HOW WILL WE EVER TRULY KNOW HOW MANY CALORIES TO EAT TO LOSE WEIGHT?
Dotyfahed
Posts: 33 Member
I know we state our "activity level" when signing up. And it gives you an allotment of calories based on that info and how much you want to lose per week. But so many sites & doctors say such conflicting info. I work out 5-6 days a week for about an hour(combo of cardio & strength training). Plus I walk several times throughout the day(total steps vary from12k-15k). But based on the fact that my job is a desk job, I am slated to be sedentary or lightly active at best. But when I use multiple sites to calculate how many calories I should eat for my age & weight, they are usually MUCH higher.. I have been up & down in the weight department. I have lost over 70 pounds which has taken over a year & a half. Most of that time I was on WW. And most of that weight was lost in a year and I was not really losing anything the last 6 months so I switched to MFP to see if it would boost my loss. I still have 20 pounds left to lose. So my real question is how do you all really know what calorie consumption helps you lose weight? Do I consider myself active and just go with it? Do I consider myself sedentary and try to log in the exercises? I have to be honest when I say I have done both and the calories seem to be about the same but I'm still sitting in the same place weight wise that I was when I started almost 2 months ago with MFP. I'm frustrated and just needed some insight. Any advice would be helpful. Just want to move along on this journey and stop being so frustrated. Sorry for the LONG post as well..
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Log as accurately as you can, observe the results over time, make adjustments accordingly.
If you aren't losing weight after two months, the issue is either with your logging (you're eating more than you think you are) or your estimation of your activity level/exercise. Either tighten up your logging or adjust your activity level downward.36 -
How we truly know is we start with the best data we have and adjust based on the results.
So, if my watch tells me my TDEE is 2350, and I eat 1850, I should average weight loss of 1 lb per week. If after a few weeks, I'm losing less, than I either up my activity, lower my calorie intake or accept the slower weight loss. We don't need to be perfect at it, and we don't need to know the numbers exactly, but we just move forward with what works or adjust what doesn't.
If you;ve been 2 months at it, and not lost weight, than (in my opinion) the first thing would be to tighten up on your food logging as that is typically where people go off track. So, food scale, weigh/measure everything that goes in your mouth and see if that is where the issue lies.
If you food is as close as you can get it, look at how you are estimating your NEAT and exercise calories.
Trouble is is that with 20 lbs to lose, you will need to be more accurate than you were with 90 to lose.15 -
janejellyroll wrote: »Log as accurately as you can, observe the results over time, make adjustments accordingly.
This. Pick a number and be consistent and then adjust if needed.
However, there is a confusion I can clear up.I know we state our "activity level" when signing up. And it gives you an allotment of calories based on that info and how much you want to lose per week.
For MFP this is activity without exercise (i.e., just what you normally do during the day outside of intentional exercise). Then you ADD exercise to get a higher number.I work out 5-6 days a week for about an hour(combo of cardio & strength training). Plus I walk several times throughout the day(total steps vary from12k-15k). But based on the fact that my job is a desk job, I am slated to be sedentary or lightly active at best.
Right, but then you'd add your exercise on the days you do it. I'd probably make that lightly active for the walking and then also log exercise (the cardio and strength), assuming some of the steps are from the cardio.But when I use multiple sites to calculate how many calories I should eat for my age & weight, they are usually MUCH higher
Yes, they include your exercise. MFP adds it after the fact. They should end up around the same place.
I'd personally use the TDEE, say whatever thing fits best, deduct 500 from that number and start with that.
Adjust as needed.
MFP often works better if you don't have consistent exercise, but you do. Using the MFP estimate and adding in the exercise should work too, however, just beware that it can be overestimated depending on how you log it.7 -
Most accurate way would be trial and error.
You said the calorie goal that you were given tends to be too high for you. Does that mean you have been consistently meeting that goal for at least 2 weeks with no change in weight?
If so, I would recommend slowly reducing calories as well as increasing daily activity until you notice a change in weight.
The websites are only a guideline in determining your TDEE, the best way to determine how many calories you need to eat to be in a deficit would be to experiment with the numbers yourself.3 -
I knew it was enough when I was losing weight at the rate I expected. My calories were just a bit higher than what MFP recommended but if I had a better idea of calorie burns it might have been closer.2
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People get hung up about the calculators. Trouble is, they're not calculators, they're estimators. Its not worth obsessing about which is "right", beyond knowing whether it's giving you TDEE or NEAT.
Consider this:
https://examine.com/nutrition/does-metabolism-vary-between-two-people/
As others have said, the "calculator" gives you a starting point. You follow it for 4-6 weeks, tracking carefully (even when over/under), throw out the first two weeks' data (water weight weirdness), then do the arithmetic to figure out your goal based on your own data from the latter weeks.
