Large deficit leading to overeating. How to set calories?

halimaiqbal00

Hi there

My stats:
Female
5' 7
33 years old
147 pounds
5' 7
BMR 1400

My main objective is to get my body fat down further and gain a little muscle. I've been eating 1750 calories for a year now and get incredibly hungry on this amount, which leads to overeating from time to time. Nothing too drastic though.

I workout 4 days a week and my sessions are really intense. Generally 40 min weightlifting and 30 min cardio (very intense) I'm burning around 700 calories per session.

I don't care so much about the hunger in the scale going up as long as the fat percentage shows a downward trend.

I have no idea what to set my calories at as I feel that 1750 is too little, given the intensity of my workouts 4 times a week. I eat healthy, nutrient dense foods 80% of the time.

Any advice/suggestions?

livingleanlivingclean

What results have you had in a year on 1750 calories? How do you determine your intake (weigh vs eyeball?) and how many times, and by how much do you overeat?

halimaiqbal00

I stuck to the calories religiously and lost 8 pounds in 2 months but it wasn't sustainable. I gained it all back in 4 months. I weigh and measure cerytjing, tracking everything on mfp for the past year. I weigh everything that enters my mouth and meal prep. I'd say I maybe net on average 1800 calories a day

livingleanlivingclean

So you haven't been eating 1750 calories for a year?

You did it for 2 months and lost a lb a week, which for someone already in a healthy weight range is too fast. For the next 4 months you ate slightly over maintenance to put that weight back on - I'm guessing you didn't track and log during that time?

Maybe consider a smaller deficit (0.5lbs a week loss) to lose fat or, recomp; eating at maintenance whilst following a progressive lifting program to enable you to very slowly lose fat as you very slowly build muscle. This will give would the ability to change your physique and get a bit leaner. MFP calculates your intake before exercise - consider whether you need or want to eat exercise calories. Your estimate of 700 may be overinflated. It may be worth trying a month at a time, eating all, part or none and seeing how it affects your results.

halimaiqbal00

The one time I religiously stuck to 1750 for two consecutive months, I lost the 8 pounds but I've not been able to stick to that amount since. Well, not for a few weeks at a time. I find I'm starving after a few days of eating this number of calories.

Thanks for your suggestions. I think I'll increase my calories to 1900 and test it for a month and see how I fare.

Thanks again

VintageFeline

What you eat could be a problem for hunger too. Have you experimented with your macro splits to see if that makes a difference? Personally, if I'm hitting protein, most of my fat and getting at least a small serving of starchy carbs with each meal I find it much easier to be compliant to my calorie goal.

halimaiqbal00

Hi, yes I have been counting macros this past year too. Im hitting 110g protein, 50 fat and 200 carbs. I am increasing my fat and protein now, while keeping my carbs at 200g..this is with my new calorie adjustment of 1900. I'll experiment with this and see how I get on. It's going to have to be trial and error

deannalfisher

when you say 1750 - is that what MFP gave you and are you eating back workout calories?

for your height/weight it seems a bit low if you were doing TDEE - if you have a frequent/steady workout plan, maybe try switching to that for a month and see how you do (I would estimate it would probably put you in the 2200 range, but you do NOT eat back workout cals)

TavistockToad

Youre not burning 700 cals with half an hour of cardio and some lifting...

misnomer1

TavistockToad wrote: »

Youre not burning 700 cals with half an hour of cardio and some lifting...

Agree. Should be closer to 500-600 for 40 mins of lifting and 30mins of cardio.