Struggling to stay within the limits...
Options
AmeliaHelen96
Posts: 34 Member
I have changed my lifestyle in terms of food and exercise recently. I'm eating breakfast for the first time in 10 years, which is a big step for me. I am eating healthy, non-processed and fresh food. However, now, I find that I am really struggling to stay within the limit of 1200 calories. I gain weight if my calorie intake is 1500, plus exercise. So my calorie intake has to be quite low in order for me to lose .5 - 1lb a week.
- I'm 18, 5'4 and 154lbs. I have a BMI of 26.1.
Has anyone got any advice for me to help me stay within my limits?
I was doing really well today up until 3pm when my mum got the chocolates out and I started boredom eating. Plus my sister was calling me fat, saying I had a double chin and a massive belly etc...so I guess part of it was emotional eating...
So...any advice would be very welcome please. Thank you
- I'm 18, 5'4 and 154lbs. I have a BMI of 26.1.
Has anyone got any advice for me to help me stay within my limits?
I was doing really well today up until 3pm when my mum got the chocolates out and I started boredom eating. Plus my sister was calling me fat, saying I had a double chin and a massive belly etc...so I guess part of it was emotional eating...
So...any advice would be very welcome please. Thank you
0
Replies
-
Ok first... there's no way you can gain fat at your stats and 1500 calories plus exercise. It's NORMAL to gain weight occasionally when trying to lose weight, weight loss isn't linear, and what you're gaining is water weight... which you will lose.
So if you're really gaining fat at 1500 calories (meaning by that, you've gained a couple pounds and haven't lost them in 1 month or so), then it means you're underestimating your calories by a lot.
Also, I'm 36 and I never had to eat under 1600 (counting exercise calories) to lose, so at your age you can probably easily eat 2000 total and lose... and I have chocolate or something like that almost every day too. It's not a problem... just have to stay under your calories and not overdo it.
About breakfast, you don't HAVE to eat it. If you're not hungry in the morning, don't eat. It doesn't matter when you eat, all that matters is how much you eat.
About your sister, just prove her that you can do it and use it as extra motivation to lose the weight...
Finally, if you open your diary, we can probably help more.0 -
-
I'm with the above poster.Ok first... there's no way you can gain fat at your stats and 1500 calories plus exercise. It's NORMAL to gain weight occasionally when trying to lose weight, weight loss isn't linear, and what you're gaining is water weight... which you will lose.
So if you're really gaining fat at 1500 calories (meaning by that, you've gained a couple pounds and haven't lost them in 1 month or so), then it means you're underestimating your calories by a lot.
Also, I'm 36 and I never had to eat under 1600 (counting exercise calories) to lose, so at your age you can probably easily eat 2000 total and lose... and I have chocolate or something like that almost every day too. It's not a problem... just have to stay under your calories and not overdo it.
About breakfast, you don't HAVE to eat it. If you're not hungry in the morning, don't eat. It doesn't matter when you eat, all that matters is how much you eat.
About your sister, just prove her that you can do it and use it as extra motivation to lose the weight...
Finally, if you open your diary, we can probably help more.
Sometimes we can get confused between water weight and fat gain.
1500 Plus Exercise seems VERY low for maintenance with your stats.
I wish you the very best.
Adam
0 -
Thank you all.
I was sceptical at first too, but I continued to eat around 1500-1700 calories, and logged meticulously, and still I managed to gain 5 lbs in 2 weeks, and they haven't budged at all.
I have now made my diary public if you are interested in having a look.
I do try and use what my sister says as motivation to lose weight, but it doesn't always work that way...0 -
I'm with the above posters that it seems unlikely you'd gain weight on 1500 calories with your stats. Retaining water because you had a lot of sodium or did resistance training is not the same as fat gain. A lot of people see normal fluctuations on the scale and freak out that they're gaining, but they haven't stuck with the program long enough to see the overall trend.
Your issue might be accurate calorie logging. I'm 5'5" and lose weight slowly on 1500 calories a day, but I have to be precise with my tracking. If I don't weigh/measure my food or get lazy about logging my weekend meals out, I usually stall out. Odds are pretty good that if you're eyeballing 2 tbsp of peanut butter, you're really eating 3 tbsp, which is a lot of added calories.
