Some advice, any advice :)

bwhitty67

Is there a magic trick I'm missing on my calorie intake? I've done the calculation for BMR, AMR etc. If I want to lose 2lbs/week ( I have 90lbs to lose) it comes up to 1382calories /day. Now I have done this and I stay the same or the weight goes up. I exercise 6x/week, 45-60mins, doing walk/jog on the treadmill, just started on the elliptical and weights. Calorie burn is between 375-450 depending on the day.

I've read you shouldn't eat back the calories (so much reading has led to confusion ) I might just be that girl that eats 1200calories and after working out ends up in the 900calorie range for the day.

Any advice? I am really trying here, I eat over +90g protein, >75g carbs and I don't really watch fats but usually >50g fat. I try to shoot for +25g fiber and 25g or less of sugar a day.

Any of you smart fitness people out there have some advice? Would certainly appreciate it

Ninkyou

If you're new to exercise, you could be holding water weight for muscle repair.

Otherwise, are you weighing your food? You could be eating more than you think.

And yes, you should be eating those exercise calories back, if not half of them (if you're going by MFP's database).

rosemary98

how long have you been eating in 1300 calorie range?

WalkingAlong

If you're new to exercise, you could be holding water weight for muscle repair.

I agree.

Siansonea

Accuracy of data tracking is essential. And how long have you been at it? It takes time to see results.

A lot of people don't track their calories accurately. Some people think vegetables are "free" calories, because apparently Weight Watchers does that in their program or something. Others don't track the "negligible" calories from little bites of food, candies, cream in the coffee, etc. You have to be strict about logging EVERYTHING, and logging it as accurately as you can. If you log accurately, and you're eating to a calorie deficit each day, you'll lose weight, even if you do NOTHING else. Keeping the protein and fat and fiber high while keeping the carbs low might help too, but it's not essential. Oh, and exercise is fine for other reasons, but it's not the best weapon in your weight-loss arsenal. Personally, I figured the last thing I wanted to do when I set out to lose weight was make my body work harder AND subsist on fewer calories than it was used to. I didn't exercise at all, I figured it would just throw off my numbers too much.

Make sure your calorie total is appropriate for your age, height, and current weight. And make sure you're not overestimating the calories you're burning through exercise, because a lot of people do.

Mr_Knight

Difficult to say without seeing your diary.

auddii

Accuracy of data tracking is essential. And how long have you been at it? It takes time to see results.

A lot of people don't track their calories accurately. Some people think vegetables are "free" calories, because apparently Weight Watchers does that in their program or something. Others don't track the "negligible" calories from little bites of food, candies, cream in the coffee, etc. You have to be strict about logging EVERYTHING, and logging it as accurately as you can. If you log accurately, and you're eating to a calorie deficit each day, you'll lose weight, even if you do NOTHING else. Keeping the protein and fat and fiber high while keeping the carbs low might help too, but it's not essential. Oh, and exercise is fine for other reasons, but it's not the best weapon in your weight-loss arsenal. Personally, I figured the last thing I wanted to do when I set out to lose weight was make my body work harder AND subsist on fewer calories than it was used to. I didn't exercise at all, I figured it would just throw off my numbers too much.

Make sure your calorie total is appropriate for your age, height, and current weight. And make sure you're not overestimating the calories you're burning through exercise, because a lot of people do.

Basically this, although I don't have a problem working out and losing. But, I also eat back my calories. MFP is designed that you eat the calories back. If you just put in your activity level (not counting exercise) and allow MFP to calculate your calories based on your goal, then you should log exercise and eat back the calories.

Most methods for determining calorie burns are estimates, so I would usually log less calories. For example, if the elliptical told me I burned 600 calories, I'd only log it as 400 calories burned. I would underestimate to account for errors, but I'd still eat back most of the calories to fuel my body.

bwhitty67

I weigh and measure all

I've been at this since September 1st, 2013. I just started to increase calories recently.

rosemary98

I weigh and measure all

but how long have you been at it?

bwhitty67

I weigh and measure all

but how long have you been at it?