It's just a big, fun science fair project for grown-ups.19 -
Trial and error.1
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Another question could be how much weight do you really need to lose. Is your goal weight just a number set by you, or is it based off of recognized charts or suggested by your doctor?
We've seen it here where persons were struggling to lose more weight while already below what the ideal weight charts say they should be at.3 -
To add to others, it can and will change over time, depending on whether you go up or down in both weight and activity.
Using myself as an example: when I first started, I was almost entirely sedentary at 265 lbs. 1600 kcals/day had me losing 2 lbs. per week. Fast forward to now, and I cycle between bulk and cut cycles. Last summer, 2800 per day had me gaining a stupid amount of weight (2.5 lbs. per week) when I started bulking at 150. Now, after going through a couple of bulk/cuts, it takes ~3200 per day to have me gaining 0.4 per week when I am between 165 and 175.
Though my lifting schedule has remained pretty consisten over that year, my NEAT has ramped up like crazy as my body adjusted to better perform under caloric surplus. I absolutely cannot sit still anymore. I try to sit down and play a video game, and I'm grinding my teeth and needing to get up and walk around after fifteen minutes.3 -
Ultimately, you go by the bathroom scales. Calorie estimates are a good starting point but if you aren't losing weight then you aren't in a calorie deficit.4
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Here's how I lost 25 kg.
I entered my details into MFP.
I chose sedentary as my activity level.
MFP gave me a number of calories ... in my case 1250 cal.
I logged whatever I ate as accurately as possible ... weighing 95% of it.
I exercised.
I logged the exercise using light/low/slow choices and underestimating distances/times a bit.
The exercise gave me some extra calories.
I ate about 50-75% of them back.
I lost weight.
If for some reason (and no reasons spring to mind using that plan above) I would not have lost weight, I would have adjusted something.4 -
You have to track it manually, if you want to be accurate. Losing weight is a simple math. Food adds the energy surplus and exercise subtracts it. After a few weeks, you'll see how much weight you lost, and then it's a matter of elementary math to calculate your base metabolic rate.0
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I log as accurately as possible, using a food scale and logging food before I eat them or immediately after so don't forget.
Then, each week I average how many calories I am eating and weigh myself. If I want to be losing more, I try cutting back.0 -
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Log everything. Do your activities as you do. When the scale shows a loss, you know you're dialed in. When you lose, you may need to lower Cal intake a bit or increase activity to keep the trend moving.0
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If you haven't lost anything in 2 months first check that your logging is as accurate as you can be. Get a food scale to check portion sizes. Check that the entries you are using from the database are correct.
With mfp you are supposed to choose an activity level without exercise and then log exercise. A lot of people eat only a portion of calories burned from exercise to account for overestimated burns.
If you have checked everything and still are not losing then start lowering your calories. If you are maintaining at the current amount drop it by 250 to lose .5 lb a week or 500 to lose 1 lb per week. If you are close to or at a healthy weight choose .5 lb per week.
Some people find it helpful to use something like trendweight, happy scale or weightgrapher to show weight loss trends over time.1 -
From experience with people who had a lot of weight to lose, the usual thing I have to change is their INTENSITY of their exercise. Weight loss not only means a lower BMR, but also less calories burned to a lower weight. And if the exercise has been consistent and not been progressive, the body may have adapted to the load.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
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I know we state our "activity level" when signing up. And it gives you an allotment of calories based on that info and how much you want to lose per week. But so many sites & doctors say such conflicting info. I work out 5-6 days a week for about an hour(combo of cardio & strength training). Plus I walk several times throughout the day(total steps vary from12k-15k). But based on the fact that my job is a desk job, I am slated to be sedentary or lightly active at best. But when I use multiple sites to calculate how many calories I should eat for my age & weight, they are usually MUCH higher.. I have been up & down in the weight department. I have lost over 70 pounds which has taken over a year & a half. Most of that time I was on WW. And most of that weight was lost in a year and I was not really losing anything the last 6 months so I switched to MFP to see if it would boost my loss. I still have 20 pounds left to lose. So my real question is how do you all really know what calorie consumption helps you lose weight? Do I consider myself active and just go with it? Do I consider myself sedentary and try to log in the exercises? I have to be honest when I say I have done both and the calories seem to be about the same but I'm still sitting in the same place weight wise that I was when I started almost 2 months ago with MFP. I'm frustrated and just needed some insight. Any advice would be helpful. Just want to move along on this journey and stop being so frustrated. Sorry for the LONG post as well..
Activity level is based on how active your job is. You log exercise separately.
When I weigh my food on a digital food scale, eat the calories MFP gives me, eat most (but not all) of my exercise calories, I lose as expected over the course of a month.
