Is this healthy?
Replies
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Your TDEE is likely around 2500. Maybe less if you are totally sedentary. Don't eat below 1800.
Thanks, the TDEE thing was confusing, 1500-1800 sounds reasonable intake?For your weight of 202Lbs. and being young and male, 1000 is too low;; up it to 1500 and keep your intake of protein and fat high and carbs(healthy green, yellow, red vegetables) low. Alcohol will slow your progress.
Drink at least 8 glasses of h20 to flush kidneys of metabolic waste.
Losing weight and staying healthy is crucial
Body building is great, but stay away from all the xxxxxxp
Yeah I've gathered from the bashing in this thread that my calorie intake is dire, will work on that. Fat is good, but saturated is bad, carbs are ok and calories are important. I drink a ton of water and don't drink alchohol. by xxxxxxxp do you mean stuff like Whey Protein? I couldn't afford that if I wanted to lol. Thanks for the post, and I want to say to the people I haven't quoted, that I have read what everbody has posted and currently looking at the links, but unsure on what foods to enter into my diet.
ALSO TBH, if people think im trolling then fine, whatever, but my confidence on dieting is complete **** as it is, so don't really need to be called pathetic etc.0 -
So, your dad and his friends are bodybuilders, yet none of them seem to think that 1000 cals is too little for you? UNLESS you were doing some sort of kick-start rapid fat loss VLCD thing (which wouldn't apply to you), your protein intake alone would be around 750-800 cals/day. Throw in 20% of total intake in fat (70g/625cals) and enough carbs to sustain a training program and you're at a MINIMUM of 2000 cals/day. There is so much info available on a hundred different sites, did you really need to pose such an obviously obtuse question? All I can say is "Come on Man!" Do a little research on your own. Want to be a bodybuilder? Ever hear of Bodybuilding.com? Really, man? It IS kind of a silly question after all....0
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Try giving this a read. It's a good general guide to what you should be eating (in general, slight modifications may be necessary for the body building part).
http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/fn-an/alt_formats/hpfb-dgpsa/pdf/food-guide-aliment/view_eatwell_vue_bienmang-eng.pdf0 -
You're welcome. Now please for the love of all that is holy start eating more food!
I'm 37 years old, 5'5", lift heavy 3x a week and eat 2000 calories a day.
I will
shall look up foods now thank you.So, your dad and his friends are bodybuilders, yet none of them seem to think that 1000 cals is too little for you? UNLESS you were doing some sort of kick-start rapid fat loss VLCD thing (which wouldn't apply to you), your protein intake alone would be around 750-800 cals/day. Throw in 20% of total intake in fat (70g/625cals) and enough carbs to sustain a training program and you're at a MINIMUM of 2000 cals/day. There is so much info available on a hundred different sites, did you really need to pose such an obviously obtuse question? All I can say is "Come on Man!" Do a little research on your own. Want to be a bodybuilder? Ever hear of Bodybuilding.com? Really, man? It IS kind of a silly question after all....
Well a kick start VLCD is what I was doing but obviously from this topic thats a mistake, but why wouldn't it apply to me? being short and 14.6 stone I'm fat as ****, can't ever imagine how 2000 calories would allow me to lose weight, I've never eaten much more than that when I'm not dieting and here I am, researching atm though thank you, a friend suggested Bodybuilding.com but the response in here is what I thought I'd get over there, which is why I chose to post here lol. Sound advice tho man thanks.Try giving this a read. It's a good general guide to what you should be eating (in general, slight modifications may be necessary for the body building part).
http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/fn-an/alt_formats/hpfb-dgpsa/pdf/food-guide-aliment/view_eatwell_vue_bienmang-eng.pdf
Thanks, always looked at stuff like cheese though and thought it'd just make me fatter
hmm, 8 servings of fruit/veg, 8 servings of grain, 2 dairy and 3 servings of meat sounds good. But it's getting all this stuff that may be an issue.
A general question tho that hopefully somebody will answer, is that does it matter really how well spaced meals are?0 -
Your TDEE is likely around 2500. Maybe less if you are totally sedentary. Don't eat below 1800.
Thanks, the TDEE thing was confusing, 1500-1800 sounds reasonable intake?
1800 or over is a reasonable intake. NOT 1500.
You are 22 years old and male, your metabolism is naturally higher than women or people who are older. Your body needs fuel and nutrients, especially if you have training goals.0 -
1800 or over is a reasonable intake. NOT 1500.
You are 22 years old and male, your metabolism is naturally higher than women or people who are older. Your body needs fuel and nutrients, especially if you have training goals.
1800 then going to up exercise to 45 minutes everyday instead of 3 times a week and bump calories up to 1.8k, thanks for the help, and thank you to everyone. 0 -
I'm shorter, older (and rounder than you) and I don't even eat that few calories!!! I would say definitely recalculate your calorie intake. You do want a deficit, but not that much when you're exercising the way you are. I would also say balance is key - not an overabundance of one thing or the other. A good balance of carbs, protein, and fats (healthy ones...there is such a thing) is a good way to get to the goal you set. I used to think protein heavy dieting was the way to go, but I was SO wrong. Do some research. I've since balanced my diet and lost 12 more pounds. I think you need a HUGE reevaluation of where you are and what foods you're eating. Everyone's posts about men needing more calories than women (because of the metabolism difference) is spot on. As a woman, I eat 1220 calories a day. Boost your intake, you'll boost your metabolism and you'll be healthy. Skinny is NOT healthy.0
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First rule of MFP - some people are mean, or rather they can be pretty blunt. Its always worth doing a little bit of research before asking a question to avoid getting your *kitten* handed to you.
