Newbie - Is this right?

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Replies

  • jbean1990
    jbean1990 Posts: 69 Member
    I'm up to 1300 today, is that more like it?
  • Rebecca0224
    Rebecca0224 Posts: 810 Member
    jbean1990 wrote: »
    I'm up to 1300 today, is that more like it?

    Now your getting there, now go have some toast with butter and jam
  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,562 Member
    jbean1990 wrote: »
    I'm up to 1300 today, is that more like it?

    It's better.

    A wise rabbit once said "the winner is the one who eats the most and still loses"
  • AnvilHead
    AnvilHead Posts: 18,343 Member
    edited May 2017
    jbean1990 wrote: »
    I'm up to 1300 today, is that more like it?

    At least you're now eating what a completely sedentary, 5'3", 120 lb., 18 year old girl should consider a reasonable deficit for weight loss.

    Input your stats into a decent calculator such as the one at Scooby's website: http://scoobysworkshop.com/accurate-calorie-calculator/ That will give you a reasonable idea of how much you should be eating. Even with an activity level of sedentary and a 20% calorie deficit, Scooby's calculator puts you at 1804 calories to lose around a pound a week.
  • Rebecca0224
    Rebecca0224 Posts: 810 Member
    AnvilHead wrote: »
    jbean1990 wrote: »
    I'm up to 1300 today, is that more like it?

    At least you're now eating what a completely sedentary, 5'3", 120 lb., 18 year old girl should consider a reasonable deficit for weight loss.

    Input your stats into a decent calculator such as the one at Scooby's website: http://scoobysworkshop.com/accurate-calorie-calculator/ That will give you a reasonable idea of how much you should be eating. Even with an activity level of sedentary and a 20% calorie deficit, Scooby's calculator puts you at 1804 calories to lose around a pound a week.

    I'm 4'11", 125lbs, 30 year old active female whose only intentional exercise is weight lifting and I maintain on 2000 calories I lost 1lb a week at 1300.

    I second looking at the Scooby calculator.
  • kimny72
    kimny72 Posts: 16,011 Member
    edited May 2017
    jbean1990 wrote: »
    kimny72 wrote: »
    OP, how much have you been losing per week, on average?

    About 5-7lbs p/w on average

    Please change your mindset and aim for a loss of 1 lb per week. You are almost definitely losing muscle and damaging your body losing at that rate. Put a 1 lb per week goal into mfp and see what calorie goal it gives you. As others have suggested I'd bet it will be over 1800 cals per day. Please take care of yourself.

    ETA: I am a 44 yr old lightly active woman and I lost weight eating 1500 cals per day. You are younger and taller and male.
  • AnvilHead
    AnvilHead Posts: 18,343 Member
    @jbean1990 - have a read through the first post in this thread. Words to the wise from somebody who's been there, done that and learned the hard way: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10557969/ive-come-to-the-realization-that-having-my-calories-too-low-hurts-more-than-it-helps#latest
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,268 Member
    jbean1990 wrote: »
    kimny72 wrote: »
    OP, how much have you been losing per week, on average?

    About 5-7lbs p/w on average

    Have you lost your mind?!?

    For this to be a healthy rate of weight loss, you'd have to weigh 500+ pounds. You don't.

    Please, please eat more. You are risking your health. You are not being a model adult for your students. You are not going to be able to sustain, let alone improve, your athletic performance.

    I'm old enough to be your granny, and granny just wants you to stay strong and healthy. Please.

    (I'm 61, 5'5", 130ish pounds, female, and I lose weight on 1800 net, 2100 or so gross calories. You're younger, male-er, bigger - please eat at absolute bare minimum 1500 calories plus half your exercise - more if MFP says you should at a 0.5lb/week weight loss goal. Please.)
  • jbean1990
    jbean1990 Posts: 69 Member
    Shoukd I eat back exercise calories? Say I aim to eat 1660 p/d, but exercise 400 off, should I actually eat 2000? Or stick to 1600?
  • estherdragonbat
    estherdragonbat Posts: 5,283 Member
    I'd eat back 200. Fitness burns, whether from MFP or exercise equipment can be inaccurate.
  • rianneonamission
    rianneonamission Posts: 854 Member
    jbean1990 wrote: »
    I know long term it isn't possible, and it's easier to stick to if I boost it. Just worried I'll ruin what I've done so far, I'm joining a running club so will be exercising more too. I struggle to find snacks to eat, any recommendations? (I hate fruit and am a fussy eater!)

    Do you think of still lose weight on a 1500 diet then?

    Start eating man! I am a 5'10" female and I am losing between 1 and 1.5lbs a week on 1700 calories. At your intake you will end up struggling to eat without putting on weight because your metabolism will adapt to what you teach it. So it pays you to teach it good behaviour. That way you can have a cheat day and not suffer: This weekend I have been so busy I have been feeding on crap and it's not affected me. I haven't cut anything out, I still have alcohol and bad foods, just less of it. And once I reach my goal I intend to reverse diet to get to a maintenance calorie intake of around 2200.

    You need to educate yourself on your BMR, TDEE, and how the body works. By eating at such a deficit your body becomes desperate for fuel and will use anything, be it fat or muscle, so ultimately you are losing weight but also strength. I doubt that is what you want.
  • rianneonamission
    rianneonamission Posts: 854 Member
    jbean1990 wrote: »
    I'm up to 1300 today, is that more like it?

