Sarah's first attempt at calorie counting

kiki30

kiki30

Full Member
Hi All,

My name is Sarah & I'm 29. My weight has been yo-yoing for about 10 years now (I had been about a size 10-12 up to that). I have been on various diets - weight watchers, slimming world, healthy eating and most recently paleo (which I really struggled with!). I got married last year and have been gradually gaining weight since then. I'm now at 12st 6lbs (I had been creeping towards 13 but managed to get down a little since christmas).

I am sick of feeling crap about myself and none of my clothes fitting me, so I am determined that this is the year I am going to reach my target weight once and for all. I have decided to give calorie counting a try. I have downloaded my fitness pal and I'm feeling really optimistic about sticking to this this time! My husband is also being v.supportive, so I have no excuses.

Starting off at 1200 cals. Have only really started today (I had been logging with the app since Monday but was unwell and wasn't sticking to the calories). So I'm going to weigh in on Sunday and consider that my starting weight.

Looking forward to this, and hoping these pages will help with motivation on the harder days.
 
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Hi Sarah,

Welcome to the Calorie Counting threads! I think it really helps to have somewhere to record what you're eating and how things are going (and somewhere to be accountable when things go a little bit wrong some days!).

I'm approaching my late twenties too and I've been yo-yo dieting for about 8 years now and know it feels crappy, especially when you can't fit into some of your clothes but whereas I gave up on WW and Slimming World fairly quickly I've managed to lose the weight (quite slowly!) with calorie counting and exercise.

What was the Paleo diet like?

I think the fitness pal app is really useful, good luck :)
 
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Hi Bella...thanks for commenting :) Well done on your weight loss, 2st 9lbs is great!

The paleo diet was ok. I just found it very restrictive (no carbs/sugar/gluten/dairy/alcohol/processed foods) and I also wasn't feeling great while on it. I think what I'm excited about with the calorie counting is that there are no rules to follow, and nothing I have to/can't eat. I don't know why I've never tried calorie counting before - when reading about it, it just made perfect sense to me & I got really excited about it. I have been trying really hard to get back on the healthy eating band wagon the past few weeks, but keep ending up eating crap or bingeing. Today is the first day in weeks that I've managed to stay on track. I even had my scales out to make sure my calorie counting was accurate! :)

Friday

Breakfast (214 cals)
45g crunchy nut cornflakes with almond milk

Lunch (257 cals)
Sandwich (2 gluten-free bread, 1/2 light cheese triangle, slice lean ham)
Tesco melon fingers
Satsuma
Tea with skimmed milk

Dinner (522 cals)
Sweet potato fries (baked with frylite & spices)
Chicken breast with franks hot sauce
Side salad with rocket, spinach, and balsamic vinegar

Snacks (129 cals)
Tea with skimmed milk
Curly wurly
Can pepsi max

Total: 1122 cals :)
 
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You've made a great start! :) And it's a good idea to measure/weigh.

The Paleo diet sounds quite restrictive. It is fab being able to eat anything you want within reason/with portion control!

I occasionally count my calories in 60 calorie units (the older pre-propoints Weight Watcher's points were 60 calories) to make things easier but I think I need to stop doing that because then I over- or underestimate my cals. I might try sweet potato chips this weekend, which spices did you use?
 
Thanks Bella! Here's hoping I can stick to it now...

I used black pepper & smoked paprika. I also ended up having to sprinkle a little bit of franks hot sauce on at the end because I burnt them a little bit! (oops!)
 
Hi - welcome to Calorie Counting.

When you went on MFP is 1200 the calories they recommended you to have? IMO it is a little low to start with - would start at 1400 then you have some lea way when you start to lose as 1200 really is the lowest you should go.
When I started I was given 1400 by a class instructor then when I started to lose she moved it to 1200.
 
Hi Sarah,

Welcome to calorie counting!

I'm 6 months in now and can honestly say it's the easiest diet I've ever followed!

