Ask a Dietitian Forum Topic
Dietitian
06/30/15
Hi Folks, I'm back from vacation and look forward to answering your questions, here, in the Ask a Dietitian forum.
Best,
Kathy
Dietitian
06/30/15
From Lajs: I'm currently doing a BeachBody workout and am doing the Les Mills Combat workout. I'm wondering how many calories I should be taking in to lose weight. I'm currently 5 ft. and 161 pounds and am sedentary. I was told to eat more calories. I'm currently eating around 1,400 calories. I'm wondering if that is enough.
My answer: Hi Lajs, you can let MyNetDiary calculate how many calories for you. If you use sedentary as the overall activity level, but then log calisthenics as your exercise (only log actual net minutes of moving), then your Daily Analysis will give you the bottom line for calories, keeping in mind your weekly average weight loss goal and current weight. You can learn more about how calories are calculated and tips for entering correct settings here: http://www.mynetdiary.com/customizing-calorie-goals.html
I don't know your age or sex, so I can't say if 1400 kcal is just fine or too low or too high. If you are an adult woman, then 1400 kcal is likely appropriate for weight loss if you are not too hungry or lightheaded. Generally, 1200 kcal is the cut point for average intake to keep vitamin/mineral intake at a safe level for women trying to lose weight.
Best,
Kathy Isacks, MPS, RD, CDE
Dietitian
07/08/15
From U6777964 6:59am : Something is just not working. Will you please take a look at what I have been doing and see if you can tell me where I am going wrong. Back during the week of 6/1 - 6/7 it looked like things were starting to fall into place but then it all went wrong. I have gone back and looked at my daily meals since I started as well as the weight chart showing Cals, Carbs , etc and the way I see things I have been under in the allotted calories and carbs allowed. I use a Withings scale every day.
My reply: Hi U6777964, I can't see your data! If you want to give just me access to your data you can do this by:
- Logging into the web program
- Community tab
- Forum link
- Click my nickname "Dietitian" at the top of this post
- Scroll down to the bottom of my Person Page
- Change your attitude from "neutral" to "friendly"
- Go to YOUR "My Community Profile"
- Go to Information Sharing settings
- Find "Dietitian" row and checkmark all the data boxes. Save.
- Let me know when you want me to view your data.
Best,
Kathy Isacks, MPS, RD, CDE
Golfgame
07/08/15
Kathy,
I think that I have done as you instructed. Please now take a look at my data and evaluate it.
Thank you,
U6777964
Dietitian
07/09/15
replied to Golfgame
Hi U6777964, you are likely not creating enough of a calories deficit to lose weight. I suspect that your calories intake is underestimated. Also, you might benefit from more consistent exercise (if your Exercise Log is correct).
Here are some things that I noticed:
1. There are only 13 exercise entries since you started tracking in May. Ideally, aim for activity most days of the week. The goal of 150 minutes per week for chronic disease risk reduction is not enough to help with weight loss for most people.
2. I suspect your average calories intake from your records is falsely low, given the type of foods you are logging, use of contributed foods (which will have more error than system entered foods), and also, logging of portion size that is not recognized for certain foods (the system is likely defaulting to grams which gives a falsely low calories level). Example: on 7/3/15 at breakfast: Post shredded wheat 1 cup is listed as only 1 gram for 3 calories. That is definitely too low. You might want to check that item and re-enter the portion size with one of the available serving options (which looks like serving, oz, or gram for that particular item).
Tips:
To avoid using contributed food items, go into your Settings and untoggle "Use Contributed Foods."
To learn more about accurate food item entry (and also recipes), here are some short blog posts to read:
http://www.mynetdiary.com/more-tips-for-food-logging.html
http://www.mynetdiary.com/tips-for-accurate-recipes.html
And this post I wrote for the important basics, especially as it relates to tracking accurately: http://www.mynetdiary.com/basic-tips-for-losing-weight.html
I did notice your recorded body fat % dropped from 34% to 30.5%. If that is accurate, then that is fantastic! Is your waist size shrinking too? That is a non-weight parameter that is related to better health.
Also, bump up the veggies - especially the non-starchy types. I don't see many servings in your records.
Best,
Kathy Isacks, MPS, RD, CDE
Golfgame
07/09/15
Kathy,
How can a Fitbit be used to associate your daily activity to the program?
Dietitian
07/10/15
replied to Golfgame
Hi U6777964, MyNetDiary requires a Maximum membership for integration with FitBit and other fitness devices. How it works is explained on the website here: http://www.mynetdiary.com/calorie-counter-fitbit-integration.html#fitbitExerciseExplained
I found the integration to work well - the total calories burned came from FitBit. But I just got an Apple Watch and will be using that for my fitness data instead of FitBit from now on.
Best,
Kathy
Testarosa
07/13/15
Kathy, What is the best way to track skinless bone-in chicken thighs? We grill them all summer long with various marinades. How do you figure out the portion size? Oh, and how do you tell how much marinade is in the portion?
Walker
07/13/15
I read a lot about weight loss/ muscle gain. I also see that when people reach a weight plateau it's recommend to adjust caloric intake and exercise. My question is how can I tell the difference between hitting a weight loss wall and staying the same weight due to muscle gain?
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