I Think I Need to Eat More...Expert Advice Needed
DoreenaV1975
Posts: 567 Member
MFP has me at 1200 a day.
I can survive on that... technically, I have been doing it for the past 42 days, actually surviving on less, but some days it sucks!
Not because eating 1200 isn't enough...
It sucks because despite the fact that I do weigh and measure everything and I do exercise, I am so paranoid about underestimating my food (whether due to my own fault...because nobody's perfect, or due to the packaging info being incorrect, because we know it sometimes is) that I always try to eat below my 1200cals. I also am afraid of over estimating my exercise so I hardly ever eat them back and if I do it's a very small portion of them.
These are my statistics (which I recently entered into MFP to make sure I'm doing this correctly):
39 yrs
5ft2inches
116lbs (115.5 to be exact)
.5lb/per week weight loss
Just out of curiosity I have tried other calorie calculators but I find most of them confusing.
The only ones I did understand was on About.com and it told me I should be able to eat 1221cals and Freedieting.com and it told me 1271cals - w/out exercising and still lose weight. That right there is 21 - 71 cals over what MFP is telling me.
I'm scared that if I don't figure this out I may be one of those people that develops an eating disorder because I honestly am becoming afraid to eat.
When I started this I didn't worry so much, maybe it's because the weight fell off pretty quick...
But lately my fear has become really bad...coincidentally my weight loss has slowed down.
I have been trying to eat a little here and there throughout the day and not go too much above 1000 cals (for the above reasons). I usually average between 1,000-1100 (BTW -being near 1100 freaks me out!)
Lately I have been trying to save most of my calories for the end of the day because that is the only time I am home w/ my family and I want to be able to eat like a fairly normal person w/ them: including sweets. I want to be able to eat things I like and enjoy a meal and treats w/ my family...obviously in moderation. The days I go over my 1200cals, a rarity, are examples of this. And on those days I always try to squeeze in some exercise to make up for it
As I said I don't necessarily mind eating just 1200 a day, but I feel w/out any extra calories to act as a buffer that I must eat less.
So there you have it!
TIA for your assistance.
I can survive on that... technically, I have been doing it for the past 42 days, actually surviving on less, but some days it sucks!
Not because eating 1200 isn't enough...
It sucks because despite the fact that I do weigh and measure everything and I do exercise, I am so paranoid about underestimating my food (whether due to my own fault...because nobody's perfect, or due to the packaging info being incorrect, because we know it sometimes is) that I always try to eat below my 1200cals. I also am afraid of over estimating my exercise so I hardly ever eat them back and if I do it's a very small portion of them.
These are my statistics (which I recently entered into MFP to make sure I'm doing this correctly):
39 yrs
5ft2inches
116lbs (115.5 to be exact)
.5lb/per week weight loss
Just out of curiosity I have tried other calorie calculators but I find most of them confusing.
The only ones I did understand was on About.com and it told me I should be able to eat 1221cals and Freedieting.com and it told me 1271cals - w/out exercising and still lose weight. That right there is 21 - 71 cals over what MFP is telling me.
I'm scared that if I don't figure this out I may be one of those people that develops an eating disorder because I honestly am becoming afraid to eat.
When I started this I didn't worry so much, maybe it's because the weight fell off pretty quick...
But lately my fear has become really bad...coincidentally my weight loss has slowed down.
I have been trying to eat a little here and there throughout the day and not go too much above 1000 cals (for the above reasons). I usually average between 1,000-1100 (BTW -being near 1100 freaks me out!)
Lately I have been trying to save most of my calories for the end of the day because that is the only time I am home w/ my family and I want to be able to eat like a fairly normal person w/ them: including sweets. I want to be able to eat things I like and enjoy a meal and treats w/ my family...obviously in moderation. The days I go over my 1200cals, a rarity, are examples of this. And on those days I always try to squeeze in some exercise to make up for it
As I said I don't necessarily mind eating just 1200 a day, but I feel w/out any extra calories to act as a buffer that I must eat less.
So there you have it!
TIA for your assistance.
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Replies
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Go a little over on some days, maybe a little under on others. It doesn't have to be exact each day.
Or eat the 1221 or 1271 for six weeks or so and see what happens.0 -
How much more weight are you looking to lose?0
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How much more weight are you looking to lose?0
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I want to get down to 110, so 5.5 more pounds0
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Are you exercising? If so, do you eat back some of those calories?0
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Why are you trying to lose? Your BMI is 21.2 which is right smack in the middle of a healthy range.0
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I do exercise...more on some days than others... I don't eat them back or I eat very little of them back because of the whole worry of the "overestimation" of the exercise.
