I'm ready for your advice.
RT342
Posts: 9 Member
My lifestyle has been all over the place and is now finally settling down into a routine where I can focus on my diet and nutrition. I've been so busy and so tired for so long I fell into the cycle of "I deserve to eat whatever I want" and in that time I ran up the weight to 190 at 5'2. People say I carry it well and they'd never guess but I'm disgusted with myself (mostly how I feel in energy levels and health).
I've been pescatarian for a little over a year. And I realized in doing in average day of my food was consuming 3,000-7,000 calories a day. I love food. It's my reward. It's my comfort.
I've put myself on a 1200 a day diet, which I can mostly stick to. My bad days I land around 1450 which is still low so I don't beat myself up. I'm drinking lots more water, and I've added green tea to my daily beverages.
I'm eating mostly heavy vegetable, eggs, tuna, avocados, lots of beans....
My questions is what am I missing? What tips do you have that I can add to this? I don't have a lot of time for exercise but when I do we go hiking or swimming. Just not everyday.
Thanks in advance!
I've been pescatarian for a little over a year. And I realized in doing in average day of my food was consuming 3,000-7,000 calories a day. I love food. It's my reward. It's my comfort.
I've put myself on a 1200 a day diet, which I can mostly stick to. My bad days I land around 1450 which is still low so I don't beat myself up. I'm drinking lots more water, and I've added green tea to my daily beverages.
I'm eating mostly heavy vegetable, eggs, tuna, avocados, lots of beans....
My questions is what am I missing? What tips do you have that I can add to this? I don't have a lot of time for exercise but when I do we go hiking or swimming. Just not everyday.
Thanks in advance!
4
Replies
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Just stick with it.
You could, if you wanted, include things like chicken and fruit for more variety, although that might not fit your choices.
You could, if you wanted, include exercise every day. Exercise doesn't have to be a formal thing like going to the pool to go swimming or to the trail to do hiking ... it could be a matter of including a walk as part of your commute to work, or walking at lunch, or climbing flights of stairs to get up to your floor, or parking in one spot and walking from there to do all your shopping ... things like that.5 -
green tea doesn't do anything for weight loss.. drink it if you like it, but not if you think its doing something magic.
i doubt you need to eat so little to be able to lose weight... starting at 1200 means you have nowhere to go, but that's up to you.11 -
Differing opinions on this exercise but personally it's worked wonders for me, is "fasted cardio" i would recommend you do some research on it to see if it's for you regular exercise and well balanced diet is a must, but you seem to know what to do so as Machka9 says, just stick with it and the results will come 5
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Starting at 1200 is a very bad idea. Try 1600 from just food. And atleast 100 calorie deficit from exercising per day (easily achievable). Youl achieve much better results6
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I think it's great that you're settling down and looking for a sustainable routine. Keep in mind that what's sustainable, is partly universal - we need a certain amount of calories/nutrients every day, and we can't lose faster than our bodies (fat reserves) allow; we will be hungry when we eat too little, and feel deprived when we miss what we like, and when we feel hungry/deprived and what we desire is right in front of us... you know what happens. And partly individual - you have your own preferences, personality, daily schedule, medical history etc.
I suggest upping your calories; maybe just allowing 1400 will be enough so you can stick to it. Nothing will work unless you stick to it.
I also suggest finding other things than food to reward yourself with, and certainly not rewarding yourself for eating well - eating well should be rewarding in itself. If it isn't, it just means that you aren't eating well. You can indeed eat whatever you want, and love food, without overeating. In fact, making priorities and waiting for a good meal can enhance the enjoyment of food. Eating mindfully can make you more grateful and satisfied with less.
Green tea does nothing for you, so drink it if you like it and skip it if you don't. Enough water is important, but you don't get any more points for drinking excessively.
All foods provide nutrition, in different amounts and proportions. No food provides everything we need, and no foods are completely devoid of nutrition. Eating a wide variety of foods is associated with good health. As a pescetatian, your food choices are already limited. Don't restrict further. It's difficult to eat well with a restrictive attitude towards food.
