1200 junk vs veg

lemonsurprise
lemonsurprise Posts: 255 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I started off on MFP with no "junk" (I know there's no real good and bad food but you know what I'm talking about) food in my diet. Lost weight at a fast speed for about 4 weeks. Then, as I started to exercise I used up half of my exercise calories on "treats". I stay within my calories inc half of my exercise but I'm struggling to loose 1lb a week since then. (Have about 80lbs to loose)
I weigh my food and log accurately. I've read that what you eat isn't important in comparison to calories when trying to loose weight, so why is there change?

Replies

  • karenj_m
    karenj_m Posts: 215
    If you just started a new exercise program, the scale won't move for a bit....this is normal = just hold on, it will pass. Most of the time its water retention on your muscles trying to repair.


    PS: If you are only eating 1200 calories per day total what are you going to do when you lose around 15-20 pounds and you have to possibly recalc to 75-125 lower calories to get the scale moving again (because of your new body weight)?

    Use a calculator -
    http://www.calculatorlab.com/HowDoIMeetMyWeightLossGoal/index.php#cutby30

    Your "activity" choice is what you do NOW for workouts. If you work out 3-5 days per week consistently, then choose "moderate", if less or doing "light" workouts - then choose "lightly active"....then use the 20% or 25% numbers.
  • logg1e
    logg1e Posts: 1,208 Member
    It seems as though you feel this change in weight-loss occurred as you started exercising, have I understood that correctly? Could be that you're over-estimating your exercise calories.

    It could just be coincidence. A lot of people find that their weight-loss isn't linear.
  • abadvat
    abadvat Posts: 1,241 Member
    how many calories are you eating daily?
    how many calories are you burning daily?
    Give examples of what you consider "treats".
  • SunofaBeach14
    SunofaBeach14 Posts: 4,899 Member
    Well, you say yourself that you're eating more calories. You're either not logging accurately or you're recording too many exercise calories. Are you weighing all of your food and being completely honest with your logging? If you are then you're very likely giving yourself too many exercise calories. Try cutting them in half. Also, how many exercise calories are you recording? At a 1200+ calorie diet there really isn't much room nutritionally for treats.
  • testepp
    testepp Posts: 15
    Not to mention if you're exercising a lot, you'll gain muscle, which weighs more per area than fat - so you might be losing fat but not weight. 1200 is really a baseline MINIMUM diet, you could be freaking your body out too . . . Are you using a calculator to set what you should be eating?

    Edit:

    As someone who has studied nutrition in a nursing setting, calories are really the end all to 'fat loss.' There are other factors that nutrition affects, but I'm going to wager if you really have been exercising then you've put on muscle. Get a flexible tape measure and record your measurements. Don't look at the scales.

    Furthermore, if you have that much weight to lose you should talk to a doctor first about a sustainable weight loss plan. At the very least you should use a calculator on how much you should be eating if you can't do that, but don't just put yourself on 1200. When you're losing over 30 lbs, you could very well cause heart and liver damage with a sudden dramatic drop in calories.
  • sprocketism
    sprocketism Posts: 56 Member
    it does matter what you eat. Especially if you're working out. You need more vitamins and minerals, less fat and sugar. Then your bod will loosen up those pesky pounds. Eat more plant food. Not to mention you can eat a heck of a lot more plant food.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    Weight loss isn't linear... it's normal to lose a lot at first, as you mostly lose water weight. Plus it's normal to have weeks when you don't lose as much too... As long as you're not overestimating your exercise calories by a lot, and log properly, you should still lose just fine.
  • missomgitsica
    missomgitsica Posts: 496 Member
    How are you estimating the # of calories you burn with exercise? MFP tends to overestimate on some exercises, so if you're using their estimate, you may be over estimating the calories you're burning.
  • ILiftHeavyAcrylics
    ILiftHeavyAcrylics Posts: 27,732 Member
    Probably a combination of factors. You lose more in the beginning. There's usually a drop in water weight right at first and the more fat you have the faster you can lose it. Depending on what kind of "treat" foods you're eating, you may be eating more sodium or more carbs, both of which will cause water retention. Exercise leads to water retention for muscle repair. Your burns may not be as accurate as you think as well.
  • RGv2
    RGv2 Posts: 5,789 Member
    Not to mention if you're exercising a lot, you'll gain muscle, which weighs more per area than fat - so you might be losing fat but not weight. 1200 is really a baseline MINIMUM diet, you could be freaking your body out too . . . Are you using a calculator to set what you should be eating?

    Edit:

    As someone who has studied nutrition in a nursing setting, calories are really the end all to 'fat loss.' There are other factors that nutrition affects, but I'm going to wager if you really have been exercising then you've put on muscle. Get a flexible tape measure and record your measurements. Don't look at the scales.

    Furthermore, if you have that much weight to lose you should talk to a doctor first about a sustainable weight loss plan. At the very least you should use a calculator on how much you should be eating if you can't do that, but don't just put yourself on 1200. When you're losing over 30 lbs, you could very well cause heart and liver damage with a sudden dramatic drop in calories.

    Doubtful. OP isn't gaining appreciable muscle, especially enough muscle to effect the scale, A) at 1200 calories, and B) you can't say that without knowing what kind of exercise the OP is doing. There might be some noob gains in there, but those are normally minimal and won't cancel out weight loss on the scale with 80lbs to lose.

    Gaining muscle is extremely hard.......for guys, exponentially harder for women.....even exponentially harder to put enough on to see it one the scale........... And with OP aiming for a deficit.

