BMR, TDEE...what am I doing wrong?

eggybread81
eggybread81 Posts: 2 Member
edited February 2020 in Health and Weight Loss
Hi folks,

So I am a 38 year old woman who is 5 foot 2 and currently weighs 228 pounds. Body fat mass is currently 48%, basically I'm in pretty bad shape. I want to get down to 154 initially and I've given myself a year to do it.

On the 6th of January I started using mfp to count calories. I set my goal at 1500 calories and started doing 3 workouts a week. The machines at the gym are calibrated to my body measurements and I was burning roughly 400 calories per session, so 1200 a week.

At first I was losing about 2 pounds a week (faster loss than I had intended) and I lost 8 pounds in the first month, which seemed great.

BUT measurements at the gym said that although my weight decreased, my body fat slightly increased and I lost lean muscle. I was told to eat more and up my protein. Machine at the gym said my BMR was 1754.

Three weeks ago I upped my calories from 1500 to 1700 although on some days I ate nearly 1800 and on one day 2100. I am now burning approx 500 a session at the gym, so 1500 calories per week, with a mix of cardio and weights. Outside of the gym my lifestyle is sedentary and will be until the warmer weather comes in.

In the last three weeks I have only lost 1 pound and although I feel fitter I haven't noticed any significant body shrinkage. Machine at the gym once a week seems to suggest I put on weight then lost it, body fat went down a little, then up.

Using online calculators they are telling me the following:

Your BMR (and RMR) is 1667
Your TDEE is 2585
Your Weight Loss Calories are 2177

All this seems to suggest to me I am still not eating enough. Despite the fact I now feel like I'm eating more than I did before (albeit better choices now)

I read the NHS website about weight loss it seems to be telling me to restrict right back but all this other evidence suggests I should eat more. But as I don't seem to be losing weight since I upped my calories I feel lost. Scared to eat more is the truth of it.

I lost weight before on 1400 calories a day, whilst eating my exercise calories back, but in the end it was too rapid and not sustainable and when I got ill and needed surgery it all went to hell and I put on way more than I lost. This this this needs to be a lifestyle change. Not a diet. I need to do this forever basically.

I have sleep apnoa but no hormonal issues etc that relate to weightloss.

Guess I'm just looking for some advice. I'll open up my food diary, please be kind. Also this weekend I went out with my husband so there were things I wouldn't normally have like a Latte and some cinema popcorn. (usually I'm very good or at least since I started this) Also I am aware I'm definitely not drinking enough water.

Replies

  • debtay123
    debtay123 Posts: 1,327 Member
    ITA stay off those machines and follow mfp- all the way-THEN make your adjustments as you go along after a decent period of time-the food scale is a must- and so cheap until everyone should have one
  • Lietchi
    Lietchi Posts: 6,107 Member
    I'd like to add, on top of the good advice already given, that starting weight training can also cause water retention, to repair your muscles. This can mask fat loss.

    Measuring yourself and taking pictures can be a good way to track your progress on top of weighing yourself.
  • Jthanmyfitnesspal
    Jthanmyfitnesspal Posts: 3,521 Member
    Ignore any machine that tries to guess your %BF from your body weight. If you want advice (which can be very helpful), find a nutritionist that you like. As for tracking your progress, all you need is a digital scale at home. Weigh yourself every day in the morning after the toilet in the same level of dress. Ignore your weight at any other time of day. Expect variations of +/- 2lbs on a daily basis. Only the trend matters.

    The first step is getting your plan right. You can play around with this calculator, which is very similar to the one MFP uses. Whatever your TDEE is, you'll lose 1lb/week at a daily deficit of -500kcals/day. I guess I disagree with @cmriverside on this, but I think this is the most sustainable deficit for most people.

    https://www.calculator.net/calorie-calculator.html

    Using the above, I'd put your TDEE at no more than 2300kcals/day, which assumes you have some level of activity (light exercise 1-3 times a week). My suggestion would be to eat at 1700kcals/day, reassessing as you lose weight (MFP does this automatically).