Moderate exercise is good for you, but daily activity is usually far more important and effective (for health and weight management) than planned exercise.15 -
Plug your stats into mpg. Set for 1 lb a week. Log everything. Weigh as much as you can. Follow the calories mfp gives you for a month and see how it goes. 1200 is pretty low and you might see longer term success with eating more.11
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As a Pescatarean your food choices are wide and varied.
This is a high protein, fibre and calcium rich eating plan. I do suggest you google eating plans and do some research into what food choices are available.
As a Pescaterean myself, my iron and cholesterol levels have never been better. Choose your macros wisely and take in a nutritious caloric intake that suits your body.
Talk to your doctor or dietitian if you need to make a more informed choice.3 -
I don't have much new to say other than my own experience. I wasn't able to successfully lose long term until I stopped "dieting" and just realized that I could eat what I wanted within reason. Being able to eat foods that I love and are tasty (but not always 'healthy' although I do like those foods too ) made it easier to stick to. I also started to pay attention to my weekly nutritional goals instead of daily ones. So I had days where my intake was high, some days that were under. I just tried to hit my weekly goal and then if I had a high day, I didn't feel like I had blown it. Also i had to get used to the idea of aiming for maybe just 1 lb a week loss. Drove me nuts at the beginning but it's much more reasonable.5
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Loving all the advice so far! I should note, I don't feel deprived on 1200. I eat tons, just becoming more aware of healthier options rather than eating half a pizza for lunch and the other half for dinner. Lol. I definitely don't let myself go hungry. I'll keep in mind 1400-1600 isn't horrible if I eat more on days I feel I need it.3
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Plug your stats into mpg. Set for 1 lb a week. Log everything. Weigh as much as you can. Follow the calories mfp gives you for a month and see how it goes. 1200 is pretty low and you might see longer term success with eating more.
^^Do this instead. MFP works so trust it and don't go too low.6 -
My tips are do whatever diet is sustainable long term you don't need to flog/punish yourself especially since you'll be doing this for months, if thats 1200-1450 thats fine but don't beat yourself up over days you do more as long as you're in a deficit all good, I tend to go for a weekly deficit to put daily deficits (and sometimes going over maintenance) into perspective. This works for me, some people prefer to work strictly with daily deficits, some people do intermittent fasting, whatever fits best in your lifestyle.
Try to hit your protein goal you'll retain more muscle when losing and people tend to be more sated, same with complex carbs over refined processed food. Many people say a calorie is a calorie which is true to some extent but I think nutritious food does keep you fuller longer as your body has to work harder to digest it and absorb the calories. (Not that I avoid icecream or cut out anything I just try to reduce my junk intake as a percentage of my overall intake)
Also some resistance training even just using your own body weight with pushups, squats, sit ups etc is great for retaining some muscle so you lose as little as possible whilst trying to only lose fat. I have also noticed that doing some strength training has made me lose alot of inches compared to when I just did cardio for my wedding diet, I hit my wedding dress measurements 10 pounds earlier just by doing a couple of HIIT bootcamps a week compared to when I did Zumba twice a week for my wedding.
Another tip is it's okay to take a diet break and go on maintenance (or a bit over) every so often, I usually do this if I'm going away on holiday, just get back on it after you get back.
And obviously the main one is using food scales, using a tape measure and if you weigh daily or even weekly you need to look at your loss month by month to get a decent idea of progress since water weight is so unpredictable. Also log every day even if you've had a bad day or you have to guess restaurant food and have tripled your maintenance calories that day, the more info you have the better, it will help you identify pitfalls in the future and make better choices.
These are just my personal tips that have worked for me, I hope that's helpful. good luck x3 -
So my apologies if this is totally off base or comes across at all insulting (because I certainly don't mean it that way), but since you did ask for advice, I am a little bit skeptical that you've jumped from 3000+ to 1200 calories a day without feeling deprived. I'm also 5'2", started losing this January at 208 lbs and am now about 188 lbs. I have not gone below an average weekly 1900 calories during that time and have generally been closer to the 2100-2400 range. I might range between 1100-3500 on a daily basis, but I can't imagine staying at the low end of that for more than a day or two without really feeling it. I've been on a personal reset week (i.e. no eating out) averaging around 1500 since Sunday, and I can tell the difference between this and 2000 for sure!
