I need some help. Am I doing this wrong?

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AutumnPhade
AutumnPhade Posts: 14
in Getting Started
Hey there!
I'm Female
20 yrs old
180 pounds and 5'8

I'm looking to lose about 2 pounds a week or more.
I eat 1300 calories a day or less.
I work out every day for 30 minutes on the treadmill jogging and lose an average of 360 calories and I do eat them back

However, I have a question. Does the food I eat matter as long as I'm staying in the 1300 calorie range? I sometimes snack on things with high sugar count, chocolates, cookies or grains and I seem to always go over (or double) the suggest sugars. Will eating to much sugar and junk food refrain me from losing weight even though I'm exercising daily and eating 1300 or less calories a day? Should I be watching what I eat aswell as calories to lose 2 pounds a week or does it not really matter?
I've been doing this for a week straight now and I have yet to weigh myself to see if I have gotten any results, (I don't want to look and feel discouraged) but I want to make sure my routine is still going to allow me to lose weight or if I should be more strict.

The thing is I've done so many fad diets, no bread, only gluten free, no dairy and they never seem to work, or I find myself starving and give up. I just want to lose weight and be happy at the same time. I'm fairly content with my routine now, but it's pointless if I'm not going to lose weight.

I'm really hoping to drop 40 pounds by June. Is this possible with my current eating habits?

Replies

  • mychanges83
    mychanges83 Posts: 12 Member
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    I think your food diary looks alright. As long as you're eating healthy most of the time. They say to eat a protein, carb and vegetable with every meal. I try to not eat back what I lost through exercise because I feel like why did i do all that work just to eat it back. I think you can still lose weight but not as much or as fast but sorry i'm not 100% sure. However,the diary says you've earned so and so calories from exercise, so I'm thinking it's okay. I also found this article about sugar I hope I helped some ! :)
    http://www.chicagonow.com/get-fit-chicago/2014/01/why-does-sugar-make-you-fat/
  • MMFabrizio
    MMFabrizio Posts: 17
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    Yes, you can do that, and still lose the weight. I would caution about eating the calories you 'earn' from exercise, as most of the exercises seem to give too generous an amount of calories earned. You could possibly get in trouble here. I would recommend maybe eating half of them.

    On another note, you may find you're not getting enough actual nutrition (Vitamin A, Vitamin C, the B vitamins, etc) and may not have the energy you should, and it could also be reflected in the appearance of your skin and hair. At the very least, take some vitamins to make sure you're getting enough nutrition, and Slim Fast is also an effective way to get loads of nutrition on small amounts of calories. (I'm starting with Slim Fast myself, as it's going to take me a 'learning curve' to get into the habit of eating most the nutrients I need,)

    But basically yes, this will work, as long as your overall calories are kept to what they should be. And good luck on your trek - feel free to friend me if you like (I'm always looking for more friends for motiviation!)

    Misty
  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
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    Personally I would do the exercise fasted in the morning and restrict the amount of carbs and sugars eaten through the day to maximise fat loss. Your 2 lbs/week goal requires a deficit of at least 1000 cals a day (what you use minus what you eat) and I would only eat back half the workout calories as a precaution against overcounting.

    As you lose weight you'll probably need to target a lower weight loss rate.
  • mcspiffy88
    mcspiffy88 Posts: 90 Member
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    yes this sucks bad. Chocolate and junkfood in general cannot sustain you however they do give a bit of an energy boost. Sooner or later your body will start craving real food instead of empty calories and then your weight loss will get in trouble or worse.

    Start eating real slow food, there are plenty of delicious options.
  • Jgal8123
    Jgal8123 Posts: 1,378 Member
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    If you are losing weight then I would not worry as much about your sugar intake. If you find the scale isn't moving, then perhaps try cutting back on the sweets to see if it makes a difference.
  • HappyStack
    HappyStack Posts: 802 Member
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    Personally I would do the exercise fasted in the morning and restrict the amount of carbs and sugars eaten through the day to maximise fat loss. Your 2 lbs/week goal requires a deficit of at least 1000 cals a day (what you use minus what you eat) and I would only eat back half the workout calories as a precaution against overcounting.

    As you lose weight you'll probably need to target a lower weight loss rate.

    http://alanaragon.com/myths-under-the-microscope-part-2-false-hopes-for-fasted-cardio.html

    "Summing Up the Research Findings

    • At low intensities (25-50% VO2 max), carbs during exercise reduce fat oxidation compared to fasted trainees.
    • At moderate intensities (63-68% VO2 max) carbs during exercise may reduce fat oxidation in untrained subjects, but do not reduce fat oxidation in trained subjects for at least the first 80-120 minutes of exercise.
    • Carbohydrate during exercise spares liver glycogen, which is among the most critical factors for anticatabolism during hypocaloric & other conditions of metabolic stress. This protective hepatic effect is absent in fasted cardio.
    • At the established intensity level of peak fat oxidation (~63% VO2 max), carbohydrate increases performance without any suppression of fat oxidation in trained subjects."

    Calories being the same at the end of the day, fasted vs.fed training makes no difference to fat loss.
  • Heather29angel
    Heather29angel Posts: 5 Member
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    I was 206 and also 5'8" and lost 16 lbs. in the last 3 weeks (gained some back due to my 2 day binge) and MFP gave me 1700 calories and now 1500 a day! I was addicted to pop I just eat eggs, cheese, vegetables, salad, yogurt, brown rice, water, nuts, frozen yogurt, oatmeal, and other healthy stuff lol I go to the gym about 2 hours a night. My personal trainer told me not to put my excersize into MFP so my guess is maybe you can try not to eat the calories back that you burn off cause then you don't have the calorie deficit that helps us lose weight! Its just a guess lol :-)

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