newbie needing advice
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Tigerbell1221
Posts: 18
Hello everyone. I am new to the group and so happy to have found such an appropriate group for my weight loss journey. I am finishing up my last couple of months on being 49. I have been on MFP since 8/26/13 and for the first 5 weeks enjoyed the loss of 10 pounds. The problem comes after I began to feel so tired and hungry all of the time, I looked at my goals and realized that It was that It just never occurred to me that I should add back the calories that I was working off by exercising an hour 6 days a week.........which added up to an additional 444 calories. So dumb, I know that now, I just wasn't thinking at the time and thought I was eating my 1200 calories a day in order to lose 2 pounds a week. It didn't sink in till I was feeling rotten that I was actually eating under 800 calories!! Again, I know this was really stupid and I just wasn't thinking. Now, I have begun to eat back the calories I have expended with exercise and I have noticed that the weight is creeping back. Not sure if this is temporary or if I could be doing something wrong. I would really appreciate hearing the goals set by others on this forum that have lost a large amount of weight and did it in a healthy way. I have 70 pounds to lose!! What were your goals that you set for yourself as far as how many pounds a week you figured on losing. I set mine to 2 pounds a week, but I'm wondering if 1200 calories is screwing up my metabolism???? Is 60 minutes of exercise 6 days a week overdoing it??? I walk and 30 minutes of that walk are hills. I also am now starting to lift weights 3 days a week. Sometimes I do feel tired and have a hard time keeping up with the house and kids (yes, I have a 5 year old, as well as 15 and 16yo) I figured it was just starting a workout routine and being sedentary for so long. Eating more has helped my energy, but now I am gaining. I need to start from scratch with my goals. Please offer any helpful advice you may have and thanks so much in advance. Happy to be here!! 
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Welcome Tigerbell,
I've been on MFP for a while now and based on the infmation I put in to start it gave me a calorie intake of 2249 daily. Well I started myself at 1960 just to see if I would be feeling hungry. After a while on that intake and incorprating exercise 4-6 a day I was able to shed 15lbs. Within this year I dropped the intake to 1690 and increase my eating to every 1 1/2- 2 hrs. Good stuff like more fruit, more water and kept the excersise to the 4-6 days. What i really try to do is to say with the 1690 even though I may burn anywhere from 600-1000 calories. I would sayI don't feel tired or sluggish. My goal is to lose 80lbs and that with 2lbs a week
My sugesstion is to start with what the system says you should have in calories and then decrease it yourself, but not to 1200. Try to find a middle mark and then work your way down. Incorporate eating someting every couple of hours (good stuff) and I would keep your pace with excersising.
Good luck to you and Happy losing0 -
Thanks for the advice. I guess the issue is that if my goal is set to lose 2 pounds a week the system gave me a 1200 calorie limit, so their is no wiggle room as far as being able to lower my calories from there...........unless I exercise a lot and just not add all of my calories back into my eating plan for the day. But that got me into this issue of being tired then gaining weight when I did eat the calories back.
If I shoot for losing 1 pound a week it sets my calories to 1680 a day plus any additional calories I might burn in a work out session. I'm just wondering if people our age have lost weight consistently by just following the plans suggestions, because I don't really trust myself in dropping down the recommended calories myself any longer. I don't want to completely mess up my metabolism by under guessing again. I don't know. It should be straight forward and simple, but it seems like something is amiss with my particular plan. I'm wondering also if it would be something to look into as far as having my metabolism tested and where that would be done.0 -
Well I haven't been on here that long, but I'll chime in anyway.
First, I think trying to loose 2 pounds a week is a lot! I'm shooting for between .5 and 1 pound a week. I think it might be better to go a little slower and try to loose 1 pound a week instead. That way your calorie allottment isn't quite so close to 1200 and gives you a little wiggle room.
Second, I've heard others comment that when you start exercising after you've been mostly sedentary (or even just increase your exercise dramatically in any way) your body holds on to water a bit as a cushion while it repairs your muscles. This only lasts for the first little while though. If I read your timeline correctly, you started MFP on 8/26, and lost 10 pounds in 5 weeks. That brings you up to Sept. 30 so it's only been a few days since you started adding back calories - you can't have gained back that much!
