question: calorie count

alska
alska Posts: 300 Member
edited September 22 in Health and Weight Loss
hi all, i'm very new to counting calories. MFP has me set on 1200 calories a day. I never go over my goal and i seem to always have calories left at the end of the day.

My concern is I am hardly doing anything different with my food intake. The only thing is sometimes I don't go back for seconds and sometimes i skip out snacks .. which was basically popcorn at night.

will i still lose weight? i just feel like its too easy or something? like i said i'm bearly doing anything different. or is skipping those things enough?

Replies

  • kristinlough
    kristinlough Posts: 828 Member
    You have to eat your 1200 calories. Go to the community page and read the articles for newbies. The science is explained there. If you're having a hard time getting your calories, start with bigger breakfasts. And higher protein early in the day. That'll jumpstart your metabolism.

    Just don't starve yourself. Which is what you're doing if you're truly not eating 1200 calories or more daily.

    Good luck :smile:
  • deshaine
    deshaine Posts: 195
    looking at your diary, you might want to consider tracking sodium and protein. If you're exercising protein will help restore your muscles after working out. Sodium in moderation is ok... but if you consistently go over you might not see a loss because of water weight. Do a cleaning of 2 oranges and juice of 1 lemon for 2 days, in addition to a well balanced diet, and you should see a dramatic loss due to water.

    You should be consuming 1200 cals per day or you might not see a loss or might not see a loss as fast as you would like.

    your diary shows your eating high fat foods with little deviation from carbs... try to work in getting 3 veggie and 3 fruit servings every day. You might see your not having BMs like normal, adding these fruits & veggies will help get your more regular. All the carbs can cause constipation...

    Just some tips I noticed with a quick glance of your food diary....

    GL... HTH.
  • conorsmommy
    conorsmommy Posts: 3
    I haven't done a whole lot different either, other than using light dressings and sauces on salads and other stuff. Portion size is a big part of it though, and drinking lots of water. I found a good tip the other day- when you're eating, take a bite, put down the fork and chew. Swallow and then take a drink of water. Repeat. It takes 20 minutes for your stomach to get the message to your brain that it's full, so eating slower helps you fill up quicker.
  • bsexton3
    bsexton3 Posts: 472 Member
    Haven't looked at your diary, but it actually has been fairly easy for me. I learned that I was eating about right on days I exercised, and too much on days I didn't. I was getting into shape exercising, but not losing pounds. In counting calories, I started losing weight. Then, after 4 weeks, I stopped losing. I had set my goal to lose 2 pounds a week and was always under. Changed it to 1 1/2 pounds a week, still stayed under, and have been losing 2 pounds a week. Went to visit family for 4 days, and didn't lose weight that week, but then, didn't gain any either.

    All said, it is actually fairly easy. And yes, I still have that pie of pie, just a smaller piece. And I log it in my calories. But, I am eating healthier. More whole grains, more fruit and veggies, less processed. But that is part of a life change decision my wife and I made over the summer.

    Good luck.
  • alska
    alska Posts: 300 Member
    wow .. thank you all so much. i knew i had to be doing something wrong .. it was just too easy!

    thank you!
This discussion has been closed.

Categories