2014: Eating 1800 calories, exercising for 30 mins

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ndavis1789
ndavis1789 Posts: 2
in Introduce Yourself
I have been on a long weight loss journey since 2013 and I feel like I'm never going to loose weight. I have tried to get under 194 pounds, but just cant seem to get the weight off. Ever since I found out that my job has a gym, I have been working out 5x per week for 30 minutes. I change my workout regimen up from 20 mins jogging on the treadmill/10 minutes walking, 30 mins on the elliptical doing interval of 30 seconds of high intensity to 30 minutes on the stair master. Yet in still, I'm slowly loosing a pound or two here and there. I know that my eating habits are what's holding me back so I try to eat below 1800 calories. Can anyone tell me if I can loose weight eating 1,800 calories and working out 5 times per week for 30 mins?

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  • trinity5703
    trinity5703 Posts: 78
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    You dont say how tall you are, but I would suspect that you probably need to lower your calorie intake a bit.. I started out at 210 about 4 months ago on 1700 per day. (averaged 7 pounds a month) I currently weight 190 and eat abt 1500 per day.

    My exercise consists of an hour of walking a day (compliments of a big dog who needs it) plus 45 min at the gym doing strength training and cardio 3 times a week, and a zumba class one day a week.

    Revisit your calorie intake. I know that as I lost I had to lower it to keep loosing.
    Also make sure you are getting a LOT of water. I drink on the average of 160 oz per day.
    And I know you probably already have thought of this... but measure EVERYTHING and log it like you are going to be arrested if you dont :)
  • rezziajanelle
    rezziajanelle Posts: 4
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    Hi,

    My name is Janelle, I have had fluctuating weights since last year, im only 5"2 and currently about 128 lbs. In a week sometimes I can go down until 122 lbs. Its because I dont eat, not because I dont want to, but, I work in the hotel industry for group reservations, and I work 9 hrs a day. If I oversleep, I wont be able to bring any food with me at work which ends up me not eating anything for 9 hours because Im not a fan of fastfood or even 7/11. So I stay on my desk. When Im on diet and budget, i eat mostly boiled eggs, i cook ground pork with either cabbages, green beans or and green leafy veggie, I drink milk and yakult and buy canned peaches and I dont drink softdrinks AT ALL. My problem is, even if i only eat this small amount of food I cant seemt o maintain my weight like 120 or I dont go down 120 lbs. Im from the Philippines and Im 23 y/o and in like 3 months time, it's already summer, and i really would love to wear a bikini and rock it in Boracay :)

    Do I have to really try and eat and increase calorie intake?

    PS
    I run for 30mins-1hr on weekends. i dance too...sometimes.
  • trinity5703
    trinity5703 Posts: 78
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    Hi Janelle
    Believe it or not, I loose weight much easier if I DO eat at least my basic 1500 calories a day.
    Like you I went for a long long time not eating because of the job. It didnt do my body any favors. Now that Im OLD (laughing) Im paying for it. So please, take care of your body NOW.. dont wait like I did.

    Some of the ways you can get your calories in is to take time every evening to fix your breakfast and lunch for the next day. It takes a little organization, but it will REALLY help. Fix things like your boiled egg, throw in some fresh fruit, and a yogurt. Give your body some fuel to get through those 9 hr days. Fix a lunch to take to work that has protein, a fruit and veg. Maybe a salad with a little some meat and a little cheese, and some fruit. Also, take some fruit or cheese for a snack between your lunch and dinner that night. Im a great one for eating all day long. But I eat smart.... fruits, veggies, lean protein between for meals and then more fruit or veg for snacks between meals.
    Exercise is also very important. You said you run for 30min to an hour on the weekends. Try to work in some time to run a couple more times a week after work.
  • ndavis1789
    ndavis1789 Posts: 2
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    I am 5 feet 8 inches tall. But thank you so much for that information. I will try my hardest to lower my calorie intake. I can't guarantee that I can do 1500 per day right away, but I'm going to try. Wishing you the best as you continue your weight loss journey!
  • BernadetteChurch
    BernadetteChurch Posts: 2,210 Member
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    I'd stick with the 1800 cals but try to add some strength training rather than focussing on cardio.

