kgraves3 Member

If you want to lose weight at ANY pace, you need to count everything you eat. Fruit has lots of sugars, and if you start counting those fruit calories I think you'll be surprised by just how many calories some fruit has. Almost everything has at least some calories, and it's easy to underestimate them. I track everything I…

You were 5'5" and 85 lbs 8 months ago? Nah, I'm not buying it. That would make your BMI something like 14. If that is the truth, then you desperately needed to gain that weight, and are probably healthier now than you were then. If you can't see that, you might have an eating disorder. Assuming this isn't a troll post, and…

You look great, keep up the good work. :] As for people thinking you look too skinny, it's possible that they are just being petty, but I think it's more likely that they simply aren't used to seeing you at your current size, so to them you truly do look too skinny. Sometimes when people start losing weight, they take it…

That's really great! I keep my calories pretty low, when I take them up I don't really notice any benefit. In fact, I tend to feel a bit sluggish. It's good that you've found a routine that works for you. And just by the way, if someone is telling you that you're not seeing result because you aren't doing something right,…

I also do 1200 kcal a day. You should always NET whatever MFP gives you, and that is especially important for those of us on such low-calorie diets. For most people, 1200 kcal/day is the least you should ever net. And by the way, it IS going to be hard in the beginning, especially if you are dropping from eating at surplus…

Don't panic. Keep in mind that there are about 3500 kcal in a pound of fat. So that means that in your week in Vegas, you would have had to have eaten almost 60,000 kcal over maintenance to have gained 17 pounds of fat. You've probably gained a small amount of fat and have retained a lot more water than usual. Go back to…

What the OP has failed to account for is that prices on food, particularly produce, dairy, and some meats/seafood, can vary wildly in different locations. Processed packaged foods tend not to vary quite as much.

Good advice here so far. I want to add a bit of non-dietary advice though. Don't let an industry tell you what you should look like. Work out and eat healthy to feel better and have a healthier body, and learn to love your body the way it is when it is at peak health. I used to model. It was fun for awhile. But it can make…

No, no and no. First of all, I mean speak with a doctor or dietician for advice on how to make sure OP will continue to receive adequate nutrition while making such a big dietary change. I don't mean to be rude here, and I'm sure you only mean well, but unless you are a doctor, dietician, nutritionist, etc., you really…

Eat at a calorie deficit, get adequate nutrition, work out to build lean tissue. Those are the ONLY rules to weight loss. If eating clean makes you feel healthier, better, whatever, then do it. But don't worry about it. As long as you are eating at a large enough, but not too large, calorie deficit, you will lose weight.…

Please speak with a doctor or therapist about this. Don't make any drastic lifestyle changes (i.e. eliminating gluten or dairy) without first speaking with a doctor, dietician, or some other licensed health professional.

Yeah, like I said in another post on another topic, it's usually a bad idea to give advice or encouragement if it's not being asked of you (or you're in a situation where that is the point of the interaction, much like on MFP). Sure you only mean well in doing it, but it makes people uncomfortable and they may express that…

I remember Christmas one year when I was in high school. As all my family was leaving and my granddad was starting to clean, he asked my mom if she would like to take a plate of desserts home. She declined, and he said "Yeah, that's probably a good idea, Kaitlin seems to be putting on some weight." I was mortified. I was…

^THIS. Don't be afraid of your body. It's not doing anything it's not supposed to. If it feels "gross" then maybe you need to work on your attitude toward your own body and how it works. Practice good hygiene like you would normally, and you'll be fine. We all can't stop functioning for a little bit of each month because…

It's not the amount of food that's the problem, it's what you're eating and the number of calories. If you don't eat more, you will go into starvation mode (even if you feel full), and you will stop burning fat and start burning lean muscle. This is not what you want! Not only will it nearly halt your weight loss, but when…

Please read this: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/10589-for-those-confused-or-questioning-eating-your-exercise-calo It was under the "Newbies Read Me" topic in General Diet and Weight Loss Help. Yours is a very common question. Basically, the goal MFP gives you is a NET calorie goal. Your necessary calorie deficit…

That sounds great. I was already considering Endomondo anyway. It sounds like it has just about everything I'm looking for.

^This. I'd take really ridiculous ones too, just 'cause.

Go hard on the strength building exercises. Building lean muscle is the ONLY thing that will reliably increase your metabolism for the long term, and that, for many people, is the key to breaking through plateaus. Don't worry about getting bulky, if that's something you would worry about. Women don't build muscle the same…

Life is so much easier when you're not terribly fond of bacon or cheese. My roommate should see these though. He loves bacon and hot dogs and could use a few extra pounds.

Everything in moderation. I was just saying to someone else, if you know you have a weakness for a certain treat (in your case, beer), then make room for it in your diet. It can be done. That being said, I definitely had to cut down on my drinking when I started trying to lose weight, and most people who drink with any…

There's really no such thing as "spot-reducing". Your body burns fat when your energy expenditure is more than your intake, you can't force it to take it from one place.

You could try upping your calorie intake a bit, or you could try to stick with it a few more days. I eat 1200 calories a day for weight loss, and I really don't find it difficult most days, especially if I exercise. That being said, there were days in the beginning where it was difficult. But it got easier, and it got…

Please read the forum post I linked before regarding it. It is definitely sound, tried-and-true advice with a good non-technical explanation of why this is so important. Creating too large of a calorie deficit could cause you to plateau very quickly, or to burn a lot of your muscle mass. Here it is again, just in case:…

Right there with ya...

You should absolutely eat back your exercise calories. If you're worried that you will overestimate them, I wouldn't be. I personally don't count things like house or yard work (even though they are in the MFP database) because MFP takes into account that sort of activity, based on how you describe your daily activity…

This may be a silly question, but are you tracking your progress in JUST pounds? If so, that might be your problem. You should start taking your measurements if you haven't already, because if you're lifting it's very possible that you've built significant muscle. Muscle is heavier than fat, but, of course, it is much more…