Confused about calories...help?
Elspeth_13
Posts: 4 Member
I just joined after having very limited success on Weight Watchers. MFP put me on a 1200 calorie plan for my weight loss goal of 2 lbs per week, which seemed really low to me and I was scared I would be hungry all the time, but I'm on day two eating the same stuff that was putting me OVER my WW points and I'm not even meeting my 1200 calorie allotment. I was barely losing anything on WW so if I'm needing to eat more now on MFP, am I going to gain? Or was I maybe just eating too few calories before, putting my body into starvation mode? I don't understand how this stuff works...
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The infographic above is helpful when setting goals. Of note - MFP will not give you a goal lower than 1200 calories as that is widely recommended as the lowest amount of calories an adult should consume. I imagine WW has a similar rule.
Without more information I would guess you may need to adjust your expectations, and what you saw on WW may have been an appropriate rate of loss for you.3 -
I don't rate weightwatchers. I was already on MFP when my doctor put me on weightwatchers. I can eat all of my points and only eat 600 calories on WW. I track on both now, and I only know I'm doing it right on MFP. If I was only on WW I could end up very lethargic and unhealthy
I would find it hard to lose weight on 1200 calories alone without exercise.
My maintenance calories are only 1400, so if I didn't exercise and ate 1200 calories, I'd lose less than 1/2 lb a week. With exercising I tend to lose a minimum of 1lb a week.
MFP gives me 1200 calories if I put in 2lb a week, 1lb a week or 1/2lb a week as it won't set me any lower.
Weight loss at 1200 can be very slow depending on your current weight and if you are short like I am.2 -
There is no such thing as starvation mode. If there were, then nobody would starve to death. If you eat in a caloric deficit then your body is forced to draw from its stores of fat and muscle. If you are doing a progressive resistance program while in caloric deficit your body will go, I need that muscle more than fat and draw more fat stores. If you are sedentary, this is a good reason to start exercising.3
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Are you logging everything you eat (even things that were "free" on WW)? Are you using a scale to weigh your food? Are you checking the database entries you use for accuracy?4
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Yes, (almost) daily exercise is a must. I do 40 mins on the treadmill at 3.4 mph 6 days a week because I wouldn't be getting any exercise at all otherwise, being at home all day, every day. I have been gradually introducing weighted activities 3x a week to rebuild muscle that I've lost over the months but I do need to get more consistent about that. I rated myself as "light" activity on MFP so imagine that factored into that 1200 calorie allotment?
With WW, yes, I did log everything including 0 pt foods and was doing portion control. I was going over points for a little bit while I figured out what to eat but got the hang of it eventually. Still didn't really lose anything significant after that, even with the exercise. I was only eating about half my Fit Points and wasn't eating any of my weekly points.
My understanding was that if the calories you take in on a regular basis are at an extreme deficit that your body stops burning stores for a bit (obviously not forever). If that's not a thing, ok, news to me. Still can't explain the lack of loss despite pretty extreme (in my view) calorie deficit on top of everything else I was doing. Sigh. I just don't want to gain any more than I already have these last 7 months. I wasn't in the greatest shape to start out with but now I've packed on 15 lbs since March!! It's always way easier to gain than it is to lose.1 -
Yes, (almost) daily exercise is a must. I do 40 mins on the treadmill at 3.4 mph 6 days a week because I wouldn't be getting any exercise at all otherwise, being at home all day, every day. I have been gradually introducing weighted activities 3x a week to rebuild muscle that I've lost over the months but I do need to get more consistent about that. I rated myself as "light" activity on MFP so imagine that factored into that 1200 calorie allotment?
With WW, yes, I did log everything including 0 pt foods and was doing portion control. I was going over points for a little bit while I figured out what to eat but got the hang of it eventually. Still didn't really lose anything significant after that, even with the exercise. I was only eating about half my Fit Points and wasn't eating any of my weekly points.
My understanding was that if the calories you take in on a regular basis are at an extreme deficit that your body stops burning stores for a bit (obviously not forever). If that's not a thing, ok, news to me. Still can't explain the lack of loss despite pretty extreme (in my view) calorie deficit on top of everything else I was doing. Sigh. I just don't want to gain any more than I already have these last 7 months. I wasn't in the greatest shape to start out with but now I've packed on 15 lbs since March!! It's always way easier to gain than it is to lose.
