Are my calories too low?

chel325

Hey everyone, I've been reading up on how sometimes MFP tells you the wrong amount of calories so I'm just looking for some advice.

I am 4'11 22 year old woman who weighs 236-8 pounds. My goal is 120. MFP has told me to consume 1,400 a day but my weight loss has stalled/went up after the first 3 weeks and I'm wondering if I'm maybe eating too low? I do feel hungry sometimes.

BMR is 1864
TDEE is 2534

Though I'm not quite sure of what these calculations specifically mean.

Help?

herblackwings39

BMR is the amount of calories your body burns at rest just existing. TDEE is your BMR and your daily activities including exercise. It's the amount you eat to maintain your weight. TDEE is generally used with a cut of 5%, 10%, 15%, or 20% depending on how much weight you have to lose. On MFP most people recommend that you don't eat below your BMR.

Important questions: Do you use a kitchen scale and weigh all your food? Do you log absolutely everything that has calories? Do you log consistently, everyday? A lot of times weight loss stalls because we're eating more than we think.

chel325

BMR is the amount of calories your body burns at rest just existing. TDEE is your BMR and your daily activities including exercise. It's the amount you eat to maintain your weight. TDEE is generally used with a cut of 5%, 10%, 15%, or 20% depending on how much weight you have to lose. On MFP most people recommend that you don't eat below your BMR.

Important questions: Do you use a kitchen scale and weigh all your food? Do you log absolutely everything that has calories? Do you log consistently, everyday? A lot of times weight loss stalls because we're eating more than we think.

I don't weight my food. For the most part it's individually packaged and just take the calories from the bag. And when I make a salad I usually estimate with intentions of overestimating. But I do log every day and log everything.

Wow so my bmr is 1800 and I'm eating 1400 means that I'm on a huge deficit right? So even if my calories weren't quite correct I don't think I'd go over 1800 so maybe I should raise.. Hmmm or maybe I'm being impatient lol.

wild_wild_life

On MFP most people recommend that you don't eat below your BMR.

They do, but they have no real reason for saying so. Especially for someone who has a lot of weight to lose like the OP. BMR is only meaningful as it contributes to TDEE, not as a stand alone number.

OP, if you estimated your TDEE on an online calculator and got 2500, that means you should lose weight eating any amount less than 2500. Obviously the calculator is an average so your real TDEE may be more or less than that. If you want to try eating more, you have a lot of wiggle room in there where you should still lose weight.

That said, you should be losing on 1400, so you might want to give it more time. Are you eating more for exercise?

geekyjock76

How many consecutive weeks have you not lost any weight?

The size of the deficit is subjective and depends on how much fat mass you wish to lose - in your case, about 116 lbs. The more fat mass one has, the more fat mass they can burn in a 24-hour period. This means they can tolerate larger deficits compared to leaner individuals.

With that said, you could lose at a rate of 2 lbs per week initially, which is a 1000 calorie deficit below TDEE. So a 1400 to 1500 caloric intake seems reasonable at this time. As you lose weight, though, you'll have to recalculate TDEE and eat a slightly higher amount of calories.

I would definitely purchase a digital food scale. Even if most of the meals you eat are pre-packaged, their reported weights can be drastically different than actual. For example, the sandwich buns I buy are stated to being 65 g per bun; However, when I weigh them, they are actually close to 100 g. If everything were this off, imagine how much more you care eating.

RhushiK

Well also are your sure your daily exercise needs are up to your TDEE? If you don't log in your exercise, MFP considers only your BMR. Thus it'll take into account only 1700, and for weight loss, give your goal as 1400. Another thing is that calories burnt for strength training are not counted. So you have to enter them into Cardiovascular to be considered. However, don't go below 1200 (minimum value). If you have reached a plateau (though It's highly impossible for that to happen so quickly) then it's a different matter. Also make sure your carbs do not exceed your goal.

Secondly, what was your weight 3 weeks ago, and what is it now? Unless it has increased by a big amount, it's not a cause for worry.. Also what count is when you weighed yourself. If 3 weeks back it was on an empty stomach, and now afteer a meal, it'll be more as it is temporary weight. So always measure in similar conditions (most ideally in the morn on an empty stomach).

CassieReannan

at 230lb I was eating 1800 - 1900 a day and losing half a kilo a week (1lb)

MstngSammy

I just want to add that you should measure yourself and keep track of that as well as your weight.

Sometimes it may look as if you aren't losing weight but when you take measurements you have gotten smaller. 5# of fat takes up much more space than 5# of muscle.

Good luck to you :flowerforyou:

chel325

Well also are your sure your daily exercise needs are up to your TDEE? If you don't log in your exercise, MFP considers only your BMR. Thus it'll take into account only 1700, and for weight loss, give your goal as 1400. Another thing is that calories burnt for strength training are not counted. So you have to enter them into Cardiovascular to be considered. However, don't go below 1200 (minimum value). If you have reached a plateau (though It's highly impossible for that to happen so quickly) then it's a different matter. Also make sure your carbs do not exceed your goal.

Secondly, what was your weight 3 weeks ago, and what is it now? Unless it has increased by a big amount, it's not a cause for worry.. Also what count is when you weighed yourself. If 3 weeks back it was on an empty stomach, and now afteer a meal, it'll be more as it is temporary weight. So always measure in similar conditions (most ideally in the morn on an empty stomach).

I put my exercise as light activity as I work at starbucks and go to my HIIT 3 days a week plus I try to run with my dog.

It was 246, then went down to 236 then back up to 238.

chel325

How many consecutive weeks have you not lost any weight?

The size of the deficit is subjective and depends on how much fat mass you wish to lose - in your case, about 116 lbs. The more fat mass one has, the more fat mass they can burn in a 24-hour period. This means they can tolerate larger deficits compared to leaner individuals.

With that said, you could lose at a rate of 2 lbs per week initially, which is a 1000 calorie deficit below TDEE. So a 1400 to 1500 caloric intake seems reasonable at this time. As you lose weight, though, you'll have to recalculate TDEE and eat a slightly higher amount of calories.

I would definitely purchase a digital food scale. Even if most of the meals you eat are pre-packaged, their reported weights can be drastically different than actual. For example, the sandwich buns I buy are stated to being 65 g per bun; However, when I weigh them, they are actually close to 100 g. If everything were this off, imagine how much more you care eating.

Okay looking at food scales on amazon now, any brand suggestions?

And thanks for the advice

chel325

I just want to add that you should measure yourself and keep track of that as well as your weight.

Sometimes it may look as if you aren't losing weight but when you take measurements you have gotten smaller. 5# of fat takes up much more space than 5# of muscle.

Good luck to you :flowerforyou:

I feel my clothes fit better but it could just be minds tricks I'm just worried because it seems most people eat more than me and I don't want to mess my metabolism or set my self up for a binge.

RhushiK

Well 236 to 238. If this is in few day's time, it's not much. Can be temporary water weight. Also make sure to enter your exercise records daily through "Add exercise", whether it be walking, running. Not only when they asked you about your average exercise levels during sign up. Coz if you don't add that, it'll give you a goal based on your BMR only. So you'll be eating 1400 according to your BMR, and you'll end up burning some of that too.. so you'll go below 1400, and your body will end up in starvation mode, thus saving the fat and not reducing your weight. Also don't vary your daily net calories (intake + exercise) too much, as your metabolism might get messed up. Keep it stable. If your net is say 1500, keep it near 1500 until you want to reduce your goal.