Help! Confused on Calories!

phoebejeeby

Hi, I have been on this journey for 2 years now. I quit after losing for a while because I plateaued. I think it was because I wasnt eating enough...so I want to do it right so I can keep losing. Here is my info... I don't really want to use TDEE. I want to go with MFP because I like eating back exercise cals because it motivates me.

Female, 5' 6"
Age: 27
Current weight: 201 lb
Goal: 160 lb
Ideal loss Rate : - 1 lb per week
Activity: I work in an office. I do Insanity workouts 5 days a week ( 40 min High impact aerobics, Estimated burn 400-425 cals)

I calculated my BMR to be 1713 cals (TDEE without exercise is around 2060)

MFP says I burn 2100 cals from my normal daily activity (not including exercise). So if i want to lose a lb a week I have to net 1600 cals per day, which is below my BMR. I think I weigh enough to be able to safely lose 1 lb a week...why do i have to eat below my BMR to do this? Or have I miscalculated?

FrankiesSaysRelax

Your TDEE should include you working out, first of all. I calculated one for you and got about 2600 with 3-5 hours of exercise per week. I would aim for the 2100 calories a day, which is your tdee - 20%.

Mr_Knight

Using your numbers to estimate your BF%, I get a BMR of 1350 and a non-exercise TDEE of 1625. This is using the IIFYM calculator.

That is significantly lower than your numbers.

MinnieInMaine

It's only about a 100 calorie difference, I wouldn't worry about it. You can either go with what MFP gives you and go over a little and know you dont have to worry about it. Or custom set your calories to your BMR - just make sure that every time you hit a 10 pound loss milestone you recalc your numbers.

phoebejeeby

Ive used a few online calculators to estimate by Body Fat %....most ask for a few measurements. Most I get around 27%, but the military formula has me at 40.8%. I think I would have to be somewhere in the middle of both of those. But if I use a bf% of 27% on IIFYM I get different numbers than you. What BF% did you calculate me at?

BarbieAS

Your stats and BF% sound a lot like mine - I'm 5'5.5" and 203lbs, currently, and I also work in an office. Are you pear shaped, by any chance? Sorry if that's an incredibly odd question; I find a HUGE range in what the calculators tell me that my BF% is, ranging from maybe 30% all the way up to 43% - the highest one comes from that military calculator for me, too. I have a ~.65 waist to hips ratio, and I think that throws the calculators off. I always estimate my BF% on the high side - I figure 40% (right now) is about right.

With about 40lbs to lose, a goal of 1lb per week of loss sounds perfect, IMO. Don't worry about the BMR thing - if you're working out 5 days per week and you're eating back your exercise calories, then you're really NOT eating below your BMR all that often - you're eating 1600/day 2 days per week and eating 2000 5 days per week. If it makes you feel better, eat 1700 on your rest days and save 50 of your exercise calories the other 5 days to make up for it. Plus, I really believe that eating/netting less than your BMR (ESPECIALLY infrequently and ESPECIALLY by only small amounts) isn't that big of a deal at all. It's a pretty good rule of thumb on what someone's bottom limit calorie goal should be, but there's nothing magic that happens just because you ate less than your BMR. Your body will pull those calories from fat/muscle stores the same way it pulls the calories for the rest of your activity. It's just a good, concrete, and easy to estimate number to throw out there if someone is feeling confused on how much to eat.

phoebejeeby

LoL...Im not sure of my body shape as defined by fruit...I just pulled up an online calculator that says I'm "Spoon Shaped" Not sure that that means....that I like eating maybe

Mr_Knight

Ive used a few online calculators to estimate by Body Fat %....most ask for a few measurements. Most I get around 27%, but the military formula has me at 40.8%. I think I would have to be somewhere in the middle of both of those.

If anything, based on my experience, even the military one is underestimating. I would use 50% to get BMR/TDEE, and then track for a few weeks to see what happens. If the weight comes off too fast, you know it's time to up the number a little bit.

phoebejeeby

I know the most accurate way to calculate body fat is with calipers. 50% sounds too high. I got a consistent reading of around 43% on a handheld electronic body fat % monitor back before i lost 60 lbs. I know i didn't just lose fat..i lost some muscle and water.