its better to eat lots of small meals during the day, but my lifestyle makes this hard and I tend to snack on fruit until lunch have a smallish lunch and a large dinner.
    I have joined a gym and now do around 35 mins cardio/ weights 3 times a week ( for past 2 weeks).
    Any advice would be great!
  • lovecriminal
    lovecriminal Posts: 41 Member
    I prefer eating lots of small meals during the day, but once you get used to it you can go on with 3 meals plus less than 50 calories snacks to munch on when you are hungry. I started off with 5 days a week and now do 30 mins cardio thrice a week.

    I had some hefty lunch / dinner during the weekends - but still was able to stick on to target set by fitness pal. I recommend saving some calories on Friday night as I am prone to hanging out with friends on Friday night. I need lot of help on that part.

    Please add me as a friend if you like.
  • Absref71
    Absref71 Posts: 75 Member
    Dropping from 2500 to 1200 calories is incredibly unhealthy. It is way too big and will affect your body badly, you need to start at a higher calorie limit and slowly reduce them. Try g down 200 calories a week until you start seeing results and then stuck there 4 a bit
  • uneek84
    uneek84 Posts: 7
    Hey there I myself went from 2500 a day all the way down to 1200 a day. I started getting bad headaches so I moved it up to 1560 a day and I exercise ALOT. In 3 weeks I've lost 15 pounds. I'm new here too please feel free to add me. I could use any advice and some motivation. lol
  • AmberShinn1
    AmberShinn1 Posts: 5 Member
    With my family having thyroid and diabetic problems, so I have been to way too many dieticians. Basically, your goal should be to eat around 5 to 6 meals a day. The word "meal" is a VERY loose term. It should go like this: breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, dinner, and something later if you would wish. The fruit you snack on before lunch is perfect. That is considered a "meal" for your snack. If you start eating every 2 hours then your metabolism will speed up and it will be easier to burn weight. However, until you get used to it you are going to feel like you're hungry all of the time.
    1200 calories a day is the lowest you can go. Most dieticians say that if you eat less than that amount you can actually gain weight because your body will start to store fat. Personally, I've found that diets only work if you can let yourself cheat every so often. Once every other week, or even once a week. I don't mean cheat by eating terrible food all day or eating a whole pizza. But maybe for one meal you eat french fries, or you get that dessert that you really wanted. And if you are working out it helps so much because if you did cheat once a week, your working out should help out with that.
    I hope this helps out :)

    And they are right with dropping your calories that durastic and that quickly. I dropped down to 1200 and I got sick because it threw my body into shock. Going down slowly is much better and you will feel better about it too.
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
    Dropping from 2500 to 1200 calories is incredibly unhealthy. It is way too big and will affect your body badly, you need to start at a higher calorie limit and slowly reduce them. Try g down 200 calories a week until you start seeing results and then stuck there 4 a bit

    I tend to agree with this. You said that your schedule does not allow for small meals a day..why not? I work in an office and I just store my meals in the fridge or in my desk...sample day for me..

    meal 1 - breakfast (three eggs, cup egg whites, oatmeal unflavored with blueberries and strawberries)
    meal 2 - greek yogurt plain
    meal 3 - 7 ounces chicken breast/turkey etc
    meal 4 - protein bar
    post work out shake
    meal five - 5-7 ounces fish/chicken/meat with vegetable
    meal six - protein shake

    Keep in mind that I am trying to get about 2000 to 2200 calories a day because I am trying to keep muscle and cut body fat...so your meals will be smaller. I would try and load up on carbs in morning and afternoon and not have carbs at night. Try and set up your six meals on 1800 calories. So for your three main meals go with about 400 to 500 calories and then fill in your snack with your remaining calorie requirement.

    As far as work out. Go with three days strength training and two to three days cardio....adding muscle will help burn calories....

    Good luck!
  • ljayy30
    ljayy30 Posts: 3
    I'm a teacher and need break time to set up in a new class due to way timetable work ( not able to eat in front of class!)