    OP, I'd recommend opening your diary for others to view.
  • lemonsurprise
    lemonsurprise Posts: 255 Member
    I'll go to the gym 4/5 times a week. Half hour on cardio, half hour on weights. Swimming once or twice a week and on days off from the gym I'll do an hour of mild cardio for an hour. Plus, I'm a dog walker so I'm walking for at least a couple of hours a day.
    I work out my calories just from what I can. At the gym it's the machines, on the wii it's that estimate, but I use MFP for everything I can't get an idea of. With things like swimming, I'll swim for an hour, only log 30 mins and eat back half the calories to make sure I'm not eating too much (as swimming seems to burn ridiculous amounts).

    My "treats" are just sugary based things - which I never craved before! Chocolate, sweets, popcorn, ice cream. I'll only eat 100-200 calories at a time in treats, and like I say, stay within my calories + exercise.

    I've also been eating microwave meals recently instead of clean eating due to time restrictions so if sodium makes you retain water then that could explain it. Maybe time for a detox..
  • samking247
    samking247 Posts: 4 Member
    What you eat is important, empty calories (with little nurtitional value) are different than calories from more natural foods that give your body what it needs to stay healthy. I find that staying as close to clean food as possible makes me feel healthier all around and have much fewer cravings.

    Also be careful with detoxes, when I was in the peak of my weight loss about a year and a half ago I got into a bad cycle with extreme detoxes and cleanses, I would do the green juice cleanses or raw detoxes and I became hooked on them. I loved the quick loss they gave me, 10 lbs in 10 days? It was awesome! But being a binge/trigger eater, I would be so starved and restricted that almost always a few days after the cleanse I would have a loss of control that lasted several days, eating junk and so on.. then back into another cleanse/detox to start the cycle again. I don't know your history but if you've ever had challenges with emotional eating, trigger eating or binging be very very careful with cleanses. Anyways, that's my 2 cents :) Good luck!
  • Ninkyou
    Ninkyou Posts: 6,666 Member
    I've also been eating microwave meals recently instead of clean eating due to time restrictions so if sodium makes you retain water then that could explain it. Maybe time for a detox..

    Your organs do a good enough job "detoxing" you. There's no need to do some off the wall diet/detox/fad. Just consume less sodium and drink more water. Whatever water retention you have will go away in a few days.

    As stated previously, usually the beginning is where you see the largest/quickest drop, as that's water weight. Once the water comes off, then the true weight loss begins to happen. It begins to balance out/slow down and will become more steady... however, as they say, weight loss is not linear. You will have some days/weeks you lose nothing at all, some very little, some you lose more, and some you lose a smidge. It all evens out eventually. Just keep on truckin'.

    If you are weighing & measuring your food, logging consistently and accurately, the weight will come off. It's all about patience and consistency.
  • Kalikel
    Kalikel Posts: 9,603 Member
    I don't argue with people who think all food is exactly the same, but it isn't true. Some food is good for you and some is bad for you.

    It really should make much difference, weight-loss wise. The only real problem with junk food is that you can't eat as much of it, so you'll end up hungrier. You could, though, eat only Starbursts and Oreos every day and lose weight.

    Everyone has to make their own choices about how much,mid any, healthy food they want to eat.
  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,151 Member
    Not to mention if you're exercising a lot, you'll gain muscle, which weighs more per area than fat - so you might be losing fat but not weight. 1200 is really a baseline MINIMUM diet, you could be freaking your body out too . . . Are you using a calculator to set what you should be eating?

    Edit:

    As someone who has studied nutrition in a nursing setting, calories are really the end all to 'fat loss.' There are other factors that nutrition affects, but I'm going to wager if you really have been exercising then you've put on muscle. Get a flexible tape measure and record your measurements. Don't look at the scales.

    Furthermore, if you have that much weight to lose you should talk to a doctor first about a sustainable weight loss plan. At the very least you should use a calculator on how much you should be eating if you can't do that, but don't just put yourself on 1200. When you're losing over 30 lbs, you could very well cause heart and liver damage with a sudden dramatic drop in calories.
    NO. You do NOT build muscle in a deficit; you retain it.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    So if it's not veg it's "junk"?...that's all I'm getting out of this....

    There is far more to nutrition than just veg. In RE to you weight loss, Lbs generally fall off pretty quickly initially...you've decreased your caloric intake...which means your body retains less fluids...and you also have and retain less waste in your system, etc. Weight loss generally slows after the first bit and ceases to be linear. If you're new to exercise, you're going to actually retain more fluids to repair your body...those fluids have weight...often a lot. I can pack on a good 5 Lbs of just water when I increase my weights and intensity of my workouts.
  • Kalikel
    Kalikel Posts: 9,603 Member
    Not to mention if you're exercising a lot, you'll gain muscle, which weighs more per area than fat - so you might be losing fat but not weight. 1200 is really a baseline MINIMUM diet, you could be freaking your body out too . . . Are you using a calculator to set what you should be eating?

    Edit:

    As someone who has studied nutrition in a nursing setting, calories are really the end all to 'fat loss.' There are other factors that nutrition affects, but I'm going to wager if you really have been exercising then you've put on muscle. Get a flexible tape measure and record your measurements. Don't look at the scales.

    Furthermore, if you have that much weight to lose you should talk to a doctor first about a sustainable weight loss plan. At the very least you should use a calculator on how much you should be eating if you can't do that, but don't just put yourself on 1200. When you're losing over 30 lbs, you could very well cause heart and liver damage with a sudden dramatic drop in calories.
    NO. You do NOT build muscle in a deficit; you retain it.
    Unless you dad killed your mom, so you started making bombs and got tossed out of school, but recruited by the military to make them and then enter the danger zone and get blasted by gamma rays while saving some dumb kid who wandered in.

    Then you build muscle like crazy every time you're pissed.

    But you also turn green.

    Some women like hunky guys, but very few women like them green. You also have to buy a lot of new clothes. So, it has it's drawbacks.

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