It will be easier to stick to your calorie goal if you eat a high protein, high fiber diet and include a decent amount of fats for satiety. Get a lot of veggies and water in too. It will help you feel full and help keep you within your calories. It's good you acknowledge you're an emotional eater - recognize when you're eating because you're bored or sad, and ask yourself if that's REALLY a reason you want to eat. Find activities you can do instead of eating that will make you feel better. And once again, make sure your calorie goal is accurate and you really are eating what you think you're eating.0 -
AmeliaHelen96 wrote: »I have changed my lifestyle in terms of food and exercise recently. I'm eating breakfast for the first time in 10 years, which is a big step for me. I am eating healthy, non-processed and fresh food. However, now, I find that I am really struggling to stay within the limit of 1200 calories. I gain weight if my calorie intake is 1500, plus exercise. So my calorie intake has to be quite low in order for me to lose .5 - 1lb a week.
- I'm 18, 5'4 and 154lbs. I have a BMI of 26.1.
Has anyone got any advice for me to help me stay within my limits?
I was doing really well today up until 3pm when my mum got the chocolates out and I started boredom eating. Plus my sister was calling me fat, saying I had a double chin and a massive belly etc...so I guess part of it was emotional eating...
So...any advice would be very welcome please. Thank you
Try around 1400 or 1300 if the 1500 or 1200 amounts don't work for you. But maybe 1500 would work if you were logging more accurately.
Weigh or measure your food and log everything as accurately as possible.
Plan what you will eat and log your food before you eat. I have found it really helpful to log the whole day in advance so I can see that everything fits.
If you are feeling bored find something else you can do. Chew some gum, drink some water, keep your hands busy with a craft, get up and move around.
Your sister sounds pretty toxic. Why do you think she wants to hurt you? Is she jealous or threatened by you? Is she taking out something on you? Are you regularly her emotional punching bag? That is pretty sad behavior.
What qualities do you value in a person? Even if you were fat, had a double chin, big belly, etc it wouldn't have a thing to do with your value as a person. Being thin doesn't mean that someone will be smart, capable, nice, strong, supportive, funny, generous, loving, hard working, observant, beautiful or loved by others. Being overweight does not make you a bad person. You did not kill a puppy or steal something.0 -
It does not appear to be a calorie thing.
If you are exercising the most likely reason your scale crept up is inflammation. When you work out, it causes little tears in your muscle fibers. This is called microtrauma and it’s why you feel sore after a workout. On the upside, your body heals these little tears, making the fibers tougher than they originally were. That’s how you become stronger and fitter. It’s part of a process called adaptation.
To make these repairs, your body uses its standard healing process, including the inflammation phase—something that’s become a dirty word in our modern world. When you incur injury, including microtrauma, your body releases various substances generally known as inflammatory mediators that swarm the area and perform triage, bringing in healing white blood cells and opening up blood vessels to flush out debris and toxins. There’s so much going on that the area swells up, or inflames.
The fluid required for inflammatory response obviously weighs something—and that might show up on the scale. When inflammation is allowed to occur in a healthy way, it’s temporary.
Of course, keeping your diet healthy and allowing for adequate rest and recovery will help speed the body to less inflammatory phases of healing, but the main key is to keep calm and carry on. If you’re new to fitness—or perhaps just new to a particular kind of fitness—there’s going to be a lot of adaptation going on and therefore a noticeable level of inflammation. It should subside in a couple weeks.
Another less-likely reason you’re gaining weight is that you’re building muscle faster than you’re shedding fat.
Also, women can put up to 5 pounds during their periods... Yeap... That's why weighting for us is very unreliable. Maybe measuring yourself is a better way to see your results!
But all that is good, it's means your building a faster metabolism, so keep doing what your doing and don't listen to your sister!
Good luck!0 -
Thank you everyone. I shall try again at 1500 calories for a month.
In reply to Lounmoun, I'm not really sure why she wants to hurt me. She weighs considerably less than me, and weighs in at about 100lbs. She's always been cruel and harsh to me, always told me Im fat and ugly etc. I am regularly her punching bag, yes.
