What am I doing wrong??

Yikes! OK, I spent a LOT of time today reading through a LOT of these forums, and from what I'm seeing, perhaps the problem is that I'm not eating enough?

I've been using MFP along with my Fitbit and Aria scale for a few weeks -- since the end of February or so. I often don't log on Saturdays because I'm offline for Shabbat. I'm trying to get in the habit of pre-logging what I plan to eat, but I'm not consistent with that yet.

I'm 37, I have five kids, I'm 5'8" and currently weigh 160 pounds. I'd like to eventually get down to 140, but I'm working in small 5 pound goals, because I like the small wins. :-)

I've been weighing and measuring foods lately, just to get a better idea of proper portion sizes, which I find helpful. I log everything. I regularly hit my 10,000 steps, and often hit significantly more (17,300 yesterday, 16,400 today, for example). Eating between 1200 and 1500 calories a day. And I feel the weight is veeeerrrrry slow in coming off -- and there are plenty of days when it creeps up! SO frustrating. Is it because I'm not eating enough? Or is a lot of foot traffic not a replacement for actual workouts?

Looking forward to your thoughts.

Replies

  • pesigrandi
    pesigrandi Posts: 74 Member
    I would guess you are not eating enough. Try calculating your various numbers here: http://www.superskinnyme.com/category/calculators

    Your BMR is 1500 a day at your current height/weight. Walking is fine but some kind of resistant training and speed intervals 3x a week would likely be beneficial to you.
  • I have seen a lot of people post that if you don't eat enough calories, the weight will come off slowly, or not at all. I generally eat less than the 1200 calorie a day goal that it gives me, regardless of how much I walk off. I have lost 5 pounds in about 3 weeks. And I have been slacking on the work outs the last week and a half.

    I think it depends on each persons body. As for your Saturday logging, maybe writing down what you eat on paper, then adding it to MFP on Sunday would be easier than pre-logging it.

    I am 33 and have 5 kids too. I know how stubborn that weight can be.
  • abbiperets
    abbiperets Posts: 10 Member
    Thanks for the link! I'll give it a try. I was exhausted this morning, after walking last night and again this morning, so I made myself 2 eggs with toast -- and I definitely feel better right now. I'll try to make a point of eating a little more for the next few days and see how I feel and how the weight loss goes.

    Thanks!