Signifigant weight loss - feeling overwhelmed with info

Hi Trina
This is a long journey . It not how much you have to loose .It's getting your weight to go in right direction ..

For me I have been focusing on eating the correct ammout of calories .. in a deficit. . The fitness will come when I am ready .. loose weight in kitchen get fit in the gym .. you cannot out exercise bad eating habits

Good luck

using sedentary as a basis - your TDEE is 2486 for maintenance (not losing any weight) - so 2247 is about 200 under daily

that being said, looking at macros, your protein seems really high to me

https://tdeecalculator.net/result.php?s=imperial&g=female&age=36&lbs=280&in=72&act=1.2&f=1

Hi Trina. I understand your frustration. It is the worst disappointment in the world when you think you have done so much to lose weight and the scale doesn't budge.

2247 calories sounds a bit high. I currently weigh more than you (yes, I also have a lot to lose!), and MFP calculates my calories at 1810 in order to lose 2 lbs per week. If you are eating 400 calories more than me AND you weigh less, I wouldn't be surprised that you haven't lost weight yet. I would use MFP to calculate how many calories you should have, because I have had a lot of success with that (50+ lbs lost!).

They say that weight loss is 80% diet and 20% exercise. In my experience, I have found this to be true. I would focus on determining your accurate amount of caloric intake and eat accordingly. MFP will guide you in terms of macros - don't worry about calculating everything - that just gets to be too overwhelming. It will tell you when you've had all your protein for the day, or if you went over on fat, etc. Just use that. I promise you that if you focus only on diet (assuming you have caloric intake correct), you will see the scale move. If that doesn't happen, you should see your doctor.

Good luck. Feel free to add me as a friend if you want. :-)

That is a crazy amount of fiber. I'm not saying that it is causing your weight loss stall but I would not follow that goal. 25 grams of fiber is plenty.

To answer your specific questions:

Any advice for losing this much weight? - Baby steps. Start with something small. Maybe trade out one soda per day for water. Once that is firmly established, then make one other small change, like committing to getting three vegetables in every day. Once that is firmly established, make another small change. You see where this is going...

Where should I start? - See answer above. Also start by committing to logging everything you eat, and using a food scale. You will be surprised what a true serving of ice cream looks like.

Should I even worry about macros? - Not too much. Your protein looks pretty high. I would maybe set it at 1 gram of protein for each pound of body weight at your goal weight. The generic equation is usually 40% carbs, 30% protein, 30% fat.

Should I be doing such intense workouts that build muscle or should I just focus on cardio until my weight is down further??? - I'm not sure what "intense workout that build muscle" means to you. But you should get on a structured lifting program. You will like the composition of your body better when you are at your goal weight. I would suggest Stronglifts 5X5. It's a relatively simple program with only five lifts to learn. Three days per week, about 45 minutes per session, which leaves 2-3 days per week for cardio. I saw awesome results with Stronglifts!!! You can check it out at stronglifts.com. There is an app you can download to track your progress at the gym, as well. Makes it super simple.

You will not burn 500 calories let alone 1000 cals doing circuits at home.

deannalfisher wrote: »

trigden1991 wrote: »

You will not burn 500 calories let alone 1000 cals doing circuits at home.

i'd love to know where some of these calorie burn come from...

I swam last night - using my polar it gave me 121 cal burnt - MFP tried to tell me 240ish...

I think they just come from a random number generator to be honest.

The first thing you need to understand is PATIENCE. I don't know how much weight you want to lose but if it's more than 50lbs then this takes a few months lets say 1lb a week that is 50 weeks almost a year! It's an example really but it depends how committed you are and other factors. If you can't accept that this isn't a fast fix then you aren't prepared. Like you said you'll get frustrated and quit.

The second thing weightless is TRIAL AND ERROR when you do macros and count calories there isn't a formula that is 100% accurate but they are a rough estimate like IIFYM (I'll admit it's pretty close calculator lol). Everyone responds differently to higher carbs:lower protein or higher protein:lower carbs. It's what best fits you and how you feel. You will overwhelm yourself if your eating junk food and the next day you're replacing it all with clean foods and weighing everything to a T. Your body isn't used to it. You need to take baby steps.

The third thing is the HEALTHY MEAL PLAN.... I don't like calling it diets because this how your body functions with carbs, fats, and protein. I don't see how it's a diet when you're eating how you are supposed to. An example would be a person who doesn't pay attention to the nutrition labels....portion sizes......makes errors in thinking something is healthy when it's not (like bread )...... the ingredients in these foods are just as important. 100% whole wheat bread sounds healthy right? but look at the ingredients some of those breads are known to have high fructose corn syrup and ingredients you can't pronounce. So my rule is to pick ingredients that you can pronounce and don't take a long page. Another thing is have fun with it! This is food you are cooking yourself. Don't eat something you don't like! I hate sweet potatoes and broccoli so I don't eat it. If you mess up on a day it's okay even a week or two don't quit eventually you will be able to overcome cravings. It took me 78 days(about two months) to lose 5lbs because I was binging on unhealthy foods and my cravings were just bad but today I'm stronger and able to say no to a Pizza without the guilt. The body and mind adapts. You have to give it time. AVOID dumb diets like zero carbs and stuff that just isn't healthy.

The last things are EXERCISE AND THE CALORIE COUNTING. Don't kill yourself at the gym unless you want to be an athlete or you actually like to exercise that much (Not here to judge lol) but when you are that active you are going to have to eat ALOT MORE than a person who is a student that is sedentary and only exercises three times a week. Have you ever thought about visiting a dietician or a certified personal trainer? that can help you construct a meal plan that fits your needs with foods you like. That's a start. I wish I could help you there but myself I struggle too alot of people give so much different information and are always suggesting different ways of doing things it can get confusing. Take baby steps lets say you can start with a healthy breakfast every morning and drinking alot of water. Experiment with different foods and see what you like to eat. As time progresses you'll be eating clean and healthy and the weight will be shedding off. You just have to commit and never quit!