On MFP are you weighing your foods and logging them? Do you use a food scale or measure in cups? Are you checking to make sure that the database entries are correct?1 -
Yes, (almost) daily exercise is a must. I do 40 mins on the treadmill at 3.4 mph 6 days a week because I wouldn't be getting any exercise at all otherwise, being at home all day, every day. I have been gradually introducing weighted activities 3x a week to rebuild muscle that I've lost over the months but I do need to get more consistent about that. I rated myself as "light" activity on MFP so imagine that factored into that 1200 calorie allotment?
With WW, yes, I did log everything including 0 pt foods and was doing portion control. I was going over points for a little bit while I figured out what to eat but got the hang of it eventually. Still didn't really lose anything significant after that, even with the exercise. I was only eating about half my Fit Points and wasn't eating any of my weekly points.
My understanding was that if the calories you take in on a regular basis are at an extreme deficit that your body stops burning stores for a bit (obviously not forever). If that's not a thing, ok, news to me. Still can't explain the lack of loss despite pretty extreme (in my view) calorie deficit on top of everything else I was doing. Sigh. I just don't want to gain any more than I already have these last 7 months. I wasn't in the greatest shape to start out with but now I've packed on 15 lbs since March!! It's always way easier to gain than it is to lose.
1st bolded - no.
Those activity levels had nothing to do with exercise if you read the descriptions.
2nd bolded - this is probably what you are thinking about - many myths have been added to the known effect.
https://youtu.be/wA2Pq9XLa9E
1 -
I was on WW for years on and off. it worked for me when I followed it. I like mfp better because it is new to me so I am newly motivated, and because I can count macronutrients.
If you really are following a plan (any plan just about) you should lose. I found that when I was losing .5 to .75 on average a week, I kept it off the longest. (some weeks I would plateau, and some I would gain a bit- but overall, at the end of a month I would be down 2-3).
So maybe you need to adjust your expectations. How much do you weigh/goal, and what is your height?
also, if you really are strictly following, logging, exercising and not losing-- you might have a thyroid disorder. It is extremely common, especially in woman over 30, and can really slow your metabolism. Easily controlled with meds.
Finally, one f my favorite ww lines was "sometimes you owe the scale, sometimes the scale owes you" - meaning, you can be really good for a week or 2 and not see the scale budge, then you lose several pounds the following week. Or you can totally overeat one week and see no increase in your weight- but it comes later.
and remember if you are new to weights, the day after lifting you can see a temporary "gain".
1 -
None of this means anything without knowing your TDEE. Figure it out using the calculator.
https://tdeecalculator.net/
You will need to be 7000 calories a week *below* your TDEE (TDEE x 7 - 7000) to lose 2lbs a week. Intermittent fasting will help tremendously with keeping in that range and overall fat burning. Pick an 8-10 hour "window" to eat in every day, and don't eat outside of it. Good luck.1 -
Intermittent fasting doesn’t make you lose more weight. Some people just have an easier time sticking to their calorie goals when eating within a specific window.
For weight loss, CICO is all that matters. You can do it through fasting, high carb, low carb, etc. The thing they have in common is that you eat in a deficit.2 -
Dogmom1978 wrote: »Intermittent fasting doesn’t make you lose more weight. Some people just have an easier time sticking to their calorie goals when eating within a specific window.
For weight loss, CICO is all that matters. You can do it through fasting, high carb, low carb, etc. The thing they have in common is that you eat in a deficit.
Intermittent fasting helps lose weight and burn more fat, there are tons of recent studies that say this. One because you will naturally eat less if you are eating in a smaller window. And also because between meals, as long as we don’t snack, our insulin levels will go down and our fat cells can then release their stored sugar, to be used as energy. We lose weight if we let our insulin levels go down. The entire idea of IF is to allow the insulin levels to go down far enough and for long enough that we burn off our fat.0 -
PaulFrancis7878 wrote: »Dogmom1978 wrote: »Intermittent fasting doesn’t make you lose more weight. Some people just have an easier time sticking to their calorie goals when eating within a specific window.
For weight loss, CICO is all that matters. You can do it through fasting, high carb, low carb, etc. The thing they have in common is that you eat in a deficit.
