Advice on loosing weight

kelsnicole22
kelsnicole22 Posts: 5
in Health and Weight Loss
Im around 5'8 and when I weighed five days ago I weighed 162 lbs, three days later I weighed again and weighed 161.I was pretty excited considering I've never had any luck with loosing weight. I woke up the other morning and decided that I needed to loose some weight, espically around my stomach and thighs. I was looking on the internet for diets that I would be interested in and came across the oatmeal diet and decided to follow the guidelines to that somewhat. I couldnt eat oatmeal for all three meals so I ate it for breakfast and one other meal. I would try to get the other meal to be a meal with protien and low in calories, one day I had a small protion of steak and some corn. I drink nothing but water. When I get hungry I either eat oatmeal. pistachios fruit or yogurt, the yogurt is low fat and only has 80 calories. I havent been to the house where I weighed my self at the first times so im not sure how much I have lost so far. I want to get down to the 130s.

Does anyone have any advice or stories on if its better to go low calories or low carbs. The yogurt I eat has like 27 grams of carbs, which is alot. I have heard both pros and cons of each and Im not sure which is better to do. I have been keeping my calories under 1000 each day.

I dont exercise much like actual workouts but I walk the dogs at least a mile two or more times a week and walk them around the yard everyday.

Replies

  • laurelobrien
    laurelobrien Posts: 156 Member
    you should eat a diet that is a deficit in calories, and rich in beneficial nutrients. eating oatmeal for 3 meals a day is way too many carbs without enough fat and protein to balance it out. the higher the protein the better, really, but in the end the weight you lose is about the calories. over consumption of carbs and sugar can make it harder to lose fat, or easier to store fat (see: the relationship between leptin/ghrelin and triglycerides). try snacking on things with less sugar (yogurt with that many carbs is VERY high sugar, might as well just eat a chocolate bar).

    if you have a pound goal in mind, count your calories. eating a diet that is also healthy and balanced would be good for your health and body composition though.
  • 30ismyyear
    30ismyyear Posts: 145 Member
    Low calories is what matters and you should try to balance those calories out for the best nutrition.
  • kelsnicole22
    kelsnicole22 Posts: 5
    you should eat a diet that is a deficit in calories, and rich in beneficial nutrients. eating oatmeal for 3 meals a day is way too many carbs without enough fat and protein to balance it out. the higher the protein the better, really, but in the end the weight you lose is about the calories. over consumption of carbs and sugar can make it harder to lose fat, or easier to store fat (see: the relationship between leptin/ghrelin and triglycerides). try snacking on things with less sugar (yogurt with that many carbs is VERY high sugar, might as well just eat a chocolate bar).

    if you have a pound goal in mind, count your calories. eating a diet that is also healthy and balanced would be good for your health and body composition though.

    I havent tried eating oatmeal for three meals, I like it but not that much. I normally eat it for breakfast and sometimes another meal. Alot of times I skip breakfast or lunch depending on if im hungry or not. I'm going to start snacking on nuts like almonds and pistachios (and resist the urge to get all the salt off the shells). I am going to look for yogurt that has less carbs as well, its one of my favorite snacks but it is alot of carbs.
  • laurelobrien
    laurelobrien Posts: 156 Member
    you should eat a diet that is a deficit in calories, and rich in beneficial nutrients. eating oatmeal for 3 meals a day is way too many carbs without enough fat and protein to balance it out. the higher the protein the better, really, but in the end the weight you lose is about the calories. over consumption of carbs and sugar can make it harder to lose fat, or easier to store fat (see: the relationship between leptin/ghrelin and triglycerides). try snacking on things with less sugar (yogurt with that many carbs is VERY high sugar, might as well just eat a chocolate bar).

    if you have a pound goal in mind, count your calories. eating a diet that is also healthy and balanced would be good for your health and body composition though.

    I havent tried eating oatmeal for three meals, I like it but not that much. I normally eat it for breakfast and sometimes another meal. Alot of times I skip breakfast or lunch depending on if im hungry or not. I'm going to start snacking on nuts like almonds and pistachios (and resist the urge to get all the salt off the shells). I am going to look for yogurt that has less carbs as well, its one of my favorite snacks but it is alot of carbs.

    Yogurt is only high carb is if it's flavored or has added sugar. Look for full fat yogurt, it usually has less sugar as the sugar is only added to make up for the loss of flavor fat provides. It just means eating less yogurt but better quality yogurt (as fat has more calories per gram than sugar, but is better for health and weight loss in the same caloric amount)!
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
    like others said diet is all about creating a calorie deficit...calculate your TDEE deduct 25% and eat that amount of calories every day...

    Fad diets like the oatmeal diet, or the chicken diet, or any other one are just going to lead to some kind of crash and then re gain of weight already lost...

    Oh and eat plain greek yogurt it only has 7 grams of carbs and is high in protein
  • kelsnicole22
    kelsnicole22 Posts: 5
    When I did the TDEE calculator thing and took away 25% it said around 1600 calories. That seems like a lot I normally have a hard time getting to 1000. Will eating more calories help you loose more weight than eating less?
  • laurelobrien
    laurelobrien Posts: 156 Member
    When I did the TDEE calculator thing and took away 25% it said around 1600 calories. That seems like a lot I normally have a hard time getting to 1000. Will eating more calories help you loose more weight than eating less?

