Am I doing this right?

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jmco201
jmco201 Posts: 13
in Health and Weight Loss
First of all - ignore the fact that on my profile it says I've lost 16lbs - I haven't, I had the wrong starting weight and MFP now thinks I lost 15lbs doing nothing :drinker:

This week was my first proper week on MFP and I've lost 1 lb. I've exercised 6 out of 7 days, alternating between swimming for an hour and doing the C25K for cardio and lifting 4 times a week (alternating muscle groups). Bearing in mind that I have NO fitness levels whatsoever, I think I've been trying pretty hard.

I have a Fitbit that I wear religiously and I base my deficit off of that. e.g I aim for a 800-1000 deficit daily so I eat around 1300-1400 and aim to burn 2300 or slightly more through daily activity. I also use my Fitbit as a HRM so exercise is included in this number. Because of this, I don't eat my exercise cals back, because otherwise I'd be lowering my deficit.

I picked 1400 cals as my maximum as an arbitrary number because MFP started me off on 1230 which just wasn't enough with the amount of exercise I was doing. Admittedly, this is hardly scientific so perhaps this is where I'm going wrong. I try and eat protein with every meal but as an ex-veggie this has been challenging. I normally manage to get 20-25 grams of protein a day, but am still eating double that in carbs.

Anyway, I'd like to lose a bit more a week in future so if anyone can see any major issues with what I'm doing I'm willing to learn!

Replies

  • andepja
    andepja Posts: 7 Member
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    If you are net -1000 calories per day you will kill yourself.
  • jmco201
    jmco201 Posts: 13
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    I've never done that :frown:
  • LivingtheLeanDream
    LivingtheLeanDream Posts: 13,342 Member
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    A week just isn't enough time...and 1lb loss is better than nothing :) if you consistantly lost that each week you'd be doing great. You can't rush the weight loss process and it's better to lose slowly :)

    Just keep doing what you're doing - I eat similar to you (1550 on average per day) and my TDEE is between 2100-2300 - granted my weight loss has stalled recently but thats the way it goes then it'll start coming off again - I don't have much left to lose so I aim for 1/2lb per week.

    Keep it up, you can do this :)
  • channi_c
    channi_c Posts: 47 Member
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    I find eating more helps me loose more, I have only started using this again, but the more I eat the more I lose.

    Obviously I mean of the right types of food not junk, get plenty of fruit, veg and protein. Try having smaller amounts of carbs

    I like chicken the best and go through shed loads of chicken breasts as I bulk things like stir frys and currys with onion, Peppers and chicken n only have a small portion of noodles and rice which has been drastically helping with mine

    If you excersising loads you may need to increase your water intake I do atleast 2 litres a day and when excersising sometimes that increases to 3 and I have a great loss when I stick to plan x
  • kagevf
    kagevf Posts: 509 Member
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    what are your stats? height, weight ?

    let me see where you suppose to be at.

    there are other sources of protein other than meat. you dont need eat meat to lose weight.

    add me up, lets talk
  • sunsetzen
    sunsetzen Posts: 268 Member
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    Not even knowing your stats, if you exercise that much and only eat 1400 calories, you're not eating enough.
  • jmco201
    jmco201 Posts: 13
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    Oh damn sorry! Forgot the most obvious thing:

    SW - 160 lbs
    GW - 130 lbs
    I'm 5 foot 7
  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,268 Member
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    Oh damn sorry! Forgot the most obvious thing:

    SW - 160 lbs
    GW - 130 lbs
    I'm 5 foot 7

    1230 is not enough food for you.

    did you set MFP to lose 2lbs a week????

    I am your height and 5lbs heavier then you and eat 1600 calories a day (regardles of exercise) and lose on average 1/2lb - 1lb a week.
  • kagevf
    kagevf Posts: 509 Member
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    Oh damn sorry! Forgot the most obvious thing:

    SW - 160 lbs
    GW - 130 lbs
    I'm 5 foot 7

    Your BMR is: 1441 CALORIES/DAY

    Your TDEE is: 2171 calories/day

    try this

    http://iifym.com/tdee-calculator/
  • mikeschratz
    mikeschratz Posts: 253 Member
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    Oh damn sorry! Forgot the most obvious thing:

    SW - 160 lbs
    GW - 130 lbs
    I'm 5 foot 7

    Your BMR is: 1441 CALORIES/DAY

    Your TDEE is: 2171 calories/day

    try this

    http://iifym.com/tdee-calculator/

    ^^^^^ This for sure.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,402 MFP Moderator
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    Oh damn sorry! Forgot the most obvious thing:

    SW - 160 lbs
    GW - 130 lbs
    I'm 5 foot 7

    With 30lbs to lose, your goal should be no more than 1 lb per week or take 20% of your TDEE.



    If you have 75+ lbs to lose 2 lbs/week is ideal,
    If you have 40-75 lbs to lose 1.5 lbs/week is ideal,
    If you have 25-40 lbs to lose 1 lbs/week is ideal,
    If you have 15 -25 lbs to lose 0.5 to 1.0 lbs/week is ideal, and
    If you have less than 15 lbs to lose 0.5 lbs/week is ideal.


    And keep in mind, that if you don't have a food scale, you should get one to be very accurate with your calories.
  • jonnythan
    jonnythan Posts: 10,161 Member
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    First of all - ignore the fact that on my profile it says I've lost 16lbs - I haven't, I had the wrong starting weight and MFP now thinks I lost 15lbs doing nothing :drinker:

    This week was my first proper week on MFP and I've lost 1 lb. I've exercised 6 out of 7 days, alternating between swimming for an hour and doing the C25K for cardio and lifting 4 times a week (alternating muscle groups). Bearing in mind that I have NO fitness levels whatsoever, I think I've been trying pretty hard.

