calorie confusion

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Replies

  • beanrider
    beanrider Posts: 66 Member
    Looking at your one day list out of all your foods, you are eating a lot of prepackaged items. How is your sodium intake? That can impact your daily weight fluctuations. However, 9 lbs in that time frame is a terrific loss, just be patient, it will come.

    I am in IN also, feel free to friend me, I don't comment a lot, but will be there to help!
  • stacyjh1979
    stacyjh1979 Posts: 188 Member
    So you have lost 9 pounds in 7 weeks - that is more than a pound a week, guess I am not sure what the issue is?

    It's been 8 weeks not 7 but at any rate the issue is that I expected to lose 2lbs/week and I simply wanted to know if I might be doing something wrong or if others had ideas that may help me.
  • mscheftg
    mscheftg Posts: 485 Member
    I'm confused on what amount of calories I should eat to optimize weight loss. I am 5"3" and currently 194. I have a desk job so I sit all day but I exercise every day for 30 min minimum but normally 45min, sometimes longer on the weekends. MFP has my calorie goal at 1200 and I am always very close to that. I'm not losing much weight. I started watching my food and exercising July 1 at 203lbs so I've only lost 9lbs in almost two months which seems slow to me. I saw that someone on another thread posted a link to scooby's calorie counter and it tells me I should be eating around 1500. How do I figure out what amount is correct? I definitely have a calorie deficit so why am I not losing?

    I guess one other thing I don't really understand is that they say if you don't eat enough calories you'll go into "starvation mode" and it will make your metabolism worse. How is a person supposed to know what their body considers starvation? Any help/advise is appreciated. I'm trying very hard but feeling discouraged. Also I have not had any pop in over 3 weeks and drink 120+ oz of water per day. Thanks in advance!

    I think part of the problem is you're being too restrictive and eating below your BMR (what your body would need to function if you were in a coma) using your stats, your BMR is around 1635. Your TDEE is around 2241 (which is actually from scooby, so I don't know how your got numbers so low; lightly active setting).

    So if you eat 1635, you're creating a deficit of 606 calories a day, which equals out to about 1.5lbs of weight loss per week.

    Eat more food, you'll feel better. I eat around 1620 a day (which is my BMR) and have a 500 or so calorie deficit, I easily lose more than an lb a week. I've lost 70 or so thus far. There's no reason to restrict as much as you are and in the long run you'll lose more lean muscle mass eating at 1200 than you would if you were eating your BMR which will make your body composition better at the end of your weight loss.

    Be sure to recalculate these numbers for every 5lbs lost.

    This is why I am confused. I'm not trying to be restrictive I'm doing what MFP says to do. I don't understand why it would tell me to eat 1200/day if that is too low...and at the same time if it is extremely low then why am I not losing? I can increase my calories but it will drive me crazy for MFP to show I'm over my calorie goal every day! I know that sounds anal but I'm a little ocd I guess and trying to follow the "rules" account to MFP but I want to lose this weight also.

    Update your goals to reflect the calories and macros as recommended by the scooby site. Then it won't tell you that you're overeating.
  • stacyjh1979
    stacyjh1979 Posts: 188 Member
    Nine pounds in 2 months and you're complaining?! :huh: :grumble: I think all you really need is some realistic expectations.

    I'm not complaining I am asking for help and suggestions. I thought if MFP gave 2lbs/week loss as an option that it was a realistic expectation. Perhaps it's not.
  • stacyjh1979
    stacyjh1979 Posts: 188 Member

    Update your goals to reflect the calories and macros as recommended by the scooby site. Then it won't tell you that you're overeating.

    Thank you I am going to try that. I'm just unsure/afraid of bumping it too high...I drive myself nuts! I'm doing my best I just need some patience it's not my best virtue.
  • tonynguyen75
    tonynguyen75 Posts: 418 Member
    Am I the only one who automatically thought, "like Muscle confusion" when I read the title? Confuse your body with different types of calories!
  • stacyjh1979
    stacyjh1979 Posts: 188 Member
    Am I the only one who automatically thought, "like Muscle confusion" when I read the title? Confuse your body with different types of calories!

    Can you explain? Does this just mean eating different types of food from what I normally eat? Any specific suggestions? I'll admit I'm not much of a cook. My husband drives a truck so it's just me and our 2yr old. I mostly eat packaged meals because the portion control is taken care of for me, I know the exact calories, I don't have to cook and it's convenient. I do generally steam broccoli every week to eat on the side as well as tomatoes.
  • AliceDark
    AliceDark Posts: 3,886 Member


    Not trying to be argumentative - but what you've listed out is already somewhere in the neighborhood of 800-900 calories...and you haven't even mentioned dinner. Unless you're also eating an extremely light dinner, you're eating more than 1200 calories a day.

    You certainly don't have to prove anything to me/us. Just be sure you're being honest with yourself about what you really ARE eating...and believe me it's something we all struggle with sometimes!
    I don't think you're being argumentative, I asked for help and I appreciate the Advice. As an example yesterday B: Protein drink 150 cal, WW sandwich 210 cal. Snack String cheese 50 cal, Advocare spark 45 cal. Lunch Lean Cuisine Fiesta grilled chicken 260 cal. Snack Protein bar 200 cal. Dinner Cottage Cheese 90 cal and Broccoli,rice,chicken banquet meal 190 cal. Snack Special K cereal bar 90 cal. Total for the 1285 and supposedly earned 171 cals from exercise. I don't get home from work until 730-8pm so I don't like to eat heavy for dinner.
    What's your average sodium intake? Some people are just more sensitive to sodium than others, and that's a lot of packaged food. If your sodium intake is high AND you're one of those people who is more sensitive to sodium, you could be retaining water, which would mask your weight loss.
  • stacyjh1979
    stacyjh1979 Posts: 188 Member

    What's your average sodium intake? Some people are just more sensitive to sodium than others, and that's a lot of packaged food. If your sodium intake is high AND you're one of those people who is more sensitive to sodium, you could be retaining water, which would mask your weight loss.

