Intermittent fasting & caloric need
Syre96
Posts: 28 Member
Hello all! I have been practicing intermittent fasting & could use some help figuring out how much I should be eating as lately I've been having trouble losing weight at 1600 calories. I'm 5'2, 158 lbs, 21yr female. I workout 5x week primarily consisting of resistance/weight training with 20 mins of steady state or HIIT cardio. I have heard many conflicting opinions. Some people have told me I have overworked my body, some say I need to eat MORE, and some say I need to eat LESS. I also have an endomorph body type and my current macros are 127g protein/148g carbs/66g fat(I try not to eat the full grams for carbs). Also, to be honest I have difficulty getting to 1600 calories daily. I would really appreciate it if someone could help me figure out exactly what route I need to take. Tried getting a nutritionist but insurance doesn't cover it
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People need to eat less to gain weight. Find some places in your day to make adjustments for eating less.
Are you weighing your foods? Are you planning your foods the day before? Pre planning works for lots of us.2 -
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Meal timing does not change your nutritonal needs. How many calories did MFP give you? What rate of loss did you choose?Hello all! I have been practicing intermittent fasting & could use some help figuring out how much I should be eating. I'm 5'2, 158 lbs, 21yr female.
What do you mean by trouble losing weight? Aren't you losing weight at all? For how long? Or not just losing as fast as expected? How fast do you expect to lose at this point?lately I've been having trouble losing weight at 1600 calories.
Exercise is good for you, but pretty irrelevant when it comes to weightloss. You're supposed to eat back exercise calories, but you have to be careful so you don't overestimate those.I workout 5x week primarily consisting of resistance/weight training with 20 mins of steady state or HIIT cardio.
"Eat more" is wishful thinking. If you aren't losing weight, you need to eat less.I have heard many conflicting opinions. Some people have told me I have overworked my body, some say I need to eat MORE, and some say I need to eat LESS.
No such thing.I also have an endomorph body type
That sounds protein heavy. Can you make tasty and delicious meals with that split? It's also closer to 1700 than 1600 calories.my current macros are 127g protein/148g carbs/66g fat(I try not to eat the full grams for carbs).
Do you mean that you feel so full that you can't even eat 1600 calories? Chances are you're eating more than you think. Do you weigh and log everything? Chances are also that you're eating boring food that just fills you up. Chances are even that you're telling yourself that you feel full and happy but in fact eating poorly. Exactly what, is hard for us to tell from what you're saying. You can eat anything you want and lose weight, but you have to eat less, for real, consistenty, and for a long time.Also, to be honest I have difficulty getting to 1600 calories daily. I would really appreciate it if someone could help me figure out exactly what route I need to take.
You don't need professional help unless you have a problem you can't fix yourself. Eating less and being honest about your intake, and then being patient, is something you have to do yourself.Tried getting a nutritionist but insurance doesn't cover it.4 -
A couple of thoughts...
- Intermittent fasting has nothing to do with calorie needs. Whatever your calories needs are... they aren't impacted by whether or not you IF. IF is a schedule, not a "diet"... it's about WHEN you eat, not what or how much you eat.
- The numbers you listed for calorie intake and macro targets are pretty reasonable. I know you said you sometimes struggle to hit 1600 cals total, and that you don't always eat all the carbs - do you know what you're average is over the course of, say, a month?
- Are you honest, complete, and reasonably accurate with your logging?
- You say you're having trouble losing weight - over what period of time?
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kommodevaran wrote: »
Meal timing does not change your nutritonal needs. How many calories did MFP give you? What rate of loss did you choose?Hello all! I have been practicing intermittent fasting & could use some help figuring out how much I should be eating. I'm 5'2, 158 lbs, 21yr female.
What do you mean by trouble losing weight? Aren't you losing weight at all? For how long? Or not just losing as fast as expected? How fast do you expect to lose at this point?lately I've been having trouble losing weight at 1600 calories.
Exercise is good for you, but pretty irrelevant when it comes to weightloss. You're supposed to eat back exercise calories, but you have to be careful so you don't overestimate those.I workout 5x week primarily consisting of resistance/weight training with 20 mins of steady state or HIIT cardio.
"Eat more" is wishful thinking. If you aren't losing weight, you need to eat less.I have heard many conflicting opinions. Some people have told me I have overworked my body, some say I need to eat MORE, and some say I need to eat LESS.
