Look good naked

Sarie_Bronish

Hi - sorry for the odd title. Here is my situation. I eat roughly 1300-1600 calories a day, as I am fairly sedentary aside of working out.
I do workout, and I burn about 400 calories.
This leaves me with a net of less than 900 sometimes, and it feels so wrong eating those calories back, especially if I am NOT hungry.

I want to lose MORE weight. More than 1/2 pound a week. I want to work out HARDER. I want to burn MORE calories, but what is the point in burning calories if you have to eat them all back?! I have hesitated working out harder because I was told my NET calories needed to stay above 1200... but eating more than 1600 a day leaves me feeling bloated and over full (most nights I still have to figure out what to cram in before its too late so that I can meet the number.)

Please explain this to me. I want to run on my treadmill, and I want to burn more calories so that I can lose more weight... But what is the point in burning calories if I have to eat them back!?

links_slayer

Your body needs calories to function. A net of 0 would be bad. Really bad.

Figure out your BMR and your TDEE and eat somewhere in between.

Sarie_Bronish

I used a calculator on a site that said my BMR is 1713.


I dont understand this for some reason... I dont want to be 196 pounds anymore!! I am eating as clean as I possibly can. no junk foods, no sweets, nothing.
I eat chicken, brown rice, protein shakes, fish, peanut butter, chia seeds and stuff like that. My diary is completely public.
I honestly dont know how to get 500 MORE calories into that and still be UNDER my macros. (vegetables are almost entirely NOT an option. I cant stomach them, and I cant eat 500 calories worth of vegetables.)

What am I doing wrong?

geekyjock76

MFP treats everyone as if they are a non-exerciser and does not include the calories we burn from exercise in its equation. So exercisers are already beginning MFP with a calorie deficit [from exercise] before they even enter any information. Let's say you burn 400 calories in exercise - you need to keep that deficit in mind. If you choose a 1 lb per week weight loss goal, then MFP establishes a 500 calorie deficit. MFP only knows of this 500 calorie deficit and not your 400 calories from exercise. So if you do not eat some of those exercise calories, you are potentially adhering to a 900 calorie deficit assuming your food intake and exercise calories are accurate.

links_slayer

you don't need to eat "clean" to lose weight.....

Mr_Knight

I used a calculator on a site that said my BMR is 1713.I dont want to be 196 pounds anymore!!

http://iifym.com/tdee-calculator/

K-D @ 45% (~110 lbs LBM) puts you at 1400ish for BMR.

Sarie_Bronish

I just used a second site that also says my BMR is over 1700.
http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/

It says my TDEE is about 2600 (im guessing that INCLUDES my exercise?)
I just feel like I am plateaued. my weight has hardly changed at all in a month.... I can eat more I suppose, but I WANT to be a few dress sizes down before my husband gets out of basic training and I feel like I look the same even after 35 pounds lost...

Im being totally crazy right now, I dont know why this is bothering me so badly.

NRSPAM

You're right, the TDEE does already include exercise, and you would need to deduct 500 cal's from that to lose 1lb/week. Like the other guy said, you don't have to eat clean to lose weight. It's good to eat healthy, but not entirely necessary for weight loss. I shoot for eating clean 80% of the time. You should eat about 2,000 calories/week if you stick to your current workout routine, according to the calculator you used. Don't rush the weight loss, or you may end up throwing all your hard work out the window, and gaining it all back, and then some. PS, if you're undereating, that can cause a plateau.

j6o4

Besides all the health benifits of cardio, Doing cardio allows you to eat more on your weight loss journy. Eating back your exercise calories does not effect your original deficit unless you're not accurate on your calories burned. If you want to look good naked, I would recomend adding a strength training program to your routine. Strength training will help you retain muscles while losing weight, thus lowering your bodyfat percentage which is a ratio of muscles vs fat.