    I have a Fitbit that I wear religiously and I base my deficit off of that. e.g I aim for a 800-1000 deficit daily so I eat around 1300-1400 and aim to burn 2300 or slightly more through daily activity. I also use my Fitbit as a HRM so exercise is included in this number. Because of this, I don't eat my exercise cals back, because otherwise I'd be lowering my deficit.

    I picked 1400 cals as my maximum as an arbitrary number because MFP started me off on 1230 which just wasn't enough with the amount of exercise I was doing. Admittedly, this is hardly scientific so perhaps this is where I'm going wrong. I try and eat protein with every meal but as an ex-veggie this has been challenging. I normally manage to get 20-25 grams of protein a day, but am still eating double that in carbs.

    Anyway, I'd like to lose a bit more a week in future so if anyone can see any major issues with what I'm doing I'm willing to learn!

    If your Fitbit + HRM are telling you that you're burning ~2300 a day, and you're eating 1300-1400 a day, and you have 45 lbs to lose, that's fine. You don't need to use any TDEE calculators with these devices, because they will give a more accurate estimate of your actual TDEE.

    But you NEED to eat more protein. Like four times as much protein. You need to be getting about 1 gram of protein per lb of lean mass in order to preserve the muscle you already have. The bigger the calorie deficit, the more protein you need. 1g/lb LBM should be an absolute minimum. Buy some protein powder and go to town with it while you try to work more meat into your diet.
  • gigglesinthesun
    gigglesinthesun Posts: 860 Member
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    I am a vegetarian and I eat significantly more protein then you (without any powders)
  • jonnythan
    jonnythan Posts: 10,161 Member
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    I am a vegetarian and I eat significantly more protein then you (without any powders)

    You could tell us how, or open your diary to let us see, perhaps?
  • Dovekat
    Dovekat Posts: 263 Member
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    First this might be useful to you in case you wish to set your weight so it reads correctly :smile:

    my home > check in > edit previous entries
    delete the original incorrect entry

    if the ticker doesn't "correct" with that change
    apps > ticker > update weight data.

    Secondly for protein sources that are not meat or fish to help with ideas: eggs, cottage cheese, quinoa, pumpkin, sesame, sunflower, chi and poppy seeds, dried beans, soy milk, Greek yogurt, nuts & nut butter, seitan, green peas, chickpeas, tempeh and tofu, edamame, leafy greens (I think 1 cup of chopped broccoli has like 8g) and hemp. These are some examples, I am sure you could find more easily enough. Maybe the local library has some cookbooks I think http://www.skinnytaste.com/ is good as well for ideas in general. Good luck to you :happy:
  • gigglesinthesun
    gigglesinthesun Posts: 860 Member
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    I am a vegetarian and I eat significantly more protein then you (without any powders)

    You could tell us how, or open your diary to let us see, perhaps?

    My main meals are usually things like lentil dhals, various bean chillies, other Mexican food with beans (I have a whole assortment of dried beans to chose from), mushroom dishes or quorn.

    When I make a salad I add a can of beans or chickpeas to it.

    I eat eggs and dairy in moderation (I actually have trouble digesting animal protein for some reason, so my gastro doctor suggested to cut out meat for a year and then try to reintroducing it and see how it goes), but the OP didn't indicate that this was a problems so cheese, yoghurt, and eggs would work too. Additionally nuts are a good source of protein too. Since I am allergic to soy, I can't have any tofu, but lots of other vegetarians do have those.

    All in all this amounts to about 70-80 gr of protein a day (out of 1300-1500 cals) which is 3-4 times the amount the OP gets and she eats meat.
  • jmco201
    jmco201 Posts: 13
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    Okay...so apart from needing more protein, I AM doing this right? I tried the TDEE calculator and it came up with very similar numbers to what I'm eating/expending using my Fitbit. To clarify, I'm happy losing 1lb a week, I just wanted to know if I could be doing it more quickly/effectively :)
  • jonnythan
    jonnythan Posts: 10,161 Member
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    Okay...so apart from needing more protein, I AM doing this right? I tried the TDEE calculator and it came up with very similar numbers to what I'm eating/expending using my Fitbit. To clarify, I'm happy losing 1lb a week, I just wanted to know if I could be doing it more quickly/effectively :)

    Yes, though you might consider decreasing the calorie deficit a bit. You only have 30 lbs to lose? 1000 calories a day is a pretty aggressive method that might lead to fatigue or increased lean mass loss. 500-750 is a more reasonable target.

    Eat a lot more protein and do resistance training to keep muscle mass.
  • jmco201
    jmco201 Posts: 13
    Options
    Okay...so apart from needing more protein, I AM doing this right? I tried the TDEE calculator and it came up with very similar numbers to what I'm eating/expending using my Fitbit. To clarify, I'm happy losing 1lb a week, I just wanted to know if I could be doing it more quickly/effectively :)

    Yes, though you might consider decreasing the calorie deficit a bit. You only have 30 lbs to lose? 1000 calories a day is a pretty aggressive method that might lead to fatigue or increased lean mass loss. 500-750 is a more reasonable target.

    Eat a lot more protein and do resistance training to keep muscle mass.

    Thanks, that's helpful. I originally aimed to lose 2lbs a week but I don't think that's manageable in the long term. Right now my calories are working for me, but if I start to feel fatigued then I will up them some more.

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