Like you I started out with paleo but found it too restrictive.... Whilst coming to that realisation I was also counting calories and realised it would be an easy switch to introduce more fun food without undoing all my good work!

You'll find plenty of support on here and there are some really lovely people all ready to offer any advice or support that you need.

Good luck on your journey x
 
Thanks, really appreciate everyone taking the time to read and comment. Systema, I entered my details on MFP and another thing online, and it recommended 1200.

How do you all find weight loss on calorie counting? Is it consistent?

Edited: On my laptop now & can see your signatures - both of your weight losses look great Systema & Becky. Well done!! :)
 
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I'm a bit confused now about how many calories I should be on. I can't seem to check again in myfitnesspal now that I've already set my account. Do you need to lower your calories as you lose weight in order to keep losing? Is that why you think 1200 is too low to start on? I am not exercising at the moment but am hoping to start in the next few months so would that make a difference?
 
If you go onto Google ams search BMR calculator. ...The one at the top of mine is www . b mi - calculator.net/ BMR - calculator

Go on to here and put in your stats to get your bmr, then click on the link to calculate your daily calorie needs and multiply it by your activity level. ..

I get a bmr of 1506.... I then multiply by 1.2 (inactive) to get my cals at 1807....then minus 500 for every pound you aim to lose per week (3500 calories is 1 lb of fat)....

Remember to not go below 1200 though.

If you want me to calculate it for you I can. ... I need your height in feet and inches, weight in pounds and age though.
 
blubex said:
If you go onto Google ams search BMR calculator. ...The one at the top of mine is www . b mi - calculator.net/ BMR - calculator

Go on to here and put in your stats to get your bmr, then click on the link to calculate your daily calorie needs and multiply it by your activity level. ..

I get a bmr of 1506.... I then multiply by 1.2 (inactive) to get my cals at 1807....then minus 500 for every pound you aim to lose per week (3500 calories is 1 lb of fat)....

Remember to not go below 1200 though.

If you want me to calculate it for you I can. ... I need your height in feet and inches, weight in pounds and age though.
Click to expand...

Would also add I put in inactive but then track my exercise and eat some of those cals back
 
blubex said:
If you go onto Google ams search BMR calculator. ...The one at the top of mine is www . b mi - calculator.net/ BMR - calculator

Go on to here and put in your stats to get your bmr, then click on the link to calculate your daily calorie needs and multiply it by your activity level. ..

I get a bmr of 1506.... I then multiply by 1.2 (inactive) to get my cals at 1807....then minus 500 for every pound you aim to lose per week (3500 calories is 1 lb of fat)....

Remember to not go below 1200 though.

If you want me to calculate it for you I can. ... I need your height in feet and inches, weight in pounds and age though.
Click to expand...


Thanks a million Becky, that's a big help! Did that and it gave me 1318 when I took away 500. Should I stick with the 1200 I had been on, or would it be best to up it to 1300 now and then reduce to 1200 in a few wks when I have lost a bit? (Not sure if 100 cals will even make much of a difference!) Sorry for all the questions! :confused:

It doesn't seem that I have a whole lot of wiggle room with calories if the max I can lose on 1300 cals is 1lb a week and lowest I can go is 1200, so I'm thinking I might need to start exercise sooner than I thought!
 
Not sure why but my last reply doesn't seem to have posted. That's very helpful Becky, thanks a million. It gave me 1300 when I deducted 500. Should I just stick to the 1200 cals I was on, or would it be better to up it to 1300 cals and then drop back to 1200 cals in a few weeks when I've lost more? I would like to lose more than 1lb a week if possible... Sorry for all the questions! :confused:

Doesn't seem like I'm going to have a lot of wiggle room for weight loss if the max I will lose on 1300 cals is 1lb / week, and lowest I can go is 1200 cals. Think I will have to start exercising sooner than I had planned!
 