Sarie_Bronish

Besides all the health benifits of cardio, Doing cardio allows you to eat more on your weight loss journey. Eating back your exercise calories does not effect your original deficit unless you're not accurate on your calories burned. If you want to look good naked, I would recomend adding a strength training program to your routine. Strength training will help you retain muscles while losing weight, thus lowering your bodyfat percentage which is a ratio of muscles vs fat.

Hi, yes, I do cardio 6 days a week, 2 of those days being strictly cardio only, and for 40-60 minutes.
I strength train 3 days a week, total body circuit. I started this about a week ago though, so I am still new to having strength in my routine. I have a hard time eating 1900 calories because I try to stay under my macros and eat only complex carbs instead of the bad carbs, and the healthy fats as opposed to saturated fats. I try really hard to not put bad into my body, so achieving a higher calorie intake is not as easy.

cafeaulait7

I used a calculator on a site that said my BMR is 1713.I dont want to be 196 pounds anymore!!

http://iifym.com/tdee-calculator/

K-D @ 45% (~110 lbs LBM) puts you at 1400ish for BMR.

So she looks like she has, what, nearly 90 lbs of fat on her to you? Really?

I can't even find a height listed for her. I'm guessing she's tall to look that great at 196 lbs And I'd guess her LBM is higher than my 115 lbs, probably. I know I couldn't pull off 175 as well as her 196! Not nearly

j6o4

Besides all the health benifits of cardio, Doing cardio allows you to eat more on your weight loss journey. Eating back your exercise calories does not effect your original deficit unless you're not accurate on your calories burned. If you want to look good naked, I would recomend adding a strength training program to your routine. Strength training will help you retain muscles while losing weight, thus lowering your bodyfat percentage which is a ratio of muscles vs fat.

Hi, yes, I do cardio 6 days a week, 2 of those days being strictly cardio only, and for 40-60 minutes.
I strength train 3 days a week, total body circuit. I started this about a week ago though, so I am still new to having strength in my routine. I have a hard time eating 1900 calories because I try to stay under my macros and eat only complex carbs instead of the bad carbs, and the healthy fats as opposed to saturated fats. I try really hard to not put bad into my body, so achieving a higher calorie intake is not as easy.

You shouldn't look at food as good or bad. I had 3 mcdonald burgers yesterday as my last meal and I woke up a few pounds lighter than the day before. If you have a hard time hitting your calorie goals, you can either cut back on cardio or stop eating only diet foods. The point of eating diet foods is that they have less calories and more volume to keep you full longer.

Mr_Knight

I used a calculator on a site that said my BMR is 1713.I dont want to be 196 pounds anymore!!

http://iifym.com/tdee-calculator/

K-D @ 45% (~110 lbs LBM) puts you at 1400ish for BMR.

So she looks like she has, what, nearly 90 lbs of fat on her to you? Really?

It works out to 107 lbs of LBM. That amount of LBM, at 20% BF, works out to 135 total pounds. So yeah, I'd say that's in the right ballpark for an average height female.

Sarie_Bronish

I used a calculator on a site that said my BMR is 1713.I dont want to be 196 pounds anymore!!

http://iifym.com/tdee-calculator/

K-D @ 45% (~110 lbs LBM) puts you at 1400ish for BMR.

So she looks like she has, what, nearly 90 lbs of fat on her to you? Really?

I can't even find a height listed for her. I'm guessing she's tall to look that great at 196 lbs And I'd guess her LBM is higher than my 115 lbs, probably. I know I couldn't pull off 175 as well as her 196! Not nearly

I am 5 foot 5 inches approximately, so I am not short, but I am not tall I suppose. I used to be in the military, and after that I have always weighed more than my size reflected I suppose. I dont think I have 90 pounds of fat to lose personally, but I could be wrong. thats why I am asking you guys for help right?

dbm037

just sayin...I don't look good naked....yet

Sarie_Bronish

I used a calculator on a site that said my BMR is 1713.I dont want to be 196 pounds anymore!!

http://iifym.com/tdee-calculator/

K-D @ 45% (~110 lbs LBM) puts you at 1400ish for BMR.

