Exercise and Counting Calories

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mariatee28
mariatee28 Posts: 8
in Health and Weight Loss
I'm feeling pretty frustrated.

I recently returned from vacation; when I weighed in, I had gained approx .4lbs, and I was ecstatic.

I've gotten back to my routine of eating clean: 4 meals a day and exercising almost every day. I either do a Jillian Michaels DVD or go to a kickboxing class. Almost every day, I am under calories. This week, I gained 2 pounds.

Should I be eating more? My bfast is under 200 calories, and my lunch is about 400. My snacks are under 200, and I integrate lots of veggies and fruit each day. Also, I drink LOTS of water, and I have few alcoholic drinks per week.

I'm not 100% what I'm doing wrong, but I'm thinking it may be that I'm eating too few calories? If so, how can I increase my calories to increase my weight loss?

Any advice is appreciated!

Replies

  • nomeejerome
    nomeejerome Posts: 2,616 Member
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    Not enough information for suggestions and diary is not open to review
  • cingle87
    cingle87 Posts: 717 Member
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    Open your diary and we'll have a look.
  • mariatee28
    mariatee28 Posts: 8
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    Sorry -- I'm new to the site.

    What kind of information do you need?

    I eat either greek yogurt with flax seed and agave or half a banana w.peanut butter for bfast.

    Lunch is either subway turkey sandwich or one i make at home on wheat bread. I make homemade pasta salad with homemade macaroni or bulgur

    Snack is either a hard-boiled egg, nuts or hummus and pretzels.

    Dinner varies depending if I'm home: I make healthy dinners of chicken and veggies with either quinoa or bulgur. If i'm out, I eat spinach salads, veggie burgers or grilled salmon.

    I try to avoid eating after dinner but have been succumbing to a peach or cantaloupe after dinner.

    Does this help?
  • Mokey41
    Mokey41 Posts: 5,769 Member
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    It's not what you eat, it's how much you eat. You can be skinny on junk food in small quantities and obese on lots of good food.
  • mariatee28
    mariatee28 Posts: 8
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    I understand that the quality of food you consume affects your weight and general well-being. That's why I'm frustrated. I eat lots of fruit/veggies and whole grains.

    I opened my food diary and welcome help.

    Thanks so much!!
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,868 Member
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    It looks like you're training like an athlete while eating like a bird. Never a good recipe and almost always counterproductive to your goals. Your hormones are probably all over the place and effecting your weight loss efforts due to lack of nutrition. You're substantially deficient in dietary fat.
  • southerndream24
    southerndream24 Posts: 303 Member
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    Ok, I just took a look at your diary. You have got to eat more food. Your body can't function on 900 calories. For example, I'm the same age as you, 5'3, workout 6-7 days a week for at least an hour, and I eat almost 2000 calories a day. That's on the low side too and I'm still losing.
  • KarenJanine
    KarenJanine Posts: 3,497 Member
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    Are you acurately weighing all food with a digital scale rather than using cup measurements which can be very distorted? And are you logging absolutely everything you eat and drink?

    I ask because some of the entries seem rather dubious - did you really eat only 1inch of banana as that's a tiny piece.

    If your diary is definitely accurate then you are not eating enough - the minimum MFP sets you at is 1200, and that's before exercise so you should be logging your workouts and eating back your exercise calories.
  • mariatee28
    mariatee28 Posts: 8
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    Thanks for the feedback.

    I had a feeling that I probably wasn't eating enough.

    What suggestions do you have for increasing dietary fat and adding calories back since I workout and need more nutrition.
    It seems counterproductive to eat more, but I totally understand how my body is running on low fuel.
  • LoosingMyLast15
    LoosingMyLast15 Posts: 1,457 Member
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    you are not eating enough food. why would you eat 2 strawberries or a 1" of banana. i understand you're mixing it into your yogurt (assuming you are) but you can eat a cup of strawberries or put a whole banana in your yogurt. i just had a greek yogurt and a small banana for my snack. breakfast was 2 scrambled eggs (whole eggs), slice of cheese and a tortilla wrap. there are lots of food you can eat that are healthy, give you the calories you need and still loose weight. string cheese, avocado, nuts, fish, eggs, eat more fruit yes there's sugar in it but it's fruit sugar not processed sugar, eat an entire slice of bread not half of it. you're restricting yourself too much.
  • littlebee26
    littlebee26 Posts: 116
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    Are you acurately weighing all food with a digital scale rather than using cup measurements which can be very distorted? And are you logging absolutely everything you eat and drink?

    I ask because some of the entries seem rather dubious - did you really eat only 1inch of banana as that's a tiny piece.

    If your diary is definitely accurate then you are not eating enough - the minimum MFP sets you at is 1200, and that's before exercise so you should be logging your workouts and eating back your exercise calories.

    What she said
  • southerndream24
    southerndream24 Posts: 303 Member
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    Thanks for the feedback.

    I had a feeling that I probably wasn't eating enough.

    What suggestions do you have for increasing dietary fat and adding calories back since I workout and need more nutrition.
    It seems counterproductive to eat more, but I totally understand how my body is running on low fuel.

    Dietary fat isn't what you should be worrying about. You need to be getting the proper distribution of carbs/protein/fats(healthy). I suggest figuring out your TDEE to properly calculate your calorie needs and macro distribution.

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