Confused by how many calories to loose weight

Katecatgal
Katecatgal Posts: 13
in Health and Weight Loss
I'm 45 years old, currently unemployed so living a very sedentary life style. I'm 5'4" and currently weighing in at 190.

For the past 2 weeks I have made a conscious effort to go out every day and walk for an hour and according to my pedometer on my iPhone I'm averaging about 350 calories burned each session. I've been eating healthy as my cholesterol levels recently were high so I'm trying to bring them down and also lower my weight after gaining a lot quitting smoking 4 1/2 months ago, though to be honest I was fat before that!!

I've been eating and measuring my calories like an anal retentive geek and have not eaten more than 1200 most days. The first week I lost 3.8 pounds but have lost nothing since weight wise even though I have not cheated, have kept strict record of my calories and have exercised and walked more in the last 2 weeks than I have in years!!

What am I doing wrong. I have lost some inches but would like to see the weight come off the scales. I read some where that I should not be eating less than my BMR which should be 1570 so does that mean I have to eat 1570 a day and still do my exercise because currently I'm only eating 1200 and burning approx 350 in exercise so I'm assuming my body is going into starvation mode. Or can I stick with the 1200 and what I'm doing and just assume it will eventually drop off!!

But bloody frustrating when it's not even registering an oz difference in nearly 2 weeks. I have got new scales coming from Amazon on Tuesday that have all kinds of bells and whistles so hoping that maybe its the scales. But would appreciate any help in pointing me in the right direction to eating right, incorporating an hour a day brisk walking and actually seeing weight coming off the scales

Thanks.

Replies

  • bwogilvie
    bwogilvie Posts: 2,130 Member
    Many people don't see results for the first few weeks, especially if they increase their exercise dramatically. You're probably just retaining water while your muscles adapt to the new demands you're placing on them. If your total calorie intake is only 1200, try adding your exercise calories to your daily intake; otherwise you risk not getting enough nutrients. If 1200 is your net, just keep doing what you're doing.
  • Katecatgal
    Katecatgal Posts: 13
    Many people don't see results for the first few weeks, especially if they increase their exercise dramatically. You're probably just retaining water while your muscles adapt to the new demands you're placing on them. If your total calorie intake is only 1200, try adding your exercise calories to your daily intake; otherwise you risk not getting enough nutrients. If 1200 is your net, just keep doing what you're doing.

    See that's what I don't get this Net thingy!! I was lead to believe that if I ate a certain amount of calories I did not also eat in addition the amount that I had burned off during exercise because that would mean I was actually eating more for example I eat 1200 burn off lets say 370 walking in a day so if I added those burnt calories in the form of food that would mean that I have exceeded my daily allowance of 1200 by 370 which means I'm eating more!!

    Really confused by this and have looked on line and on here and still not getting it. If my BMR is 1570 but I only eat 1200 that leaves me with 370 that I'm burning which in my world of maths which I was never good at means I'm back to only having eaten 1200 but am seeing no result in weight loss!!

    As to the water retention I am drinking approx 2 litres a day and I pee a lot!!

    I guess I just want to know do I eat my BMR of 1570 and exercise or stick with my 1200 and exercise. Sorry to be a pain but it really is confusing me and I'm really getting frustrated with not seeing anything coming off the scales. I did do calipers and I am obese, not planning on doing those again for another 2 weeks to see if I am loosing fat and as I said I have lost inches but guess psychologically I would feel that I'm accomplishing my goal of loosing 1-2 pounds a week on the scales!!

    according to MFP I'm netting about 850 a day currently which is eating 1200 and adding in my exercise which varies between 350-500!!

    Maybe I'm just dumb when it comes to the concept and impatient to see results. But when I'm finally at a point where I want to do this dieting thing right it doesn't seem to be co-operating body wise with showing me results to keep me on it and not coming off and saying sod it and cheating.

    Any help would be appreciated and if necessary please explain it to me like a child!! I might actually get it then!! I'm intelligent in other things in my life, hell I edited two documentaries to be seen on the BBC but trying to work out maths to loose weight is like trying to learn to fly a bloody plane when all the controls are in Russian or something!!

