Need some help please

sweetpeas317
sweetpeas317 Posts: 44 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I all, I have been on mfp for almost 2 weeks now and I have been following a 1200 cal a day diet, I lost 3 lbs then gained it back, I was told to increase my calories so I did and am eating under the calories each day but I am not losing and am getting frustrated, I really dont understand the defecit calories what does that mean? I have been working out either walking, dance aerobics and ab workout.

Does anyone have any ideas that might help me? my stats:

HT: 5'7
CW: 191
GW 150-160

Replies

  • LynneT44
    LynneT44 Posts: 23 Member
    I'm interested in this also.. I am upping my calories per a suggestion to do so and I'm so afraid i"m going to gain.. We're pretty much in the same boat so i am really looking forward to some responses!
  • rkcampbell
    rkcampbell Posts: 188 Member
    Looking at your diary, you need to eat more!!! After working out, you're netting around 900-1100 calories. If you up your calories, then you need to EAT them!!!! Healthy filling foods! You should be hitting your 1390 (at least) plus whatever your exercise calories are. If you eat too little, you won't lose. Get as close to having 0 left over as possible.
  • rkcampbell
    rkcampbell Posts: 188 Member
    I'm interested in this also.. I am upping my calories per a suggestion to do so and I'm so afraid i"m going to gain.. We're pretty much in the same boat so i am really looking forward to some responses!

    You may gain slightly right at first, but as your body adjusts, it'll be good. Give it a couple weeks.
  • sweetpeas317
    sweetpeas317 Posts: 44 Member
    Looking at your diary, you need to eat more!!! After working out, you're netting around 900-1100 calories. If you up your calories, then you need to EAT them!!!! Healthy filling foods! You should be hitting your 1390 (at least) plus whatever your exercise calories are. If you eat too little, you won't lose. Get as close to having 0 left over as possible.

    I went on a site that said my calorie intake should be 2300 which just confuses me and now I am not sure where I am supposed to be.
  • mmmahre
    mmmahre Posts: 8
    You should set a goal of no more that 1/2lb weight loss a week. The slower you loose the weight, the better for you. It is a long process. We all go through time where the pounds come off quickly and then we reach a plateau. Then we might lose a couple pounds really quick again. keep changing up your exercise programs, don't stick to just one thing. Change the days you do cardio and the strength days also. Keep mixing it up. Keep your body guessing. As far as food goes, increase your vegetable intake, cut out the wasted calories used on DQ and stuff like that. Fruit helps to satisfy sugar cravings. Increase you lean protein intake. I try to eat more than 3/4 my weight in protein grams (141 lbs = 100 grams or more in protein) Plain greek yogurt with fruit is a good snack choice. I also eat something every 3 hours. a serving of Almonds, a protein bar, a greek yogurt, a protein shake. Hope this helps. I eat an average of 1680 or more calories a day. If you only eat 1200 calories, you body goes into survival mode and saves every calorie as fat because it thinks its starving.
  • ellaloveslove
    ellaloveslove Posts: 166 Member
    You've only been dieting for 2 weeks and are worried about not seeing results? Patience.
    Also, many people have had success with TDEE-% and there are countless threads on here if you search for them
  • sweetpeas317
    sweetpeas317 Posts: 44 Member
    Thanks everyone and I am not complaining I am just looking for some help, I dont understand all the TDEE and BMR, just looking to be starting on the right track and working with the right amount of calories that I should be taking in with my stats.
  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
    Thanks everyone and I am not complaining I am just looking for some help, I dont understand all the TDEE and BMR, just looking to be starting on the right track and working with the right amount of calories that I should be taking in with my stats.

    TDEE stands for Total Daily Energy Expenditure. It's the number of calories your body burns in a day and also the number of calories you'd need to eat to maintain your current weight.

    BMR stands for Basal Metabolic Rate and is roughly the number of calories you'd burn in a coma. It's the number of calories your body requires just to keep your blood pumping, your lungs breathing, you liver functioning, your brain alive, etc.

    There are a lot of online calculators for them, like this one: http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/

    I'm assuming you have your activity level set to sedentary in your profile? MFP sets a goal for you expecting that you have no exercise built into your day. When you exercise it expects you to eat back your earned calories to help fuel your workouts and keep your body from doing anything drastic (like breaking down your lean muscle to get its energy). That's the difference between the two methods. TDEE includes your exercise calories so you don't eat them back. MFP does not, so you do eat them back.

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