time to change my calories?

j99li

Hi everyone! I am currently bouncing around 175lbs, and I would like to get to 160. I am 5'7.

Currently, I am eating at TDEE - 20%. I lift mon, wed, and fri. I also do 1hr of spinning on Tues and Thurs. I dont tend to work out on the weekends cuz I use it to catch up on sleep.

My diary is open to all viewers. Please help me determine whether I should increase my intake of calories or not. I am stuck around the 175 area.

Thanks!

JenMc14

When was the last time you calculated your TDEE? How much have you lost since then. If you've lost more than 10 pounds, I'd recalculate and go from there. In all honesty, I've found weight loss to just be a giant science experiment. Perhaps experiment with cutting 50 calories a day for the next 3 weeks and see what happens. Or cut 100 calories on your weekends. Or, whatever else you think could help that you can stick with for 3 weeks to give it a chance to kick in.

j99li

I am not sure what to do because some say to increase calories, like TDEE - 15% or more...

I tried to cut back but then went back up to 1700ish calories cuz I felt like I was constantly hungry

j99li

Also, is there an accurate way to calculate TDEE without knowing your body fat percentage?

55in13

I am not sure what to do because some say to increase calories, like TDEE - 15% or more...

I tried to cut back but then went back up to 1700ish calories cuz I felt like I was constantly hungry

I am not trying to be mean, but there are 3 letters in your post that are a huge red flag to me - "ish". I take that to mean "not exactly" or in its shorter form "not". You have made great progress and I am betting you did it by buckling down and not accepting "ish". To make more progress, you need that resolve back.

JenMc14

Fitnessfrog.com and the Scooby Workshop calculator have both given me about the same as the fat2fit Radio calculator (which uses bf%) without knowing it. You can also use online calculators to guesstimate your bf% if you know certain measurements.

cwolfman13

You should recalculate your TDEE every 5 - 10 Lbs lost because it's going to go down. Have you done that? I don't think you necessarily need to go TDEE - 15% unless you want to...you'll still lose, just slower. Personally, I'd suggest recalculating your TDEE at your current weight if you have not done so already...then make sure you're not being lazy in your diet. 9 times out of 10, these "plateaus" are due to getting lazy with measuring and weighing and people underestimate their intake.

Also, has your activity level changed? If you're doing TDEE method, you have to keep your activity level consistent with exercise...if you don't, your formula is flawed.

Vorenus85

Do you have a food scale? I could be wrong but based on your entries It seems like you don't weigh things. You could be consuming less or more (usually the case) calories than you think you are.

j99li

When I calculate TDEE, do I need to choose the correct form of exercise? I currently exdrcise 5 times a week but when I do TDEE, I always choose sedentary

gensteele1

One thing I noticed from your diary is that if you are lifting 3 times a week, you should intake more protein. Your carb intake is relatively high. Sometimes our bodies view carbs as the enemy. Maybe swap the values for a couple of days and see how your body responds. I know that not even taking into account my caloric intake value, if my protein level is too low, my training suffers. Just a thought. GOOD LUCK!

j99li

shamelessly bumping for more advice

Bekahmardis

More protein, fewer carbs, based on what I see in your diary. And your calorie intake is kinda all over the place - see if you can steady it out a bit more? I think your daily goal is just fine for right now, but increase the protein by a huge margin if you are seriously lifting that much.