Back to calorie counting after weight gain..

Vikings4

Hi All,

I started MFP in 2011 and weighed around 144 lbs. My calorie intake was around 1200-1300 and then I would add my exercise calories into that. My workout schedule was usually running (5-6 times a week) 2-3 miles (8-9 min pace), track workouts: intervals, sprints, and little strength training- upper/lower body. I lost weight slowly... 1/2-1 lb almost weekly and reached to 123 lbs. I kept this weight for many months. Unfortunately I then stopped counting my calories and continued working out but not to that extent.

Over the past 8 months, I slowly gained some of my weight back and currently weigh 138 lbs. (5'2", 31 y/o female) I know that I also gained weight as I have been very stressed due to my job and the passing of a close family member.

I want to get back into calorie counting and have been reading about the TDEE -20%. I used this tool: http://www.fat2fitradio.com/tools/bmr/ and used my current weight as my goal, -20% etc.

It came out to around 1700's (felt this was too high) and I have been doing 1650 for the past two days and NOT putting my exercise calories in.

When I was using MFP 2 years ago, as I kept getting closer to my goal weight I probably was not eating enough? Therefore when I went back to regularly eating without counting calories, I put weight back on. I don't know.

Can anyone provide me with any feedback in regards to my current calorie intake/outlook? 31 y/o female, 5'2", 138lbs, looking to lose 15 lbs. As for working out, I run 5-6 x a week: 3 miles, also intervals or track workouts, and do light strength training.

Thanks for any help!

geekyjock76

The calories you burn from exercise are included in the TDEE equation. In other words, the 1700 estimate already includes the calories burned from exercise.

If your goal is to drop 15 lbs, then a 0.5 lb per week plan (250 to 300 calorie deficit) is all that's needed.

I put your stats and activity in a Katch-McArdle calculator and got 2146 calories to maintain. This is merely an estimate based on people similar to you who are not in a diet state and eating the maximum amount to maintain. It is possible that your adjusted TDEE is indeed lower, however. If you wanted to play it conservatively, you could approximate your TDEE to be 2000 calories. Thus, taking off 300 would get you 1700. You could see how your body responds by eating this amount for a while keeping in mind things such as carb and sodium intake when you plan on weighing yourself.

Lastly, if you wish to retain as much lean mass as possible while reducing fat mass, you may want to start lifting heavier resistance to near failure and ensuring you are consuming adequate protein - usually 1g x lean mass. You are likely in the neighborhood of 25% body fat which would give a lean mass of 103 lbs, btw.