IM NEW! I DONT GET IT

JennyAnne101 · February 2017

Hi.

I weigh 225
want to loose 50
im 22
5ft 9
I have PCOS

my goal calories is 1,340 on MFP and aim to exercise 5 times a week burning 300 cals when i do exercise. People say MFP is built in with a deflict? what does this mean?

I have been doing this 10 days so far and haven't weighed in yet to see if i have lost anything.
But I am aching so bad with very bad migraines. I always have calories left over sometimes 500 left over, sometimes 100.

Im eating stuff like chicken breast, rice, veg, weight watcher meals, swimming world meals. salads and plently of water.

Just want to know im doing this right?

annacole94 · February 2017

Log your exercise. You will get those 300 calories added to your goal.
Don't aim to have calories left over; you need to eat what you're allotted. You can worry less about that with exercise calories, but you need to eat the 1340 to give your body nutrition.

Good work so far!

malibu927 · February 2017

MFP has already subtracted 250 calories for every half pound you chose to lose per week. So if you chose to lose 2 pounds a week, MFP determined that you burn 2340 calories a day before exercise. Your goal is meant to be met, not come under. Only eating 840 calories is a recipe for disaster...start eating more. Add in some fats and other calorie dense foods to reach your goal. Also, if you did choose 2 pounds a week that may be a bit aggressive for you, and you may be better aiming for a 1-1.5 pound per week loss.

prattiger65 · February 2017

Hello, when you set up your account it asked you about your activity level, you probably set that to "sedentary" which is fine, but that doesn't take into account your exercise calories. 300 calories of exercise per workout, I cant answer that because I don't know what exactly you are doing, but it seems high, but I don't know. I did a rough run of your numbers (I don't know how to account for PCOS) but it shows a TDEE of @2200 calories. So, if you want to lose a pound per week you would reduce the TDEE by 500 per day, so you would have a 1700 calorie per day "budget". That doesn't include any exercise though, you would want to eat back some/all of those calories. An example, if you did an hour of (fill in the blank) and burned 150 calories, you add that to the 1700 for a total of 1850 total calories. Here is the key, you have to be as accurate as possible with your logging, both food and exercise. Weigh everything that is solid with a digital scale and measure all liquid with cups and spoons. Also, be careful not to over estimate your exercise calorie burns. Lastly, try to get adequate protein in you diet, for you, maybe try to get 125 grams per day. Good luck, and you will surely get a lot more advise.

ETA, you need to feed your body, eat your calories. And 10 days isn't enough time. Keep doing the right things and you will lode weight, but it might be a slow start, its a marathon, not a sprint.

Jayco141 · February 2017

Calories in/Calories out is not the way to do it. Just like we were always told, eat well and exercise! Added sugars are Evil. I do love to log my calories to see where I am at on any given day because it trains you to understand what you eat matters. You will get there and don't be afraid to eat. Just learn what to eat!

shadow2soul · February 2017

MFP estimated you to maintain at:
1840 WITHOUT exercise (500 calorie deficit to lose 1 lb per week)
Or
2090 WITHOUT exercise (750 calorie deficit to lose 1.5 lb per week)
Or
2340 WITHOUT exercise (1000 calorie deficit to lose 2 lbs per week)

The exercise goal you gave MFP is not factored into your daily calories. It's just a goal you set for yourself to have logged in your exercise diary. When you log the exercise MFP will add calories to what you can eat so that your deficit stays the same.

If you leave calories on the table you are increasing your deficit.

So say you told MFP you wanted to lose 1.5 lbs per week. MFP's goal is 750 calories under what it estimates you maintain at.
So you already have the 750 deficit
(1000 is the max safe/healthy deficit without doctor supervision)
750 (mfp deficit) + 500 (calories remaining) = 1250 deficit (too high...can cause problems)
750 (MFP deficit) + 1000 (calories remaining) = 1750 deficit (way to high...likely to cause problems if done for extended period of time)

cityruss · February 2017

Whut?