    Also, this assumes that you don't add additional calories to your plan for exercise unless you work out more than 3 times a week. If you work out a little more, you'll see faster weight loss than 1lb/week.

    Best of luck!
  • Jthanmyfitnesspal
    Jthanmyfitnesspal Posts: 3,521 Member
    The utility of the calculator I listed is that you can see exactly what it is doing. (The formula is shown on the page.) MFP uses a very similar formula, so you'll get a similar result. This just takes the mystery out of it. Note that it is just an estimate based on population averages.

    At to whether to shoot for 1 or 2 lbs/week: up to user preference. My suggestion is to set up for 1. Then you can "overperform" by exercising more or eating a bit less. The thing is that a 1000kcal/day deficit on a TDEE of 2300kcal is above 25%, meaning it can be pretty brutal.

    And: what's the hurry? The idea is to control your eating for the rest of your life not just for the rest of your current diet.
  • PAV8888
    PAV8888 Posts: 13,583 Member
    I'm more with @Jthanmyfitnesspal than @cmriverside in terms of the size of the deficit; but more on @cmriverside's side on terms of using MFP as intended.

    The thing is, regardless of how much weight there is available to be lost, if tdee is really under 2600, then a 750 Cal a week deficit (-750 from the 2600) is already more than 25%. So I wouldn't aim for faster.

    Time is a variable. Size of loss is a variable. Variables are subject to change in service of bigger goals

    The invariable and non negotiable goal is a continuing effort to create "a" deficit over a several week period and continue to pursue overall lower weight.

    But yes, I would suggest staying the course in the 1700's for now and re evaluating in 4-6 weeks based on comparing your weight trend to your loss expectations based on your logging

    You just don't have enough data yet to evaluate the effect of 1700. You need 4-6 weeks including a hormonal cycle. You've had less than 3 weeks.

    Also new exercise can have a water retention effect
  • eggybread81
    eggybread81 Posts: 2 Member
    edited February 2020
    Thanks for the replies, I appreciate it. I did a lot of reading in addition to this yesterday and the conclusion I also came out with is also sticking to 1700 for the time being and persevere. (plus I log my exercise in MFP but don't eat those calories) Then I have the option to increase exercise where I can and reduce calorie intake when I have the option, rather than imposing a low daily stricter limit. To me, that seems the most sustainable long term. Yes I have a lot of weight to lose, I definitely do realise that, but I want to do it slowly so I keep it off long term and don't have excess skin (!)
    I tried all sorts of variations on MFP yesterday and it suggested 1200 cals for 1.5lb a week loss and 2lb a week loss which I know simply isn't enough calories if my BMR is currently around 1700. Changing the 'activity level' on mfp to being more active (saying I'm on my feet most of the day, which I'm not) gave me 1580 cals, this seems too low from everything I'm reading based on my current weight. Some days I eat about 1650, which isn't that far off it I guess.

    That's the reason I looked into BMR and TDEE because what MFP was telling me seemed confusing in light of everything else I've read. I don't just want to lose weight, I also want to get healthier and stronger.

    I get that given my size the dangers of eating under my BMR are less but I need to fuel my workouts and feel like this is a lifestyle change, not a diet. I do realise that as I lose weight I will need to reduce the number of calories I have. I did start a new exercise plan two weeks ago which is greater intensity so that may have an influence I guess on the scale as suggested above.

    The guy at the gym said I should be eating 1800 daily and 2000 on work out days but I'm not going to do that, I find it hard eating that much if I'm honest, in a healthy way anyway and I want to see a bigger deficit - as I've not seen much movement at 1700 for the past 2.5 weeks I'm loathe to eat any more than that as a daily limit. On some days in the past couple of weeks I had been eating more than 1700 based on his advice thinking it was fine, but I'm going to go back to the hard limit of 1700 on all days and hopefully see some results soon.

    I've been doing 30 fat, 30 protein and 40 carbs as I was told to eat way more protein. But from what I've read the ratios at my size don't make a huge difference. Still, as weird as it sounds, I feel better on a higher protein diet.

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