When you enter your dets into MFP what daily goal does it set you? This would probably be a good place to start,
then use this as someone else has posted - don't automatically go for 2lbs a week - I think from what you have said 1lb loss a week might it.
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
If you have less than 15 lbs to lose 0.5 lbs/week is ideal
make sure you log everything including your exercise & most people advise eating back your exercise calories -although I have seen many people say they don't. Its a pretty good app and is definately worth giving it a go following the goals it sets based on the info you have entered, you can always tweak it once you have given it a week or 2.
Feel free to send me a FR, happy to help with any non- judgemental advice. Not that I know anything about body building but doing ok on the weight loss so far ( 3 months in)
Good luck with it!0 -
For weight loss, not at all. The only thing that is affected by meal timing is how you feel. Some people just generally perform better if they eat smaller meals more often, whereas others are fine with fewer, bigger meals. Figure out what works best for your body and your work/school schedule, and do that.A general question tho that hopefully somebody will answer, is that does it matter really how well spaced meals are?
Just for reference, because a lot of people have skewed perceptions about what a "normal" caloric intake is -- I'm 5'4", older than you, 128 pounds and a girl, and I lose on 2000. I'm thinking about going down to 1800 for a few weeks, but I'll be whining like a little kid with a skinned knee the whole time. If I tried to live on 1000, I'd either be chewing paint off the walls or killing people.
The goal should be to eat as much food as possible while still losing weight, not to survive on the bare minimum you possibly can. Think about it this way: as you get lighter, you're probably going to have to drop your intake at least once. If you start at 1000, where would you go?
If you drop your calories too low, you WILL lose muscle mass. Dude, you're 22, male and just starting to lift -- you have a GOLDEN opportunity to strip off some fat while keeping all the muscle you have. Don't waste it by starving yourself.0 -
Take a look here, it will get you started..
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants0 -
Yikes, that's too little food, even for females not to mention a man. You'll lose muscle. A man should be eating more like a bare minimum of 1500-1800 calories while working out to lose weight healthily (lose fat, not muscle).0
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Damn that is alot of replies, wasn't expecting it. The problem is I have tried many things in the past to lose weight, and they've never worked. I don't understand how people are losing weight at 2000 calories a day, as that is a ton of meals when my main meal consists of 2 large portions of fish, and 300g of vegetables, and is only 350 calories.
I understand about protein intake, as my father was a bodybuilder and alot of his friends still are (he is starting again too), but cannot afford to take in any more at the moment as college is sapping the majority of my savings. My diet is:
9AM-11AM breakfast - 2 Múller Lights, 1 wholemeal roll with ham + lettuce (320 calories)
12AM - 2PM lunch - 1 can of tuna, 3 egg whites (180 calories)
5PM-7PM dinner - 2 portions of fish, 300g of vegetables (350 calories)
11PM-2AM night food - 3 egg whites, whole meal roll with cheese (200 calories)
Sometimes I don't eat at night, which is when my daily intake drops to around 800. I have of course considered training my entire body but not sure what the point is when I'm only taking in half the protein I should be should I want every muscle to benefit. This is why I'm looking for good ways to exercise cardio, however if it is beneficial to train everything on low protein intake, then how would you go about doing it?
Thanks.
PS: How do I change my profile to male? Did not even see the option when signing up.
Beer for breakfast?
And "what's the point" of training your entire body if your protein intake is low? Oy! You need some serious education on nutrition, buddy. You have absolutely no clue how to do this. And high protein foods aren't all expensive. If you ate a decent amount of calories, your protein intake would go up quite a bit.0 -
For weight loss, not at all. The only thing that is affected by meal timing is how you feel. Some people just generally perform better if they eat smaller meals more often, whereas others are fine with fewer, bigger meals. Figure out what works best for your body and your work/school schedule, and do that.
Just for reference, because a lot of people have skewed perceptions about what a "normal" caloric intake is -- I'm 5'4", older than you, 128 pounds and a girl, and I lose on 2000. I'm thinking about going down to 1800 for a few weeks, but I'll be whining like a little kid with a skinned knee the whole time. If I tried to live on 1000, I'd either be chewing paint off the walls or killing people.
The goal should be to eat as much food as possible while still losing weight, not to survive on the bare minimum you possibly can. Think about it this way: as you get lighter, you're probably going to have to drop your intake at least once. If you start at 1000, where would you go?
If you drop your calories too low, you WILL lose muscle mass. Dude, you're 22, male and just starting to lift -- you have a GOLDEN opportunity to strip off some fat while keeping all the muscle you have. Don't waste it by starving yourself.
Epic reply thank you, great advice and gave me a pretty good chuckle! Definitely nowhere to go down from 1k, unsure on 1.8k though, is probably still low.. Thoughts?
Beer for breakfast?
And "what's the point" of training your entire body if your protein intake is low? Oy! You need some serious education on nutrition, buddy. You have absolutely no clue how to do this. And high protein foods aren't all expensive. If you ate a decent amount of calories, your protein intake would go up quite a bit.
