Would love to get feedback... how many calories to eat

Try swapping some foods. There is an app for you phone called Fooducate. it is free. You can scan the bar code of any food and it will "grade" the food A-F. It also gives you alternatives that have a better grade, so you can make a good swap. I switched our bread to the Hiners 35. 35 calories a slice. I switched reg eggs to the egg beaters egg whites only 25 calories per serving. I switched our burrito shells to Tam-X-Ico's - Low Carb Wheat Tortillas 70 calories a shell. I make two egg white burritos with salsa almost every day. Love them. 270 calories for a very filling meal that is high in protein and fiber.(four servings of egg, two shells, and salsa. I also switched our milk from 1% to unsweetened almond milk 30 calories per 8 oz. I throw this in with a shake mix from GNC and some ice. Super yummy and super filling. I can stick with this to get healthy and lose the weight.

I have two shakes a day. 230 calories for the first (25 lean from GNC powder) with 8 oz of unsweetened almond milk.
130 calories for the second (GNC woman's health max mix) with 8 oz of unsweetened almond milk.

I eat the egg white burritos at least once a day 270 calories.

I mix up my other two meals:
sauted shrimp wraps
salads with fat free dressing
pb&j on 35 calorie bread with sugar free jelly
baked Fish
Grilled veggies

sandkrain--can you make your diary public? Can we start there?

My stats are similar to yours - 5'1.5" and 47yo, with about 40 to lose. My MFP calc is 1420 per day, plus exercise. Have you run the calculations? A 1lb gain is pretty small and could be just water or an increase from your workout routine.

To lose, you just need to figure out what your body requires in a day and eat less. 500 calories deficit per day will yield a 1 lb loss per week on average. Many people believe that exercise calories are overstated so start with 50% and work up from there. Eat as much as you can to maintain a healthy loss. It's much easier on your body and on your daily life.

Don't worry about the "starvation mode" theories. There is no one calorie level that is too low for everyone, but eating very little makes it hard to get all of the nutrition you need.

Have you figured out your BMR and TDEE? You may still be eating too little. (Stress, the may!) If you are exercising that often, I'm willing to guess that you should be eating more. Another question...if you are not doing strict TDEE, do you eat back your exercise calories? I know MANY people that have lost eating their TDEE - 20% or even -10%. I'm working my way up to that. Currently I eat 1500 calories and ALL of my exercise calories. And I know I'm still eating too little...

Oh, and one more comment...if you fiddle with your calories, give it 4-6 weeks. That's how long it can take a body to adjust. If this is your first week at 1500 calories and you gained a pound, I wouldn't worry about it. Same thing happened to me, then I lost 4 the next week. Obviously, everyone's different, but don't give up too early in the game...it takes time.

Have you figured out your BMR and TDEE? You may still be eating too little. (Stress, the may!) If you are exercising that often, I'm willing to guess that you should be eating more. Another question...if you are not doing strict TDEE, do you eat back your exercise calories? I know MANY people that have lost eating their TDEE - 20% or even -10%. I'm working my way up to that. Currently I eat 1500 calories and ALL of my exercise calories. And I know I'm still eating too little...

What she said ^^

It's important to accuratley track EVERYTHING. And to find out your actual TDEE
And to be really honest with yourself.
Plus one month isn't very long. Generally when I start my weight loss attempts it takes about two months to get into the swing of things and I must be VERY consistent.

I'm also 5'1" (yay shorties!!) I have about 20lbs to go but I've lost about 50 in total since I started to care about my weight in 2006.

I did the 1200 and lots of exercise and I lost but I think I did it too fast in the beginning.
Yes it's lovely to see the pounds go away quickly but what it can do to your body is sad.

Check out this TDEE calculator!

http://www.fitnessfrog.com/calculators/tdee-calculator.html

I've had success (and I think others have to) with doing TDEE - 20%
That includes eating back at least half if not all exercise calories. I got a HRM to get a more accurate calorie count and that has helped too.

I have success when I'm being consistant and realistic with food. Measuring and weighing so on.
I also have had success and fun trying out new things to eat and trying out new exercises.

Are you weighing your food, especially food like meat, cheese?
Are you measuring any oils you use in cooking?

I would want to be really careful on that.

so true, that's me, good Mon-Thurs then splurge on the weekend, I maintain but don't lose

so true, that's me, good Mon-Thurs then splurge on the weekend, I maintain but don't lose

Ths was me for a long time.
I love beer and was not tracking it. Holy Cats!!

Luckily most of the delicious craft beers I enjoy are in the database so I can log them and, while i may not be able to drink as many in one weekend, I can still enjoy them.

I feel much better when I don't go crazy with food and drink and was so proud of myself when I was consistent and actually saw results. YAY!


So - I would get SO ANNOYED with people ar work who are like "don't go to the gym... it's Friday! (or Monday lol)"
Or You ate well for two days, lets go out to eat!

C'mon people....

take your weight and multiply by 12. then deduct 500. that should equal your calories per day for losing weight. simple.

So, just tracked my 25th day in a row, but it's made me sooo frustrated. Written down everything (yes, I believe there was a 3,000+ calorie day).
Overall, though, the average was just over 1500/day, with working out for 45 min 3-5 times/week. And, I GAINED 1 pound. So, back to the drawing board, guess I need to still to 1200 calories and that's it?!!!

Would love to hear your thoughts...
HOW little calories to eat in order to lose weight? Always reading about eating "too little", but I know that's not my issue:)

already doing cardio and strength training, consistently 3-4x/week

i am 50 years old., 5'1" with about 30 pounds to lose...

All comments welcome!!

Hi!

So I took a look at your diary and seems you're good with protein, but I didn't see all that much salad & veggies. Not sure if that has anything to do with your issue.

I too am short and over 50 with about another 20 lbs to lose, though I suppose I may be more sedentary than you ~ my usual exercise is a brisk walk with my dog and maybe 1/4 hour of a workout video . I started in late February and have been steadily losing about one pound a week on approximately 1200 ~ 1300 calories a day. NOT that I want to encourage you to reduce your intake, just saying what works for me and offer my experience as food-for-thought.

You're welcome to look at my open diary ~ good luck!

eat between your TDEE and your BMR!!! mine varies everyday because of the extra work i do in the gym and my recovery days are lower than my lifting days...to find out what your TDEE and BMR...google TDEE calculator and BMR calculator...good luck!
always listen to your body...if its thirsty water it...if its hungry feed it...eat for fuel!

bump to read later

take your weight and multiply by 12. then deduct 500. that should equal your calories per day for losing weight. simple.
NOT TO EXCEED GOING UNDER 1200 CALS. Sorry, forgot that part.

take your weight and multiply by 12. then deduct 500. that should equal your calories per day for losing weight. simple.

That puts me way under... I eat 1300 a day (and yes eat back most exercise cals) and this math put me at 1060. Yikes!

You just need to find what works for you. I started at 1200, but since I increased my exercise I went up to 1300 (changed from sedentary to lightly active) and I seem to be doing well here and not losing too quickly - i'm 5'5 130.6 (want to be 120-125). I lose about a pound a week.