Tall lady (6'2) - too many or too few calories?

BigAnnieG

I'm 6'2 and currently 237lbs (down from 252lbs on 4th Jan). I lost a lot quickly, which I know is from water/diet change/ etc etc.

I work out at least six times a week, mostly weights with cardio (i.e., kettlebell swings are my favourite) and resistance swimming, each for 40 mins a time.

The weight seems to have stabilised, rather than continued to go down, though I know that's ALSO for a number of reasons (water retention from new lifting programme, hopefully starting to build some muscle in there too).

I was just wondering really, whether MFP calorie goal of 1460 is accurate for me. I know it uses a particular calculation, but for a lady my height I wonder if 1500 calories is too few if I want to build strength and lose inches rather than focus on weight loss. I want to be strong not skinny! Have I miscalculated my 'daily activity level'? I have put sedentary because I have a desk job. Should I modify to take into account my exercise level has increased to an average of an intensive >40mins a day?

I have enough energy most days and am always wanting to go to the gym after work (I already go every morning before work, and also have a class on Tuesday and Wednesday evenings). I find working out gives me more energy rather than depletes it. Can endorphins be addictive? (Serious question).

I used to be MUCH heavier (312lbs) and lost weight on 2500 cals a day without working out, so I guess I'm just curious really because I know my calories have to go down now I'm a lot lighter than before, but would it really be by 1000 cal difference, especially now the gym is my second home?

If it helps, I'm also hypothyroid and have PCOS (just to make the weight loss journey even MORE fun...!).

Any thoughts welcome

tracefan

I'm not exactly sure what your calorie intake should be but I'm sure a doctor or dietitian can help. I'm 5'11 and my goal is 139lbs. I weigh 151 right now I'm at 1200 calories a day and exercise at a gym. 5x a week. All according to bone structure and body type. I will tell you. I too am suddenly at a standstill. I feel like I eat nothing and yet still hanging on. Keep doing what you're doing. It just takes time. A lot of time.

kabocha1986

Had to click on this post because I'm also a 6'2" woman with the goal of becoming healthier and stronger (while losing a few pounds here and there...)
In the past, I found that 1500-1600 a day plus eating back the constant exercise calories (always) left me feeling toned and energetic after shedding a layer or two of fat. And never really hungry. If I got really hungry in the evening for example, I had a bit more, just in case.
I did get down to 187 lbs for a while and went to maintenance, was very happy with it. But life happens, I also have some issues working against, and that fitness level isn't too far in the future, hopefully.
Anyways, if you're not hungry, you're probably fine. In my case being in a body about the same height, I was eating a bit more, but I was also more in the 200 lb range and a bit closer to the goal.

Luck!

JLPersall

Sounds low to me im 5' 3" and can lose on 1500. I would put your calories to 1800 at least. You want to be able to sustain for long haul! Send me a friend request if u want:) im nursing so my calories are set to 1720 right now and im losing

ModernRock

You didn't state your age, but whether you are 25 or 50 the difference is only about 100 or so calories. Anyway, at sedentary with no exercise your BMR should be around 1950 and total calorie burn around 2200. So, a 1 pound a week loss rate would be around 1700, and that is before eating back some of the calories burned from exercise and additional activity. You are regularly exercising, so you should be able to eat way more than 1450 and still lose at a nice sustainable rate.

If you trust that you will continue working out without fail, then increase your activity level setting by one level and see how that goes. (Your body doesn't know you are at the gym instead of an office.) If your workouts vary a lot in length and/or intensity, then keep your activity set to sedentary and add your exercise calories (a percentage of them anyway) as you go along. (To be on the safe side, some people will cut the amount of time they exercise by 25-50% when they enter it. Alternatively, you could keep the minutes right but manually enter a similarly reduced estimated calorie burn.)

Also, keep in mind that you aren't going to build muscle while you are eating at 500+ calorie deficit. The lifting will help you maintain existing muscle, and there are plenty of other benefits to resistance training, but you aren't going to get significantly stronger or more muscular.

