Tips for a newbie

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acf6b
acf6b Posts: 12 Member
in Getting Started
So I am trying to get back into shape, I am 30, 5'11, 190lbs. Male. 2 years ago I started a cubicle job and started a serious relationship and it seemed like overnight I got the "skinny fat belly"... I am trying to lose a few lbs, get to 175 and replace the bad with the good.
I am using the fitbit force and am tracking everything. I am eating a lot more but healthier but still shy of my calorie goal which at 2lbs a week is at 1290 should I replace these calories with carbs or protein? Also I have a bad knee, I walk/run about 2-5 miles a day, use a exercise bike and do strength every other day.... The adjustment that this app does with the fitbit will be at 100-300 calories some days but 0 others, is that normal? Which calorie burn should I look at, with working out and just living the fitbit says roughly 2000 calories burned a day, I know myfitnesspal adds calories burned sleeping and all into the BMR , today it says I burned only 300 calories which was from biking, it has 0 for the fitbit adjustment, I just want to make sure that isn't incorrect, if it is then it means I am far lower on my calorie goal than I should be. Sorry if this makes no sense but thanks for the help!

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  • _Zardoz_
    _Zardoz_ Posts: 3,987 Member
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    As a 30 year old man you should be eating far more than that. I'm a few pounds lighter than you same height eating 2000 - 2500 calories a day losing at a good rate. 2 pounds a week is far to aggressive for the amount you need to lose. Also by eating that low you'll lose a significant amount of muscle mass. You'll always lose some muscle when losing weight but you want to minimise that.

    Have a look at these threads this will help you set yourself healthier goals good luck

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1175494-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants?hl=guide+to+sexypants&page=1#posts-18361594

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1234699-logging-accurately-step-by-step-guide
  • acf6b
    acf6b Posts: 12 Member
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    I will change my goals to adjust it is just hard because I am actually eating a lot more now than I was before... I think I may focus on trying to get a lot from protein as well as just food. Any suggestions on easy ways or foods to up the intake in good/less fat ways?
  • Alyssa_Is_LosingIt
    Alyssa_Is_LosingIt Posts: 4,696 Member
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    I will change my goals to adjust it is just hard because I am actually eating a lot more now than I was before... I think I may focus on trying to get a lot from protein as well as just food. Any suggestions on easy ways or foods to up the intake in good/less fat ways?

    Nuts are good for meeting calorie goals when you're not that hungry. Or peanut butter - a little goes a long way. Even a little bowl of ice cream. Just try and add more calorie-dense foods if you're truly not hungry for more volume.
  • rebeccaplatt21
    rebeccaplatt21 Posts: 175
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    As a 30 year old man you should be eating far more than that. I'm a few pounds lighter than you same height eating 2000 - 2500 calories a day losing at a good rate. 2 pounds a week is far to aggressive for the amount you need to lose. Also by eating that low you'll lose a significant amount of muscle mass. You'll always lose some muscle when losing weight but you want to minimise that.

    Have a look at these threads this will help you set yourself healthier goals good luck

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1175494-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants?hl=guide+to+sexypants&page=1#posts-18361594

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1234699-logging-accurately-step-by-step-guide

    ^^ excellent!

    also, fitbits only recognize walking/running. they don't understand biking/swimming! you'll have to enter that manually if it want it to show up.
  • Bostonsoul
    Bostonsoul Posts: 151 Member
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    Welcome bro, with my ups and downs the only thing that has helped is logging what I eat. I had a friend log for me one day on a "normal" day and what I was eating blew me away so now I'm down to about half of those calories. Being accountable for what you put in your body and surrounding yourself with people who will support you. If you need friends, feel free to add me.
  • Tedebearduff
    Tedebearduff Posts: 1,155 Member
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    So I am trying to get back into shape, I am 30, 5'11, 190lbs. Male. 2 years ago I started a cubicle job and started a serious relationship and it seemed like overnight I got the "skinny fat belly"... I am trying to lose a few lbs, get to 175 and replace the bad with the good.
    I am using the fitbit force and am tracking everything. I am eating a lot more but healthier but still shy of my calorie goal which at 2lbs a week is at 1290 should I replace these calories with carbs or protein? Also I have a bad knee, I walk/run about 2-5 miles a day, use a exercise bike and do strength every other day.... The adjustment that this app does with the fitbit will be at 100-300 calories some days but 0 others, is that normal? Which calorie burn should I look at, with working out and just living the fitbit says roughly 2000 calories burned a day, I know myfitnesspal adds calories burned sleeping and all into the BMR , today it says I burned only 300 calories which was from biking, it has 0 for the fitbit adjustment, I just want to make sure that isn't incorrect, if it is then it means I am far lower on my calorie goal than I should be. Sorry if this makes no sense but thanks for the help!