Finally, MFP has been known to overestimate calorie burn for exercises, and between that and the natural tendency for people to underestimate calories eaten, you might not be exactly where you think are are as far as calories in vs calories burned. It's not really an exact science. Or maybe it is, but there are just so many variables it's hard to figure out! It might take some time, but trial and error will help you figure out what works for you.
Good luck with it and keep us posted here!
Ruth0 -
I agree with the previous post on the calories burned when exercising that is why I bought a watch with heart rate band for a more accurate account. When I post on MPF I just adjust the calories up or down based on the watch. Again do what works for you a true test will be the change in how your clothes feel on you.0
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Thanks for the recommendations. I do think the heart rate watch is a great idea to more accurately determine how much I'm really burning. The water weight makes sense too. Since I last posted my question, I have lost and gained the same 2 darn pounds. I dropped my goal down to 1 pound per week and have been doing a pretty decent job of eating the calories back that I work off. Usually with several calories left over that I didn't or couldn't consume. It seems like a lot. In fact last night I felt like I was really struggling to try and get them all in.....it was a lot of food and I still didn't meet all of the consumed calories that I should have eaten. It does seem like I weigh more when I eat out, maybe due to the salt? or maybe due to the higher amount of fat in the food? I don't know. A calorie is a calorie I thought........and it seems hard to eat all those calories without filling in with higher calorie foods, otherwise the shear volume of food is just sooooo much!! Do you think the quality of food matters in regards to why I keep gaining even though I don't go over my calories for the day? Keep in mind I don't eat junky foods.......except for the rare occasion when I have no other choices.0
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arctvc do you have a recommendation on which brand of heart rate watch to get that works well?0
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My turn to chime in - you have been given some great advice. Please remember what you are doing now is what you have to do forever. This isn't about a quick fix and then return to normal ( I am the queen of quick fix then gaining). It's a lot of good work, it's great information, lot's of great help and support. But you have to manage your calories in and out now for the rest of your life. Things will adjust as you lose weight but you have to remember this is for the long haul.
I am currently working on shedding 70 - 80 pounds, I am 58 and it's not easy, but this website works and works well for me.
We just have to be meticulous -- I spent years of thinking what I was eating was the right amount and what the heck now that I have eaten half the bag of chips what difference does it make finishing it off.
As far as a HRM - I don't have one of those but I invested in the FITBIT One. It's a marvelous little counter that you wear all the time, it measures each step I take and shows (somewhat) how many calories you are burning. Since getting it - I am compelled to go further, work harder and prove to myself and my fitbit that I am doing this for good. I was also set at about 1400 calories a day and I would not survive that for too long. I reset my calories to 1750 and find myself competing against MFP to come under my 1750 each day - my actual goal is to eat around 1600 calories a day, do at least 250 - 300 calorie burn a day which gives me about 1000 calorie deficit a day. Just to exist each day my body burns about 2300 calories. So doing about a 1000 calorie deficit a day gives me a nice loss of about 1.5 pounds a week and that is just fine for me.
Cheers
Joanne0 -
Great advice! I am realizing that this is finally the time to be more gentle and kind to my body after years of diet abuse. I'm definitely in it for the long haul and want to feel good while I get there. Slow and steady is starting to sound more like a friend versus the old fast and furious. I am also learning so much more each day about nutrition and metabolism. I have been reading the suggested links for new comers and have just gained a wealth of knowledge. Today, I learned about how many calories the body needs and that it is so critical to eat back the calories that I expand through exercise. Even eating more fat and carbs in one sitting than my body can use right then turns it all right into fat, even if I am under my daily caloric needs........so yes, it does make a difference in what kind of energy food I am putting into my body. I know it is going to take some time, but I am in this for the long haul either way. Here are just a few of the links that have helped me so far today, if they can help anyone else also!
