I don't think I'm doing this right guys

Your diary looks really healthy but you need more protein (I struggle with this too). If I were you, I may eliminate the oats at breakfast (so you don't go much over your calories) and for dinner have a tuna steak or another fish based meal (fish is really high in protein and low in calories). And yes, you will burn 1200 calories in a day even if you are fairly sedentary, but upping your activity will help you create even more of a calorie deficit. Best of Luck!

1700 will be enough for you to eat enough healthy food to feel good. Weight loss will take longer, but you'll be so much happier. It's much easier to succeed at a slower pace where you're not starving all the time.

JusPrettyMe wrote: »

If you want to lose 20 lbs, set it to lose 1lb per week. Maybe even half a pound if you don't want to be too hungry.

2lbs a week is for if you have A LOT of weight to lose. You're setting yourself up for a huge struggle if you try to lose 2lbs per week AND risking malnutrition.

And struggling is exactly what I've been doing. I just reset my goals and that took me to 1700 calories a day...this scares me, but you're the second person today to tell me this so it must work!

Thanks for the feedback!

Good luck.

It seems scary as the media likes to feed us lies that we NEED to be on 1200 calories to lose weight but it's not true for everyone. Try 1700 out for a few weeks, get yourself proper nutrition and even a treat every now and then. It will help your sanity.

No food is bad unless you are allergic to it or it is spoiled. I say this as I have fish tacos pre-planned into my day and am eating lighter the rest of the day. It's about balance.

JusPrettyMe wrote: »

Theo166 wrote: »

Where did you get your target of 160g of protein daily?

First I read an article that said my protein should be 45-50% of my macros. Other than that I just went by the defaults on MFP.

What is the ideal protein target for fat loss? I'm currently jogging about 3 times a week and doing heavy weights 1-2 times per week

my 2 cents - you aren't going to gain muscle when you are losing, so put your main focus on weight loss. Yes weights will help retain your muscle, but the sooner you get down to weight, the sooner you can really focus on building strength, etc.

There is a lot of macro advice around here, I suggest you look at multiple sources. Read up on Keto diets, they have a lot of supporting advice on high protein meal planning.

My macros are tweaked to represent what gives me satiety when I'm targeting 1% loss weekly: 40% Carbs / 35% Fat / 25%P. I couldn't easily hit a higher protein target unless I relied upon protein powder. I'm trying to focus on regular foods I'll also eat in maintenance.

It took me a while to understand it all too. The "burn" of just existing another day (breathing, walking to the car, etc) is not often taken into account. I never have or have the desire to burn 1,500 calories via exercise. So when people say they "burned" 2,500 calories with an hour of exercise.... I assume half of that is just their "being alive" burn

JusPrettyMe wrote: »

If someone would be so kind as to look at my diary. I've eliminated all of my "fun" foods and meal replacements and replaced them with foods I thought would give me more protein and less sugar. By doing this it seems like I'm headed in a direction to go OVER my calorie goals but my macros are looking better...I guess.

I'm still struggling to get my protein in; but why am I going so far over my calorie goals?

This week my largest meal has been breakfast, so I'm guessing I should replace my whole milk Greek yogurt with something less calorie dense

I'm really at a total loss here, because even if I replace that I wouldn't have enough calories to make dinner...¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I've always read that in order to lose fat you must burn more calories than you eat...do people really burn over 1200 calories in a day? Is this really how it works?

You "burn" calories 24/7...you burn a crap ton of calories merely existing...the average female burns around 1,400 calories merely existing...your bodily functions require a great deal of energy. When people say "burn more than calories than you eat" it doesn't mean you burn those calories through deliberate exercise.

You burn calories existing...you burn calories going about your day to day...brushing your teeth, cooking, cleaning, driving to work, thinking, fidgeting, getting up to go to the bathroom, etc...and of course, deliberate exercise.

JusPrettyMe wrote: »

Theo166 wrote: »

Where did you get your target of 160g of protein daily?

First I read an article that said my protein should be 45-50% of my macros. Other than that I just went by the defaults on MFP.

What is the ideal protein target for fat loss? I'm currently jogging about 3 times a week and doing heavy weights 1-2 times per week

Protein doesn't really have anything to do with fat loss (though a higher protein diet will result in a slightly higher thermic effect to digest, but this is really majoring in the minors)...adequate protein is necessary for preserving lean mass and the more active you are, the more protein you would need to help with recovery and repair of damaged tissues from exercise...but 160 grams is pretty over the top.

I get around 0.6-0.8 grams per Lb of body weight...the higher end of the comes out to about 1 gram per Lb of LBM...any more than that, and you're really just making expensive glucose. I'm usually somewhere in between.

Since you asked, my suggestion would be to replace the Think Thin bars with something you'd eat at a normal meal or snack. As far as protein or meal-replacement bars go, I don't think those are bad, but over time you'll need the nutrients that come from real foods. Also, I see they're higher in calories than any of your other meals. So you could probably replace them with something else. You could probably also replace the protein shake if you wanted to. Your vegetable intake could probably be a little higher.

If you were going to replace the whole fat Greek yogurt with something else, lowfat or nonfat would be a good choice, and you could increase the serving size. Unless there's some reason for the honey, you might consider replacing it with something less caloric and more fiber-ful and nutritious, like half a piece of fresh fruit or even a little dried fruit like chopped dried apples or apricots.

Other people have commented on the protein intake/macros, but I did have one question: are you tracking fiber intake, and if so are you getting the recommended amounts? (You can check by clicking on the "Reports" tab and then selecting fiber as the thing you want a report on.) jmo