I am so confused about my calories

ZoeyRobinson
ZoeyRobinson Posts: 301
in Food and Nutrition
Online calculators tell me that eating 1400 calories will help me lose a pound a week. I have been at 1200 calories for about a year and have not lost a single pound. I am stuck in the mindset that if I eat more I will gain weight. However, last week I went up to 1400 calories and ended up gaining 4 pounds. I workout everyday and burn around 400 calories. Yet, 1200 calories is making me crabby.

I am a 28 year old female at 5'1 and weigh 170. Since i have been stuck at this weight for so long and doing everything right I have gotten depressed and ate some junk recently and I am fed up at not seeing any improvement.

How many calories should I be consuming? It is driving me mad. If I don't lose weight this month I am going to blow up my scale and go play in traffic.

Please help me.

Replies

  • Rayman79
    Rayman79 Posts: 2,009 Member
    1400 sounds more than reasonable. Even if you sat on the sofa all day you should theoretically be able to consume around 1800 cals at your height/weight/age, and not put on any weight. There should no reason you need to go down to 1200.

    If you have been eating at this level for a long time and then increase your calories, it is completely expected that you will see a little bit of weight gain. It is your bodies way of saying thankyou for a decent amount of food after being neglected for so long ;).

    I would advise staying at that level for a while, and not worry about a couple of lbs gain. Don't get obsessed by the scale - it will drive you nuts. Over a few weeks, your body will adjust to the new intake and the weight (and more) should come off.

    I would also suggest mixing up your exercise routine. If you are not doing any sort of resistance training you should definitely start. Try varying the type/amount/intensity with your workout to give your body a bit of a kickstart.

    If all this fails (and please give it a few weeks before hitting the panic button), then I'd suggest a visit to the GP to discuss your concerns. :flowerforyou:
  • ZoeyRobinson
    ZoeyRobinson Posts: 301
    I just started a new workout routine 2 weeks ago. It's the Butt Bible workout. So it is circuit training. I feel a lot more muscular now. I am going to go change my "goals" so I can have 1400 calories.

    Should I eat my exercise calories back?
  • amnsetie
    amnsetie Posts: 666 Member
    Yes eat them back, that will give you strength to keep exercising.
    If you are nervous about the accuracy of the cals then eat most of them back
  • BR3ANDA
    BR3ANDA Posts: 622 Member
    Your diary doesnt reflect a 1200 calorie intake every day, also, when you earn extra calories you eat them back plus some, & your macros are all over the place.
  • ZoeyRobinson
    ZoeyRobinson Posts: 301
    Last week i was bad with my diet. I was trying to eat 1440 like mfp told me to do. But I got really sick and depressed so I ended up eating crap.

    I was also a gluten free vegan for 4 years and vegetarian before that. So I am still trying to learn how to eat again. If that makes sense.
  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
    You are frequently over your calories, perhaps you should sit down and plan your meals to achieve 1400 calories a day intake and stick to it. Exercise some, but don't get carried away and don't eat more in response.

    The bacon and egg breakfast is better than some chocolate bar crap.

    Far too many "quick add" calories. Some huge calorie lunches.

    I've never been in a "Chipotle" but from their web site it looks like a chicken salad with fajita vegetables and cheese would give you a decent high protein meal with 320 calories or drop the cheese for 220 calories if you're wanting more for that evening.
  • kathyms13
    kathyms13 Posts: 497 Member
    id never loose on your diet sorry, maybe a bit cleaner and less chocolate.
  • ZoeyRobinson
    ZoeyRobinson Posts: 301
    even when I was a gluten free vegan living off of nothing but veggies, beans and quinoa I didn't lose a single pound.
  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
    For your height 80-100g of protein should be fine, that's 320 - 400 calories. 100g of carbs is another 400 calories, then 600 from fats and oils to get to 1400. Figure out a menu to deliver that and stick to it for 2 weeks.
  • Julietecosse
    Julietecosse Posts: 165
    Online calculators tell me that eating 1400 calories will help me lose a pound a week. I have been at 1200 calories for about a year and have not lost a single pound. I am stuck in the mindset that if I eat more I will gain weight. However, last week I went up to 1400 calories and ended up gaining 4 pounds. I workout everyday and burn around 400 calories. Yet, 1200 calories is making me crabby.

    I am a 28 year old female at 5'1 and weigh 170. Since i have been stuck at this weight for so long and doing everything right I have gotten depressed and ate some junk recently and I am fed up at not seeing any improvement.

    How many calories should I be consuming? It is driving me mad. If I don't lose weight this month I am going to blow up my scale and go play in traffic.

    Please help me.

    Hi Zoe, I am 5ft, and I finally managed to lose 16 lbs when I decided to go low carb, cutting out bread, potatoes, etc. MFP is great for counting carbs. I counted calories for ages, but did not succeed, so perhaps you could try low carbing.
  • inkandsheep
    inkandsheep Posts: 101 Member
    Are you sure you're measuring your foods correctly? I see 0.05 tablespoons of olive oil mentioned on several days - are you sure you're using such a tiny amount? 0.05 is not easy to measure...
  • brianafaye2
    brianafaye2 Posts: 166 Member
    have u gotten ur thyroid tested? i went to my doctor because i gained alot and couldnt use it, she tested my blood and found out i have hypothyroidism. now im on medicine and things r getting better
  • brianafaye2
    brianafaye2 Posts: 166 Member
    "lose"
  • theMightyAnt
    theMightyAnt Posts: 75
    Hi Zoey,
    The clearest thing is that whatever you are doing isn't working therefore you need to change it.

    With that in mind i've had a look through your food and exercise diary and have a few comments if you are serious about this.

    - 1400 calories should be fine.
    - Gardening is great but, gardening + wii hula or cleaning doesn't equal a proper workout. Try changing your exercise routine, swap Wii hula for a real exercise eg:weights or resistance routine (no you will NOT get muscle-y) and alternate this with run/swim/cycle/sprints. Also while 20 mins of circuit training is OK why not push further?
    - Re: quality of food, if you are serious about this you need to track everything and eat healthier food.
    - A lot of the food you eat contains a lot of sugars, bad fats etc. Why not try a healthier diet of fruit, fresh vegetables, meat replacement. In particular try cutting the amount of sugars and carbs in your diet. We are what we eat.
    - Track everything (drinks included) accurately and no quick added calories. Use measuring spoons /scales.

    Mostly I'd say that if you are serious about this then if it's not working you need to make some changes.

    Please bear in mind that I am not trying to be mean with some of these statements just objective on your diary and you have asked for help.

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