Am I doing this right or not?

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HayloKitteh
HayloKitteh Posts: 6
in Health and Weight Loss
A little bit about me first: I'm 19...20 next tuesday. I weight 240 lbs. My biggest problem areas are my tummy and my thighs. I have had 2 unsuccessful pregnancies and the first one left my stomach huge! I would like to loose 100 lbs eventually. I know that is a perfect size for me because my mother weighs that much (140) and we are the same height and everything!

I just started logging everything I eat on Tuesday. I put in that I want to loose 30 lbs but I only said that because I want to start with a smaller goal then saying I want to loose 100 lbs! It told me to be on a 2040 calorie diet but I haven't even been close to reaching that yet! On Tuesday: (FOOD, 1710) (EXERCISE, 371) (NET, 1339) (REMAINING, 701).....On Wednesday: (FOOD, 1631) (EXERCISE, 668) (NET, 963) (REMAINING, 1077)

I'm thinking that my daily calorie intake should be lower than 2040 but I'm not sure. I feel fine...I don't feel deprived of food but I have noticed that when I eat healthier and on time I'm hungry every 4 hours and that I get full faster which I LOVE. I am a big over-eater. The site says if I keep up that way I am doing I will weigh 223 in 5 weeks.

For my exercise I go to a trail everyday and walk for about an hour or more and I sprint 3 times during that walk and those sprints are only about 1 minute or more each. Keep in mind that I just started so I can't run very much without almost passing out. Before joining this site I would go walking every so often....maybe every 4 days. The reason my exercise on Wednesday was more is because I walked to the library that day in addition to going to the trail.

So what am I doing wrong and what am I doing right? THANK YOU!

Replies

  • thesophierose
    thesophierose Posts: 754 Member
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    You are eating / working out fine. Numbers are stressful sometimes. If you eat until you are full and you workout don't stress so much on the numbers :/ you want to feel good not yucky.
  • FJDodd
    FJDodd Posts: 140 Member
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    My best guess would be that you have put in a higher exercise level than you needed to. If you are going to use their Calculator to determine how many calories to eat, make sure you are putting in your regular daily level of exertion without any additional work outs you may be doing.
  • dancephysics
    dancephysics Posts: 53
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    Keep in mind that if you are using MFP to calculate your calories burned during exercise, they usually over estimate. I would only eat back half my exercise calories.

    If the amount that you're eating now is working for you, great. But you've just started and it's probably too soon to really establish a trend for how you feel. It's probable that in a week or two you could start to feel crappy (mentally and/or physically) because you're not eating enough (but I don't know your life, so maybe not). But you should definitely figure out your BMR and not net below that, since that is the amount of calories your body needs to function efficiently. A net of 1339 is probably too low, and a net of 963 is definitely too low.
  • Mokey41
    Mokey41 Posts: 5,769 Member
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    You're probably fine with what you're doing but you aren't logging anything so where are you getting the numbers? MFP and online calculators tend to over estimate calorie burns so I wouldn't get too hung up on eating all of those back anyway.
  • lisajsund
    lisajsund Posts: 366 Member
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    I agree with dancephysics - you should find your estimated BMR - basal metabolic rate. You can google it and find a calculator. You enter your age, height and weight and it calculates this number for you. It will not take any activity into account.

    This number is what your body needs daily, just to function. My net calorie goal is 1850, and I do eat most of my exercise calories back. Lost nearly 20 pounds so far, in about 4.5 months. It's not huge numbers, but consistent, and that's what will keep the weight off.