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How much more weight do you want to lose??? You should look pretty good @ 5' 2" and 116--I'm 5' 3" and weigh abt 119 and am eating between 1290 and 1330 (maintenance cals). I was eating around 1150 to abt 1220 cal along w/weight lifting and 15 to 20 min of cardio three times a week (and still lost weight). Right now I want to lose body fat (I'm @ 24%) and build muscle so may have to readjust. You don't want to eat to little because it is not good for your metabolism or maintaining your muscle mass (which burns calories).
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htimpaired wrote: »Why are you trying to lose? Your BMI is 21.2 which is right smack in the middle of a healthy range.
How do you know what my BMI is? Don't you need to "measure" me to know this?0 -
DeguelloTex wrote: »Go a little over on some days, maybe a little under on others. It doesn't have to be exact each day.
Or eat the 1221 or 1271 for six weeks or so and see what happens.
That makes sense but, as I said earlier, IDK if I am doing the calculator thing correctly, especially since MFP wont "allow" me more than 1200cals a day.0 -
Sounds like your doing great! I too save some of my calories for the end of the day as I try to eat with my family! Like tonight for example I am going to have chili! So I know beans are healthy but higher in calories so went for my walk today so in a sense you are doing the same thing. I know on my days off (2days a week) from exercising it sucks and I find myself hungry as well but those 2 days of using up ALL my calories is fine!0
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*double post*
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Oh, but I don't (look good) too much flab in some areas...My genes weren't very nice to me... bony up top, flabby down below.griffinca2 wrote: »How much more weight do you want to lose??? You should look pretty good @ 5' 2" and 116--I'm 5' 3" and weigh abt 119 and am eating between 1290 and 1330 (maintenance cals). I was eating around 1150 to abt 1220 cal along w/weight lifting and 15 to 20 min of cardio three times a week (and still lost weight). Right now I want to lose body fat (I'm @ 24%) and build muscle so may have to readjust. You don't want to eat to little because it is not good for your metabolism or maintaining your muscle mass (which burns calories).0 -
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Calculators are estimates, anyway. If you think you need to eat more, eat more. See how it impacts your goals. Adjust, or not, from there.DoreenaV1975 wrote: »DeguelloTex wrote: »Go a little over on some days, maybe a little under on others. It doesn't have to be exact each day.
Or eat the 1221 or 1271 for six weeks or so and see what happens.
That makes sense but, as I said earlier, IDK if I am doing the calculator thing correctly, especially since MFP wont "allow" me more than 1200cals a day.
BMI is based on height and weight. Aside from its other inherent problems, it skews the numbers for unusually tall or short people. Your "true" BMI -- which is theoretical, anyway -- is a bit higher than 21.8. but still solidly in the middle of the healthy range.
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DoreenaV1975 wrote: »htimpaired wrote: »Why are you trying to lose? Your BMI is 21.2 which is right smack in the middle of a healthy range.
How do you know what my BMI is? Don't you need to "measure" me to know this?
No, that's your body fat percentage. BMI is just a height/weight calculation.0 -
DoreenaV1975 wrote: »htimpaired wrote: »Why are you trying to lose? Your BMI is 21.2 which is right smack in the middle of a healthy range.
How do you know what my BMI is? Don't you need to "measure" me to know this?
Nope. Height and weight, and ta-da, here's your BMI.
http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/educational/lose_wt/BMI/bmicalc.htm
In regards to your real issue, that is having too much flab, lifting will get you the results you are looking for. Are you doing that already?0 -
DoreenaV1975 wrote: »htimpaired wrote: »Why are you trying to lose? Your BMI is 21.2 which is right smack in the middle of a healthy range.
How do you know what my BMI is? Don't you need to "measure" me to know this?
Nope. Height and weight, and ta-da, here's your BMI.
http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/educational/lose_wt/BMI/bmicalc.htm
In regards to your real issue, that is having too much flab, lifting will get you the results you are looking for. Are you doing that already?
No... I've dabbled but that's it.
My main problem areas are my butt and thighs and my stomach. How does lifting help that? I thought lifting was for arms?0 -
Oh and thanks for the BMI info! Why was I thinking you needed some fancy machine to figure that out?! LOL!0
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Although MFP won't allow less than 1200, you can switch your Goal section to maintenance to quickly figure this calculation out. For example, if your maintenance mode at your current weight gives you 1450 calories, then .5 lb loss equals exactly 1200. If your maintenance is actually 1400, then you're right that 1200 isn't actually a true 250 deficit.
I also think it's a good idea to change your Goal to 110 and maintenance so you'll see exactly how many calories it will take to maintain that weight. Knowledge is power.