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/6556-the-answers-to-the-questions
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/9433-expectations
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/10589-for-those-confused-or-questioning-eating-your-exercise-calo0 -
I too tried to set my goals at a two pound a week weight loss and found the calorie count was just too low, especially since I am on my feet eight hours a day at work. I revised that to a 1 pound a week loss which set my goal at 1520. With that being said I usually try to aim for between 1250 and1350 a day and rarely ever eat back my exercise calories. Recently I have been trying to lower my sodium intake and up how much water I drink which seems to be helping in the pounds coming off. Also I vary my workouts a lot, swimming, treadmill, bike, eliptical and strength training. I have been at this for over a year and have not hit any long plateaus as of this point. I try to listen to my body and on a day I am really hungry I may at an extra fiber one bar or piece of fruit but first I try to figure out what is making me hungry, is it stress or do I just need more calories that day. As some others said, this is long term and you have to figure out what works best for you, your lifestyle, and a plan you can maintain going forward.0
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Tigerbell --
Your dilemma is not unique in that I had the same questions myself! I targeted 2 lbs per week (started MFP again 3 weeks ago) so that I could shed 15-20 lbs by the holidays and that goal had me at 1200 calories. Since I wasn't sure of what I was doing, I limited my calorie intake last week to below 1000 calories while exercising approx. 300-400 of those for a net of 500 calories per day. Yes, I was losing weight but after reading some articles and forums, I was concerned that I was taking an unhealthy approach and having been a yo-yo dieter, I didn't want to blow it this time.
So today I went to a dietician. She set my daily calories intake to 1500 calories and told me I could exercise as much as I wanted (that didn't make sense to me but I thought "OK") and that I should expect about 1 lb per week loss (as opposed to 2). She gave me some guidelines for what acceptable portions are and how many servings of each type (starches, fruits, protein, etc) that I should have a day. She also told me that I should eat every 3-4 hours and drink plenty of water. She told me to limit my sodium to no more than 2000 per day and eat 25-35 grams of fiber. Most of this I knew, but the calorie goal was the one that I most interested in.
I will have to admit, eating 1500 calories is going to be difficult for me. Every time I went over 1200 calories in the last 3 weeks, I had a slight gain. But maybe I was in starvation mode, maybe I wrecked my metabolism, who knows?!? But I am going to try her plan for 2 weeks and see what happens.
So...I do think 1200 is low especially if you are netting less than 1000 calories per day. Maybe we could become friends so you can follow how I do on my dietician's recommendations. I am 52, 5'6" with a medium build, pre-menopausal and I want to lose 20 lbs to get to my ideal weight. I exercise almost every day which consists of walking & swimming but I am going to add in resistance training in the next week.
Good luck!0 -
i am 52y/o and I have lost 49lbs since January. 1200 is way too low if you are exercising. you're not refueling your body and it's not going to give you the energy it needs.
MFP sets you up for a deficit as if you were NOT going to exercise. Add exercise in, and you have to eat back some of those calories that you burned. You could eat them all back, as long as your NET calories does not go over the 1200 that is initially set.
But, you should also try for a loss of 1 to maybe 1.5 lbs per week and not 2. That is too hard to try and keep up with. Eating lots of protein will also help with feeling full for longer periods of time.
If you want, please feel free to add me. I am not done with my weight loss but, I am....learning so much about this lifestyle change that I have embarked on!0 -
Thanks everyone for the suggestions. Since I last posted, I decided to change my goal to 1 pound per week and it gave me a daily calorie goal of 1660. I know........I was shocked, but with all I had been learning about not going under your BMR ( which mine in 1607.......resting, as if I was in a coma), I figured I at least owed it to myself to try the recommendation and at least see what happened. I gained up and down for a few days 2 pounds or so but the other day I actually lost a whole pound!!! And that was with eating back my 444 calories spent on walking. I definitely agree, that your body needs fuel if you are going to exercise or it will just end up holding onto the weight anyway thinking you are starving it. I'll give it a try for another 2 weeks and if things don't continue to change, I was considering setting a goal of 1.5 pounds per week and 1500.
Also, I got a jawbone bracelet, which measures my activities. Not sure how I feel about it yet.......had thought It would measure heart rate but guess I was mistaken. We'll see how it goes. I still might go with a heart rate monitor.0 -
Hi. I think we end up making something that is actually very simple into something very complicated a lot of the time.
I've been on here for six weeks now, and have lost 12 pounds. I have been on 1500 calories all this time. I actually only want to lose 1 pound per week, so am increasing mine to 1600, and will see what happens. I don't follow the MFP method, so do not eat back exercise calories.0 -
I wouldn't go for the most expensive, I go my on amazon. Some people like the chest band and some just like the watch. It depends on the personal peference0
