Possible that I'm not eating enough?

leooftheyear

So for the past few months I've been really strict with my eating, MFP has me set to 1550/day, this week due to the holiday I ate more than normal and have been eating different foods, I switched to eying bagels in the morning with low fat cream cheese instead of oatmeal or eggs... Anyway, my weight loss never really went anywhere, even though I was workin out 4/5/6 days a week... Today I decided to look at my TDEE, and it says I should be maxing out between 2300-2600/day... I also noticed since I've been a little less restrictive with my food ie started losing weight... Is it possible I just wasn't eating enough?

loriq41

I think that is a definate possibility not really knowing what your activity level is set at, ect.....so with the tdee do you do tdee-20% and include activity? I say that I am moderately active and use tdee-20..

leooftheyear

I wasn't sure how it should be calculated but the 2300-2600 includes activity, so even those minus the 20% are way over the 1550 MFP has set for me

cwolfman13

I wasn't sure how it should be calculated but the 2300-2600 includes activity, so even those minus the 20% are way over the 1550 MFP has set for me

that's because exercise is extra activity with MFP...you get credit for it when you log it and thus get your exercise calories to "eat back". With the TDEE method they are already included in your activity level.

You could also be overestimating your activity level with TDEE.

Also, if you're not losing weight then you are most likely eating more than you think you are and/or overestimating your calorie burn/activity level, etc. If you're eyeballing servings and ingredients, etc then I can pretty much guarantee that you're eating more than you think you are. Baring that, you would probably want to get some blood work done to see if you have any medical issues that are causing you to have some kind of metabolic issue that makes you a statistical outlier.

First and foremost, make sure you're weighing and measuring pretty much everything and most certainly calorie dense items. You need to be as precise as possible when you're calorie counting. I'd say make sure you have that in order before you do anything else.

leooftheyear

I measure everything, the only thing I'm bad at is weighing stuff given I don't have a food scale, but I'm getting one for Christmas.... I just noticed a difference since I've been less restrictive with my food I've actually lost weight

I_Will_End_You

I measure everything, the only thing I'm bad at is weighing stuff given I don't have a food scale, but I'm getting one for Christmas.... I just noticed a difference since I've been less restrictive with my food I've actually lost weight

Honestly? It's probably coincidence.

leooftheyear

I just calculated the TDEE - 20% with little/no exercise and it came back with 1623, so I guess you're right

psuLemon

I measure everything, the only thing I'm bad at is weighing stuff given I don't have a food scale, but I'm getting one for Christmas.... I just noticed a difference since I've been less restrictive with my food I've actually lost weight

It would be suggested to get a food scale. It's easy to under calculate calories if you dont weigh them. You would be surprised how much different weighing vs measuring will add up.

leooftheyear

I know, I haven't had the money to get one and didn't wanna waste money on a cheap one, it's on my Christmas list along with a heart rate monitor... I bumped my calories up to 1627/week from 1550 so I'll see if it makes a difference in either direction