eating more?

georgiamae1991
georgiamae1991 Posts: 17
edited November 2023 in Getting Started
hi guys!
im new to the site and im looking to lose me some weight
i have started the 30 day shred, today will be my 3rd day, and i have state guerilla training classes.
however i keep seeing everywhere that i should be eating more to lose weight, my fitness pal app is telling me 1200 calories a day, and as personally im not to used to how the entering exercise works (im not sure on calories burnt) then i enter that the best i can, surely i shouldnt be eating more than that? right?

Replies

  • Catloin
    Catloin Posts: 14
    Mfp is great for logging food but I suggest calculating your BMR and using that as an eating guide. I started eating 1200 calories and then hit a massive plateau and put back on the weight I lost. 1500 is the fewest I would suggest. As for eating more calories I suggest taking a clean approach and eating more healthy fats in the form of nut butters and olive and coconut oils. It's the easiest way to add healthy calories that aren't empty, simple carbs or loaded with sugar and bad fats. Quinoa and brown rice are also good ways to add more complex calories to main meals! :)
  • georgiamae1991
    georgiamae1991 Posts: 17
    oh heck i just did that and it said 2415 calories :o that seems alot?
  • Catloin
    Catloin Posts: 14
    Try using it as a base maybe? Meet in the middle between mfp and your BMR? Somewhere around 1800 seems to work for lots of active girls? Trial and error is the best way to go but 1200 is far too low!
  • georgiamae1991
    georgiamae1991 Posts: 17
    oh heck i never knew all this! i thought i had to eat less
    right lets aim for 1800! how im going to manage that i do not know!!
  • Catloin
    Catloin Posts: 14
    Don't worry I learnt the hard way that 1200 was too low as well! I'm not saying 1800 works for everyone but the general consensus is that 1200 doesn't work. As for getting in that many calories I struggle as well! And that's without eating back my exercise calories.
  • georgiamae1991
    georgiamae1991 Posts: 17
    defiantely when i take off my exercise calories i need to find 500 calories just to make 1200!
    so what kind of food should i go for to fill it up?
  • Catloin
    Catloin Posts: 14
    Well a typical day for me is clean eating with all my macros at each meal, so breakfast is a cup of fat free Greek yogurt with fruits (mango and banana) and psyllium husk and a boiled egg. That covers fat, protein, complex carbs and some natural sugars and fibre.
    For lunch I'll have protein like chicken, lean pork, lean beef or lamb or any lean meat really! With one starch like potato, sweet potato or pumpkin, quinoa, brown rice, Wholegrain pasta or bread. Then add some more vegetables either cooked or in a salad and some good fats from olive oil or avocado.
    For dinner it's pretty much the same as lunch except ill add in a bit more healthy fat and slightly increase quantity.
    As a snack my favourite is apples and almond butter.

    I try and eat clean and don't really eat anything that comes from a packet except unsweetened almond milk, yogurt, low fat cheese, oils and nut butters. All of those except maybe the oils you can make yourself as well. I find eating 3 meals and a snack works for me but others suggest 5-6 meals. I just don't have the time or hunger for that though.
  • pinkraynedropjacki
    pinkraynedropjacki Posts: 3,027 Member
    1200 worked perfectly fine for me up till about a month and a half ago when I started 4:3. If you put on weight eating 1200 & your BMR is way way more than that then you are not logging correctly or lying.
  • FireRuby87
    FireRuby87 Posts: 16
    Eating more definately is working for me! Instead of drastically cutting my calories to 1200 or so and starving myself, I've been following the TDEE (total daily energy expenditure) - 20% method. I love it!

    So the way the way this works is you find your TDEE which is the amount of calories your body burns per day (takes into account daily activity and exercise) and then you eat 20% less. For example: my total daily expenditure is around 2200 calories. There are some handy TDEE calculators that helped me determine this, but I also did a little trial and error of my own and found that I maintain my weight at 2200. 20% less from 2200 is 1760 calories, so I've been sticking with 1750 and those last 10 pounds are coming off. It's so nice that I can actually eat and lose weight!
  • FourIsCompany
    FourIsCompany Posts: 269 Member
    You've gotten some great advice! I lost 80 lbs using 1200 calories a day and then my body said, "No more!" LOL There's a group here called "Eat More to Weigh Less" and it's really helping me! I'm starting @TDEE-15% and I look forward to losing again!

    I never thought I'd be able to eat so many calories of healthy food, but it's really pretty easy, once you get the hang of it.
  • georgiamae1991
    georgiamae1991 Posts: 17
    i never put on weight eating 1200, its just from what ive read it seems that way, this TDEE is losing me a bit, so shall i just google a TDEE calculator??
  • georgiamae1991
    georgiamae1991 Posts: 17
    Your BMI is: 25.1
    Your BMR is: 1518
    Your TDEE is: 2353 calories

    this is what i got from a TDEE calculator, just from my weight, age and height and activity so what do i do with that now??
    xxx
  • georgiamae1991
    georgiamae1991 Posts: 17
    ok i think i have it, so if my TDEE is 2353 and i take 20% of that away thats 1882.4 .... that seems like a lot of calories to eat :o i struggle to get to 1200 after exercise now!!
    am i doing this right??
    thanks for the help!
    xxx
  • randomtai
    randomtai Posts: 9,003 Member
    I would read this...