LOL!!! No I'm not sure if it's a british brand but it sounds like it is, but they are yogurts. Beers haha.I'm shorter, older (and rounder than you) and I don't even eat that few calories!!! I would say definitely recalculate your calorie intake. You do want a deficit, but not that much when you're exercising the way you are. I would also say balance is key - not an overabundance of one thing or the other. A good balance of carbs, protein, and fats (healthy ones...there is such a thing) is a good way to get to the goal you set. I used to think protein heavy dieting was the way to go, but I was SO wrong. Do some research. I've since balanced my diet and lost 12 more pounds. I think you need a HUGE reevaluation of where you are and what foods you're eating. Everyone's posts about men needing more calories than women (because of the metabolism difference) is spot on. As a woman, I eat 1220 calories a day. Boost your intake, you'll boost your metabolism and you'll be healthy. Skinny is NOT healthy.
I feel as though people seriously underestimating how big I am on here, but balance is definitely key, all I've been doing for the last 2 hours is research,and thanks
you're right on skinny not being healthy though, I'd rather be fat than skinny.First rule of MFP - some people are mean, or rather they can be pretty blunt. Its always worth doing a little bit of research before asking a question to avoid getting your *kitten* handed to you.
When you enter your dets into MFP what daily goal does it set you? This would probably be a good place to start,
then use this as someone else has posted - don't automatically go for 2lbs a week - I think from what you have said 1lb loss a week might it.
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
If you have less than 15 lbs to lose 0.5 lbs/week is ideal
make sure you log everything including your exercise & most people advise eating back your exercise calories -although I have seen many people say they don't. Its a pretty good app and is definately worth giving it a go following the goals it sets based on the info you have entered, you can always tweak it once you have given it a week or 2.
Feel free to send me a FR, happy to help with any non- judgemental advice. Not that I know anything about body building but doing ok on the weight loss so far ( 3 months in)
Good luck with it!
It sets me 1,340 Calories / Day which doesn't sound good according to people in here. Will use this site as a log, seems pretty good, saves jotting it down on paper that i'll inevitably end up losing heh. Sent you a FR btw, thanks.0 -
yup, definitely eat more. i think 1800 is even too low.
i'm 5'3" 180 lbs and recently lowered my cals from 1900 to 1600 and am losing, maybe a bit too quickly even. seeing how 1600 does for me over 3 weeks and if i lose more than 1-1.5 lb per week then i'll be upping my cals. i'm not losing *oops, looking i mean* for quick loss and i want to keep as much of my muscle as i can. i lift heavy 3 x per week and don't really do anything cardio wise. each day i try to reach 8000-10000 steps on my fitbit.
pick a number - say 2000 - and log everything you put in your mouth. weigh solids on a scale and use measuring cups and spoons for liquids.
after 3 weeks adjust as needed
i eat chocolate and ice cream every. single. day.
) 0 -
Ha yeah maybe not listen to the app in this case then :ohwell:0
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Ok from your diet I can see that you have bought in to just about every fad imaginable. You need to eat whole eggs, really the egg yolk may have most of the calories in an egg but it also contains most of the nutrition. There is nothing to be afraid of when it comes to nutritious calories. Also it's totally ok to eat a few treats. Ever fancy a small bar of chocolate? well as long is it's not every day just go right ahead. The sugar is a carb and will give you energy for those workouts you want to do. Because if you want to actually be well muscled you need to eat ABOVE your TDEE not BELOW it. Were talking 2600 - 2700 for the average joe and can be as high as 3 - 3.3k for a tall guy. Hell I have heard some bodybuilders aim for 4k a day. That's about 4 times what you eat now!
Don't be afraid of Fat. Within reason fat is your friend.
Don't be afraid of Carbs. Carbs are necessary to push out lots of energy during the day.
Don't be afraid of Cholesterol. The Cholesterol you eat actually has almost no effect on your internal cholesterol. Tracking cholesterol in food is meaningless.
And surprisingly for you i bet.
Don't be afraid of sugar. Sugar is a carb. As long as you don't go nuts on it it's just FINE.0 -
That can't be right. I ran your numbers, and once you add exercise back in, you should be around 2400 (http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/). Scooby's uses a different method than MFP -- MFP gives you a deficit without exercise and you add back in your exercise calories, whereas Scooby's includes your weekly exercise calories so you'd eat the same every day -- but roughly speaking, the total you get from Scooby should equal MFP + exercise calories.It sets me 1,340 Calories / Day which doesn't sound good according to people in here. Will use this site as a log, seems pretty good, saves jotting it down on paper that i'll inevitably end up losing heh. Sent you a FR btw, thanks.0 -
For weight loss, not at all. The only thing that is affected by meal timing is how you feel. Some people just generally perform better if they eat smaller meals more often, whereas others are fine with fewer, bigger meals. Figure out what works best for your body and your work/school schedule, and do that.
Just for reference, because a lot of people have skewed perceptions about what a "normal" caloric intake is -- I'm 5'4", older than you, 128 pounds and a girl, and I lose on 2000. I'm thinking about going down to 1800 for a few weeks, but I'll be whining like a little kid with a skinned knee the whole time. If I tried to live on 1000, I'd either be chewing paint off the walls or killing people.
The goal should be to eat as much food as possible while still losing weight, not to survive on the bare minimum you possibly can. Think about it this way: as you get lighter, you're probably going to have to drop your intake at least once. If you start at 1000, where would you go?
If you drop your calories too low, you WILL lose muscle mass. Dude, you're 22, male and just starting to lift -- you have a GOLDEN opportunity to strip off some fat while keeping all the muscle you have. Don't waste it by starving yourself.
