Am I starving myself?
Ezza280900
Posts: 11 Member
So I’ve been trying to lose weight for 2 weeks. I can see it in the mirror but not on the scales. I’ve been doing cardio 4x a week and weight lifting 2x times a week or more. I would normally burn around 300-500 calories a day and I normally eat. 800-1000 calories. Should I be eating more??
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Replies
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Well yes you should be eating more but how are you tracking those calories? are you using a food scale ?2
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healthybat28 wrote: »So I’ve been trying to lose weight for 2 weeks. I can see it in the mirror but not on the scales. I’ve been doing cardio 4x a week and weight lifting 2x times a week or more. I would normally burn around 300-500 calories a day and I normally eat. 800-1000 calories. Should I be eating more??
Yes3 -
Yes. Eat more. Also, the scale isn’t the only measure of progress - go by progress photos, how your clothes look/fit, inches lost, etc. There’s some people who start a fitness journey at last say 150 lbs, and scale weight shows they’ve only lost let’s say 10 but look completely different after strength training, etc.1
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Yes you should be eating more than 800-1000 calories, however, eating that little will not stop you from losing weight. If you are truly eating 800-100 and burning 300-500 calories through exercise then you're netting only 500 calories per day which is less than a small child needs.
There is no such thing as "Starvation Mode" so if this is what you're thinking is the reason you've not seen weight loss - it's not, there is what is known as Adaptive Thermogenesis, however, you wouldn't be experiencing this after just 2 weeks in a deficit.
How are you determining your calorie intake (food scale/measuring cups/guessing?) and output (guessing/MFP/fitness tracker).
To lose weight you need to maintain a sustainable calorie deficit over time.
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How much do you think I should be aiming around, calorie wise?
I don’t weigh my food but do keep track on what I eat daily.
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healthybat28 wrote: »How much do you think I should be aiming around, calorie wise?
I don’t weigh my food but do keep track on what I eat daily.
What does MFP give you as a calorie allowance if you put in your stats and choose a rate of loss in line with below?
If you're not weighing your food, you're likely eating more than you think. Can you open your diary to public?
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what did MFP give you to eat for your goals when you entered your information? Aim to eat those calories, plus those given from purposful exercise. weigh your food and enter that information into MFP to gain an accurate picture on how much you are eating. do this for 4-6 weeks, tracking your measurements/take photos/weigh yourself and adjust as required.2
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healthybat28 wrote: »How much do you think I should be aiming around, calorie wise?
I don’t weigh my food but do keep track on what I eat daily.
You're eating more than 800 calories7 -
healthybat28 wrote: »How much do you think I should be aiming around, calorie wise?
I don’t weigh my food but do keep track on what I eat daily.
What are your stats? What is your goal?
MFP will calculate a calorie target for you if you enter all your information and select a rate of loss. If you have less than 50 lbs to lose, 1 lb/week is an appropriate rate and if you have less than 20 lbs to lose, 0.5 lb/week is the recommended rate of loss.
When the calorie goal is calculated it’s important to know that’s a NET calorie target, meaning it doesn’t included exercise, so that when you do exercise you’re supposed to log and eat back those calories.
Using a food scale isn’t required but it’s the best way to ensure accuracy in logging and making sure you’re eating the right amount of calories relative to your goal. When people are frustrated that they aren’t losing at the rate they want, it almost always comes down to inaccurate logging and eating more than they think.
Oh and yes, you need to eat more.2 -
healthybat28 wrote: »How much do you think I should be aiming around, calorie wise?
I don’t weigh my food but do keep track on what I eat daily.
If you don't weigh your food, you don't know what you're actually eating. So you're likely eating more than you think.
Weigh your food, and keep *accurate* logs. Eat at least 1200 calories -- but a true 1200, weighed and accurately tracked.4 -
Yes.0
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healthybat28 wrote: »How much do you think I should be aiming around, calorie wise?
I don’t weigh my food but do keep track on what I eat daily.
Plug your stats into MFP and see what it says. What is your height, current weight, and age. Male or female? Eat your recommended calories and start by eating back 1/2 of exercise calories earned. After about a month, adjust how many you eat back according to your one month results.
Also, you need to weigh your food. Weigh all solids and semi solids (peanut butter, mayo, etc) and measure all liquids except water. There is no way to accurately track your calorie intake without weighing and measuring.3
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