    A new day on this diet looks like this:

    Breakfast: banana
    Snack: yoghurt or apple
    Lunch: lettuce with a. Chicken breast, piece of fruit and a yoghurt
    Dinner: usually chicken curry ( homemade with spices an tomatoes, not cream, butter or lots of oils) 100g of rice and 1 slice garlic bread.
    Snack: handful grapes

    So I should eat over the goal that my fitness pal has set?
  • hughtwalker
    hughtwalker Posts: 2,213 Member
    Are you sure it set 1,200 as your upper limit - it usually tells me off when I eat less than 1,200

    What is your BMR? (There are many websites with a calculator program for this - I don't know how reliable they are, check out a few and see if there is much variation)
    Your Basal Metabolic Rate will tell you how much you need just to wake up the same after a night's sleep.

    If you weren't big as the proverbial house on 2,500 then I don't see how you can function on 1,200

    - but I am not an expert [but be careful because some of the dis-information disseminated through these boards indicates that I may not be alone in this but may be a rare species by knowing that I am not]

    ooops! There is BMR calculator in "Tools" on this site - I should have known because I seem to have used it.
  • Absref71
    Absref71 Posts: 75 Member
    Google basal metabolic rate and use one of the calculators that pops up to get your real numbers. Swop your banana in the morning for oats firstly, a banana is not enough and sandwiches on wholewheat bread with ham are filling and easy to eat whenever you have a little time
  • Minaen
    Minaen Posts: 52
    I'm new here and extremely lazy... I want to get fit and strengthen my body as well. I think if I have more friends and some encouragement it may push that extra little bit of motivation I need to succeed. :) all friends welcome
  • TakeMeDrunkImHome
    TakeMeDrunkImHome Posts: 6 Member
    I'm new to all this as well I am currently trying to gain weight, any ideas or people in the same position please feel free to get in touch, my wife is currently on an intake of 1200 calories and I would be extremely worried if she decided to go any lower than that, such a drop would surely leave you weak and unhealthy completely evading the point wouldn't it????
  • LovetheNewMe
    LovetheNewMe Posts: 29 Member
    I'm a teacher and need break time to set up in a new class due to way timetable work ( not able to eat in front of class!)

    A new day on this diet looks like this:

    Breakfast: banana
    Snack: yoghurt or apple
    Lunch: lettuce with a. Chicken breast, piece of fruit and a yoghurt
    Dinner: usually chicken curry ( homemade with spices an tomatoes, not cream, butter or lots of oils) 100g of rice and 1 slice garlic bread.
    Snack: handful grapes

    So I should eat over the goal that my fitness pal has set?
    Not an expert but you are not eating any protein before your lunch meal. Morning meal should consist of some carbs. I eat around 1200 calories a day and this is what a day looks like for me.
    Breakfast: Oatmeal with 3 egg whites, 1/4 cup Blueberries and 2 Pecan Halves
    Snack: Protein Bar or Shake
    Lunch: 4 ozs Chicken or Fish, Green Veggie and Brown rice or Sweet potato
    Snack: Protein Shake
    Dinner: 4 ozs lean protein and veggies

    I do strengh training 3 days a week and cardio 3 days a week. I take Sundays off.

    While I was trying to lose weight I did not eat my exercise calories back and I did cardio 4-5 days a week but since I am 5 lbs from my goal I am trying to build muscle and it is important for me to get my protein in. Also if you would add some protein to your morning meal or snack you will find you are less hungry and have more energy.

    Good luck!
  • katejkelley
    katejkelley Posts: 839 Member
    Feel free to add me!
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
    I'm a teacher and need break time to set up in a new class due to way timetable work ( not able to eat in front of class!)

    A new day on this diet looks like this:

    Breakfast: banana
    Snack: yoghurt or apple
    Lunch: lettuce with a. Chicken breast, piece of fruit and a yoghurt
    Dinner: usually chicken curry ( homemade with spices an tomatoes, not cream, butter or lots of oils) 100g of rice and 1 slice garlic bread.
    Snack: handful grapes

    So I should eat over the goal that my fitness pal has set?

    this looks pretty good. Like a previous post said swap out the banana for breakfast with oatmeal and some fruit or eggs and some wheat toast. Carbs are energy so you should try and load up on them in the morning. For the first few months that you are dieting I would try to avoid carbs at night. Reason for this is that when carbs are not used for energy your body stores them as fat and in the evening your body starts to slow down so additional carbs are stored as fat - yikes! :)

    For dinner I would go chicken and vegetables and mix in some fish every once in a while too...

