help im new and a bit confused

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bexboo
bexboo Posts: 6
in Introduce Yourself
Hello everybody please can you help me I want to lose weight and think the food diary may help as i am stuggling to lose anything in fact i gained a pound last week even though I am doing exersise at the gym 5 times a week . I also go badminton and netball. I think I eat healthy i have tom on brown toast in morning , low fat homemade veg soup with lentils for lunch and my dinner chicken with veg. my calorie intake on my home page says im allowed 3900 kcal, I thought i was only to have 1800? any tips kind regards x

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  • claire30
    claire30 Posts: 153
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    Hi Bexboo,
    ok, first of all, how long have you been working out for that long and eating right?
    I didnt lose any weight at all in the first 2 weeks that i started working out everyday..i was so disappointed, but carried on anyway, and lost 2lbs this week. You may not be losing weight, but you may be losing inches.
    Also, are you eating enough calories? You must (i presume you are female?) eat 1200 cals a day, or you wont lose weight anyway, as your body will go into starvation mode.
    The extra cals that you gain from exercise..its your choice to eat them or not. SOme people do, some people dont..its up to you, as there seems to be a divided opinion on this. Personally i dont, as i dont see the point.
  • bexboo
    bexboo Posts: 6
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    many thanks for your reply I have been doing this new healthy lifestyle since the 4th jan 2010, so not long I know but i am determined this time. I am still confused with why my calories say allowed up to 3900 a day surely this is incorrect or have i put something wrong in x
  • lotusfromthemud
    lotusfromthemud Posts: 5,335 Member
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    many thanks for your reply I have been doing this new healthy lifestyle since the 4th jan 2010, so not long I know but i am determined this time. I am still confused with why my calories say allowed up to 3900 a day surely this is incorrect or have i put something wrong in x

    You may want to double check all of your settings (height, weight, making sure that you've got the units of measurements you want (centimetres vs inches/pounds vs kilos) There have been a few people with some issues there.

    3900 seems a bit high, unless you are doing a lot of exercise or are carrying a lot of extra weight (bigger bodies need more calories just being bigger bodies).

    HTH.:flowerforyou:
  • Arienna
    Arienna Posts: 913
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    There was a post here recently that involved an article with Chalene Johnson on why sometimes people gain weight when they start working out before they lose it. Basically it came down to retaining water in your muscles. Anyway, it's a perfectly normal thing, don't give up!
  • gturfrey
    gturfrey Posts: 4
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    I am taking tesco slim aid pills with my diet. I have definately noticed as increase in passing water! which is one the effects of them, on the upside im drinking more water as a result which flushes toxins so cant be bad!
  • cassandra1220
    cassandra1220 Posts: 284 Member
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    Is the 1800 calories what MFP originally told you to eat? If so (that does seem a bit high), then anything extra is exercise calories which you can elect to eat...or not. Check your goals and make sure that you have selected "lose a pound a week" and not GAIN a pound per week (it is an option).

    I don't log in my exercise calories so that I make sure that I stay within the goals that MFP sets for me. Maybe that will work for you too! It's hard for us to identify an issue without all of your info, but from what you are saying it seems like you are doing a great job. Keep in mind that exercise builds muscle which might be the source of your weight gain, but don't worry...that too will even itself out.

    Whatever you do, don't get frustrated. Keep doing what you say you are doing and you can't fail. Best of luck!
  • SammiAnne11
    SammiAnne11 Posts: 158 Member
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    Also, make sure to do measurments with a tape measure. Even when the scale doesn't budge, the measurements will tell the true story. Plus if you are feeling better, you know it is working!
    Keep up the great work!
  • mdseevers
    mdseevers Posts: 11
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    When you workout on tredmill or other machines, look at the cals. burned, you will find that many times the cal. on here are higher than the machine. I started using the machine count. 3900 is way high, I suggest staying around 2000 a day.

    If you don't already have it, get the book "Body for Life" It has a lot of great tips on eating correctly as well as healthy. You can also visit the website at: www.bodyforlife.com

    Good luck
  • bexboo
    bexboo Posts: 6
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    thanks for all your hint and encouragement everybody, and yes i did put the wrong stats in now im back to 1500 kcal a day. You all game me a boost to go gym again today so thanks x
  • mdseevers
    mdseevers Posts: 11
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    Hello,

    A great book to read is Body For Life, I lost over 45 lbs. with that book. I began to workout about 9 weeks ago. In the first two weeks I lost 3 lbs. then like you I worked out every day 6 days a week and I found that I put on weight, but like someone else told you, the body will retain water in the muscles. I keep a measurement of waist, hip, chest and thighs. I found that I was loosing inches. My advice for you is to only weigh in twice a week, but measure every week.

    Good luck! I post my workouts everyday, if you and anyone on here would like to become friends. It is nice to have other to talk and compare workouts.

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