I'm new! Could I get a some help with my calories please?

accendo

Hi there.

i'm quite new to serious MFP tracking and I want to do this right and eat enough to fuel my brain and body. My main goals are to lose weight and get stronger and healthier. This for me is a new way of life, not a diet. I've been tracking for nearly a month I would say and exercising for about that long as well. My scales haven't moved much (if at all) but they are terribly inaccurate so I have gotten rid of them and am measuring myself instead. I do feel a stronger since starting the the SL 5x5. I also weigh everything and add all of my food to the tracker. I have recently gotten a HRM so I'm hoping that it will help track my exercise more accurately.

I'm 37 years old and have a husband and 4 little kids, so we are pretty busy

I am doing the stronglifts 5x5 program on a Sunday, Wednesday and Friday. I do a body balance class (a mix of yoga, pilates and taichi) on Tuesday and Thursday which according to my HRM burns around 400-500 calories per session. And in between that I try to get in a DVD or some swimming or riding. I have to be flexible with this because depending on the kids or family commitments I may not be able to get to the gym on a certain day. For example my son is at home today because he is sick so I couldn't get to the body balance so I did a DVD instead.

My stats from scooby are-

Bmr-1850
TDEE based on the 3/5 moderate exercise is 2867
Tdee with a 20% cut is 2294

I have set my calorie intake on MFP at my BMR and I try to eat this and also eat most of my exercise calories back. Is my activity level accurate? I wasn't sure if I should set it to light or moderate on scooby.

Is this a good way to start? I find it so hard to wrap my head around the EM2WL concept, most of my friends are set on 1200 per day and ive had it drummed into me my whole life, that to lose weight you need to eat as little as possible. Which is why I am never sucessfulI, my sister and mother are always on whatever fad diet comes around. I want to do something i can sustain long term and i could never do that on 1200 calories . I have a lot of weight to lose and I want to do it sensibly while gaining strength. I'd love to hear any suggestions or opinions.

Thanks so much if you managed to get through that novel lol

jordymils

Have you been on a low calorie diet in the past? If so, when and for how long?
If you've been on a low calorie diet for a while then you should consider doing a metabolism reset, but either way if you've been eating less than you currently are (but not necessarily low cal) then it will take some time for your body to adjust and relearn that you are feeding it, not starving and bingeing. Hence why the scales wouldn't have shifted and why it might take a little time before you start seeing results.

As far as activity goes, go by the actual number of hours that you exercise. If you're doing 3-5 hours of legit exercise per week, especially with a busy lifestyle, then yes I'd say you're moderate.

I'd personally suggest setting your calories on MFP to your TDEE minus cut. Consistency is the key, so you want to be eating the same amount each day regardless of exercise, and if you're only eating your BMR amount then it doesn't allow you anything extra for the incidental exercise/activity that you do during the day, outside of formal exercise. Also, on days you don't exercise I would imagine this means that you're only eating your BMR amount, which is not enough.
The other thing is that a 20% cut is not usually recommended, mostly because it leaves very little room for change if/when you hit a plateau. 15% is usually the recommended cut to begin with.

So I'd suggest changing your calories on MFP to 2436 (TDEE with 15% cut) but if you've been on a low cal diet for a while, I'd also think about doing a reset...

Hope that helps!!

AnitraSoto

Welcome! Sounds like you have a great exercise plan, and great job getting that strength training in there!

Where you start largely depends on your past history, but consistency is key. I find it easiest just to set MFP to my daily calorie goal, rather that "eating back exercise calories". If you have been doing the VLCD thing, then it might be best to start out eating at TDEE for a month or so (although it doesn't sound like you have been doing this, and if so, not for too long.). Personally, I would just set your MFP goal to a 15% cut and start there. Give it a couple of months and then adjust as necessary. Remember to take a "diet break" and eat at TDEE for a week every couple of months just to remind your metabolism that your cut is not your TDEE...

EM2WL recommends no more than a 15% cut, otherwise if you need to cut further, you have nowhere to go (except into the low-cal territory!)