    :laugh:
  • dianefisher47
    dianefisher47 Posts: 223 Member
    Hi just wanted to let you know when you need answers you can click top of your main page where it says ''Help'' which is next to settings you may find good info there and answers....:flowerforyou:
  • herblackwings39
    herblackwings39 Posts: 3,930 Member
    Many people don't see results for the first few weeks, especially if they increase their exercise dramatically. You're probably just retaining water while your muscles adapt to the new demands you're placing on them. If your total calorie intake is only 1200, try adding your exercise calories to your daily intake; otherwise you risk not getting enough nutrients. If 1200 is your net, just keep doing what you're doing.

    See that's what I don't get this Net thingy!! I was lead to believe that if I ate a certain amount of calories I did not also eat in addition the amount that I had burned off during exercise because that would mean I was actually eating more for example I eat 1200 burn off lets say 370 walking in a day so if I added those burnt calories in the form of food that would mean that I have exceeded my daily allowance of 1200 by 370 which means I'm eating more!!

    Really confused by this and have looked on line and on here and still not getting it. If my BMR is 1570 but I only eat 1200 that leaves me with 370 that I'm burning which in my world of maths which I was never good at means I'm back to only having eaten 1200 but am seeing no result in weight loss!!

    As to the water retention I am drinking approx 2 litres a day and I pee a lot!!

    I guess I just want to know do I eat my BMR of 1570 and exercise or stick with my 1200 and exercise. Sorry to be a pain but it really is confusing me and I'm really getting frustrated with not seeing anything coming off the scales. I did do calipers and I am obese, not planning on doing those again for another 2 weeks to see if I am loosing fat and as I said I have lost inches but guess psychologically I would feel that I'm accomplishing my goal of loosing 1-2 pounds a week on the scales!!

    according to MFP I'm netting about 850 a day currently which is eating 1200 and adding in my exercise which varies between 350-500!!

    Maybe I'm just dumb when it comes to the concept and impatient to see results. But when I'm finally at a point where I want to do this dieting thing right it doesn't seem to be co-operating body wise with showing me results to keep me on it and not coming off and saying sod it and cheating.

    Any help would be appreciated and if necessary please explain it to me like a child!! I might actually get it then!! I'm intelligent in other things in my life, hell I edited two documentaries to be seen on the BBC but trying to work out maths to loose weight is like trying to learn to fly a bloody plane when all the controls are in Russian or something!!

    :laugh:

    When you signed up you told MFP if you told them you wanted to lose 2 lbs a week they give you 1200 calories without exercise. That 1200 calories already has 1000 taken from it. You could eat 2200 and maintain. When you exercise and burn 300 calories you need to eat 1500 for the day otherwise your 1000 calorie deficit just became 1300 which is more than you're actually eating. A huge deficit doesn't work well unless you are morbidly obese with a lot of weight to lose, like 100+ pounds.
  • rrobers6
    rrobers6 Posts: 3 Member
    Yes the net calories, think of those like the calories your body keeps after all the exercising is done, and 1200 kcal not enough its almost like your starving your self, do at least min 1500 please for women, men its 1700 for bare min. Just keep it going, its a long journey and it wont fall off right away, eating a little bit more calories well help to but the right calories not bad ones, maybe we could come up with something for you, also you may find this website helpful http://chrispowell.com/ has cool stuff in there about losing weight the right way carb cycling and things like that, putting a reward day in there for your self. Keep it going its a journey you are doing great so far!!!
  • juul76
    juul76 Posts: 20
    Sorry to hear you are so frustrated! I remember when I started (without myfitness pal) I was jogging 3-4x a week and careful with what I ate, it took 3 months!!!! before the number on the scales went down. It was soooo frustrating and I was ready to throw in the towel but I persevered and have now lost about 19 kg in 10 months (including those frustrating first 3 months). I was eating about 1580cal and burning about 4x 800 cal a week during a gym session. That worked for me. So maybe up the calories a little bit just to keep your nutrients up and give you at least some energy to continue walking. I am sorry I can't be much help otherwise other then wish you all the best on your weightloss journey and don't give up! YOu can do it!
  • unFATuated
    unFATuated Posts: 204 Member
    Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) is the number of calories your body would burn just performing its basic functions (heart beating, pumping blood, breathing, brain function) if you laid in bed all day and didn't move. So 1570 is the amount of calories your body would use JUST doing that. If you get up, walk around, lift things, bend, stretch etc then it would expend more calories. It sounds like you have BMR mixed up with maintenance calories (which as a PP pointed out would be up around the 2000 mark). If you are only netting 850 per day then that is a huge deficit and your body is probably hanging onto the weight because it thinks it may need it to survive if you keep starving it. 1200 is the bare minimum anyone should eat unless you are very short and slim.

