out of calories by the end of lunch time...

13»

Replies

  • janelleholden14
    janelleholden14 Posts: 3
    Wow that was really helpful to me because I am new to here too, and although I think I am pretty comfortable and full by the end of the day with 1200 calories, (i am trying to make wise choices and am spending a lot of time looking at different menu choices) I am going to try the link you provided, thanks!
  • ladynocturne
    ladynocturne Posts: 865 Member
    I agree with previous posters who have recommended changing your goal for weight loss to .5 per week, you just don't have enough left to lose to reasonably sustain a higher deficit than that.
  • becky10rp
    becky10rp Posts: 573 Member
    EXERCISE............!

    I work out 6 days a week; the one day I don't - is usually the one day I go over my calorie allotment.

    I usually 'suck it up' and deal with it - as others have said - if you don't go over by much - no big deal.

    Every other night - I get home from work - put on my shorts, tee, and sneakers, and work out for an hour or more - then you have the calories for dinner, all is 'good'!
  • husseycd
    husseycd Posts: 814 Member
    Thanks for the long list of info. I think I need to do a lot of exploring on what all these terms and acronyms mean- it just seems like there's a ton of info to weed through. I put in accurate info about myself- height, weight, and that I exercise 5 times a week typically. I am 5"5 and weigh 135. I200 is the number they gave me as net calories...does this still seem wrong to you?

    Yeah. We're the same height and I was 138 lbs when I came here. Although it does depend on your exercise level. But my RMR alone is nearly 1600 calories, and my BMR is around 1350. I wouldn't net below BMR personally because those are the calories you need just to exist, your body tends to take them from other sources, like muscle.

    You are welcome to check out my diary. I've been maintaining a weight in the 126-128 lb range for a while. I don't usually log on weekends and I drink a fair amount. I do workout daily (very little cardio, mostly weights). I don't log that either. I use the TDEE method. I used a body media for a while and my average daily burn tends to be about 2200 calories/day--right in line with TDEE calculations.
  • sybrix
    sybrix Posts: 134 Member
    Did you put Sedentary as your activity level? You shouldn't do this if you work out regularly, even if you work at a desk job all day. I recently found this out myself.

    I also made the common mistake when I first joined of selecting 2 lb/week right off the bat. At the time I was Sedentary and wanted to avoid working out. It gave me 1200 calories a day.

    I tried it for about 2 days and was like... no.

    1200 calories a day is not enough for me. I would lose my mind. I've since started working out, changed my activity level, and eat 1450-1500 a day.
  • lavaughan69
    lavaughan69 Posts: 459 Member
    Also, and I know this isn't everyone's cup of tea, but you could skip your morning and/or midday meal and leave more room for calories and larger, more satisfying meals later.

    Pizza is wonderful, but I've also learned it racks up the calories very quickly. And I can eat a LOT of pizza.

    That's what I do. I plan ahead for special occasions.

    But never fear, the weeks not over! Have you heard of the 5/2 fast? Pick two other days this week where you have no entertaining plans and just keep your calories to 500-600 a day. The other 5 days of the week you can eat healthy. (That doesn't mean go crazy with calories!)
  • TLoss85
    TLoss85 Posts: 6
    Thank you everyone!! The counter says for me to eat 1200 a day. I had oatmeal for breakfast and for lunch I had three small pieces of pizza from Homemade pizza co and a peach. I think usually I could easily get up to 1200 alone just going out to dinner and drinks with friends. I don't have time to exercise today since company comes right after work. It's ok I just wanted to get off to a good start which might continue to be tough since I have friends' weddings every other weekend it seems.

    You have 13 pounds to lose. Go back and select "I want to lose 0.5lbs per week". You should be eating significantly more than 1200, I'm guessing.

