Wife not having same results

mlbrowninsc
mlbrowninsc Posts: 22
in Health and Weight Loss
Hello all. My wife and I are trying to loose weight. I use this site, she uses another, however we are pretty close to the same diet. She counts carbs a bit more than i do and tries to stay around 1200 calories a day where I am closer to 1600 and closely follow the macros giving by MFP. The major difference between our two diets is that she drinks a couple glasses of red wine a day where I do not. I will have one bud select 55 a week, generally on Saturdays, but that is the extent of my alcohol intake. I also question if she is really hitting 1200 calories a day or saving room to work the wine into the numbers. I don't really believe you should work wine calories and carbs into your daily numbers, it should be more of a treat item once a week or so, and think the wine is one of the major factors holding her back. I would appreciate the communities thoughts on this.
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Replies

  • xcrunnergirl13
    xcrunnergirl13 Posts: 67 Member
    Wine won't give her as much nutrition for her calories as foods, but as long as she's hitting 1200 she should lose weight. Remember that women usually need fewer calories a day than men, and she may not have the same activity level as you which may be the reason she isn't having the same success as you. If she's smaller tahn you she's also not burning as many calories during excersise as a larger/heavier person would.
  • lforner46
    lforner46 Posts: 103 Member
    In my experience (I love wine) I will not lose weight if I drink wine. I allow for a spluge once a week, nice dinner and wine or martinis but I DO NOT drink during the week. There is something about wine that goes straight to your stomach. Also - alcohol is converted to sugar.
  • mumof5
    mumof5 Posts: 328 Member
    i agree with you, its all about making healthy change not dieting. i hope your wife is short because 1200 cals is not many!!! when eating a low cal diet it is important to make every calorie work for you, wine is full of empty cals. maybe you could encourage her to join mfp or at least look at the forums for some info?? good luck :)
  • mlbrowninsc
    mlbrowninsc Posts: 22
    Thanks for the advice all! She is 5'9". When I was showing her MFP it was coming up with a higher calorie number the best I remember. I too think 1200 may be a bit low.
  • mumof5
    mumof5 Posts: 328 Member
    shes about the same height as me. i would starve if i only ate 1200!!!
  • curvykim78
    curvykim78 Posts: 799 Member
    You will both have different dieting results because your bodys are made up of different parts and chemicals. What works for one person might not work for another. Each body processes what is eaten and drank differently.
  • BerryH
    BerryH Posts: 4,698 Member
    Any alcohol within calorie limits won't affect weight loss, but on such a low intake she'll be missing a lot of important nutrients to make room for it, especially protein.

    You'd have to prise the wine glass from my cold, dead hands (check my diary - I even have a booze section!), but I usually only use my exercise calories for drinks, so it's over and above what I actually need food-wise.

    How much does your wife have to lose? Chances are 1200 is way too low for her. She should go with the MFP settings to lose 1lb a week and no more, unless she's very overweight. It's worked for me! She should also check out the "Eat more to weigh less" group, it's truly inspirational!
  • Yanicka1
    Yanicka1 Posts: 4,564 Member
    I am 4'11'' 120 pounds woman and I eat between 1700 and 2000 calories a day. How much weight does she want to lose?
  • Dave198lbs
    Dave198lbs Posts: 8,810 Member
    I am 4'11'' 120 pounds woman and I eat between 1700 and 2000 calories a day. How much weight does she want to lose?

    is that for weight loss or maintenance?
  • HMVOL7409
    HMVOL7409 Posts: 1,588 Member
    I'm not a believer in of it's within the calorie range nonsense. I beleive in making healthier choices, eliminating the stuff that got you here in the first place then reintroducing them once you're closer to your GW in moderation and alcohol doesn't cut it. It's empty calories and she could be fueling herself with something better. I do agree 1200 is a little low, is she working out at all?
  • yeche17
    yeche17 Posts: 2
    I think the wine is def. hindering her weight loss however I don't know if she is eating enough calories. If you do not consume enough calories a day your body actually holds on to any store fat because it goes into 'starvation mode'. Also, are you exercising? If you (both of you) are then she def. needs to take in more calories. A quick way to figure out how many calories you need a day is to multiply your weight by 10, this is the amount of calories MORE OR LESS that your body needs a day to maintain weight. If you want to shed some weight then you can subtract 250-300 calories from that and that should give you about a pound to a pound and a half of weight loss a week which is considered healthy. If you exercise then that jumps up to about 2 lbs a week. Hope this helps!!
  • Yanicka1
    Yanicka1 Posts: 4,564 Member
    I am 4'11'' 120 pounds woman and I eat between 1700 and 2000 calories a day. How much weight does she want to lose?

