Diary Help!!

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Sevio
Sevio Posts: 181 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Anyone feel like taking a look at my Diary and verifying that I am not eating enough?
No weight loss in a couple of weeks. I burn on average 500 calories per day in exercise at least 3 days a week. The other days I can burn upwards of 900 with Zumba thrown in three times per week.

I need some reaffirmation that upping my calories is the way to go. I feel like all I am doing now is eating And I am not hungry as it is now.

Please help :-)

Replies

  • ediesmommy
    ediesmommy Posts: 76
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    Think of your body like a car... you can run it until you are out of gas, and then go no where... unless you put back in what you have used...
  • pitbulllover
    pitbulllover Posts: 98 Member
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    Think of your body like a car... you can run it until you are out of gas, and then go no where... unless you put back in what you have used...

    And how does putting extra gas in my car remove all the extra junk from my trunk?
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,045 Member
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    With only 16 pounds left to lose (or anything under 25lbs), you should be eating within 200-300 calories of your maintenance calories every day.

    So go to an online calculator - or do it here - and find your maintenance calories. Adjust your goals accordingly.

    Set MFP to "Lose 1/2 pound a week" and EAT your exercise calories. I didn't look at your diary, because it wouldn't change this basic fact.
  • Jori7071
    Jori7071 Posts: 19 Member
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    I would be afraid to up my calorie count too-just because it goes against everything that you make yourself learn to drop the pounds but I have to say that A LOT of people have posted that it is definately the way to go. Someone yesterday posted about the same thing and someone said, "if you up your calories 2-3 hundred it's not enough to gain weight and if you don't loose from there you didn't loose anything because you weren't loosing anyway.
  • ready2tryagain42
    ready2tryagain42 Posts: 202
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    I look at calories and exercise like this...energy in...energy out. I found out with my first go round with MFP that I wasn't eating enough so I upped my calories...boom I started losing weight. I know it doesn't make sense...but it does work. I eat roughly 1400-1700 calories a day..depending on exercise. My max is 1750 (according to MFP). I always eat back some of my exercise calories. I just started back with MFP this week and going to the gym and eating better..and I can already tell the difference in how I feel.

    Good luck to you!!!
  • Sevio
    Sevio Posts: 181 Member
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    With only 16 pounds left to lose (or anything under 25lbs), you should be eating within 200-300 calories of your maintenance calories every day.

    So go to an online calculator - or do it here - and find your maintenance calories. Adjust your goals accordingly.

    Set MFP to "Lose 1/2 pound a week" and EAT your exercise calories. I didn't look at your diary, because it wouldn't change this basic fact.

    I like that fact that you used the word "ONLY" 16 lbs. That makes me feel good!
    Thank you for your advice. I will certainly look into this :-)
  • LeenaRuns
    LeenaRuns Posts: 1,309 Member
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    I think the amount looks good, but the sodum is really high! Try watching your intake.
  • melaniecheeks
    melaniecheeks Posts: 6,349 Member
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    There's quite a few days that you're OVER on calories, even with the exercise calories.

    And you seem to stop eating about 3 pm, though that might just be the way your diary is set up.
  • gatorginger
    gatorginger Posts: 947 Member
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    Your sodium intake is very very high that could be your problem
  • littlewords
    littlewords Posts: 43
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    Don't take this the wrong way, but are you sure you are burning that many calories? 500 a day is a lot, I have a hard time achieving that in 90 minutes per day. I saw one day showed over 700 - that would easily be 90 minutes of high intensity, which is a lot.

    I've found that MFP overestimates your calories burned quite a lot, but perhaps you have one of those FtiBit things or something?
    I have also found that the MFP food calories are off quite a bit as well, in some cases grossly underestimating the number of calories a food has.

    Making adjustments to my calorie tracking has helped me a lot.
  • misticache
    misticache Posts: 364 Member
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    Cut back on sodium and drink alot more water. Some days it looks as if you go without all together. You're calories seem okay but maybe you could change a few things to more healthier alternatives. Skip the skinny cows for about 2 weeks and substitute fresh fruit or a hard boiled egg. Protein is good, sodium is bad :)
  • Sevio
    Sevio Posts: 181 Member
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    There's quite a few days that you're OVER on calories, even with the exercise calories.

    And you seem to stop eating about 3 pm, though that might just be the way your diary is set up.