    Personally (and I know this doesn't work for everyone) I eat at least the amount of my BMR which is currently about 1530cals daily, plus some or all of what I burn with exercise depending on how hungry I am. That way if my losses slow or stop, I have leeway to reduce my calorie intake in a healthy way to kickstart things again. I refuse to go under 1200, it's torture for me as I love food and I've found I really don't need to. I have lost just over 12kg (26lbs) in 13 weeks and I have rarely eaten less than 1500 calories net per day.
  • Katecatgal
    Katecatgal Posts: 13
    Thanks. DianeFisher47 I've been using the app for ages, but never been to this site or set my profile up. Guess I've always just used the app to count the calories. Confess had I gone to the help section and read the bit about Net calories it would have made more sense to me!! But thanks. I will be using this site more I think as I can see there are a whole load of resources for helping me loose those pounds.:smile:
  • Katecatgal
    Katecatgal Posts: 13


    When you signed up you told MFP if you told them you wanted to lose 2 lbs a week they give you 1200 calories without exercise. That 1200 calories already has 1000 taken from it. You could eat 2200 and maintain. When you exercise and burn 300 calories you need to eat 1500 for the day otherwise your 1000 calorie deficit just became 1300 which is more than you're actually eating. A huge deficit doesn't work well unless you are morbidly obese with a lot of weight to lose, like 100+ pounds.


    Thanks that makes more sense to me the way you explained it. It was my mum who told me that I shouldn't be eating back the calories that I was burning!! And as she told me yesterday when I expressed my frustration and that I thought I was doing it wrong she said I've been dieting all my life and I know what I'm talking about!! Well for once she's wrong and would explain why she's always dieting!! But I like my life too much to tell her that!!:laugh:

    But thanks. I think I'm going to continue to eat my 1200 calories but eat what ever it is that I'm burning up on my walks. But my understanding is that I need to keep my daily net at 1200 to hopefully loose up to 2lbs a week. Thanks for the help.
  • Katecatgal
    Katecatgal Posts: 13
    Yes the net calories, think of those like the calories your body keeps after all the exercising is done, and 1200 kcal not enough its almost like your starving your self, do at least min 1500 please for women, men its 1700 for bare min. Just keep it going, its a long journey and it wont fall off right away, eating a little bit more calories well help to but the right calories not bad ones, maybe we could come up with something for you, also you may find this website helpful http://chrispowell.com/ has cool stuff in there about losing weight the right way carb cycling and things like that, putting a reward day in there for your self. Keep it going its a journey you are doing great so far!!!

    Hey thanks. Yep seems I've been doing it wrong but as I said in another post I was listening to the advice of my mum, and you never argue with mum!!

    But I will plan on eating 1200 a day of healthy food and then eating what ever I use up walking so that my net is 1200. I never was good at maths and didn't realise that to loose weight I needed to be a mathematician/scientist!! It wasn't this bloody hard to put on the weight!!

