March Bride 2020

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lconnor4218
lconnor4218 Posts: 9 Member
in Introduce Yourself
I'm new to myfitnesspal and am looking for some support in the community I've never gone on a calorie-restrictive diet before and I'm having a tough time staying motivated. How did you stay motivated when beginning a diet? I understand it needs to be lifestyle-focused but I'd like to jumpstart my weight loss and lose 14lbs for my wedding on March 21st. That is 14 lbs in eight weeks. I think it is a pretty manageable amount and can be done in a healthy way...but like I said I'm struggling and need a little help!

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  • erinmarieee15
    erinmarieee15 Posts: 2 Member
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    Hey there! My name is Erin and I am a July Bride 2020! Congrats on your upcoming wedding. I started quite awhile ago on this journey and lost about 15 pounds from just cutting out dairy and gluten from my diet. You would be surprised how this alone can help you lose weight right away. I also go to the gym 2-3 times each week now, but I lost the 15 pounds even before incorporating the gym! I would definitely watch your portions that you have and don't have any processed foods, whole foods are the way to go! I wish you the best luck with your journey! You got this!
  • BigBonedBear
    BigBonedBear Posts: 15 Member
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    Definitely doable. This app will help you achieve it. Set up your goal as two pounds a week weight loss and stick close to the calories recommended per day. Little exercising let’s you eat more food 😉
  • lconnor4218
    lconnor4218 Posts: 9 Member
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    Thanks both of you! Its day four now and i've noticed that I don't feel nearly as hungry as I did at first. I've upped my carbs today a little and I can tell it is affecting me... bigger shift in cravings. Just noticing the difference.. it's pretty amazing how much more planning I have to do to stick to low-cal since it seems like any restraunt in my area has overly large portions in comparison to what I'm trying to stick to. I'm doing 1200 calories a day and haven't gone over yet i've been balancing my diet with my (very low) exercise the times I go over. I plan on working out more too but I havent got into a habit yet.
  • Nony_Mouse
    Nony_Mouse Posts: 5,646 Member
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    BigBonedBear wrote: »
    Definitely doable. This app will help you achieve it. Set up your goal as two pounds a week weight loss and stick close to the calories recommended per day. Little exercising let’s you eat more food 😉

    Two lbs per week is only appropriate for those which more than 75 lbs to lose.

    OP, IMHO, 14lbs in 8 weeks is pushing it, particularly if you are close to, or already within, your health weight range. I'm assuming you want to look radiant on your wedding day and enjoy yourself? Rapid weight lose is not the way to do that.
  • Nony_Mouse
    Nony_Mouse Posts: 5,646 Member
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    8ahioluaz60b.png
  • tinkerbellang83
    tinkerbellang83 Posts: 9,107 Member
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    Nony_Mouse wrote: »
    BigBonedBear wrote: »
    Definitely doable. This app will help you achieve it. Set up your goal as two pounds a week weight loss and stick close to the calories recommended per day. Little exercising let’s you eat more food 😉

    Two lbs per week is only appropriate for those which more than 75 lbs to lose.

    OP, IMHO, 14lbs in 8 weeks is pushing it, particularly if you are close to, or already within, your health weight range. I'm assuming you want to look radiant on your wedding day and enjoy yourself? Rapid weight lose is not the way to do that.

    This^

    I'd focus more on a small deficit and some strength training to improve your body composition, rather than a larger deficit that is aimed at an obese person not someone with vanity weight to shift.

    If you have a fitted dress, bear in mind you're also going to be fitted probably a few weeks before your wedding, so you don't want drastic changes to weight between the last fitting and your wedding.

  • lconnor4218
    lconnor4218 Posts: 9 Member
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    Nony_Mouse wrote: »
    8ahioluaz60b.png

    Well let's see, I am 169lbs, 5'6" and 27yo according to what I can find online with "ideal weight calculators" and "healthy weight range" my "ideal weight" would be 130-135 and the healthy BMI range for my weight/height/age is anywhere between 114-154.9. I know my body type and since my twenties have considered my peak health and fitness weight to be 140-145. That accounts for carrying muscle (which I build pretty easily). So overall weight loss journey to maintenance would be 25-30lbs total. Now obviously that is unrealistic to reach before my wedding and I wouldn't even shoot for it by then, but that would put me in the -500 calories a day slot. Now my calculated BMR for when I am sedentary is around -500cal so that works out to 1200cal/day unless I am missing something.

