1. hungry 2. alcohol

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  • shreyaj
    shreyaj Posts: 196
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    I went out last Saturday night with a friend and made the mistake of eating less so I would have calories for my drinks. I got really drunk. My advice is to exercise more so U earn calories and eat more or like U normally do. I don't usually eat my exercise calories, but there are exceptions. Hope this helps. Have a fun time!
    Kim

    This is so true, you don't want to really do that because you may end up more intoxicated then you would like this has happened to me several times! I would exercise the day that you know you are going to have cocktails, if you like beer try the light kind, Guiness is great if you like that type of beer it only has 125 cals for a 12 oz bottle and after two you get a nice buzz going :). Vodka with a splash of cran is a good choice & also red wine.
  • tryshaantonelli
    tryshaantonelli Posts: 41 Member
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    When studying the effects of starvation, scientist put their subjects on a 1100 calorie/day diet. While you will loose weight on a 1200 calorie diet (simply because you are expending more than you are taking in), it is much harder to stick to and much more likely that it will not work in the long run. I advise adding 300 'good' calories to the mix. Alcohol does not count as 'good' calories.
    I agree that any alcohol should be countered with exercise, as it is TOTALLY empty in calories. My favorite 'low cal' drink is diet cola and malibu rum. I know it sounds weird, but its delish! Best of luck!
  • stacimusmax
    stacimusmax Posts: 172 Member
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    My goal is set at 1200 as well. I make sure to exercise every day. That way I earn another 400-800 calories per day. In 5 weeks I have lost 14 pounds. I track everything I eat and drink. I have had a few times of going out with friends and having a few drinks. I log them. It has put me over my calorie count somedays. I think being honest with myself is the only way to really lose weight.
    This past week has been what I wound consider a bad week. My food diary is open if you want to take a look.

    Oh, I am rarely hungry
  • kristylynne
    kristylynne Posts: 9 Member
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    I know that not being able to drink beer has one of the most difficult sacrifices about dieting for me. But i have also noticed my beer gut taking a hike too:drinker: Personally I just changed my goals to the number of calories as my BMR. Now I only did this today but I know I feel ALOT less hungry already. I am trying to eat a little every 2-3 hours. Then when I get off work I am going to work out to earn calories back for dinner time. I will allow myself to have a few beers on the weekend but I am also going to be accountable for them i.e. logging them. So I haven't really lost any weight yet, but I hope my plan can inspire yours:bigsmile:
  • desirez131
    desirez131 Posts: 72 Member
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    how about having the drinks and doing some exercise this weekend to burn it off

    I agree! That's what I always try to do, I mean we are still human :happy:
  • daniellescsu
    daniellescsu Posts: 101 Member
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    People said that if I exercise (which I do) I will earn a few hundred more calories. Should I eat those then? It seems counter intuitive to do that....
  • meggonkgonk
    meggonkgonk Posts: 2,066 Member
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    People said that if I exercise (which I do) I will earn a few hundred more calories. Should I eat those then? It seems counter intuitive to do that....

    YES!

    I know it seems counter intuitive, but MFP is set up so that you have a deficit even when you don't work out. Most programs have you eat a higher number (say 1500-1800) but use your workouts to complete the deficit. MFP lists your NET calories, so even if you don't do the workout, you still get a deficit and will still see a loss. ESPECIALLY if you are at 1200 as your daily goal you NEED to eat these calories earned from working out- your body will need them.

    The equation on your homepage:

    GOAL FOOD - EXERCISE = NET. Your goal is to get your NET calorie number to be between 1200 and your daily calorie GOAL number.
  • meggonkgonk
    meggonkgonk Posts: 2,066 Member
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    Also remember, going over your calories doesnt equal failure interms of weight loss. The daily goal MFP has set for you already includes a 500 calorie deficit (usually, if you've selected 1lb per week), so if you ADD 500 calories to your total you are still "breaking even" for the day. Once in a while this is fine.

    To see how many "extra cals" you have to that break even point check your GOALS page, there should be a number marked "Calories burned from Daily Activity" or something. As long as you stay under that number, you haven't gained any weight, you just have less of a deficit for the week. (so ie my GOAL is 1300 cals, but my est. burn per day is 1720- I have 420 "extra" calories of cushion)


    Also to note- DEFINITELY don't weigh in for a few days after a splurge meal or drinks- the increased sodium will give you a false gain and you will feel like a jerk for magically gaining 4lbs from 3 beers or a full plate at applebees. DONT weigh in, DONT worry about it- its temporary.
  • robin52077
    robin52077 Posts: 4,383 Member
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    Also remember, going over your calories doesnt equal failure interms of weight loss. The daily goal MFP has set for you already includes a 500 calorie deficit (usually, if you've selected 1lb per week), so if you ADD 500 calories to your total you are still "breaking even" for the day. Once in a while this is fine.

