How many calories are you eating?

lilmisslanna

Are you following the meal plan or are you doing something different? And are you noticing a loss?

a_new_dawn

When I did BR i was actually in maintenance but I wanted to share something I learnt while I did my 30DS, which is a similar routine. I stuck to 1200 cals, sometimes eating exercise calories back, sometimes not. Looking back I think I are too few calories, and nowhere near enough protein. Yes the weight was coming off at around 2-3lbs per week, but I was looking "skinny fat", where I was getting smaller but things still sagged alot. This is because I was not only losing fat, but also muscle mass... Which isn't a good thing.

a_new_dawn

Here's a good calorie calculator:

http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/

And here's another really interesting MFP group:

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/groups/home/3817-eat-more-to-weigh-less

kymkan

I followed Jillian's advice and ate the 1200 that she recommends. I had my macros set to 50p, 30c & 20f. I also didn't eat back my exercise cals. I lost about 30 lbs on JMBR in the 90 days. With that being said.... I am 39 and sit at a desk for about 12 hours a day and did very little other exercise. I would occasionally get in an extra cardio. Some weeks none, some weeks 3.

You have to find what works best for you. Each of us has different nutritional needs. This is just what worked for me.

pkinblue

I am targeting 1200 per day PLUS I eat most of my exercise cals back. I end up around 1500 give or take depending on how often/long I walk the dog. I am just not a person who can stand being hungry--it makes me cross and evil with the children.

I am very sedentary at my job (desk job 9-10 hours per day)

I have lost 9 lbs in 11 weeks...which is pretty close to my goal of 1 lb per week. I had a rough week or two in there where I didn't eat to my cals at all and it showed :>

I am however, also losing inches--waist, hips and midriff the most. A bit in legs.

I am getting buff. My arms now have nice ridges when I flex and I can see some sort of abs now even when I don't suck in.

Hubby has certainly noticed and I have put aside a whole set of pants and am into the smallest things I still own. Pretty much all tops are loose and I need a belt with all pants. I plan to go shopping when I lose 5 more lbs.

staceypunk

My first round of JMBR I ate 1200 cals plus whatever I burned as per my HRM I ate back. I lost 22 pounds which was great, but I was very hungry a lot. When I got close to my goal weight I used the scooby calculator to get my TDEE. I was sick of not being able to eat a friggin banana if I wanted it. So now I eat 1750 calories a day, which is about 200 more calories than the MFP plus HRM exercise calories I had previously been doing.

Also, as mentioned, try to get as much protein in as you can. Aiming for 100 grams a day is a basic estimate, or you can research how to get an estimated body fat % and subtract that from your weight to get your Lean Body Mass. Rule of thumb for building muscle (muscle takes up less space than fat = smaller) is one gram of protein per pound of lean body mass.

Gatus98

When I dropped my calories to 1200 (without eating back excercise calories) I was losing a pound a week...for like three weeks. I was like, "This is so simple! It's just mathematics." Not quite. Then I basically stopped losing weight. I'm 5'6" and started at 140 pounds, so I was actually at a healthy weight to begin with, just way too flabby! In her book "Slim for Life" Jillian actually makes the distinction between losing unhealthy weight and vanity weight. She recommends that persons who have 10 pounds or less to lose eat at a 750-800 MAXIMUM calorie deficit. For me that usually means eating 1600-1800 calories, as my average burn is around 2300 calories a day, sometimes more. I recently started wearing a BodyMedia device, so my calorie burn is pretty accurate. I tried to keep my calories between 1200-1500 for months and I have had very moderate weight loss. It just wasn't worth the minimal results. I think it depends upon how much weight you need to lose. I also agree with a-new-dawn regarding the "skinny fat" results. I've weighed as low as 126 pounds, but I still hated the way my body looked. I looked frail and flabby. I'm at 134 pounds now but I have some muscles and definition after months of working out. I'm still trying to shed the fat, but I feel sooo much better now that I'm eating again! I think it's more important to eat healthy, clean food most of the time, and keep nourishing your body so that you can keep working out hard. It doesn't make sense to go hungry. Also, "Slim for Life" is a pretty good and easy read with lots of helpful information. If you're using Jillian's videos, I recommend it.