Weekly Net Calories

ponyosquid

I'm experiencing as confusing situation regarding Average Net Calories.

I only recently noticed the weekly average net calories on MFP, I tend to take my fitness plan day-by-day however I recently noticed my weekly average net intake seems really low. I eat well throughout the day; my goal is currently 1200-1250 as I have a desk job, I work out 5-6 days a week usually for 2+ hours resulting in a low net average between 500-800 a day. I have noticed a few more re-feed days sneak back in as I have increased my fitness intensity as skiing for 7 hours and using drag tows results in thousands of calories burned - and I don't eat the same unhealthy foods to match the deficit (i.e no cheese fondue and beer but plain chicken breast and veg) however, the majority of the time I do not feel excess hunger or "starvation". To date I have dropped between 6-7.5lbs in 6 weeks with variations in water weight due to exercise intensity, medication, sodium and menstrual cycle - this indicates a healthy fat loss pace.

Should I amend my daily activity to match my exercise plan even though I am still propping up a desk the majority of the day? It seems silly, but on rest days I don't like my calories turning red if I go over by 100cal and I eat when my body tells me to... I'm a little worried it's low and needs adjusting, so any advice would be great!

I track my calorie intake diligently and weigh everything that goes in my face, I track my fitness with the same focus as I am recovering from an injury and training to return to my original skiing performance (I do no track my strength training using MFP).

Also please be respectful in the comments and refrain from any 'unhealthy' finger wagging as I am new to weight loss as I usually am building muscle and not tracking calories.

gymprincess1234

It sounds like either you are overestimating your exercising or underestimating your re-feed day snacking, cause 1lb /week average is not that much. I don't think you are too low, just keep doing what you're doing!

ponyosquid

gymprincess1234 wrote: »

It sounds like either you are overestimating your exercising or underestimating your re-feed day snacking, cause 1lb /week average is not that much. I don't think you are too low, just keep doing what you're doing!

See, that's what I thought too! My weight loss is too modest for the calorie intake/output however I have been regaining muscle in my legs following the muscle degradation of my injuries and not being able to walk. From athletes I have spoken to it's not the uncommon to get newbie muscle gains that quickly when returning from an injury which could contradict the "weight" loss with fat lost / muscle gained.

Thanks for replying

gymprincess1234

Yes, that would explain it too, or also maybe think about when you weighed yourself (was it during PMS, in the evening, after a high-sodium intake the previous day, was it after a hard gym session, etc.) At least for me those factors can change the scale for 2-4lbs

ponyosquid

Yeah I'm the same with menstrual weight, I usually yoyo 5lbs of water. I weight myself in the morning every day before breakfast and work out an average to eliminate false water variations, I'm also focusing more on measurements over weight anyway with 3 inches down.


I guess I'm trying to establish whether to bring my calories up the maintenance if I'm going to be continually upping my fitness again and the muscle and fat will take care of itself as I return to performance standard. 1200 seemed low to begin with but now I'm upping my fitness pretty hard - hence being unsure if my activity level should be low as I am still sitting most of the day but training hard / trying to strike a balance.

collectingblues

How do you feel, and what's your weight loss goal per week?

ponyosquid

Weight loss doesn't seem a huge issue to me now as I'm seeing inches go but the scale not moving as much as I am still quite slender however I am seeing the lost muscles in my legs increase in sight (AMAZING SIGHT). I feel great and energetic but I guess I am quite cranky when I get home from training.. As I said there are days when I'm ravenous and I re-feed, them I'm dandy again.

collectingblues

Right -- but you're losing on average 1 pound a week. If you're slender, that's likely an overaggressive goal. But if that's your goal, then so be it.

There's nothing wrong with having ravenous and refeed days, as long as you're fueling, and you're not feeling like you are overly restricting on the whole.

Hunger ebbs and flows. Frankly, that's why I use TDEE -- I hate the MFP model of thinking that just encourages "you can only be hungry on days when you work out". That's not how human physiology works. People get hungry when they exercise -- but not always the same day. There's nothing *wrong* with being hungry -- but you then have to actually, you know, eat.

PAV8888

Sounds like a little bit more food might make your amazing leg come back even more amazingly.

Ravenous hunger is an indication of active or impending down regulation if not satisfied asap. And I would venture to guess that not having it in the first place would be even better for your recovery and athletic performance.