If going over 1000 calories is freaking you out, it may be time to start eating back your exercise calories. Or eat more and accept that it will take longer than 2 weeks to lose 1 lb, which makes sense since you are so close to goal.0 -
If you're eating under 1,200 calories a day normally, it's not that healthy, so overall I'd say definitely eat more. This includes eating some of your exercise calories back; typical rule of thumb is to eat back 25-50% of what it calculates you burn.
If you're just trying to tone, you should try strength/resistance training. It does wonders.0 -
Lifting helps with everything
When you're doing squats, that will tone your thighs and butt. I don't follow a specific program, but plenty of people have mentioned "The new rules of lifting" in various threads (guys, correct me if I have that title wrong). Also, the stomach is usually the last to go. Unfortunately, you can't spot reduce, so you just have to be patient. Oh, and don't worry about bulking. For some reason, some people are worried that they'll become bulky just by lifting a few times a week. You won't get bulky by doing that. 0 -
The last 5 pounds are the hardest to get off... You can exercise all you want to, but in the end the calories in are 99% what has to be right for these last pounds and already being at the ideal weight or even set point... I am 5'4" 113 but my weight lifting and daily exercise is what drives my nutritional train and not just loosing the extra pounds.. it is about loosing fat...
I second the comment made about lifting weights or starting a lifting program to fight the last bit of "flab".. you can transform your body ... I can attest to this..
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@Arliah - I don't mind bulky, although I would definitely not strive for it.
Honestly I don't even mind my stomach that much... I've had a couple of kids so I don't have any hope of ever completely losing it.
What makes me want to really "weep" is my butt and thighs...those areas are so ugly! Ugh! My husband loves them but I look at them and want to make a deal w/ the devil, no kidding!
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I'm going to second lifting. I had the same problem, with more fat than I wanted on bottom but bony on top. I started eating at maintenance and lifting a couple of years ago and love the results. I'd post my before/after photos but I'm not on my own computer. But you should be able to click my profile and look through my pics.
eta: or you can look here: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/ILiftHeavyAcrylics/view/why-recomp-works-for-me-7487820 -
Try squats. They do wonders! And are actually fun once you get over the initial painDoreenaV1975 wrote: »@Arliah - I don't mind bulky, although I would definitely not strive for it.
Honestly I don't even mind my stomach that much... I've had a couple of kids so I don't have any hope of ever completely losing it.
What makes me want to really "weep" is my butt and thighs...those areas are so ugly! Ugh! My husband loves them but I look at them and want to make a deal w/ the devil, no kidding!
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ILiftHeavyAcrylics wrote: »I'm going to second lifting. I had the same problem, with more fat than I wanted on bottom but bony on top. I started eating at maintenance and lifting a couple of years ago and love the results. I'd post my before/after photos but I'm not on my own computer. But you should be able to click my profile and look through my pics.
eta: or you can look here: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/ILiftHeavyAcrylics/view/why-recomp-works-for-me-748782
Oh wow! You look great...can you come train me?!?! LOL! JK, but not really... 0 -
30 reps of hell. I still haven't gotten to the fun part, but I'm on board with the beneficial part.
Try squats. They do wonders! And are actually fun once you get over the initial painDoreenaV1975 wrote: »@Arliah - I don't mind bulky, although I would definitely not strive for it.
Honestly I don't even mind my stomach that much... I've had a couple of kids so I don't have any hope of ever completely losing it.
What makes me want to really "weep" is my butt and thighs...those areas are so ugly! Ugh! My husband loves them but I look at them and want to make a deal w/ the devil, no kidding!
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I have awful balance, which is why I never played sports in school, LOL, so when I go too low I fall over...
Try squats. They do wonders! And are actually fun once you get over the initial painDoreenaV1975 wrote: »@Arliah - I don't mind bulky, although I would definitely not strive for it.
Honestly I don't even mind my stomach that much... I've had a couple of kids so I don't have any hope of ever completely losing it.
What makes me want to really "weep" is my butt and thighs...those areas are so ugly! Ugh! My husband loves them but I look at them and want to make a deal w/ the devil, no kidding!
so I do squats but I don't think I do them effectively! Any suggestions?0 -
DeguelloTex wrote: »
30 reps of hell. I still haven't gotten to the fun part, but I'm on board with the beneficial part.
Try squats. They do wonders! And are actually fun once you get over the initial painDoreenaV1975 wrote: »@Arliah - I don't mind bulky, although I would definitely not strive for it.
Honestly I don't even mind my stomach that much... I've had a couple of kids so I don't have any hope of ever completely losing it.
What makes me want to really "weep" is my butt and thighs...those areas are so ugly! Ugh! My husband loves them but I look at them and want to make a deal w/ the devil, no kidding!
I still remember the morning after my first set ... ouch ... lol.0
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