Intermittent fasting helps lose weight and burn more fat, there are tons of recent studies that say this. One because you will naturally eat less if you are eating in a smaller window. And also because between meals, as long as we don’t snack, our insulin levels will go down and our fat cells can then release their stored sugar, to be used as energy. We lose weight if we let our insulin levels go down. The entire idea of IF is to allow the insulin levels to go down far enough and for long enough that we burn off our fat.
I’m sorry but this is nonsense. All of these diets work the same which is why you got so many disagrees: You eat in a deficit which results in weight loss. The studies you mention and don’t provide evidence of are most likely funded by someone with skin in the game and therefore unreliable anyway.3 -
Yes, (almost) daily exercise is a must. I do 40 mins on the treadmill at 3.4 mph 6 days a week because I wouldn't be getting any exercise at all otherwise, being at home all day, every day. I have been gradually introducing weighted activities 3x a week to rebuild muscle that I've lost over the months but I do need to get more consistent about that. I rated myself as "light" activity on MFP so imagine that factored into that 1200 calorie allotment?
With WW, yes, I did log everything including 0 pt foods and was doing portion control. I was going over points for a little bit while I figured out what to eat but got the hang of it eventually. Still didn't really lose anything significant after that, even with the exercise. I was only eating about half my Fit Points and wasn't eating any of my weekly points.
apologies if I missed it - have you said how long you were on WW and how long you have been using MFP.
The bolded jumped out at me, since I too recently started weight lifting after some time off. I saw a small (2-3 lb) increase in my weight when I started. It's annoying, but from what I have heard it is normal. It masked my weight loss for a few weeks, but I stuck it out and am seeing progress on the scale again.
I find it helpful to track my weight in a spreadsheet where I also take notes about things like changes in eating style, exercise routine, and my cycle. These are all things that may have a small impact on your weight, but that small impact can mask your loss progress over a couple weeks. I also find tracking my weight through an app called Libra is helpful, it gives you trendlines that MFP doesn't. That app really helps you see the trend in your progress that may no jump out to the naked eye.
I still suspect you might not fully understand how your calorie goal is being calculated and what you should expect for a rate of loss. If you are willing to share your height, weight, age, and gender we might be able to help you with that.Yes, (almost) daily exercise is a must. I do 40 mins on the treadmill at 3.4 mph 6 days a week because I wouldn't be getting any exercise at all otherwise, being at home all day, every day. I have been gradually introducing weighted activities 3x a week to rebuild muscle that I've lost over the months but I do need to get more consistent about that. I rated myself as "light" activity on MFP so imagine that factored into that 1200 calorie allotment?
With WW, yes, I did log everything including 0 pt foods and was doing portion control. I was going over points for a little bit while I figured out what to eat but got the hang of it eventually. Still didn't really lose anything significant after that, even with the exercise. I was only eating about half my Fit Points and wasn't eating any of my weekly points.
My understanding was that if the calories you take in on a regular basis are at an extreme deficit that your body stops burning stores for a bit (obviously not forever). If that's not a thing, ok, news to me. Still can't explain the lack of loss despite pretty extreme (in my view) calorie deficit on top of everything else I was doing. Sigh. I just don't want to gain any more than I already have these last 7 months. I wasn't in the greatest shape to start out with but now I've packed on 15 lbs since March!! It's always way easier to gain than it is to lose.
1st bolded - no.
Those activity levels had nothing to do with exercise if you read the descriptions.
to expand on this comment - the activity level you select should be your every day life but not intentional exercise. I walk around a decent bit at work, but don't have a physically difficult job otherwise, I would chose lightly active for my activity level. Then, following MFPs instructions, if I go for a 3 mile run I would log that as exercise for that day and get additional calories added to my goal for they day.1 -
PaulFrancis7878 wrote: »Dogmom1978 wrote: »Intermittent fasting doesn’t make you lose more weight. Some people just have an easier time sticking to their calorie goals when eating within a specific window.
For weight loss, CICO is all that matters. You can do it through fasting, high carb, low carb, etc. The thing they have in common is that you eat in a deficit.
