Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Used mfp and lost 35 lbs. I was diligent about entering the calories and tried to over estimate if I wasn't sure about something. I would give myself a cheat day once a week and always increased calories during my period (advice from gyn). I've kept the weight off for 3 years. Now I only count when I feel like I've gotten too lax about it.

I'm curious why your Gyn said to increase calories during your period?

I was between 1200-1400 calories/day and gyn felt like that was a bit low for me during that time of the month. I was able to do it with no weight gain or setbacks so clearly, it worked for my body.

OP here. Thanks for all the thoughtful replies. For those that think 1200 calories is too little, I've done a couple different online calculators and they all said 1200. After giving it some thought and reading all the replies here, I am going to purchase a digital food scale. Also I realized that I use saturday/sunday as my cheat days and pretty much treat those days as a free for all and that is going to stop. I am going to have 1-2 cheat meal a week, and that will probably be Sunday's lunch or dinner. Or if it falls on a holiday, then that meal will be my one cheat meal of the week. I am also not exercising at all, because I thought chasing 2 toddlers all the time would be enough "exercise" but apparently it's not. So that will also change. Hopefully these changes will bring about more weight loss.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For me intermittent fasting works so much better than daily calorie counting. I cut back to around 500 calories maybe three days a week and don't count calories the other days. I feel great; energetic and healthy and find the weight so much easier to lose when I don't have to focus on it every day. I can eat out with my family on a Saturday without worrying about what to order.

this is disordered.

Nope. Do your research.

It can be effective and still disordered.

New poster. I actually discussed intermittent fasting with my endocrinologist and he said it was fine and very effective for some people. Of course, he knows that I'm not suffering from an eating disorder! If I was underweight, this would have sent up all kinds of red flags for him.

The person who said that different things work for different people nailed it.

I did htis approach years ago when it was called The Rotation Diet. It was he only thing that was really effective for me -- I los 70 lbs -- and I kept the weight off for years, until I had babies and hit early menopause.

Counting points/calories worked for me in the short term, but as soon as I became lax about it, I have always gained the weight back. A year and a half ago I started working with a nutrition coach, which really helped me. She had me cut out all processed foods, dairy and gluten (although I still have whole wheat bread on occasion). She also encouraged me to exercise 4x a week. I lost 15-18 lbs and kept it off for a year, until I got pregnant. I'm still eating this way. I don't count any calories, I just make sure I am eating whole foods. This has helped me tremendously-- no mood swings, fixed my digestive/gas issues, and I'm sleeping soundly. For me this is what works, and when I don't eat this way I feel sluggish and bloated.

I'm 5'5' and fluctuate between 140 and 160.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For me intermittent fasting works so much better than daily calorie counting. I cut back to around 500 calories maybe three days a week and don't count calories the other days. I feel great; energetic and healthy and find the weight so much easier to lose when I don't have to focus on it every day. I can eat out with my family on a Saturday without worrying about what to order.

this is disordered.

Nope. Do your research.

It can be effective and still disordered.

New poster. I actually discussed intermittent fasting with my endocrinologist and he said it was fine and very effective for some people. Of course, he knows that I'm not suffering from an eating disorder! If I was underweight, this would have sent up all kinds of red flags for him.

The person who said that different things work for different people nailed it.

I personally think that what works for people really varies by person. Person A might be able to lose weight and keep it off based on diet alone. Person B might be able to lose weight and keep it off based on exercise alone. Person C might need to do both, but just a little. Person D might really have to make major changes in both areas. For me personally, I can maintain my weight pretty easily with regular exercise and no dieting as long as I don't eat like total sh*t. I can do this because my metabolism is pretty good - I've never done anything to screw it up. I think if you're constantly eating 1,200 calories, where do you go from there if you need to lose weight? 1,100? A person can't live on that.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For me intermittent fasting works so much better than daily calorie counting. I cut back to around 500 calories maybe three days a week and don't count calories the other days. I feel great; energetic and healthy and find the weight so much easier to lose when I don't have to focus on it every day. I can eat out with my family on a Saturday without worrying about what to order.

this is disordered.

Nope. Do your research.

It can be effective and still disordered.

I did it at about 1400 calories. I lost 30, and kept it off for 2+ years, although have recently put back on about 7 so am working to get that off. The key for me was protein. I had protein, especially in the am and lunch, and cut the white carbs. That helped me not feel hungry so it was sustainable.

Unlike others I did not focus on exercise because it makes me hungrier than the extra calories I burn. I walked and stay moderately active but didn't do a big exercise push. Now that I've put a couple pounds back on I am going to focus more on exercise.

Anonymous wrote:Get a Fitbit too. You need to track both your exercise and your calories. Plus you can "earn" more calories by exercising. Just walking is fine if you aren't a hardcore exercising.

I'm your same height and also started at 142. I down to 130 Using the Fitbit/MFP combination and it hasn't been too ad. The key for me has been getting extra calories through exercise.

Also as suggested get a digital scale to accurately measure your food.

Get a Fitbit too. You need to track both your exercise and your calories. Plus you can "earn" more calories by exercising. Just walking is fine if you aren't a hardcore exercising.

I'm your same height and also started at 142. I down to 130 Using the Fitbit/MFP combination and it hasn't been too ad. The key for me has been getting extra calories through exercise.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For me intermittent fasting works so much better than daily calorie counting. I cut back to around 500 calories maybe three days a week and don't count calories the other days. I feel great; energetic and healthy and find the weight so much easier to lose when I don't have to focus on it every day. I can eat out with my family on a Saturday without worrying about what to order.

this is disordered.

Nope. Do your research.

Anonymous wrote:For me intermittent fasting works so much better than daily calorie counting. I cut back to around 500 calories maybe three days a week and don't count calories the other days. I feel great; energetic and healthy and find the weight so much easier to lose when I don't have to focus on it every day. I can eat out with my family on a Saturday without worrying about what to order.

this is disordered.

For me intermittent fasting works so much better than daily calorie counting. I cut back to around 500 calories maybe three days a week and don't count calories the other days. I feel great; energetic and healthy and find the weight so much easier to lose when I don't have to focus on it every day. I can eat out with my family on a Saturday without worrying about what to order.

I had to measure and weigh absolutely everything.

How much are you exercising? The thing is if you aren't eating enough or aren't eating properly it will still be tough to lose weight. Are your 1200 calories balanced? If I'm not getting what I need I don't lose.

Anonymous wrote:I counted points and lost 15lbs recently. I was always a hardcore exerciser but the weight didn't come off until I really made an effort with the food. I was never gained, but I wasn't losing. The food is 80% of weight loss but you need exercise too.

I was going to post to say that about 80% is exercise for me and 20% is food, assuming I'm not eating thousands of calories a day. Exercise makes all the difference, because 1,200 calories a day just doesn't seem sustainable, even assuming that you get a couple of hundred calories from other sources, portion size mistakes, etc.