Frustrated

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kwall07
kwall07 Posts: 18 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hello,
I'm trying to lose baby weight from baby 3. She'll be 3 months Feb. 1st. I met with a nutrionist to begin a boot camp program tomorow. I'm finding MFP to be frustrating. I have 11 calories left for the day. Will I still lose if I don't eat all my calories. How do you make sure yuh eat all your calories. I feel like I'm always under or above. I have 20 pounds to lose.

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  • kwall07
    kwall07 Posts: 18 Member
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    You not yuh
  • arobey11
    arobey11 Posts: 87 Member
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    I don't think I've ever hit my calories exactly. You'll still lose if you're 11 calories below your limit, or even 11 over (as long as you're logging accurately, weighing solids, measuring liquids). I give myself a little bit of a buffer with exercise for my own peace of mind.
  • kwall07
    kwall07 Posts: 18 Member
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    Thank you. I know this will be a longer process because she's my third and I'm in my mid thirties.
  • luckyme404
    luckyme404 Posts: 34 Member
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    I wouldn't worry about not hitting your calorie limit exactly. I really don't believe it is necessary to be exact. Aim for an average if you can. Some days I don't log in everything, and I find I am still losing weight.
  • vespiquenn
    vespiquenn Posts: 1,455 Member
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    luckyme404 wrote: »
    I wouldn't worry about not hitting your calorie limit exactly. I really don't believe it is necessary to be exact. Aim for an average if you can. Some days I don't log in everything, and I find I am still losing weight.

    This is a dangerous, slippery slope. Most with a lot to lose can manage with some inaccuracies, but if you're closer to goals, something as simple as "not logging everything" can wipe out a daily deficit.

    OP, if you are being 100% accurate with your logging, meaning using a food scale to weigh solids and measuring cups to weigh liquids while being mindful of exercise calories and their accuracies, then 11 cals is fine. But most typically do not do this, thus see a lack of weight loss. The best thing you can do for weight loss is a food scale. Also be mindful of nutritionists. Anyone can take a course and become one, and often they don't have a clue about what they are talking about. Not saying this is the case, but it's something to be aware of. A registered dietitian is the person that you really want to be seeking nutritional information from.
  • kwall07
    kwall07 Posts: 18 Member
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    Thanks. How do you always hit your calories?! She's a RD...oops! :)
  • kwall07
    kwall07 Posts: 18 Member
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    Weight gain happened because I was pregnant. I'm very good about portion control but it's definitely a header process this time. Hoping the boot camp puts me in good place.
  • kwall07
    kwall07 Posts: 18 Member
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    Harder.
  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
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    You don't have to hit calories exactly. I set a lower limit for myself, just to be sure I don't get into the mindset of eating less and less and less. But I am not upset if my goal is 1800 and I log 1775 instead.
  • pebble4321
    pebble4321 Posts: 1,132 Member
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    All the numbers we are working with are estimates - food calories, exercise, calories, your calorie goal... all estimates.

    Just do your best to log as accurately as you can, get around your calorie goal (11 cals away is perfectly fine!) and track your progress over time. If you can see after a month or so you are losing weight much faster or slower than you can reasonably expect then you can tweak the numbers a little and see how you go.
  • csplatt
    csplatt Posts: 1,077 Member
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    i end up "in the red" all the time because i am 10-40 calories "over" - it's no big deal. you can make yourself crazy slicing a little piece off of a banana to try and be exact.
  • jdwils14
    jdwils14 Posts: 154 Member
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    If you have it set to a low number to be in a deficit, you have wiggle room. For instance, a loss of 1 lb per week will reduce calorie intake by 500 calories a day. If you are in the red by 100 calories on a given day, you are still under your daily energy expenditure, and therefore still on track. The mind perceives red as bad, but you have to understand what it means.

    If you don't eat all your calories because you are not hungry, its no big deal. You do not have to eat if you are not hungry. Your body knows more than any of us do :-)
  • StaciMarie1974
    StaciMarie1974 Posts: 4,138 Member
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    In my opinion, a calorie range is better for one's sanity. If your goal is 1300, then aim for 1250-1350. By the law of averages, some days you'll be a little low while others you are a little high and ultimately it will balance out. There is no reason to stress over 11 calories consumed or not consumed. Assuming you are aiming for a deficit of 250, 500, 750 or 1000 per day: your actual will be off slightly from intended but not significantly.
    kwall07 wrote: »
    Hello,
    I'm trying to lose baby weight from baby 3. She'll be 3 months Feb. 1st. I met with a nutrionist to begin a boot camp program tomorow. I'm finding MFP to be frustrating. I have 11 calories left for the day. Will I still lose if I don't eat all my calories. How do you make sure yuh eat all your calories. I feel like I'm always under or above. I have 20 pounds to lose.

  • SusanMFindlay
    SusanMFindlay Posts: 1,804 Member
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    As others have noted, you don't have to hit your calorie goal exactly. Personally, I aim for a certain average over the week/month - but even then, I'm just aiming to be within 100 cals of that average. There's no reason you can't have days that are slightly over and days that are slightly under as long as the average is where you want it.

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