A Bit Confused

Hey Guys.

I just joined this site. I have been trying to lose weight for about a year though and haven't been very successful. I'm a bit confused about a few things. For about three months, I've kept my daily calorie intake at about 1200-1700 a day and have only lost about 4 lbs. I only slipped up a few times. I would like to lose about a pound a week. Could the reason that I have not lost more weight be because I'm not sticking to a set amount of calories per day? Would it be better to stick at 1200 per day? Is that to little? I usually don't exercise. If I do start exercising, should I eat more on the day that I do exercise or stay at 1200? Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks!

Weight:137

Height: 5 "2"

Goal Weight:120

hi lizzy, congratulations on the 4lbs loss...ok, for u to lose about a pound a week you'd have to eat at around 1200-1300kcal a day and do atleast 25mins of exercise daily (jogging in place around the house with some music on or infront of the tv is pretty good exercise if u prefer to exercise at home and don't have any kind of exercise equipment)...since u're petite and u're only slightly overweight, i don't think u should be eating more than 1500kcal a day unless u're already real active or exercising for abt an hour or so a day, for the same reason, u should start exercising so that u can lose 1-1.5 pounds a month. sticking to 1200kcal a day gives the most significant results quicker and is still safe from my experience, i dunno abt u but i personally hate slow weight loss of half a pound or less a week! you can start out at 1250kcal a day, and drop 50kcal each month until u reach ur goal, but whatever u do, don't go below 1100kcal a day ok. if u don't want to drop your calories below 1200, then u'd definately have to start taking up some form of exercise to lose atleast a pound a week...good luck, and take each day at a time!

Thank you so much for your advice. It's making more sense now.

Some members here would kill to lose 4lbs in three months. jk!
How old are you?  If your body is still growing it may need more calories.
What kind of foods do you eat?  Are you getting enough protein, carbs, fruits and veggies.
Are you drinking enough water?
Remember the less weight your body needs to lose the harder it will be to take off.  Could be your body has told itself that this weight is healthy for me.

I am 21. I have stopped depriving myself foods I love like baked chips, chocolate, and bread. I eat what I want, but use portion control and usually never go over 1500 calories a day. I eat fast food occasionally, but my meals typically consist of a sandwhich and chips or a microwave dinner. When I start cutting out my favorite (not-so-healthy) foods, I just end up binging. I only drink about a cup or two of water a day. Keep the great advice coming! :)

Hi lizzy, welcome!

First of all, i'm glad to see you're self-aware enough to recognize that deprivation triggers binging.  You may get advice from many here to cut out all the "unhealthy" foods you eat, and the motivation for that advice will be coming from a well-meaning place, but please, my advice to you is to keep doing what you're doing.  Do NOT start a cycle of yo-yo diet behavior, especially when you KNOW it triggers binge behavior for you.  Keep eating what you want, and continue with your portion control, you're doing fine with that.  There are no "bad" foods, there's just food.  What makes it bad is how much of it we eat.  I'll probably get pig-piled for this, and get buried with statistics and articles until my head explodes, but oh well.

Now, I would also advise you to try and ADD some fruit and veggies if you can, where you can.  Find ones you truly like, and fit them in.  But don't make it a "have to" kind of thing, find the ones you really enjoy eating!

As for exercise, I would rather see you eating at the top of your calorie range and fitting in exercise to burn calories than have you eating a the lower end of your range and not exercising.  Have you ever enjoyed exercise?

Oh yes, and fluids.  You really should be drinking at least 2 liters of fluids a day.  What else do you drink besides the 2 cups of water?

Hiya Lizzy,

All good posts here. I would like to add my 2 cents. All of these numbers are just numbers. Kinda to get you in the ballpark when you are just starting out.

There are so many variables, what works for some, might not work for others.

I am a big believer in listening to how your body feels. For instance, if you feel weak before your next meal, it means you waited too long between meals.

Keep a food journal, and try to substitute healthier, lower calorie foods for what you are presently consuming. As well as watch the portion control.

For me, I spent some time figuring out how many cals I can consume a day and not gain weight. Then, I try to create a 500 cal deficit, through exercise and healthy eating. I want to cut 300 cals from my eating plan, and do 200 cals with exercise.

I am a softy - I don't wanna starve myself, and I am not too keen on the exercise thing, LOL.

The variables - some folks have faster metabolisms than other folks. Some folks might have an undiagnosed medical problem, such as thyroid or diabetes. Some folks might just be too busy to sqeeze in an exercise program - I feel for all the single moms out there!!!

You have chosen the good thing - to learn how to eat properly, and investsigate an exercise program. And look at you !!! You have lost 4 pounds already!!!

It's kinda like we all have our very own, custom made puzzle. And we are tryng to help each other figure it out.

Short cuts, like fasting, do not work, or at least the results do not last.

Good luck to you!!!

Thank you all for your help! I have set a goal to go to the gym 3x a week. I really enjoy yoga, so I will start doing that. But do you think that is enough exercise? If not, I will also try to get on the elliptical for 30 minutes or so 3x a week as well. I am also a college student, so I spend at least 20 min. a day walking around campus.

Oh, also, I am a diet coke addict. I drink at least 3 cups a day of it. I am going to start drinking 1 cup of water for every cup of diet coke I drink. Then I'll add on from there. Thanks again!

Lizzy

Hi lizzy!  I'm glad you came back.  Ok, I ran your numbers, which i'm guessing you did too, and it came back that you should consume about 1200 cals a day.  Now, that's if you lead a sedentary lifestyle.  Whatever physical activity you do above and beyond sedentary you can add the calories on top of the 1200.  So let's say you exercise and burn 300 cals a day, 1200 + 300 = 1500.  That means you can eat 1500 cals a day and still lose weight.

I would suggest you go to the tools area and lookup how many calories are burned by your daily activities like walking around campus.  I think 1700 cals a day, if that's what you've been consuming semi-regularly, might have been slightly too high to lose weight if you haven't been doing much else as far as exercise activities go.

Yoga is good if you enjoy it, it's always good to find something you like to start with!  Go to the tools area and see how much that burns and add that to your daily calorie intake.  And the elliptical is also a good start :)  add that too!

Let us know how it's going!  Oh, and the fluid intake, I think it's a great idea to add the water on top of the soda!  I think you'll be surprised at how good that will make you feel.