Calorie intake seems ridiculous

JeriAnne84

I just got my NROL4W on Saturday and am almost done reading it. I decided I should change my calorie goal on MFP since he says to eat more. MFP set me at 1700 to lose .5 lbs a week. I'm 224 and am 5'06" and 30 years old. I don't really care so much about my goal weight, I had decided at 130, but I've decided I rather lose the fat and look more muscular. I caluclated my TDEE, which put me at 2779. I decided to not eat at that just so I can lose fat, but not go crazy with it like he says. I used an online caluclator (the Scooby workshop one) to figure all this since I'm at work and don't have my book with me with the whole section on how to figure it out. Plus math...meh. The calculator puts me at eating 2501 calories a day. That seems like a crap ton of calories to me. Is that something that seems reasonable to lose fat or should I stick with 1700? I also changed my macro goals to 40% carbs, 30% protein and 30% fat.

AM I DOING THIS WRONG? lol I figure I'd set it and then tweak it as I worked through the program, but I don't want to start out eating a massive amount of calories and screwing up what I've already accomplished or eating too little and feeling like crap all the time.

DawnEmbers

I will admit that I'm not following the eating portion of the book (and my workout veers off course slightly too but that's another topic). From what I've noticed on the site in reference to Scooby workshop for TDEE is they recommend taking 20% off in order to create a deficit, to try it out for about a month, then evaluate from there if you need a little more or a little less.

I need to do some work on mine because with MFP before work out set at lightly active, I get about 1350 per day. I'm also 4'11.5" so that has a bit of an affect. I have lost over 30 lbs, as my start weight was 211. On exercise days I get closer to 1600 calories, or try as I struggle to get enough protein but that is more of an issue cause I can't have dairy often (mild allergy). I don't eat 6 times a day either because I don't take all my breaks at work so don't take the time for such most days. I'm going to be trying to increase some cause most the other calculators put 1350 as too low for me, so I'm doing to slowly bump it up and see how it goes over time. I'm not in a hurry. Protein, I try to get 80 grams minimum every day but it's a challenge..

Anyways, so that's what I've done and what not. I wish I could be more specific but the nutrition is a challenge for many, I think, and part of it will be individual based on your needs and schedule.

JoanMSittler

I am on 1300 a day. And as you. I rarely get my protein in. I try tonal least get in three servings of protein on work out days. And call that close enough. Another challenge I'm having is keeping my total fat down. Not sure why I'm having problems there. The fats usually come in my proteins. I am set for a very low fat diet though. It define Takes some figuring to keep the nutrients up.

leooftheyear

I am eating about 2300-2400 calories/day, 5'4" 200lbs, 25YO. i took about a month off from the gym and managed to not gain any weight during this period, so depending on your workout 2700 might be right. I do NROLFW 2-3times/week and then body combat and CXWORX 2-3 times a week as well. Coming off of eating 1600-1700 calories/day and feeling like total CRAP and light headed at the gym, it's amazing how much better you feel once you start eating properly

Also, go check out the Eat More 2 Weigh Less group

BarbellCowgirl

I think it sounds like you're doing it right. Were you losing quickly on the 1700? And was the 1700 net or total? Just make sure you're selecting the correct activity level and weighing/logging everything. Personally I would stick with the 2500 cals for 3-4 weeks and reevaluate. Bump them down a little if you're not losing. Aim for at least 25-30% protein. For reference, I am 5'5" 145lbs and I lose by eating 1800-2000 cals/day. I lift 4Xweek and do cardio 2Xweek.

JeriAnne84

1700 is what MFP gave me before exercise and I started to eat my exercise calories back, which I was doing Body Revolution before and would burn 300 - 400 calories depending on which workout I was doing. I've actually have only lost 16 lbs since May and during Body Revolution only lost one pound from that. I lost a lot of inches. I am really sluggish and I fall asleep really fast but I can't stay asleep. After reading this book I'm thinking a lot of those problems are from not eating that much.

I guess I will stick with it and then after a month if I'm not losing take it down some more. Thank you so much everyone!!!

MissHolidayGolightly

If your TDEE is 2700 and you're eating 1700, you're creating a 1000 calorie per day deficit that should make you lose about 2 lbs per week. That's pretty aggressive for many, especially people that are lifting. This may be why you feel exhausted but also restless. You might try increasing intake gradually to see how your weight loss goes and how you feel before deciding on the intake you want to stick with.

BarbellCowgirl

JeriAnne84 wrote: »

1700 is what MFP gave me before exercise and I started to eat my exercise calories back, which I was doing Body Revolution before and would burn 300 - 400 calories depending on which workout I was doing. I've actually have only lost 16 lbs since May and during Body Revolution only lost one pound from that. I lost a lot of inches. I am really sluggish and I fall asleep really fast but I can't stay asleep. After reading this book I'm thinking a lot of those problems are from not eating that much.

I guess I will stick with it and then after a month if I'm not losing take it down some more. Thank you so much everyone!!!

That is the most effective way to figure out how much to lose. You may find that you fluctuate a lot (like 5lbs or more) with lifting. My suggestion would be to weigh weekly and see what your trend is and then you can tell whether you are trully eating at a deficit. Depending upon logging inaccuracies and individual characteristics, you may need more or you may need less. Keep us posted!