I must not be doing this right?
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Styles111
Posts: 9 Member
OK just to start yes I probably I’m not doing this right I started MFP about 28 days ago I have been on the 1200 MFP and on the weekends I decided to have like a cheat day however on the first week it worked I lost 3 pounds the next week maybe .2 and if I understand things right a calorie is a calorie and I’m at the 1200 or maybe a little bit lower due to I’m just I’m full I work out five days a At least 40 minutes to an hour and i am 5’2 medium build 48-year-old woman that is in very good shape I’ve been trying to get back to 138 pounds but I’m pretty much stuck at 144 , now I’m at 143 I started at 146.6 let’s just go for a straight 147 now am I not smart enough to realize that every calorie I put my mouth has to come directly from protein fat carb equally I know I feel like a complete idiot being so detailed but I need help , I don’t know what I’m doing wrong I do like to have beer but I don’t think I’m too excessive I don’t drink it during the week I usually would have some like on Saturday please any suggestions would be great I want to be successful and if I’m doing it wrong please let me know because I hate wasting time doing things wrong thank you for your consideration.
Also because I’m new to all of us if you want to look at my diet and help me please tell me how LOL , Shanie
Also because I’m new to all of us if you want to look at my diet and help me please tell me how LOL , Shanie
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Replies
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You are only trying to lose a few lbs, so your rate of loss will be slow. You should expect @ 0.5lbs per week. That small a change can easily hide behind normal water weight fluctuations, so you really can't expect to see the scale say what you'd expect every week, unfortunately. It sounds like if you look at the big picture, you've lost 4 lbs in a month, which is kind of awesome! Your weight naturally fluctuates all the time (especially for women) so when you don't have a lot of weight to lose you really have to wade through those fluctuations and look at the longer term.
Macros are really personal preference, the defaults are fine if you want. You could start making a note on any days where you are really hungry and struggle to stick to your goal, or days where you easily hit it, and if you start to notice a pattern, tweak accordingly. But your macro distribution, and the individual foods you eat, don't directly affect how much weight you lose. They can affect satiety, and obviously health though.
Check out the Most Helpful Posts thread pinned to the top of each board - there's lots of great beginner info in there about accurate logging, goal setting, what to expect, etc. Good luck!2 -
You have to track your intake correctly in order to know how many calories you're taking in. 1200 calories is very little food, and not losing weight, not hungry, with so much workout, means you're not eating 1200 calories.2
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Looks like you have set yourself to aggressive of a weight loss goal.
MFP is telling you 1200 calories because of the info YOU gave it.
You should be at .5 lbs/week with that amount of weight you have left to lose
I also have less than 10 lbs to lose and I am on .5 lbs/week @ 1380 calories
I still enjoy beer, pizza, fast food, etc. all within my calorie goal.
Also, it's ok to go over once in a while, so don't beat yourself up
edit: I eat 50-75% of my exercise calories back so I am able to eat more food and still lose weight1 -
Thank you all so much i will not give up .. again thank you1
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Hi, I think every person is different. When it comes to weight loss, you have to find a weight loss program that fits you and the way your body works. Not sure if you tried the KETO DIET, but Im doing the KETO DIET and I'm doing well, I was weighing 198 and after 9 days I lost 10lbs. But KETO DIET is very challenging and the first 2 weeks is very hard, but if you stick with it, your result will be amazing.11
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Every human body works more or less the same way, adheres to physical laws, so everybody loses weight when calories in are fewer than calories out. But we have individual habits and preferences, so the optimal method should be chosen carefully.kimannport47 wrote: »Hi, I think every person is different. When it comes to weight loss, you have to find a weight loss program that fits you and the way your body works. Not sure if you tried the KETO DIET, but Im doing the KETO DIET and I'm doing well, I was weighing 198 and after 9 days I lost 10lbs. But KETO DIET is very challenging and the first 2 weeks is very hard, but if you stick with it, your result will be amazing.
You don't lose 10 pounds of fat in 9 days, most of it was water weight.
Any diet that provides a calorie deficit, produces weightloss if you stick to it. The challenge is sticking to it. Picking the hardest possible diet just doesn't make sense.6 -
How many calories do you eat on a cheat day? I found that my cheat days would set me back because I would eat way over my calories and erase all my progress, so I stopped having a cheat day. Also, are you measuring everything accurately? A lot of people on here suggest getting a food scale to make sure your measurements are accurate (I'm planning to get one soon)2
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Make sure you log all the foods in your 'cheat' day. They when you get your weekly digest, divide the total calories by 7, and see how much of a deficit you're really in....1
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Thanks again for the input , i noticed that i am short on calories from 100-350 each day , I usually exercise right now an hour which will give me around a 400-700 calorie burn , however I have noticed in the past if I only workout 30 to 40 minutes I would tend to lose more weight ( now that i think about it ) so I’m wondering if it’s just too much of a calorie deficit, and actually I would like to be down to about 135 - 132 for my height and build.. I did not work out today today was exhausting I was at the doctors with my mom all day and thankfully her health is very good, I made it a point to eat all my food only have 10 cal to go..