I value a number of qualities in a person, but not their weight or their looks. But I've grown up with people telling me I'm fat etc, so it's drilled into my head.0 -
Also, I was wondering if you could have a quick look at my food diary and give me some advice on where I'm potentially going wrong/right. And maybe recommend some good exercises that can burn off a fair amount of calories? Thanks0
-
I don't think your food diary is open to the public. Perhaps you have it open to friends only right now?0
-
I know I may be reiterating what some people have already said, but I wanted to respond from my perspective as a registered dietitian. First of all, please do not listen to the negative things that your sister is saying. Disordered eating starts with hurtful words like those and in all honesty, she is probably unhappy with her own body and is trying to find flaws in you to make herself feel better. Using her words as motivation may be a good idea but it may also be a good idea to try to set some goals together, whether it is weight loss, making better food choices or just improving upon the relationship you have. She may need the encouragement and support as much as you do.
In terms of your nutrition, starting off with breakfast in the morning is a great idea. You may not feel hungry at first if your body is used to skipping your morning meal, however, your body will adjust. Breakfast is an important part of your day as it starts your metabolism in the morning. During the times you are sleeping, your body shuts down many of its processes in order to conserve energy (aka calories) until you wake up and replenish your calories through eating. Your body is all about balance, therefore it is important to know the basic idea of weight is calories in vs calories out. What you eat is important but how much is even more important. Every person's body is different and requires a different calorie level to perform basic functions such as breathing and your heartbeat. This is called your basal metabolic rate. In order to have healthy weight loss, you need to consume enough calories to at least provide for this. Otherwise any calories you eat your body will store because it thinks that you are starving. Beyond that, it is important to choose foods that are more nutritionally dense. Nutrition provided by carrots is vastly different than nutrition provided by a piece of cake, which I'm sure you are aware of.
The other thing to know is that the number on the scale is not the most important thing to be aware of and neither is your BMI. BMI is basically a ratio between your height and weight which does not take into account your gender, any water you are retaining or your muscle mass. Muscle does weigh more than fat as muscle can hold onto water. Therefore the number on the scale may mean that you are gaining muscle rather than fat, which is good. I always encourage people to stay away from the scale as it can cause anxiety and it is merely just a number that really doesn't tell you anything. Logging your daily food intake is something that I do and find helpful to keep me on track, however I do encourage you not to obsess over it. You also need to have a healthy relationship with food, which includes allowing yourself to have treats occasionally. I never refer to anything as a good food or a bad food, just that some foods provide a higher level of nutrition than others. I do agree that in order to be most accurate with your food intake, weighing and measuring things out will keep you honest. Overall, the message I try to get out to people is that food is not something to obsess over, just something your body needs to continue to function like the oxygen you breathe and the water you drink. I hope this helped you a little bit... please feel fee to add me as a friend or send me any questions you may have. Good luck on your journey and please remember to always stay positive. Nobody can bring you down unless you allow them to.0 -
girlviernes wrote: »I don't think your food diary is open to the public. Perhaps you have it open to friends only right now?
Sorry, I've just changed it to public.complicateme86 wrote: »I know I may be reiterating what some people have already said, but I wanted to respond from my perspective as a registered dietitian. First of all, please do not listen to the negative things that your sister is saying. Disordered eating starts with hurtful words like those and in all honesty, she is probably unhappy with her own body and is trying to find flaws in you to make herself feel better. Using her words as motivation may be a good idea but it may also be a good idea to try to set some goals together, whether it is weight loss, making better food choices or just improving upon the relationship you have. She may need the encouragement and support as much as you do.
In terms of your nutrition, starting off with breakfast in the morning is a great idea. You may not feel hungry at first if your body is used to skipping your morning meal, however, your body will adjust. Breakfast is an important part of your day as it starts your metabolism in the morning. During the times you are sleeping, your body shuts down many of its processes in order to conserve energy (aka calories) until you wake up and replenish your calories through eating. Your body is all about balance, therefore it is important to know the basic idea of weight is calories in vs calories out. What you eat is important but how much is even more important. Every person's body is different and requires a different calorie level to perform basic functions such as breathing and your heartbeat. This is called your basal metabolic rate. In order to have healthy weight loss, you need to consume enough calories to at least provide for this. Otherwise any calories you eat your body will store because it thinks that you are starving. Beyond that, it is important to choose foods that are more nutritionally dense. Nutrition provided by carrots is vastly different than nutrition provided by a piece of cake, which I'm sure you are aware of.
