Is my diary ok?!

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hbunting86
hbunting86 Posts: 952 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Hi all

Getting used to this new fitness thing and could use a few opinions on my diary - would be much appreciated!

Heather :)

Replies

  • kwardklinck
    kwardklinck Posts: 1,601
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    I hope you're planning on eating at least 1200 cals today? :P You might want it to keep track of your sodium. I've found that particularly helpful if I find I'm gaining or not losing.
  • hbunting86
    hbunting86 Posts: 952 Member
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    How do I track sodium? This is still a bit of an enigma to me!!
  • forthefab5
    forthefab5 Posts: 187 Member
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    Hey Heather, are you logging everything you're eating? If so, it looks too little and you shouldn't be skipping meals! Otherwise, nice to have you on board and good luck with it all :)
  • BigBoneSista
    BigBoneSista Posts: 2,389 Member
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    No breakfast, no lunch...not enough calories. No its not ok.
  • shezza737
    shezza737 Posts: 95 Member
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    Looking very quickly at your food diary, i would say no. Not if what you have logged as food on the days you have entered something is 100% accurat. No way would you be eating enough, you need to get to AT LEAST 1200 calories a day, and days when you earn calories through exercise you should be eating more than 1200.
  • hbunting86
    hbunting86 Posts: 952 Member
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    That is what I generally eat - never been a breakfast person and not really a 'foodie' so want to build it up to get fitter and regular regime. Not sure what peoples balance generally is protein/fat/carbs wise!
  • Holton
    Holton Posts: 1,018
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    Your food intake is not enough to fuel your body. You should be eating 4-6 times a day, small meals and definitely eating 1200+ calories per day, plus at least 1/2 of your exercise calories. Grab a banana, an apple, eat a salad, get some fiber bars, some almonds, yogurt; you really need to up your calorie intake for a healthy lifestyle.
  • ChRiStA_1983
    ChRiStA_1983 Posts: 380 Member
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    With all due respect, if this is what you "generally eat", then you need to change your eating habits PRONTO! There is NO WAY that you will lose weight if you're eating so few calories every day.

    Think of calories/food as gasoline for your engine....What happens when you don't fill up the tank in time? The car sputters and won't make any progress....That's how your body works. Your body needs a MINIMUM of 1,200 calories every day just to fuel it through everyday living....If you exercise, it needs even more. If you are not consuming the proper number of calories, your body will begin to store the few calories that you DO eat as "fat", because it thinks that you are starving it, and it is trying to preserve itself....Therefore, your metabolism slows, and it's EXTREMELY difficult to lose any weight.

    Therefore, EAT MORE, not less!
  • forthefab5
    forthefab5 Posts: 187 Member
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    It might be a good idea to track by what MFP gives you for a start. And skipping meals is very detrimental to weight loss... Aim for 3 main meals at least 300-350 calories each and then add 2-3 more meals in between at about 100-150 cals each.

    Skipping meals and eating less calories will see big weight loss at first but your body will not be able to sustain it. You will be fatigued and most importantly your metabolism will slow down and your weight loss will stop because your body will cling to every last bit of it.

    Hope this helps and feel free to add me as a friend if you need to.
  • BakingGranny
    BakingGranny Posts: 112 Member
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    NO NO NO!!! Your diary is NOT ok!! You need to eat at the least 1200 cals. You will find out that you will be gaining and don't be surprised if you lose your hair and strength. This is how your body will rebel. You have put your body in starvation mode. It will eat your muscle. You will become ill. Please eat more.
  • AmericanNewfie
    AmericanNewfie Posts: 21
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    ChRistA is SPOT ON. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day! It jump starts your metabloism.
    You want to loose weight, you MUST eat breakfast, even if it is a meal replacemnet shake, and you need to eat consistently throughout the day. At LEAST 4 times per day. 6 is optimal.
    Hard Love: DON'T MAKE EXCUSES! YOU ARE ONLY TALKING YOURSELF OUT OF YOUR OWN HEALTH.
    You can customize MFP to show up to 6 meals per day and regulate up to 6 different nutrition amounts, such as sodium.
    YOU can do this and if you want to get it done ONLY YOU can do this!
    Best of luck to you!!! Trust me, once you get going it will become very easy to follow. Change is never easy but this change will TOTALLY pay off with an awesome body and oincredible health!
  • BigBoneSista
    BigBoneSista Posts: 2,389 Member
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    That is what I generally eat - never been a breakfast person and not really a 'foodie' so want to build it up to get fitter and regular regime. Not sure what peoples balance generally is protein/fat/carbs wise!