Intermittent fasting helps lose weight and burn more fat, there are tons of recent studies that say this. One because you will naturally eat less if you are eating in a smaller window. And also because between meals, as long as we don’t snack, our insulin levels will go down and our fat cells can then release their stored sugar, to be used as energy. We lose weight if we let our insulin levels go down. The entire idea of IF is to allow the insulin levels to go down far enough and for long enough that we burn off our fat.
I really wish people would quit reading the various works of fiction published by Jason Fung...
1. Insulin levels have nothing to do with losing weight. Losing weight is all about energy balance, period.
2. Fat cells only store trace amounts of glycogen - not nearly enough to provide a significant energy boost to the body
3. Fat cells do store lipids (fats) that can be converted to energy by the body
4. The lipids in the fat cells WILL be used for energy by the body to make up the difference between what you eat and what the body's energy needs are.
5. As the lipids in the fat cells are used, the person loses weight - based solely on energy requirements of the body (not based on insulin levels).
As to naturally eating less because you are eating in a smaller window... hah! I have never been a breakfast eater and have regularly eaten between the hours of noon and 8 my entire adult life. I got fat eating this way, I have lost weight eating this way and I have maintained my weight eating this way.
The number of meals that a person eats, the timing of those meals, etc, does not determine weight loss - the only thing that determines weight loss is energy balance - eat less than your body needs and the difference will be made up from the stored fat in your body (thus causing weight loss).1 -
Dogmom1978 wrote: »PaulFrancis7878 wrote: »Dogmom1978 wrote: »Intermittent fasting doesn’t make you lose more weight. Some people just have an easier time sticking to their calorie goals when eating within a specific window.
For weight loss, CICO is all that matters. You can do it through fasting, high carb, low carb, etc. The thing they have in common is that you eat in a deficit.
Intermittent fasting helps lose weight and burn more fat, there are tons of recent studies that say this. One because you will naturally eat less if you are eating in a smaller window. And also because between meals, as long as we don’t snack, our insulin levels will go down and our fat cells can then release their stored sugar, to be used as energy. We lose weight if we let our insulin levels go down. The entire idea of IF is to allow the insulin levels to go down far enough and for long enough that we burn off our fat.
I’m sorry but this is nonsense. All of these diets work the same which is why you got so many disagrees: You eat in a deficit which results in weight loss. The studies you mention and don’t provide evidence of are most likely funded by someone with skin in the game and therefore unreliable anyway.
Thanks for showing us a little bit of both sides of the topic, if you wish to further debate intermitted fasting please feel free to start a new discussion on the topic in the debate section:
https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/categories/nutrition-debate
Lets keep this thread focused on the questions of the OP.
Thanks,
4legs
MFP volunteer moderator3 -
4legsRbetterthan2 wrote: »Yes, (almost) daily exercise is a must. I do 40 mins on the treadmill at 3.4 mph 6 days a week because I wouldn't be getting any exercise at all otherwise, being at home all day, every day. I have been gradually introducing weighted activities 3x a week to rebuild muscle that I've lost over the months but I do need to get more consistent about that. I rated myself as "light" activity on MFP so imagine that factored into that 1200 calorie allotment?
With WW, yes, I did log everything including 0 pt foods and was doing portion control. I was going over points for a little bit while I figured out what to eat but got the hang of it eventually. Still didn't really lose anything significant after that, even with the exercise. I was only eating about half my Fit Points and wasn't eating any of my weekly points.
apologies if I missed it - have you said how long you were on WW and how long you have been using MFP.
The bolded jumped out at me, since I too recently started weight lifting after some time off. I saw a small (2-3 lb) increase in my weight when I started. It's annoying, but from what I have heard it is normal. It masked my weight loss for a few weeks, but I stuck it out and am seeing progress on the scale again.
I find it helpful to track my weight in a spreadsheet where I also take notes about things like changes in eating style, exercise routine, and my cycle. These are all things that may have a small impact on your weight, but that small impact can mask your loss progress over a couple weeks. I also find tracking my weight through an app called Libra is helpful, it gives you trendlines that MFP doesn't. That app really helps you see the trend in your progress that may no jump out to the naked eye.