BigAnnieG

Ah Kabocha, I'm always hungry! But I think that's a more mental than physical thing... I think. At the moment, I don't always eat back my calories, should I though? Sometimes I'm just not feeling it (especially on a double-workout day when I get back late and cba to cook...) but of course other times I'm hungry. I've only gone over goal four times in the last month (and only once above 2000cal- that was a bad day!) because I'm working on the whole discipline thing. Most chuffed with the fact I've brought a packup to work every single day, and have resisted all the KFC/Pizza/takeaways that people always order in for us! Not a single bite. (It's a killer).
Thanks JL, I'm definitely in this for the long haul! I'm thinking to give it another few weeks and see how it all feels etc, but it's likely if I increase training any more I'll be adding back on (or at least eating back all my exercise cals).
Thanks for replying! :-)

BigAnnieG

Thanks ModernRock, that's really insightful and very helpful to know. I think sometimes the calories on MFP exercises are pretty inflated, so that's the other reason I don't eat them back, as I don't trust them!

SingingSingleTracker

6'2" - female and 1460 sounds about right (if weight loss is the goal and that number would be a goal of losing about 1.5 - 2 pounds per week) and you have it set to sedentary. I assume you plug in your daily exercise, yes rather than use TDEE?

I'm 6'4" - male and MFP calculates 1670 for me (with the goal of 1 pound of weight loss per week). I have it set to sedentary and I plug in my daily exercise which adjusts my calories each day based on how much I burn through exercise.

Here's on off site calculator with your height, weight, gender (no idea what your age is) and it shows that MFP is pretty in the ball park based on having a weight loss goal...



Yes, exercise endorphins are addictive! And it is a drug that is free!!!!

Some of your other thoughts should be addressed...

I was just wondering really, whether MFP calorie goal of 1460 is accurate for me. I know it uses a particular calculation, but for a lady my height I wonder if 1500 calories is too few if I want to build strength and lose inches rather than focus on weight loss. I want to be strong not skinny! Have I miscalculated my 'daily activity level'? I have put sedentary because I have a desk job. Should I modify to take into account my exercise level has increased to an average of an intensive >40mins a day?

You cannot bulk muscle while losing weight. You can, however lift while losing weight to fight from losing the muscle mass that you do have and "tone" what you have. If you want to bulk your muscle, you have to eat at a surplus. And the body stores the surplus (usually as fat). One could dream about a 1.8 pound (about the maximum possible) of muscle gain per month on a surplus and lifting, but most see much less gain than that per month. If you want to be strong (and not skinny) - then lift heavy and eat at a surplus.

If you want to cut inches, it's the fat you currently have on your body that needs to be cut. You'll have to eat at a deficit to remove that fat. No other way to do it. So most would probably choose to do the weight loss first (cutting), and once all the inches have been shed, you could turn your diet into a surplus and attempt to bulk the muscles you have for improving strength. However, continuing to lift while losing weight is important to try and maintain the muscle mass that you do have.

BigAnnieG

SingingS - that makes so much sense, thank you! I think I started lifting because I knew just dieting was no longer an option for me if I wanted that toned look I'm after (not to mention to feel strong enough to do cool things like pullups - I can dream, eh!), but I didn't really put two and two together that you can't lose and build at the same time. Stupid really, when you think about it!
Also, for those that asked, I'm 28 and have been overweight since around the age of 9 - so this is a very long journey but definitely feel positive about getting there this time. Not once have I wanted to quit.
Definitely agree that I'm going to have to cut fat first. I think in my first post what I meant to say really was that the scale doesn't bother me as much as how I feel does - I know I'll never be a skinny minny because I've got such an androgynous build already, but of course losing body fat is what I really meant I suppose. Which in turn doubtless affects the scale! Not sure that made sense either, I hope it did though. (Not weight loss, but body fat loss, and eventual muscle build - there's the synopsis for ya!).
Endorphins being addictive... hmm that's probably why I don't want to quit, and why I spend more time at work thinking about being in the gym than work... (or it says something else about my job...!). Give. Me. MOAR!

ModernRock

BigAnnieG wrote: »

Thanks ModernRock, that's really insightful and very helpful to know. I think sometimes the calories on MFP exercises are pretty inflated, so that's the other reason I don't eat them back, as I don't trust them!

It's not an all or nothing deal. I'm a 6'2" guy and am down to 215 from 255 about 5 months ago. I figure I have about 15-20 left to go. My activity level is set to sedentary with my desk job and it being winter. I currently eat around 1950 a day, and am now at about a 1 pound a week loss. Being a guy, my calorie burn is going to be about 200-300 more than yours.