thank you so much for the ideas about tweaking really thinking about things .. Shanie0 -
It's not so much that more exercise gives you a too large calorie deficit, its's more thatThanks again for the input , i noticed that i am short on calories from 100-350 each day , I usually exercise right now an hour which will give me around a 400-700 calorie burn , however I have noticed in the past if I only workout 30 to 40 minutes I would tend to lose more weight ( now that i think about it ) so I’m wondering if it’s just too much of a calorie deficit, and actually I would like to be down to about 135 - 132 for my height and build.. I did not work out today today was exhausting I was at the doctors with my mom all day and thankfully her health is very good, I made it a point to eat all my food only have 10 cal to go..
thank you so much for the ideas about tweaking really thinking about things .. Shanie
1. Too much exercise can make you tired so you move less throughout the day (and normal daily activity is way more important than deliberate exercise), or more hungry so you eat more, or feel virtuous so you reward yourself with food, or resentful so you comfort yourself with food - not necessarily knowingly, much eating is done mindlessly, through "cheating" and "self sabotage".
2. Being sore means your muscles retain water for repair, and that water weight turns up on the scale.
3. Calorie numbers from exercise might be inflated, so if you eat all of them back, your deficit will be smaller than if you didn't exercise and thus don't eat back anything.
4. Eating too little makes you eat too much later, and not just to make up for it, but a lot more. That's why many people weigh more every time they start a new diet.2 -
Thanks again for the input , i noticed that i am short on calories from 100-350 each day , I usually exercise right now an hour which will give me around a 400-700 calorie burn , however I have noticed in the past if I only workout 30 to 40 minutes I would tend to lose more weight ( now that i think about it ) so I’m wondering if it’s just too much of a calorie deficit, and actually I would like to be down to about 135 - 132 for my height and build.. I did not work out today today was exhausting I was at the doctors with my mom all day and thankfully her health is very good, I made it a point to eat all my food only have 10 cal to go..
thank you so much for the ideas about tweaking really thinking about things .. Shanie
What exercise are you doing that gives you up to 700 cals burn for an hour?0 -
kimannport47 wrote: »Hi, I think every person is different. When it comes to weight loss, you have to find a weight loss program that fits you and the way your body works. Not sure if you tried the KETO DIET, but Im doing the KETO DIET and I'm doing well, I was weighing 198 and after 9 days I lost 10lbs. But KETO DIET is very challenging and the first 2 weeks is very hard, but if you stick with it, your result will be amazing.
Every human loses weight by creating a calorie deficit.
Keto doesn't automatically cause weight loss. A Calorie deficit is still needed in order to lose weight.
If you like keto then that's great, go for it! But your post is making it seem like keto alone caused you to lose weight. ( Besides the initial water weight loss) and you left out that creating a caloric deficit is what really causes weight loss. Calories in Calories out.
I think keto can be a good tool for those that enjoy eating that way. Keto can help those people create a calorie deficit needed for weight loss. Keto alone won't cause weight loss though, a Calorie deficit is needed.4 -
TavistockToad wrote: »Thanks again for the input , i noticed that i am short on calories from 100-350 each day , I usually exercise right now an hour which will give me around a 400-700 calorie burn , however I have noticed in the past if I only workout 30 to 40 minutes I would tend to lose more weight ( now that i think about it ) so I’m wondering if it’s just too much of a calorie deficit, and actually I would like to be down to about 135 - 132 for my height and build.. I did not work out today today was exhausting I was at the doctors with my mom all day and thankfully her health is very good, I made it a point to eat all my food only have 10 cal to go..
thank you so much for the ideas about tweaking really thinking about things .. Shanie
What exercise are you doing that gives you up to 700 cals burn for an hour?
I was wondering the same thing. I'm around the same weight as the op currently and it would be extremely difficult for me to burn 700 in an hour. I'm not even capable of doing it, I'd probably pass out. Lol1 -
Haha i know right ! However we all can just do the best that we can , consistently i feel is the key here .. 😊0
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kommodevaran wrote: »
It's not so much that more exercise gives you a too large calorie deficit, its's more thatThanks again for the input , i noticed that i am short on calories from 100-350 each day , I usually exercise right now an hour which will give me around a 400-700 calorie burn , however I have noticed in the past if I only workout 30 to 40 minutes I would tend to lose more weight ( now that i think about it ) so I’m wondering if it’s just too much of a calorie deficit, and actually I would like to be down to about 135 - 132 for my height and build.. I did not work out today today was exhausting I was at the doctors with my mom all day and thankfully her health is very good, I made it a point to eat all my food only have 10 cal to go..
thank you so much for the ideas about tweaking really thinking about things .. Shanie
1. Too much exercise can make you tired so you move less throughout the day (and normal daily activity is way more important than deliberate exercise), or more hungry so you eat more, or feel virtuous so you reward yourself with food, or resentful so you comfort yourself with food - not necessarily knowingly, much eating is done mindlessly, through "cheating" and "self sabotage".