    Right, so I have just calculated your BMR based on the stats in your OP: 1979 calories/day. That is what your body needs to maintain if you were totally sedentary (in bed all day sedentary). But you are not, you exercise. So your TDEE will be much higher (>2500).

    To lose weight safely, without compromising your wellbeing, you need to be eating at least your BMR but below your TDEE.

    In my case: I am doing the C25K challenge, so run/walk for 30 mins three times a week. Alongside that I spend 3-4 days in the gym doing weight/resistance training (30-40 mins per session), and one session of pilates (45 mins). My BMR is 1600. I eat 1700. I might go slightly under, sometimes I go over and eat some of my exercise calories. My weight is dropping very steadily.
  • jbean1990
    jbean1990 Posts: 69 Member
    Thanks everyone. When I reach my target what would I need to eat to maintain? I run 5k 6 days a week averaging about 450kcal burned. I'm also a teacher and do a lot of sport/PE.

    Thanks
  • BurlzGettingFit
    BurlzGettingFit Posts: 115 Member
    jbean1990 wrote: »
    Thanks everyone. When I reach my target what would I need to eat to maintain? I run 5k 6 days a week averaging about 450kcal burned. I'm also a teacher and do a lot of sport/PE.

    Thanks

    Wait, what do you teach?
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,268 Member
    jbean1990 wrote: »
    Shoukd I eat back exercise calories? Say I aim to eat 1660 p/d, but exercise 400 off, should I actually eat 2000? Or stick to 1600?

    Set your MFP profile as accurately as possible (size, non-exercise activity level, etc.), set an MFP weight loss goal in that profile that is no more than 1% of your current body weight in pounds, and eat back half your exercise calories, to start.

    After 3 weeks or so, look at your average weight loss per week. If your actual loss rate averages more than 1% per week, eat more, adjusting until you stay within the 1%. You can eat more, if necessary, by adjusting your MFP profile non-exercise activity setting higher (from lightly active to active, for example), by eating back more of your exercise calories, or some combination. Or, just set your calorie goal manually to a higher level.
    jbean1990 wrote: »
    Thanks everyone. When I reach my target what would I need to eat to maintain? I run 5k 6 days a week averaging about 450kcal burned. I'm also a teacher and do a lot of sport/PE.

    Thanks

    Once you've been losing for a while, you'll have a track record of loss. When you hit your maintenance goal, do 4 things:
    1. Look at your average loss for the previous 3-4 weeks, and your net (after exercise) calories for that same time period. Multiply the number of pounds lost in that time by 3500 (because there are about 3500 calories in a pound of fat). Add the calories eaten and the calories lost. Divide by the number of days in the time period you looked at. That's your approximate daily maintenance calories, based on your own personal data, which is more accurate than any calculator, as long as you've been logging accurately.
    2. Set a goal weight range, not a single weight. Look at your typical daily weight fluctuations, and set the range around your goal weight a little wider than that. For example, if your daily fluctuations are plus or minus 3 pounds, maybe set your goal range as plus or minus 4 pounds around your target weight. Example: If your target weight was 175, and your typical daily fluctuations are 3 pounds, set your range to 171 to 179 (plus or minus 4 pounds).
    3. Increase your eating to eat the number of net calories you calculated in step 1. You can add 100-200 or so daily calories once a week until you get there, if doing it gradually makes it easier. Keep eating whatever fraction of your exercise calories you were eating during your weight loss.
    4. If your weight on the scale goes consistently above the upper limit for 3-4 days in a row, eat a little less, or exercise a little more. If your weight on the scale goes consistently below the lower limit for 3-4 days in a row, eat a little more.

    Good luck - stay strong & healthy!
  • ferd_ttp5
    ferd_ttp5 Posts: 246 Member
    jbean1990 wrote: »
    I know long term it isn't possible, and it's easier to stick to if I boost it. Just worried I'll ruin what I've done so far, I'm joining a running club so will be exercising more too. I struggle to find snacks to eat, any recommendations? (I hate fruit and am a fussy eater!)

    Do you think of still lose weight on a 1500 diet then?
    Anything you like as long it fits your calorie budget It wont be bad :)

  • rianneonamission
    rianneonamission Posts: 854 Member
    jbean1990 wrote: »
    Thanks everyone. When I reach my target what would I need to eat to maintain? I run 5k 6 days a week averaging about 450kcal burned. I'm also a teacher and do a lot of sport/PE.

    What is stopping you from reading up on all the suggestions given to you on this thread?

    If you are in the UK, I suggest you might want to start following Richie Howey from Team RH Fitness. Although he swears a lot, he teaches his followers how the body works and how to tailor your diet and calories to your activity, and how to adjust them / reverse diet. In his method starvation is not an option.

    This is something you need to learn yourself, not rely on a load of strangers on the internet. Knowledge is power when it comes to controlling your weight as that knowledge will allow you to lose and maintain weight at a much more manageable calorie level. MFP is a tool, not a bible.
  • kezy73
    kezy73 Posts: 19 Member
    I've just joined the RH TEAM fantastic work he advices
    Although my heads in a whirl with all these numbers etc
  • MrsSDolan
    MrsSDolan Posts: 27 Member
    Just reading up about team rh. Going to get my head around it and give it a go. Looking for friends also doing team rh :-) x
  • KentMum72
    KentMum72 Posts: 4 Member
    Yes I am starting today x
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