New and thoroughly confused..

courtkyh
courtkyh Posts: 2
in Getting Started
Hey!

I'm pretty much new to eating healthy and basically losing weight. Back in my senior year of high school, though, I happened to lose a LOT of weight after I gave up pop and fast food.. I was at my lowest of 145 and now I'm back up to 190 thanks to stress from college and taco bell. I really wanna be back to 145 (or lower would be good).

So, first thing that's confusing me is the activity level on the MFP app. I don't know if I should put sedentary or lightly active.. or more. I have it set to lightly active as of now. My current daily exercise consists of: walking to and from class, running/walking on a treadmill (around 20-30 mins), and playing Wii Fit. I occasionally do sit ups/push ups as well. So, what should I set it as? Is lightly active okay since I don't really do anything intense? When I'm on the treadmill I just switch between running/walking fast. Nothing too intense, but it works up a sweat.

Okay.. the second thing that is confusing me is my calorie limit. If I keep it at lightly active, it says I have 1360 a day. I did a little research and some people said to eat back the calories you burned and others say don't. So, should I or should I not? I'm not exactly sure how many calories I burn when I run anyway and a few people told me that MFP is not very accurate when you enter an exercise.

The last thing that is reaaally bothering me is.. what meals can I eat that are low in calories? Are there any good websites or suggestions as to what I can eat to feel full but not go over my limit? I'm not much of a vegetable person but I love fruits, if that helps lol. OH and to add on to this.. when should I spend the most calories? Breakfast? Dinner? Whichever I feel like?

SORRY for so many questions. Thanks to anyone that takes the time to help, lol.

Replies

  • libbydoodle11
    libbydoodle11 Posts: 1,351 Member
    edited November 2014
    courtkyh wrote: »
    Hey!

    I'm pretty much new to eating healthy and basically losing weight. Back in my senior year of high school, though, I happened to lose a LOT of weight after I gave up pop and fast food.. I was at my lowest of 145 and now I'm back up to 190 thanks to stress from college and taco bell. I really wanna be back to 145 (or lower would be good).

    So, first thing that's confusing me is the activity level on the MFP app. I don't know if I should put sedentary or lightly active.. or more. I have it set to lightly active as of now. My current daily exercise consists of: walking to and from class, running/walking on a treadmill (around 20-30 mins), and playing Wii Fit. I occasionally do sit ups/push ups as well. So, what should I set it as? Is lightly active okay since I don't really do anything intense? When I'm on the treadmill I just switch between running/walking fast. Nothing too intense, but it works up a sweat.

    Okay.. the second thing that is confusing me is my calorie limit. If I keep it at lightly active, it says I have 1360 a day. I did a little research and some people said to eat back the calories you burned and others say don't. So, should I or should I not? I'm not exactly sure how many calories I burn when I run anyway and a few people told me that MFP is not very accurate when you enter an exercise.

    The last thing that is reaaally bothering me is.. what meals can I eat that are low in calories? Are there any good websites or suggestions as to what I can eat to feel full but not go over my limit? I'm not much of a vegetable person but I love fruits, if that helps lol. OH and to add on to this.. when should I spend the most calories? Breakfast? Dinner? Whichever I feel like?

    SORRY for so many questions. Thanks to anyone that takes the time to help, lol.

    I would keep your activity level at lightly active for now. Give a few weeks and adjust as needed.

    A good rule of thumb is to eat back half of your workout activity.

    You can spend your calories however you like. See how you feel. I spend the majority of my calories at dinner. I am on the run most days so that works best for me. Plus, if I am full at night I am less likely to do the mindless eating thing.

    Edit: added recipe sites and some more commentary.

    http://www.eatingwell.com

    http://www.foodnetwork.com

    http://foodwishes.blogspot.com


    Also, 1390 calories sounds like such a small amount to me. I don't know your stats but you may be able to eat a bit more and still lose.

    Google a TDEE calculator, enter your stats and deduct 10 percent and go from there.


  • CyberTone
    CyberTone Posts: 7,337 Member
    ​If you have not yet read the below linked post pinned near the top of Getting Started, please read through it. There are a number of URLs in that first post that you should also read. Unfortunately, the recent switch of the MFP Message Boards to the Vanilla Forums host broke the hyperlinks, so you will have to copy those URLs and paste them into another browser tab/window.

    community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1080242/a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants/p1

    My Diary is open (the good and the not so good) and goes back through July 2013. You are welcome to take a look at it for ideas.
  • courtkyh
    courtkyh Posts: 2
    libbydoodle11 wrote: »
    courtkyh wrote: »
    Hey!

