Very active and very hungry!

bjcampbell627
bjcampbell627 Posts: 8 Member
in Motivation and Support
I want to lose about 20 lbs. I work as a gardener so am very active, also have an allotment and walk a lot. I put my activities in yesterday and I had burned 1,300 calories in exercise!

I have been quite inactive over the winter so this is a new surge in activity. However, I found I was very active last summer, I lost about 4 lbs without trying but then put it back on again slowly in the autumn/winter.

I get really hungry and there is no way I can live on 1200 calories and salad, however, I want to lose weight and keep it off and I think it's going to be a case of finding foods that are filling and nutritious and being organised (taking food with me on jobs, not buying chocolate bars and sandwiches at cornershops in between)

Guess I'm just looking for general motivation and ideas and is anyone else in the same boat, what do you do? Have you been successful?

Thanks!!

Replies

  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
    I answered in your other thread; http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10658228/just-20-lbs-so-close-yet-so-far
  • Wendyanneroberts
    Wendyanneroberts Posts: 270 Member
    Don't know your stats, (male, female, height & weight, daily activitity) but 1,200 calories is the lowest amount mfp recommends. It may not be suitable for you, especially if your now active. Did you enter your statistics into mfp correctly or did you just pick a low calorie target, thinking that was needed for weight loss? A lot of people have/are losing weight successfully on a higher calorie allowance.

    Personally I love salads and therefore eat a lot of them, but that's by choice. Why do you think you have to eat salads? especially if you don't like them.
  • bjcampbell627
    bjcampbell627 Posts: 8 Member
    Hey there! No I do love salads, I just don't feel like a light salad would be enough to sustain me. It was partially a joke :) I am referring to eating light enough to keep to 1200 calories a day, really.
    Im female, 32, 5 foot 0 and 10st4.
    Yes I put the lowest activity level because I want to add the exercise. If I put something like 'active' then I'm worried that any additional exercise I add will overestimate my calories burned. I have always gotten confused about the activity factor in that regard.

  • Wendyanneroberts
    Wendyanneroberts Posts: 270 Member
    Sorry, didn't realise your salad comment was a joke. Now understand what you meant.

    Having a calorie target, that is to low won't fuel your body correctly, can cause health problems, plus it is more likely set you up to fail. Mfp is designed to use your job for daily activitity levels. Then you are meant to add, any additional exercise (outside of work/gardening) separately, e.g., if you go for a run or swimming etc. It sounds to me as if your daily job, is currently active and will last through the summer months.

    If so, try re-entering your stats into mfp, with active and either 0.5lb or 1lb a week weight loss. This will increase your calorie target and help you to succeed. Use this new target for a few weeks and see how you feel and monitor weight loss. This in turn will provide you with your own data, then you can make any adjustments as necessary. It's about developing healthy, sustainable habits, for long term health.

    I noticed your other thread, if I'm right you were eating around 2,500 calories per day and maintaining your current weight. If so you should be able to lose weight on more than 1,200 calories per day. Looking at your usual way of eating and then making small adjustments helps.

    You can message me privately, should you wish for mutual help and encouragement, on mfp.
  • bjcampbell627
    bjcampbell627 Posts: 8 Member
    Hi, yes that's what I thought. Of course it makes sense that if I'm maintaining my weight on around that then I will lose weight if I eat less...
    I think just instinctively I feel as though I need to starve in order to lose weight, then do and give up.
    I realise I have ended up double posting, just I thought perhaps my post was becoming a too intricate for 'introduce yourself'.
    Thanks for the help, I'm going with the 1800 a day. To be honest that feels like enough of a struggle!
    I think cutting out oil will probably help, I tend to use a lot in cooking, more than I realised.

  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    If you're active, 1200 is too low...people get 1200 when they set their activity level to sedentary with a 1.5 - 2 Lb rate of loss target.
    bjcampbell627 wrote: »
    Hey there! No I do love salads, I just don't feel like a light salad would be enough to sustain me. It was partially a joke :) I am referring to eating light enough to keep to 1200 calories a day, really.
    Im female, 32, 5 foot 0 and 10st4.
    Yes I put the lowest activity level because I want to add the exercise. If I put something like 'active' then I'm worried that any additional exercise I add will overestimate my calories burned. I have always gotten confused about the activity factor in that regard.

    If you're gardening, you aren't sedentary...you can still put yourself as more active because your day to day is active and then log deliberate exercise.

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