Good luck and enjoy the journey!

heybales

i'm quite new to serious MFP tracking and I want to do this right and eat enough to fuel my brain and body. My main goals are to lose weight and get stronger and healthier. This for me is a new way of life, not a diet. I've been tracking for nearly a month I would say and exercising for about that long as well. My scales haven't moved much (if at all) but they are terribly inaccurate so I have gotten rid of them and am measuring myself instead. I do feel a stronger since starting the the SL 5x5. I also weigh everything and add all of my food to the tracker. I have recently gotten a HRM so I'm hoping that it will help track my exercise more accurately.

I am doing the stronglifts 5x5 program on a Sunday, Wednesday and Friday. I do a body balance class (a mix of yoga, pilates and taichi) on Tuesday and Thursday which according to my HRM burns around 400-500 calories per session. And in between that I try to get in a DVD or some swimming or riding. I have to be flexible with this because depending on the kids or family commitments I may not be able to get to the gym on a certain day. For example my son is at home today because he is sick so I couldn't get to the body balance so I did a DVD instead.

I'm betting your non-exercise daily activity level is already lightly active. Your exercise only is Moderately Active.
Add the two together, you are above Mod Active. Likely.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1018770-better-rough-tdee-estimate-than-5-level-chart

The HRM won't help track SL5x5 accurately, it'll be inflated calorie burn.
HRM formula for calculating calories based on HR is only valid for aerobic range while steady-state with same HR 2-4 min. Lifting is neither aerobic nor steady state.

What was the average HR for your body balance class?
Because anything below aerobic range, which is about 90 bpm, is inflated also.

Ditto's to TDEE deficit method allowing better planning.

You really won't find that much difference between some of those workouts probably that are the same category. Lifting is of course by itself in time and burn. So of course if you skipped 30 min lifting and did 1 hr hard bike ride, ya, that's a difference. Eat a bit more on that day.
But missed a class and did DVD or ride instead, probably not enough difference unless the time is 2 x different.

accendo

Wow, thank you so all much for the great advice. I have no idea how to do multiple quote so I will just do a general answer if that's ok?

To answer a few questions, I haven't been on a vlcd before starting on MFP. So hopefully I won't need to do a reset.

Thanks for the info about the HRM, I didn't know it wasn't very accurate for lifting. That is good know. I'm not really sure how to find my average HR for a particular gym session (it's only new) but I will have a read of the documentation. I do know that in the class every time I look at my watch it is over 120.

You are right also about my activity level, for the majority of my day I'm on my feet.

Clueless questions below-
So I should be increasing my calories to TDEE -15%? When I do this does that mean I don't need to bother logging exercise calories Anymore? Will I expect to see a weight gain in the beginning when I do this? It seems like such a huge amount of calories to eat. If I am sick or not able to exercise for a week do I still eat the same amount of calories or adjust it to compensate for the lack of activity? Lastly should I bump them up gradually or go the whole hog?

jordymils

Clueless questions below-
So I should be increasing my calories to TDEE -15%? When I do this does that mean I don't need to bother logging exercise calories Anymore? Will I expect to see a weight gain in the beginning when I do this? It seems like such a huge amount of calories to eat. If I am sick or not able to exercise for a week do I still eat the same amount of calories or adjust it to compensate for the lack of activity? Lastly should I bump them up gradually or go the whole hog?

OK so given that you haven't been on a VLCD before, no you don't need to do reset.
Yes you should set your MFP daily caloric goal to TDEE -15%, and you shouldn't need to worry about logging exercise calories, especially seeing as we have established that the tracking of exercise calorie burn is inaccurate for lifting. I personally never use a HRM for anything other than tracking my heart rate because it's just not accurate enough and I don't feel it's necessary. It also gives you extra numbers to throw into the mix, which just gets confusing.

