Completely confused my self!?

AmyBethBoothroyd

I asked a question a couple weeks ago on burning fat. Now i understand that:
a) i can't spot tone my body (toning as in burning fat and keeping muscle)
b) i will not gain muscle even with lifting if i am eating at 1200 calories. I may only be maintaning what i have.
C) that losing muscle is inevitable with weight loss but with lifting its at a min.
To clairify my situation MFP put me at a 1200 calorie a day because my goal is 1-2 lbs a week. (I eat close to my goal trying no to go over) I am not very active. Gym at night and stay at home mom. Goal is 150 I'm been at 204ish for about a month. Also burn 200-400 calories a night (2-4 days a week) doing cardio as well. (stair stepper, stability bike, treadmill, elliptical)
Heres where I'm lost.. i am to eat back 50% of what i burn? Without proper protine Im hurting my muscle? My body will use my lean tissue and store more fat with out calorie intake? I know I'm not close to my % protine in macros. (Im way off with those.) Should i be adding more on top of what MFP wants because I'm lifting? I guess adding a powder is must for post work to aviod damage to muscle? Ugh I am so confused.

IsaackGMOON

Generally we only eat back 50-75% of exercise calories just to compensate for any inaccuracies.

Seeing as you're eating 1200 calories, I want you to eat back all of the calories. Even if there are inaccuracies in the calorie burn, you will still be in a caloric deficit so you will still lose weight.

However, I do think that 1200 calories is too low for someone of your size, but that is your choice OP. You can reduce muscle loss by lifting heavy weights pretty much and getting adequate amounts of protein*.


*It doesn't matter what the sources of protein are, i.e. chicken breasts, tuna, lentils

lemurcat12

You might get more helpful comments if you opened your diary.

AmyBethBoothroyd wrote: »

To clairify my situation MFP put me at a 1200 calorie a day because my goal is 1-2 lbs a week. (I eat close to my goal trying no to go over)

1 or 2? At 204 you could probably eat more. I think 1200 is okay for some people (I did it when I was 200 lbs, but I'm older and likely shorter than you), but what's most important is keeping a consistent deficit. If you go too low and then go off plan more often or have cheat days that go way over or cheat in the logging (log inaccurately), that works less well than having a smaller and more sustainable deficit that you keep to consistently.

I'm not saying that you are doing any of these things, but if you are struggling to lose at 1200, when you should not be, it's something to think about.

I am not very active. Gym at night and stay at home mom. Goal is 150 I'm been at 204ish for about a month. Also burn 200-400 calories a night (2-4 days a week) doing cardio as well. (stair stepper, stability bike, treadmill, elliptical)

This sounds reasonably active. Do you mean you don't get to walk around that much during the day?

Heres where I'm lost.. i am to eat back 50% of what i burn?

That's generally a good plan, and if you are doing 1200 I definitely would.

Without proper protine Im hurting my muscle? My body will use my lean tissue and store more fat with out calorie intake?

Not exactly--as you noted above, you are going to lose some muscle along with the fat no matter what, but of course you want it to be mostly fat. It's more likely to burn more fat and less muscle if you show it that you need the muscle and give your body the tools to repair and maintain muscle (which is protein). Even without enough protein you won't be storing fat on a deficit, though. (Also, this is why it's good to add in some strength training as part of your gym routine, and I see that you are doing that.)

A good amount of protein is .6-.8 g/bodyweight or, if you have a good bit to lose, of goal weight. So for you that would be 90-120 grams. MFP's goal is often low when someone is on low calories, since it's based on a percentage of the total calories. If my memory is correct, it's 25%? If I'm right about that, your goal is 75 grams, which is enough for basic health, but not to maximize fat loss vs. muscle loss. (Another issue with muscle loss is not having too aggressive a deficit, although that will make more difference when you are closer to goal.)

If you are well under even the 75 grams, I personally would work on increasing that. You don't really have to worry about doing a powder immediately after a workout--usually people eat meals in enough proximity to workouts that that's sufficient--but you'd want to focus on getting in some more protein somehow, and if a powder is the easiest way for you to do that, that might be an option. Another thought (assuming you aren't a vegetarian) is just changing up portions a bit so you have a bit more meat and a bit less starchy side so that your macros balance better.

To lose, though, focusing on calories is the main thing.

Another positive about increasing protein, though, is that many people find that it fills them up well, and apparently we get fewer calories from meat than they figured when putting together calorie counts, so shifting to more protein can sometimes mean reducing calories a little.

AmyBethBoothroyd

My diary is est to friends feel free to add me! We're not alone on this journey

AmyBethBoothroyd

Thank you for clearing that up for me. I understand it better now. I probably do eat more than 1200 and not realize it. But I will get some powder because i know I'm not close to what i need.