No such thing.I also have an endomorph body type
That sounds protein heavy. Can you make tasty and delicious meals with that split? It's also closer to 1700 than 1600 calories.my current macros are 127g protein/148g carbs/66g fat(I try not to eat the full grams for carbs).
Do you mean that you feel so full that you can't even eat 1600 calories? Chances are you're eating more than you think. Do you weigh and log everything? Chances are also that you're eating boring food that just fills you up. Chances are even that you're telling yourself that you feel full and happy but in fact eating poorly. Exactly what, is hard for us to tell from what you're saying. You can eat anything you want and lose weight, but you have to eat less, for real, consistenty, and for a long time.Also, to be honest I have difficulty getting to 1600 calories daily. I would really appreciate it if someone could help me figure out exactly what route I need to take.
You don't need professional help unless you have a problem you can't fix yourself. Eating less and being honest about your intake, and then being patient, is something you have to do yourself.Tried getting a nutritionist but insurance doesn't cover it.
I chose to lose 1lb/week on mpf and it gave me 1290 calories. Before I had used an online calorie/macro calculator and it had given me the 1600 goal. And when I say not losing weight, I mean I have been stuck at 158 pounds for about a month. And when I say I have trouble getting to 1600, I mean I usually don't have a big appetite. For example, I can have my first meal which is usually 600 calories (turkey burger on wheat w 2 boiled eggs) and I could honestly have a 4oz chicken breast later w some veggies in the day and not feel hungry. So my issue would be trying to figure out how to get to 1600 calories but with clean foods. Also, I just recently bought a food scale for when i cook in my apartment, but sometimes during classes I might visit the on-campus cafe where I'm not really sure on calories in their food. Trying to cut back on that. I want to change my macros also because I don't want to consume that many carbs daily, which might happen anyway with the 1290 calories MFP gave me. Also last question; isn't it counterproductive to eat back exercise calories? I'm still new to some concepts1 -
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There's still one parameter to set to get the appropriate calories - I would guess you have set your activity level to Sedentary - if you pick Lightly Active, you get 200 more.kommodevaran wrote: »
Meal timing does not change your nutritonal needs. How many calories did MFP give you? What rate of loss did you choose?Hello all! I have been practicing intermittent fasting & could use some help figuring out how much I should be eating. I'm 5'2, 158 lbs, 21yr female.
What do you mean by trouble losing weight? Aren't you losing weight at all? For how long? Or not just losing as fast as expected? How fast do you expect to lose at this point?lately I've been having trouble losing weight at 1600 calories.
Exercise is good for you, but pretty irrelevant when it comes to weightloss. You're supposed to eat back exercise calories, but you have to be careful so you don't overestimate those.I workout 5x week primarily consisting of resistance/weight training with 20 mins of steady state or HIIT cardio.
"Eat more" is wishful thinking. If you aren't losing weight, you need to eat less.I have heard many conflicting opinions. Some people have told me I have overworked my body, some say I need to eat MORE, and some say I need to eat LESS.
No such thing.I also have an endomorph body type
That sounds protein heavy. Can you make tasty and delicious meals with that split? It's also closer to 1700 than 1600 calories.my current macros are 127g protein/148g carbs/66g fat(I try not to eat the full grams for carbs).
Do you mean that you feel so full that you can't even eat 1600 calories? Chances are you're eating more than you think. Do you weigh and log everything? Chances are also that you're eating boring food that just fills you up. Chances are even that you're telling yourself that you feel full and happy but in fact eating poorly. Exactly what, is hard for us to tell from what you're saying. You can eat anything you want and lose weight, but you have to eat less, for real, consistenty, and for a long time.Also, to be honest I have difficulty getting to 1600 calories daily. I would really appreciate it if someone could help me figure out exactly what route I need to take.
You don't need professional help unless you have a problem you can't fix yourself. Eating less and being honest about your intake, and then being patient, is something you have to do yourself.Tried getting a nutritionist but insurance doesn't cover it.
