I'm New and a lil' skeptical...Or maybe I'm just afraid of f

alissab1113
alissab1113 Posts: 25
edited September 20 in Introduce Yourself
Hi everyone! I joined 5 days ago and cant seem to eat all my calories, protein or fats, etc on some days. Is this going to screw up my weight loss? Can anyone give me some pointers on what to do/not do so this really works for me. I lost about 80 pounds on my own over the last few years and want to lose 20 more. So I am desperately hoping this site helps. I am soposed to eat 1200 cal but with some of my workouts I burn an extra 700-900 cal. So I need to add those in. It just seems like so much! I need to know what to eat or not eat to slow my weight loss down. I'm afraid of gaining if I'm not eating the right amounts for cals fats and protein and carbs. Thanks, Alissa

Replies

  • kwardklinck
    kwardklinck Posts: 1,601
    Eat at least 1200 cals a day plus your exercise cals. Drink all of your water. Get enough sleep. Know that when you start exercising you will retain water for a few weeks. This is ok. Play with your numbers until you get them right. Add in a couple of snacks if you need to.
  • HealthyChanges2010
    HealthyChanges2010 Posts: 5,831 Member
    Hi everyone! I joined 5 days ago and cant seem to eat all my calories, protein or fats, etc on some days. Is this going to screw up my weight loss? Can anyone give me some pointers on what to do/not do so this really works for me. Thanks, Alissa

    Hi Alissa,
    Great to have you here, you'll enjoy MFP:drinker: :happy:

    It's very important to eat all cals, not sure what MFP set your daily cals amount to be but do try and fit them all in as it's important for your body to get enough nutrients. MFP already has set up a calorie deficit for you when you are given the calorie allotment so eating less drops you way down below what is needed.

    Here's some easy high cals foods but still healthy:

    Avocado
    Nuts (portion control on there but they are great protein)
    Peanut Butter

    There's a few and I am quite sure others will jump on this thread and toss in some more ideas for you. :)

    1 T. of PB is approx 100 cals so that with an apple you're nearly at 200 more cals for a snack! Spreading your food out throughout the days seems to work best Try 3 regular meals and 2 snacks or 5-6 equal cal meals which can help you get your foods in for the day. You're not stuffed and your body appreciates your blood sugar levels remaining controlled and this can also help with metabolism.

    Becca:flowerforyou:
  • alissab1113
    alissab1113 Posts: 25
    Thanks for the help so far.. here's some more info...I lost about 80 pounds on my own over the last few years and want to lose 20 more. So I am desperately hoping this site helps. I am soposed to eat 1200 cal but with some of my workouts I burn an extra 700-900 cal. So I need to add those in. It just seems like so much! I need to know what to eat or not eat to slow my weight loss down. I'm afraid of gaining if I'm not eating the right amounts for cals fats and protein and carbs.
  • HealthyChanges2010
    HealthyChanges2010 Posts: 5,831 Member
    Thanks for the help so far.. here's some more info...I lost about 80 pounds on my own over the last few years and want to lose 20 more. So I am desperately hoping this site helps. I am soposed to eat 1200 cal but with some of my workouts I burn an extra 700-900 cal. So I need to add those in. It just seems like so much! I need to know what to eat or not eat to slow my weight loss down. I'm afraid of gaining if I'm not eating the right amounts for cals fats and protein and carbs.

    It's a good thing if you can eat at least 1/2 of your workout cals and being at only 1200 and burning so many cals I might advice you to really try and add back all your excercise cals if possible. Picture this, Your body needs 1200 simply to survive, then you workout and burn up 700-900 cals off of that amount, see how little it leaves your body to function?! Not nearly enough to sustain you at all. You definitely don't want to end up stalling your loss after losing so much in the past or get your body unhealthy by not feeding it enough.

    Play around with different foods that are higher cals but still heatlhy and I think you'll find you can add back many by using that method.

    Don't panic yet, no reason too. :) Do the best you can but do definitely work to eat your daily amount and as much of your workout cals as you possibly can. You won't gain doing that set at 1200 a day.