    I'm pretty much new to eating healthy and basically losing weight. Back in my senior year of high school, though, I happened to lose a LOT of weight after I gave up pop and fast food.. I was at my lowest of 145 and now I'm back up to 190 thanks to stress from college and taco bell. I really wanna be back to 145 (or lower would be good).

    So, first thing that's confusing me is the activity level on the MFP app. I don't know if I should put sedentary or lightly active.. or more. I have it set to lightly active as of now. My current daily exercise consists of: walking to and from class, running/walking on a treadmill (around 20-30 mins), and playing Wii Fit. I occasionally do sit ups/push ups as well. So, what should I set it as? Is lightly active okay since I don't really do anything intense? When I'm on the treadmill I just switch between running/walking fast. Nothing too intense, but it works up a sweat.

    Okay.. the second thing that is confusing me is my calorie limit. If I keep it at lightly active, it says I have 1360 a day. I did a little research and some people said to eat back the calories you burned and others say don't. So, should I or should I not? I'm not exactly sure how many calories I burn when I run anyway and a few people told me that MFP is not very accurate when you enter an exercise.

    The last thing that is reaaally bothering me is.. what meals can I eat that are low in calories? Are there any good websites or suggestions as to what I can eat to feel full but not go over my limit? I'm not much of a vegetable person but I love fruits, if that helps lol. OH and to add on to this.. when should I spend the most calories? Breakfast? Dinner? Whichever I feel like?

    SORRY for so many questions. Thanks to anyone that takes the time to help, lol.

    I would keep your activity level at lightly active for now. Give a few weeks and adjust as needed.

    A good rule of thumb is to eat back half of your workout activity.

    You can spend your calories however you like. See how you feel. I spend the majority of my calories at dinner. I am on the run most days so that works best for me. Plus, if I am full at night I am less likely to do the mindless eating thing.

    Edit: added recipe sites and some more commentary.

    http://www.eatingwell.com

    http://www.foodnetwork.com

    http://foodwishes.blogspot.com


    Also, 1390 calories sounds like such a small amount to me. I don't know your stats but you may be able to eat a bit more and still lose.

    Google a TDEE calculator, enter your stats and deduct 10 percent and go from there.


    Thanks so much. I agree, 1390 sounded small to me as well. I'm 21 F, 5'8" and roughly 192 lbs if that helps. I'll try the TDEE calculator, though.
  • joanna_82
    joanna_82 Posts: 151 Member
    I am 5 8 and started out at 180 llbs. I set my loss goal to 0.5lb a week, with activity level sedentary (I do a desk job and all my activity is formal excersise, which I log) and MFP 1800 calories. I'm now down to 160 pounds and still at 1600 calories. It is so much easier losing weight at a slower rate. Less opportunity to give up because you feel like you have enough to eat and are not on a 'diet'. I tend to eat back half of my excersise calories if I need them. Slow and steady is the way to go with this.
  • deksgrl
    deksgrl Posts: 7,237 Member
    The MFP calculator figures out the amount you need to eat to lose "x" pounds per week, but not including exercise. When you exercise, you need to eat more for fuel. (more about that in a minute).

    If you chose "I want to lose 2 pounds per week", that may be a bit too aggressive. You could eat more and still lose weight. If you chose 2 pounds per week, it is subtracting 1,000 calories from your need. Choosing a lower amount to lose will give you more calories. Of course, everyone would love to lose 2 pounds per week, but it is not the healthiest way to do it.

    Now, exercise, when you log it, it will add more calories. The calorie burns it gives are said to be inflated though, so many people only eat half those calories back.

    Someone else mentioned figuring out TDEE, this is the amount where you would maintain your weight, including all of your activities and exercise. Then you take a % off TDEE and eat that much to lose weight. With this method you would not eat more for exercise because it was included in the TDEE number.

    A properly set MFP + exercise calories should be in the same ballpark as a properly set TDEE - % goal. The only difference is with TDEE - % you would eat the same amount every day and with MFP + exercise you would eat more on days you exercised more.

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