I chose to lose 1lb/week on mpf and it gave me 1290 calories. Before I had used an online calorie/macro calculator and it had given me the 1600 goal. And when I say not losing weight, I mean I have been stuck at 158 pounds for about a month. And when I say I have trouble getting to 1600, I mean I usually don't have a big appetite. For example, I can have my first meal which is usually 600 calories (turkey burger on wheat w 2 boiled eggs) and I could honestly have a 4oz chicken breast later w some veggies in the day and not feel hungry. So my issue would be trying to figure out how to get to 1600 calories but with clean foods. Also, I just recently bought a food scale for when i cook in my apartment, but sometimes during classes I might visit the on-campus cafe where I'm not really sure on calories in their food. Trying to cut back on that. I want to change my macros also because I don't want to consume that many carbs daily, which might happen anyway with the 1290 calories MFP gave me. Also last question; isn't it counterproductive to eat back exercise calories? I'm still new to some concepts
OK, same weight for a month - then you have to tighten up your logging. A food scale is definitely going to help you. What do you mean by clean food? Nobody has a big appetite for boring food. But you aren't losing weight, so you're not even eating below maintenance, which would be approx 2000 calories. What is the connection between a high carb diet and 1290 calories (did I get that right)?
You're supposed to eat back exercise calories. MFP is designed that way.2 -
kommodevaran wrote: »
Meal timing does not change your nutritonal needs. How many calories did MFP give you? What rate of loss did you choose?Hello all! I have been practicing intermittent fasting & could use some help figuring out how much I should be eating. I'm 5'2, 158 lbs, 21yr female.
What do you mean by trouble losing weight? Aren't you losing weight at all? For how long? Or not just losing as fast as expected? How fast do you expect to lose at this point?lately I've been having trouble losing weight at 1600 calories.
Exercise is good for you, but pretty irrelevant when it comes to weightloss. You're supposed to eat back exercise calories, but you have to be careful so you don't overestimate those.I workout 5x week primarily consisting of resistance/weight training with 20 mins of steady state or HIIT cardio.
"Eat more" is wishful thinking. If you aren't losing weight, you need to eat less.I have heard many conflicting opinions. Some people have told me I have overworked my body, some say I need to eat MORE, and some say I need to eat LESS.
No such thing.I also have an endomorph body type
That sounds protein heavy. Can you make tasty and delicious meals with that split? It's also closer to 1700 than 1600 calories.my current macros are 127g protein/148g carbs/66g fat(I try not to eat the full grams for carbs).
Do you mean that you feel so full that you can't even eat 1600 calories? Chances are you're eating more than you think. Do you weigh and log everything? Chances are also that you're eating boring food that just fills you up. Chances are even that you're telling yourself that you feel full and happy but in fact eating poorly. Exactly what, is hard for us to tell from what you're saying. You can eat anything you want and lose weight, but you have to eat less, for real, consistenty, and for a long time.Also, to be honest I have difficulty getting to 1600 calories daily. I would really appreciate it if someone could help me figure out exactly what route I need to take.
You don't need professional help unless you have a problem you can't fix yourself. Eating less and being honest about your intake, and then being patient, is something you have to do yourself.Tried getting a nutritionist but insurance doesn't cover it.
I chose to lose 1lb/week on mpf and it gave me 1290 calories. Before I had used an online calorie/macro calculator and it had given me the 1600 goal. And when I say not losing weight, I mean I have been stuck at 158 pounds for about a month. And when I say I have trouble getting to 1600, I mean I usually don't have a big appetite. For example, I can have my first meal which is usually 600 calories (turkey burger on wheat w 2 boiled eggs) and I could honestly have a 4oz chicken breast later w some veggies in the day and not feel hungry. So my issue would be trying to figure out how to get to 1600 calories but with clean foods. Also, I just recently bought a food scale for when i cook in my apartment, but sometimes during classes I might visit the on-campus cafe where I'm not really sure on calories in their food. Trying to cut back on that. I want to change my macros also because I don't want to consume that many carbs daily, which might happen anyway with the 1290 calories MFP gave me. Also last question; isn't it counterproductive to eat back exercise calories? I'm still new to some concepts
If MFP said 1290 calories, why would you eat 1600 calories?0 -
KeithWhiteJr wrote: »kommodevaran wrote: »
Meal timing does not change your nutritonal needs. How many calories did MFP give you? What rate of loss did you choose?Hello all! I have been practicing intermittent fasting & could use some help figuring out how much I should be eating. I'm 5'2, 158 lbs, 21yr female.
What do you mean by trouble losing weight? Aren't you losing weight at all? For how long? Or not just losing as fast as expected? How fast do you expect to lose at this point?lately I've been having trouble losing weight at 1600 calories.
