Help! My dieting sucks

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  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    FaileBashere wrote: »
    I'm really struggling with this, i'm going to re-try and do the 1200 calorie thing again, but with 8 hours of exercise a week i can't tell how many calories i should be allowed to add back in, and MFP seems to grossly overestimate this. 4 months til my wedding and I haven't lost any weight :/

    Here is what works for many people: just pick a set percentage of exercise calories to eat back, say 50%. Log consistently and reliably. If you find yourself losing faster than expected, you can increase the percentage that you're eating back. If you're losing more slowly, try reducing the percentage you're eating back.

    Pay attention to how much fiber and protein and fat are in your meals and how you feel after specific meals. Some people find that fiber helps them feel fuller, for others it may be protein or fat. By paying attention to how long specific meals make you feel full, you can adjust from there. I personally always feel starving when I try do do low fat, other people don't mind it.

    You may also want to double-check your logging. Are you weighing your solid foods for accuracy? Are you avoiding "generic" or "homemade" entries from the database? Are there any foods or (caloric) drinks that you aren't logging?
  • WinoGelato
    WinoGelato Posts: 13,454 Member
    FaileBashere wrote: »
    I'm really struggling with this, i'm going to re-try and do the 1200 calorie thing again, but with 8 hours of exercise a week i can't tell how many calories i should be allowed to add back in, and MFP seems to grossly overestimate this. 4 months til my wedding and I haven't lost any weight :/

    I don't think this was asked upthread but sorry if I missed it - are you using a food scale for weighing your solid foods for logging accuracy? If someone isn't losing, it is almost always that they are eating more than they think, or that they are overestimating exercise burns (I know you mentioned this). What percent of your exercise calories are you eating back now?
  • FaileBashere
    FaileBashere Posts: 27 Member
    I don't use HRM because i'm mostly taking classes, so i'm doing spin class, yoga, barre, kickboxing, and P.A.C.E. I have hinted at my husband to get me a fitbit though for this purpose. What I am guessing is happening is that MFP is overestimating how many calories I'm burning so I'm probably eating back too many. I'm hoping that getting a fitbit will help clear this up and let me know more accurately how many calories I'm burning when I workout. Has anyone else tried this and seen better results?
  • ritzvin
    ritzvin Posts: 2,860 Member
    FaileBashere wrote: »
    I don't use HRM because i'm mostly taking classes, so i'm doing spin class, yoga, barre, kickboxing, and P.A.C.E. I have hinted at my husband to get me a fitbit though for this purpose. What I am guessing is happening is that MFP is overestimating how many calories I'm burning so I'm probably eating back too many. I'm hoping that getting a fitbit will help clear this up and let me know more accurately how many calories I'm burning when I workout. Has anyone else tried this and seen better results?

    Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think the Fitbits are mainly step trackers - so they'll somewhat accurately gauge walking and running, but not much else, except maybe with a HRM. (From what I can tell, they're mainly a tool for less active folks wanting to get their exercise in by walking more). Do the spin class bikes have power meters-I've been told those are more accurate than HRM for estimating calorie burn?
  • sllm1
    sllm1 Posts: 2,130 Member
    There are fitbits with heart rate monitors, and mine seems to do well with calorie estimation.

    In the meantime, underestimate your calories burned and eat back half. (Or at least that's what I'd do). :)
  • ZephieC
    ZephieC Posts: 162 Member
    I've eaten 1200 calories for the last month. Feel free to nose around my diary to see what I have been eating. I am just gradually adding workouts. You sound much more active so you would want to make sure you eat back a chunk of those exercise calories to keep you going. I am careful to try and eat balanced so I haven't had any issues.
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