I still suspect you might not fully understand how your calorie goal is being calculated and what you should expect for a rate of loss. If you are willing to share your height, weight, age, and gender we might be able to help you with that.Yes, (almost) daily exercise is a must. I do 40 mins on the treadmill at 3.4 mph 6 days a week because I wouldn't be getting any exercise at all otherwise, being at home all day, every day. I have been gradually introducing weighted activities 3x a week to rebuild muscle that I've lost over the months but I do need to get more consistent about that. I rated myself as "light" activity on MFP so imagine that factored into that 1200 calorie allotment?
With WW, yes, I did log everything including 0 pt foods and was doing portion control. I was going over points for a little bit while I figured out what to eat but got the hang of it eventually. Still didn't really lose anything significant after that, even with the exercise. I was only eating about half my Fit Points and wasn't eating any of my weekly points.
My understanding was that if the calories you take in on a regular basis are at an extreme deficit that your body stops burning stores for a bit (obviously not forever). If that's not a thing, ok, news to me. Still can't explain the lack of loss despite pretty extreme (in my view) calorie deficit on top of everything else I was doing. Sigh. I just don't want to gain any more than I already have these last 7 months. I wasn't in the greatest shape to start out with but now I've packed on 15 lbs since March!! It's always way easier to gain than it is to lose.
1st bolded - no.
Those activity levels had nothing to do with exercise if you read the descriptions.
to expand on this comment - the activity level you select should be your every day life but not intentional exercise. I walk around a decent bit at work, but don't have a physically difficult job otherwise, I would chose lightly active for my activity level. Then, following MFPs instructions, if I go for a 3 mile run I would log that as exercise for that day and get additional calories added to my goal for they day.
No worries at all, I don't think I said. I had been doing WW on and off over the last few years but this time around I was doing it solid for a little over 2 months. I would lose and regain the same 1-1.5 lbs the whole time so I didn't really even consider that an actual loss. It was pretty frustrating since I'd had some success with the program before. I have been using MFP for 4 days now.
My age is 38, 165 lbs current weight with goal weight of 140 lbs, 5ft 6in, female. I am on my feet a fair amount during the day but I'm usually not doing anything super strenuous. I have my Garmin linked to the app so that automatically adds in the calories I "earned" from my exercise, which is cool. I haven't been eating those calories but am starting to feel like maybe I should.
I appreciate all the info and comments and sorry if I miss any in my responses. I'm getting used to everything still.
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4legsRbetterthan2 wrote: »Yes, (almost) daily exercise is a must. I do 40 mins on the treadmill at 3.4 mph 6 days a week because I wouldn't be getting any exercise at all otherwise, being at home all day, every day. I have been gradually introducing weighted activities 3x a week to rebuild muscle that I've lost over the months but I do need to get more consistent about that. I rated myself as "light" activity on MFP so imagine that factored into that 1200 calorie allotment?
With WW, yes, I did log everything including 0 pt foods and was doing portion control. I was going over points for a little bit while I figured out what to eat but got the hang of it eventually. Still didn't really lose anything significant after that, even with the exercise. I was only eating about half my Fit Points and wasn't eating any of my weekly points.
apologies if I missed it - have you said how long you were on WW and how long you have been using MFP.
The bolded jumped out at me, since I too recently started weight lifting after some time off. I saw a small (2-3 lb) increase in my weight when I started. It's annoying, but from what I have heard it is normal. It masked my weight loss for a few weeks, but I stuck it out and am seeing progress on the scale again.
I find it helpful to track my weight in a spreadsheet where I also take notes about things like changes in eating style, exercise routine, and my cycle. These are all things that may have a small impact on your weight, but that small impact can mask your loss progress over a couple weeks. I also find tracking my weight through an app called Libra is helpful, it gives you trendlines that MFP doesn't. That app really helps you see the trend in your progress that may no jump out to the naked eye.
I still suspect you might not fully understand how your calorie goal is being calculated and what you should expect for a rate of loss. If you are willing to share your height, weight, age, and gender we might be able to help you with that.Yes, (almost) daily exercise is a must. I do 40 mins on the treadmill at 3.4 mph 6 days a week because I wouldn't be getting any exercise at all otherwise, being at home all day, every day. I have been gradually introducing weighted activities 3x a week to rebuild muscle that I've lost over the months but I do need to get more consistent about that. I rated myself as "light" activity on MFP so imagine that factored into that 1200 calorie allotment?