Exercise is good for you, but pretty irrelevant when it comes to weightloss. You're supposed to eat back exercise calories, but you have to be careful so you don't overestimate those.I workout 5x week primarily consisting of resistance/weight training with 20 mins of steady state or HIIT cardio.
"Eat more" is wishful thinking. If you aren't losing weight, you need to eat less.I have heard many conflicting opinions. Some people have told me I have overworked my body, some say I need to eat MORE, and some say I need to eat LESS.
No such thing.I also have an endomorph body type
That sounds protein heavy. Can you make tasty and delicious meals with that split? It's also closer to 1700 than 1600 calories.my current macros are 127g protein/148g carbs/66g fat(I try not to eat the full grams for carbs).
Do you mean that you feel so full that you can't even eat 1600 calories? Chances are you're eating more than you think. Do you weigh and log everything? Chances are also that you're eating boring food that just fills you up. Chances are even that you're telling yourself that you feel full and happy but in fact eating poorly. Exactly what, is hard for us to tell from what you're saying. You can eat anything you want and lose weight, but you have to eat less, for real, consistenty, and for a long time.Also, to be honest I have difficulty getting to 1600 calories daily. I would really appreciate it if someone could help me figure out exactly what route I need to take.
You don't need professional help unless you have a problem you can't fix yourself. Eating less and being honest about your intake, and then being patient, is something you have to do yourself.Tried getting a nutritionist but insurance doesn't cover it.
I chose to lose 1lb/week on mpf and it gave me 1290 calories. Before I had used an online calorie/macro calculator and it had given me the 1600 goal. And when I say not losing weight, I mean I have been stuck at 158 pounds for about a month. And when I say I have trouble getting to 1600, I mean I usually don't have a big appetite. For example, I can have my first meal which is usually 600 calories (turkey burger on wheat w 2 boiled eggs) and I could honestly have a 4oz chicken breast later w some veggies in the day and not feel hungry. So my issue would be trying to figure out how to get to 1600 calories but with clean foods. Also, I just recently bought a food scale for when i cook in my apartment, but sometimes during classes I might visit the on-campus cafe where I'm not really sure on calories in their food. Trying to cut back on that. I want to change my macros also because I don't want to consume that many carbs daily, which might happen anyway with the 1290 calories MFP gave me. Also last question; isn't it counterproductive to eat back exercise calories? I'm still new to some concepts
If MFP said 1290 calories, why would you eat 1600 calories?
Because before hand I used an online calorie/macro calculator and entered those numbers into MFP0 -
kommodevaran wrote: »
There's still one parameter to set to get the appropriate calories - I would guess you have set your activity level to Sedentary - if you pick Lightly Active, you get 200 more.kommodevaran wrote: »
Meal timing does not change your nutritonal needs. How many calories did MFP give you? What rate of loss did you choose?Hello all! I have been practicing intermittent fasting & could use some help figuring out how much I should be eating. I'm 5'2, 158 lbs, 21yr female.
What do you mean by trouble losing weight? Aren't you losing weight at all? For how long? Or not just losing as fast as expected? How fast do you expect to lose at this point?lately I've been having trouble losing weight at 1600 calories.
Exercise is good for you, but pretty irrelevant when it comes to weightloss. You're supposed to eat back exercise calories, but you have to be careful so you don't overestimate those.I workout 5x week primarily consisting of resistance/weight training with 20 mins of steady state or HIIT cardio.
"Eat more" is wishful thinking. If you aren't losing weight, you need to eat less.I have heard many conflicting opinions. Some people have told me I have overworked my body, some say I need to eat MORE, and some say I need to eat LESS.
No such thing.I also have an endomorph body type
That sounds protein heavy. Can you make tasty and delicious meals with that split? It's also closer to 1700 than 1600 calories.my current macros are 127g protein/148g carbs/66g fat(I try not to eat the full grams for carbs).
Do you mean that you feel so full that you can't even eat 1600 calories? Chances are you're eating more than you think. Do you weigh and log everything? Chances are also that you're eating boring food that just fills you up. Chances are even that you're telling yourself that you feel full and happy but in fact eating poorly. Exactly what, is hard for us to tell from what you're saying. You can eat anything you want and lose weight, but you have to eat less, for real, consistenty, and for a long time.Also, to be honest I have difficulty getting to 1600 calories daily. I would really appreciate it if someone could help me figure out exactly what route I need to take.
