Have you found my fitness pal to be accurate with calories in?
I am using my fitness pal and it says in order to lose 2 lbs per week I should eat 1330 calories a day. Before using my fitness pal I started at 254 and got down to 248. I was able to maintain it for several days but now the scale is creeping back up a lb at a time. I do weigh every morning but I only record my weight weekly. Today I weighed in at 250.9. I'm not sure what to do? I'm having a hard time finding that magical calories in #. Another thing is my mentality. Old mentalities are hard to break!... Specifically the one that is stuck in my head saying "the less you eat the more weight you lose". I already feel like I'm eating more than I did before counting calories. I have a hard time getting up to the 1330 calories because I just feel full so much more with more protein, complex cards, fruits and vegetables. Should I start with increasing, decreasing or keep the calories at 1330? Oh, and I do try to exercise at least 30 minutes 5 days a week.
I use the olivia method, basically you put in your maitence calories (Bmr x1.3)
Then for work out days I leave 800-1000 calories left in green and for non work out days I leave 500-700..
Here's a Better explanation, I enjoy this way because it shows your deficit
Some people do not lose in a constant downward motion. When I am CCing and using my fitbit, I know that I should lose 2lb a week. Sometimes my scale gets "stuck" and bounces up or down around a certain weight for up to 10 days! It can be irritating to get on the scale and see these fluctuations, but I KNOW that if I keep on going, the scale will eventually give in, and I will have a nice woosh that takes a couple pounds with it.
Another thing is that I do not eat at a set calorie number. I eat within a calorie range of 1300 - 1800 calories, because there are some days that I am naturally hungrier. This last week I ate 9797 cals that averaged out to 1400 cals a day. Sometimes my weekly cals average out to about 1600 a day.
@ envelope, I have noticed that trend with myself too. Lately I'm gaining weight though. Yesterday was a difficult day. We had my son's birthday party and I indulged in the party food. I expect to gain a little from that though. But not counting that, the scale had already started creeping up and I don't cheat on normal days. Actually, yesterday was the first time in two weeks that I went over my calories. I'm not sure what that magical calorie in # should be for me.
I know, that's why I'm confused. I think I am very precise down to every single thing that goes into my mouth. I only drink water. I exercise 5 days a week and alternate between wii fit, 30 day shred and the treadmill. When I count calories I first write everything down in my food journal according to labels and weighing things like meat, fruit and almonds on my scale. Then I put everything into MFP to compare it. It's all the same. The only thing I can think of would be my sodium intake and maybe Im gaining muscle mass. Ever since I started the 30 day shred my muscles have been sore although that is getting better each day.
Week one I lost 4.4 lbs, which I know was probably water weight. Week two I gain 2 lbs. I'm wondering if I should increase my calorie intake or just leave it alone and keep pushing through no matter what the scale says?
When I started losing weight, I only weighed when I went to the doctor. I found that weighing everyday was messing with my mind. As long as I stuck to my plan COMPLETELY I figured there was no reason to weigh myself so often. I know that some people say you need to weigh in everyday or every week, but for me, I don't think I would have stuck with my program had I checked constantly. My weight normally fluctuates a lot during my period ect. Now that I am getting closer to my goal, I weigh more often, and once I am at maintenance I will weigh once a week. Try just sticking to your program and you will lose...don't check so often. I did up losing over 55-57 lbs. 10 more to go, but these are the hardest!
Thanks camper and a big congrats on your progress so far! You are probably right about not weighing so often. Despite the scale creeping up I have decided to stick with my plan as it is. Surely the scale will catch up. In the meantime, I probably shouldn't weigh so often because it can be discouraging. I bet I will have a whoosh soon.
MFP, has been very good to me in the past( I'm jus getting back on track). Granted I look at my calories then pick the exact one to log in, if what I'm looking for isn't there, then I add it. I'm sure the scale will move soon, and I bet it will be nice!
I wasn't seeing the scale move either. I looked at what I was taking in and it was too many carbs (even in the 1200 calorie range) I uped my proteins and started to see things move.
Thank you wilder7,the scale has started moving again. I'm not sure what I did differently but it's moving in the downward position. I will have to keep what you said in mind though because I am the kind of person who can get lost in the carbs, even complex carbs.
Anything can cause the scale to go up for a day or two - the time of the month, large sodium intake, heat, or the color of the sky that day.
While I do weigh every day, I only record a weight one day a week. (Mondays) That's the number I use to determine if my plan is going well or it needs to be adjusted.
You'll also hear a lot on these boards that people may lose nothing for a week or two and then have a big drop all at once. Weight loss does not appear to be a linear thing.
Don't worry about the exact amount of calories so much in my opinion. I eat around 1200 calories a day. That means some days it's less and some days it's more. I just try to hover in general around that number. For me, if I was too strict, I wouldn't be able to keep going, so I need a little leeway in the numbers as this is for the long haul.
I'm not sure if anyone has mentioned this, I haven't read the entire thread...but if you just started exercising, your muscles could be swollen, and it will go away as your body adjusts to the exercise and you'll get a big whoosh at the end of it. I'd say give it another week.
Have you found my fitness pal to be accurate with calories in?