    But keep in mind our bodies do need an adjustment time and your body does add muscle weight especially since you've already lost so much. So if you see a lb or two gain as you start out don't panic, just keeping doing it the healthy route and you'll be fine :)
  • HealthyChanges2010
    HealthyChanges2010 Posts: 5,831 Member
    CONGRATS on the huge loss so far!! Great job, I bet you feel terrific having that much less of you to carry around :drinker: :flowerforyou:
  • hooah_mj
    hooah_mj Posts: 1,004 Member
    Hey Newbie! Welcome...

    I had troubles keeping my #s up after hard workouts, also...
    I've been able to get them in and not feel over burdened, with protein powder (mixed w/ yogurt) and some wonderful Spinach smoothies "Grinich" (via an awesome/fellow :wink: MFPal!)....I include mango juice in it to bump up may cals and get my daily recommends...

    of course I eat 5 - 6 x a day....cheese, almonds, and lettuce wraps (via msb....love her)...

    Glad to have ya....So awesome to hear of your great successes thus far!
  • spacie
    spacie Posts: 82
    You mention you are doing a lot of exercise. How about trying a nutrition shake and have one before and/after each work out to add extra energy/cals to your food diary. Make sure you choose a shake with both carbs and protein/fibre but no sugar.
  • beloggins1
    beloggins1 Posts: 20
    Hi Alissa and welcome to MFP, Try and vary your daily caloric intake so that your body (brain) can't make assumptions about it's survival status and instead believes that you are getting enough food intake to sustain itself even with excersise. Once your brain is satisfied that it has the calories it needs to sustain normal bodily functions, it will start burning stored fat for the additional metabolism it needs. Remember you want your body to burn fat, not muscle for it's needs. Use your weekly caloric goal that allows you to lose around 2 pounds per week, then you can increase your calories above that daily goal for 2 to 3 alternating days a week based on the extra calories you gain with excersise. Don't sweat not being able to consume all of total extra calories gained per day with excersise, just bump up your intake on those "Feed Days" to satisfy you and provide enough extra fuel (nutritional calories) to increase your metabolic rate. Your body will let you know what it needs. Also, I have created an Excel spread sheet that calculates running totals on my calories and nutritional intake values. It keeps me up to date on caloric consumption, which in turn allows me to "bank" my calories for special days or events. I try and focus on my weekly goals and don't obsess about the daily stuff. You have to be able to live and enjoy your life, while losing weight, so that this becomes a way of life, not a temporary diet. Remember focus on weekly goals needed to lose the 2 pounds a week. If you don't eat all of the extra calories you'll still be burning extra fat. Think of the extra calories eaten as additional fat burning fuel for the body to increase it's metabolic rate. This metabolic rate determines the fuel needed for basis bodily functions and then reverts to your body's stored fat reserves for additional fuel needs.

    There are a couple of big no no's. One eliminate all added sugars including fructose, glucose corn syrups and artificial sweeteners. Try Stevia as your sweetener, also try and stay away from "processed foods". They contain all kinds of added sweeteners and chemicals.

    As far as carbs, fats, protein and sugar intake levels, MFP has a tool that will help you preset those values. If you want to adjust these values, you can do so. Your body needs good carbs and fats to function properly. Do not try to eliminate anyone of these from your diet. You can drop fats or carbs some from the recommended amounts, but don't go below 20 - 25% on any of these. It helps to limit your starches, potatoes, rice and breads from dinner meals. Add 2 snacks a day (raw almonds, raw veggies or apples) along with breakfast, lunch and dinner. I hope this helps a little. Good luck and enjoy your successes.:happy:
  • I018485
    I018485 Posts: 12 Member
    Hi Alissa, you said that you lost already 80 pounds! WOW, how did you do it?
    It would be useful to have some ideas from you.
    Thanks!
  • alissab1113
    alissab1113 Posts: 25
    TO HOOAH_MJ...

