Calorie intake...I know, I know!
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@LyndseyLovesToLift 2200 calories is a lot when you are actually taking the time to log everything. I'm this position because of the types of calories I was eating and how I cook. That should be a "duh"! I'm not a gym head that does protein shakes or take things to help build muscle. I know I have to burn fat first. Don't be critical and not think of other factors.
Weight gain is more about how MUCH you're eating than what you're eating. I eat a lot of foods that people would say is "bad" and I still lose weight. I'm losing weight eating white rice, I'm losing weight eating fried chicken, I'm losing weight eating all of the same foods I've always eaten except I make sure to weigh/measure all my portions. You don't have to only eat chicken breast (
), brown rice and veggies.
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LyndseyLovesToLift wrote: »If you're having a hard time eating 2200 calories, how did you end up in a position where you felt you needed to lose weight? One does not gain weight eating 1500-2000 calories per day.
I often have this question; if someone gains enough weight that they want to lose some, how come they all of a sudden find it difficult to eat enough to reach a calorie goal that should see them losing weight. This goal must be less than they used to eat, during the time they gained the weight. The reason is I am jealous and wish I could be in the same position
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LyndseyLovesToLift wrote: »If you're having a hard time eating 2200 calories, how did you end up in a position where you felt you needed to lose weight? One does not gain weight eating 1500-2000 calories per day.
I often have this question; if someone gains enough weight that they want to lose some, how come they all of a sudden find it difficult to eat enough to reach a calorie goal that should see them losing weight. This goal must be less than they used to eat, during the time they gained the weight. The reason is I am jealous and wish I could be in the same position
I think it happens a lot when people drastically change their diet and eliminate many of the foods they were eating previously.0 -
@strong_curves , when I say types of calories, I mean like fast foods, cookies, Dairy Queen... Trust me, I still eat fried foods, white rice, and beef. I'm just cutting back on how much of it I eat. I'm not on this salad and chicken bandwagon0
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LyndseyLovesToLift wrote: »If you're having a hard time eating 2200 calories, how did you end up in a position where you felt you needed to lose weight? One does not gain weight eating 1500-2000 calories per day.
I often have this question; if someone gains enough weight that they want to lose some, how come they all of a sudden find it difficult to eat enough to reach a calorie goal that should see them losing weight. This goal must be less than they used to eat, during the time they gained the weight. The reason is I am jealous and wish I could be in the same position
Two possibilities (in my experience):
1. They're not eating what they think they are. They're underestimating all of their portions and eating more calories than they believe they are, leading to being full.
2. They are eating less calorie-dense foods (like veggies) than they were before they started, so they're able to eat a lot more bulk.
(I'm sure there might be more scenarios, but these are the two I've run into in my own dieting life and the two I've seen from other people here on MFP)0 -
@strong_curves , when I say types of calories, I mean like fast foods, cookies, Dairy Queen... Trust me, I still eat fried foods, white rice, and beef. I'm just cutting back on how much of it I eat. I'm not on this salad and chicken bandwagon
People can eat as much fast food, cookies, and Dairy Queen as they want. As long as they stay under their caloric goal they will lose weight. If you were only eating 2200 calories a day or less while still eating those "bad" foods, you would still have been losing weight.0 -
I think it happens a lot when people drastically change their diet and eliminate many of the foods they were eating previously.[/quote]
I totally agree!
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@strong_curves , when I say types of calories, I mean like fast foods, cookies, Dairy Queen... Trust me, I still eat fried foods, white rice, and beef. I'm just cutting back on how much of it I eat. I'm not on this salad and chicken bandwagon
Good! I'm happy to hear that!
Just a couple of small suggestions:
If you aren't already, use a food scale to weigh/measure your portions. You don't have to do it forever (unless you want to that is) but using a food scale gave me a better understanding of portion sizes.
Be patient - don't cut too dramatically, imo it just leads to binging.
There's a LOT of good information here, utilize it! It makes the whole weight loss thing so much easier imo.0 -
@jprewitt1, I'm not sure how many calories I was eating before, but I was gaining.0
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I ate between 1200 and 1400 calories a day for a year and very great. Just pay attention to how you feel on a daily basis.0
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lemurcat12 wrote: »@lemurcat12, MFP said 2200 cal, 50% carbs, 30% protein, 20% fat. My activity level is gym 5 days a week, one hour. Rest days are Wednesdays and Sundays.