In any case (and please do ignore me if I'm off base), I would track your rate of loss over time - at 1200 calories you'd probably be looking at 2-3 lbs a week, and I have a suspicion you're probably averaging closer to 1500-1700. Which is totally fine and not a big deal, but if you're not logging accurately now, you will get hit with a "plateau" when you get to a lower weight and not understand why. So keep up with what you're doing, but make sure that you are logging everything, weighing everything with a food scale except liquids (measuring cup for those), and not overestimating your exercise.7 -
May I ask what is "wrong" with 1200 calories per day for weight loss? I sort of chose that number at random and have been losing 1.5 to 2 lbs per week over a three month period (total of 21 lbs so far). I am not hungry and my diet is balanced and comprises excellent fresh, high quality food. Nothing boxed, no restaurant meals, I'm making my own salad dressing, etc. Should I have started with more calories?2
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I'm a 5"1 pescetarian, been back at mfp properly for 3 weeks and I'm already 2.5lbs down. It sounds like you already have it sussed and you should lose if you carry on as you are. My daily intake is also set to 1200 which I find very easy to stick to without feeling deprived, so if you're comfortable with this number then keep at it I know some users find 1200 to be a scary number but it is certainly doable if you eat back your exercise calories. 1
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May I ask what is "wrong" with 1200 calories per day for weight loss? I sort of chose that number at random and have been losing 1.5 to 2 lbs per week over a three month period (total of 21 lbs so far). I am not hungry and my diet is balanced and comprises excellent fresh, high quality food. Nothing boxed, no restaurant meals, I'm making my own salad dressing, etc. Should I have started with more calories?
There's nothing wrong with it per se, just that a lot of people who start off with really big deficits right out of the gate end up giving up and/or regaining because they eventually find their diet to be unsustainable for a number of reasons: they come to associate "eating healthy" with deprivation and being unhappy, they're cutting whole food groups out of their diet (unnecessarily!) and end up binging on bread or sweets or whatever, or they've been overestimating their intake the whole time (but don't realize it because they're losing weight) and run into the plateau problem I mention above that can lead to being really discouraged.1 -
That makes sense, thank you Mega. I'm weighing most things on a digital scale still, especially meats, and am only eating one particular type of bakery bread made with sunflower seeds (just one slice per day). So far I haven't craved sweets because I am able to eat delicious watermelon, cherries and other sweet fruits. I have a very sedentary job so I am not adding exercise right at the moment. When I get into that routine I know I'll have to add some calories.
Sorry to the OP for the highjack! I am new to this forum and a little lost in all the possible areas to post.3 -
That makes sense, thank you Mega. I'm weighing most things on a digital scale still, especially meats, and am only eating one particular type of bakery bread made with sunflower seeds (just one slice per day). So far I haven't craved sweets because I am able to eat delicious watermelon, cherries and other sweet fruits. I have a very sedentary job so I am not adding exercise right at the moment. When I get into that routine I know I'll have to add some calories.
Sorry to the OP for the highjack! I am new to this forum and a little lost in all the possible areas to post.
I have been living on cherries and watermelon all summer. So good! Also, welcome to the forums!1 -
Thank you!0
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MegaMooseEsq wrote: »So my apologies if this is totally off base or comes across at all insulting (because I certainly don't mean it that way), but since you did ask for advice, I am a little bit skeptical that you've jumped from 3000+ to 1200 calories a day without feeling deprived. I'm also 5'2", started losing this January at 208 lbs and am now about 188 lbs. I have not gone below an average weekly 1900 calories during that time and have generally been closer to the 2100-2400 range. I might range between 1100-3500 on a daily basis, but I can't imagine staying at the low end of that for more than a day or two without really feeling it. I've been on a personal reset week (i.e. no eating out) averaging around 1500 since Sunday, and I can tell the difference between this and 2000 for sure!