So she looks like she has, what, nearly 90 lbs of fat on her to you? Really?

It works out to 107 lbs of LBM. That amount of LBM, at 20% BF, works out to 135 total pounds. So yeah, I'd say that's in the right ballpark for an average height female.

ok that makes sense to me, so where did you get the 1400? I just want to see it since all of the other sites tell me 1700. I am understanding that I likely plateaued because my BMR was estimated too low, and I havent been eating enough. So if I eat above my BMR, but below my TDEE, I should see an increase in my losses? I feel like 8 months into this, I should have lost more than 35 pounds. I am putting in the time to burn the calories.

Sarie_Bronish

just sayin...I don't look good naked....yet

lol I have learned that if you want your topic to be opened and read, the title has to be catchy. thats the only reason it says that haha.

contingencyplan

Problem is you're measuring everything according to calories burned. You're looking at exercise all wrong. You should be looking at it for its cardiovascular benefits, and its strength and muscle building properties. The calorie deficit end you take care of through diet alone.

The_Enginerd

Besides all the health benifits of cardio, Doing cardio allows you to eat more on your weight loss journey. Eating back your exercise calories does not effect your original deficit unless you're not accurate on your calories burned. If you want to look good naked, I would recomend adding a strength training program to your routine. Strength training will help you retain muscles while losing weight, thus lowering your bodyfat percentage which is a ratio of muscles vs fat.

Hi, yes, I do cardio 6 days a week, 2 of those days being strictly cardio only, and for 40-60 minutes.
I strength train 3 days a week, total body circuit. I started this about a week ago though, so I am still new to having strength in my routine. I have a hard time eating 1900 calories because I try to stay under my macros and eat only complex carbs instead of the bad carbs, and the healthy fats as opposed to saturated fats. I try really hard to not put bad into my body, so achieving a higher calorie intake is not as easy.

Treat protein and fats as MINIMUMS, not goals to stay under.

Also, don't be afraid to have something you enjoy to meet your calories. It will help in long term adherence and keep you from feeling deprived. There are MANY people on here who look great naked (with ripped abs even!), have excellent health, and still let themselves eat cheeseburgers and ice cream.

cafeaulait7

I used a calculator on a site that said my BMR is 1713.I dont want to be 196 pounds anymore!!

http://iifym.com/tdee-calculator/

K-D @ 45% (~110 lbs LBM) puts you at 1400ish for BMR.

So she looks like she has, what, nearly 90 lbs of fat on her to you? Really?

It works out to 107 lbs of LBM. That amount of LBM, at 20% BF, works out to 135 total pounds. So yeah, I'd say that's in the right ballpark for an average height female.

ok that makes sense to me, so where did you get the 1400? I just want to see it since all of the other sites tell me 1700. I am understanding that I likely plateaued because my BMR was estimated too low, and I havent been eating enough. So if I eat above my BMR, but below my TDEE, I should see an increase in my losses? I feel like 8 months into this, I should have lost more than 35 pounds. I am putting in the time to burn the calories.

Hmmm. How much have you been eating during your plateau? I'd start there. Don't count the time that includes the recent strength training, because that's likely not a 'real' plateau.

I'm only 5'5.5" myself, so I don't know that I'd try to estimate your BF% from a population average (mine's not the average. Few individual's will be smack dab on the average). I haven't had mine measured in years, so mine's likely inaccurate now and I wouldn't use it in formulas myself. At the minimum do a calculator online or something where you input measurements if you feel you need to include BF% to get your TDEE, imho.

_xXJennXx_

I just know that when I eat closer to the recommended calories and/or partial exercise calories back is when the scale starts to go down. Don't be afraid to eat some back.