Epic reply thank you, great advice and gave me a pretty good chuckle! Definitely nowhere to go down from 1k, unsure on 1.8k though, is probably still low.. Thoughts?
Beer for breakfast?
And "what's the point" of training your entire body if your protein intake is low? Oy! You need some serious education on nutrition, buddy. You have absolutely no clue how to do this. And high protein foods aren't all expensive. If you ate a decent amount of calories, your protein intake would go up quite a bit.
LOL!!! No I'm not sure if it's a british brand but it sounds like it is, but they are yogurts. Beers haha.I'm shorter, older (and rounder than you) and I don't even eat that few calories!!! I would say definitely recalculate your calorie intake. You do want a deficit, but not that much when you're exercising the way you are. I would also say balance is key - not an overabundance of one thing or the other. A good balance of carbs, protein, and fats (healthy ones...there is such a thing) is a good way to get to the goal you set. I used to think protein heavy dieting was the way to go, but I was SO wrong. Do some research. I've since balanced my diet and lost 12 more pounds. I think you need a HUGE reevaluation of where you are and what foods you're eating. Everyone's posts about men needing more calories than women (because of the metabolism difference) is spot on. As a woman, I eat 1220 calories a day. Boost your intake, you'll boost your metabolism and you'll be healthy. Skinny is NOT healthy.
I feel as though people seriously underestimating how big I am on here, but balance is definitely key, all I've been doing for the last 2 hours is research,and thanks
you're right on skinny not being healthy though, I'd rather be fat than skinny.First rule of MFP - some people are mean, or rather they can be pretty blunt. Its always worth doing a little bit of research before asking a question to avoid getting your *kitten* handed to you.
When you enter your dets into MFP what daily goal does it set you? This would probably be a good place to start,
then use this as someone else has posted - don't automatically go for 2lbs a week - I think from what you have said 1lb loss a week might it.
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
If you have less than 15 lbs to lose 0.5 lbs/week is ideal
make sure you log everything including your exercise & most people advise eating back your exercise calories -although I have seen many people say they don't. Its a pretty good app and is definately worth giving it a go following the goals it sets based on the info you have entered, you can always tweak it once you have given it a week or 2.
Feel free to send me a FR, happy to help with any non- judgemental advice. Not that I know anything about body building but doing ok on the weight loss so far ( 3 months in)
Good luck with it!
It sets me 1,340 Calories / Day which doesn't sound good according to people in here. Will use this site as a log, seems pretty good, saves jotting it down on paper that i'll inevitably end up losing heh. Sent you a FR btw, thanks.
Keep in mind that the number MFP gives you does not include exercise. When you exercise, you log that and it adds more calories. This is so you would lose weight if you could do no exercise. A TDEE calculator will include your exercise.
A properly set MFP + exercise calories goal will be around the same ballpark as a properly set TDEE -% goal. Assuming you set the appropriate activity levels and you set the appropriate "amount per week loss" goal.0 -
You need to completely redo everything you're doing. There's so much wrong with your post that I don't want to even touch it.
^^ this ^^0 -
being short and 14.6 stone I'm fat as ****, can't ever imagine how 2000 calories would allow me to lose weight, I've never eaten much more than that when I'm not dieting
When I see this, I have to wonder if you're weighing all of your solid food and logging accurately, choosing accurate entries from the database, etc., because if you're a 5'7" male, I don't see how you could reach nearly 15 stone (over 200 lbs) at the age of 22 if you "never eat much more" than 2000 calories, unless you have a medical condition you don't know about or aren't telling us about, or if in the past you really have eaten more than 2000 calories fairly regularly. That's just not enough time in your life eating what is essentially maintenance or maybe a tad over now and then. Or does "never" only refer to the last few months of your life, and you were eating significantly more at some earlier period? I'm a 5'4" woman in her 50s, I now weigh about two and a half stone less than you, and I could still lose weight slowly (maybe a pound a month) on 2000 calories a day net (that is, 2000 plus "eating back" any calories I burn from exercise).
I'm not trying to be mean; I'm just saying that this particular line in your post, combined with other statements about your stats, suggests you don't have an accurate understanding of how many calories you have been eating in the past, which suggests your current understanding of how many calories you are consuming may be off, too.
I advise that you get a food scale if you don't have one -- a digital scale that weighs in grams and has a tare (zero reset) function, so you can put a bowl or plate on the scale, push tare or zero, weight the first things you're eating (e.g., rice), note the amount, tare, measure the next thing (e.g., broccoli), note the amount, tare, measure the next thing, (e.g., cheese), etc. (Fish, poultry or meat you should weigh separately before cooking - raw weight - on a different plate or bowl to avoid cross contamination.) Other than that, choose database entries with a lot of user confirmations, or ones that don't have an asterisk (those were entered by MFP rather than by users). There are a lot of inaccurate user entries in the database.0 -
yup, definitely eat more. i think 1800 is even too low.
i'm 5'3" 180 lbs and recently lowered my cals from 1900 to 1600 and am losing, maybe a bit too quickly even. seeing how 1600 does for me over 3 weeks and if i lose more than 1-1.5 lb per week then i'll be upping my cals. i'm not losing *oops, looking i mean* for quick loss and i want to keep as much of my muscle as i can. i lift heavy 3 x per week and don't really do anything cardio wise. each day i try to reach 8000-10000 steps on my fitbit.
pick a number - say 2000 - and log everything you put in your mouth. weigh solids on a scale and use measuring cups and spoons for liquids.
after 3 weeks adjust as needed
i eat chocolate and ice cream every. single. day.)