In any case (and please do ignore me if I'm off base), I would track your rate of loss over time - at 1200 calories you'd probably be looking at 2-3 lbs a week, and I have a suspicion you're probably averaging closer to 1500-1700. Which is totally fine and not a big deal, but if you're not logging accurately now, you will get hit with a "plateau" when you get to a lower weight and not understand why. So keep up with what you're doing, but make sure that you are logging everything, weighing everything with a food scale except liquids (measuring cup for those), and not overestimating your exercise.
What I'm realizing is that I chose convenient high calorie foods over healthy options. I still eat a lot and fill full but I am taking the time now to actually prep my meals. Also drinking lots of water where I wasn't before. I'm a firm believer I ate even when I wasn't hungry just because the food was either in front of me or I didn't want to miss out.
I really appreciate your feed back though. I'm see I should invest in a food scale? Is that a super necessity or maybe when I get further into the diet (read: lifestyle).2 -
MegaMooseEsq wrote: »So my apologies if this is totally off base or comes across at all insulting (because I certainly don't mean it that way), but since you did ask for advice, I am a little bit skeptical that you've jumped from 3000+ to 1200 calories a day without feeling deprived. I'm also 5'2", started losing this January at 208 lbs and am now about 188 lbs. I have not gone below an average weekly 1900 calories during that time and have generally been closer to the 2100-2400 range. I might range between 1100-3500 on a daily basis, but I can't imagine staying at the low end of that for more than a day or two without really feeling it. I've been on a personal reset week (i.e. no eating out) averaging around 1500 since Sunday, and I can tell the difference between this and 2000 for sure!
In any case (and please do ignore me if I'm off base), I would track your rate of loss over time - at 1200 calories you'd probably be looking at 2-3 lbs a week, and I have a suspicion you're probably averaging closer to 1500-1700. Which is totally fine and not a big deal, but if you're not logging accurately now, you will get hit with a "plateau" when you get to a lower weight and not understand why. So keep up with what you're doing, but make sure that you are logging everything, weighing everything with a food scale except liquids (measuring cup for those), and not overestimating your exercise.
What I'm realizing is that I chose convenient high calorie foods over healthy options. I still eat a lot and fill full but I am taking the time now to actually prep my meals. Also drinking lots of water where I wasn't before. I'm a firm believer I ate even when I wasn't hungry just because the food was either in front of me or I didn't want to miss out.
I really appreciate your feed back though. I'm see I should invest in a food scale? Is that a super necessity or maybe when I get further into the diet (read: lifestyle).
You're not eating 1200 cals if you're not weighing6 -
I think the thing you are (ultimately) missing, is finding time for exercise. You will, if successful in your weight loss, reach a point where the emphasis for your health shifts from burning fat to fitness and/or muscle. Its true, there are periods in life where we seem too busy to make time for ourselves, and for now your priority seems clear on weight loss, but I would think about the future and start finding a way to give yourself the time you need to work out in some fashion.
Good luck!2 -
MegaMooseEsq wrote: »So my apologies if this is totally off base or comes across at all insulting (because I certainly don't mean it that way), but since you did ask for advice, I am a little bit skeptical that you've jumped from 3000+ to 1200 calories a day without feeling deprived. I'm also 5'2", started losing this January at 208 lbs and am now about 188 lbs. I have not gone below an average weekly 1900 calories during that time and have generally been closer to the 2100-2400 range. I might range between 1100-3500 on a daily basis, but I can't imagine staying at the low end of that for more than a day or two without really feeling it. I've been on a personal reset week (i.e. no eating out) averaging around 1500 since Sunday, and I can tell the difference between this and 2000 for sure!
In any case (and please do ignore me if I'm off base), I would track your rate of loss over time - at 1200 calories you'd probably be looking at 2-3 lbs a week, and I have a suspicion you're probably averaging closer to 1500-1700. Which is totally fine and not a big deal, but if you're not logging accurately now, you will get hit with a "plateau" when you get to a lower weight and not understand why. So keep up with what you're doing, but make sure that you are logging everything, weighing everything with a food scale except liquids (measuring cup for those), and not overestimating your exercise.
