Newbie - Need help with the numbers (calories vs macros)

stefanie18810
stefanie18810 Posts: 29 Member
in Introduce Yourself
Hi,

I'm new at this posting thing... experienced at dieting and un-dieting. Lol.

Warning - I like (need) to analyze everything. I have a history of binge eating followed by restrictions. Not the healthiest, but really trying to work on stability going forward and hoping this works for me. I have to admit, I can't imagine losing weight while eating more than 1200 calories, but I keep seeing posts/benefits to upoing calories, so I'm giving it a try.

I'm 5'3 and 142 currently. My highest was 178 and I've been struggling the last 8 months with the last 15-20lbs for my goal weight. I've gotten to 131, panicked with the accomplishment, and been tetering between 135-145 since. Generally, its a week of healthy eating followed by a day or two binge to throw it away.

I go to a cardio boxing class 5 times a week and love it!! I used an HRM the first few weeks and estimate roughly 625 calories burned per hour class. I've always been athletic minded, so it really is the perfect workout for me. And, apparently I like hitting things. :)

So...I used a calculator to estimate what I should be eating based on a sedentary job (I sit in front of a computer), but added that I workout 5 times a week and burn 625 calories. I used 2 different sites so I could compare and make sure they were similar.

The results...

1400-1500 calories
145-155 carbs
110-115 protein
38-55 fat
28-35 fiber

Does this sound about right? It's not super restrictive, but scares me because I can't imagine losing weight eating so much.

Any help, advice, guidance would be appreciated!

Replies

  • Athena_fit
    Athena_fit Posts: 55 Member
    Hey,

    I know it sounds weird, but eating more (healthy,non-processed, nutrient dense food) is probably what you need.

    When someone worksout as much as you do, their metabolisme increases + they burn lots of calories. 1200 calorie is an absolute minimum of what your net intake should look like. Less than that and your metabolism will slow down.

    Feeling satisfy on a daily basis could also help you avoid binging.

    As for the macros, everybody is different. For me, I know that a lower carb intake works better(no more than 30-40% each day). Explore and find what you feel the best with.

    Don't forget you're also getting closer to your goal. You probably cannot spend your whole life in calorie deficit, so increasing slowly to your maintain intake is good to, and will help you avoid binging and worst of all, yo-yoing with your weight!

    Hope this helps, good luck!

Categories