    is that for weight loss or maintenance?

    Weight loss

    Edited .....let's call it fat loss
  • sssygirl
    sssygirl Posts: 55 Member
    If she is working 2 glasses of wine into her 1200 calories..she is only eating about 900 of REAL FOOD..that is NOT GOOD.

    My suggestion is to cut back the wine to 3 times a week (1 glass) and see what happens. Also if she is exercising make sure she eats at least SOME of those calories back.
  • chrisb75
    chrisb75 Posts: 395 Member
    Thanks for the advice all! She is 5'9". When I was showing her MFP it was coming up with a higher calorie number the best I remember. I too think 1200 may be a bit low.
    Holy cow. I am 5'10" and at my GOAL Weight my maintenance calories are 2500 (which ironically is my current cut intake). She should go to www.fat2fitradio.com and run her numbers through the calculators.
  • chrisb75
    chrisb75 Posts: 395 Member
    I'm not a believer in of it's within the calorie range nonsense. I beleive in making healthier choices, eliminating the stuff that got you here in the first place then reintroducing them once you're closer to your GW in moderation and alcohol doesn't cut it. It's empty calories and she could be fueling herself with something better. I do agree 1200 is a little low, is she working out at all?

    I believe this to an extent. but 25% of her daily calories are coming from wine....that isn't good.
  • srpm
    srpm Posts: 275 Member
    She isn't going to have the same results as you simply because she is female and you are not...our bodies are different, HOWEVER, she isn't eating enough. 1,200 calories is a great way to jump-start a diet but after a little while your body starts to hold on to everything you eat because it is the bare minimum the average person needs to function. Have her look up information on eat more to lose more at 5'9 she probably needs to eat between 1300-1500 calories to lose 1-1.5lbs per week.
  • hazelovesfood
    hazelovesfood Posts: 454 Member
    shes about the same height as me. i would starve if i only ate 1200!!!

    Im that height too, but mfp says thats what i should be eating to lose weight.Ive just done 35 mins on a cross trainer today but i cant always get to doing it, so it might only be once in a week or 3 times, But are you really supposed to eat more coz you have burned those cals.
  • patriciaannbibo
    patriciaannbibo Posts: 130 Member
    Guys seem to lose weight faster then girls.:smile:
  • leelafit_mtl
    leelafit_mtl Posts: 132 Member
    I definitely count alcohol (even wine) in my daily carbs intake!!! Alcohol is for that matter only carbs...
  • Doreen_Murray
    Doreen_Murray Posts: 396 Member
    I'm not seeing any info on exercise here...I drink wine, but I work for it and it's a treat/reward. How is your wife's workout routine? No MFP together? Her cals are low, but activity level plays a role so just curious. Great that you're both focusing on your health together!
  • runnerchick69
    runnerchick69 Posts: 317 Member
    Personally I would cut the wine out or maybe just do a very small glass with dinner. When I started losing weight I was also doing it with my husband but he lost weight faster than I did even though we were eating basically the same things although his amounts were larger. Even so, we both ended up getting to where we wanted to be and I learned to accept that he was going to burn more calories than I was just due to size differences alone.
  • dueover
    dueover Posts: 18
    You are right. Wine is loaded with sugar so that will definately slow her down her progress.
  • HMVOL7409
    HMVOL7409 Posts: 1,588 Member
    I'm not a believer in of it's within the calorie range nonsense. I beleive in making healthier choices, eliminating the stuff that got you here in the first place then reintroducing them once you're closer to your GW in moderation and alcohol doesn't cut it. It's empty calories and she could be fueling herself with something better. I do agree 1200 is a little low, is she working out at all?