The other thing to know is that the number on the scale is not the most important thing to be aware of and neither is your BMI. BMI is basically a ratio between your height and weight which does not take into account your gender, any water you are retaining or your muscle mass. Muscle does weigh more than fat as muscle can hold onto water. Therefore the number on the scale may mean that you are gaining muscle rather than fat, which is good. I always encourage people to stay away from the scale as it can cause anxiety and it is merely just a number that really doesn't tell you anything. Logging your daily food intake is something that I do and find helpful to keep me on track, however I do encourage you not to obsess over it. You also need to have a healthy relationship with food, which includes allowing yourself to have treats occasionally. I never refer to anything as a good food or a bad food, just that some foods provide a higher level of nutrition than others. I do agree that in order to be most accurate with your food intake, weighing and measuring things out will keep you honest. Overall, the message I try to get out to people is that food is not something to obsess over, just something your body needs to continue to function like the oxygen you breathe and the water you drink. I hope this helped you a little bit... please feel fee to add me as a friend or send me any questions you may have. Good luck on your journey and please remember to always stay positive. Nobody can bring you down unless you allow them to.
Thank you so much for all of your advice.. I have been suffering with disordered eating for a while, so I'm trying to get through that and start eating healthily. Being a dietitian, could you maybe have a quick look at my food diary and tell me what I'm doing wrong/right please? Thanks0 -
Erm.... Is it only me or do I see OP has only logged two full days of food? One of which she went over her goal by 400 cals.
Give it time before you cry foul, OP!
ETA: Although raising your goal would also be beneficial to stave off the hunger.
0 -
furioushummingbird wrote: »Erm.... Is it only me or do I see OP has only logged two full days of food? One of which she went over her goal by 400 cals.
Give it time before you cry foul, OP!
ETA: Although raising your goal would also be beneficial to stave off the hunger.
Before I registered on here, I was using another website to log my food/exercise (turned 18 over a month ago). But I've been logging my food for about a year.
I get quite obsessive when it comes to logging my calories. Even if I'm 2 calories over, I can't stand it and get very anxious...0 -
AmeliaHelen96 wrote: »furioushummingbird wrote: »Erm.... Is it only me or do I see OP has only logged two full days of food? One of which she went over her goal by 400 cals.
Give it time before you cry foul, OP!
ETA: Although raising your goal would also be beneficial to stave off the hunger.
Before I registered on here, I was using another website to log my food/exercise (turned 18 over a month ago). But I've been logging my food for about a year.
I get quite obsessive when it comes to logging my calories. Even if I'm 2 calories over, I can't stand it and get very anxious...
Panicking gets you nowhere. Overages happen! You're human. We're human.
I would focus on the "weekly" total. Say you go over by 400 (much like this week). If you cut only 66 calories a day, you'll be on par for your weekly deficit.
But I would not recommend doing that on 1200 calories.
What is your body fat percentage? What do you do for activity each day? Conversely, what are your workouts like, how long and how often?0 -
I have found that when people make such nasty remarks, it is because they are insanely jealous of you.
You can eat chocolate. I had four pieces of Sees chocolate (Christmas!) last night after a nice long walk and stayed within my limits. It's just willpower, is all. Four pieces amounted to 200 calories - I knew that going in (knowing before you eat is helpful).
Fact, I had a bit of a chin at 5'6" 122lbs. Sometimes that's just your facial structure Boys thought it was cute. Boys still think it's cute at 190lbs - so I guess I can't really lose.
Losing weight takes time and it's a soft science at best (nobody really understands it). Log your food accurately by weighing it, avoid the fruitcake except on special occasions and get some activity in at a least 30 minutes a day, 3-4x a week.
I notice that you had a big breakfast and a big dessert period, but no lunch or snacks. Try spacing your calories throughout the day. Some will say it doesn't matter, but I have found that it helps to feel fuller all day instead of starving/overdoing it at dinner.
