just started need advice please

I watch them all really... but excuse the sugar (if it's fruit to an extent... it still shouldn't be FAR over) and the protein. I definitely watch the sodium because that makes me retain water.

I agree with Eleisabelle. I watch mainly my calories as well as exercise. To make it easier on myself, I only count calories Monday - Thursday and those are the days when I allow myself 1 soda (diet) a day. Friday - Sunday, I don't go crazy but, I allow myself some foods that I wouldn't usually. I'm lost almost 12 lbs so far doing this. And don't get discouraged if your weight loss isn't as rapid as the first week. It's normal. I also make it a habit to set short term weight loss goals (10 lbs at a time) and weigh myself every Friday morning.

This is all the help I can give!

"So often people personal message me asking me if I think their calories are correct. It seems that people think there is some magical formula that only a very few can figure out. I see so many people on here just popping in numbers and following them heedless of what the numbers mean. I feel it's ULTRA important to know why MFP (and me, and a few others) gives you certain numbers. To that end I will try to empower YOU to be able to understand the basics about calories, calorie deficits, and why we recommend eating exercise calories. With this knowledge you should be able to easily figure out what your calories should be at for reasonable, healthy weight loss. So without further ado, lets get started.

1st things first, a few givens must be stated:

-Everyone's body is slightly different. ALWAYS keep in mind your numbers may not be exactly what MFP thinks simply because everyone's bodies all burn energy at a different rate. Tweaking may be needed.

- MFP's goals wizard is a "dumb" tool. That means it doesn't care whether a specific goal is healthy and/or right for you, it just subtracts the goal deficit from projected maintenance calories. This means that even if you shouldn't be trying for a 2 lb a week loss, MFP won't care, it will still try to help you get there.

-1200 calories is a generic number. It's not right for everyone. It's a baseline minimum given out as a floor by MFP based on prior research by the medical community. NOT everyone will need a minimum of 1200, very small people can go under, and bigger people need more.


OK with those facts firmly set in your mind (please go back and re-read the givens until you have them firmly planted in your skull!), we can continue. Figuring out your perfect deficit isn't magic, it's a few simple formula's base on some basic, worldwide standards, and generally with slight modefication, will work for just about anyone who (besides weight) is generally healthy.

Here's what you need:
Height, weight, age, activity level, sex

NOTE: activity level isn't as mysterious as it sounds. If you have a desk job, and do very little walking throughout the day and don't really perform any sports or physical activities, then you are sedentary, if you do some walking every day (or at least 4 days a week) or other light activity for at least 30 minutes cumulative at least 4 times a week, you are lightly active. If you do 60 minutes of light activity 5 days a week or do some kind of sport that requires walking or light jogging (say swimming or mailman or warehouse employee) then you are active, If you do a physically demanding activity (one that makes you sweat) for 4 days a week or more and for more than 1 hour a day, you are very active (like a coach that runs drills or you play volleyball). When in doubt, go down 1 level, you'd rather burn more than you think than less.

With all these numbers you can generate your BMI. Now I realize BMI is flawed, but for what we're doing it's good enough. After years on here, and doing lots and lots of research, I've been able to associate general BMI ranges with approximate goal levels. This works for about 80 to 85% of people out there (there's always a few that are outside the curve).

So now we can figure out where your goal should be.
Go to the tools section and figure out your BMI:

Generally someone with a BMI over 32 can do a 1000 calorie a day (2 lbs a week) deficit
With a BMI of 30 to 32 a deficit of 750 calories is generally correct (about 1.5 lbs a week)
With a BMI of 28 to 30 a deficit of 500 calories is about right (about 1 lb a week)
With a BMI of 26 to 28 a deficit of about 300 calories is perfect (about 1/2 lb a week)
and below 26... well this is where we get fuzzy. See now you're no longer talking about being overweight, so while it's still ok to have a small deficit, you really should shift your focus more towards muscle building, and reducing fat. This means it is EXTRA important to eat your exercise calories as your body needs to KNOW it's ok to burn fat stores, and the only way it will know is if you keep giving it the calories it needs to not enter the famine response (starvation mode).

With this quick guide you can figure out your goal rather easily. I know many people will say "I can't eat my exercise calories, I gain weight when I do". Well I have news for you, that's not correct. I submit this, if you eat your exercise calories and gain weight 1 of 3 things happened:
1 you were previously in starvation mode, and you upped your calories, and had an immediate weight gain, that's normal, to be expected, and necessary to get your body on track. Give it a month, that will stop, and you, once again, will begin to lose, but this time, in a healthy manner.
2 you incorrectly calculated something, either your exercise calories, your calorie intake, or you put in to large of a goal. Go back and check all your numbers.
3 you haven't given it enough time to work. This site promotes HEALTHY weight loss people. Healthy weight loss doesn't happen in days or weeks, it takes months and years. Each change you make in how you eat needs a month or more to work, be patient, give it time. It will happen.