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I get 1200 here. When I did Weight Watchers in the past it was on a points system but I did it along with MFP for a while last year and I realized that Weight Watchers was allowing me between 1000-1100 calories per day and I lost the best on that amount. So I don't eat back my exercise calories here at MFP for that reason. I lose a lot slower on MFP than I did on Weight Watchers but it works and it's free so I'm sticking with MFP for now.1
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I think eating back exercise calories is a load of crap. And if you do, only eat a small amount back. I'd never lose anything if I ate all my excersize calories back.12
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saraann321 wrote: »I think eating back exercise calories is a load of crap. And if you do, only eat a small amount back. I'd never lose anything if I ate all my excersize calories back.
such a lovely detailed inspiring knowledgeable first post14 -
I spent about six months last year eating about as usual, tracking calories here and weighing myself every couple of weeks. Around the new year I dumped all that data into a spreadsheet, looked at the trends, and figured out about how many calories it takes to gain weight. My first few months of calorie tracking were garbage, by the way - it takes practice (and a food scale) to get in the realm of accurate, and that still an estimate. This year I started tightening up my food intake, aiming to cut down an average 100 cal/day each month. Ive been losing about a half pound a week, which is just about what I predicted based on the past tracking and is just fine with me.2
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If you're losing weight (overall trend over a few weeks) then you're eating the right amount of calories to lose weight. If not, you're eating too many.
All calculators are only a starting point. Observe your results and adjust as needed.2 -
JerSchmare wrote: »From experience with people who had a lot of weight to lose, the usual thing I have to change is their INTENSITY of their exercise. Weight loss not only means a lower BMR, but also less calories burned to a lower weight. And if the exercise has been consistent and not been progressive, the body may have adapted to the load.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
Hey @ninerbuff ,
How does this explain steady state cardio? I'm actually truly curious not arguing.
If I get up to running 5k 3 days a week over a period of time. Will I eventually adapt to the 5k runs? Do I need to then work on speed, or increase elevation, or maybe vary distances. What's the key thing there to keep my body feeling the intensity of the cardio? And, if I just do steady-state 5k's is there actual benefit other than weight loss? I am doing cardio for heart health, not weight loss or anything else.
Thanks.
If you started out running that at 13 min pace at say 210 lbs - you'd burn X amount of calories.
If you kept running it at 13 min pace while you lost 40 lbs - you'd burn X-Y amount of calories.
You'd need to pick up the pace to burn the same amount.
And you likely would.
(that's why walking stops becoming a decent workout for so many after some time and they lose weight)
Now for your heart as a muscle and your aerobic system in general - it also is improving - and even if weight stayed the same and pace, it would go lower showing it's getting an easier workout.
So for the heart to keep improving - you'd have to increase intensity there too.
Combine losing weight with becoming more fit - now you really have to increase the pace to keep a load on the heart - perhaps beyond what the body can do actually for a while.
Same as if you were doing squats or deadlift and did 250 lbs.
Now you lost 40 lbs and can do 280 lb on the bar.
You actually lost strength, should have been at 290.
And if starting lifting - should be higher just from form improvements.2 -
How mamy calories did you eat per day by the end of WW when you didnt lose anymore? Can you check your data and add everything up and see hpw mamy calories it was in an average of 1 week. Once you have that number, remove 200-400 calories from that or work out more and you will be back in a deficit.0
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I've noticed my heart/lungs seem to adapt to exercise quicker than the muscles. When I start new cardio exercise, I'm feeling breathless quickly and that's limits what I can do. Within a very short time of adapting, that has gone away and I'm fighting the burn in my muscles when my heart still seems to have plenty to give.
ETA I don't know what relevance this has. It just passed through my mind, so I posted it. Sorry.1 -
CattOfTheGarage wrote: »I've noticed my heart/lungs seem to adapt to exercise quicker than the muscles. When I start new cardio exercise, I'm feeling breathless quickly and that's limits what I can do. Within a very short time of adapting, that has gone away and I'm fighting the burn in my muscles when my heart still seems to have plenty to give.
ETA I don't know what relevance this has. It just passed through my mind, so I posted it. Sorry.
Those newly used muscles if that's what they are - need more mitochondria for dealing with providing energy.
Though depending on the workout style - many times it's just efficiency improvements means it's not as heavy a load of intensity.0 -
saraann321 wrote: »I think eating back exercise calories is a load of crap. And if you do, only eat a small amount back. I'd never lose anything if I ate all my excersize calories back.
You would if you calculated your deficit and exercise calories correctly.
When I was losing I did 1250 + exercise calories (often anywhere between 1500 to 2000, depending on what I did). I lost as estimated or even a bit higher.5 -
Same here. I've got MFP set to lose 1lb/month. I eat back half my exercise calories and I'm losing 1 to 1.5/week. (Hard to be sure because... say it with me now... "Weight loss isn't linear!" So, for two weeks, I've been down 0.2, 0.4. This week? 2.0. Like you, when I look at the averages, I'm generally slightly above target, but 1.5/week is okay for me right now.)1
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