    This! You should be eating at TDEE -10 or -15%, at the most. Here's a great thread that helped me figure it all out:

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/974889-in-place-of-a-road-map-short-n-sweet

    And this has been the most accurate calculator for me: http://scoobysworkshop.com/accurate-calorie-calculator/

    (Don't be surprised by the number. As long as you're accurate with your activity level, it's pretty spot on within 50-100ish cals.)
  • newday1981
    newday1981 Posts: 41 Member
    You should try to get some exercise in , so you can burn some of the calories that you have already eaten, and then plan to have a low calorie dinner like, chicken breast and salad.
    I had to learn this too, since I was using too many calories on "snacks" , hope this helps
  • sympha01
    sympha01 Posts: 942 Member
    Thanks for the long list of info. I think I need to do a lot of exploring on what all these terms and acronyms mean- it just seems like there's a ton of info to weed through. I put in accurate info about myself- height, weight, and that I exercise 5 times a week typically. I am 5"5 and weigh 135. I200 is the number they gave me as net calories...does this still seem wrong to you?

    I think what he is getting at with "inaccurate" is not your height and weight, but users' goals and activity level. There's a general feeling among many of the most dedicated MFPers that the "sedentary" activity level is appropriate only for a very, very small minority of people. Yes, most of us work desk jobs, but most of us also walk through big parking lots, climb a few stairs during the day, clean our homes and do laundry, shop, walk across the street for lunch, walk to the bus stop, etc. You didn't mention what you entered your activity level as (you did say you entered that you exercise 5X a week, but MFP doesn't use that estimate in its calorie calculation; instead it uses your "activity level" entry). But if you entered "sedentary," you should consider the next higher up at least.

    But for you specifically I think the concern is what goal you entered for how many pounds you want to lose each week. Yes, MPF lets ANYONE put in 2 pounds a week, and who wouldn't want to lose extra pounds faster, right? But the truth is that if you have less than 20 pounds to lose your health will benefit more from losing that weight more gradually. Generating a big calorie deficit by eating such a small number of calories might cause you to lose weight quickly. However, when you lose weight quickly with a big calorie deficit you risk losing is a higher proportion of lean body mass and a lower proportion of bodyfat. You want to lose bodyfat and you DON'T want to lose lean body mass, so losing slower is almost always better. Plus, with a smaller calorie deficit you will have room for much better nutrition AND you'll be helping yourself out by building long-term sustainable healthy habits.

    Losing 2 lbs a week is more appropriate for people who have REALLY HIGH bodyfat percentages (and high overall weight), because a greater proportion of the weight lost will actually be bodyfat, and they don't risk losing too much lean body mass.
  • socioseguro
    socioseguro Posts: 1,679 Member
    Thank you everyone!! The counter says for me to eat 1200 a day. I had oatmeal for breakfast and for lunch I had three small pieces of pizza from Homemade pizza co and a peach. I think usually I could easily get up to 1200 alone just going out to dinner and drinks with friends. I don't have time to exercise today since company comes right after work. It's ok I just wanted to get off to a good start which might continue to be tough since I have friends' weddings every other weekend it seems.

    So you may need to update your goals on here. 1200 is most likely not going to be right for you.

    Since you're new here, I post these tips all over the place. They may help.

    1. don't trust the initial setup that MFP provides. If you put in the wrong/inaccurate information, it'll tell you to eat an amount that may not be applicable.
    2. Make sure you eat enough.
    3. Figure out what works for you and is sustainable/healthy/long term.
    4. avoid fads. don't buy in to any "Hey, try the twinkie and vodka diet"
    5. Don't cut out anything now that you don't plan on literally giving up forever.
    6. GET A FOOD SCALE. Weigh everything. No, seriously.
    7. Get an HRM with a chest strap. You'll at least have a better idea of what you're burning. It'll be more accurate than the generic info in the exercise database.. and even more than the cardio machines. This is great for steady state cardio (run/walk/etc)
    8. Don't go balls out. You'll burn out. I see 300 lb people show up here, instantly start working out and cutting their intake SEVERELY... trying to cut out all of their carbs at once.. whatever. Take it slow. Figure out how much you need to eat FIRST in order to lose.. then incorporate exercise.
    9. Don't cardio yourself to death.
    10. Take the information on the forums with a grain of salt. A lot of people that have been here for a while.. and have been successful, may seem jaded. They give out GREAT advice day after day, only to be met with people that refuse to listen.
    11. Eat real food. Not diet food. Not "low fat, sugar free, now without X." It's easier to get/find/count.
    12. don't set time restrictions.
    13. measure yourself weekly. Don't just weigh. Measure and take pictures.
    14 BE PATIENT.
    15. Avoid forum topics that have "1200" in the title. It's just full of butthurt. Lots of it.
    16. This isn't a game, it's about changing your lifestyle. Do that.

    pretty much that.

