I'm confused & need help & not sure where to post this

Options
tazbear1989
tazbear1989 Posts: 22 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I have been doing MFP for a little over a month now and can't seem to get a clear picture as to how many calories I need in order to lose. I have a physical job lifting either card stock to 25 lb rolls of foil (I have been doing the foil more consistently) and I can't seem to find a balance in the losing weight dept. I wear a fitbit and am wondering if I should leave it at home when I go to work and only count my exercise calories into the equation. When I wear my fitbit to work, I get the 10,000 steps every night. I tried the goal setting of being sedentary and I was not eating enough because I was constantly hungry at night and ended up with low blood sugars. Then if I put my goal to slightly active it seems as if it is too much. I am trying to exercise 4x a week at 45 min, if I don't do it as exact, I am still trying to get the amount of minutes throughout the week. I am not sure if I understand the how they figure it out. I guess I am not understanding the the goal vs. net calories. I have tried to research to learn and understand but I am either not finding it or I am even more lost and confused.

A little about me, I am a former Weight Watcher that has recently tried the program again and it just didn't seem to be the right fit. Thought I would try this because I don't want to be counting points for the rest of my life. I wan't to be able to find balance and am trying to overcome compulsive eating. So with that being said, I am not looking to eat no fat, low all the time. I want to be able to have a balance with real food and learn to eat with the mindset that it is okay to have something, but I don't need to eat all of it to enjoy it.

I hope my post is not too confusing, my thoughts on this are all over the place with trying to figure it out. It seems to be simple, but for some odd reason I can't get a grasp on it.

Thanks for all the help.

Replies

  • serindipte
    serindipte Posts: 1,557 Member
    Options
    1. http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/819055-setting-your-calorie-and-macro-targets

    2. If you aren't already using one, get and use a food scale. Weigh all solids. Measuring cups/spoons are not accurate:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVjWPclrWVY

    3. http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants

    4. http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1235566-so-you-re-new-here
  • snazzyjazzy21
    snazzyjazzy21 Posts: 1,298 Member
    Options
    If you have your fitbit connected, set your MFP to sedentary and your fitbit should give you any extra cals based on your activity that day. Did you have them connected?

    Your calorie goal is what you've set your baseline at, say 1500 cals. If you log a workout or get extra from your fitbit, it'll log this under exercise. So, the food you've already eaten today MINUS your exercise equals your NET. The net number is the one you want to be focusing on, if you're using the MFP method. Most people aim to get within 100 cals or so of this number. You don't HAVE to eat back your exercise cals, but most people recommend it because hurrah for more food! Does this make sense?
  • tazbear1989
    tazbear1989 Posts: 22 Member
    Options
    Sorry, I did forget to add that I have fitbit and MFP connected. So Snazzy, are you suggesting to change my goal to sedentary and leave the fitbit at home since I would think that my body is conditioned to what I do at work? I am just trying to be clear.

    Thanks to both of you for the help. I am probably trying too hard and need to quit stressing about it being right on.
  • snazzyjazzy21
    snazzyjazzy21 Posts: 1,298 Member
    Options
    Sorry, I did forget to add that I have fitbit and MFP connected. So Snazzy, are you suggesting to change my goal to sedentary and leave the fitbit at home since I would think that my body is conditioned to what I do at work? I am just trying to be clear.

    Thanks to both of you for the help. I am probably trying too hard and need to quit stressing about it being right on.

    No, only change your level to sedentary IF you're using your fitbit. Otherwise, if you don't want to use your fitbit, I'd suggest changing to at least lightly active, and logging your exercise cals. Be careful with your exercise cals, as MFP tends to inflate the numbers. Most people only eat back 50-75% of the number MFP suggests, to be safe. But most importantly, don't stress over it. It's not an exact science, just an estimation. It can take time to find the right number for you, so you may find yourself eating for a few weeks at a certain calorie goal to see if it's going to suit you.

    If you want help figuring out what might be a good calorie goal, you could let us know your stats (height, weight, age) and we could try and help you along :)

Categories