Am I doing this right?

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Rachel812011
Rachel812011 Posts: 9 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi, my name is Rachel and I just need some opinons to see if I am doing this right. So I am 30 years old and weigh 155 lbs. My goal weight is 125 lbs. My default calorie intake is set at 1200. I have been doing this for going on 4 weeks and am finally getting the hang of how to keep my calories on track and I do eat my exersize back. ( Several times I have gone over, but I am doing better in keeping the target at 1200) Several non-MFP people have told me I should be eating more than 1200 but I am trusting the MFP website. I used to drink almost 600-900 calories in soda each day. I have completely switched to water, which was a hard thing to do, and notice a difference with that already. I have mainly been "walking at a brisk pace" 30-40 min a day but plan to take up some kind of strength training soon. I plan to weigh myself every 2 weeks or so (I was weighing myself too much in the beginning) My question is am I eating the right amount of calories? What do you guys think? Thanks in advance!

Replies

  • SueInAz
    SueInAz Posts: 6,592 Member
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    A few questions...

    How much weight have you lost so far doing what you're doing? I'll assume not much or you wouldn't be asking for validation.

    How tall are you? That will make a difference.

    Do you have MFP set to lose 1 or 2 pounds per week? If you only have 30 pounds to lose, you probably want to set it for 1 pound. That might give you a few more calories per day.
  • Rachel812011
    Rachel812011 Posts: 9 Member
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    Oops! Good questions sorry I didn't include those facts earlier. I am only 5 foot and have lost 2.5 pounds. Thinkin that has a lot to do with the cut down on soda. I do have it set for 1 pound a week. Thank you for responding so far!
  • SueInAz
    SueInAz Posts: 6,592 Member
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    At 5 foot even, 1200 calories is not a problem for you, so don't worry about people telling you to eat more. We shorter gals don't need as many calories as the amazon types do. :laugh:

    It sounds to me like you're on track for continued success. Adding in some strength training will definitely help and if you feel you're ready for it, you might mix some jogging in with that brisk walking.
  • dthibault
    dthibault Posts: 3
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    I think you are. I am also in the same situation...31, want to get to 130 and I only have 1280 calories to eat a day. I exercise liike crazy just so i can eat more, but it is working 4.5 lbs in 2 weeks and I am not deprived of anything I want to eat. :) Keeping going, it will fall into place and feel right after a couple of weeks! Good luck :)
  • Rachel812011
    Rachel812011 Posts: 9 Member
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    At 5 foot even, 1200 calories is not a problem for you, so don't worry about people telling you to eat more. We shorter gals don't need as many calories as the amazon types do. :laugh:

    It sounds to me like you're on track for continued success. Adding in some strength training will definitely help and if you feel you're ready for it, you might mix some jogging in with that brisk walking.


    THANK YOU so very much for the advice. You have helped me bunches! :)
  • Rachel812011
    Rachel812011 Posts: 9 Member
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    I think you are. I am also in the same situation...31, want to get to 130 and I only have 1280 calories to eat a day. I exercise liike crazy just so i can eat more, but it is working 4.5 lbs in 2 weeks and I am not deprived of anything I want to eat. :) Keeping going, it will fall into place and feel right after a couple of weeks! Good luck :)



    YAY! Congrats on your acheivement! I'm glad to see someone else is in the same boat!! You have really helped me out.Thanks again!
  • pinuplove
    pinuplove Posts: 12,871 Member
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    Congrats on kicking the soda habit! That's a tough one to get rid of. Dr. Pepper is my poison of choice, but like you I feel so much better when I don't drink it!
  • Rachel812011
    Rachel812011 Posts: 9 Member
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    Thank you! You are right , it is definatly one of the hardest things to do but I do feel sooo much better! :)
  • cefogus
    cefogus Posts: 2
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    I would like to echo that question, "Am I doing this right?" I've been at this for 30 consecutive days now. I'm 5'7", 34 yrs. old, and want to get to 130. I can't seem to break 137. I am a mom of 3 so I put lightly active on my setting which gives me around 1330 calories/day. I usually come in under, some days a lot under, my goal. I exercise a lot and do a strength class each week. I'm frustrated not to have lost anything in a whole month. I'm trying to drink my 8 glasses of water a day but I'm not a big drinker so it's a challenge.

    Anyone in my boat?
  • marquesajen
    marquesajen Posts: 641
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    Sounds okay to me, but you know your body best. With your height in mind I think you're doing okay.
  • SueInAz
    SueInAz Posts: 6,592 Member
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    I would like to echo that question, "Am I doing this right?" I've been at this for 30 consecutive days now. I'm 5'7", 34 yrs. old, and want to get to 130. I can't seem to break 137. I am a mom of 3 so I put lightly active on my setting which gives me around 1330 calories/day. I usually come in under, some days a lot under, my goal. I exercise a lot and do a strength class each week. I'm frustrated not to have lost anything in a whole month. I'm trying to drink my 8 glasses of water a day but I'm not a big drinker so it's a challenge.

    Anyone in my boat?
    I've been there, to be sure.

    Whenever I plateau, it's time to do something different because what I'm currently doing is no longer working. Unfortunately, I can't tell you what will actually help you because we're all different but some suggestions are:

    - eat more calories, especially if you aren't currently eating back your exercise calories
    - try a different form of exercise, especially if you've gotten comfortable doing your current routine
    - eat fewer carbs (this one helped me break a plateau this summer)

    The idea of eating more can be scary if you are already not losing at your current intake, but there are a lot of people on this site who will tell you that adding 100-200 extra calories per day helped them to start losing weight again. After all, if you aren't losing weight now, it's definitely worth a shot, right?

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