You don't need professional help unless you have a problem you can't fix yourself. Eating less and being honest about your intake, and then being patient, is something you have to do yourself.Tried getting a nutritionist but insurance doesn't cover it.
I chose to lose 1lb/week on mpf and it gave me 1290 calories. Before I had used an online calorie/macro calculator and it had given me the 1600 goal. And when I say not losing weight, I mean I have been stuck at 158 pounds for about a month. And when I say I have trouble getting to 1600, I mean I usually don't have a big appetite. For example, I can have my first meal which is usually 600 calories (turkey burger on wheat w 2 boiled eggs) and I could honestly have a 4oz chicken breast later w some veggies in the day and not feel hungry. So my issue would be trying to figure out how to get to 1600 calories but with clean foods. Also, I just recently bought a food scale for when i cook in my apartment, but sometimes during classes I might visit the on-campus cafe where I'm not really sure on calories in their food. Trying to cut back on that. I want to change my macros also because I don't want to consume that many carbs daily, which might happen anyway with the 1290 calories MFP gave me. Also last question; isn't it counterproductive to eat back exercise calories? I'm still new to some concepts
OK, same weight for a month - then you have to tighten up your logging. A food scale is definitely going to help you. What do you mean by clean food? Nobody has a big appetite for boring food. But you aren't losing weight, so you're not even eating below maintenance, which would be approx 2000 calories. What is the connection between a high carb diet and 1290 calories (did I get that right)?
You're supposed to eat back exercise calories. MFP is designed that way.
I chose my activity level to sedentary because it kinda is. Besides the gym, my days consist of walking to class and sitting for hours. The most active I get besides the gym is parties on the weekend. Should I still change my activity level to Lightly Active?0 -
I think you can do that. But the most important thing is that you really eat the number of calorie you think you are eating. "1290 calories" that's really 2000 calories, is no better than "1690 calories" that's really 2000 calories. Get used to correct logging and finding correct database entries.kommodevaran wrote: »
There's still one parameter to set to get the appropriate calories - I would guess you have set your activity level to Sedentary - if you pick Lightly Active, you get 200 more.kommodevaran wrote: »
Meal timing does not change your nutritonal needs. How many calories did MFP give you? What rate of loss did you choose?Hello all! I have been practicing intermittent fasting & could use some help figuring out how much I should be eating. I'm 5'2, 158 lbs, 21yr female.
What do you mean by trouble losing weight? Aren't you losing weight at all? For how long? Or not just losing as fast as expected? How fast do you expect to lose at this point?lately I've been having trouble losing weight at 1600 calories.
Exercise is good for you, but pretty irrelevant when it comes to weightloss. You're supposed to eat back exercise calories, but you have to be careful so you don't overestimate those.I workout 5x week primarily consisting of resistance/weight training with 20 mins of steady state or HIIT cardio.
"Eat more" is wishful thinking. If you aren't losing weight, you need to eat less.I have heard many conflicting opinions. Some people have told me I have overworked my body, some say I need to eat MORE, and some say I need to eat LESS.
No such thing.I also have an endomorph body type
That sounds protein heavy. Can you make tasty and delicious meals with that split? It's also closer to 1700 than 1600 calories.my current macros are 127g protein/148g carbs/66g fat(I try not to eat the full grams for carbs).
Do you mean that you feel so full that you can't even eat 1600 calories? Chances are you're eating more than you think. Do you weigh and log everything? Chances are also that you're eating boring food that just fills you up. Chances are even that you're telling yourself that you feel full and happy but in fact eating poorly. Exactly what, is hard for us to tell from what you're saying. You can eat anything you want and lose weight, but you have to eat less, for real, consistenty, and for a long time.Also, to be honest I have difficulty getting to 1600 calories daily. I would really appreciate it if someone could help me figure out exactly what route I need to take.
You don't need professional help unless you have a problem you can't fix yourself. Eating less and being honest about your intake, and then being patient, is something you have to do yourself.Tried getting a nutritionist but insurance doesn't cover it.