    Like maybe as I start to lose weight I should eat more, scale my calories to stay in the range?

    Days that I am exercising I eat up the rest of the range with extra portions in my meals or snacks throughout the day. I don't drink alcohol at all or use any drugs (weed) that would cause me to overeat or fill up on empty calories and rarely eat sugary stuff (just because it isn't my habit). I gained weight through overeating/eating as much as I did when exercising but being sedentary instead.


  • lconnor4218
    lconnor4218 Posts: 9 Member
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    So it seems like 11-12lbs is a more realistic goal since I started a week ago.
  • Nony_Mouse
    Nony_Mouse Posts: 5,646 Member
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    lconnor4218 wrote: »
    Nony_Mouse wrote: »
    8ahioluaz60b.png

    Well let's see, I am 169lbs, 5'6" and 27yo according to what I can find online with "ideal weight calculators" and "healthy weight range" my "ideal weight" would be 130-135 and the healthy BMI range for my weight/height/age is anywhere between 114-154.9. I know my body type and since my twenties have considered my peak health and fitness weight to be 140-145. That accounts for carrying muscle (which I build pretty easily). So overall weight loss journey to maintenance would be 25-30lbs total. Now obviously that is unrealistic to reach before my wedding and I wouldn't even shoot for it by then, but that would put me in the -500 calories a day slot. Now my calculated BMR for when I am sedentary is around -500cal so that works out to 1200cal/day unless I am missing something.

    Like maybe as I start to lose weight I should eat more, scale my calories to stay in the range?

    Days that I am exercising I eat up the rest of the range with extra portions in my meals or snacks throughout the day. I don't drink alcohol at all or use any drugs (weed) that would cause me to overeat or fill up on empty calories and rarely eat sugary stuff (just because it isn't my habit). I gained weight through overeating/eating as much as I did when exercising but being sedentary instead.


    Are you actually sedentary though? Few people are. I have a chronic health condition in which fatigue is a major factor (so I'm sitting on my butt a lot or even lying down, with not a lot of incidental movement), average 5000 steps a day, am your height and 20 years older, and am losing on 1500 (based on weight loss, I'm at about a 600 cal deficit). I am heavier than you, but the age difference pretty much cancels out the difference that makes to calorie needs.

    I totally get that you want to look good for your big day, it would just really suck if your weight loss is too aggressive, because that can take a while to show (like, you're not going to feel it in the next couple of weeks), and can take quite a while to come back from even once you correct.

    It's great that you are eating your exercise cals back though! Sooooo many newbies get that bit wrong to start.
  • lconnor4218
    lconnor4218 Posts: 9 Member
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    Ooh, I somehow didn't put in that my BMR was calculated to be 1800cal so -500cal would put me at 1200cal. I do realize that online calculators are not medical advice and may not perfectly represent reality. If I am super hungry I just go over by a few hundred calories. I've hit the barely under (within 10 cal) of my goal a few times this week but have ended up about 250cals over a few times as well. so maybe that's my body telling me that I really sit closer to 2000cal BMR?
    I'm only going to weigh myself once a week so if tomorrow shows I've lost more than a pound this week I'll scale up my calorie goal to match.
  • Nony_Mouse
    Nony_Mouse Posts: 5,646 Member
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    lconnor4218 wrote: »
    Ooh, I somehow didn't put in that my BMR was calculated to be 1800cal so -500cal would put me at 1200cal. I do realize that online calculators are not medical advice and may not perfectly represent reality. If I am super hungry I just go over by a few hundred calories. I've hit the barely under (within 10 cal) of my goal a few times this week but have ended up about 250cals over a few times as well. so maybe that's my body telling me that I really sit closer to 2000cal BMR?
    I'm only going to weigh myself once a week so if tomorrow shows I've lost more than a pound this week I'll scale up my calorie goal to match.

    First, you subtract the 500 from your TDEE (total daily energy expenditure), or using MFP from your NEAT (non exercise activity thermogenesis) then add the exercise cals. For your stats, if you are truly sedentary outside of exercise (which again, I doubt), your TDEE averaged across several calculation methods is approximately 1861. Bumping you to slightly active (which is where I sit, based on my weight loss results), your TDEE would be 2133. Personally, I think that's likely a much better number for you (so cal intake around 1600).