    Bummer to hear about your unsuccessful pregnancies, that sucks. :(


    But you should definitely figure out your BMR and not net below that, since that is the amount of calories your body needs to function efficiently. A net of 1339 is probably too low, and a net of 963 is definitely too low.
    [/quote]
  • _jayciemarie_
    _jayciemarie_ Posts: 574 Member
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    For the first month of my new lifestyle I used guestamates on how many calories I actually burned. We are all different, with different speeds of exercise. Someone suggested to purchase a Polar Watch. I did. WOW! I was WAY off with my calories burned. You can program your sex, height, weight, age into the Polar watch. Then when you exercise you strap a band around your chest. What it does is measure your heart rate. It uses all of YOUR specific information to calculate calories burned. Obviously it isn't going to be 100% perfect--but it is the closest thing you will find to give you true results. :)
  • HayloKitteh
    HayloKitteh Posts: 6
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    I log everything into the MFP app on my phone but for some reason it wont sync with my computer. :( That's where my numbers came from.
  • HayloKitteh
    HayloKitteh Posts: 6
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    I just found out my bmr and it is 1915.....then it told me to maintain my current weight i should have 2968 calories a day! if i listen and only take 500 from that 2968......that doesnt really make me happy that still seems like too much......IDK WHAT TO DO!
  • Mokey41
    Mokey41 Posts: 5,769 Member
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    I just found out my bmr and it is 1915.....then it told me to maintain my current weight i should have 2968 calories a day! if i listen and only take 500 from that 2968......that doesnt really make me happy that still seems like too much......IDK WHAT TO DO!
    BMR calculators aren't very accurate when you get into the higher end of the scale. You don't need to feed the fat and those calculators are estimating that you are a percentage of lean body mass which isn't true when you are obese. You generally lose a large amount of weight the first few weeks because you lose a lot of water weight and you have easily accessible fat for your body to get rid of.

    My best guess would be that if you were to eat in the 1500 to 1700 range you would be just fine and your weight loss will level out over the next couple of weeks.
  • bethanytowell
    bethanytowell Posts: 256 Member
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    I just found out my bmr and it is 1915.....then it told me to maintain my current weight i should have 2968 calories a day! if i listen and only take 500 from that 2968......that doesnt really make me happy that still seems like too much......IDK WHAT TO DO!
    BMR calculators aren't very accurate when you get into the higher end of the scale. You don't need to feed the fat and those calculators are estimating that you are a percentage of lean body mass which isn't true when you are obese. You generally lose a large amount of weight the first few weeks because you lose a lot of water weight and you have easily accessible fat for your body to get rid of.

    My best guess would be that if you were to eat in the 1500 to 1700 range you would be just fine and your weight loss will level out over the next couple of weeks.

    this.

    1700 is about right.
  • nataliejulie
    nataliejulie Posts: 35
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    Try not to pay attention so much to calories and fat, but what you put *into* your body (sugar, carbs, etc..) The only sugars I try my best to put into my body is from fruit. My problem areas where the thighs and belly, too. And when I tried my best to control my sugar intake, the belly went down.
  • dancephysics
    dancephysics Posts: 53
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    I would suggest eating 2000 a day for a few weeks. If, in 2 to 3 weeks, you are not losing what you want, try dropping your calorie goal.

    I just know that my pattern is that I restrict my calories by too much, am super inspired the first week, but then after that eating such a low amount becomes a struggle (mentally/emotionally), so I quit and go in the opposite direction. This is not a healthy way to think about food. Obviously I don't know the state of your mental health, but that pattern is common for many people. For me, it is better to start out with something I will be able to stick with and slowly introduce more healthy habits into my life, than to go all in one day just to get frustrated and quit a month later.
  • deksgrl
    deksgrl Posts: 7,237 Member
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    How many pounds per week did you say you want to lose?
  • Stage14
    Stage14 Posts: 1,046 Member
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    Try not to pay attention so much to calories and fat, but what you put *into* your body (sugar, carbs, etc..) The only sugars I try my best to put into my body is from fruit. My problem areas where the thighs and belly, too. And when I tried my best to control my sugar intake, the belly went down.

    Seriously? You're suggesting that limiting carbs and sugar is more important to weight loss than watching your calorie intake?
  • 33Freya
    33Freya Posts: 468 Member
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    Huh OP deactivated her account. MOOT POINT, Except that MFP is a guideline, not the end all.

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