    The guys post under the initial post ... he's not you ... the way your body metabolizes food are totally different don't adjust your calories to his goals if what your doing now is working for you. I don't get why people say "it works for me so it must work for everyone on earth" drives me nuts

    For the fitbit, how you should use it in order to lose weight IMO is wear it for a week and just have a normal week ... see how many steps you take a day ... got that number ? say what 8K? raise it to 16K double that **** cause now your doing something outside of the normal. It's fun to compete with ppl too you can add me if you want brad.duffy@hotmail.com see if you can keep up ;)


    As for the calorie questions get a HRM if you want something closer cause the fitbit tracker is more so to get people more active, not really meant to track calories... it just "also does" calorie counting.
  • rebeccaplatt21
    rebeccaplatt21 Posts: 175
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    For the fitbit, how you should use it in order to lose weight IMO is wear it for a week and just have a normal week ... see how many steps you take a day ... got that number ? say what 8K? raise it to 16K double that **** cause now your doing something outside of the normal. It's fun to compete with ppl too you can add me if you want brad.duffy@hotmail.com see if you can keep up ;)


    As for the calorie questions get a HRM if you want something closer cause the fitbit tracker is more so to get people more active, not really meant to track calories... it just "also does" calorie counting.

    i'll just add, the fitbit will link to MFP so what you enter as food, shows on FB dashboard...
    i personally LOVE seeing the cals in/cals out part....lets me know i'm on track (or not!)
  • acf6b
    acf6b Posts: 12 Member
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    I wore it for a week in a normal day I would have 2000-3000 steps and 5 flights... I have working on that and am meeting the 10000 goal daily, I also manually type in the calories my bike tells me I burn. My major concern is that being skinny/fat the diet is different because I don't eat a lot but could eat healthier for the past week I have averaged around close to my goals 50+% carb, 30% fat and 30% protein(goal says 15%) as for exercise I do 10000 steps run/walk daily and about 10 miles on a bike average 12mph. Ab and strength 3 times a week. I am mainly concerned with the diet aspect... It is overwhelming with just starting, I also take vitamin D daily, multivitamin and supplements with fish oils... I am just worried that working off more than I'm taking in May hurt in the long run
  • felonebeats
    felonebeats Posts: 433
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    So I am trying to get back into shape, I am 30, 5'11, 190lbs. Male. 2 years ago I started a cubicle job and started a serious relationship and it seemed like overnight I got the "skinny fat belly"... I am trying to lose a few lbs, get to 175 and replace the bad with the good.
    I am using the fitbit force and am tracking everything. I am eating a lot more but healthier but still shy of my calorie goal which at 2lbs a week is at 1290 should I replace these calories with carbs or protein? Also I have a bad knee, I walk/run about 2-5 miles a day, use a exercise bike and do strength every other day.... The adjustment that this app does with the fitbit will be at 100-300 calories some days but 0 others, is that normal? Which calorie burn should I look at, with working out and just living the fitbit says roughly 2000 calories burned a day, I know myfitnesspal adds calories burned sleeping and all into the BMR , today it says I burned only 300 calories which was from biking, it has 0 for the fitbit adjustment, I just want to make sure that isn't incorrect, if it is then it means I am far lower on my calorie goal than I should be. Sorry if this makes no sense but thanks for the help!
    Def need to be eating more than 1290 cals,more like 2400

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