Definately going to start weighing what I eat, but don't think more than 1800 calories would be possible for me unless I do alot of cardio exercise.Ok from your diet I can see that you have bought in to just about every fad imaginable. You need to eat whole eggs, really the egg yolk may have most of the calories in an egg but it also contains most of the nutrition. There is nothing to be afraid of when it comes to nutritious calories. Also it's totally ok to eat a few treats. Ever fancy a small bar of chocolate? well as long is it's not every day just go right ahead. The sugar is a carb and will give you energy for those workouts you want to do. Because if you want to actually be well muscled you need to eat ABOVE your TDEE not BELOW it. Were talking 2600 - 2700 for the average joe and can be as high as 3 - 3.3k for a tall guy. Hell I have heard some bodybuilders aim for 4k a day. That's about 4 times what you eat now!
Don't be afraid of Fat. Within reason fat is your friend.
Don't be afraid of Carbs. Carbs are necessary to push out lots of energy during the day.
Don't be afraid of Cholesterol. The Cholesterol you eat actually has almost no effect on your internal cholesterol. Tracking cholesterol in food is meaningless.
And surprisingly for you i bet.
Don't be afraid of sugar. Sugar is a carb. As long as you don't go nuts on it it's just FINE.
Would frying eggs be okay? 1 calorie spray, it's a chore eating them boiled as is. Cutting out all 'treats' though, I don't enjoy junk food enough to want any of that in my diet. Nice advice though, and judging from your weight loss you know what you're talking about (not saying others dont, opposite infact). TBH I think the best thing to do would be change what I eat not how much I eat, figuring out how to cram it all in though is the issue My food log for the day on here ended at 1013 calories, altho it needs updating now.
That can't be right. I ran your numbers, and once you add exercise back in, you should be around 2400 (http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/). Scooby's uses a different method than MFP -- MFP gives you a deficit without exercise and you add back in your exercise calories, whereas Scooby's includes your weekly exercise calories so you'd eat the same every day -- but roughly speaking, the total you get from Scooby should equal MFP + exercise calories.It sets me 1,340 Calories / Day which doesn't sound good according to people in here. Will use this site as a log, seems pretty good, saves jotting it down on paper that i'll inevitably end up losing heh. Sent you a FR btw, thanks.
2400 is too much tbh, even when I was eating the most I wouldnt intake that much, although alot of it was bad foods... Looking at what I've eaten today + extra things I've decided to eat, I wont be anywhere near 2.4k, unless I'm miscalculating something. Hopefully that will change though when exercise alot more.Keep in mind that the number MFP gives you does not include exercise. When you exercise, you log that and it adds more calories. This is so you would lose weight if you could do no exercise. A TDEE calculator will include your exercise.
A properly set MFP + exercise calories goal will be around the same ballpark as a properly set TDEE -% goal. Assuming you set the appropriate activity levels and you set the appropriate "amount per week loss" goal.
Yeah, I'm starting to figure out the program, thanks
When I see this, I have to wonder if you're weighing all of your solid food and logging accurately, choosing accurate entries from the database, etc., because if you're a 5'7" male, I don't see how you could reach nearly 15 stone (over 200 lbs) at the age of 22 if you "never eat much more" than 2000 calories, unless you have a medical condition you don't know about or aren't telling us about, or if in the past you really have eaten more than 2000 calories fairly regularly. That's just not enough time in your life eating what is essentially maintenance or maybe a tad over now and then. Or does "never" only refer to the last few months of your life, and you were eating significantly more at some earlier period? I'm a 5'4" woman in her 50s, I now weigh about two and a half stone less than you, and I could still lose weight slowly (maybe a pound a month) on 2000 calories a day net (that is, 2000 plus "eating back" any calories I burn from exercise).
I'm not trying to be mean; I'm just saying that this particular line in your post, combined with other statements about your stats, suggests you don't have an accurate understanding of how many calories you have been eating in the past, which suggests your current understanding of how many calories you are consuming may be off, too.
I advise that you get a food scale if you don't have one -- a digital scale that weighs in grams and has a tare (zero reset) function, so you can put a bowl or plate on the scale, push tare or zero, weight the first things you're eating (e.g., rice), note the amount, tare, measure the next thing (e.g., broccoli), note the amount, tare, measure the next thing, (e.g., cheese), etc. (Fish, poultry or meat you should weigh separately before cooking - raw weight - on a different plate or bowl to avoid cross contamination.) Other than that, choose database entries with a lot of user confirmations, or ones that don't have an asterisk (those were entered by MFP rather than by users). There are a lot of inaccurate user entries in the database.
Through my teens I was a very heavy eater, and with the exception of work recently I have not done any exercise since, so I guess the weight just lingered over a few years, either that or I have some kind of issue I don't know about *shrug*
I got down to 13 stone at one point just by cutting out junk food while at college, but over the last year ive been from job to job with alot of inactivity in between. I don't weigh food but I never used to eat alot, just what i ate was very bad stuff, like entire 100g bar of chocolate a day, and until recently drank alot of alchohol mainly for the excuse of getting out the house when i was unemployed, as it is the only thing my friends do other than work, and that would usually end with a bag of chips or a kebab. have never monitored my calories until recently though so i could of been taking in a lot more than i thought, i just did not eat often in a day and when i look at the amount of healthy foods id have to eat to hit the calorie levels people recommend... it seems like ALOT more than im used to as far as quantity goes0 -
Ok, you're already getting some great advice here. I just wanted to say, please don't let embarrassment stop you from getting outside and exercising. You may be a "whopping" 14.5 stone, but when I started exercising outside, I was 15 1/2 stone and 5'3", so a fair bit bigger than you. Yeah, I felt a little embarrassed, but I got over it, quickly. No one really cares. Honestly. I can't promise no one will ever make a negative comment, or shout from a car, but that has never happened to me while exercising.