cathipa · February 2017

Here are some pearls of wisdom I've gained on my weight loss journey:
(1) Healthy weight loss takes time. 0.5-2 pounds a week is healthy weight loss.
(2) Weight loss isn't linear. You may have weeks you lose more, some less and some none at all, but just keep going.
(3) Weigh your food. Just logging food is one component of successful weight loss, but you have to know what a serving is to be effective. Weigh with a digital scale. Use grams or oz.
(3) Log your food with correct entries. No homemade or generic.
(4) Drink water. Drink at least 64oz daily. Water is beneficial for not only hydration, but also satiety. Sometimes you may have just eaten a few hours before and feel hungry when in fact you may just be dehydrated.
(5) Move more. The more you move the more calories you will burn. This doesn't mean you have to go crazy in the gym, but even just moving more today than you did yesterday and keep building will get you to your goal faster.
(6) Have patience. You didn't gain weight overnight so don't expect it to come off any faster. It is by far easier to gain than to lose.
(7) There are no magical weight loss pills, powders, wraps or potions.
(8) Have a reasonable calorie deficit and stick to it.

shadow2soul · February 2017

:noway:

CI <CO is the only way. There are multiple approaches to get to there (some take the focus away from calories), but ultimately to lose weight your CI has to be less than your CO to lose weight.
Wether you cut carbs, cut fat, paleo, count calories, whatever it's all just different routes to getting CI <CO.

tinkerbellang83 · February 2017

The built-in deficit in plain English is the difference between the calories your body needs to maintain your current weight and the approximate calories your body needs to lose weight at the rate you've chosen when you set up your goals.

You should not be eating this low on a regular basis (if you're 500 below that's well below the minimum safe amount for someone of your weight/height) , you're basically under-eating and this could be the cause of your migraines, you should be eating your calorie goal and some of your exercise calories, most people shoot for around 50% of their exercise calories to allow for any inaccuracies in estimated calorie burns. Definitely try and up your calories and if you're still suffering migraines, see a doctor.

You're only a couple of kilos lighter than me and about the same height and I am eating 1500-1600 calories a day + eating back most of my exercise calories when I do workout and still losing steadily around 0.5-1kg per week. (You've got me added as a friend so feel free to peruse my diary)

You can eat what you like and as long as you log accurately (weighing dry food/measuring wet food) is the best way and stay around your calorie goal.

AgentFlex · February 2017

I am just as lost as you are on this one.

To the OP, you need to eat the calories allotted to you by myfitnesspal. The deficit for weight loss is already built in. If you are a little confused on what the deficit is, set your account to see what you would need to eat to maintain your current weight. You can then subtract the 1,340 from that number to see what your deficit is. You could just eat 1,340 with no exercise at all and lose weight. When you exercise and add that to your diary the calories will be added to your total calorie goal to eat for the day. EAT THEM (or at least most of them, being under/over 100 calories here and there is fine, as it is somewhat of a margin of error). Why do we eat them? First if you don't, you will likely be under eating which can actually stall weight loss over time. You may lose rapidly at first, but it won't last. The theory of eating the exercise calories actually prepares us for the future when we've reached our goal weight. When you are eating at maintenance, if you exercise and don't eat back the calories you would actually continue to lose weight because the exercise would create a deficit. Got it?

malibu927 · February 2017

Calories are all that matter for weight loss. Many people have come here because they were overweight and eating well...they were just eating too much. Also, added sugar is not evil.

tinkerbellang83 · February 2017

Eating well (whatever your interpretation of that is) is no good if you're eating higher calories than what you burn even with exercise. Added Sugar is also not the devil and is fine in moderation.

TeaBea · February 2017

Um, no.

Calories in VS. calories out always matters. That doesn't mean we completely disregard health.

Added sugar isn't evil, but it's not very filling either. I limit added sugars, not eliminate them. The difference being I want to learn portion sizes for food I eat period......all the types of food I eat. Just learning portion control for "diet" foods isn't helpful for when we get to goal. Maintenance doesn't just happen.

CattOfTheGarage · February 2017

OP, well done for starting out! We were all where you are at some point, and there is a lot to learn.

First, you need to know that there is such a thing as undereating, and it's not good for you. What you're doing is definitely undereating. 1340 is a very low goal at your weight to start with, and if you have 500 calories left at the end of a day, that means you only ate 840, which is far, far too little.

I know it may seem strange because you became overweight by eating too much - surely it's good to eat less? Well, yes, you need to eat less than you used to, but not too much less. You need to find the sweet spot.

Why is undereating bad? Well, first of all it is bad for your body. It can cause deficiencies in nutrients which can cause health problems, hair loss, skin damage and so on. That's bad enough, but the other problem is it can cause you to burn out, binge and quit, and even to get stuck in a cycle of undereating and then binging. It's not good.