Whether you will see gain or loss initially is hard to say because we don't know what your diet, activity, lifestyle etc was like before you started this. It can take a few weeks for your body to adjust to anything, some people are faster and some are slower, so give it time and don't stress if you don't see results right away.
I'd suggest giving it a month of consistent eating at TDEE -15% and consistent exercise/activity, and then see how you're going. At that point you can decide if you need to change things up.

As for taking a break, if it's only a week or so then I'd suggest keep eating the same level. Again, consistency is important. If you're going away for a month and know you won't be doing any exercise, then you might want to update your TDEE but if it's only a week then it should be fine.

As for how to bump up the calories, this is a personal choice. Some people go up slowly, others just jump right in. I jumped straight in and upped my calories by about 500 per day in one hit. I spent the first couple weeks (of my reset) feeling very full and bloated all the time, but it settled down after a while. It depends I guess on how much you think you were eating before. If this amount of food is double what you used to eat then you might decide to up it slowly to adjust, but if it's only a bit extra then you can go all in. Totally up to you.

accendo

show previous quotes

Clueless questions below-
So I should be increasing my calories to TDEE -15%? When I do this does that mean I don't need to bother logging exercise calories Anymore? Will I expect to see a weight gain in the beginning when I do this? It seems like such a huge amount of calories to eat. If I am sick or not able to exercise for a week do I still eat the same amount of calories or adjust it to compensate for the lack of activity? Lastly should I bump them up gradually or go the whole hog?

OK so given that you haven't been on a VLCD before, no you don't need to do reset.
Yes you should set your MFP daily caloric goal to TDEE -15%, and you shouldn't need to worry about logging exercise calories, especially seeing as we have established that the tracking of exercise calorie burn is inaccurate for lifting. I personally never use a HRM for anything other than tracking my heart rate because it's just not accurate enough and I don't feel it's necessary. It also gives you extra numbers to throw into the mix, which just gets confusing.

Whether you will see gain or loss initially is hard to say because we don't know what your diet, activity, lifestyle etc was like before you started this. It can take a few weeks for your body to adjust to anything, some people are faster and some are slower, so give it time and don't stress if you don't see results right away.
I'd suggest giving it a month of consistent eating at TDEE -15% and consistent exercise/activity, and then see how you're going. At that point you can decide if you need to change things up.

As for taking a break, if it's only a week or so then I'd suggest keep eating the same level. Again, consistency is important. If you're going away for a month and know you won't be doing any exercise, then you might want to update your TDEE but if it's only a week then it should be fine.

As for how to bump up the calories, this is a personal choice. Some people go up slowly, others just jump right in. I jumped straight in and upped my calories by about 500 per day in one hit. I spent the first couple weeks (of my reset) feeling very full and bloated all the time, but it settled down after a while. It depends I guess on how much you think you were eating before. If this amount of food is double what you used to eat then you might decide to up it slowly to adjust, but if it's only a bit extra then you can go all in. Totally up to you.if you're going away for a month and know you won't be doing any exercise, then you might want to update your TDEE but if it's only a week then it should be fine.

As for how to bump up the calories, this is a personal choice. Some people go up slowly, others just jump right in. I jumped straight in and upped my calories by about 500 per day in one hit. I spent the first couple weeks (of my reset) feeling very full and bloated all the time, but it settled down after a while. It depends I guess on how much you think you were eating before. If this amount of food is double what you used to eat then you might decide to up it slowly to adjust, but if it's only a bit extra then you can go all in. Totally up to you.

Thank you so much for answering my questions. I've plugged my stats into the spreadsheet heybales kindly posted and they are a little different. I really hate that terrible bloated feeling so what I think I might do is slowly raise my calorie intake over the next month or two and continue to do the exercise and weights that I am doing and see how I go.

I am a little shocked at the inaccuracy of HRM and MFP calorie allowances and I think eating at TDEE -15 will be
my ultimate goal for a slow and steady weight loss. I have a lot to lose and I know if I did the VLCD I would fail big time!

Thanks so much for the helpful info Jordymils, Anitrasoto and Heybales. It is much appreciated.