I chose to lose 1lb/week on mpf and it gave me 1290 calories. Before I had used an online calorie/macro calculator and it had given me the 1600 goal. And when I say not losing weight, I mean I have been stuck at 158 pounds for about a month. And when I say I have trouble getting to 1600, I mean I usually don't have a big appetite. For example, I can have my first meal which is usually 600 calories (turkey burger on wheat w 2 boiled eggs) and I could honestly have a 4oz chicken breast later w some veggies in the day and not feel hungry. So my issue would be trying to figure out how to get to 1600 calories but with clean foods. Also, I just recently bought a food scale for when i cook in my apartment, but sometimes during classes I might visit the on-campus cafe where I'm not really sure on calories in their food. Trying to cut back on that. I want to change my macros also because I don't want to consume that many carbs daily, which might happen anyway with the 1290 calories MFP gave me. Also last question; isn't it counterproductive to eat back exercise calories? I'm still new to some concepts
OK, same weight for a month - then you have to tighten up your logging. A food scale is definitely going to help you. What do you mean by clean food? Nobody has a big appetite for boring food. But you aren't losing weight, so you're not even eating below maintenance, which would be approx 2000 calories. What is the connection between a high carb diet and 1290 calories (did I get that right)?
You're supposed to eat back exercise calories. MFP is designed that way.
I chose my activity level to sedentary because it kinda is. Besides the gym, my days consist of walking to class and sitting for hours. The most active I get besides the gym is parties on the weekend. Should I still change my activity level to Lightly Active?2 -
Your food diary is empty at lest for the last several days that I looked at. How are you tracking your calories? How do you know how many calories you're getting?0
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ladyhusker39 wrote: »Your food diary is empty at lest for the last several days that I looked at. How are you tracking your calories? How do you know how many calories you're getting?
My food diary is on a different account because I forgot I had this account logged in on my laptop and used a different email on the app like an idiot0 -
One thing caught me - you said you used a Macro calculator? What did you use as your activity level on it? Was it calculating using your actual LBM and Fat %??? If not, you need to find this out and use it if you are going to be so intent on using macros.
IF is all about simplifying your nutritional needs/demands for your body. Yes, you should have a "goal range" but unless you are competitively leaning out for competition - hyper tracking your Macros will only over complicate things.
I personally have followed this train of thought: Get a round about of your "macros" and caloric intake by visiting IIFYM and here (Sorry the site name is intense but if you do the walk through - it will explain how it all works to you in detail). https://rippedbody.com/how-to-calculate-leangains-macros/
For the second link - i take the average of what they say for Lifting and resting days... and whatever the average is - I use that for my goal. Compare that to IIFYM - how does it turn out?? Maybe you're off from the calculator you had.
I just eat clean as possible, carbs from veg/fruit, no grains (causes too much distress and inflammation) and lots of flavor. I have not added in any weightlifting or HIIT yet - trying to limit body stress... I am already over inflamed and my body is fighting itself. I hope to add this in two weeks.
Wishing you luck. Hoping this is helpful!
Also - with IF - STOP FOCUSING ON THE SCALE. Take photos, measurements, mental clarity, and other non-scale based items. You'd be amazed how much inflammation looks like fat but isn't.
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Before this last month how much weight did you lose and over what time frame? You state that you aim for 148g carbs a day, but the only daily food example you gave had you eating a turkey burger on wheat w 2 boiled eggs and 4oz chicken breast later w some veggies. Not many carbs there. And I believe intermittent fasting works by lowering your insulin levels over time. If your insulin levels are high it's very difficult to lose weight no matter what you do.3
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IF works by reducing calories or making it easier to stick with your calories.
OP, 1600 from a calculator INCLUDES exercise, so if you use that method you don't eat back calories.
1290 from MFP does not include exercise, so if you use that method eat back SOME of your exercise. How much depends on the exercise, how hard it is to estimate calories, and results. I'd start conservatively and eat back half or so if doing that method.
Your 1600 is probably fine, though, you just need to tighten up the logging, and -- as I think you know -- the cafe foods are likely one thing that is messing you up, since you don't know the calories. I'd either focus on logging really perfectly for a few weeks, using a food scale, or else cut back a bit from what you are doing now.2 -
Before this last month how much weight did you lose and over what time frame? You state that you aim for 148g carbs a day, but the only daily food example you gave had you eating a turkey burger on wheat w 2 boiled eggs and 4oz chicken breast later w some veggies. Not many carbs there. And I believe intermittent fasting works by lowering your insulin levels over time. If your insulin levels are high it's very difficult to lose weight no matter what you do.