With WW, yes, I did log everything including 0 pt foods and was doing portion control. I was going over points for a little bit while I figured out what to eat but got the hang of it eventually. Still didn't really lose anything significant after that, even with the exercise. I was only eating about half my Fit Points and wasn't eating any of my weekly points.
My understanding was that if the calories you take in on a regular basis are at an extreme deficit that your body stops burning stores for a bit (obviously not forever). If that's not a thing, ok, news to me. Still can't explain the lack of loss despite pretty extreme (in my view) calorie deficit on top of everything else I was doing. Sigh. I just don't want to gain any more than I already have these last 7 months. I wasn't in the greatest shape to start out with but now I've packed on 15 lbs since March!! It's always way easier to gain than it is to lose.
1st bolded - no.
Those activity levels had nothing to do with exercise if you read the descriptions.
to expand on this comment - the activity level you select should be your every day life but not intentional exercise. I walk around a decent bit at work, but don't have a physically difficult job otherwise, I would chose lightly active for my activity level. Then, following MFPs instructions, if I go for a 3 mile run I would log that as exercise for that day and get additional calories added to my goal for they day.
No worries at all, I don't think I said. I had been doing WW on and off over the last few years but this time around I was doing it solid for a little over 2 months. I would lose and regain the same 1-1.5 lbs the whole time so I didn't really even consider that an actual loss. It was pretty frustrating since I'd had some success with the program before. I have been using MFP for 4 days now.
My age is 38, 165 lbs current weight with goal weight of 140 lbs, 5ft 6in, female. I am on my feet a fair amount during the day but I'm usually not doing anything super strenuous. I have my Garmin linked to the app so that automatically adds in the calories I "earned" from my exercise, which is cool. I haven't been eating those calories but am starting to feel like maybe I should.
I appreciate all the info and comments and sorry if I miss any in my responses. I'm getting used to everything still.
Ahhhh garmin, I love garmin!
Take a look at your garmin app, click the menu button, health stats, calories. Look at the entry from yesterday (or any recent completed day but not today since it's not "finished" yet.) The blue circle on the left is your resting calories.
Do the following calculation:
Resting calories - 1200 = X
(X * 7 )/ 3500 = weekly loss rate in lbs you should expect.
As I mentioned previously, MFP will not recommend below 1200 calories regardless of the settings you put in. However, as the infographic posted earlier indicates, someone with only 25 lbs to lose really shouldn't be aiming to lose that quickly. Taking care of yourself along your journey is just as important as losing the weight.
Since garmin is tracking your activity don't log any exercise yourself, just let garmin do it for you. Otherwise, you may be eating your exercise calories back twice, which will mess up your progress.
Lastly, consistency and patience are what lead to success. Unfortunately, weight loss take times. If you don't have one a cheap food scale can be really helpful to make sure you are logging portions accurately.
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4legsRbetterthan2 wrote: »4legsRbetterthan2 wrote: »Yes, (almost) daily exercise is a must. I do 40 mins on the treadmill at 3.4 mph 6 days a week because I wouldn't be getting any exercise at all otherwise, being at home all day, every day. I have been gradually introducing weighted activities 3x a week to rebuild muscle that I've lost over the months but I do need to get more consistent about that. I rated myself as "light" activity on MFP so imagine that factored into that 1200 calorie allotment?
With WW, yes, I did log everything including 0 pt foods and was doing portion control. I was going over points for a little bit while I figured out what to eat but got the hang of it eventually. Still didn't really lose anything significant after that, even with the exercise. I was only eating about half my Fit Points and wasn't eating any of my weekly points.
apologies if I missed it - have you said how long you were on WW and how long you have been using MFP.
The bolded jumped out at me, since I too recently started weight lifting after some time off. I saw a small (2-3 lb) increase in my weight when I started. It's annoying, but from what I have heard it is normal. It masked my weight loss for a few weeks, but I stuck it out and am seeing progress on the scale again.
I find it helpful to track my weight in a spreadsheet where I also take notes about things like changes in eating style, exercise routine, and my cycle. These are all things that may have a small impact on your weight, but that small impact can mask your loss progress over a couple weeks. I also find tracking my weight through an app called Libra is helpful, it gives you trendlines that MFP doesn't. That app really helps you see the trend in your progress that may no jump out to the naked eye.