    I was never a breakfast eater either but once I started to exercise my body started to crave more food. Even if you just have a banana or a yogurt in the morning it will be a lot better than nothing. It doesn't matter whether you are trying to lose, gain or maintain you need to feed your body regularly to be healthy. MFP has your daily calorie goal set at 1291 so you need to try to get those calories in. Those calories should be eating within 3 to 6 meals. 3 square meals and 2 or 3 snacks. Try to follow the numbers MFP have set up for you until your daily regimen becomes habit. Then you can begin to make changes where you see fit.
  • elizwelshman
    elizwelshman Posts: 136
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    Hello! Welcome to MFP!! Well, honestly you're definitely not eating enough, your food diary doesn't look so hot. If it's hard to eat breakfast (I feel your pain, I'm not a morning person what so ever), give yourself time to wake up and eat something small. If you want to do the small six meals a day (3 meals, 3 snacks even), you can change your diary settings, but you need to make sure you eat 1,200 calorie amounts. It's okay to be under and it's okay to be over. Learning routine & balance takes time. Also honesty with yourself & will power to do your very best. If you need some help or a little motivation you're more than welcome to friend me.
  • hbunting86
    hbunting86 Posts: 952 Member
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    Yep I know it's ok to be under or over... just a question of getting the balance right at the moment. I don't think i have enough veggies. I've recently moved to a new country on my own so it's hard to get the motivation!
  • Elle408
    Elle408 Posts: 500 Member
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    Yep I know it's ok to be under or over... just a question of getting the balance right at the moment. I don't think i have enough veggies. I've recently moved to a new country on my own so it's hard to get the motivation!

    Moving to a new country on my own was my motivation! The perfect opportunity to break out of your pre-defined role that your friends and family put you in, and also, I didn't have my regular crutches to fall back on (food wise) I had to completely change everything I was eating because my regular foods weren't available, I chose to change for the better!
  • fitterpam
    fitterpam Posts: 3,086 Member
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    I agree with everyone - you'll have more success if you eat an average of 1291 calories daily - MFP has already built in your calorie deficit to lose weight - you don't need to do more.

    To get more veggies in, spread them through the day. One of my favourite breakfasts is really more of a snack (hummus & veggie sticks) - there is no rule that breakfast needs to be breakfast foods. If you want, have dinner for breakfast. Make sure you have a protein and a starch to get you started. Don't worry about the macronutrients to start. Just start with the calories.

    Try and make sure to have veggies or fruit everytime you eat - so if you're having 3 meals + 2 snacks, that's 5 fruit and veg right there if that's all you have for the day, you're still fine. If you double up on veggies at lunch and dinner, then that's 7 and it's better.....

    Making changes takes time. Find things you really enjoy to eat and it'll make it easier. I'm going through a rough spot right now, but when I was doing the right things I would have a fruit, yogurt, peanut butter toast for breakfast, have grapes 2 hours later, 2 cups of salad with leftover chicken for lunch, pepper & celery sticks with ranch dressing for snack 2 hours later, peanuts on the car ride home, balanced dinner (half plate of veggies, quarter of carb, quarter of meat) with grilled fruit for dessert. Snack at about 8pm was carrot sticks. I really tried to stick to only 2 fruit a day and load up on the veggies. I found i liked zucchini but not eggplant.....
  • Elle408
    Elle408 Posts: 500 Member
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    Making changes takes time. Find things you really enjoy to eat and it'll make it easier. I'm going through a rough spot right now, but when I was doing the right things I would have a fruit, yogurt, peanut butter toast for breakfast, have grapes 2 hours later, 2 cups of salad with leftover chicken for lunch, pepper & celery sticks with ranch dressing for snack 2 hours later, peanuts on the car ride home, balanced dinner (half plate of veggies, quarter of carb, quarter of meat) with grilled fruit for dessert. Snack at about 8pm was carrot sticks. I really tried to stick to only 2 fruit a day and load up on the veggies. I found i liked zucchini but not eggplant.....

    This is almost my diet down to a T! I spent so long trying to eat 3 healthy balanced meals a day, thinking that snacking was a bad thing even though I constantly felt hungry. And then I started MFP and realised that I would be better off eating 6 times a day, and I am! It's working wonders! My food diary looks huge in terms of how much i'm eating, but it's all good, nutritious food naturally low in calories!

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