Before this last month I started at a weight of about 170 and dropped down to 158 in about a month with intermittent fasting. However, since December I've been stuck in a plateau and I can't drop below 158. I am considering at this point to drop down to the 1290 calories that MFP is giving me. Also, my food diary is on a different account(I'm an idiot) and before hand I would eat a lot of pasta which I've slowly been cutting out. I've been traveling this past week so honestly my food schedule is all messed up but I plan to get back on track when I return back to school this following week0 -
lemurcat12 wrote: »IF works by reducing calories or making it easier to stick with your calories.
OP, 1600 from a calculator INCLUDES exercise, so if you use that method you don't eat back calories.
1290 from MFP does not include exercise, so if you use that method eat back SOME of your exercise. How much depends on the exercise, how hard it is to estimate calories, and results. I'd start conservatively and eat back half or so if doing that method.
Your 1600 is probably fine, though, you just need to tighten up the logging, and -- as I think you know -- the cafe foods are likely one thing that is messing you up, since you don't know the calories. I'd either focus on logging really perfectly for a few weeks, using a food scale, or else cut back a bit from what you are doing now.
I didn't realize MFP didn't include exercise since it asks how many days I workout/overall time. That's very interesting. Maybe the calories from the calculator I used are too high or I'm not burning enough off in the gym. I will try dropping my calories down to 1290 following MFP's suggestion. My only concern is since you're saying I should eat back a small amount of my workout calories, how do I determine that? I have a fitness tracker but I know they can be inaccurate with counting calories burned.0 -
One thing caught me - you said you used a Macro calculator? What did you use as your activity level on it? Was it calculating using your actual LBM and Fat %??? If not, you need to find this out and use it if you are going to be so intent on using macros.
IF is all about simplifying your nutritional needs/demands for your body. Yes, you should have a "goal range" but unless you are competitively leaning out for competition - hyper tracking your Macros will only over complicate things.
I personally have followed this train of thought: Get a round about of your "macros" and caloric intake by visiting IIFYM and here (Sorry the site name is intense but if you do the walk through - it will explain how it all works to you in detail). https://rippedbody.com/how-to-calculate-leangains-macros/
For the second link - i take the average of what they say for Lifting and resting days... and whatever the average is - I use that for my goal. Compare that to IIFYM - how does it turn out?? Maybe you're off from the calculator you had.
I just eat clean as possible, carbs from veg/fruit, no grains (causes too much distress and inflammation) and lots of flavor. I have not added in any weightlifting or HIIT yet - trying to limit body stress... I am already over inflamed and my body is fighting itself. I hope to add this in two weeks.
Wishing you luck. Hoping this is helpful!
Also - with IF - STOP FOCUSING ON THE SCALE. Take photos, measurements, mental clarity, and other non-scale based items. You'd be amazed how much inflammation looks like fat but isn't.
Thank you for your comment. I could actually use advice on this. I am a fulltime college student, so my daily activity is low(walking to class/sitting @ a desk) and am the most active when I'm actually in the gym. I have stressed myself out a lot in the past with trying to track my macros, so would you recommend I just try to reach my 1290 calories for the day and focus on that versus my macros?0 -
lemurcat12 wrote: »IF works by reducing calories or making it easier to stick with your calories.
OP, 1600 from a calculator INCLUDES exercise, so if you use that method you don't eat back calories.
1290 from MFP does not include exercise, so if you use that method eat back SOME of your exercise. How much depends on the exercise, how hard it is to estimate calories, and results. I'd start conservatively and eat back half or so if doing that method.
Your 1600 is probably fine, though, you just need to tighten up the logging, and -- as I think you know -- the cafe foods are likely one thing that is messing you up, since you don't know the calories. I'd either focus on logging really perfectly for a few weeks, using a food scale, or else cut back a bit from what you are doing now.
I didn't realize MFP didn't include exercise since it asks how many days I workout/overall time. That's very interesting. Maybe the calories from the calculator I used are too high or I'm not burning enough off in the gym. I will try dropping my calories down to 1290 following MFP's suggestion. My only concern is since you're saying I should eat back a small amount of my workout calories, how do I determine that? I have a fitness tracker but I know they can be inaccurate with counting calories burned.
Logging them on MFP will add the calories. You can modify the calories when you do that to cut them down some.
If you mostly run or bike outdoors, those can be reasonably trustworthy using MFP's estimates (or a fitness tracker if you use it). For weights, I don't think the estimate is that high and might use it. For things like Zumba, spinning, elliptical, circuit training (and those kinds of classes in gyms), I think calories are often overstated, especially if you are something of a beginner, so I round them down to between 50-75%. I did count back all my running calories, though.
