Am I eating too little?

_lyndseybrooke_

Stats:
23-year-old female
H - 5'5"
SW - 155 lbs
CW - 149 lbs
GW - 135 lbs

BMR - 1500
TDEE - 2100
TDEE - 25% - 1550

I work out at the gym for 1 hour 4 days a week.

So, I have my activity level set to sedentary and weight loss goal set to 1 lb per week. MFP has given me a daily caloric goal of 1260. I meet that goal every day, but I don't eat my burned calories because I know it's an estimation at best and I didn't want to eat too much on accident. I have a cheat/rest day every Sunday in which I eat anywhere from 2000-3000 calories and I don't exercise. This is the only way to keep my sanity during the week (I LOVE eating bad foods) and it has helped me curb my cravings during the rest of the week. My average net caloric intake evens out to 1200ish because of this.

My weight loss has been extremely slow, and I'm told I may be eating too little. I just can't get it through my head that I'll lose faster if I eat more. Is there any chance that I just have a very slow metabolism? I've always lost on 1200 calories before. What changes would you suggest?

bonitacash08

1. What worked before wasn't sustainable. If it was, you wouldn't be trying to lose weight again.

2. http://www.fat2fitradio.com/tools/ <---this website is AWESOME for helping you figure out goals. You can start by determining your body fat using measurements and then you can use the calculators to determine a healthy body weight goal and then a calorie goal. I think for your activity level, the TDEE you calculated is too low.

3. I'm 23, 5'4" and I eat 1900 calories a day (sometimes a little more, sometimes a little less). Your weight loss will be slow regardless because you have less than 20lbs to lose. Why not eat more if you can?


Good luck and for what it's worth I think you're doing the right thing by asking for help. You might find that by increasing your overall calories you won't need to eat as much "bad" food on the weekends (although that's another thread entirely. I don't believe in "bad" foods just fit it into your daily goals).



**ETA
If you want MFP to do the calculations for you, you gotta change those settings. You are NOT sedentary. You exercise 4x a week. Sedentary would be someone who literally does NOTHING besides wake up, go to the work, eat, and sleep. If you chase after kids, walk dogs, clean the house, exercise, or anything that involves moving around you're lightly active at least. You're doing a double negative by choosing sedentary and not eating your exercise calories back.

Sedentary. Half a pound a week.

Seriously. I know you want the weight off ASAP (we all do) but it's just not gonna work that way. Might as well eat as much as you can if you're just gonna get the same results

Dynamis600

You are eating below your BMR and since that is the calories you need to survive doing nothing, your body is in survival mode and trying to conserve your weight.

Look at articles on Leptin, Your cheat day should be a high carb day. Your average net cals should be at or slightly above your BMR. So you should eat your exercise cals back.

You do actually have to eat more to lose weight. You could try it for a week but what you might have to do to get things going again is eat TDEE or slightly above for a few days and then go into deficit.

There are probably others on here who are more knowledgable about this than me and your weight loss is likely to be slower the closer you get to goal. But I think the trick is to change things around every now and again with your exercise and cals so your body does not adapt to what you are doing.