Advice for someone stupid.

[Scrabble]

Alrighty then,

Over the past 2 years, i have been CC'ing.
sort of..

I have been couting my meals up to 800, then on top of that i have a couple of cups of tea during the day. then i have salad with light mayo usually with whatever meal i have. Or sauce if its a sandwhich.
So im guessing, on a good day im looking at around 1000 - 1200 calories a day.

When i first started out, i lost a stone on a low calorie diet. 600 - 900 calories. then i hit a point where i stopped losing weight. I believe this starvation mode. Or whatever. So from Xmas, i have ate abit more. Gained around 9-10lbs. And now im ready again to start losing this extra weight.

I want to count all things, so tea, salad, mayo, sauces ect. How many calories do you guys think is enough for me?

I dont do very much day to day, because of various reasons. And eating 1000 calories doesnt make me lose weight.

So, i was thinking of between 900-100 calories a day. With 100 calories burned on the treadmill daily. (Unless im going climbing or hiking. Then i'll increase my intake by 150-200 cals)

x

 

[tranquility]

You need a trip to My Fitness Pal to get you started it will work out your calorie allowance for the day from your weight and activity level. You can also log all your food on there to keep track and it has a lot of foods already recorded so you just have to search for what you're planning to eat to see what the total comes to.

They don't like you to go under 1200 a day though.

 

[RachBlue]

the 2 main things that come to mind are:

are you weighing what you eat correctly - or are you estimating/weighing with old non-digital scales, etc?

can you give us an idea of your height and weight - if you're 4ft 8in and only 10lbs overweight, your whole set-up will be different than if you're 5ft 9in and 285lbs, also the amounts are different for men and women, because men have more muscle mass, and I can't guess from your screenname which you are - you don't have to post about which you are obviously, but they will matter when you work out your amounts at MFP or using any other site or book.

Hope that helps.

 

[brads27]

MyPlate - Food Diary & Food Calorie Counter | LIVESTRONG.COM

try this

 

[tranquility]

the 2 main things that come to mind are:

are you weighing what you eat correctly - or are you estimating/weighing with old non-digital scales, etc?

*wonders what's wrong with non-digital scales* Personally I'm managing fine with a set of old fashioned balance scales with the weights on one side and the pan on the other. And they weigh in ounces.

I actually prefer LIVESTRONG to MFP but there is quite a difference in calorie allowances between the two sites.

 

[Scrabble]

@tranquility

I will set up an account on that asap. Thanks for bringing it to my attention.

@RachBlue

Im weighing everything that requires it, with new electric scales. But for the most part, i tend to eat frozen ww meals, or frozen jacket potatos with salad. Or sandwiches. I like to eat little and often. 4-5 times a day thoughout the day.

Im female. 5ft7 and i currently weigh around 11stone 9.
My goal is to lose 9lbs by Christmas, more if can.

Thankyou all for your help.

x

 

[redmel]

Could you give an example of the calorie differences?

Do you mean the amount of calories you would aim to eat a day?

 

[Scrabble]

Im fairly sure i replied to this already. :S darn it.

Basically, im 5'7. I weigh 164lbs. [11.9stone] today. Im female. And i aim to lose 9 lbs before xmas.

I set up a fitness pal account.

And i wanted to know a ideal calorie amount for me to lose 1lb a week or so.

x

 

[RachBlue]

Im fairly sure i replied to this already. :S darn it.

Basically, im 5'7. I weigh 164lbs. [11.9stone] today. Im female. And i aim to lose 9 lbs before xmas.

You probably did, there are so many people on here though that it's hard to keep track!

You're starting 7lbs lower than I did, same height as me, and even at LESS than 1lbs a week you'll be at your goal by then if you're careful, so I certainly think you're being realistic and stand an excellent chance of success.

And i wanted to know a ideal calorie amount for me to lose 1lb a week or so.

You need to create a 500cal deficit to lose 1lb of fat a week, however in my experience & that of everyone I know, we're not like hourglasses that lose fat (and only fat) at a steady trickle, so be prepared to see the scales stall for a few days, then maybe leap down overnight now and then, etc. Or even go up if you eat something quite high in salt, while still staying under your limits, because your body will temporarily retain a little more water.

If you look at a pound of fatty animal flesh, eg some fatty pork, a lot of the weight is still water, and to get pure fat (eg lard) the actual body parts (sorry if that sounds gruesome) have to be refined and treated...

My point being, use those sites and check out any others you can find to work out the calories you'd need to maintain per day, then knock off 500cals per day, but unless your weight stays stable for over a week don't worry if you don't see immediate and steady progress.

*wonders what's wrong with non-digital scales*

Old ones can get a bit knackered, and not be accurate - even being out by 1g in every 10g adds up. Source of my opinion: trying to work with other people's old scales (the spring mounted type, not the ones with weights) and also years back, the ones in the cookery labs at school!

Obviously digital scales can go on the blink too, especially if they get a shower of coffee one morning... or something!

 

[Scrabble]

My point being, use those sites and check out any others you can find to work out the calories you'd need to maintain per day, then knock off 500cals per day, but unless your weight stays stable for over a week don't worry if you don't see immediate and steady progress.

On My Fitness Pal, it says 1,420 is my goal cals per day. Thats with the 500cal taken away i'd assume. The problem i have with that is if i eat that amount of cals per day, i never lose weight.. :/ Maybe thats due to my lack of exercise before.

Thanks for all your help.

x

 

[RachBlue]

I can't really be that helpful, sorry... I'm losing more on 1550cals than those sites say I should, I'm a couch potato most of the day... :sigh:

Can you up your exercise at all, even just by having 2lbs hand weights nearby and pumping those while you watch TV or relax? Or something, just things to work muscle groups a bit and get them a bit more toned - I can't do a lot of exercises myself for various reasons, I know how anoying it is when people point out the bleedin' obvious and you feel like screaming "duh, I did think of that myself years ago!"

I stop losing weight if I stop walking, been plateaued a week now for exactly that reason, yet according to walkit.com the calories I was burning with the walks were nowhere near the thousands I'd need to be dropping 2lbs a week.

'Tis maddening!

 

[tranquility]

Could you give an example of the calorie differences?

Do you mean the amount of calories you would aim to eat a day?

Yes on Livestrong I get about 200 more cals a day to aim for.

 

[tranquility]

On My Fitness Pal, it says 1,420 is my goal cals per day. Thats with the 500cal taken away i'd assume. The problem i have with that is if i eat that amount of cals per day, i never lose weight.. :/ Maybe thats due to my lack of exercise before.

Thanks for all your help.

x

I think perhaps taking a look at the type of foods you are eating rather than the number of calories you eat.

Personally I find I losing difficult if I eat a lot of carbs so I tend to keep a check on those (but not in an Atkins way). I also tend to split things like sandwiches into two servings and have half in a morning and half in the afternoon as I prefer to eat little and often too.

It is a little bit of trial and error when you start but you should find something that works for you. If you think that the MFP calorie goal is too much don't worry about eating less but don't go too low.