    I would replace the grape snack with a protein shake..it will satiate you through the night...

    Oh and once a week have whatever the hell you want..you need to reward yourself!
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
    I'm new to all this as well I am currently trying to gain weight, any ideas or people in the same position please feel free to get in touch, my wife is currently on an intake of 1200 calories and I would be extremely worried if she decided to go any lower than that, such a drop would surely leave you weak and unhealthy completely evading the point wouldn't it????

    i believe woman calorie intake is a little different then men...so 1200 might not be that drastic...does she work out too?

    is the weight gain for you or for your wife?
  • beesbabe
    beesbabe Posts: 3
    I'm fairly new as well and am trying to make major lifestyle changes please, anyone, feel free to add me.:smile:
  • TakeMeDrunkImHome
    TakeMeDrunkImHome Posts: 6 Member
    I'm new to all this as well I am currently trying to gain weight, any ideas or people in the same position please feel free to get in touch, my wife is currently on an intake of 1200 calories and I would be extremely worried if she decided to go any lower than that, such a drop would surely leave you weak and unhealthy completely evading the point wouldn't it????

    i believe woman calorie intake is a little different then men...so 1200 might not be that drastic...does she work out too?

    is the weight gain for you or for your wife?


    The weight gain is for me...I'm not currently underweight infact far from it..I would like to gain weight then tone it up weight training,my comment about my wife was merely how I would feel if she was to drop to such drastic levels,she currently is on 1200 and it suits her and her routine
  • sharleengc
    sharleengc Posts: 792 Member
    If your goal is 1200...you should aim to be right at 1200 not under it. 1200 is the lowest recommended for anyone and you shouldn't stay consistently under it. 1200 can be done, I did it for a long time before I upped mine (I am now at 1310).

    You can add me if you want. I'm on here all the time!
  • mejulie999
    mejulie999 Posts: 2
    Hi there you can add me if you like. I need to lose a stone and a half and i find that incorporating excercise into as many days as possible helps. Today i walked for 30 mins and mowed the lawn and that is almost 300 calories lost in excercise and that meant i was allowed 1500 calories today and will still lose. I hate the gym and i dislike exercise but i do enjoy walking so might be wise to find something you enjoy doing as your form of excercise. If you are consuming about 2,500 then 1,200 is a drastic cut. Check out how much you need to cut down to for the start and then slowly reduce
  • mejulie999
    mejulie999 Posts: 2
    Hi you can dd me if yo would like
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
    I'm new to all this as well I am currently trying to gain weight, any ideas or people in the same position please feel free to get in touch, my wife is currently on an intake of 1200 calories and I would be extremely worried if she decided to go any lower than that, such a drop would surely leave you weak and unhealthy completely evading the point wouldn't it????

    i believe woman calorie intake is a little different then men...so 1200 might not be that drastic...does she work out too?

    is the weight gain for you or for your wife?


    The weight gain is for me...I'm not currently underweight infact far from it..I would like to gain weight then tone it up weight training,my comment about my wife was merely how I would feel if she was to drop to such drastic levels,she currently is on 1200 and it suits her and her routine

    Ok got ya. I am not an expert, but most of the reading I have done on this subject is that you should drop the weight and body fat first and then go for tone up. I believe the reasoning behind this is that if you are working out to bulk up you have to consume a lot of calories. I am 167 pds and work out 5-6 hours a week so they say that I should eat about 2600 to 3000 calories a day to maintain that weight. I am currently trying to cut body fat % so I am cycling carbs and doing about 2000 t o 2200 calories a day.

    If you try and eat more and bulk up at same time, you are probably just going to put on more weight and some body fat which is counter productive.

    If I were you I spend about six months dropping weight and body fat and then bulk up. Or you could work out with bigger weights but cut your calories down..this should tone you up and lose body fat/weight at same time.

    Checkout this article -http://workoutlab.net/building-muscle-and-burning-fat-simultaneously-is-it-possible/

    You may want to start with this and see how it goes...I am doing this now for about two weeks and have dropped about two pounds and 1% body fat....

    Some other people on here might have some suggestions for you as well...

    feel free to add me...

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