When I used to live in a big city, I had a couple of heckles from cars, but only when I was standing at bus stops and whatnot. Some people are just idiots and think driving round shouting at people (any people - fat, thin, whatever) is funny. That's life. I've never had anyone say anything negative to me or look at me funny while walking or running.
There will be the odd person who judges you negatively, and most likely will keep that in their head. That will happen in life regardless of what you do. There will be a lot more people who think "good for you" (and still probably keep that in their head). Whenever I see someone exercising who is overweight/unfit/looks like The vast majority of people will not even notice you or care.
Start with walking; walking is great exercise, especially to start with. Later, if you're interested in running, look into something like the couch to 5k programme. Or, get a bike. You want to get fit and lose weight - that's your goal. Don't let other people, or your perception of what other people might be thinking, get in the way of that.
Have a read of this: http://flintland.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/hey-fat-girl.html0 -
There is nothing strictly speaking wrong with frying eggs. I tend to avoid it myself as it makes determining exactly how much calories in it a pain in the *kitten*. However I am trying to avoid loading up the calories from your perspective it should be just fine. Just be sure to include the calories of the oil or spray or whatever you use extra to the egg in your logging.
I should probably point out that you need to be sure of what your goal is to determine how many calories you should eat. If you want to lose fat then a calorie deficit is necessary. Which means you eat less than tdee. However when you are in a calorie deficit muscle size can not be increased easily or by much. I have personally noticed some very minor gains but this is over a VERY long period of lifting and mostly in places like my calves from the 8 hours of walking I do a week and things like that. It is not a practical way to build muscle mass. HOWEVER muscle strength can be improved even on a deficit. Your muscles won't get larger but what you have will improve in performance.
However to gain muscle bulk you must have a calorie surplus which means more than tdee. This also means that you will probably gain some fat in the process too. This is why bodybuilders go through a cut/bulk rotation. They bulk to increase muscle mass then they diet to remove the fat they gained when they increased their muscles. This is also why you want to lift weights and not eat too little even when dieting. Because if you drastically starve your body it will eat your muscles instead.
So if you have a lot of fat to lose I would suggest sticking to a calorie deficit. If however you are just a skinny little dude then you need to eat above your tdee and get on that strength training. And remember the gym is necessary to build muscles. Because it gives them the stimulation they require to grow. However unless you do your job right in the kitchen your muscles won't budge no matter what you do. Going to the gym is like telling your muscles GET BETTER! but if your muscles don't have the stuff they need to do that they will just shrug back at you.
Oh and as someone else has mentioned make sure you log your calories accurately. If you don't have a medical issue you could be seriously underestimating your intake. This is in fact very common. Some pitfalls include.
Not weighing something .. guessing somethings weight.
Falling for calorie labeling on packaging. A lot of food often tries to get you to think it's lighter than it is by writing "A quarter of a pack contains" A pack of Dip labeled with 150 calories can seem very manageable. But if it's one of those "quarter of a pack contains" things then the whole pack of dip has 600 calories in it. This is incredibly annoying and I wish supermarkets would stop trying to pull this crap.
Not including the calories for cooking oils, dressings or table sauces. These can really add up.
Not including your liquid calories - Another major pitfall. A pint of beer has about 200 odd calories. And a full sugar soda is an absolute nightmare. There are also some reasonable drinks that have a decent sugar content like some flavored waters. A common mistake is guzzling a bottle of lucozade after a workout because it's marketed as a healthy drink. When it really has the same calories as full sugar coca cola. Admittedly sugar is one of the best things for exercise recovery so the stuff works. But a full bottle of lucozade is basically sugar overkill for the vast majority of people.0 -
OP
Bravo for being open and listening to suggestions. I didn't start out eating 2000 calories a day, the more I lift and the more I do, that number seems to be getting a little higher (according to my fitbit).
I just wanted to applaud you for being open and listening.0 -
yup, definitely eat more. i think 1800 is even too low.
i'm 5'3" 180 lbs and recently lowered my cals from 1900 to 1600 and am losing, maybe a bit too quickly even. seeing how 1600 does for me over 3 weeks and if i lose more than 1-1.5 lb per week then i'll be upping my cals. i'm not losing *oops, looking i mean* for quick loss and i want to keep as much of my muscle as i can. i lift heavy 3 x per week and don't really do anything cardio wise. each day i try to reach 8000-10000 steps on my fitbit.
pick a number - say 2000 - and log everything you put in your mouth. weigh solids on a scale and use measuring cups and spoons for liquids.
after 3 weeks adjust as needed
i eat chocolate and ice cream every. single. day.)