I still suspect you might not fully understand how your calorie goal is being calculated and what you should expect for a rate of loss. If you are willing to share your height, weight, age, and gender we might be able to help you with that.Yes, (almost) daily exercise is a must. I do 40 mins on the treadmill at 3.4 mph 6 days a week because I wouldn't be getting any exercise at all otherwise, being at home all day, every day. I have been gradually introducing weighted activities 3x a week to rebuild muscle that I've lost over the months but I do need to get more consistent about that. I rated myself as "light" activity on MFP so imagine that factored into that 1200 calorie allotment?
With WW, yes, I did log everything including 0 pt foods and was doing portion control. I was going over points for a little bit while I figured out what to eat but got the hang of it eventually. Still didn't really lose anything significant after that, even with the exercise. I was only eating about half my Fit Points and wasn't eating any of my weekly points.
My understanding was that if the calories you take in on a regular basis are at an extreme deficit that your body stops burning stores for a bit (obviously not forever). If that's not a thing, ok, news to me. Still can't explain the lack of loss despite pretty extreme (in my view) calorie deficit on top of everything else I was doing. Sigh. I just don't want to gain any more than I already have these last 7 months. I wasn't in the greatest shape to start out with but now I've packed on 15 lbs since March!! It's always way easier to gain than it is to lose.
1st bolded - no.
Those activity levels had nothing to do with exercise if you read the descriptions.
to expand on this comment - the activity level you select should be your every day life but not intentional exercise. I walk around a decent bit at work, but don't have a physically difficult job otherwise, I would chose lightly active for my activity level. Then, following MFPs instructions, if I go for a 3 mile run I would log that as exercise for that day and get additional calories added to my goal for they day.
No worries at all, I don't think I said. I had been doing WW on and off over the last few years but this time around I was doing it solid for a little over 2 months. I would lose and regain the same 1-1.5 lbs the whole time so I didn't really even consider that an actual loss. It was pretty frustrating since I'd had some success with the program before. I have been using MFP for 4 days now.
My age is 38, 165 lbs current weight with goal weight of 140 lbs, 5ft 6in, female. I am on my feet a fair amount during the day but I'm usually not doing anything super strenuous. I have my Garmin linked to the app so that automatically adds in the calories I "earned" from my exercise, which is cool. I haven't been eating those calories but am starting to feel like maybe I should.
I appreciate all the info and comments and sorry if I miss any in my responses. I'm getting used to everything still.
Ahhhh garmin, I love garmin!
Take a look at your garmin app, click the menu button, health stats, calories. Look at the entry from yesterday (or any recent completed day but not today since it's not "finished" yet.) The blue circle on the left is your resting calories.
Do the following calculation:
Resting calories - 1200 = X
(X * 7 )/ 3500 = weekly loss rate in lbs you should expect.
As I mentioned previously, MFP will not recommend below 1200 calories regardless of the settings you put in. However, as the infographic posted earlier indicates, someone with only 25 lbs to lose really shouldn't be aiming to lose that quickly. Taking care of yourself along your journey is just as important as losing the weight.
Since garmin is tracking your activity don't log any exercise yourself, just let garmin do it for you. Otherwise, you may be eating your exercise calories back twice, which will mess up your progress.
Lastly, consistency and patience are what lead to success. Unfortunately, weight loss take times. If you don't have one a cheap food scale can be really helpful to make sure you are logging portions accurately.
Ohh, wow, according to that calculation I should only aim to lose 1.16lbs per week. OK, I can adjust my goal. I'm just impatient but you're right about the importance of taking care of myself along the way. Thank you for your guidance on this, I really appreciate it!
Oh, and yes I do have a scale and that definitely is helping me keep my portions precise 😁👍2 -
Eat to the new eating goal that MFP gives you that includes an adjustment based on Garmin estimating what you burned all day (TDEE) based on what it saw you do.
Your deficit will be kept in there still. and with 25 left to go, 1 lb weekly is reasonable for most until you have 15 lbs left.
That adjustment is exactly as if you had perfectly selected the correct Activity level on MFP. You'd get no adjustments.
Would you eat to your stated goal then?
You might enable in Food settings Negative adjustments - just in case you are less active than your selected activity levels gives you, you'll correctly eat less.
Just like you would correctly eat more when you do more.
Life lesson right there about weight maintenance.1
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