Can someone please look at my diary.

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cookieinbk82
cookieinbk82 Posts: 320 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Please look at my MFP diary and tell me if I'm eating or working out ineffectively.

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  • lcangelini
    lcangelini Posts: 33 Member
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    You burned 2400 calories exercising? :o

    What are yours goals and such? Gonna need more information in order to give you advice
  • lcangelini
    lcangelini Posts: 33 Member
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    It also looks like you've lost 58lbs so far... so i'm assuming you already know what works?
  • Booda101
    Booda101 Posts: 161 Member
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    I noticed that some things are not actually weighed (e.g. Bagel). A food scale is your friend in the kitchen. Weigh everything solid and reserve the cups/spoons for liquids.
  • cookieinbk82
    cookieinbk82 Posts: 320 Member
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    It also looks like you've lost 58lbs so far... so i'm assuming you already know what works?

    It doesn't seem to be working as well anymore.
  • msashly72
    msashly72 Posts: 2 Member
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    The one thing I would say is that if you are working out THAT much (burning 2000 calories), you need to be nourishing your body. A 1000 calorie day diet is extremely low for that activity level and often works against you. You need to eat if you work out. Starving yourself will do you no good if you exercise, and a lot of times you will actually gain instead of lose.
  • cookieinbk82
    cookieinbk82 Posts: 320 Member
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    You burned 2400 calories exercising? :o

    What are yours goals and such? Gonna need more information in order to give you advice

    Right now I weigh 190. I want to weigh 170. I'm 5 foot 5. I'm hoping to lose 20 pounds this month. I don't know how realistic that is.
  • MelodyandBarbells
    MelodyandBarbells Posts: 7,725 Member
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    It also looks like you've lost 58lbs so far... so i'm assuming you already know what works?

    It doesn't seem to be working as well anymore.

    Yep I see no reason to eat less than a thousand calories per day as often as you do. But how long have you been stalled? If you'd like a process check up you should read this:

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

    I'd be surprised if you're not in a calorie deficit, though. I also agree you should get a food scale and use it for everything that isn't a freely pouring liquid, rather than measuring cups and spoons
  • cookieinbk82
    cookieinbk82 Posts: 320 Member
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    I noticed that some things are not actually weighed (e.g. Bagel). A food scale is your friend in the kitchen. Weigh everything solid and reserve the cups/spoons for liquids.

    Thank you, I'm going to get a food scale. If I go out to eat how would I weigh the food?
  • goldmay
    goldmay Posts: 258 Member
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    Five pounds per week is too much. Aim for 1-2 pounds.

    Aside from weighing food, it looks like a lot of days you're netting under 1000 calories. If you're really burning 2000+ calories a day (which might be overestimated) you should eat back at least some of your calories to fuel your body.

    You don't need to work out 3 hours a day to get results. Just do an hour or so at a higher intensity.
  • cookieinbk82
    cookieinbk82 Posts: 320 Member
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    Four pounds per week is too much. Aim for 1-2 pounds.

    Aside from weighing food, it looks like a lot of days you're netting under 1000 calories. If you're really burning 2000+ calories a day (which might be overestimated) you should eat back at least some of your calories to fuel your body.

    You don't need to work out 3 hours a day to get results. Just do an hour or so at a higher intensity.

    I'm not sure how accurate the calories burned is either. I just put the exercise and amount if time into MFP and let the calculate it. How could I get a more accurate estimation of the calories I burned?
  • MelodyandBarbells
    MelodyandBarbells Posts: 7,725 Member
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    A lot of us use a heart rate monitor programmed with our statistics (height, weight, gender, etc) to get a more accurate estimate of calories burned. It's still an estimate, just a better one. You'll be able to tell from whether you're losing at the predicted rate after a month or two if your estimates are reliable. That said, many people simply eat a fraction like 50-75% of exercise calories given by a machine or MFP; helps to address the potentially inflated numbers.

    Eating at restaurants can be a source of inaccurate logging. The best most of us can do is go to the restaurants website and log each item we eat with their information. The chef isn't always meticulously weighing one tablespoon of oil, so it's just a potential way for inaccurate information to make it into your diary. If you keep your restaurant visits to a minimum, once every two weeks for example will likely not derail your progress. But if you're eating out everyday you're more likely to be consuming more calories than you think. I do not take a food scale to restaurants

    Here's some more links for logging accurately:

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

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1296011-calorie-counting-101
  • Booda101
    Booda101 Posts: 161 Member
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    MFP has a reputation of overestimating calorie burn. That's why many folks recommend only eating back half of your exercise calories.

    A lot of people use heart rate monitors to get their calorie burns, but those are only good for steady state cardio.

    If you've stalled, then

    1) You're not eating at a deficit.
    2) You're overestimating calorie burns.
    3) You're not weighing yourself accurately.
    4) There is an underlying medical issue.

    A lot of this is trial and error, a little number crunching and much patience.

    As far as eating out you can either take the scale with you or bring home the food. Many restaurants post nutrition info, but that isn't always accurate. You might have a chef who decided to add a bit more butter to the recipe for example.

    Good luck!
  • cookieinbk82
    cookieinbk82 Posts: 320 Member
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    A lot of us use a heart rate monitor programmed with our statistics (height, weight, gender, etc) to get a more accurate estimate of calories burned. It's still an estimate, just a better one. You'll be able to tell from whether you're losing at the predicted rate after a month or two if your estimates are reliable. That said, many people simply eat a fraction like 50-75% of exercise calories given by a machine or MFP; helps to address the potentially inflated numbers.

    Eating at restaurants can be a source of inaccurate logging. The best most of us can do is go to the restaurants website and log each item we eat with their information. The chef isn't always meticulously weighing one tablespoon of oil, so it's just a potential way for inaccurate information to make it into your diary. If you keep your restaurant visits to a minimum, once every two weeks for example will likely not derail your progress. But if you're eating out everyday you're more likely to be consuming more calories than you think. I do not take a food scale to restaurants

    Here's some more links for logging accurately:

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

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1296011-calorie-counting-101

    Thank you for the information. The only eating out that I do is when I go to the bagel store to get a bagel. Everything else I eat at home.
  • MelodyandBarbells
    MelodyandBarbells Posts: 7,725 Member
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    Hahah Booda we posted almost the same thing, right down to the chef and his buttery goodness :smile:

    OP, I do weigh my bagels! I have a food scale at my desk at work and have been using it for breakfast muffins and bagels. I went away from those for a while because I thought sausage and eggs were better, but fell back into old habits which still seem to fit my calorie intake
  • melismh
    melismh Posts: 25 Member
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    I'm not a nutritionist, however I have been to one and she never recommended bagels or white rice as a good choice. Whole grains are always a better choice. Also, you seem to be obsessed with exercise, maybe some time out to relax would be better use of time.
    Hope this helps.
  • geneticsteacher
    geneticsteacher Posts: 623 Member
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    You are consistently low in protein. Could you add protein to your dinners?
  • Booda101
    Booda101 Posts: 161 Member
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    Hahah Booda we posted almost the same thing, right down to the chef and his buttery goodness :smile:

    OP, I do weigh my bagels! I have a food scale at my desk at work and have been using it for breakfast muffins and bagels. I went away from those for a while because I thought sausage and eggs were better, but fell back into old habits which still seem to fit my calorie intake

    Great minds! :)

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