And tell your sister to mind her own business.0 -
furioushummingbird wrote: »Panicking gets you nowhere. Overages happen! You're human. We're human.
I would focus on the "weekly" total. Say you go over by 400 (much like this week). If you cut only 66 calories a day, you'll be on par for your weekly deficit.
But I would not recommend doing that on 1200 calories.
What is your body fat percentage? What do you do for activity each day? Conversely, what are your workouts like, how long and how often?
Thank you for your advice.
I dont know what my bfp is because I don't have a measuring tape. I walk every weekday to college and back which takes me 70 minutes all together. I do aerobics for 30 minutes.0 -
AmeliaHelen96 wrote: »furioushummingbird wrote: »Panicking gets you nowhere. Overages happen! You're human. We're human.
I would focus on the "weekly" total. Say you go over by 400 (much like this week). If you cut only 66 calories a day, you'll be on par for your weekly deficit.
But I would not recommend doing that on 1200 calories.
What is your body fat percentage? What do you do for activity each day? Conversely, what are your workouts like, how long and how often?
Thank you for your advice.
I dont know what my bfp is because I don't have a measuring tape. I walk every weekday to college and back which takes me 70 minutes all together. I do aerobics for 30 minutes.
So plugging those stats in to a calculator, if I place you at Moderately Active (given school, walking and exercise), it places your TDEE at 2390 calories. If you subtract 20% from that, you get roughly 1900 calories to eat total each day and lose weight each week with a moderate deficit.0 -
furioushummingbird wrote: »AmeliaHelen96 wrote: »furioushummingbird wrote: »Panicking gets you nowhere. Overages happen! You're human. We're human.
I would focus on the "weekly" total. Say you go over by 400 (much like this week). If you cut only 66 calories a day, you'll be on par for your weekly deficit.
But I would not recommend doing that on 1200 calories.
What is your body fat percentage? What do you do for activity each day? Conversely, what are your workouts like, how long and how often?
Thank you for your advice.
I dont know what my bfp is because I don't have a measuring tape. I walk every weekday to college and back which takes me 70 minutes all together. I do aerobics for 30 minutes.
So plugging those stats in to a calculator, if I place you at Moderately Active (given school, walking and exercise), it places your TDEE at 2390 calories. If you subtract 20% from that, you get roughly 1900 calories to eat total each day and lose weight each week with a moderate deficit.
Okay...so how much do you think I'd lose a week if I were to eat 1800-1900 calories?0 -
furioushummingbird wrote: »AmeliaHelen96 wrote: »furioushummingbird wrote: »Panicking gets you nowhere. Overages happen! You're human. We're human.
I would focus on the "weekly" total. Say you go over by 400 (much like this week). If you cut only 66 calories a day, you'll be on par for your weekly deficit.
But I would not recommend doing that on 1200 calories.
What is your body fat percentage? What do you do for activity each day? Conversely, what are your workouts like, how long and how often?
Thank you for your advice.
I dont know what my bfp is because I don't have a measuring tape. I walk every weekday to college and back which takes me 70 minutes all together. I do aerobics for 30 minutes.
So plugging those stats in to a calculator, if I place you at Moderately Active (given school, walking and exercise), it places your TDEE at 2390 calories. If you subtract 20% from that, you get roughly 1900 calories to eat total each day and lose weight each week with a moderate deficit.
Here is an accurate calculator based at scoobysworkshop.
This should help you calculate your TDEE(Total calories needed to maintain weight based on your entered stats) and you can work around that more easier.0
Categories
- All Categories
- 1.4M Health, Wellness and Goals
- 391.7K Introduce Yourself
- 43.5K Getting Started
- 259.7K Health and Weight Loss
- 175.6K Food and Nutrition
- 47.3K Recipes
- 232.3K Fitness and Exercise
- 394 Sleep, Mindfulness and Overall Wellness
- 6.4K Goal: Maintaining Weight
- 8.5K Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
- 152.7K Motivation and Support
- 7.8K Challenges
- 1.3K Debate Club
- 96.3K Chit-Chat
- 2.5K Fun and Games
- 3.3K MyFitnessPal Information
- 23 News and Announcements
- 952 Feature Suggestions and Ideas
- 2.3K MyFitnessPal Tech Support Questions