    To see how many "extra cals" you have to that break even point check your GOALS page, there should be a number marked "Calories burned from Daily Activity" or something. As long as you stay under that number, you haven't gained any weight, you just have less of a deficit for the week. (so ie my GOAL is 1300 cals, but my est. burn per day is 1720- I have 420 "extra" calories of cushion)


    Also to note- DEFINITELY don't weigh in for a few days after a splurge meal or drinks- the increased sodium will give you a false gain and you will feel like a jerk for magically gaining 4lbs from 3 beers or a full plate at applebees. DONT weigh in, DONT worry about it- its temporary.

    ^^^ this


    PLUS:
    If you are having trouble with 1200, then you should be eating more. I am guessing (based on mistakes everyone makes) that you chose sedentary and 2 lbs per week.
    This is all wrong. MOST people are SO NOT sedentary. Do you do laundry, dishes, shopping, etc? Sedentary is "roll out of bed, plod to the couch, and don't move till you have to pee or want a snack". At least by MFPs standards, because they set the numbers way lower than most other sites. Choose 1 level higher then you think you should. THEN, set it for HALF a pound a week loss. With so little to lose, you should not be aiming for 2, and probably not even 1.
    Your body does NOT want to let go of those last few pounds. You are within a healthy range and that is good enough as far as your body is concerned. It will hold those last 20 lbs as "back up" in case there is a famine. By eating 1200 you are convincing it that there IS a famine! You need to convince your body that it is getting enough nutrients and that it's SAFE to let go of it's "back up plan" for survival.
    Hope this helps!:flowerforyou:
  • littlemili
    littlemili Posts: 625 Member
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    1. Just so you know, although people will say 1200 is not enough, I eat less than that every day and although it took a couple of weeks to lose any weight at all it is now coming off very nicely and faster than I anticipated (1.5 lbs a week or so). It took me maybe 2 weeks of being hungry and grumpy for my body to learn how to deal with 1200 calories and also to figure out a good eating pattern. Since those 2 weeks passed, I have not got hungry and denied myself food once. So I suggest stick with it for up to 2 weeks and if you still think it's not enough, bump up your calories.

    2. Beer is great! Just allow for it in your daily planning and log it as calories. I drink often (student...) and also eat c*** occasionally as my lifestyle/age might suggest, but in the end calories are calories whether they come from vegetables or beer or crisps.
  • jsarrington
    jsarrington Posts: 8
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    I drink on Saturdays pretty heavy. A couple of weekends ago I slapped on my Polar Heart rate moitor because I do alot of dancing when I drink. By midnight I had burned over 2000 calories. I didn't feel so bad about the drinks after that. Life is short, do what you enjoy.

    5690187.png
    Created by MyFitnessPal.com - Free Calorie Counter
  • BaronessBlixen
    BaronessBlixen Posts: 56 Member
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    I agree with the previous post...combining dancing with drinking is the best! I burn over 500 calories from two hours of dancing, so I don't feel guilty at all about drinking!
  • kacarter1017
    kacarter1017 Posts: 651 Member
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    1200 calories is the cut off for starvation mode. Try eating veggies to add more food to your lunch. If that's all you're having for lunch, I would plan a snack about 3 hours later.

    As far as beer- could you have 1 and then drink water? Otherwise, I would plan a 400 calorie exercise for later. In general, if you're working out fairly rigorously, it's about 100cal/10 minutes of working out.
  • shawnateerow
    shawnateerow Posts: 12
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    As for the lower calorie limit, 1600 is definitely not true. It all depends on the person. Your body goes into starvation mode once you drop below less than HALF of your body's daily need (bmr + calories burned exercising)
  • calmmomw3minimeez
    calmmomw3minimeez Posts: 499 Member
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    I know I'm going to say something most people don't agree with on here, but drink the beers. It's life... and if you're like me, it's something you ENJOY.. I'm trying to lose weight, yes..but at the same time I still have a social life and things I enjoy doing. Alot of people on here are like "NO NO NO" when it comes to alcohol, but it's not going to hurt you that much. Try to make a better choice and work out some this weekend. You'll be fine. Don't sacrifice the things you enjoy. Life is too short.
    I drink on the weekends and I'm consistently losing weight.

    When I started, it had me at 1300 calories a day and it was WAY too low. I was SO hungry all the time. I increased to 1620 and i've been fine ever since. Try increasing them for a week and see what happens. There is such thing as too few calories.

    just my 2 cents!
    Like some others said, you must exercise. I don't use my alloted calories on alcohol, I make sure that I have earned my drinks through exercise and after I know that I have eaten and had TONS of water(I drink it constantly), then I'm good to go with the beer or whatever I'm going to indulge in because life really is too short to be deprived! Exercise your butt off and enjoy the journey!

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