What Works For You Calorie/Exercise Calorie Wise

JessaLee0324

I know everyone is different, but I just want to know what works for people.
There are different ways to figure out your calorie needs and I know all of those.
But what do you aim for each day? I'm finding that MFP's 1450 calories each day for me, ends up being more the days I exercise. So on any given day, my mind is thinking there is potential for more...and lately I've been going over by 100-200 and skipping a workout. It's not consistent enough....

I read a thread today about tracking your calorie reports to see where a trend is for gain or loss. Then someone mentioned it's hard to do that, when your MFP calorie goal is never the same due to exercise. This makes sense....

Up until today, I was wondering why a lot of you guys add your exercise but only use 1 calorie. haha. Now I get it! Does this way of tracking work for you guys better then the latter? YOu keep you calorie goal the same and add your exercise at 1 calorie, just to report the exercise and not eat your calories. I'm thinking I want to try this.

According to various websites, my BMR is roughly 1430 and my TDEE is roughly 1800.

I was thinking I should aim for 1600 calories each day, no matter what. Does that seem too high? I want to lose 1/2lb or so a week, but I"m ok with more or less. I just started the Beginners 5-day HITT challenge on the dailyhiit.com website. So far I love it and want to continue on to the other challenges. So I'm getting some exercise. Weekends I walk, clean, do household projects, drink...lol.

What are your thoughts? I want to be successful, long-term. Just looking for what works.

jkwolly

If you have less than 30lbs to lose, you should be losing at 0.5lbs per week. 1-2lbs is too much, causing you to be at such a lower calorie goal.

Follow your own advice, eat minus your TDEE and do it the way that you can sustain!

shadow2soul

So the break down for me:

MFP set to Sedentary (shush people, I know the majority of the time I'm not. That is what fitbit adjustments are for)
MFP set to 1lb per week loss
MFP Goal is to Net 1410
I log exercise on fitbit.com, so it is included in my Adjustments.
If you go by individual days, I eat 50-100% of my Fitbit Adjustments. However, if you look at my week, it actually averages out to be closer to 85%-100% of the Adjustments. I tend to over eat on my rest days a bit, so I try to leave a little wiggle room by not eating all my calories on my workout days.

Now, the easier way to look at it:
My average daily Total Intake for the past 30 days : 1892
Amount lost during those same 30 days : 6.2lbs
Based on how much I lost, that means my approximate average TDEE is : 2630

I could actually probably up my intake a bit since I should probably be losing only 1lb per week. In fact the last 30 days my average ended up being about 50 calories lower than the previous 30 days.

---

The TDEE method works really well for some people. I say try it.

Oh and I really love this spreadsheet:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0Amt7QBR9-c6MdGVTbGswLUUzUHNVVUlNSW9wZWloeUE#gid=14

On the progress page, there is a spot off to the side to figure out your average intake for the past 30 days.

JessaLee0324

jkwolly wrote: »

If you have less than 30lbs to lose, you should be losing at 0.5lbs per week. 1-2lbs is too much, causing you to be at such a lower calorie goal.

Follow your own advice, eat minus your TDEE and do it the way that you can sustain!

I should have used .5 but I used 1/2 .... I meant a half a pound a week. I am 5'3" and 145. I would ideally like to lose 10lbs...so I'm not in a huge rush.

JessaLee0324

shadow2soul wrote: »

So the break down for me:

MFP set to Sedentary (shush people, I know the majority of the time I'm not. That is what fitbit adjustments are for)
MFP set to 1lb per week loss
MFP Goal is to Net 1410
I log exercise on fitbit.com, so it is included in my Adjustments.
If you go by individual days, I eat 50-100% of my Fitbit Adjustments. However, if you look at my week, it actually averages out to be closer to 85%-100% of the Adjustments. I tend to over eat on my rest days a bit, so I try to leave a little wiggle room by not eating all my calories on my workout days.

Now, the easier way to look at it:
My average daily Total Intake for the past 30 days : 1892
Amount lost during those same 30 days : 6.2lbs
Based on how much I lost, that means my approximate average TDEE is : 2630

I could actually probably up my intake a bit since I should probably be losing only 1lb per week. In fact the last 30 days my average ended up being about 50 calories lower than the previous 30 days.

---

The TDEE method works really well for some people. I say try it.

Oh and I really love this spreadsheet:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0Amt7QBR9-c6MdGVTbGswLUUzUHNVVUlNSW9wZWloeUE#gid=14

On the progress page, there is a spot off to the side to figure out your average intake for the past 30 days.

When I input sedentary and a 1 lb loss into MFP, I get 1200 caloriess! Who can do that on a regular basis unless you are sicker then a dog?!?

I don't get it. I've been eating about 1700 calories a day for a couple weeks, getting exercise, and today the scale was up almost 2 lbs from last week. I know there is no way in hell I could have gained even a quarter of a pound on what I'm doing. What gives????

shadow2soul

Well, I'm 5'4.5" and currently 168.4lbs. That's why I'm getting a higher allotment at sedentary. I also haven't updated in awhile and if I did, MFP would take away 30 calories.

