Tips for staying within Calorie allotment!?

segacs

MaryCS62 wrote: »

Out of curiosity, do you exercise regularly? I usually manage 3x week, 30 minutes, but I want to increase it. How does TDEE allow for that, or do you have to consistently exercise, etc?

Semi-regularly. But TDEE averages it out over time. I just log actuals -- weight lost, calories consumed -- to get an idea of my average TDEE based on the amount of exercise and activity I typically do. If I increase it significantly (e.g. by starting a new exercise regimen) then I'll just up the calories a bit if I'm hungry, or else simply enjoy the faster weight loss. Likewise if I were to decrease it significantly for a long time, I'd lower the calories, though I aim not to do that.

But for me, this method takes the tedium and guesswork out of logging every little bit of exercise I do. Especially since logging exercise calories is rarely all that accurate anyway.

Works for some people, not for others. I tried the MFP method at first but this suits me better, I've found.

segacs

By the way, I should specify that I started off using a calculator to estimate it, but I adjusted based on my real-world results over the first 90 days or so. I log calories and weight daily in Excel and calculate my actual observed TDEE based on that. Yes, I'm a nerd. It's valuable, though, because it turns out I had been *under*estimating my activity level.

clambert1273

segacs wrote: »

By the way, I should specify that I started off using a calculator to estimate it, but I adjusted based on my real-world results over the first 90 days or so. I log calories and weight daily in Excel and calculate my actual observed TDEE based on that. Yes, I'm a nerd. It's valuable, though, because it turns out I had been *under*estimating my activity level.

So I am NOT the only one!!! lol

segacs

clambert1273 wrote: »

So I am NOT the only one!!! lol

I think we data geeks are more common than we might believe.

caseythelab

I eat the same thing for breakfast and a.m. snack just about every day. I don't input my lunch until I eat it, but I do make sure it's around 400 calories. I usually only have 400-500 left for dinner unless I workout (or at least walk the dog!), but that's just life. Let's face it, to lose weight while still having a little treat daily (for me usually a Luna protein bar) ya gotta work out at least a little!

LessthanKris

I meal plan for the whole week. I enter all my dinners in at the beginning of the week. My breakfasts, lunches, and snacks do not vary much week to week after my dinners I enter breakfast and lunches in and plan out those meals for the full week. Doing it this way helps me plan when I can have a higher calories lunch or breakfast based on the workouts I have planned for the week. I never pre-log my exercise but I keep in mind which days are my lifting days and which days are my cardio days.

gonabfit

Thanks everyone! MFP didn't alert me to all of the messages, so I'm just now seeing them! Thanks for writing back

McAvena101

Does anyone know any good recipes to help with starting to eat in a way that keeps me healthy and on track with the in take for calories, fat, cholesterol, and all that?

RoxieDawn

What do you like to eat? How do you prepare your meals (do you cook for example). I see that you are 19 and I really did not cook at 19.

Be glad to help...

Angierae75

I pre-log my dinner, and plan out the rest of my food based on that. But dinner is the one meal a day I eat with other people, so I want to make sure I'm able to eat what they're eating, even if it's smaller portions.