Desperately Need Advice!!! Ugh!

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Lizzy9
Lizzy9 Posts: 67 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
For those of you that do answer me, please explain things to me like I'm 2 years young. Seriously. All this fitness talk is "greek" to me. Okay, here goes.

I have a goal. "Duh" I am 500% committed to dropping this weight so much that I shut down facebook!!!! Over the course of the last 5 years weight has creeped up on me. Why? Not from eating. But from starvation mode. Eating is a pain in the rectum for me. (Not literally). Then, by nightfall, I'm dying from hunger and usually eat something. So, my caloric intake of the day would be about "10". Not really that low, but very very very low. Hence, putting this chic in starvation mode. So, for the last month I have been studying, researching, joined a gym, bought all the right foods to force myself to eat. I even caved and bought that "bullet" machine to liquify my fruits or veggies if I don't have time to sit down and eat. Now, anyone reading this would think I look anorexic? NOPE, I have 65 pounds to lose to get myself into a decent rate.

So, I'm starting with 1200 calories to eat. Not what MFP says, but, only reasonable number I can come up with. ACCORDING TO MY FITNESS PAL , going to the gym and working out cardio daily and machines for all the different muscles in my body, I'm burning about 1200 calories. That's insane! So not what the machines say.....but then again, I don't plug weight, etc. in.

So PUHLEEEEEEEEZE, would someone explain to me the caloric intake with my workout????? I already know which foods to eat (not easy being a Vegetarian either - gosh I'm a fitness instructors worse nightmare). Anyone??????????????
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Replies

  • 5stringjeff
    5stringjeff Posts: 790 Member
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    If I read this correctly, you're eating ~1200 calories, and exercising off ~1200 calories?

    Short answer: eat more or exercise less.
  • Lizzy9
    Lizzy9 Posts: 67 Member
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    According to My Fitness Pal yes. I plug in my workout for the day and the calories burned come to approximately 1200. That's sick. Now, the machines are different at the gym, the machines read about 350...max.
    If I read this correctly, you're eating ~1200 calories, and exercising off ~1200 calories?

    Short answer: eat more or exercise less.
  • acogg
    acogg Posts: 1,871 Member
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    The body does not create it's own excess calories when in "starvation mode." Those 90 extra pounds came from somewhere, typically through the mouth.
  • Gramps251
    Gramps251 Posts: 738 Member
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    Here, read this


    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12
  • Mokey41
    Mokey41 Posts: 5,769 Member
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    You're fooling yourself if you think you gained that much weight by not eating. It just can't happen. The whole starvation mode is a myth unless you are truly down to the place where there is nothing left for you body to do but start eating itself. Just because you eat irregularly doesn't mean those calories don't count.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,395 MFP Moderator
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    I would go by what the machines say... either way its an estimate. Next, if mfp is suggesting a higher base number i would follow that. You already stated that you dont know much about this so why do you think the number you came up with is better? You dont need to or want to lose weight through starving yourself. Your metabolism will adapt and burn less calories which makes long term weight loss very hard. Also, if you can do heavy weight training as its critical to preserving muscle mass. Additionally, substitute some carbs with protein. Mfp has a low protein setting. I would actually adjust your macros to 35/40/25 c/p/f.

    If you dont want to trust the machines, you can always just eat an extra 200-400 calories on workout days. And its critical to fuel your body if you want long terms success. Under fueling your body will just encourage muscle loss which makes fat loss harder.
  • sunnyside1213
    sunnyside1213 Posts: 1,205 Member
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    Make sure you log everything accurately.
  • Bobby__Clerici
    Bobby__Clerici Posts: 741 Member
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    I would go by what the machines say... either way its an estimate. Next, if mfp is suggesting a higher base number i would follow that. You already stated that you dont know much about this so why do you think the number you came up with is better? You dont need to or want to lose weight through starving yourself. Your metabolism will adapt and burn less calories which makes long term weight loss very hard. Also, if you can do heavy weight training as its critical to preserving muscle mass. Additionally, substitute some carbs with protein. Mfp has a low protein setting. I would actually adjust your macros to 35/40/25 c/p/f.

    If you dont want to trust the machines, you can always just eat an extra 200-400 calories on workout days. And its critical to fuel your body if you want long terms success. Under fueling your body will just encourage muscle loss which makes fat loss harder.
    ^^^^^^^^
    THIS
  • Lizzy9
    Lizzy9 Posts: 67 Member
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    Of course they entered through the mouth. At night, hungry as heck and eating all the wrong stuff.
    The body does not create it's own excess calories when in "starvation mode." Those 90 extra pounds came from somewhere, typically through the mouth.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,395 MFP Moderator
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    One more thing.... when you suppress calories low for a long time your rmr will adjust accordingly. So when you used to burn 1400 calories and a tdee of around 2000-2200 calories, your suppress your rmr to around 900 calories and a tdee of 1300-1500. This is how you probably gained so much weight. So even if you eat 1700 calories you start to gain quickly. This is often why recoverying from an ED will come with lots of weight gain.


    This is why its better to have a moderate deficit.
  • ImprovingEla
    ImprovingEla Posts: 396 Member
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    well if you want accurate numbers in the gym and in the kittchen: hrm (heart rate monitor) and a foodscale!