    I wouldn't go making changes based on tomorrow's weight though (aside from my suggested increase). First week people often lose a chunk of water weight, which muddies the picture. If you've just restarted exercise, you may also retain fluid for muscle repair. And depending where you are in your monthly cycle, that can also affect water weight. Really, you need four to six weeks of weight loss data in order to make an assessment, possibly more if you're only weighing weekly (I weigh daily, and use a trending app to smooth out the fluctuations).
  • lconnor4218
    lconnor4218 Posts: 9 Member
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    Nony_Mouse wrote: »
    lconnor4218 wrote: »
    Ooh, I somehow didn't put in that my BMR was calculated to be 1800cal so -500cal would put me at 1200cal. I do realize that online calculators are not medical advice and may not perfectly represent reality. If I am super hungry I just go over by a few hundred calories. I've hit the barely under (within 10 cal) of my goal a few times this week but have ended up about 250cals over a few times as well. so maybe that's my body telling me that I really sit closer to 2000cal BMR?
    I'm only going to weigh myself once a week so if tomorrow shows I've lost more than a pound this week I'll scale up my calorie goal to match.

    First, you subtract the 500 from your TDEE (total daily energy expenditure), or using MFP from your NEAT (non exercise activity thermogenesis) then add the exercise cals. For your stats, if you are truly sedentary outside of exercise (which again, I doubt), your TDEE averaged across several calculation methods is approximately 1861. Bumping you to slightly active (which is where I sit, based on my weight loss results), your TDEE would be 2133. Personally, I think that's likely a much better number for you (so cal intake around 1600).

    I wouldn't go making changes based on tomorrow's weight though (aside from my suggested increase). First week people often lose a chunk of water weight, which muddies the picture. If you've just restarted exercise, you may also retain fluid for muscle repair. And depending where you are in your monthly cycle, that can also affect water weight. Really, you need four to six weeks of weight loss data in order to make an assessment, possibly more if you're only weighing weekly (I weigh daily, and use a trending app to smooth out the fluctuations).

    Thank you! I'm more interested in sustainable loss than messing up my metabolism in the name of a good look on my wedding day. I still very much hope that i'll be slimmer by then but it is more about the shape my body is than pounds lost. If I'm amping up my excercise I hope to shift my weight into muscle as well.
  • Nony_Mouse
    Nony_Mouse Posts: 5,646 Member
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    lconnor4218 wrote: »
    Nony_Mouse wrote: »
    lconnor4218 wrote: »
    Ooh, I somehow didn't put in that my BMR was calculated to be 1800cal so -500cal would put me at 1200cal. I do realize that online calculators are not medical advice and may not perfectly represent reality. If I am super hungry I just go over by a few hundred calories. I've hit the barely under (within 10 cal) of my goal a few times this week but have ended up about 250cals over a few times as well. so maybe that's my body telling me that I really sit closer to 2000cal BMR?
    I'm only going to weigh myself once a week so if tomorrow shows I've lost more than a pound this week I'll scale up my calorie goal to match.

    First, you subtract the 500 from your TDEE (total daily energy expenditure), or using MFP from your NEAT (non exercise activity thermogenesis) then add the exercise cals. For your stats, if you are truly sedentary outside of exercise (which again, I doubt), your TDEE averaged across several calculation methods is approximately 1861. Bumping you to slightly active (which is where I sit, based on my weight loss results), your TDEE would be 2133. Personally, I think that's likely a much better number for you (so cal intake around 1600).

    I wouldn't go making changes based on tomorrow's weight though (aside from my suggested increase). First week people often lose a chunk of water weight, which muddies the picture. If you've just restarted exercise, you may also retain fluid for muscle repair. And depending where you are in your monthly cycle, that can also affect water weight. Really, you need four to six weeks of weight loss data in order to make an assessment, possibly more if you're only weighing weekly (I weigh daily, and use a trending app to smooth out the fluctuations).

    Thank you! I'm more interested in sustainable loss than messing up my metabolism in the name of a good look on my wedding day. I still very much hope that i'll be slimmer by then but it is more about the shape my body is than pounds lost. If I'm amping up my excercise I hope to shift my weight into muscle as well.

    This is what we like to hear :)

    And yep, I'd concentrate on strength training. You'll drop a few lbs of fat with your sensible deficit, and firm up some from the training. And you will look so much better than if you under eat for the next 8 weeks. Glowing, beautiful bride, you shall be!
  • lconnor4218
    lconnor4218 Posts: 9 Member
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    Ahg. It is frustrating that the number on the scale has not budged even a tenth of a pound from last week.

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