To avoid undereating: first, choose a moderate rate of loss. I'm guessing you chose 2lb a week. That might be possible at your size, but honestly, it's quite aggressive. I would recommend 1lb a week to start off with.

Second: log your exercise and eat the extra calories it gives you. The number myfitnesspal gives you as a goal is already low enough to lose weight without exercise (this is what "built in deficit" means). If you exercise without logging it and without eating any extra, you can end up undereating. Be careful not to overestimate your exercise, but you should log it.

You don't need to make huge changes to lose weight. It's mostly about portion sizes and moderation. You don't need to cut out your treats or exercise to extremes. Small changes and long term consistency are what it's all about.

Good luck and keep reading the forums, soon you'll be as expert as any of us.

courtneyfabulous · February 2017

Ignore this comment

courtneyfabulous · February 2017

You're not eating enough, that's why you feel bad. Start eating all your allotted calories, you shouldn't be eating less. The part about the deficit being built in is why- the calorie goal you are given is how much you should eat to lose weight. There's a calorie deficit for weight loss included in this. The calories you actually use every day are much more, but myfitnesspal subtracts a certain amount based on the weight loss rate you chose and gives you a goal that if you eat that much you will lose weight- you shouldn't be eating even less!

readytobeatfat54 · February 2017

This is wise advice. My only word of caution is not to force yourself to eat. If at the end of the day you have a deficit of 300 calories, don't force it. You want to be sure that you are eating when hungry, not forcing yourself to make that stomach larger. If you are consistently below you may want to reconsider how you are eating throughout the day, especially if weight loss isn't happening.

Erfw7471 · February 2017

CICO isn't a "way to do it", CICO is an energy balance equation that every*single*human*body utilize (and animals- vet just told me one of my dogs needs to lose 4 lbs. Guess how I'm to do it? That's right, decrease food which means decrease calories & increase her activity). CICO is science, it is universal, it exists. Counting calories is a "way to do it". As is low carb ing, Weight Watchers, low fat, Keto, etc.

Added sugars aren't evil.

Regarding learning *what* to eat, yes, there are individual details that vary for satiety, hormones, personal preferences, health, nutrient needs, etc. But for weight loss, it's not what to eat but HOW MUCH.

PaulaWallaDingDong · February 2017

OP Have you worked with a dietitian to tailor your diet to overcome PCOS? It's still calories in vs. Calories out, but there are certain considerations for your condition.

And if you're not feeling well, make sure to eat all your calories. You can get more calories with less volume by adding fats.

crooked_left_hook · February 2017

It means that MFP calculates the appropriate amount of calories you need to eat per day to have a deficit. Since your calorie goal is the same as mine I will assume you are trying to lose 1lb of weight per week to do that. To lose 1lb per week you need a weekly deficit of 3500, or 500 per day. If your calorie goal is 1340, MPF is assuming you need 1840 to maintain your weight based on the height/weight/activity/age info you entered.

If you are getting migraines and your body is aching you need to eat more and maybe look at when, and the order in which you are eating things. I had this problem my first couple of weeks, along with blood sugar spikes and crashes. Here are the things that I did to fix the situation.

1. Make sure you are eating your entire daily allotted calories.
2. Track how you feel between meals. You will see a pattern...which leads to points 3, 4, 5.
3. I need eat 3 meals and 3 snacks per day. I need to eat every 3-4 hours or I will get a migraine.
4. I had to rearrange the order in which I ate my foods. Protein shake at (6:30am) before oatmeal (9:30am), not the reverse. Every fruit/veggie gets paired with a fat or protein because the fruit/veggie alone causes my blood sugar to spike, followed by a crash which leaves me hungry and disoriented. Apple+PB, carrots+hummus, veggies+meat, that kind of thing.
5. I also need to eat about 1 hour of working out. If I eat earlier than that I will be lightheaded during my workout, later than that indigestion while working out.
6. I usually eat about 100 of my exercise calories per day when I feel like I need them.

You also need to keep in mind that making gradual changes, and gradual reductions in your calories over the course of a few weeks will allow your body to adjust and prevent some if these issues. IMO, diving in head first is a recipe for disaster.