    No, that would defy the laws of thermodynamics. 1000 calories a week will (perfect math and biology permitting) cause you to lose more than 1lb more per week than 1600 calories. However, you may find yourself miserable, unsatisfied, and under-nourished @ 1000 calories a day - very hard to get enough essential nutrients at that number.
  • mmckee10
    mmckee10 Posts: 405 Member
    I eat around 1600cals a day and I'm losing. You can do it. :) Just try to balance everything :flowerforyou: good luck :)
  • kelsnicole22
    kelsnicole22 Posts: 5
    I eat around 1600cals a day and I'm losing. You can do it. :) Just try to balance everything :flowerforyou: good luck :)

    Do you count carbs as well or just calories?
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
    I eat around 1600cals a day and I'm losing. You can do it. :) Just try to balance everything :flowerforyou: good luck :)

    Do you count carbs as well or just calories?

    carbs/protein/fat
  • ILiftHeavyAcrylics
    ILiftHeavyAcrylics Posts: 27,732 Member
    When I did the TDEE calculator thing and took away 25% it said around 1600 calories. That seems like a lot I normally have a hard time getting to 1000. Will eating more calories help you loose more weight than eating less?

    Yes, eat more. Eating too little is not healthy and often leads to stalls in progress. It will also cause you to lose muscle with the fat, and you want to keep your muscle. Muscle burns more calories and is what makes you look good once you're skinnier.

    Here's an article explaining how stressing your body too much can hurt your progress:
    http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/why-big-caloric-deficits-and-lots-of-activity-can-hurt-fat-loss.html

    Here's a good explanation of a safe way to lose fat:
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12

    Here's a group created by MFP's big brains. Read the stickies.
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/groups/home/10118-eat-train-progress
  • ILiftHeavyAcrylics
    ILiftHeavyAcrylics Posts: 27,732 Member
    Oh and unless you have a medical issue that requires low carb I would just do calories for now and try to get enough protein.
  • ladyraven68
    ladyraven68 Posts: 2,003 Member
    When I did the TDEE calculator thing and took away 25% it said around 1600 calories. That seems like a lot I normally have a hard time getting to 1000. Will eating more calories help you loose more weight than eating less?

    I'm 4ft 11, and lost my first 25lb eating 1600 calories.

    There is no need to go for the lower goal you can manage, I'd rather eat the most I can whilst still losing fat.
  • Faye_Anderson
    Faye_Anderson Posts: 1,495 Member
    When I did the TDEE calculator thing and took away 25% it said around 1600 calories. That seems like a lot I normally have a hard time getting to 1000. Will eating more calories help you loose more weight than eating less?

    No, that would defy the laws of thermodynamics. 1000 calories a week will (perfect math and biology permitting) cause you to lose more than 1lb more per week than 1600 calories. However, you may find yourself miserable, unsatisfied, and under-nourished @ 1000 calories a day - very hard to get enough essential nutrients at that number.

    I defy the laws of thermodynamics then because I lose more at 1810 calories than I ever did eating 1200 or 1400 :flowerforyou:
  • LishieFruit89
    LishieFruit89 Posts: 1,956 Member
    When I did the TDEE calculator thing and took away 25% it said around 1600 calories. That seems like a lot I normally have a hard time getting to 1000. Will eating more calories help you loose more weight than eating less?

    Yes, eat more. Eating too little is not healthy and often leads to stalls in progress. It will also cause you to lose muscle with the fat, and you want to keep your muscle. Muscle burns more calories and is what makes you look good once you're skinnier.

    Here's an article explaining how stressing your body too much can hurt your progress:
    http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/why-big-caloric-deficits-and-lots-of-activity-can-hurt-fat-loss.html

    Here's a good explanation of a safe way to lose fat:
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12

    Here's a group created by MFP's big brains. Read the stickies.
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/groups/home/10118-eat-train-progress

    QFT
  • EmmaKarney
    EmmaKarney Posts: 690 Member
    When I did the TDEE calculator thing and took away 25% it said around 1600 calories. That seems like a lot I normally have a hard time getting to 1000. Will eating more calories help you loose more weight than eating less?

    Not really, but if you calculate your TDEE and eat 20-25% less than that - this is the sweet spot for losing weight in a healthy, sustainable way where you can still get all of your nutrients into your body.

    Eating super low is counter intuitive - you will be starving all the time and have no energy to work out. Plus you will be obsessing over food the whole time and far more likely to fall off the wagon.
  • mandyneedtolose
    mandyneedtolose Posts: 398 Member
    My advice is dont go to low on the calories. Too low sets your body into starvation mode, and thus will store fat as your body doesnt know when the next time you will feed it. If you are eating 1200 calories for a long period of time, my bet is you will plateau and weight will stop coming off ( speaking from experience) .. I calorie shift, so out of 7 days .. I eat 5 that are the same calorie intake and two that are slightly higher.... I keep my diet low carb as much as possible. I try my best to get my carbs from veggies and occassionally fruit. I try my hardest to stay away from white pasta, white bread, white rice .. but even the whole wheat stuff I dont eat. I occassionally will have quinoa and oatmeal but thats it! So carbs are not bad if you are getting them from the right source, so dont ban carbs, just ban the bad carbs!!! And keep water up!!! and sodium not to high. It will do wonders!! :) Good luck!!
  • EmmaKarney
    EmmaKarney Posts: 690 Member
    Oh and P.S at people coming on a weight loss forum saying they struggle to eat 1000 a day.... Who are you kidding?
  • kelsnicole22
    kelsnicole22 Posts: 5
    Oh and P.S at people coming on a weight loss forum saying they struggle to eat 1000 a day.... Who are you kidding?

    No one. The most calories I have gotten in the last five days is like 950. I know I need more than that but I dont eat alot. That day I ate oatmeal, yougurt, pistachois, frozen yogurt and some other things. Ive never really ate that much but when I did eat it was mostly junk food like ice cream.

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