A little advice would be much appreciated!

jarobison47
jarobison47 Posts: 4
in Motivation and Support
Hey everyone!

I just got the idea that I should eat about 1500 a day not too long ago. Prior to that I was trying to eat low calories to lose weight. Reading this made me realize that I needed to bump up my calories. Or so I think?

I've been eating 1500 calories, plus or minus 100. Sometimes I just can't seem to eat more. It feels like so much food (since all the food I do eat is healthy). My food diary is open to anyone interested in looking. I admit, I do struggle to get 8 8oz glasses of water down. I usually make it to about 7 glasses, and I do realize that needs to be fixed.

I exercise 6 mornings a week. T25. Just started my 3rd week yesterday! Love the program. I usually burn between 200-250 calories per session according to my Polar heart rate monitor. I do not eat my calories back.

I have noticed a HUGE change in muscles. I never exercised before. I hardly even ate that much during the day before. I think I usually ate anywhere between 750 - 1200 calories a day of whatever I could grab that was easy since I was in a depression and I had to force myself to eat. Now, after doing T25 for the past couple weeks, I can feel my muscles. Mainly in my legs and arms. I can flex and feel it, which is awesome! I have been tracking measurements. I have lost 2 inches below my breasts and an inch off the fullest part of my breasts. I haven't lost anywhere else :(. I was genuinely surprised there. I also haven't gained weight or lost weight.

I have had two nights out in which a lot of drinking was involved in the past two and a half weeks, but I stuck to my calorie goal at the same time.

This is why I'm confused. I get that I'm getting muscle and am eating more. Is that why I haven't lost weight? I just don't want to continuously do this routine if I'm not going to lose weight. That is my ultimate goal. I'm already beginning to get discouraged, but I'm trying really hard not to be. Which is why I came here for advice. Here are my stats:

Female
23 years old
5'3"
Current weight: 158.8lbs
Goal weight: 115lbs
34% body fat (according to the average of a few online calculators)
Workout 6x/week, Cardio, 200-250 average calorie burn

I actually did download a spreadsheet somewhere on here that says I should be eating about 2000 a day for a weight loss of about 0.7lb/week. I am having a REALLY hard time even eating 1500 that this just doesn't seem right to me. That's wayyyyy too much food!

Is this because I didn't eat much to begin with and now my body is confused that I'm all the sudden shoveling food down my throat? Is it because of muscle gain? I know I lost inches but I just don't FEEL like I'm losing weight. Any advice? Anyone with a similar situation who saw a light at the end of the tunnel? All advice is truly appreciated! Please, no rude remarks. :)

Replies

  • jarobison47
    jarobison47 Posts: 4
    Thank you so much for the response! That's all I needed. Just a 'hang in there'. It seems everyone around me, friends and family, are trying to push me to drink and eat whatever since I haven't lost any weight doing this yet.

    At least I haven't gained and I am making SOME amount of progress...! Thank you!
  • RadianWear
    RadianWear Posts: 102
    I can't wait to do T-25, gotta finish Les Mills Combat first though :).

    Weight loss really is a forumula lol.

    You take your BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate), which tells you how many calories your body requires to operate and maintain it's current weight. Then you need to consume a deficit to that amount. MFP does this in your profile which I am sure you played with.

    If you are not eating enough calories your body will go into starvation mode and hold on to the fat instead of burning it, so you have to be careful. It is VERY important that you eat back the calories that you burn.

    For example, I set my goal at 2lbs a week, MFP tells me to eat 1440 calories to lost 2lbs a week. If I burn 440 working out that my NET consumption was only 1000, which is way to low, my body will start to hold on to my fat instead so it is very important to "eat more" lol. I hope that helps :)
  • jarobison47
    jarobison47 Posts: 4
    That does help! :)

    I'm supposedly supposed to be eating about 2000 calories to lose weight (slowly and safely) and someone suggested that I don't eat back calories that I worked out. Since it adds to the deficit...? Freakin' confusing. Lol.

    There are so many different ideas out there that it's just difficult to figure out what is right. I think I do need to eat more. You're right... I'm netting about 1250 after working out. Which doesn't sound good since I am overweight and need to eat more. Shoot. It's seriously hard for me to eat more. I don't know why, I just get full very easily. Maybe I should invest in some almonds and pistachios for snacks since they're high in calories. :P Not too many of course.
  • RadianWear
    RadianWear Posts: 102
    It depend's on what you are eating, there are higher calorie foods that won't fill you as much, like peanut butter :P.

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