Calorie Goal Help - Anybody like doing math for fun?

HollandOats

So, I'm always over my calories.. like seriously, always. ALWAYS But, after participating in a Biggest Loser type competition at work, I have lost 7 lbs in 12 weeks, so around .6lbs a week - went from 156 to 148.8.

Sooooo... clearly I have my goal set too low (if I regularly am eating over and still losing). I'm not looking to change how I eat, as I'm fairly satisfied and eat the foods (and drank the dranks) I enjoy, but I'd love to have my goal set right so that the number's not always red... can anyone run my stats and see what they get? Maybe I'm just rubbish at the calculations: 30yo Female, 5'8" currently 152lbs, goal of 140, and per challenge scale thing (electro-guessomitor®), 24% Bodyfat (down from 27% in April) though I know that's just an estimate, it's what I have, and I'd say, compared to pictures, is close to accurate if a little low... probably more like 25%.

Would like the rate of loss to be like what I've already been happening for me: ~half a pound a week. Any mathletes wanna run my numbers?

More info:

- I just upped my goal to 1500 today (from 1450) after running the numbers and doing a strange average of sedentary and lightly active TDEE, etc.. but that still doesn't seem right.
- I started out the competition with a goal of 1200
- I was doing cardio more regularly at the beginning of the competition (April) but have been a lot more lax as the summer rolled in, but I'm active in other ways... just not "doin cardio" kind of active...
- I don't lift, yet (in the plans of this procrastinator), yeah yeah... but I do bodyweight stuff... but I'm not looking for workout advice soo...
- And yeah, I now realize that if I were at all consistent with logging my weekends, I could just add up all my totals and find the average for the three month competition... D'oh! Let that be a lesson kids... incomplete data is kinda useless....

Opening diary now.. thanks for any help! I just want to stay on a similar progress track, as I'm eating the foods and losing the weight... I lost three inches in my waist... I should really do other measurements...

WBB55

I think 1500 is a great place to start. You won't even have to eat back exercise calories if you don't feel hungry. But if you ARE hungry on days you work out, eating back half of your exercise calories probably won't hurt.

But I do recommend logging as accurately as possible. I see some days of 600 some of 2000. So just start being accurate and consistent with eating the 1500 (well, 1500 on average). If you don't keep losing at the 0.6 lbs/per week, you could lower it a tiny bit (or stop eating back exercise calories). I think 1500 is a great place to start, just try to be accurate and consistent.

RodaRose

What is your question?
For a loss of 0.6 lbs a week, how much food should you be eating with the amount of exercise you are doing (not much) and not logging on weekends?

HollandOats

Early on I was trying out the 5:2 intermittent fasting, too, so if it says 600 on some days, it probably was (not always though haha)... but I can't stick to that so we'll disregard that as something to consider going forward ( :

Thank you though! You're right, it was all trial and error to begin with, why should I expect any different now? At least I can learn from all I've already experienced... Thanks again!

HollandOats

@RodaRose hmm yes I see now... my question is all over the place... I guess firstly, I am not sure what my TDEE is, I've used all the calculators, waffled between whether I'm sedentary of semi-active or somewhere in between... So I guess my trouble with finding my right calorie goal starts with me not really being confident in what I've calculated as my TDEE...

Then, yes, I'd like to know, based on that TDEE, what my cal goal should be for about a half lb loss per week. I don't think the diary really matters to get that info, but I figured opening it may help someone out there who has this stuff down better than I...

HollandOats

Hmm, I should have spent some time studying my diary myself before even posting... I can see that my success in the competition was in no small way helped by my semi-regular cardio. Duh.. and sigh. I hate cardio, but I want more food....

ETA: when I do cardio, I don't do steady state, go thru the motions... I basically dance my pants off until I'm out of breath on the Arc trainer... pumping arms, twisting torso, shakin booty.. then slow it down to catch my breath until don't ya know it? my OTHER jam comes on, and off and running again... I hate it, but I do make it fun enough to survive through I guess...)

I think I need to find other ways to get my exercise that I actually DO enjoy.

RodaRose

Do 1500 for now. See how it goes for 7-14 days. Then you can increase a little at at time by going to 1650 for another two weeks.

sashayoung72

BMR shows the calories you can have with no gain. bmrcalculator.org This one shows your calorie usage in basically a coma, then barely any activity up to all out exercise all day every day LOL