Definately going to start weighing what I eat, but don't think more than 1800 calories would be possible for me unless I do alot of cardio exercise.Ok from your diet I can see that you have bought in to just about every fad imaginable. You need to eat whole eggs, really the egg yolk may have most of the calories in an egg but it also contains most of the nutrition. There is nothing to be afraid of when it comes to nutritious calories. Also it's totally ok to eat a few treats. Ever fancy a small bar of chocolate? well as long is it's not every day just go right ahead. The sugar is a carb and will give you energy for those workouts you want to do. Because if you want to actually be well muscled you need to eat ABOVE your TDEE not BELOW it. Were talking 2600 - 2700 for the average joe and can be as high as 3 - 3.3k for a tall guy. Hell I have heard some bodybuilders aim for 4k a day. That's about 4 times what you eat now!
Don't be afraid of Fat. Within reason fat is your friend.
Don't be afraid of Carbs. Carbs are necessary to push out lots of energy during the day.
Don't be afraid of Cholesterol. The Cholesterol you eat actually has almost no effect on your internal cholesterol. Tracking cholesterol in food is meaningless.
And surprisingly for you i bet.
Don't be afraid of sugar. Sugar is a carb. As long as you don't go nuts on it it's just FINE.
Would frying eggs be okay? 1 calorie spray, it's a chore eating them boiled as is. Cutting out all 'treats' though, I don't enjoy junk food enough to want any of that in my diet. Nice advice though, and judging from your weight loss you know what you're talking about (not saying others dont, opposite infact). TBH I think the best thing to do would be change what I eat not how much I eat, figuring out how to cram it all in though is the issue My food log for the day on here ended at 1013 calories, altho it needs updating now.
That can't be right. I ran your numbers, and once you add exercise back in, you should be around 2400 (http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/). Scooby's uses a different method than MFP -- MFP gives you a deficit without exercise and you add back in your exercise calories, whereas Scooby's includes your weekly exercise calories so you'd eat the same every day -- but roughly speaking, the total you get from Scooby should equal MFP + exercise calories.It sets me 1,340 Calories / Day which doesn't sound good according to people in here. Will use this site as a log, seems pretty good, saves jotting it down on paper that i'll inevitably end up losing heh. Sent you a FR btw, thanks.
2400 is too much tbh, even when I was eating the most I wouldnt intake that much, although alot of it was bad foods... Looking at what I've eaten today + extra things I've decided to eat, I wont be anywhere near 2.4k, unless I'm miscalculating something. Hopefully that will change though when exercise alot more.Keep in mind that the number MFP gives you does not include exercise. When you exercise, you log that and it adds more calories. This is so you would lose weight if you could do no exercise. A TDEE calculator will include your exercise.
A properly set MFP + exercise calories goal will be around the same ballpark as a properly set TDEE -% goal. Assuming you set the appropriate activity levels and you set the appropriate "amount per week loss" goal.
Yeah, I'm starting to figure out the program, thanks
When I see this, I have to wonder if you're weighing all of your solid food and logging accurately, choosing accurate entries from the database, etc., because if you're a 5'7" male, I don't see how you could reach nearly 15 stone (over 200 lbs) at the age of 22 if you "never eat much more" than 2000 calories, unless you have a medical condition you don't know about or aren't telling us about, or if in the past you really have eaten more than 2000 calories fairly regularly. That's just not enough time in your life eating what is essentially maintenance or maybe a tad over now and then. Or does "never" only refer to the last few months of your life, and you were eating significantly more at some earlier period? I'm a 5'4" woman in her 50s, I now weigh about two and a half stone less than you, and I could still lose weight slowly (maybe a pound a month) on 2000 calories a day net (that is, 2000 plus "eating back" any calories I burn from exercise).
I'm not trying to be mean; I'm just saying that this particular line in your post, combined with other statements about your stats, suggests you don't have an accurate understanding of how many calories you have been eating in the past, which suggests your current understanding of how many calories you are consuming may be off, too.
I advise that you get a food scale if you don't have one -- a digital scale that weighs in grams and has a tare (zero reset) function, so you can put a bowl or plate on the scale, push tare or zero, weight the first things you're eating (e.g., rice), note the amount, tare, measure the next thing (e.g., broccoli), note the amount, tare, measure the next thing, (e.g., cheese), etc. (Fish, poultry or meat you should weigh separately before cooking - raw weight - on a different plate or bowl to avoid cross contamination.) Other than that, choose database entries with a lot of user confirmations, or ones that don't have an asterisk (those were entered by MFP rather than by users). There are a lot of inaccurate user entries in the database.
Through my teens I was a very heavy eater, and with the exception of work recently I have not done any exercise since, so I guess the weight just lingered over a few years, either that or I have some kind of issue I don't know about *shrug*
I got down to 13 stone at one point just by cutting out junk food while at college, but over the last year ive been from job to job with alot of inactivity in between. I don't weigh food but I never used to eat alot, just what i ate was very bad stuff, like entire 100g bar of chocolate a day, and until recently drank alot of alchohol mainly for the excuse of getting out the house when i was unemployed, as it is the only thing my friends do other than work, and that would usually end with a bag of chips or a kebab. have never monitored my calories until recently though so i could of been taking in a lot more than i thought, i just did not eat often in a day and when i look at the amount of healthy foods id have to eat to hit the calorie levels people recommend... it seems like ALOT more than im used to as far as quantity goes
OP and person who responded, would you guys mind if I butted in a bit?
I read the entire thread, by the way, I just wanted to give a little more of a medical perspective, if I can.
First off, OP, you are awesome and congratulations for being so open and so willing, few people are like that and take everything as a personal slight. And you're doing the right thing by asking questions, as many people have pointed out. And you seem like a lovely person overall.
