Please could I have advice?

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Iv been using mfp for just coming up to three weeks now. I measure and weigh all my food and I log all my exercises. I am eating on average 1200 calories a day for weight loss and on the days I exercise I eat 1300-1350 maybe as a Max. But my question is am I doing it right? Should I be eating all the calories I work? I just want to lose the weight as efficiently as possible. On the first week I lost 4lbs, week 2 I lost 1 lb and this week I weigh myself in 4 days but I had a sneaky peak and its gone up by 1lb :( please can someone help me under stand what I should be doing?

Sorry for the long post
Thank you

Replies

  • kindrabbit
    kindrabbit Posts: 837 Member
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    Hi. As long as you are weighing and logging EVERYTHING that you eat and that it is accurately measured and weighed and you're using accurate data, you're doing ok. There's a lot of talk about eating exercise calories (I started a thread in the exercise and fitness board yesterday). It seems to depend on the type of exercise and how you are recording it. A hrm is more accurate than mfp for steady state cardio but not for hiit, circuits or lifting. Some people say to only eat 50% of what Mfp recommends. It also depends on how much energy you have and how hungry you are. I am eating back about 75% of mine, or I round it down to the nearest 50. I am on a good loosing streak but who knows how long it will last!

    As for weight gain, there are so many variables that you need not worry about 1 or 2lbs up as long as the general trend is downward. trust in the cico programme. If you're logging accurately you cannot go wrong. It's math!
  • DemoraFairy
    DemoraFairy Posts: 1,806 Member
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    Sounds like you're doing fine to me. You could possibly afford to eat more, but it's hard to say without knowing your height & weight. I'm guessing you told MFP you want to lose 2lbs/week? 1lb/week is probably a more realistic goal if you've got 40lbs to lose and will give you a few more calories each day.

    As for how much you've lost (4lbs then 1lb then -1lb), don't worry about not losing at a consistent pace. Weight loss isn't linear. Some weeks you'll lose, some you'll stay the same, some you'll gain. Also everyone fluctuates day to day. Today I'm 2lbs heavier than I was yesterday, and tomorrow I'll probably be back down 2lbs to where I was again. I weigh everyday to be able to track this, as many people do, but if you prefer to weigh once a week it's just something to bear in mind.

    Other than that, make sure you're weighing everything you eat with a food scale if you're not already. Good luck! :)
  • 999tigger
    999tigger Posts: 5,235 Member
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    You are doing very well and appear to be avoiding many of the mistakes new dieters make. You will always lose more in the first few weeks. Carry on doing what you are doing and be patient. If theres no movement in 3 weeks then you might want to adjust or check on logging or your deficit.

    As pointed out you will fluctuate. I fluctuated 4lbs in a few hours yesterday , but it was my dinner.... Dont worry you are looking for a steady trend downwards.
  • MawiMawi01
    MawiMawi01 Posts: 15 Member
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    Thank you so much for your replies! I was really worrying I was doing it wrong. Im only eating back 150 calories from exercise cos I was worried that it was not very accurate too, I have been weighing everything. Maybe I'm being too impatient. Thank you so much I'm glad I'm doing the right thing I'll wait a few more weeks maybe and see what happens. I really appreciate your time for helping xxx
  • dsm88
    dsm88 Posts: 2 Member
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    You're doing it all wrong. Your calories are way too low.

    The reason you saw a dramatic weight loss in week 1 was because your calories were very low. In order to lose 4lbs in one week you would need an almost 1000 calorie a day defecit.

    Following the same diet, you began to see a tapering of the weight loss in week 2 because your body was essentially entering survival mode. The very low calorie diet causes your metabolism to slow down, and the release of the stress hormone cortisol which signals the body to store as much fat as possible.

    You need to increase your calories and never drop them too low. You should be aiming for 1lb a week in order to preserve a much muscle mass as possible. A good rule of thumb for estimating your calorie requirements is (13 x Weight in Pounds).

    Keep working hard and eating clean and you'll be where you want to be in no time.

    Good luck :)
  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,565 Member
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    dsm88 wrote: »
    You're doing it all wrong. Your calories are way too low.

    The reason you saw a dramatic weight loss in week 1 was because your calories were very low. In order to lose 4lbs in one week you would need an almost 1000 calorie a day defecit.

    Following the same diet, you began to see a tapering of the weight loss in week 2 because your body was essentially entering survival mode. The very low calorie diet causes your metabolism to slow down, and the release of the stress hormone cortisol which signals the body to store as much fat as possible.

    You need to increase your calories and never drop them too low. You should be aiming for 1lb a week in order to preserve a much muscle mass as possible. A good rule of thumb for estimating your calorie requirements is (13 x Weight in Pounds).

    Keep working hard and eating clean and you'll be where you want to be in no time.

    Good luck :)

    No. It is very common to lose extra water weight when you're first starting out. And we don't know the OP's stats, so it's possible that 1200 is a good number for her, especially if she's older or shorter. 13 x weight actually gives me my maintenance number.

    OP, you're on the right track. Keep it up!
  • DemoraFairy
    DemoraFairy Posts: 1,806 Member
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    dsm88 wrote: »
    You're doing it all wrong. Your calories are way too low.

    The reason you saw a dramatic weight loss in week 1 was because your calories were very low. In order to lose 4lbs in one week you would need an almost 1000 calorie a day defecit.

    Following the same diet, you began to see a tapering of the weight loss in week 2 because your body was essentially entering survival mode. The very low calorie diet causes your metabolism to slow down, and the release of the stress hormone cortisol which signals the body to store as much fat as possible.

    You need to increase your calories and never drop them too low. You should be aiming for 1lb a week in order to preserve a much muscle mass as possible. A good rule of thumb for estimating your calorie requirements is (13 x Weight in Pounds).

    Keep working hard and eating clean and you'll be where you want to be in no time.

    Good luck :)

    The dramatic loss in the first week was because that tends to happen to everyone in the first week; it's water weight. It happens when you start to eat in a deficit. 1200 for many women is not a very low calorie diet. Hell, for me, 1200 is only 300 calories below maintenance. And no one is going to go into anything close to starvation mode in a week.

    I do agree that 1lb a week is a good goal, but for some people 1200 would be 1lb a week. We don't know anything about her other than her age, so you can't start saying that 1200 is a very low calorie diet.
  • MawiMawi01
    MawiMawi01 Posts: 15 Member
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    Hi its me, I'm 34 I'm 5f 3 and I started off at 12stone 6 pounds, so as of last week I'm 12stone 2 pounds. I exercise at the gym 3 times a week doing cardio and strength training for 1 and a half hrs and 3 days I work out to aerobics videos 40 minutes long for those. I'm sorry I didnt put in as much information before it was silly of me
  • DemoraFairy
    DemoraFairy Posts: 1,806 Member
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    4lbs in 3 weeks sounds good to me!
  • MawiMawi01
    MawiMawi01 Posts: 15 Member
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    Ohhh and I'm female :blush:
  • MawiMawi01
    MawiMawi01 Posts: 15 Member
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    Thank you all for your help! I guess I just keep going and see what happens!