    I'm pretty sure it has been within whatever limits MFP suggests but I will take a look at that. I try to get meals that do not have a ton of sodium but I know some of those can run high on sodium. Thank you for the suggestion, I may be more sensitive than I thought. I actually told my husband last night that I knew I was holding some water weight because I weighed myself on my wii fit before my workout and then again after I was done and I was almost 3lbs lighter. A person can't lose 3lbs of fat in 45 minutes of exercise so clearly it was water. That made me feel a bit better.
  • WalkingAlong
    WalkingAlong Posts: 4,926 Member
    Nine pounds in 2 months and you're complaining?! :huh: :grumble: I think all you really need is some realistic expectations.

    I'm not complaining I am asking for help and suggestions. I thought if MFP gave 2lbs/week loss as an option that it was a realistic expectation. Perhaps it's not.
    2 lbs/week IS a realistic option and you don't sound like you're complaining. If you're aiming for 2 lbs/week and not achieving it means either you don't burn as much as you think, you eat more than you think, both, or you have water weight issues making the scale a poor judge. Most of us are affected by at least two of those three.

    Even your packaged foods can vary from their stated calories by some significant percentage. You log beverage calories, right?
  • 365andstillalive
    365andstillalive Posts: 663 Member
    Looking at your one day list out of all your foods, you are eating a lot of prepackaged items. How is your sodium intake? That can impact your daily weight fluctuations. However, 9 lbs in that time frame is a terrific loss, just be patient, it will come.

    I am in IN also, feel free to friend me, I don't comment a lot, but will be there to help!

    Also, it doesn't sound like you're actually weighing your food. Pre-packaged items can be off by up to 20%; so that protein bar you're eating that says it's 200 calories? That could be 160-240 depending on the individual bar. If you want to be really specific you do need to purchase a scale, which you can get for fairly cheap online (under $30).

    I personally don't weigh my food, but I'm at least aware that my tracking is more estimates than perfection. So far in my journey, it hasn't mattered, but likely I'll hit a point soon where it does.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    I'm not complaining I am asking for help and suggestions. I thought if MFP gave 2lbs/week loss as an option that it was a realistic expectation. Perhaps it's not.

    At a certain point, even the MFP minimum might be less than 2 lbs per week, although it would still be over 1 lb at your weight and height (I'm 5'3 also, although older). Looking at a TDEE calculator, my guess is that MFP is actually estimating less than 1 lb/week average--it should tell you that on your goals page. This doesn't actually provide an answer to your question, but it might make you feel like it's less off.
  • stacyjh1979
    stacyjh1979 Posts: 188 Member

    Also, it doesn't sound like you're actually weighing your food. Pre-packaged items can be off by up to 20%; so that protein bar you're eating that says it's 200 calories? That could be 160-240 depending on the individual bar. If you want to be really specific you do need to purchase a scale, which you can get for fairly cheap online (under $30).

    I personally don't weigh my food, but I'm at least aware that my tracking is more estimates than perfection. So far in my journey, it hasn't mattered, but likely I'll hit a point soon where it does.

    True, I do realize there can be variances in the actual calories in pre packaged food but if my intake was 1200 even if every single packaged food I ate was off I should still be losing weight (as the consensus seems to be that I could be eating closer to 1500/day). That actually makes me more nervous about increasing my calories lol...it'll come off eventually I guess I just have to wait it out. I am going to try out an average of 1400/day and see what happens.
  • stacyjh1979
    stacyjh1979 Posts: 188 Member

    At a certain point, even the MFP minimum might be less than 2 lbs per week, although it would still be over 1 lb at your weight and height (I'm 5'3 also, although older). Looking at a TDEE calculator, my guess is that MFP is actually estimating less than 1 lb/week average--it should tell you that on your goals page. This doesn't actually provide an answer to your question, but it might make you feel like it's less off.

    I had it set at 2lbs/week and it was giving me the 1200 cal/day goal. I went in and manually changed the goal to 1400 cal/day and when I did that it now says I'll only lose 1lb/week but since the 2lb/week wasn't happening anyway I figured it's worth a try. It still makes me nervous to increase it but everything I keep reading indicated I should eat higher calories. We will see!!
  • stacyjh1979
    stacyjh1979 Posts: 188 Member

    2 lbs/week IS a realistic option and you don't sound like you're complaining. If you're aiming for 2 lbs/week and not achieving it means either you don't burn as much as you think, you eat more than you think, both, or you have water weight issues making the scale a poor judge. Most of us are affected by at least two of those three.

    Even your packaged foods can vary from their stated calories by some significant percentage. You log beverage calories, right?

    I think water weight is one of my big issues. I may not be burning as much as I think but I don't normally eat my "exercise calories" anyway so that shouldn't matter too much. I am about to start some different workouts though. Other than my protein drink in the morning which is 150 cal I don't drink any beverages other than water and the occasional lipton diet green tea which has no calories or herbalife tea which has 5 cal.

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