    I believe this to an extent. but 25% of her daily calories are coming from wine....that isn't good.

    That's exactly what I said. I think alcohol should be eliminated on a weight loss journey. Not sure where you gather I was thinking it was ok?
  • wolfi622
    wolfi622 Posts: 206
    Any alcohol within calorie limits won't affect weight loss, but on such a low intake she'll be missing a lot of important nutrients to make room for it, especially protein.

    You'd have to prise the wine glass from my cold, dead hands

    Agreed. As long as it is truly within your calorie limits it should not hinder weight loss at all, It has not hindered or slowed mine. (I have one glass of wine a day about 5 days out of 7) If it's really just two 5 oz glasses of wine a day that can be as little as 200 calories. Does reduce the amt of calories available for more nutrient rich foods though.


    ETA: If she is not eating enough calories, then 200-250 a day in wine can't be hindering her weight loss. It can't be both ways. Either she isn't eating enough or she IS eating enough......
  • verptwerp
    verptwerp Posts: 3,659 Member
    ...... You'd have to prise the wine glass from my cold, dead hands (check my diary - I even have a booze section!), but I usually only use my exercise calories for drinks, so it's over and above what I actually need food-wise ......

    That is one of the funniest posts ...... and sensible too ....... I look forward to a glass of something in the evening & don't apologize for it ......... but then you'll never hear me complain if my weight loss slows to a crawl :drinker:
  • PixEm
    PixEm Posts: 190 Member
    I know that I recently hit a wall. I think I was not taking in enough calories because once I increased my calorie intake to 1500 I started losing again. It sounds like she may not be eating enough.
  • mlbrowninsc
    mlbrowninsc Posts: 22
    Thanks again everyone! I will give her some of the feedback shown here. Her exercise is generally walking a few times a week where I do a circuit training routine on my total gym three days a week for 25 minutes or so. I have a knee that bothers me that has limited my cardio workout for the last three weeks, so the total gym is the only thing I'm using right now. She hates the machine and will not use it, lol. We do get out on the weekends sometimes hiking for photography. We will work on adjusting the diet and get rid of the alcohol and see how that goes.
  • ElectricWoman
    ElectricWoman Posts: 8 Member
    I have had excellent success losing 30 lbs (most of them pre-mfp) and getting to within a few pounds of my goal weight and I have a glass of wine (or sometimes two) with dinner every night. It took me almost two years to get here but my diet/exercise regimen is something I think I can live with forever.

    However, I wholeheartedly agree that if she's only eating 1200 calories a day and that includes wine calories that she's not getting enough nutrients into her body. Personally, I aim to eat 1200-1300 calories of good quality food (I'm only 4'11") and exercise off the wine and chocolate that I plan on having that day. I have even been known to get on the elliptical after dinner so I can have another glass of wine. Don't worry... that's not a regular thing. ;)

    It's awesome that you guys are doing this together and looking out for each other. Keep up the motivation!
  • mumof5
    mumof5 Posts: 328 Member
    shes about the same height as me. i would starve if i only ate 1200!!!

    Im that height too, but mfp says thats what i should be eating to lose weight.Ive just done 35 mins on a cross trainer today but i cant always get to doing it, so it might only be once in a week or 3 times, But are you really supposed to eat more coz you have burned those cals.

    YES!! if you don't eat your exercise cals where will
    you get the energy from?! yr muscles NEED to be fed. if you set at 1200 you will still have a deficit and you will feel a whole lot better - remember its about life style change NOT a quick fix! ;)
  • obum88
    obum88 Posts: 262 Member
    You are eating more, working out more and you are a guy.
    Hating something you haven't tried is not really hating it but not knowing about it. There are plenty of non machine cardios out there. If she wants to walk, she can try leslie sansones dvds it is low impact enough to be done everyday. Eat more, walk more and cut down on the wine.

    Editted: Also a logging mistake people make is not checking serving sizes on things, and she also has to log everything from gum, to the bite of your sandwich.

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