    I realize that it's going to take ages to come off. I'm not interested in the fast fixes, I'm happy loosing up to 2lbs a week. I have approx 45 to loose and my first target is the end of October when I go for a Well Check at my GP's for them to re test my cholesterol levels to see if they have come down with the dieting and exercising and also to see for myself if I can get my weight down by at least 15-20 pounds. The next target is when I go to visit the parents in Spain at Xmas, I'd like to be closer still to my target weight. I don't think those are unrealistic goals. Though my main goal at the moment is to get to 175 as for some reason that always seems to be my plateau. But to be honest in the past I've never been so determined to do it and certainly have not exercised as much. So only time will tell but I appreciate the help and I'll check out the website you suggested. Thanks and I've added you as a friend.:smile:
  • Katecatgal
    Katecatgal Posts: 13
    Sorry to hear you are so frustrated! I remember when I started (without myfitness pal) I was jogging 3-4x a week and careful with what I ate, it took 3 months!!!! before the number on the scales went down. It was soooo frustrating and I was ready to throw in the towel but I persevered and have now lost about 19 kg in 10 months (including those frustrating first 3 months). I was eating about 1580cal and burning about 4x 800 cal a week during a gym session. That worked for me. So maybe up the calories a little bit just to keep your nutrients up and give you at least some energy to continue walking. I am sorry I can't be much help otherwise other then wish you all the best on your weightloss journey and don't give up! YOu can do it!

    Thanks and congrats to you on your loss.

    I know it's not going to be as easy to loose it even though it seemed bloody easy to put it on over the years!! But in the past when I have tried to diet I have normally only done it by diet and not exercise. But with my new found ability to exercise without dying after quitting smoking I'm determined to incorporate exercise and for now walking an hour a day is great for me. I'm planning on pushing it a bit each day and adding in intervals of jogging, though the other day when I tried that I thought I was going to die!! But I realize as the weight comes off and my muscles get used to exercising instead of sitting on the sofa I'll be able to increase my jogging a bit each day. I'm also dealing with an old broken ankle injury that I need to be aware of, plus bad knees but hoping that the more I do the easier it will become. There are some great walks and running areas in Glasgow where I live along the River Clyde and as long as I don't let the ****e weather stop me, which I haven't yet I'm happy whilst I'm currently unemployed to go out and walk/eventually jog everyday. I actually enjoy it which the old smoking me would never have said. But it was just very frustrating when I was doing the exercise but nothing was showing on the scales at all, I mean no gain or loss which just really make you say WTF am I bothering!! But now that I understand that I have been doing the calories wrong each day I'll adjust that this week and hopefully be reporting loss this time next week!! Good luck with your loss and your comments did help. Thanks.:smile:
  • Katecatgal
    Katecatgal Posts: 13
    Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) is the number of calories your body would burn just performing its basic functions (heart beating, pumping blood, breathing, brain function) if you laid in bed all day and didn't move. So 1570 is the amount of calories your body would use JUST doing that. If you get up, walk around, lift things, bend, stretch etc then it would expend more calories. It sounds like you have BMR mixed up with maintenance calories (which as a PP pointed out would be up around the 2000 mark). If you are only netting 850 per day then that is a huge deficit and your body is probably hanging onto the weight because it thinks it may need it to survive if you keep starving it. 1200 is the bare minimum anyone should eat unless you are very short and slim.

    Personally (and I know this doesn't work for everyone) I eat at least the amount of my BMR which is currently about 1530cals daily, plus some or all of what I burn with exercise depending on how hungry I am. That way if my losses slow or stop, I have leeway to reduce my calorie intake in a healthy way to kickstart things again. I refuse to go under 1200, it's torture for me as I love food and I've found I really don't need to. I have lost just over 12kg (26lbs) in 13 weeks and I have rarely eaten less than 1500 calories net per day.

    I have a set of calculators on my iPhone that show the BMR etc and because I am determined to loose it this time I decided to use them having read a post on another site about BMR. Mine according to my height and current weight which is 5'4" and 190 should be 1570, but according to the MFP app to loose approx 2lbs a week I need to net 1200 calories a day. What I was doing was eating that and then exercising which of course was meaning I was actually only netting approx 800-850 a day!! So it makes sense why I wasn't loosing, as you said my body was storing the fat!!