    Eat throughout the day! I recently learned to eat breakfast before gymtime! (what a miracle I was not falling of the maschines by the end of my workout!)
    We all learn, maybe for you it is to go with a higher calorie intake and eat throughout the day, so you do not binge at night!
  • Capt_Apollo
    Capt_Apollo Posts: 9,026 Member
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    http://theskinnyequation.blogspot.com/p/weight-loss-calculators.html

    i used that link to find your BMR and TDEE

    never eat below your BMR. ever ever ever ever ever. Ever.

    personally, i like the TDEE-20% model of eating in order to lose weight. and i don't add in my exercise calories. so if your TDEE is 2000, you eat 1600 calories.

    of course, please remember these numbers are estimations. a few extra or less calories here and there is no big deal.

    your body works more on a weekly basis rather than a day-to-day. so if on monday you go over your calories by 200, and then tuesday you stay under by a hundred and then another hundred under on wednesday, well, you broke even.
  • cherrikim
    cherrikim Posts: 57 Member
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    If you have 65 or 91 pounds to lose I'm pretty sure 1200 calories is not enough. Try recalculating your calories using what MFP suggests for a 2 pound loss per week. I'm not sure about the calories burned since I just go with what MFP suggest, maybe you might want to get a heart rate monitor or something to keep track.
  • JesterMFP
    JesterMFP Posts: 3,596 Member
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    You're probably not burning 1200 calories a day in exercise. If you have a chance of getting a heart rate monitor, that would give you a better estimate. Otherwise, the machine estimates sound a bit more realistic in this case.

    Consuming 1200 calories a day may not be enough for you, even with 65 pounds to lose. If you have reduced your metabolic rate from your previous eating habits, having too large of a calorie deficit now is probably not going to be helpful long term. Try and be patient and accept a slightly slower rate of loss with a smaller deficit.

    It might be beneficial for you to experiment a bit to find your true TDEE (maintenance level). If you find the number of calories that you can eat and not gain or lose (giving it a few weeks to allow for fluctuations), then you can take a reasonable cut from that number.
  • Lizzy9
    Lizzy9 Posts: 67 Member
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    Thank you all. I read over each one of your comments, met with a trainer at the gym and he explained it all in detail to me. The machines do not calculate correctly (the one for cardio I use) which is why I was getting such a significant difference from MFP. Also, spoke to my nutritionist and I need to up my caloric intake eating properly (of course), and yes, eating my calories back. But there are healthy, nutritious foods, snacks out there that will not require me to eat a full blown meal to fill in those calories. Also, I have to thank a new friend on MFP who took the time to figure it all out for me and help me understand (on my level) - and it really helped along with all of yours. My goal is June. The weight is now 80 pounds which will get me back to my previous weight 5 years ago. THANK YOU ALL!
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,395 MFP Moderator
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    I would highly recommend considering a new goal. 80 lbs in six months is highly unrealistic. That is over 3 lbs a week. And the less you have to lose, the slower weight loss becomes. And before you go off on a vlcd and ruin your muscle mass and metabolism, i would recommend changing your diet to maintain muscle and cut fat. Weight is meaningless, its all about body composition. The more muscle the leaner and tighter your body. If you want proof below is a good link.



    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/392784-skinny-fat-vs-fit-photo?hl=skinny+fat+vs+fit
  • kimosabe1
    kimosabe1 Posts: 2,467 Member
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    normally eat 1200 calories a day. That includes breakfast, lunch and dinner and the exercise is a great way to up your calories so u can have a cheeseburger or a regular soda or just up your calories for the hell of it. U can eat whatever if u have extra calories. Just be chill about it or other people might think u are a fanatic-
  • wswilliams67
    wswilliams67 Posts: 938 Member
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    http://theskinnyequation.blogspot.com/p/weight-loss-calculators.html

    i used that link to find your BMR and TDEE

    never eat below your BMR. ever ever ever ever ever. Ever.

    personally, i like the TDEE-20% model of eating in order to lose weight. and i don't add in my exercise calories. so if your TDEE is 2000, you eat 1600 calories.

    of course, please remember these numbers are estimations. a few extra or less calories here and there is no big deal.

    your body works more on a weekly basis rather than a day-to-day. so if on monday you go over your calories by 200, and then tuesday you stay under by a hundred and then another hundred under on wednesday, well, you broke even.

    ^^^ THIS!

    and for the love of God... read this please: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12

    And to the person who said that starvation mode is a myth... well the name is a myth, but metabolic shutdown is not. Eating less than your BMR (and I mean like 500+ calories lower) for an extended time WILL KILL YOUR METABOLISM. I've lived through it, it's no myth. ANY truly qualified and quality trainer will tell you the same thing. I sat at the same weight for 6 weeks because I wasn't eating enough and didn't know my BMR. I am at 2157 BMR and I was netting 900 calories/day. Crashed my metab entirely. It has taken me an additional 3 weeks of steady 2300/day eating to restart it and now I'm losing an average of 0.5lbs/day.

    DO THE MATH FIRST! You won't regret it.
  • wswilliams67
    wswilliams67 Posts: 938 Member
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    I would highly recommend considering a new goal. 80 lbs in six months is highly unrealistic. That is over 3 lbs a week. And the less you have to lose, the slower weight loss becomes. And before you go off on a vlcd and ruin your muscle mass and metabolism, i would recommend changing your diet to maintain muscle and cut fat. Weight is meaningless, its all about body composition. The more muscle the leaner and tighter your body. If you want proof below is a good link.



    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/392784-skinny-fat-vs-fit-photo?hl=skinny+fat+vs+fit

    ^^^ THIS AS WELL +1
  • MooMyuu
    MooMyuu Posts: 38 Member
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    The body does not create it's own excess calories when in "starvation mode." Those 90 extra pounds came from somewhere, typically through the mouth.
    you do realize that when your body is in starvation mode, it takes all the calories it doesn't use for daily functioning and stores them as FAT right?

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