What I'm realizing is that I chose convenient high calorie foods over healthy options. I still eat a lot and fill full but I am taking the time now to actually prep my meals. Also drinking lots of water where I wasn't before. I'm a firm believer I ate even when I wasn't hungry just because the food was either in front of me or I didn't want to miss out.
I really appreciate your feed back though. I'm see I should invest in a food scale? Is that a super necessity or maybe when I get further into the diet (read: lifestyle).
If you're happy with your current rate of loss without a food scale, keep doing what you're doing for now. However the more weight you lose, the more your rate of loss will slow, and the more important accurately measuring your food will become. It's impossible to be 100% accurate, but the best way to get as close as possible is with a food scale. They're not all that expensive, so it might be worth picking one up and getting used to it sooner rather than later.6 -
So, on the food scale debate....
I have been on here for almost a year, and I found that I will never use a food scale. I don't think, for my lifestyle, that it is sustainable to use a food scale for every meal. Some people love it, I don't. I log as accurately as I can, and leave a little room for error.
When I started on here, I set my calories to 1200, and lost a lot of weight really fast. (I'm 5'2") Over time, I've adjusted my calorie goals to 1450 for the summer as I'm really busy and stressed and haven't had time to exercise. I've still been losing, but slowly. So far I've lost 55lbs with about 35-40 to go. (Started at 223.8, now 168.0)
There is no "right way" to do this thing. Some things work for some people, other things work for other people. Generally, eating at a deficit, you will lose weight, but it ultimately depends on what your goals are and what you want your body to do, if you decide exercise is needed.
I work in Public Health, so I would recommend at the very least fitting in 30 minutes of moderate exercise per day, just so your body can stay healthy. I usually, at the very least, do a 30 minute brisk walk on my lunch break and add more exercise later if I have time.
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Morganbennett1 wrote: »So, on the food scale debate....
I have been on here for almost a year, and I found that I will never use a food scale. I don't think, for my lifestyle, that it is sustainable to use a food scale for every meal. Some people love it, I don't. I log as accurately as I can, and leave a little room for error.
When I started on here, I set my calories to 1200, and lost a lot of weight really fast. (I'm 5'2") Over time, I've adjusted my calorie goals to 1450 for the summer as I'm really busy and stressed and haven't had time to exercise. I've still been losing, but slowly. So far I've lost 55lbs with about 35-40 to go. (Started at 223.8, now 168.0)
There is no "right way" to do this thing. Some things work for some people, other things work for other people. Generally, eating at a deficit, you will lose weight, but it ultimately depends on what your goals are and what you want your body to do, if you decide exercise is needed.
I work in Public Health, so I would recommend at the very least fitting in 30 minutes of moderate exercise per day, just so your body can stay healthy. I usually, at the very least, do a 30 minute brisk walk on my lunch break and add more exercise later if I have time.
I completely agree, so at least there's no debate from me. I mainly just think that it's important for people to know that we are aiming for really rough targets that get smaller over time, and not to get frustrated if the numbers say they should be losing weight and they aren't, or not at the rate they expected.3 -
I rewarded myself for hitting various milestones in my weight loss. After I lost my first 10 pounds I bought a new purse, 20 pounds down was new jeans in a smaller size! I don't remember everything in between but when I hit my goal (80 pounds down) I treated myself to an hour long full body massage! 5
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Morganbennett1 wrote: »
I work in Public Health, so I would recommend at the very least fitting in 30 minutes of moderate exercise per day, just so your body can stay healthy. I usually, at the very least, do a 30 minute brisk walk on my lunch break and add more exercise later if I have time.
I work in the same office as some public health staff... recent comments overheard include...