Basically since you aren't losing now I might start by adding in 50% of what MFP gives you for exercise when you log it and then if you start losing more than expected increase that percentage.
And I totally agree that MFP is confusing in that it asks for your exercise plans but does not include them in calories.0 -
lemurcat12 wrote: »lemurcat12 wrote: »IF works by reducing calories or making it easier to stick with your calories.
OP, 1600 from a calculator INCLUDES exercise, so if you use that method you don't eat back calories.
1290 from MFP does not include exercise, so if you use that method eat back SOME of your exercise. How much depends on the exercise, how hard it is to estimate calories, and results. I'd start conservatively and eat back half or so if doing that method.
Your 1600 is probably fine, though, you just need to tighten up the logging, and -- as I think you know -- the cafe foods are likely one thing that is messing you up, since you don't know the calories. I'd either focus on logging really perfectly for a few weeks, using a food scale, or else cut back a bit from what you are doing now.
I didn't realize MFP didn't include exercise since it asks how many days I workout/overall time. That's very interesting. Maybe the calories from the calculator I used are too high or I'm not burning enough off in the gym. I will try dropping my calories down to 1290 following MFP's suggestion. My only concern is since you're saying I should eat back a small amount of my workout calories, how do I determine that? I have a fitness tracker but I know they can be inaccurate with counting calories burned.
Logging them on MFP will add the calories. You can modify the calories when you do that to cut them down some.
If you mostly run or bike outdoors, those can be reasonably trustworthy using MFP's estimates (or a fitness tracker if you use it). For weights, I don't think the estimate is that high and might use it. For things like Zumba, spinning, elliptical, circuit training (and those kinds of classes in gyms), I think calories are often overstated, especially if you are something of a beginner, so I round them down to between 50-75%. I did count back all my running calories, though.
Basically since you aren't losing now I might start by adding in 50% of what MFP gives you for exercise when you log it and then if you start losing more than expected increase that percentage.
And I totally agree that MFP is confusing in that it asks for your exercise plans but does not include them in calories.
Alright thank you! I will start following the 1290 plan MFP is giving me and then try to be careful with eating back exercise calories. I'm looking forward to this since I always hated trying to reach the 15/1600 calories that online calculators used to give me. I recently bought a food scale so I can more accurately track my cals0 -
One thing caught me - you said you used a Macro calculator? What did you use as your activity level on it? Was it calculating using your actual LBM and Fat %??? If not, you need to find this out and use it if you are going to be so intent on using macros.
IF is all about simplifying your nutritional needs/demands for your body. Yes, you should have a "goal range" but unless you are competitively leaning out for competition - hyper tracking your Macros will only over complicate things.
I personally have followed this train of thought: Get a round about of your "macros" and caloric intake by visiting IIFYM and here (Sorry the site name is intense but if you do the walk through - it will explain how it all works to you in detail). https://rippedbody.com/how-to-calculate-leangains-macros/
For the second link - i take the average of what they say for Lifting and resting days... and whatever the average is - I use that for my goal. Compare that to IIFYM - how does it turn out?? Maybe you're off from the calculator you had.
I just eat clean as possible, carbs from veg/fruit, no grains (causes too much distress and inflammation) and lots of flavor. I have not added in any weightlifting or HIIT yet - trying to limit body stress... I am already over inflamed and my body is fighting itself. I hope to add this in two weeks.
Wishing you luck. Hoping this is helpful!
Also - with IF - STOP FOCUSING ON THE SCALE. Take photos, measurements, mental clarity, and other non-scale based items. You'd be amazed how much inflammation looks like fat but isn't.
Thank you for your comment. I could actually use advice on this. I am a fulltime college student, so my daily activity is low(walking to class/sitting @ a desk) and am the most active when I'm actually in the gym. I have stressed myself out a lot in the past with trying to track my macros, so would you recommend I just try to reach my 1290 calories for the day and focus on that versus my macros?
While I wish I could give you a recommendation, I am no where near qualified to.. however I have looked a few Macro based calculators (IIFYM, Leangains, ketobased, etc) and got a round about of what I was comfortable to do. I personally have a hard time with my carbs and know I am carb sensitive - so thats a focus for me. I am still trying to learn my balance on Fat to Protein.
Also, i find it is alot of trial and error - how does your body respond.. give it a good couple of weeks for your body to adapt to what you are doing... go from there.0
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