2 1/2 months

simsburyjet

Whatever the walking and eliptical machines tell you cut in half.. Buy a HR monitor with chest strap and
see what you HR is and how many real calories you are burning.

grillnchill

If you're new to exercise, you could be holding water weight for muscle repair.

Otherwise, are you weighing your food? You could be eating more than you think.

And yes, you should be eating those exercise calories back, if not half of them (if you're going by MFP's database).

^ THIS!

KeViN_v2pt0

Is there a magic trick I'm missing on my calorie intake? I've done the calculation for BMR, AMR etc. If I want to lose 2lbs/week ( I have 90lbs to lose) it comes up to 1382calories /day. Now I have done this and I stay the same or the weight goes up. I exercise 6x/week, 45-60mins, doing walk/jog on the treadmill, just started on the elliptical and weights. Calorie burn is between 375-450 depending on the day.

I've read you shouldn't eat back the calories (so much reading has led to confusion ) I might just be that girl that eats 1200calories and after working out ends up in the 900calorie range for the day.

Any advice? I am really trying here, I eat over +90g protein, >75g carbs and I don't really watch fats but usually >50g fat. I try to shoot for +25g fiber and 25g or less of sugar a day.

Any of you smart fitness people out there have some advice? Would certainly appreciate it

To make it easy to not eat back exercise calories......record 1 calorie for your workouts. Take that out of the equation. Then mess with your calorie intake and see how your body reacts just to those numbers.

MinnieInMaine

Have you been eating back your exercise calories? If so, and you're going by MFP calculations or the numbers from cardio machines, they tend to be overestimates so try only eating back 1/2 to 2/3rds instead. If not, start eating back at least half of them.

I saw that you said you just started doing weights so there's a good chance you're dealing with water retention. Any time you start a new program or increase the intensity of your exercise program (more weight, faster, farther, etc) your muscles will be retaining water and glycogen due to microtrauma. That's what causes that sore, inflamed, swollen feeling the day or two after working out, also referred to as DOMS (Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness). Due to the water and glycogen retention, your weight will stall or be up a bit. As your body adjusts to the new routine, this will go away.

Make sure you're getting your rest days and drink lots of water and be patient. The weight will start coming off again soon.

bwhitty67

Thanks all

Siansonea

I weigh and measure all

but how long have you been at it?

2 1/2 months

You haven't lost any weight in 2 ½ months? And you think INCREASING your calories is the answer? :huh:

bwhitty67

I weigh and measure all

but how long have you been at it?

2 1/2 months

You haven't lost any weight in 2 ½ months? And you think INCREASING your calories is the answer? :huh:

No no, I've lost 25lbs but eating very low calorie 1000. I'm concerned about stalling out or this 'starvation' mode I read about.

Siansonea

I weigh and measure all

but how long have you been at it?

2 1/2 months

You haven't lost any weight in 2 ½ months? And you think INCREASING your calories is the answer? :huh:

No no, I've lost 25lbs but eating very low calorie 1000. I'm concerned about stalling out or this 'starvation' mode I read about.

Okay, hold on… :huh:

You're losing weight steadily.

You're concerned that you won't lose weight steadily because of "starvation mode", even though you've seen no evidence of this happening in your own case.

And you think you need to eat more?

Are you sure you don't just WANT to eat more, and are looking for some justification to do so? :huh:

cafeaulait7

I weigh and measure all

but how long have you been at it?

2 1/2 months

You haven't lost any weight in 2 ½ months? And you think INCREASING your calories is the answer? :huh:

No no, I've lost 25lbs but eating very low calorie 1000. I'm concerned about stalling out or this 'starvation' mode I read about.

If you are losing 2.5 lbs a week on a consistent 1000 calories, I'm sure you could eat the recommended 1300+ you got and still lose weight. It must have been something else masking the weight loss, etc, to make you think you gained or just maintained on that.

By the math, you should lose 1.9 lbs a week on 1300, going by what you've lost in 2.5 months at 1000 a day.