Exercise will certainly boost your losses.

A sustainable loss is 1-2lbs per week. ..if you lose it too quick you can struggle to keep it off. I would probably suggest 1300 for a couple of weeks to let your body adjust and then drop to 1200 if you feel you can do it.

I am slowly increasing mine now to slow my losses am going up in 100 increments every two weeks.

Make sure you drink plenty of water too. ..I swear this boosts losses x
 
Thanks Becky, I'll do that so. Will stick to 1200 today & tomorrow if I can because I was a disaster earlier this week, and then start from Monday at 1300 cals. Luckily water is one thing I'm good at, even when my food goes off track. Thanks again for the advice! :)
 
Hi Kiki,

One thing to bear in mind is that if you have a tendency towards binge-eating it is best to avoid being overly restrictive with your calorie allowance because it is known to lead to bingeing.

You could try to stick to 1200 cals but allow yourself 1300 so that you don't feel as though you've messed up if you find 1200 tricky. Also it's a good idea to increase your activity levels so that you're getting at least 3.5 hours a week because it can make a massive difference.
 
My husband is really getting on board with this. I think he really gets now how badly I want to lose weight, and realises that I find it hard to do it by myself, so he's really making an effort. Yesterday, he looked up low calorie recipes that we would both be able to eat! (He doesn't need to lose weight, and also doesn't eat healthy foods usually.) He has also been looking up exercises that we can do together :)

Food has gone well today.

Breakfast (225 cals)
2 scrambled eggs with spinach, mushrooms, and peppers
Tea with skimmed milk

Lunch (263 cals)
Melon fingers
Toasted sandwich (2 gluten free bread) with ham, rocket, and 1/2 light cheese triangle
Tea with skimmed milk

Dinner (465 cals)
Had a really tasty chicken salad with rocket, spinach, quinoa, chicken, sundried tomato, and toasted pumpkin & sesame seeds

Snacks throughout the day (236 cals)
Can pepsi max
Curly wurly (still have some left, I froze it and have been just having small bits a couple of times a day rather than eating it all at once)
Blueberries
Salt & vinegar snackajacks

Total: 1189 cals

I ended up using quite a few cals on snacks. I wasn't going to have the snackajacks, but thought I better to bring my cals up. I haven't felt hungry or had any cravings throughout the day.
 
Bella-slimmer said:
Hi Kiki,

One thing to bear in mind is that if you have a tendency towards binge-eating it is best to avoid being overly restrictive with your calorie allowance because it is known to lead to bingeing.

You could try to stick to 1200 cals but allow yourself 1300 so that you don't feel as though you've messed up if you find 1200 tricky. Also it's a good idea to increase your activity levels so that you're getting at least 3.5 hours a week because it can make a massive difference.
Click to expand...


Thanks Bella, I really appreciate the advice. I'm going to up my calorie intake to 1300 from Monday (I didn't actually get on track until yesterday, so going to stick to 1200 today & tomorrow). I do have a tendency to binge, so I think calorie counting is going to be better for me than plans like paleo where you have to completely avoid foods. I know that a big binge trigger for me is when I get stressed/tired and don't have meals ready, so I'm trying to be organised and I have my meal plan done out for the next week. Also got some low-cal snacks for my office in case I get peckish at work. Hoping that, along with this diary and tracking my food on MFP and my husband's support will help me avoid the binges. Fingers crossed!!! :fingerscrossed: :)
 
Decided I would weigh in on Sundays when I have a bit more time in the morning. Didn't think I would have lost anything today since I hadn't started properly until mid week. But I'm down 3lbs!! :) I'm delighted. 12st 2.5lbs now. Really good incentive to keep going, especially since I'm close to getting down to the 11s!!
 
Also, woke really abruptly when my alarm went off this morning. I though it was Monday and that I had slept through my earlier alarms for work. Was so nice to realise it's actually Sunday! :)
 
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