Sarie_Bronish

I used a calculator on a site that said my BMR is 1713.I dont want to be 196 pounds anymore!!

http://iifym.com/tdee-calculator/

K-D @ 45% (~110 lbs LBM) puts you at 1400ish for BMR.

So she looks like she has, what, nearly 90 lbs of fat on her to you? Really?

It works out to 107 lbs of LBM. That amount of LBM, at 20% BF, works out to 135 total pounds. So yeah, I'd say that's in the right ballpark for an average height female.

ok that makes sense to me, so where did you get the 1400? I just want to see it since all of the other sites tell me 1700. I am understanding that I likely plateaued because my BMR was estimated too low, and I havent been eating enough. So if I eat above my BMR, but below my TDEE, I should see an increase in my losses? I feel like 8 months into this, I should have lost more than 35 pounds. I am putting in the time to burn the calories.

Hmmm. How much have you been eating during your plateau? I'd start there. Don't count the time that includes the recent strength training, because that's likely not a 'real' plateau.

I'm only 5'5.5" myself, so I don't know that I'd try to estimate your BF% from a population average (mine's not the average. Few individual's will be smack dab on the average). I haven't had mine measured in years, so mine's likely inaccurate now and I wouldn't use it in formulas myself. At the minimum do a calculator online or something where you input measurements if you feel you need to include BF% to get your TDEE, imho.

my BF% was checked a week ago and i believe it was 36%.

cafeaulait7

Oh! Well that's perfect, then! Use it in the calculators that figure out your TDEE using BF% and you should have the best estimate doing that I would take the BMR they give, yes.

rick_po

I feel like 8 months into this, I should have lost more than 35 pounds. I am putting in the time to burn the calories.

Hm. I think 35 pounds is exactly how much weight you should expect to lose over 8 months. That's a pound a week, which is a 500 calorie per day deficit. I suppose it's possible to lose faster than that, but I would think that would be very very hard if you're not significantly over-weight. Maybe your expectations are too high. You've done very well so far!

As you get closer to your goal weight, it might be a good time to make a major change to your exercise routine, a kind of re-kick-start. If you've been doing lots of cardio, do 3 months of a beginner heavy strength training program. This will let you take advantage of easy newbie gains at a time when you're getting a little discouraged. Check out Strong Curves, Starting Strength, Stronglifts 5x5, New Rules of Lifting, or All Pro's Beginner program.

Also, don't worry about staying under on your macros. If you're working out a lot, it's good to eat extra protein so you don't lose too much muscle. Even if you go over on your carbs from time to time, that's no big deal, as long as your total calories are OK.

Sarie_Bronish

ok so I used this equation that I found online to calculate my BMR since I know my BF% is about 35%.


BMR (men and women) = 370 + (21.6 X lean mass in kg)

That gives me a BMR of 1623. That is lower than the 1710 that the other sites estimated, so would this one be more accurate?

cafeaulait7

ok so I used this equation that I found online to calculate my BMR since I know my BF% is about 35%.


BMR (men and women) = 370 + (21.6 X lean mass in kg)

That gives me a BMR of 1623. That is lower than the 1710 that the other sites estimated, so would this one be more accurate?

I don't know them well enough to recognize the math, but I believe it's the Katch-McCardle on on this link that folks like to use if BF is known:

http://iifym.com/tdee-calculator/

Mr_Knight

ok that makes sense to me, so where did you get the 1400? I just want to see it since all of the other sites tell me 1700.

Most sites use the same basic equation to calculate BMR. It works pretty well for people without a lot to lose, or who aren't at very low levels of leanness.

The link I gave allows you select a different - Katch-McCardle - which will take into consideration lean body mass. Here's the link again...

http://iifym.com/tdee-calculator

Mr_Knight

my BF% was checked a week ago and i believe it was 36%.

That would imply 125 pounds of lean body mass, which is very high for your height. It would also mean you'd be bordering on "beach body" status at 155 pounds, which is also very high.

wjstoj

what??? No pictures?