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/833026-important-posts-to-read
  • cosmonew
    cosmonew Posts: 513 Member
    Eating more definately is working for me! Instead of drastically cutting my calories to 1200 or so and starving myself, I've been following the TDEE (total daily energy expenditure) - 20% method. I love it!

    So the way the way this works is you find your TDEE which is the amount of calories your body burns per day (takes into account daily activity and exercise) and then you eat 20% less. For example: my total daily expenditure is around 2200 calories. There are some handy TDEE calculators that helped me determine this, but I also did a little trial and error of my own and found that I maintain my weight at 2200. 20% less from 2200 is 1760 calories, so I've been sticking with 1750 and those last 10 pounds are coming off. It's so nice that I can actually eat and lose weight!

    Thank you I will keep this info. I am trying to determine how much I can possibly eat while gaining muscle and loosing fat. thanks
  • FireRuby87
    FireRuby87 Posts: 16
    Eating more definately is working for me! Instead of drastically cutting my calories to 1200 or so and starving myself, I've been following the TDEE (total daily energy expenditure) - 20% method. I love it!

    So the way the way this works is you find your TDEE which is the amount of calories your body burns per day (takes into account daily activity and exercise) and then you eat 20% less. For example: my total daily expenditure is around 2200 calories. There are some handy TDEE calculators that helped me determine this, but I also did a little trial and error of my own and found that I maintain my weight at 2200. 20% less from 2200 is 1760 calories, so I've been sticking with 1750 and those last 10 pounds are coming off. It's so nice that I can actually eat and lose weight!

    Thank you I will keep this info. I am trying to determine how much I can possibly eat while gaining muscle and loosing fat. thanks

    There was a time when I did lose weight eating 1200-1300 calories. It does work. The thing is it just wasn't sustainable for me in the long run and I couldn't keep it up. I felt starved, and deprived and I would always end up binging at one time or another. And then the cycle would start all over again...so not fun and not a very healthy diet mentality to have.

    And then I realized heck, with how active I am with all the weight lifting and running, I am not eating enough to get results. It was a surprise to me that I need to eat over 2,000 calories to maintain my weight, but I upped my calories to a more maintanance level and the scale didn't go up like I thought it would. Great news. And then I read about TDEE and lowered my calories just a little, and well the scale went down. Hey so if I can eat more and lose weight that's a great deal to me!

    I would love to lose weight rapidly, but I don't have much left to lose and I would like to maintain muscle, and if I cut calories too drastically I run the risk of losing it and that's not what I'm going for.
  • FireRuby87
    FireRuby87 Posts: 16
    ok i think i have it, so if my TDEE is 2353 and i take 20% of that away thats 1882.4 .... that seems like a lot of calories to eat :o i struggle to get to 1200 after exercise now!!
    am i doing this right??
    thanks for the help!
    xxx

    I used scooby's calculator: http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/

    Yeah after hearing again and again that you should stick to under 1500 calories to lose weight 1800 calories does seem like a lot. You got 1882.4, why don't you stick to 1800 calories for now and see what happens. Your welcome to check my diary, but it's pretty boring, because I like eating the same general things everyday.

    For breakfast I love having oatmeal with peanut butter in it--omg so good! Lunch is usual a peanut butter banana whey protein shake! I feel like I'm being bad because it tastes just like a milkshake, but I get my icecream fix that way lol. Then for dinner I love having rice (I prefer white) with some type of ground meat mixed in and some veggies.
  • CyberEd312
    CyberEd312 Posts: 3,536 Member
    ok i think i have it, so if my TDEE is 2353 and i take 20% of that away thats 1882.4 .... that seems like a lot of calories to eat :o i struggle to get to 1200 after exercise now!!
    am i doing this right??
    thanks for the help!
    xxx

    Eat more calorie dense foods... It is not hard if you are doing this... Best of Luck
  • georgiamae1991
    georgiamae1991 Posts: 17
    thanks guys, at the minute im working night shifts, so it seems that im eating nothing at all.
    however i did just turn down a takeaway! YAY ME!!
    when im eating according to 1200 calories to be honest im not feeling overly hungry, so im going to keep on witht his at the minute and see how it goes. then if i hit a wall budge it up :D
  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,942 Member
    hi guys!
    im new to the site and im looking to lose me some weight
    i have started the 30 day shred, today will be my 3rd day, and i have state guerilla training classes.
    however i keep seeing everywhere that i should be eating more to lose weight, my fitness pal app is telling me 1200 calories a day, and as personally im not to used to how the entering exercise works (im not sure on calories burnt) then i enter that the best i can, surely i shouldnt be eating more than that? right?

    1,200 is for what you would eat if you did not exercise. However, when you exercise add those calories in and then eat your exercise calories back. When you create your profile based on how much you want to lose each week, MFP calculates your calorie deficit.

    So, if you burn 300 calories in an exercise session, this amount would be added to your 1,200 to equal 1,500 calories for the day.In order to properly fuel your body, you would need to eat those calories back to the best of your ability (I say this because many of us have a hard time eating them ALL back, but eating at least some back is important).
  • geekyjock76
    geekyjock76 Posts: 2,720 Member
    That's why before you cut calories you should use this site and a TDEE calculator to first establish how much you can eat to maintain your present weight. Not knowing your actual TDEE leads people to be quite off on their deficits. And as you reduce fat mass, periodically increase the calories you eat. Thus, when you are within 10 lbs or so from your goal, you should be consuming a few 100 calories just below maintenance. Considering you only have 14 lbs left to lose, you should be eating about 300 calories below maintenance.
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