Did you ask for 1 lb/week or what? If you did, I think it's fine to go under. If you said 2 lbs, I'd be less comfortable with it. Also, are you adding exercise calories to the goal and what did you say your activity level was (in other words, did you give it a higher activity level, like "active" and if so were you including exercise in your estimate).
2000 or even 1800 sound plenty high to me, for most, but if you are very tall you might have reason to eat more.
OP, can you answer this question about adding your exercise into your activity level? That is one way to calculate TDEE and a deficit, but not when you are using the MFP NEAT method. Activity level should be without added exercise.0 -
janejellyroll wrote: »LyndseyLovesToLift wrote: »If you're having a hard time eating 2200 calories, how did you end up in a position where you felt you needed to lose weight? One does not gain weight eating 1500-2000 calories per day.
I often have this question; if someone gains enough weight that they want to lose some, how come they all of a sudden find it difficult to eat enough to reach a calorie goal that should see them losing weight. This goal must be less than they used to eat, during the time they gained the weight. The reason is I am jealous and wish I could be in the same position
I think it happens a lot when people drastically change their diet and eliminate many of the foods they were eating previously.
That's probably true. I just need to find the combination of food that makes me feel like that!
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So:
Height ? ( I know you said average, but what exactly are you considering average)
Weight ?
(this information helps us to figure out why MFP gave you that calorie goal. If we don't know that we can't tell you if it's reasonable for you to eat less or not)
Make sure you have your settings correct on MFP.
Do you use a food scale? If not, you could be eating more than you think.
Do you use oil/butter when you cook? If yes, are you logging it?
Are you using "Homemade " or " Generic " entries from the database? These could easily be incorrect for what your eating. Always double check entries you use, because the database is mostly user created and there are a lot of incorrect entries.
How long have you been at this? Days, weeks, Months?
Have you lost any weight in that time frame? If so how much?
I'll leave this here as well (it's about eyeballing portions vs weighing portions out):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vjKPIcI51lU
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THANK YOU EVERYBODY!!!0
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@jprewitt1, I'm not sure how many calories I was eating before, but I was gaining.
Oh okay. I misunderstood then. What is your ultimate goal? How much weight do you want to lose? Do you want to be able to run 5K races for fun when you're done doing this weight loss?0 -
@arditarose, without including the gym, I would consider myself active with the exception of my desk job, but I get up and move.0
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I often have this question; if someone gains enough weight that they want to lose some, how come they all of a sudden find it difficult to eat enough to reach a calorie goal that should see them losing weight. This goal must be less than they used to eat, during the time they gained the weight. The reason is I am jealous and wish I could be in the same position [/quote]
I'm surprised anyone would have this question. If you are used to eating really high-calorie, yummy food and then switch to less calorie dense food, it can be harder to eat the same number of calories. I could probably eat 5000 calories of pizza in one sitting. I probably could not eat 5000 calories worth of veggies and chicken breast in one day.0 -
In general, because I eat low carb, high fat, I find most days I'm well under 2000 calories unless I've gone out to eat and "splurged" on dessert or bread.0
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If you are eating a decent minimum amount of calories (and 1500 sounds fine) and you are not hungry don't force yourself to eat. If you are dipping below 1200 then that is a different story. It is probably just your body adjusting to a different diet and your appetite will likely return. Forcing yourself to eat doesn't help you in the long run teach yourself to stop when you've had enough.0
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shadow2soul wrote: »So:
Height ? ( I know you said average, but what exactly are you considering average)
Weight ?
(this information helps us to figure out why MFP gave you that calorie goal. If we don't know that we can't tell you if it's reasonable for you to eat less or not)
Make sure you have your settings correct on MFP.
Do you use a food scale? If not, you could be eating more than you think.
Do you use oil/butter when you cook? If yes, are you logging it?
Are you using "Homemade " or " Generic " entries from the database? These could easily be incorrect for what your eating. Always double check entries you use, because the database is mostly user created and there are a lot of incorrect entries.
How long have you been at this? Days, weeks, Months?
Have you lost any weight in that time frame? If so how much?
I'll leave this here as well (it's about eyeballing portions vs weighing portions out):https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vjKPIcI51lU
^Waiting for the answers to some of these questions before I toss in my two cents. Otherwise I'm like to twist myself into a pretzel trying to cover all the possibilities!0
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