    I just changed my settings in the last 5 to 10 minutes. That might be why it looks OVER because I don't think I am based on what I originally had it set at. I dont know.
  • Sevio
    Sevio Posts: 181 Member
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    Don't take this the wrong way, but are you sure you are burning that many calories? 500 a day is a lot, I have a hard time achieving that in 90 minutes per day. I saw one day showed over 700 - that would easily be 90 minutes of high intensity, which is a lot.

    I've found that MFP overestimates your calories burned quite a lot, but perhaps you have one of those FtiBit things or something?
    I have also found that the MFP food calories are off quite a bit as well, in some cases grossly underestimating the number of calories a food has.

    Making adjustments to my calorie tracking has helped me a lot.

    I use the FITBIT ~ I wear it everyday religiously. I go to Curves 5 days a week, walk on both 15 minutes breaks at work, walk my dog nightly for 25 minutes. I go to Zumba 3 times a week. The Fitbit shows a consistent burn for everything the last two months.
  • misticache
    misticache Posts: 364 Member
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    Don't take this the wrong way, but are you sure you are burning that many calories? 500 a day is a lot, I have a hard time achieving that in 90 minutes per day. I saw one day showed over 700 - that would easily be 90 minutes of high intensity, which is a lot.

    I've found that MFP overestimates your calories burned quite a lot, but perhaps you have one of those FtiBit things or something?
    I have also found that the MFP food calories are off quite a bit as well, in some cases grossly underestimating the number of calories a food has.

    Making adjustments to my calorie tracking has helped me a lot.
    THIS ^^^^ I got a food scale last weekend and I was grossly shocked at what I thought I was doing. I eye balled some things and then weighed them and couldn't believe it. I use measuring cups and spoons as much as possible but you would be surprised how much veggies and chicken weigh or don't weigh. Also make sure you check the nutritional information on everything possible or make your own recipes on here so you know exactly what you're getting. Don't use someone else spaghetti dinner, hamburgers, etc. Because if it says homemade chances are they didn't make it anything like you would. If you know something obviously has to have sodium yet it comes across as "0" then you know you have to research the food yourself. My friend was putting down pepsi that didn't show any sugar, carbs, or sodium, so it looked like she was under all the time when she was just lying to herself. Gotta do the legwork people if you want this to work for you. :)
  • Tzippy7
    Tzippy7 Posts: 344 Member
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    Don't take this the wrong way, but are you sure you are burning that many calories? 500 a day is a lot, I have a hard time achieving that in 90 minutes per day. I saw one day showed over 700 - that would easily be 90 minutes of high intensity, which is a lot.

    I've found that MFP overestimates your calories burned quite a lot, but perhaps you have one of those FtiBit things or something?
    I have also found that the MFP food calories are off quite a bit as well, in some cases grossly underestimating the number of calories a food has.

    Making adjustments to my calorie tracking has helped me a lot.

    This is not necessarily true. I didnt look at the specific exercises but 10 calories a minute is a good workout, and usually a starting point for me.
  • gsager
    gsager Posts: 977 Member
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    Anyone feel like taking a look at my Diary and verifying that I am not eating enough?
    No weight loss in a couple of weeks. I burn on average 500 calories per day in exercise at least 3 days a week. The other days I can burn upwards of 900 with Zumba thrown in three times per week.

    I need some reaffirmation that upping my calories is the way to go. I feel like all I am doing now is eating And I am not hungry as it is now.

    Please help :-)
    Looks good to me. Are you using a HRM to determine how many calories your burning?
  • Sevio
    Sevio Posts: 181 Member
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    Anyone feel like taking a look at my Diary and verifying that I am not eating enough?
    No weight loss in a couple of weeks. I burn on average 500 calories per day in exercise at least 3 days a week. The other days I can burn upwards of 900 with Zumba thrown in three times per week.

    I need some reaffirmation that upping my calories is the way to go. I feel like all I am doing now is eating And I am not hungry as it is now.

    Please help :-)
    Looks good to me. Are you using a HRM to determine how many calories your burning?

    I use a Fitbit.
  • littlewords
    littlewords Posts: 43
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    If you're using the FitBit, you're probably in good shape then - I don't have one, but I hear they are the closest to accurate as you can get. If you really burn that many exercise calories in any one day I am in complete and utter awe of you, and would love to know how you fit it into your schedule! :D
    This is not necessarily true. I didn't look at the specific exercises but 10 calories a minute is a good workout, and usually a starting point for me.