As for the weight thing:
Weight – So many things can affect weight, because of this it shouldn’t be the only way you track your progress. Things to keep in mind:

• Always use the same scale – Different scales can show different weights. You will get the most accurate number for tracking when using the same scale.
• Don’t move the scale – Carpet, uneven flooring, different types of flooring…can all affect the weight on the scale. So when you weigh, you want it to be approximately the same spot for the most accurate number for tracking. [/color]
• 3500 calories – To gain 1lb of fat you need to be over maintenance by 3500 calories.
• Muscle Repair – Muscles will hold onto water to repair, because of this it is not uncommon to see a gain for a little while after a workout. This weight comes right back off when they are done repairing.
• Sodium – Can cause you to retain water. This can also be amplified if you don’t drink enough to flush it out of your system. This is also another reason for temporary weight gain.
• Water – Not drinking enough water can actually cause you to retain water. Recommended amount is 8 cups or 64oz. I drink 64 oz to 128 oz of water a day. It doesn’t have to be plain water either. I like to flavor mine with crystal light or tea.
• Time of day – Your weight can fluctuate throughout the day. So for the most accurate tracking, you want to weigh at around the same time.
• Frequency – This is up to you, but if small fluctuations bother you than only weigh once a week or less.
• Lightest Weight – Will be naked, first thing in the morning, after using the bathroom
• Multiple times a Day – Don’t Do It. As I said before, your weight will fluctuate throughout the day. What you eat, what you’re wearing, ect will all affect weight.
• Clothes – If you weigh with clothing on, keep in mind that the scale will show your weight plus the weight of your clothes. (Jeans are heavy)
• TOM - A lot of women will retain water around their TOM, but its just temporary and will go away.

My weigh in's for 8/1 to 10/29

sing809

Try not to get too discouraged over short term stalls and gains. Look at a longer average. I know my weight fluctuates quite a bit from water weight and bloating throughout the month. I just finished my first 30 days. I was starting to get a bit discouraged part way through the month with a gain and stall, but it was followed by a sudden drop.

I lost 5 pounds in my first 30 day stretch, which beat my 1 lb a week goal.

5'6 Age 42
1lb a week weight loss goal
MFP set to Active
MFP set to 1750 a day.
Exercise entered at 1 calorie.

I exercise almost every day, typically for 1.5-2 hours, unless I need a rest. I could probably set MFP to sedentary and eat back exercise calories, but I would hate having to eat fewer calories on light exercise days. I find 1750 calories very satisfying if I make healthy food choices and keep my protein high,but eating any less is hard for me. Plus, I am hoping to preserve as much muscle as possible while I lose weight.


I'm looking to add more MFP friends that are interested in strength training, IIFYM, and low carb nutrition. Add me.

malibu927

1570 calories, plus a portion of my Fitbit burns, on a 1.5 pound per week deficit (but I still have about 50 pounds left to lose, so a lot more than you) and set at lightly active as I have a job where I move around a lot. My average right now comes out to about 1.2 pounds per week because of TOM, stalls, and the like. There was a 3-week stretch in August-September where I lost nothing, right after I hit the 40 pound mark, and a weekend (my birthday and my brother's wedding) where I gained four pounds of water weight because I laxed up and spent the time celebrating. I just started lifting again after a 4-month break, three days a week, do cardio on my two days off work, and HIIT one day.

ana3067

Bumped up to 2000 cals myself, includes my 3x a week exercise. This is for an estimated ~3lb/month loss or it might be 4lbs, depends on which calculator is correct haha. but I was at 1890 which was estimated to be a 20% or 4lb/month loss rate and I was getting hungry between meals and gym performance lagged. So I don't know yet what my loss rate will be on this, but I have 15-25lbs left to lose so I don't need to lose super fast. Plus I'm getting happier with my size so I'm okay with it being slower.

I used health-calc and exrx.net to estimate my maintenance needs.

Kalikel

I would love to eat them back, but I'd never lose. Some people do, some eat half.

I think eating half is the best way to start. See how it works.

JessaLee0324

I was trying to attach my weight report, but can't figure it out (thoughts/??).
I only log my weight on Wednesdays. Do you guys do it daily? Your graph looks much more choppy then mine.

But in reality, mine is going in the right direction. It's just taking a looong time. Maybe I'm too hard on myself about what's what.

I changed my daily goal to 1600 and am going to log my exercise with only 1 calorie for two weeks and see what the outcome ends up being. I need to be able to know what my calorie limits are, always. It has to be consistent, or I know I'm going to fail. I guess if this doesn't help, I'll go back to MFP's ideas.

Also, I've always been a runner/cardio person. I am changing that tune. Nothing but strength from here on out (well....I like to walk, so walking will be included). Right now I'm doing beginner Hiit and my heart rate really gets up there, so I figure why do extra cardio????

Kalikel

JessaLee0324 wrote: »

I was trying to attach my weight report, but can't figure it out (thoughts/??).
I only log my weight on Wednesdays. Do you guys do it daily? Your graph looks much more choppy then mine.

But in reality, mine is going in the right direction. It's just taking a looong time. Maybe I'm too hard on myself about what's what.

I changed my daily goal to 1600 and am going to log my exercise with only 1 calorie for two weeks and see what the outcome ends up being. I need to be able to know what my calorie limits are, always. It has to be consistent, or I know I'm going to fail. I guess if this doesn't help, I'll go back to MFP's ideas.

Also, I've always been a runner/cardio person. I am changing that tune. Nothing but strength from here on out (well....I like to walk, so walking will be included). Right now I'm doing beginner Hiit and my heart rate really gets up there, so I figure why do extra cardio????

"Cardio" is good for your cardiovascular system, hence the name. It also helps with weight loss.

I'm not saying you should do it if you don't want to do it! Lift your weights and have fun! Just...that's the Why.