And to everyone who has a trainer that doesn't agree with eating your exercise calories. I also submit this: In 90% of the cases (and I have talked to a LOT of trainers about this exact topic) they actually DO agree with this method, you just explained it wrong.
Just saying to a trainer "should I eat my exercise calories?" isn't enough, you have to explain to them that MFP already generates a deficit prior to any exercise, therefore the deficit will remain whether you exercise or not. Once you give them that idea, and you are relatively sure they understand the concept then I'll bet they change their tune.

I hope this helps, it's pretty straight forward if you've been here a while, and to you new guys, I recommend going to the message boards link, clicking on the "general diet and weight loss" area, and clicking on those first few posts that have the little mouse trap next to them, they are sticky and will always be there, and are a wealth of knowledge about this site, exercise calories, starvation mode...etc.

regards,

-Banks"

"Well, I have recently seen many people questioning the idea of eating your goal calories and/or eating exercise calories so I thought I would offer up a quick reminder for both the newbies on here who are confused about caloric intake and some of our more seasoned members who may have forgotten. I'll be as brief as possible. (sorry if this gets long, I'll break it up to make it easier to read)

1)
Every single person on here loses weight differently, but there are a few common factors everyone. The first is that we all have a metabolism, governed by how much energy we give it, how active we are, genetic makeup, and the type of energy we give it. With that in mind MFP has a relatively easy to use goals calculator that will give you the amount of food you should eat to lose the weight you desire and become more healthy.

2)
The relationship to your BMI (as flawed as that measurement is) and how much you can lose is real and governs much of your weight loss. People with a BMI over 30 (classified as obese) can lose weight faster then people that are under that number (generally speaking, see number 1) 2 lbs a week or more is realistic for obese people. Trying to lose 2 lbs a week for someone with a BMI under 30 is much more difficult, as well as much more time consuming.

3)
Starvation mode is REAL. It can and does happen. You should keep close tabs on where your BMR calories is. If you are under the obesity level then please try to stay (at a minimum) at your BMR. The goals calculator WILL account for weight you want to lose, don't think you can up the stakes by eating less, it doesn't work. And if you exercise, realize that you are creating a larger deficite, and make sure you eat your exercise calories.

4)
(This is one I see all the time) If you are close (say within 25 lbs or so) of your goal weight, 2 lbs a week is probably unrealistic. The human body knows where it's equalibrium is, attempting to go below it is a difficult, and frustrating process, 2 lbs a week (what ever you may think) is a drastic strategy for someone near their goal and usually doesn't happen. As you approach your goals, slow down your attempt at loss, try for 1 lb a week or less, it will give your body time to adjust it's chemistry more gradually, keep you healthy, and lessen your frustration.

5)
1200 calories is a number that doctors and nutritionists have made up based on averages. It's not a line in the sand. Your starvation calories depends on your body. For me that line is somewhere around 2000 calories, for a really small woman, it could be 1000, Generally it's somewhere around 1000 calories less then your maintenance weight. But being dynamic systems, some of our bodies can tolerate more or less. Be smart about your weight loss, use your common sense, if you're not losing weight and your at or below a 1000 calorie deficite, then think logically and up your calories a little, and keep upping them until you see improvement.

6)
Lastly, the human body has a 5 lb swing daily. That means that on any given 24 hour period yo can go from 5 lbs above your "real" weight to 5 lbs below. Due to water weight, and waste we can swing quite a bit. The scale is a generalist at best, good for an Idea of where you are, but not very good at calculating exact measurements. I generally recommend weighing yourself no more then once every 2 weeks, at the same time, same day every week. Use other measurements along with this, I.E. size measurments, Body Fat %, and over all fitness level to make up the difference.

NOTE: I'm not a doctor or a certified nutritionist, but I have done a large amount of research on this, and have spoken with my doctor and 2 separate nutritionists on this topic. NONE of which has ever recommended a 2 lb a week weight loss without doctor supervision. Even after direct questioning about this they all agreed that 2 lbs a week is an EXTREME stragegy and, for most people who are in the healthy BMI range, an unrealistic goal to set (with some obvious exceptions, like an extremely large person overall)
"




A lot of reading to do but it's good reading!