Upping my cals from 1200 to 1565 daily...

jljshoe1979

I just did all the calculations from the post "In Place of a road Map: Short N' Sweet." I have changed my goals, but am now having some concern about eating 365 more calories a day. I am going to try this for a few weeks and see what happens. I would really appreciate some current postings from anyone who has had success doing this. I am one of those people who has been eating at 1200 cals per day. My current BF% is 25.8. I would like to get to below 20% (is 15% too low for a female who just wants to look fit?? - I'm not looking to be a body builder or a model.) Ideally, I would like to maintain a weight of 135 lbs (based on the chart given on www.fat2fitradio.com, that would be okay). According to MFP, I am only going to lose like 0.3 lbs a week eating this way (plus, working out 3 x's a week). That just doesn't seem like a lot to lose per week for my current weight. I weigh around 155 lbs (5'3"), so will it really take 66-67 weeks for me to get to that weight/BF%? That seems like a really long time, since I recently lost about 10 lbs over the course of 3-4 months. Also, wondering should I try eating this way longer than 2 weeks - how long does it take the body to adjust when making changes like this? Last question, do I eat back my exercise calories or just try to eat my calculated "TDEE-20%" (1565 cals, I chose a Lightly active TDEE amount because I workout 3-4 times per week, but sit around the rest of the time)?

Edited to change "TDEE" to "TDEE-20%" and include lightly active comment.

SirBonerFart

if you eat your TDEE you will maintain weight

If you eat less than TDEE you will lose
If you eat more you will gain

READ THIS
http://simplesciencefitness.com/

KarenJanine

Is your TDEE 1565 or is that your TDEE - 20%?

If the former the you need to eat less than this to lose.
If the latter then eat 1565 to lose.

In either case you do not eat exercise cals back as they should have been included in your TDEE calculation (if you didn't include exercise in your calculation then try recalculating with them).

Don't worry about the MFP message about how much you will lose, this is just a broad estimate and is pretty meaningless in the grand scheme of things. As long as you are eating in a deficit then you will lose.

stealthq

Eat your calculated TDEE. (ETA - this is your TDEE - 20%, right? If not, methinks you're calculations are off) Ignore MFP - it's never been right for me, wanted me at 1200 Cals, still thinks I should be gaining weight with what I eat. I get by just fine on 1500 losing 1 lb/wk with a desk job, a 30 min walk / day, and 30min heavy lifting once a week.

At 15%, you would be considered ripped. Generally it seems women can see a 6-pack around 17-18% BF. Looking fit is in the eye of the beholder, IYKWIM. Some people don't think they look fit until they can see a 6-pack. Others are happier with a little more fat so you see smoother curves. From what you describe, I think you will find yourself satisfied somewhere between 18-22%.

However, I don't see how you will get there weighing 135 lbs if you're 5'3" unless you are looking to build some serious muscle which you will not do in a caloric deficit. I'm 5' 2 3/4" and weigh 125 lbs. I do not have a small frame. I lift heavy, and have for almost two years before starting to lose weight, so I have a decent amount of muscle. My %BF is ~27% right now, wanting to get down to the low 20's. Yes, I will need to adjust my goal weight down, just want to have a mini victory first

jljshoe1979

Is your TDEE 1565 or is that your TDEE - 20%?

If the former the you need to eat less than this to lose.
If the latter then eat 1565 to lose.

In either case you do not eat exercise cals back as they should have been included in your TDEE calculation (if you didn't include exercise in your calculation then try recalculating with them).

Don't worry about the MFP message about how much you will lose, this is just a broad estimate and is pretty meaningless in the grand scheme of things. As long as you are eating in a deficit then you will lose.

It's TDEE-20%. Sorry I didn't clarify that...I chose "lightly active", I think that would include 3-4 40 minute workouts per week, since most of the time I do sit around.

jljshoe1979

Eat your calculated TDEE. (ETA - this is your TDEE - 20%, right? If not, methinks you're calculations are off) Ignore MFP - it's never been right for me, wanted me at 1200 Cals, still thinks I should be gaining weight with what I eat. I get by just fine on 1500 losing 1 lb/wk with a desk job, a 30 min walk / day, and 30min heavy lifting once a week.

At 15%, you would be considered ripped. Generally it seems women can see a 6-pack around 17-18% BF. Looking fit is in the eye of the beholder, IYKWIM. Some people don't think they look fit until they can see a 6-pack. Others are happier with a little more fat so you see smoother curves. From what you describe, I think you will find yourself satisfied somewhere between 18-22%.

However, I don't see how you will get there weighing 135 lbs if you're 5'3" unless you are looking to build some serious muscle which you will not do in a caloric deficit. I'm 5' 2 3/4" and weigh 125 lbs. I do not have a small frame. I lift heavy, and have for almost two years before starting to lose weight, so I have a decent amount of muscle. My %BF is ~27% right now, wanting to get down to the low 20's. Yes, I will need to adjust my goal weight down, just want to have a mini victory first

Your comments make me feel a lot better. I can patiently lose a consistent 1 lb a week, but the 0.3 calculated by MFP was just a let down when I read it. I picked 15% BF because it was right in the middle on the chart.....OMGosh - I just went back and looked, I was reading the "males BF% ranges"...oh, wow I am feeling soooo much better...gotta go recalculate my healthy goal weight!!!

jljshoe1979

Thanks to those who have helped me figure this out today...the only questions I think I have left is if I do extra activities (like gardening or walking the dog or extra workouts), do I log those activities as exercise or is that counted under the "lightly active" category even though I don't do those things everyday. Do I or do I not count my regular exercise on MFP, since I already included it when I figured my TDEE?

jljshoe1979

Is your TDEE 1565 or is that your TDEE - 20%?

If the former the you need to eat less than this to lose.
If the latter then eat 1565 to lose.

In either case you do not eat exercise cals back as they should have been included in your TDEE calculation (if you didn't include exercise in your calculation then try recalculating with them).

Don't worry about the MFP message about how much you will lose, this is just a broad estimate and is pretty meaningless in the grand scheme of things. As long as you are eating in a deficit then you will lose.

Don't know how I missed what you said here about exercise. What about extra activity (like if I garden or go hiking - things I don't do normally)??

I_Will_End_You

Thanks to those who have helped me figure this out today...the only questions I think I have left is if I do extra activities (like gardening or walking the dog or extra workouts), do I log those activities as exercise or is that counted under the "lightly active" category even though I don't do those things everyday. Do I or do I not count my regular exercise on MFP, since I already included it when I figured my TDEE?

I would include those in your light activity, unless you really feel you got a workout. Like if you took the dog on a super long walk, or were doing heavy landscaping, digging, hauling stones, etc...

jljshoe1979

Thanks to those who have helped me figure this out today...the only questions I think I have left is if I do extra activities (like gardening or walking the dog or extra workouts), do I log those activities as exercise or is that counted under the "lightly active" category even though I don't do those things everyday. Do I or do I not count my regular exercise on MFP, since I already included it when I figured my TDEE?

I would include those in your light activity, unless you really feel you got a workout. Like if you took the dog on a super long walk, or were doing heavy landscaping, digging, hauling stones, etc...

Ok - thanks!