I need serious help with understanding calories in and out ? Macros ?

williesch
williesch Posts: 6 Member
edited November 25 in Introduce Yourself
So i have recently decided that I need to change my life ... So I joined a gym and a great medical aid that pays for everything healthy, and got myself the fitbit to track my activity .... And i got MFP, because I believe in a slow long lasting approach to weight loss ... I want to change my lifestyle ... be healthier ... fitter ... for the rest of my life.

So my problem is I don't completely understand the calories in and calories out thing ... Okay , I do understand the math ... basically your calories that you consume should be less then what you burn ... creating a deficit and thus loosing weight or fat...

I get confused about the amount of calories I need to consume, Currently MFP recommends that I eat about 1800 calories ... that is with a sedentary activity setting. For me that seems a lot ... Before I started with this, I never use to eat breakfast or lunch .. only had dinner ... and now that I see how much food calories actually are ... I strongly believe that I never came near to that ... apart now for the binge every 2 weeks or so.

With the 1800 calories .. my fitbit also tracks my activity .. and the way I understand it, is it tracks everything that your body burns, including that which it needs to survive ... so it gives me a complete caloric burn more or less. MFP takes this into account ... so when my fitbit updates ... it subtracts what it has already allocated to me for keeping my body alive .. and then adds the calories burned through actually being active.

But then it adds somewhere between 2000 and 2500 calories extra ... is this even possible ? I don't do any more that I have done in the past, so i am not more active.... I joined the gym but have not went yet ... I wanted to get my eating in check first.

So why am i not loosing weight like crazy ... if this is correct ... I am burning more calories through physical activity then what I consume ... I just don't understand ....

Is it maybe because I ate to little in the past ???? I read an article that suggested your metabolism can slow down drastically when you eat like I did in the past ... If this is true , does it correct itself ? I just have so many questions ... and the more I try to research it the more questions i get ...

Is a calorie a calorie ... doesn't matter what you eat ? Or does what you eat play a big role in burning fat ?

Maybe someone out there has the answers I need ....

Feel free to add me ...

Willie

Replies

  • PinkPixiexox
    PinkPixiexox Posts: 4,142 Member
    It doesn't have to be complicated :)

    I do it this way: Calculate my average TDEE using my fitbit (around 1800 a day for me). If I want to lose half a pound, I take 250 from that number. If I want to lose a pound, I take 500 from that number. I don't eat back exercise calories or anything like that as the TDEE is already counting that in.

    I've manually set my calorie goal to 1800 on MFP (despite it only wanting me to eat around 1600 - MFP doesn't use the TDEE method). I do not have my fitbit synced with MFP either as it confuses things.

    Go by the information unique to you. Start with your base TDEE and eat the necessary amount. A calorie is a calorie - to lose weight, you stick with a deficit - WHAT you eat isn't really important.

    I hope this helps somewhat.
  • DollyVegas
    DollyVegas Posts: 2 Member
    Hi what you need to do is cut out carbs, alcohol and sugars.
    So if you can't do that only eat wholemeal pasta/rice, in small portions.
    If u have a sweet tooth have berries with 0% fat fage yogurt.
    Increase your protein, loads of eggs & up your healthy fats as in avacado, cheese, nuts, olive oil.
    Lean meat & fish (although I'm a veggie)!
    Goes without saying salads & vegetables as much as you like.
    (No starchy veg/sugary fruits)
    Try prepping your meals and keep a paper journal.
    Always consult your GP before undertaking a major diet shift.
    Look after yourself and listen to your body, plenty of water to fill you up.
    If you do want a drink have vodka (no calories with tonic water ice and lemon slice).
    Everyone has a bad day if you want a take out, have one a month and get back on it the day after, you can do it. I go on Instagram for motivation. :)
    Good Luck

    As for macros/calories keep check on MPT.

    I am not a professional Nutritionist, I'm 40 yr old vegetarian.
  • williesch
    williesch Posts: 6 Member
    Thank you Pink, that really does help.

    I think i should disconnect my fitbit, at least only for now .. in order to get into things and without it confusing me. And then stick to my 1600/1700 calories a day. If I feel i am losing to fast, I will increase it and if I don't loose or gain I will decrease it.

    And then as soon as i am comfortable with my amount of calorie intake, I will move over to eat food that is better for my body like Dolly suggested.

    But most importantly ... eat morning, afternoon and night. That was one of my major problems. I Usually only ate something just before I went to bed. So according to my understanding, my body never had time to burn the calories from my food intake, and was constantly in "starvation mode", which in turn stagnated my metabolic rate.

    After I am then comfortable with the food I eat, I will put more focus on getting a lot more active. But until then I will naturally reach my 10K step goal ... Just love my fitbit!!! It does a little happy dance when i reach goal .... so do I.

    Thanks for all of your inputs ... It is much appreciated.
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