    What's the 1800 based on?
  • Sabine_Stroehm
    Sabine_Stroehm Posts: 19,263 Member
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    Read this:
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants

    Find out how many calories you NEED. And then tweak to fit.
  • frogtox
    frogtox Posts: 36
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    Also try to change up your fitness routine. Working different muscle groups at differing intensities can help you burn more calories. If you do the same thing every day, your body gets used to it and becomes more efficient at it, and you burn less calories.
  • itzapril
    itzapril Posts: 4
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    I'm 5'8", weigh significantly more than you, work out for an hour every day doing cardio/weight training and I eat 1730 calories per day. You definitely need to lower your calorie intake.
  • ruffnstuff
    ruffnstuff Posts: 400 Member
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    Dang, Sabine...you beat me to it! I was just getting the link. OP - Trinity was NOT telling you to eat 1500 cals a day, she was simply telling you what worked for her. I found that I can eat more than that and have consistently been losing weight since Aug. Yes, even through the holidays I was able to splurge a few days and still come out losing. But you have to find what works for YOU. What I can tell you is this: if you've been doing the same thing for months and no weight is coming off, then it's time to reassess and change something. And, pure weight loss doesn't have anything to do with what 30 min cardio you do. Isn't going to make a lick of difference if it's treadmill or stairs. Weight is lost by calories consumed being less than calories expended.

    But really, take a look at the OP from the link Sabine posted.
  • amjfox
    amjfox Posts: 17 Member
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    Also try to change up your fitness routine. Working different muscle groups at differing intensities can help you burn more calories. If you do the same thing every day, your body gets used to it and becomes more efficient at it, and you burn less calories.
    ....
    Agreed I've noticed much more changes in my shape and body fat etc in the past three months of more resistance work than I did mainly running for 12!
  • KinoM
    KinoM Posts: 359 Member
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    It's hard to tell without an open diary, but it's possible you could be underestimating the calories that you're eating each day. Make sure to weigh everything & check the MFP entry against the nutritional information on the packet where appropriate. 9 times out of 10 the fault is with eating more than you think.

    The other side of this is, if you're eating back your exercise calories be conservative & only eat back 50-75% of your exercise calories to allow for a margin of error in their calculation.
  • trinity5703
    trinity5703 Posts: 78
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    Absolutely ON TARGET. I was just commenting on what worked for me. 1500 cals per day may not be enough for you. But for me its enough most days. The suggestion for switching up the up the exercise is excellent. Your body does get used to the same thing every day.
  • RGv2
    RGv2 Posts: 5,789 Member
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    After running your stats through a TDEE calculator, we come up with this.

    TDEE - 2343
    BMR - 1704
    TDEE -20% - 1874

    So this tells us that your goal of 1800 calories is probably on point.

    From there it would be helpful to the rest of us if you open your diary.
  • 4legsRbetterthan2
    4legsRbetterthan2 Posts: 19,590 MFP Moderator
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    As already said sounds like your plan is pretty good. My guess is you are not executing it quite as well as you think. MFP is notorious for over estemating calories burned so alot of people either take 25% off their number or use other methods (heart rate monitor is a good one) to get a better estimate. That can account for some of your problem if you are eating back your workout calories. You also have to make sure you are really truely logging accurately. If you have not done so get yourself a food scale and start weighing things. I was really amazed when I first started using MFP how off I was on portions, and I was easily eating 30% more calories than I thought, its easy to think you are logging properly but if you are just eye estimating things you can be off by alot.

    You goals are fairly similar to mine so if you are looking for some friends in a similar boat feel free to add me. Best of luck!
  • Klaudia_clouds
    Klaudia_clouds Posts: 1
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    Hi my name is Klaudia
    I would like to ask if I eat around 1800 calories a day healthy food all the time and run for 30 mins every day will this help me lose fat mainly what I would like is to lose my belly fat if I do this will this help me lose fat? I'm 17 and weigh 50.3 kg my hight is 5ft 5 . Need help

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