What screamed out to me immediately were your stats and your metabolic intake. Especially on this post in particular when you were replying to this other user. Everything the other user said is scientifically and medically accurate, by the way, but what struck me is this:
"2400 is too much tbh, even when I was eating the most I wouldnt intake that much, although alot of it was bad foods... Looking at what I've eaten today + extra things I've decided to eat, I wont be anywhere near 2.4k"
I don't know exactly your levels of activity, but for a male, even at 5'7", 2.4kcal would be a sane, nice amount, and you shouldn't have issues hitting that goal unless you have issues with absorption or stomach issues or something metabolic going on. Do you have acid reflux or something that physically prevents you from eating? Is it a feeling of fullness? Is it the sheer amount of food to get to 2.4kcal? Have you ever visited an endocrinologist and gotten through a battery of exams? I ask because you have mentioned that in the past, though you have had some minor issues with alcohol, not logged, over ate and etc, you did manage to get your weight down a bit when you did try, but only to about 13st, and then now you do eat at a deficit - and at a rather large deficit (1,000 or a bit more, is it?) for someone of your height and sex. Because of the hormones you produce, there is an essential metabolic difference there that would point to either a hormonal imbalance or a metabolic disorder or maybe something going on with your adrenals.
That is absolutely worth checking out - you don't need to wait for the results to start on your weight loss journey, absolutely not (I just highly, highly advise you to not go the super low carb route without knowing the results of a complete metabolic panel w a thyroid and hormonal panel first, considering your past history) - but I think you should get checked out because of the things you have stated here, for peace of mind and also because if there IS anything hindering your weight loss that you don't know about, you can start to treat it and get it out of the way. Most of the stuff that could be inducing this kind of thing is easily manageable and treatable and once you deal with it accordingly, success follows and your life gets 100% better.
I hope I didn't sound discouraging or overstepped any boundaries, I really, really just want to try and help because I sort of saw a pattern that I observed in a few patients before.
All the luck to you!
PS: I am not a doctor - student doctor (former, actually, I had to drop year three when I got sick myself, but I plan on returning, I am just a grad student in molbiology now, just adding this disclaiimer here to say I am not offering medical advice in any way, shape or form before anyone accuses me of it, etc :S)0 -
i sent you a friend request, I'd like to join you on your journey if that is ok0
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I'm a woman, age 66, weight 209. I go out in public all the time. I walk. And along main roads where a lot of people see me. 1000 calories is lower than even the slimmest woman should eat. Please reconfigure as many have suggested.0
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I got down to 13 stone at one point just by cutting out junk food while at college, but over the last year ive been from job to job with alot of inactivity in between. I don't weigh food but I never used to eat alot, just what i ate was very bad stuff, like entire 100g bar of chocolate a day, and until recently drank alot of alchohol mainly for the excuse of getting out the house when i was unemployed, as it is the only thing my friends do other than work, and that would usually end with a bag of chips or a kebab. have never monitored my calories until recently though so i could of been taking in a lot more than i thought, i just did not eat often in a day and when i look at the amount of healthy foods id have to eat to hit the calorie levels people recommend... it seems like ALOT more than im used to as far as quantity goes
OK, but you're confusing volume of food with number of calories -- when people tell you to eat more (and specifically to consume 1800 calories or more), they're not telling you that you have to eat a greater volume of food. You can get there by eating more calorie-dense foods.
And by the way, that 100 g bar of chocolate was probably a good 600 calories, and while I don't know what you mean by "a lot of alcohol," or what specifically you were drinking, just a couple of pints of strongish beer (say 8 to 10% ABV) could easily be over 500 calories. And most young men that I have known would not call two pints of beer "a lot." So a chocolate bar (600 calories), an evening of "a lot of alcohol" (let's say 800 cal conservatively), a kebab or a bag of chips (without some measurements I'm just guessing, but let's say 300 cal, which is high if it was just a small 1 oz. bag of chips but probably low if it was a restaurant or carry-out kebab, and definitely low if it was a large bag of chips), and you're already up to 1700 calories, and I imagine that was not all you were eating in the day.
I'm spelling this out because you seem to have two objections to the advice to eat substantially more calories than the 1000 calories you're eating now: you say you couldn't possibly eat that much and "never" have, when in fact you clearly have eaten that much in the past, and you say you couldn't eat that much "healthy" food. I wanted to get that first objection out of the way before turning to the second.
You may be right, if you're going to define "healthy" food as no fat, low carb, lean protein with a few vegetables that are mostly water and fiber. And that's actually not healthy. Your body can't absorb a lot of vitamins (the fat-soluble ones) without fat, for one thing.
When someone suggested you "eat the whole egg," your response was "can I fry it in one calorie cooking spray?" No. Fry it in a teaspoon or two of oil. I would recommend one high in omega-3 fatty acids, such as canola (rapeseed) oil. If you feel that it would be impossible or extremely difficult to get to what everyone is telling you is a healthy calorie level, you don't need to be trying to fry an egg in a light mist of cooking spray.
If you consume dairy products, you don't need to be using nonfat or low fat versions.
Have some avocado. Have some nuts. Have some peanut butter. Drizzle a teaspoon or two of olive oil on your veggies. Have some whole grains. You'll get to 1800 calories in no time. If you're still not there, have a third of one of those 100 g chocolate bars.
Just make sure you weigh and log accurately.0
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