'it's not calories that matter, it's sugar'
'Beef jerky is so bad for you'
'I'm eating right and exercising but I'm not losing weight... it must be a medical problem'
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TavistockToad wrote: »Morganbennett1 wrote: »
I work in Public Health, so I would recommend at the very least fitting in 30 minutes of moderate exercise per day, just so your body can stay healthy. I usually, at the very least, do a 30 minute brisk walk on my lunch break and add more exercise later if I have time.
I work in the same office as some public health staff... recent comments overheard include...
'it's not calories that matter, it's sugar'
'Beef jerky is so bad for you'
'I'm eating right and exercising but I'm not losing weight... it must be a medical problem'
But...Plug your stats into mpg. Set for 1 lb a week. Log everything. Weigh as much as you can. Follow the calories mfp gives you for a month and see how it goes. 1200 is pretty low and you might see longer term success with eating more.
Yeah, that.1 -
Wow, so much good advice in this thread! I'm in a very similar position to you - 5'4 and starting at 184, and pescatarian too. I do use a digital food scale most of the time. I have my calories set at somewhere around 1500-1600 (I can't remember) but I usually eat between 1300-1400. Some days I have 1100-1200, but I like having my calories set higher and then eating lower most days. But when I go up to my higher limit, I'm okay with myself there too. As long as my scale keeps trending down, I figure whatever I'm doing is working.
Going to friend you now! Also open to any other friend requests of folks with a similar mindset.
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Morganbennett1 wrote: »So, on the food scale debate....
I have been on here for almost a year, and I found that I will never use a food scale. I don't think, for my lifestyle, that it is sustainable to use a food scale for every meal. Some people love it, I don't. I log as accurately as I can, and leave a little room for error.
When I started on here, I set my calories to 1200, and lost a lot of weight really fast. (I'm 5'2") Over time, I've adjusted my calorie goals to 1450 for the summer as I'm really busy and stressed and haven't had time to exercise. I've still been losing, but slowly. So far I've lost 55lbs with about 35-40 to go. (Started at 223.8, now 168.0)
There is no "right way" to do this thing. Some things work for some people, other things work for other people. Generally, eating at a deficit, you will lose weight, but it ultimately depends on what your goals are and what you want your body to do, if you decide exercise is needed.
I work in Public Health, so I would recommend at the very least fitting in 30 minutes of moderate exercise per day, just so your body can stay healthy. I usually, at the very least, do a 30 minute brisk walk on my lunch break and add more exercise later if I have time.
Since you said "I will never use a food scale" can I assume you haven't ever used a food scale? Words cannot adequately describe how much I prefer it over trying to figure out how tightly I should pack a measuring cup or guess if I have a small banana or a medium banana. That is so imprecise; whereas 2 ounces of banana is 2 ounces of banana.
I believe that if one is going to measure, one may as well weigh, as it is more accurate and faster. Of course one need neither measure nor weigh in order to lose weight, but if one is concerned with accuracy, weighing is the way to go.
My brother lost weight without counting a single calorie - he ramped up exercise and high volume/low calorie foods, and the pounds melted off. But he's not working a desk like many of us.2 -
You are already doing so much right! Yay! But since you asked, this is my own personal perspective:
First, I couldn't do this without a food scale! I'm 5'5", weighed 240 last December and now I'm 176. I like being very accurate with food weights and calorie counts, because if I estimate and guess I will certainly get it wrong. I don't want to be wrong in either direction with too many or too few calories. I know that being a little bit wrong over and over throughout a day or a week can add up to a whole lot of wrong! Especially with calorie dense foods like avocados and nuts. I want this diet to work optimally and I don't want to waste time.
Second, make sure you're hitting your protein goal every day. It will likely keep your hunger in check.
Third, keep your carbs under goal whenever possible as this will also likely keep your hunger under control. Beans are a great protein and fiber source, but they they're also carb heavy so just something to watch.
Fourth, besides avocados, do you eat nuts or nut butters or olive oil? I go a bit above the MFP fat recommendation because I think it's good for my skin and hair.
Fifth, if you're eating fish daily, you might want to occasionally get your mercury levels checked.
Best of luck to you!
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