PLEASE HELP I AM STARTING TO FEEL DEFEATED

Hi - I know that this thread is a "whirlwind" and a lot to process. Here is a suggestion that someone made to me.

1. Read as many success stories as you can - positive ones abound.
2. Check out some groups or threads here
3.. If you like them - join them or just "watch from the side for a while"

Here is a group that I belong to which has one of the most positive guys around
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/groups/home/15552-infinite-ambitious-possibilities

Here is a super group that is just about how many miles you can walk, run, swim, bike, elliptical, stairmaster, swim etc.
It's called the MYA challenge - It is a fun!
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1120673-october-2013-move-your-a-challenge

Here is a group that I started which is in it's 2nd month and has a "laid back supportive atmosphere"
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/groups/home/16790-keeping-it-green-while-eating-challenge-oct-2013

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Feel free to friend

I spoke with a fitness coach and I am not eating enough calories & she advised I eat oatmeal before Zumba, which i do daily but at night from wither 720-830 or 830 to 940; i have to do it late at night so i can out my 3 year old to bed. what does tdee stand for??

Keep in mind, that's only if your calorie count is accurate. You will get far better accuracy if you log by ingredient, rather than finding a similar item on mfp and hoping that it's accurate. Remember, you have no idea what size it is, how it's prepared, and even if the person entered accurate information for it in the first place. For example, you have logged things that list calories only, without any of the macronutrients such as carbs, protein, and fat. That makes it harder to know if you are hitting a protein goal.

I'm sure your fitness coach will agree that a food journal is only as good as the accuracy of the information put in it.


TDEE is "total daily energy expenditure". There are a few calculators available, with some variations to the numbers. This gives you a maintenance level calorie intake. Then you deduct 10-20% in order to lose weight. One important thing to note is that with this method, you do not eat back exercise calories because they are already included in the calculation.

thank you so much!!!! do you suggest for eating something like oatmeal that is prepackaged like quaker instant oatmeal to scan so all the nutrition goes into the mfp???

okay so i went through and read (almost all) comments including the ones you responded to. first i'm sorry for your loss i'm sure this is extremely difficult on you right now.

second i do not do zumba so i'm not going to even talk about the difficulty of it (i know you do work up a sweat doing it but that's all i know) however since you do have a significant amount of weight to loose (not said in a harsh tone here) it may be more important for you to do your best to accurately enter the calories burned after your workouts. being off 100 calories one day is nothing but if it's every time you do zumba it will add up and not in a good way.

third as for accurately logging i myself sometimes use the closest thing in the food diary to whatever it is i had for whatever meal however i do this only when i go out to dinner (or lunch). as for logging something like oatmeal while i get that the prepackaged stuff is easy you're better off buying the bulk plain ole oatmeal, measuring it out and adding your own spices and fresh fruit than eating the prepackaged version. you can then add say 1 cup plain oatmeal, 1/2 cup milk, 1 tablespoons cinnamon, 1 cup strawberries, 1 tablespoon sugar then your diary is accurate.

it's all about making small adjustments to your lifestyle. instead of say eating a frozen dinner (your food diary is locked so i have no idea what you eat) of lemon pepper chicken cook 5oz of chicken breast with lemon slices and pepper plus a tablespoon of olive oil, make a salad and add a veggie you've got yourself a great meal that you can accurately enter into your food diary. does it take a bit of commitment yes but if you plan accordingly say cook meals on a sunday afternoon you can eat better.

fourth yes we all fall of the food wagon. it's our recovery that determines if we will succeed.

good luck to you.

Go Amy!

lol @ all the: 'listen to us or FAILURE or DEMONS or even worse a GASTRIC BAND '

Sorry about the rude people - they live off the drama. You go sweetie pie - stick with that Zumba it's freakin exhausting and difficult. I wanted to write 'impossible' there but I settled for 'difficult'.