How much were you exercising before you started trying to lose weight? If you are really achy your body needs a couple extra days of rest. If you take 2-3 days off you will be amazed at how easy that first workout back will be. You will actually be able to feel and see the progress you are making. Learn to really listen to your body, it know what it really needs even if it has been over indulged for years.

joaniebalonie088 · February 2017

I would echo the great comments above, but also say that eating below your MFP goal by a couple hundred calories here and there is no big deal. It's when you are consistently under by many hundreds every day that its an issue. For me, I like to bank the extra 100 or 200 calories on days when I'm not as hungry, because I know myself and in the next day or two I'm almost guaranteed to be more peckish. I can "go over" by 100 or 200 calories and in the end its a wash. Just a thought!

CattOfTheGarage · February 2017

Well, yes, if your average is near your goal then that's fine. But if you're averaging well under goal, that's a problem.

cerise_noir · February 2017

Nonsense. Absolute nonsense. OP. Don't listen to this.

CICO is the way. This is confirmed scientifically. It refers to the energy balance between consumed calories and expended calories.

Sugar...*sigh* is not evil. Added sugar is not evil. It will not hinder weight loss. Ask anyone here who has lost weight and maintained including sugar in their diet.

BecKinnz · February 2017

__TMac__ · February 2017

PCOS-specific comment:

Here's the short version of what works for me.

1. Set your MFP goal to 1.5 lbs/week, but don't expect to lose that much. It may be slower.

2. Eat 150g carbs or fewer per day.

3. 45 min of sweaty exercise, 6 days a week. Yoga and leisurely walks aren't enough. If you can't do 45 minutes all at once, just break for a minute, catch your breath, and start again when you're ready, until you’ve reached the total time. Weight lifting is also awesome, but more important is to do something strenuous that you will do consistently.

Insulin is an issue, so lowish carb and heavy exercise are key. They also help with satiety, blood glucose levels, and earning enough extra calories to stay sane. It can also drive down testosterone levels, which helps reduce some of the less pleasant symptoms.

I started at 248 and am now at 206.

Rabid_Hamster · February 2017

Jenny (OP),
First, I sent you a FR and am happy to lend whatever advice you'd like.

Now for the core of the subject: If you're a "numbers/data" girl. Then this will help explain it.

All that is meant by deficit is burning more calories that what you consume. You need a total calorie deficit of 3000 cals per week to lose 1 lb.

When you set up your MFP profile, among all of the info you provided was your weekly weight loss goal and your activity level. Based on that, MFP automatically built in a calorie deficit into your daily calorie amount to get you to that goal. When you exercise, you burn more than was initially calculated, so MFP will add in those calories burned to your food allowance for the day. Some on MFP say eat those back, others say don't, and then there are others that say eat part of it back. You'll need to determine what works best for you. For me, I eat most of it back. Also pay attention to your macros. For the most part its calories burned versus calories in.. but it makes a difference where those calories come from; fats, carbs, protein, etc..

Buy a scale. Weigh your food. LOG EVERTHING YOU EAT.. every bite, nibble, lick, whatever. If you take a bite of your fiance's ice cream.. you log that too. You'll be amazed at how many calories you've really been eating. Better to know where you are exactly so you know how to get/keep yourself on target.

Since you're still early in this, I strongly recommend you take your measurements and take keep a picture of how you are now. Over time, as you write your measurements down, you'll be able to see your progress in a very concrete way. Sometimes we don't see it in the mirror, but that's where the numbers will help you actually see it. That first picture will also act in the same way. We ALWAYS love to see the Before & After posts of people on their journeys. It helps to keep all of us motivated, experienced and new alike.
Welcome to MFP!

JennyAnne101 · February 2017

Aww you have all been super super helpful.

I have learned a lot reading.

Did my first weigh in today and lost 5 pounds!

But what are macros may I add?

clambert1273 · February 2017

Macronutrients... Protein, Carbs, Fats... those are the main ones tracked...

shadow2soul · February 2017

Marcros = Fat, Carbs, Protein
Micros = vitamins and minerals

Your calories for the day can further be broken down to carbs, fat, and proteins (Macro Nurtrients). Carbs and Protein are 4 cals per gram. Fat is 9 cals per gram. All 3 play important roles in our dietary needs.

KickassAmazon76 · February 2017

Um... nope.

Added sugars are NOT evil. If you want to lose weight, you need to consume less calories than you are burning*.

The quality of WHAT you eat directly impacts how full you feel (i.e. if you drink 350 calories in soda pop, vs consuming 350 cals of chicken).

*note: I do not know what impact PCOS has on your day to day calorie burn

IM NEW! I DONT GET IT

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