Want to start EMTWL..newbie tips?

Love_Is_My_Fuel

I can't imagine eating more than I already am but EMTWL makes total sense to me, just haven't figured out a way to work it into a new routine. I started out at 1200 calories and my net would be very low most of the time because of my workouts...sometimes negative. After doing research I upped my calorie intake to 1500---1600 and lightened up my workouts to net around 900-1200 most days. I feel a lot better but I know I still have to up my calories quite a bit. I'm losing weight consistently 1-2 lbs. a week but want to prevent a plateau. Any tips are welcome

heybales

So always interesting to do the math to see what that 1-2 lbs of weight is that you are losing.

1-2 lbs if fat would mean 3500-7000 calorie deficit weekly, or 500-1000 daily deficit.

So if literally eating 1500 to 1600, that would imply your total TDEE is minimum 2000 to 2600 daily.

Does your MFP - Goals page show your daily maintenance, plus the exercise you do, up at those levels?

So the plateau many times happens when your lost muscle mass brings your metabolism down and TDEE comes down to meet what you are currently eating.
That loss of muscle mass is really bad, very difficult to get back up again.
Now some of that is loss of LBM but not muscle mass, and some is due to just a suppressed metabolism.

Love_Is_My_Fuel

I know my levels are not where they are supposed to be so working on it I know back in December at the doctor my body fat was 55% and now it's down to 47% so I am losing fat but more than likely some muscle and lots of water as well.

Love_Is_My_Fuel

These are my numbers right now,,,,

Fitness Goals
Goals
Calories Burned / Week 2,070 cal/week
Workouts / Week 6 Workouts
Minutes / Workout 40 mins
Your diet Profile
Target Calories Burned From Normal Daily Activity 2,440 cal/day
Net Calories Consumed*
Your Daily Goal 1,480 cal/day
Daily Calorie Deficit 960 calories
Projected Weight Loss 1.9 lbs/week

heybales

So 2440 is actually pretty high, was that from selecting Lightly Active level?
The fitness goals are just goals. How many calories do you actually burn in the workouts you think?
Add that to the 2440, you may not be that far off.

Love_Is_My_Fuel

On average I burn between 450-600 per day. Some days are lighter but combined with my walk 2-3 times a week my calorie burn sometimes goes over that and closer to 1000. As I'm losing weight I'm starting to back off a little more on my work outs and eat more.

Love_Is_My_Fuel

I'm a stay at home mom of two plus my workouts so I picked active,,should I change it?

heybales

I'm a stay at home mom of two plus my workouts so I picked active,,should I change it?

Those activity levels on MFP have nothing to do with exercise - because that gets added later.

You might say they don't ramp up the calories enough. MFP Active is below the TDEE levels you've seen elsewhere with exercise included, of Moderately Active exercise 3-5 hrs weekly.

So you pick a level that applies to non-exercise time. I'd say considering many with sedentary desk jobs discover they are actually Lightly Active level on non-exercise days when using a FitBit or BodyMedia - you are probably about right with Active.
Good job being honest.
And 2 lb weekly loss goal is fine until you get to about 20 lbs, then 1.5 lbs about.

But, your exercise would still be added on to that level and eaten back, at least 80% of it anyway.

Love_Is_My_Fuel

I've decided to up my calories to the numbers calculated for my TDEE around 1700...and cutting my workout time to 30 minutes 5 days a week...and we'll see from there. I'm hoping I'll continue to lose weight but I'm expecting some water retention too which will even out over time. This is a lifestyle change for me so I want to do it right