Advice please!

alisonforshaw9879
alisonforshaw9879 Posts: 9 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hello, I'm new to this app and to weight loss generally.
My aim is to ultimatly be slimmer (not bothered if I reduce my weight). I'm 23. 74kg, 5"7. Currently size 12 and have a fairly good proportioned/strong bod already. Approx 3 months ago I started the gym and workout 4/5 days a week for 90mins cardio/weights (according to gym tech I usually burn around 500 cals).
I'm not vegetarian although I could do with some more protein so debating starting protein shakes after workouts.

I would like advice, as someone who has my goals and is as active as me. What kind of calorie consumption/diet should I be aiming for. Some days I only manage around 800 calories and I'm concerned that this small amount is hindering me becoming slimmer.

Thanks in advance and be kind!

Replies

  • alisonforshaw9879
    alisonforshaw9879 Posts: 9 Member
    Also a plate of veggies is not appealing to me whatsoever! a healthy meal for me on a good day would be sweet potato/feta/bacon pieces/rocket/natural yoghurt
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    alisonforshaw9879 wrote: »
    Also a plate of veggies is not appealing to me whatsoever! a healthy meal for me on a good day would be sweet potato/feta/bacon pieces/rocket/natural yoghurt

    When you say you're only eating 800 calories, how are you measuring that? Are you weighing your food on a food scale?

    Eating too few calories doesn't keep you from becoming slimmer, but if you aren't losing weight, then you're probably eating more than you think you are.
  • CafeRacer808
    CafeRacer808 Posts: 2,396 Member
    On the veggies front, I used to hate vegetables. When the new recommendations came out that we should strive to eat 5 servings of fruits and veg/day, I started making green smoothies. After about a month of drinking them fairly regularly, I started to crave vegetables of all kinds. Now, I absolutely love them.
  • alisonforshaw9879
    alisonforshaw9879 Posts: 9 Member
    @janejellyroll no 800 is an estimate, for example today I've had 2 bananas and a packet of crisps so I hope that's not more! My body is looking better but I've put that down to starting the gym as I look better now than 3 months ago.
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    alisonforshaw9879 wrote: »
    @janejellyroll no 800 is an estimate, for example today I've had 2 bananas and a packet of crisps so I hope that's not more! My body is looking better but I've put that down to starting the gym as I look better now than 3 months ago.

    My best advice would be to stop estimating and begin accurately logging. Once you know what you're averaging in terms of intake, it will be easy to know how much you should eat to meet your goals.
  • kimny72
    kimny72 Posts: 16,013 Member
    janejellyroll wrote: »
    alisonforshaw9879 wrote: »
    @janejellyroll no 800 is an estimate, for example today I've had 2 bananas and a packet of crisps so I hope that's not more! My body is looking better but I've put that down to starting the gym as I look better now than 3 months ago.

    My best advice would be to stop estimating and begin accurately logging. Once you know what you're averaging in terms of intake, it will be easy to know how much you should eat to meet your goals.

    This! Plug your stats into MFP, set your goal to either maintain or maybe lose half-a-lb per week, and start logging your food. You don't really have to eat a specific diet to get fit. But it would probably be a good idea to make sure you are getting enough protein, fiber, and fat which you'll be better able to do if you are accurately logging.
  • alisonforshaw9879
    alisonforshaw9879 Posts: 9 Member
    Thanks for advice! So if MFP says 1900 - 900 + 575 = 1521 does this mean I should be eating more to reduce that last 1521 number. In my mind eating more can not make me slimmer! Sorry if this is all fairly obvious
  • alisonforshaw9879
    alisonforshaw9879 Posts: 9 Member
    @kimny72
  • kimny72
    kimny72 Posts: 16,013 Member
    What we are saying is you really have no idea how many calories you are eating. So start logging accurately first and just see where you are. Considering your stats, there is no reason you can't eat 1500 cals and still lose weight. 800 calories isn't enough for a toddler. If you were really eating that little, you would most likely be dropping weight fast and feeling tired and hungry all the time. So first just start logging accurately and consistently for a couple of weeks so you know where you're really starting from. I think the goal MFP is giving you will make much more sense once you've done that!
  • luckypony71
    luckypony71 Posts: 399 Member
    You say you want to look slimmer, but don't mind if the scale doesn't move. Have you considered strength training? You will never look masculine without the help of steroids, so don't be scared of the weights. You will like the way your body looks.

    To build muscle you must eat. 2 bananas and a pack of crackers. I hope that was just breakfast.
  • ccsernica
    ccsernica Posts: 1,040 Member
    edited December 2016
    alisonforshaw9879 wrote: »
    Thanks for advice! So if MFP says 1900 - 900 + 575 = 1521 does this mean I should be eating more to reduce that last 1521 number. In my mind eating more can not make me slimmer! Sorry if this is all fairly obvious
    MFP adds back in calories burned from cardio that you log, so in theory you can eat the baseline calories for your goals plus calories burned and still meet your weight goals. (With that 1900 number I assume you calculated it based on maintaining your weight and not losing.) In practice, since I'm trying to lose, I prefer to keep a deficit of 200-300 cal to allow for imprecise calculations in either intake or output, plus the possibility of losing weight a little faster than the 1 lb/week I have MFP set for.

    So that 1521 is how many calories you're still "allowed" for the day without overeating, given your goals. You don't need to eat it, but if you're lifting or doing cardio your body might appreciate the fuel from eating back a portion of your exercise calories.

    What the others have said about fully logging your food is well-taken.
  • sarko15
    sarko15 Posts: 330 Member
    I believe there's also some research out there that says (and someone please correct if I have this wrong) that undereating, especially as much as you are, prevents you from burning fat but instead burns muscle because your body needs a certain number of calories to live (usually significantly more than 800 unless you are very young or very old) so if you're not getting that your body just burns the "good stuff" such as muscle when you work out because it has to burn SOMETHING. I couldn't tell from your post if you were trying to gain muscle, but you can't really tone up without that. You might lose weight eventually, but you're basically losing everything you are working out at the gym for, so you might as well not work out at all and just eat at a deficit.
  • jdog022
    jdog022 Posts: 693 Member
    alisonforshaw9879 wrote: »
    Thanks for advice! So if MFP says 1900 - 900 + 575 = 1521 does this mean I should be eating more to reduce that last 1521 number. In my mind eating more can not make me slimmer! Sorry if this is all fairly obvious

    if u don't eat enough you are going to burn your lean body mass vs fat. feel like hell.. get sick..lose your hair just to name a few. the trick to sustained and successful fat loss is eating slighlty under what you need. In this case more reduction is not better. 800 isn't enough for pretty much anyone of any activity level

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