    So now my goal is to net 1200 a day which means I can either eat my 1570 and still exercise or eat 1200 but also eat the amount I burn. So at the moment not sure which route I'm going to take but it's nice to have the clarification I needed from all of you lovely posters to the fact that I need to be netting a minimum of 1200 a day to see up to 2lbs a week loss. But I like the way you think, eating your BMR but giving yourself a wee bit of leeway to adjust. I'm assuming as I loose the weight that my BMR will change and to keep loosing I will have to adjust my daily intake.

    As I said before in another post who knew that to loose the weight I was going to need to be a mathematician/scientist!! I'm pretty sure I didn't get out calculators or charts etc to put it all on over the years!! Oh the joys of loosing weight. But thanks for your help, it's a learning process I'm seeing to do this weight loss properly and in a healthy way. :smile:
  • Shesaid_destroy
    Shesaid_destroy Posts: 128
    Hello Katecatgal,
    First off, i'm gonna send you a friend request, because i love cats too and i am confused about the net calories and i've been good for 3 weeks and the scale has barely moved to the left. Lol

    I have come to believe that while calories, gross or net or whatever, are important, what is paramount is to eat a balanced diet and use this 'eye opening phase we're going through' to try new things... Well, healthy things of course , not the latest mc donald's sandwich.

    In other words, with work and efforts come good things, and all good things come to those who wait. It will take a long time, and if we're perfectly honest, it even has to last for the rest of our lives.
  • Katecatgal
    Katecatgal Posts: 13
    Hello Katecatgal,
    First off, i'm gonna send you a friend request, because i love cats too and i am confused about the net calories and i've been good for 3 weeks and the scale has barely moved to the left. Lol

    I have come to believe that while calories, gross or net or whatever, are important, what is paramount is to eat a balanced diet and use this 'eye opening phase we're going through' to try new things... Well, healthy things of course , not the latest mc donald's sandwich.

    In other words, with work and efforts come good things, and all good things come to those who wait. It will take a long time, and if we're perfectly honest, it even has to last for the rest of our lives.



    I was just talking to my aunt about my issues and said that I realize that all though a lot of my weight went on quickly, that I need to accept that it's not going to be a quick fix to get it to come off and that I need to accept that this is going to be a life change not just a watch the calories and exercise till I loose and get to my goal weight. But instead do that but once I'm at my goal weight do everything that I need to which is eat right and exercise to make sure I don't go back up again.

    I honestly think that because I know how hard it is to loose the weight that once I get to my goal weight I will do everything to not put it back on again because really why would I want to suffer through trying to loose it again!! I mean I'm stupid over some things but I don't need to keep banging my head against the weight loss wall over and over.

    So assuming I get my calorie and exercise numbers right this week I would like to think that I have made the right step towards actually seeing something coming off the scales this week.

    I've accepted your friends request so hopefully we can motivate each other to stick with the dieting and reach our goal weights.
  • juul76
    juul76 Posts: 20
    We are actually talking at work about this last evening. One of my colleagues is quite overweight and has been trying EVERYTHING to loose weight. She tried all kinds of diets for MONTHS. Exercise, dietician, naturopath, tablets... but just no luck. We also talked about possible medical issues.... she did get most tested but some that came up were poly cystic ovaries and a high fasting insulin..... This means that sugar gets converted into fat in no time.... So maybe if you have been trying so hard and not loosing anything AT ALL, it might be an idea just to get a few test done to make sure you don't have diabetes, no polycystic ovaries, fasting insulin levels, thyroid function, etc. I am no expert on these things but it might help you in your journey.

    I am feeling very sorry for my colleague as she is trying very hard too...
  • Cheeky_and_Geeky
    Cheeky_and_Geeky Posts: 984 Member
    It is very frustrating, I know. In general, I'm usually around 1200 calories a day & exercise 3-4x a week. I've lost 8lbs this month & hope for 5lbs next month. Unfortunately if your not morbidly obese, its really hard to lose more than 1/2 - 1lb a week unless you start running & add strength training. Good job & keep it up! Worry more about eating healthy than a number on the scale! Feel free to add me as well

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