    ...and don't fall into the "1200 calorie" vertigo of suck because of:

    the typical MFP users does this:
    1. I wanna lose weight, let's try MFP.
    2. OH! Wow, it tells me I can lose 2 lbs a WEEK? AWESOME!
    3. I just sit at a desk when I'm not working out, I guess I'm sedentary.
    4. MFP tells them 1200 calories, and they don't even eat that.. then they work out on top of it.. creating an even bigger deficit.
    5. Lose a lot, fast, brag about 1200 calorie success.
    6. Come back in a few months trying to figure out why they're dizzy, tired, not losing weight.
    7. Get on the forums, ask why they aren't losing.
    8. Get two responses (I eat 1200 and lose) (I eat 2200 and lose)
    9. Argument ensues about who is right.

    Now. That being said. These threads happen hundreds of times per day. Most times, and I mean really.. seriously.. 95% of the time.. people get the 1200 number because they don't put the right information in when they set up the account. There are a great number of people that are trying to help. I'm one of 'em.

    I'm a hardcore advocate of actually finding out what works for the individual.. by means of other calculators, averages, time, practice, and patience.

    Blanket prescriptions of 1200 calories "because it worked for me" is more harmful to the generic new user than the "figure out what you need to eat." Unfortunately, one is a LOT easier to type.

    Find out what you need: http://scoobysworkshop.com/accurate-calorie-calculator/
    Take the tips, links, and info above and make the cart more manageable to stay on.

    THIS
  • Aarchman07030
    Aarchman07030 Posts: 5 Member
    Wow--this conversation and the links provided by some of the posters are really interesting.

    According to the calculators over at Health-calc.com, my target numbers for daily caloric intake should be substantially higher than those suggested by MFP. MFP started me out at 1,550/day, which health-calc calls "extreme". Their algorithms suggest 2,250/day as "high" weight loss. While I have a substantial amount of weight to lose, my goal is a sane & sustainable plan that I can implement as a permanent way of life--I'm not interested in life on the Yo-Yo.

    Having said all that, I have not found the MFP plan particularly onerous--I'm in my third week. I have learned what I guess everybody learns from doing this--simply being conscious of what I eat and informed about the nutritional reality of my diet has been tremendously eye-opening. I have learned that many of my habitual foods "cost" me far more--in terms of calories, fat & sugar--than I realized. Letting them go has been easier now that I understand this.

    I guess I will stick with the MFP plan for now, but cut myself a little slack on days that I wander into a slight calorie surplus.
  • lebbyloses
    lebbyloses Posts: 133 Member
    I'm no expert, and there's some pretty solid advice here already. I'd definitely second the "if you don't have much to lose, go slow" advice! But I am doing the 1200 a day thing. It's been a couple months now, and it's working for me. And one thing about it that's working is that I know it's in the low end of healthy, even though I am short. So if I need to or just really want to, I decide to go over my calories. And the world doesn't end, and I don't gain 20 pounds overnight. I just go back to planning my meals and making good choices the next day.

    So that's what I'd recommend. Have a nice dinner with your friends! Don't go crazy, but don't punish yourself. Those weddings you're going to? Plan ahead a bit. Figure out what's likely to be served and crunch the numbers ahead of time, so if you do go over you know it will be a choice. Eat a good lunch anyway; it'll help your willpower.

    Also, the more you do this and keep logging, the less likely it is that you'll be in this situation. If only because figuring the calories accurately can be such a hassle that it's easier to cook your own food most of the time and bring your lunch. And you won't want to plan an 800-calorie lunch, so you'll make something filling and healthy and pizza will start to seem like something you could have, but maybe not today because your kale will go bad if you don't eat it. It gets way easier! Then again, if you want the zzz, have it, log it, and either make it fit your plan or accept that you're slowing down your weight loss. Either way the world still won't come to an end.
  • skadoosh33
    skadoosh33 Posts: 353 Member
    Run 5 miles a day and you shouldn't have a calorie issue.
This discussion has been closed.

Categories