    I'm sure everyone's experience varies. When I first started MFP, I was surprised to discover that if I entered 30 minutes of cardio, it gave me an estimate that was for about 100 calories more than what my elliptical (with HRM) showed. I used the elliptical's estimate for a good long while until I massively plateaued, and did some research. It's my understanding from that reading that I would have to be all out sprinting the entire 30 minutes to burn 10 calories per minute, which seems like it would difficult at best, and I certainly wasn't doing AND the elliptical was showing a burn of 12/minute.
    I adjusted my per minute burn down to 7.5/minute, even when I am gasping for breath and am doing much better now, along with using a food scale carefully and factoring my own calories.

    That is just my own personal experience, nothing more.
  • KittyMerlot
    KittyMerlot Posts: 8
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    Hello Faith.......
    No offense and no intent to be judging what anyone eats because we each are different both physically and mentally. You gave permission to view your diary and ::::deep sigh:::: I see where you are in trouble. Your main question was Diary Trouble and for us to view and respond. Then I noticed that you stated that you use a thing called FitBit----not knowing what this is, I am assuming it must be something a person wears on his or her body all day and calculates each of our walking steps and creates a total of calories "burned"---- I also know, because you spoke of your Zumba classes, and I shared with you that I have never attended a class and you said it was very fun, burns calories, lots of fun....a great thing! Yay for you, I mainly just do my NetFlix 10 minute Kickboxing thing......OK, back to your diary: Calories to burn are not just ANY type of calories. Cake is a bad calorie choice. Skinny Cow Ice Cream (yes, they are delish!!) is a bad calorie choice. Your permission to "suggest" what we see is difficult for me because I am maintaining my 55 lb weight loss with HOW I do my every-day food intake. The last 8 lbs were a toughie for me---no laughing :) I notice that your "snacks" are MY meals. I notice that your Sodium count is way high, I notice that some veggies are high in our sugar (which can cause us to NOT lose) and they should be replaced with "other better choice" veggies....EXAMPLE---Carrots, corn, peas, rice, potatoes can create a non-weight loss, WHERE AS Broccoli, asparagus, onions, mushrooms, romaine, bell peppers, brussel sprouts, arugula are GREAT HELPERS in a better choice.......OK, this is way to long, I'm sorry....I'm done. Faith, you are awesome for asking for a "forum" and all your Zumba classes are incredilbe!!! Try ONE day of writing down a NORMAL day----cheating included, donuts, those almonds, etc----then try a SUGAR-FREE day of choices (Coffee Creamer, 2 fruits with cinnamon, more water intake with Stevia & Lemon)......I know you will do it.......Your body is just on a PLATEAU weight and loves it there, so, be patient........Best to you :)
  • Sevio
    Sevio Posts: 181 Member
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    If you're using the FitBit, you're probably in good shape then - I don't have one, but I hear they are the closest to accurate as you can get. If you really burn that many exercise calories in any one day I am in complete and utter awe of you, and would love to know how you fit it into your schedule! :D
    This is not necessarily true. I didn't look at the specific exercises but 10 calories a minute is a good workout, and usually a starting point for me.

    I'm sure everyone's experience varies. When I first started MFP, I was surprised to discover that if I entered 30 minutes of cardio, it gave me an estimate that was for about 100 calories more than what my elliptical (with HRM) showed. I used the elliptical's estimate for a good long while until I massively plateaued, and did some research. It's my understanding from that reading that I would have to be all out sprinting the entire 30 minutes to burn 10 calories per minute, which seems like it would difficult at best, and I certainly wasn't doing AND the elliptical was showing a burn of 12/minute.
    I adjusted my per minute burn down to 7.5/minute, even when I am gasping for breath and am doing much better now, along with using a food scale carefully and factoring my own calories.

    That is just my own personal experience, nothing more.

    Well I am up at 5:30 AM Monday through Friday and go to Curves for Cardio/Strength Training, I walk on my breaks at work for 15 minutes each time. I walk my dog for about 25 minutes each night. Weekends I take him on a bike path walk for an hour if it's nice. And I Zumba Monday nights, Saturday mornings and Sunday mornings. This with daily activity gets me up to that amount.

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