    Thanks! I noticed you weigh what I do (170) and have a great goal to reach. My goal is to get to at least 150 but i would LOVE to get to 130. I dont know it that is possible for me because I have so much muscle mass. How long has it taked you to lose what you have lost so far? About how many pounds a week are you losing?
    Thanks for the help
  • lisawest
    lisawest Posts: 798 Member
    First, the numbers for the carbs, protein and fats set by MFP are averages. If you go and read on various health sites, different numbers are recommended depending on your goal. For instance, if you are a weight lifter, more protein is needed to repair and build muscles. If you're diabetic, you need lower carbs. Those are just two examples. I use the numbers MFP gives me, but I don't freak out if I go over on protein. I don't typically go over on carbs, but I FREQUENTLY go over on protein. I try to keep the numbers close, but I am currently concentrating on sodium and potassium (which along with water, helps rid your body of the sodium).

    Second, how to get calories in without feeling stuffed. First is to cut out any "diet," "low fat," etc. food. This is all processed in some way to make it "low" or "reduced." The more processing a food has, the fewer natural nutrients it contains, and the worse it is for you. Having said that, less processed dairy products tend to also have more calories than the reduced and low fat varieties. adding a couple tablespoons of natural peanut butter to each meal or snack adds almost 200 calories to each one. Plus it adds GOOD fats. Same can be said for a handful of nuts added to each meal. I discovered a FANTASTIC dip recipe that I LOVE and it contains all kinds of great stuff. Start with 8oz cream cheese and 8 oz of sour cream. Dice up at least three different colored peppers (red, green, yellow, orange, etc.), and a jalapeno or two if you like spicey. I used a can small can of crushed olives, but if you can find fresh or frozen olives I would really recommend them, it should end up 3/4 cup of diced black olives. I added some chili powder (if there is a Mexican grocery near you, they tend to have fresher, less processed chili powder). Last thing I added was 1 cup of sweet corn. I used frozen corn and let it thaw in the fridge before adding it. Mix all of this together and it's a great dip for tortilla chips (these can be made at home easily and are better for you than the ones out of bags), veggies (celery, carrots, etc), or as a spread (on tortillas with a little grilled chicken or fish). It's great stuff, and packed with nutrients from all the different veggies. Greek yogurt is also a great way to add in some calories. Smoothies made with greek yogurt and fresh fruits are always a good choice. If you throw in a little protein powder, that helps them stick with you longer. Avacados are another great food. They have lots of healthy fat in them, as well as calories. Mash one up, mix in a little fresh tomato, onion, etc and you've got a great guacamole! Store bought guac has all kinds of preservatives to keep it from turning brown. To keep your homemade guac from turning brown as fast, leave the avacado seed in the container. I have no idea why it works, but it does!

    Ok, I've gone on long enough. If you have any questions, feel free to PM me! Good luck finding the numbers that work for you!
  • alissab1113
    alissab1113 Posts: 25
    I dont know how to reply to a specific person . How can you reply to someone directly?
  • alissab1113
    alissab1113 Posts: 25
    You mention you are doing a lot of exercise. How about trying a nutrition shake and have one before and/after each work out to add extra energy/cals to your food diary. Make sure you choose a shake with both carbs and protein/fibre but no sugar.


    Yes I do this :)
  • alissab1113
    alissab1113 Posts: 25
    Hi Alissa, you said that you lost already 80 pounds! WOW, how did you do it?
    It would be useful to have some ideas from you.
    Thanks!

    HI!! I was very heavy my whole life and I decided to self teach myself about health and fitness after seeing a horrible pic of my self that shocked me because I was so fat. I just started exercising and eating clean and lost about 80 pounds. Now I'm stuck at this weight for a couple years and I hoping MFP helps me get the rest off :)
  • r1chy
    r1chy Posts: 48
    Have you got any before and after pics?
  • alissab1113
    alissab1113 Posts: 25
    yes I have before pics, I'll work on getting them on here. :)
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