2. Being sore means your muscles retain water for repair, and that water weight turns up on the scale.
3. Calorie numbers from exercise might be inflated, so if you eat all of them back, your deficit will be smaller than if you didn't exercise and thus don't eat back anything.
4. Eating too little makes you eat too much later, and not just to make up for it, but a lot more. That's why many people weigh more every time they start a new diet.TavistockToad wrote: »Thanks again for the input , i noticed that i am short on calories from 100-350 each day , I usually exercise right now an hour which will give me around a 400-700 calorie burn , however I have noticed in the past if I only workout 30 to 40 minutes I would tend to lose more weight ( now that i think about it ) so I’m wondering if it’s just too much of a calorie deficit, and actually I would like to be down to about 135 - 132 for my height and build.. I did not work out today today was exhausting I was at the doctors with my mom all day and thankfully her health is very good, I made it a point to eat all my food only have 10 cal to go..
thank you so much for the ideas about tweaking really thinking about things .. Shanie
What exercise are you doing that gives you up to 700 cals burn for an hour?
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You are probably underestimating calories in and overestimating calories out. Are you tracking your food--even your cheat days? How are you estimating your calories burned during exercise?1
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Workout : 20-30 min elliptical moderate intensity (pouring sweat , definitely cannot sing but with effort i can follow the song with some words with effort) 20-30 Spinning bike and then i switch it up with aerobics with weight training .. I really get bored easily so I try to change it up I live here in Florida it is too hot to even begin for me personally to run outside so I try my best with my elliptical to be a closest as I can to a runners pace I usually cannot get past 3.0 to 3.3 right now but I am just out of breath pouring sweat and you know I know that these machines may say oh you burn 350 cal to 400 and it may not be accurate that’s The reality, however I never thought much about not eating back what I burn on other diets it would allow you to have more to eat so that’s insightful for me to think about again you know what I’m really dumb dumb *kitten* so if you’re shaking your head as you read this just know that you’re helping me to understand things better yes originally I was a blonde As a child maybe it’s still following me0
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So.....
If you're very out-of-shape, you can probably burn about 700 calories/hr. However, you probably can't workout at that intensity for an hour.
The fitter you are, the fewer calories you burn for a particular exercise/intensity. If you're really crushing it for an hour, you are likely not burning 700 calories/hr. Your body is an awesome model of efficiency...
Also realize that those machines don't take into account that you would have burned a couple hundred calories in that hour, even if you had been sitting on the couch eating Doritos.
A HR monitor might be a better indicator of what you are burning.
I know after an hour run, it always crushes my dreams of 'free' french fries....1 -
Workout : 20-30 min elliptical moderate intensity (pouring sweat , definitely cannot sing but with effort i can follow the song with some words with effort) 20-30 Spinning bike and then i switch it up with aerobics with weight training .. I really get bored easily so I try to change it up I live here in Florida it is too hot to even begin for me personally to run outside so I try my best with my elliptical to be a closest as I can to a runners pace I usually cannot get past 3.0 to 3.3 right now but I am just out of breath pouring sweat and you know I know that these machines may say oh you burn 350 cal to 400 and it may not be accurate that’s The reality, however I never thought much about not eating back what I burn on other diets it would allow you to have more to eat so that’s insightful for me to think about again you know what I’m really dumb dumb *kitten* so if you’re shaking your head as you read this just know that you’re helping me to understand things better yes originally I was a blonde As a child maybe it’s still following me
sweating is not an indication of how many calories you're burning.0 -
TavistockToad wrote: »Workout : 20-30 min elliptical moderate intensity (pouring sweat , definitely cannot sing but with effort i can follow the song with some words with effort) 20-30 Spinning bike and then i switch it up with aerobics with weight training .. I really get bored easily so I try to change it up I live here in Florida it is too hot to even begin for me personally to run outside so I try my best with my elliptical to be a closest as I can to a runners pace I usually cannot get past 3.0 to 3.3 right now but I am just out of breath pouring sweat and you know I know that these machines may say oh you burn 350 cal to 400 and it may not be accurate that’s The reality, however I never thought much about not eating back what I burn on other diets it would allow you to have more to eat so that’s insightful for me to think about again you know what I’m really dumb dumb *kitten* so if you’re shaking your head as you read this just know that you’re helping me to understand things better yes originally I was a blonde As a child maybe it’s still following me
sweating is not an indication of how many calories you're burning.
Still remember the day someone asked how many calories they were burning in the hot tub.
LOL, I would never get out if that were true.......1
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