Does this make sense?

Rianne90
Rianne90 Posts: 229 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Do tell me if it doesn't :)
I'm 23 years old, 163 lbs and 5'3". I'm looking for a daily routine that I can truly stick to.

I've tried the 5:2 fasting (and jumpstarted my weightloss with it), but found I get really (and I mean REALLY) cranky without food. I have also tried the lower call baseline MFP set for me and then eating back exercise calories, but the irregularity of that annoys me (I don't work out every day and I got tired of eating less one day and eating more the other day - especially for breakfast and lunch I prefer to eat pretty much the same thing every day... easier to do grocery shopping that way).

So now I've set MFP to maintain my current weight at a sedentary level, which gives me 1840 calories a day. I go to the gym 3-4 times a week for about an hour (I do group classes like bootcamp, zumba and spinning and I'm thinking about starting lifting weights). As I get used to the exercise I might go more often, but for right now I'm sore enough as is. I don't count my exercise and I don't eat those calories back either (though some days I might go over the 1840, like yesterday I had 2500 lol oops... ).

The question is, will this approach work to lose weight (or at least, fat)? Today I entered my stats into the calculator from scoobysworkshop and it told me with 1-3 hours of exercise and a 15% calorie reduction I should eat 1808 calories, with 3-5 hours I should eat 2038 calories. So am I eating enough or too little (or too much)? I'm just a little confused but I do want this to work, so if I have to adjust something I'd rather know now rather than in a month or a couple of months.

Thanks for reading this :flowerforyou:

Replies

  • Rianne90
    Rianne90 Posts: 229 Member
    Bump :)
  • sweepgurl101
    sweepgurl101 Posts: 52
    Ok so I'm a little new at this myself, but I'll try to help =D So the most important calculation is the TDEE - this is the amount of calories your body burns in a 24 hour timeframe (all activities). Your TDEE equals 2014 calories a day. So if you want to lose weight you want to reduce your calories by 15% or 20%. So if you were to start off with 15% you would be eating 1712 a day to lose weight (this is going based off of you working out 3 days a week). Honestly, you really have to listen to your body. Personally, I'm eating 1550 a day - work out 5 days a week. This amount works for me, but if I have an intense workout I will increase my calories if needed. The more you are "intune" with your body - the better and easier this gets! I would keep your calories the same for about 2 weeks and weigh in and see how you feel after work outs and at bedtime. Do you feel overly hungry? Are you irritable? Are you too full? Take notes - make sure you are logging your calories accurate - so if you want to make adjustments you'll know exactly where to start!

    Hope this help!

    Ebonie =D
  • mwooderson
    mwooderson Posts: 254 Member
    Ok so I'm a little new at this myself, but I'll try to help =D So the most important calculation is the TDEE - this is the amount of calories your body burns in a 24 hour timeframe (all activities). Your TDEE equals 2014 calories a day. So if you want to lose weight you want to reduce your calories by 15% or 20%. So if you were to start off with 15% you would be eating 1712 a day to lose weight (this is going based off of you working out 3 days a week). Honestly, you really have to listen to your body. Personally, I'm eating 1550 a day - work out 5 days a week. This amount works for me, but if I have an intense workout I will increase my calories if needed. The more you are "intune" with your body - the better and easier this gets! I would keep your calories the same for about 2 weeks and weigh in and see how you feel after work outs and at bedtime. Do you feel overly hungry? Are you irritable? Are you too full? Take notes - make sure you are logging your calories accurate - so if you want to make adjustments you'll know exactly where to start!

    Hope this help!

    Good common sense advice. I think I'll listen as well. :)

    Ebonie =D
  • Rianne90
    Rianne90 Posts: 229 Member
    Thanks! :flowerforyou: I'll keep going and see how it goes :). I know the amount I'm eating right now may not cause quick weightloss, but I'm also looking to maintain/build as much muscle as I can while losing fat. I also feel it's good in terms of feeling satisfied during the day (and not getting grumpy and eating ALL the food).

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