Mookz0r

I'm in a similar situation to you - SAHM with 2 toddlers - but I've just set my activity level to "light" (the one with lots of standing like shop assistant) and only log the activity as exercise if I've done a huge amount of it (like a 2 hour walk, cooking for a party, having a big clear-up after a playdate, etc...)

Yes, as the others have said, when you're exclusively feeding (in the 1st 6 months) add 500, then drop to 300. I started MFP when DS was 11 months old and only feeding twice a day and added 200 per day. I just adjusted my calorie goals, rather than having to add an exercise for every single day (boring! lol) There are also…

swim, walk, do yoga and pilates (never underestimate the importance of pelvic floor exercises!) and above all, don't stress about your weight. I know in the US your OBGyns will tell you how much they want you to put on (or not) and all that, but really... it doesn't matter. Not in the slightest. Every woman and every…

I'm not able to get down to a gym, but have lost all the weight through diet alone - and sticking to 1400-1600 cals at that. I lead a relatively active life, looking after my two toddlers, walking lots and generally being "on the go". When I first started, I lost weight quickly - probably about 1lb a week, then I plateaued…

I'm the same as you - 5'6 and my goal - sooooo close - is 140-145! I started off my MFP journey in May at 166lbs... plateaued for a couple (or 3) months at 155 and now it's falling off again... albeit slowly. Top tips? - Do a warts'n'all diary for a week to see your own eating patterns - log absolutely everything,…

Aside from the carbs aspect (you may want to try substituting the rice with loads of chunky veg with your curries), my suggestion would be to eat more. 1200 cals is the utmost lower limit and at 150lb, you're not hugely overweight. I'm guessing you have your settings to losing 2lb a week.. I had a plateau when I was at…

or use sparkling water with squash or juice (lemon juice especially) to make your own fizzy drinks. 6/ instead of a sandwich (with bread), have all the fillings you wanted on a ricecake.

just posted this on teh other board, but not sure if you'd see! yes, you need 300-500 more calories a day when you're pregnant and breastfeeding... so as your pregnancy progresses, go from 300 extra to 500 and then if your are exclusively breastfeeding, stay on 500 extra until bubs is about 6 months old, then cut back down…

You'll be surprised... this site doesn't just cater for grossly obese individuals. It is also helpful for "normal" sized people who want to keep on top of their weight and for people who are recovering from eating disorders and are tracking their calories to ensure they are eating enough. Don't ever assume that everyone in…

I went to "goals" and set it to "maintain current weight" rather than "lose" and jotted down what it came up with... and obviously didn't change it! Just to tie in with the rest of the discussion - if eating healthily was solely about nutrients, then we could all live off pills, but we can't. The unfortunate thing is that…

I'm sure the properly starving masses in Africa will be pleased to hear that in fact, hardly eating any calories each day only has minimal effect on their metabolisms. How do you then explain why people on very low calorie diets stop menstruating, start losing muscle or have stunted growth if they are children? Honestly,…

Yup! I think everything's been covered and so basically, yes, it is is a bit weird, but your body will adjust, generally within a few days. The first thing I thought when I read your initial post was "pregnant!" so maybe it'd be an idea to do a test...

Ahhh... student days! My top tip, aside from the fast food and whatnot, is hold off the boozze and sodas - even the diet versions. It's all just junk of the worst kind! Anyhow, mum-of-two, I'm now [even more of] a quick meal supremo! - Fish/ Chicken in creamy mushroom sauce: cook chicken/ fish and sliced mushrooms in a…

with that much exercise (my own 25lb baby has only just started walking) you should be eating around 1400-1600 cals a day (200-400 exercise calories). Also, is 1200 your goal calorie intake? You mentioned that you are often under your calorie goal... and if that's only 1200, then that is simply not enough. If you are…

My goodness me, you've done amazingly well! You look so much healthier too - you skin especially!

It's not crap, hun, but it can do with some tweaking. I personally think you're spot on for your calorie goal - 1400-1500 is perfect. I'm fed up of seeing people's set to 1200! There's more to life than a diet! I think there are some things though that aren't quite right. I noticed you'd logged some mini cornish pasties -…

Well, I've lost 8kg (17lb) and haven't gone down a dress size! I'm not measuring my weight-loss goal by dress-size though, because I couldn't physically imagine myself to be a size 8-10 (UK) - I would look so gaunt and wretched because my build is such that I need a few good curves to look like a proper woman! Anyhow, even…

Yes, I'd also just go out and enjoy the meal! I haven't had a look through the menu, but an easy way I found to not have so many calories is to ask for potatoes to be replaced with more veg or to go with whatever option doesn't come with pasta (high proportion of pasta to sauce)... or only eat half the rice they may serve…

Little steps... you're so close to your goal! I know this is going to sound weird, but why don't you just go to your maintenance calories and so if you come in under, it's a mental bonus? If you were to eat fewer calories than your maintenance, and go to the gym, then you'll be in deficit and still lose, but without seeing…

This is going to sound gross, but if you think about it... if you have a big 3 course meal out, you might eat 1 or 2lbs of food, right? That weight of food is going to be sitting inside you until you poo it out. Fact. Weighing yourself the morning after a big meal or night out is almost never going to give great results...…

yeah, you see, those "little extras" were the reason I needed to start logging... the mouthful of pasta in sauce that I'd finish off the children's plates... the single bite of cake... Plus, I'm NEVER under my goal by 100!

Sorry, but the name alone turns my stomach! Spray-on dessert... hmmmmm :sick:

well, you've probably already seen mine :wink: but the answer is yes and no. I do add everything except for salt, pepper, herbs (it's leaves, after all and always worth 0!). I also don't add lemon juice because for the quantities I use for dressings and in my water, it's 0 cals anyway. In my baking, I even count the…

and how many calories are you eating each day? If you're down to 1200 or less, then it's just not enough.

smashing! Thanks! I'm apparently at a calorie goal that should let me lose 1lb a week, but I seem to be losing more, so I guess I'm a bit more active than I thought I was! I reckon I'll shortly start upping my cals by 100 or so every couple of weeks - that should take me 8 weeks to get to my maintenance cals.

Same here for the shopping! I reckon sightseeing and shopping are on a par - leisurely walking with a few breaks... but hey, 3 hours of leisurely walking is going to burn more calories than 3 hours of sitting on the sofa!

well, I've lost 14lb through diet alone (I wasn't that big to start with - 168lb) but I've now hit a wall, so feel I need to start exercising formally to break through it. I don't have issues with saggy skin! By "not exercising" I mean not hitting the gym or doing formal exercise - I lead a busy, active and sporadically…

My body needs 1412 just to exist - my BMR - so I can't possibly see how dropping to 1200 would be a wise move. My body would be unhappy, I'd be unhappy and well, it just wouldn't work. I lost 14lbs on 1450-1550 a day (without including exercise calories). I'm now 154lbs.

Thanks for all your help. I'll be switching my diary back to "private" now! I'm not a great believer in dropping calories radically - I prefer to set up a workable plan that I can stick to happily for the rest of my life - learning what reasonable portion sizes are, etc, so that I don't have to count calories exactly. I…

If you're pregnant and certainly when you're breastfeeding, you need to be eating *at least* 1600-1800 calories a day - without counting the exercise calories or anything else. For a baby under 6 months old, you'll need 500 calories more, and once they're feeding less (so after 6 months, and when they're on solids) it'll…