I gladly eat an extra 200 calories if that is 50% of the estimated exercise burn. My main exercise at the moment--this winter while recovering from an arm injury--is an exercise bike. I use the calorie burn from the machine and log 50% of it. I savor those extra calories. More importantly, if my deficit is too large day after day it'll eventually catch up with me and I'll want to eat everything in sight. Getting every calorie I can on a consistent daily basis helps me prevent that from happening.

BigAnnieG

ModernRock wrote: »

More importantly, if my deficit is too large day after day it'll eventually catch up with me and I'll want to eat everything in sight.

This. I find this with carbs. After a few particularly large-deficit days recently, I spent 45 minutes wandering the supermarket looking at bread, cakes, pasta, potatoes, anything carby. I managed to walk away, but it took a lot of inner monologue arguments to do so, along the lines of 'you want this because your body is telling you that you need this'. However, I can't always trust those signals because I've been insulin resistant for many years and if there's one thing that'll do, it's convince you that you NEED doughnuts like, now. Still getting used to reading the new signals!

I already log less time on exercise than is actually spent, and will often moderate the calorie input as well. I tried a fitness tracker (in fact two, a garmin and a fitbit) but couldn't get on with them, and again had varying calorie burn on those so try to go for a healthy in-between estimate and then not eat those calories back!

elaineamj

Today I have finally come to the conclusion that I am eating too little and am going to have to up my calorie intake. I have been watching trendweight very carefully and am have 20 solid days of tracking AFTER my initial water weight loss. It says I am losing an avg of 1.7lbs a week (even though 2 weeks ago, I stalled and yoyo'd without losing). That puts me about 225 cals under my target. I want sustainability and a permanent change so I only want to lose 1lb a week.

I workout an avg of 400-500 cals a day and have only been eating half of it. So looks like its clear for me - I am going to have to eat all my exercise calories back. I didnt trust MFP either - but I do trust trendweight and looks like they are saying MFP is right.

I'm satiated on my current calorie level and even fit in rare treats. But my husband has commented that I am a bit more scattered than usual and I am noticing I am more sleepy in the mornings.

BigAnnieG

Scattered! Yes, that's totally the word for it. I don't have a problem with energy, but keeping on one task for any period of time is highly unlikely these days. I counter it with my 'ADD Timer' (set a timer for 15 minutes and force yourself to do the task for that time) but still is noticeable. I honestly hadn't connected that with a change in diet.

SingingSingleTracker

BigAnnieG wrote: »

SingingS - that makes so much sense, thank you! I think I started lifting because I knew just dieting was no longer an option for me if I wanted that toned look I'm after (not to mention to feel strong enough to do cool things like pullups - I can dream, eh!), but I didn't really put two and two together that you can't lose and build at the same time. Stupid really, when you think about it!
Also, for those that asked, I'm 28 and have been overweight since around the age of 9 - so this is a very long journey but definitely feel positive about getting there this time. Not once have I wanted to quit.
Definitely agree that I'm going to have to cut fat first. I think in my first post what I meant to say really was that the scale doesn't bother me as much as how I feel does - I know I'll never be a skinny minny because I've got such an androgynous build already, but of course losing body fat is what I really meant I suppose. Which in turn doubtless affects the scale! Not sure that made sense either, I hope it did though. (Not weight loss, but body fat loss, and eventual muscle build - there's the synopsis for ya!).
Endorphins being addictive... hmm that's probably why I don't want to quit, and why I spend more time at work thinking about being in the gym than work... (or it says something else about my job...!). Give. Me. MOAR!

Yes, the free endorphin release can really balance out one's psyche. So the "healthy benefits" of exercise include mental health!

Good for you on this journey, life style change, fitness improvement, or whatever nomer one wants to call it.

You are correct, measuring the inches and seeing improvement is also important to gauge progress as opposed to only seeing what the scale says.

I do know, at your height (I have two sisters your height), that the lighter you get, the better you will feel health wise. Knees, back, neck, energy level, balance, stamina, heart health - will all improve. Especially as you get down to 200 and below. It will be pretty life changing for you in many ways. One of my 6'2" siblings went from 250 down to 165 and has been feeling great for over a decade now because of it.

BigAnnieG

SingingS that is so encouraging, thank you