Trying to get started....

brittanykfolsom
brittanykfolsom Posts: 12 Member
in Motivation and Support
In high school I was one of those girls who always compared myself to other girls and thought I was this gigantic whale of a person. I would exercise and diet then stop and start just to stop again (you get the point). After I graduated from high school I got my doctor to prescribe me weight loss pills. I took them for the 30 days as was on the label...during this time I never once lost a lb on the scale and none of my clothes fit any differently, so obviously I never got a refill. About the same time as stopping the pills I moved in with my boyfriend...who is very athletic and eats whatever he wants and stays small. In about a 5 month period I packed on the lbs without realizing just how much I had really gained. That Christmas our church had the annual Christmas dinner and of course photos were taken and posted to FB. That is when it hit me as to how much weight I had really gained...I was HUGE! I can look back at pictures now of when I was on diet pills and I did appear to be smaller....had I known that then I would have kept going probably, which I know is not the best thing. To say the least I am in my last semester of Nursing school and still have continued to creep up on the scale. I have been logging for 12 days straight now (yay me) and try to exercise at least 30 minutes a day. I have not seen any improvement yet but am going to keep at it...I'm determined by May 2014 I want to be getting closer to my goal so I can look fabulous and be confident at my graduation and pinning ceremony. I do have a dilemma though, that boyfriend I was telling you about (although he has gained a little weight too) he is still a bean pole and plays hockey so is very active. He doesn't eat veggies so most of our meals consist of pasta and potatoes. I have gotten better about fixing my own vegetables and having with the meal but I do still eat the past or potatoes, all which get logged. I have not gone over my calorie budget since I started logging and am often under budget. Do I need to cut the carbs out completely or am I okay as long as I continue to count them? I have increased water intake, eat breakfast most mornings (something I used to never do) and try not to eat too many sweets. I really need some friends and motivation and advice and whatever else I can get to help me reach my goals! I have about 60 lbs to lose to reach the weight I should be according to my BMI...that is my long term goal. Right now I want to reach my short term goal which is to be a quarter or half way to that goal by my graduation. Please help!!

Replies

  • brittanykfolsom
    brittanykfolsom Posts: 12 Member
    When I say tend to be under budget (toward the bottom of my post) I am referring to being under 1200 calories...I keep getting the little red sentence that says I'm consuming too few calories.
  • akaMrsmojo
    akaMrsmojo Posts: 762 Member
    Because no one should be under 1200. I would do a little more research about how MFP works. 1200 is just a default number. You need a healthy relationship with food, it is not the enemy.

    Start buying researching BMR and TDEE. My daily goal is 1520 and I always eat back my exercise calories.

    Good luck.
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
    When I say tend to be under budget (toward the bottom of my post) I am referring to being under 1200 calories...I keep getting the little red sentence that says I'm consuming too few calories.

    OK - the way MFP works. You plug in "I want to lose XX pounds per week" .....and MFP does the math. The absolute LOWEST MFP will go is 1200. MFP calculates this deficit BEFORE exercise. So when you log exercise....you get calories added back. 1200 is a NET number. Example: Eat 1600 ....exercise 400 = 1200 NET.

    1200 is popular.....not because it's what every woman "should" eat.....but because it's the fastest way to lose weight.

    Fast is not better.......here's why. Losing weight quickly can lead to fat+muscle loss......instead of just fat loss.

    Find your BMR & TDEE here......

    http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/

    See how low 1200 is for you (likely too low)
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
    Re: carbs, protein, etc.

    I don't restrict carbs (intentionally) because I have no medical issues. But, I am much more concerned with my protein & fat macros. Protein helps me maintain muscle & fat is very important for bodily function too.....whatever is leftover is carbs.

    I think of weight loss in tems of "lifestyle" change. When I have lost weight before.....and gained it back.....it was because I did not make permanent changes.....just temporary ones.
  • brittanykfolsom
    brittanykfolsom Posts: 12 Member
    I don't intentionally go under the 1200 calories. My budget is 1450 and I am usually around that number fairly close but sometimes I do log under the 1200. Also, I don't like that MFP adds what I burn back into the calories remaining. I know I'm not supposed to eat those calories back (according to a trainer I once I had, because if you eat those calories back you don't have a calorie deficit....defeats the purpose of exercising the begin with) and typically I don't but I hate having it show that there are more calories for me to have than I should....it is a temptation I would rather not have haha. Since I have started I haven't particularly restricted my carbs, I just made sure they were in my calorie count. That's why I was concerned about if that was causing me to not lose. Like I said, today makes my 13th day of logging so I am going to stick with it...and hopefully see some results. They say it takes 4 weeks for you to see results and then however many weeks for everyone else...I'm hoping I'll see results in 4 weeks haha.

Categories