HELP PLEASE

clarkelisem
clarkelisem Posts: 3 Member
edited November 2024 in Getting Started
Hi! My name is Elise. I'm 25, 5'1' and roughly 158 pounds. I have a morning desk job, but I shop for and deliver groceries in the afternoons/evenings/on weekends, and I currently exercise 6 days a week. I use a fitbit, and have recently begun using myfitnesspal. I have never been what I would call sedentary but I have been overweight all my life. I am what's called 'metabolically healthy obese', meaning though my BMI is classified as obese my waist is less than 35 inches (33) and I have no weight related health problems. I really want to lose 20 pounds, but after 2 weeks straight of diet and exercise, I haven't seen one pound or inch lost. I don't expect this to be a quick process, but it's odd to me that I haven't seen any results whatsoever yet. I've tried losing the weight about a hundred times and I usually would have lost a few pounds by now. I'm not sure how many calories I need to be eating, but myfitnesspal has me at 1220 and that's what I've been eating. I log all my food and beverages. I've been alternating between 21 Day Fix workouts, jogging, resistance band training, tabata, and most recently jump rope. I feel much better in body and mind but I'm starting to get discouraged. Also confused on how to calculate a calorie deficit. Is that simply the food cals recorded on myfitnesspal minus strictly exercise cals, or am I supposed to factor in the total daily projection of calories burned just by existing? I'm so confused and need help!

Replies

  • angel7472
    angel7472 Posts: 317 Member
    Please read this and then if you have anymore questions please feel free to ask.

    https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1080242/a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants/p1

    Good luck :)
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    Two weeks is a bit early to get worried, but if you want to open your diary we may be able to help you rule out any issues with logging that may impact your success.

    MFP already factors in the calories you burn just through existing when it gave you the initial calorie goal. You don't have to factor those in. It gives you those calories plus what it estimates you will burn through activity (based on the activity level you entered) to give you a goal that puts you at a deficit. If you increase the size of that deficit through exercise, MFP is designed for you to eat those calories back.

    So if your goal is 1,220 and you burn 150 calories during a 21 Day Fix workout or jogging, your new goal is 1,370.
  • clarkelisem
    clarkelisem Posts: 3 Member
    That makes a lot more sense! How do I open my diary?

    Like I said, not too worried and I plan to continue. Just want to know I'm not doing anything wrong :)
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    clarkelisem wrote: »
    That makes a lot more sense! How do I open my diary?

    Like I said, not too worried and I plan to continue. Just want to know I'm not doing anything wrong :)

    Go to Settings (top of the screen) and then choose "Diary Settings." You should see the option there.
  • estherdragonbat
    estherdragonbat Posts: 5,283 Member
    edited July 2018
    You may be pursuing too aggressive a target. With 20 lbs to lose, you shouldn't be aiming for more than 1lb/week (and down to 0.5/week once you're 15 above target). I say this as a 5'3" woman currently on 1360 to lose 1/2lb/week.

    Eating too little won't keep you from losing weight; if you've heard about "starvation mode", forget it. That one's a myth. But it CAN slow you down because:
    • Prolonged eating at too aggressive a deficit can cause hunger spikes, which makes you likelier to binge
    • Without sufficient calories, you tend not to move around as much, so your exercise burns will be less than you think.

    How are you measuring your food? Cups and spoons are fine for liquids, but less accurate for solids. With relatively little to lose, you want to be as accurate as possible and for that, you need a kitchen scale.

    If you started ramping up your exercise two weeks ago, you may be retaining water. It'll pass.
  • clarkelisem
    clarkelisem Posts: 3 Member
    estherdragonbat wrote: »
    You may be pursuing too aggressive a target. With 20 lbs to lose, you shouldn't be aiming for more than 1lb/week (and down to 0.5/week once you're 15 above target). I say this as a 5'3" woman currently on 1360 to lose 1/2lb/week.

    Eating too little won't keep you from losing weight; if you've heard about "starvation mode", forget it. That one's a myth. But it CAN slow you down because:
    • Prolonged eating at too aggressive a deficit can cause hunger spikes, which makes you likelier to binge
    • Without sufficient calories, you tend not to move around as much, so your exercise burns will be less than you think.

    How are you measuring your food? Cups and spoons are fine for liquids, but less accurate for solids. With relatively little to lose, you want to be as accurate as possible and for that, you need a kitchen scale.

    If you started ramping up your exercise two weeks ago, you may be retaining water. It'll pass.


    My target is 1 pound a week :) I'm just saying that in the past it hasn't taken me this long to lose a few and I don't want anything to inhibit progress.

    I'm following the calorie recommendation but I'm not sure it's enough for my activity level. That's another thing that has me conflicted - myfitnesspal says one thing, internet says another.

    I use cups as well as a kitchen scale! I'm unfortunately not new to the attempting weight loss game so I have all kinds of equipment and tools already, haha.
  • estherdragonbat
    estherdragonbat Posts: 5,283 Member
    Gotcha. I set my activity level to sedentary, log all the exercise I get and eat back half the extra calories. MFP can overestimate burned calories, hence the 50%; the rest is a cushion against inaccuracies in either food or exercise amounts.

    It could be water weight. Or hormones. If so, it'll whoosh away soon.
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