Defecit Question Peeps...advice??

Jess830409

I posted in General but I think this topic fits better here

Hello there

I have been on MFP for awhile now and would just like someone to take a look at my numbers

Stats first:

Female - 29 years old - 5 foot 3 inches

CW: 135
GW: 125 ( but really just less body fat would be nice :-)

My average daily calories burned TOTAL is 2,050
My average daily calories consumed is 1,300

I started exercising in April 2013 - and my routine right now is 30 Day Shred 3-4x week plus C25k 3x a week and a couple HIIT workouts thrown in

I noticed last week my appetite increased so I bumped my 1,300 goal to 1,400

Some days I do go over this of course - but highest days are in the 1,800's - maybe once every 1-2 weeks

I am looking to get opinions on my calorie goal. Too low? Just right? I was creating a 5,500 calorie defecit some weeks - too much?

And just for more numbers - on days I rest completely my burn is only 1,650 at best - pretty low :-(

Side note - I have been using a FitBit everyday for the last year (that is where my numbers come from)
I do measure every little thing on a food scale and I also log everything no matter what

heybales

Less to lose, deficit should be less.

Time to change to 1/2 lb weekly, unless you want more and more of that unlikely 1 lb weekly to be muscle mass.

jacksonpt

Ideally you want to eat as much as you can so you are still seeing progress. The more you eat the "healthier" your weight loss will generally be and the easier it will be to sustain. That said, some common sense comes into play here as well...

Are you losing weight? ---> Yes ---> Are your energy levels good? ---> Yes ---> Keep doing what you're doing.
Are you losing weight? ---> Yes ---> Are your energy levels good? ---> No ---> Eat a little more
Are you losing weight? ---> No ---> Are your energy levels good? ---> Yes ---> Eat a little less
Are you losing weight? ---> No ---> Are your energy levels good? ---> No ---> That sucks

AJ_G

Your BMR should be around 1300 calories a day, and if you are moderately active (waiting tables, etc), your TDEE should be at least 1800 calories a day, so if I were you, I'd shoot for 1500 calories a day (20% defecit) and see how that affects your weight over a couple weeks and then adjust

Jess830409

Ok - so realistically more like 1,500 - 1,600 calories a day. Would still give me a defecit but won't stop the process.

And I am not afraid of bumping my goal down from 1 lb a week to 0.5 lb a week of fat loss- this is good advice - I would much rather keep getting leaner results than be so focused on the number


Thank you guys

heybales

Ok - so realistically more like 1,500 - 1,600 calories a day. Would still give me a defecit but won't stop the process.

And I am not afraid of bumping my goal down from 1 lb a week to 0.5 lb a week of fat loss- this is good advice - I would much rather keep getting leaner results than be so focused on the number


Thank you guys

Yep, from your FitBit results, should be closer to 1750 on workout days, 1400 on really lazy days. And that's about right too actually, not the off normal.

Jess830409

Thank you :-) this helps - just updated my goals and will try this out - can't hurt...need the energy to keep up the exercise!