Is Calorie Intake correct?

annacataldo

From 2011 to 2012 I used this site for 1 year and lost 103 pounds. I was sedentary, so my calories were based on if I hadnt ever gotten out of bed each day. I logged any extra movement, like anytime I washed dishes, or cleaned the house, or cooked a large meal..hell even if i had to stand for a long period of time somewhere. And while Im sure alot of people disagree with that type of logging, it worked for me. I (almost) always ate back all my calories, I never went over, and having it set for a 2lb a week loss, by the end of the year the average weekly weight loss was 1.98lbs, so right on target. I never used a HRM, just whatever MFP said.

2012, and 2013, was a couple of rough years (I moved 5x between the 2 years, relationships ending/starting, loss of job, unemployment, new jobs, new jobs ending, new jobs starting, etc...), and I lost my motivation and ended up regaining 45lbs. Im now back at it now that stress has went down and im stable, but now im working a job in production.

I work 12.25hr shifts (or 10.75hrs after breaks are removed). I am standing the entire time, and walking back and forth for a decent part of shift on most days (somedays can be different, so I didnt want to put it to Active just Lightly Active to make up for those days that arent as physical). The difference between sedentary and lightly active is just 220 calories.

If before when I lost all my weight, I logged say, cleaning, for 1 hour, Id burn 282 calories, Or walking in the grocery store at a 2mph pace for an hour, another 282 calories (564 calories for only 2 hours), and ate back those 564 calories, I still lost my 2lbs... but at work now i could clean for 2 hours, walk for 5 hrs total, and stand the remaining 3.75hrs and im only burning 220 calories? If I set it to sedentary, and entered in those numbers, I could burn up to 3000 calories a day depending on the day. Even if I just stood in place and never did anything else its 1500. No where near 220. (or even if I moved it to Active--its only an 390 calorie difference to sedentary. How is this anywhere near accurate for anyone, even if they had normal length shifts?

I eat alot (almost all clean eating), dont think I could eat that amount if I wanted, but it makes me worry if Im eating enough. At the end of the week my body aches and hurts, its hard for me to find motivation to do much else. I have to drink coffee to go to the gym on my days off (before when I lost my weight, I never once drank coffee or did any energy boosting supplements or anything. I try to have extra protein now (never counted protein before), because its suppose to help your muscles, but the lowest protein ive had all week was 85g, and usually between 110 to 155g (MFP suggests 61...85 on days i work out). I know part of that has to do with working such long shifts Im short changed on sleep alot due to my 2hr drive time, but even when I catch up on sleep on a weekend, I still have to force myself to do things. I never had energy or motivation problems before; and before I wasnt clean eating (clean eating gives you extra energy in itself--again im not fully clean eating but in a week i might just have a couple/few things not clean but pretty close to clean). I still go to gym every day off, but then it just pushes my body into being extra sore for work, and by the time I have my next day off Im dead; and the cycle continues week after week. Could this issue be calories? Its also very warm at work and im constantly sweating-even on days i dont feel sweaty ill get home and my clothes are drenched, so I think I burn more calories from that too? I drink 14-20 cups of water a day.

Any help or suggestions would be great; I just want to be healthy and want to make sure im providing my body what it needs, without using a HRM (I cant afford one/low income).

drusilla126

Ah the wacky world of calorie intake. I'd love to know this for myself. I set my level as sedentary and just ate back my exercise calories and had little trouble losing 100 pounds. Yet after seeing how off calorie estimates can be (and how quick 50 pounds can come back with the craziness of life and lack of routine) I'm left with quite the headache and feeling like I'm not quite sure if what I'm doing is right anymore.

1princesswarrior

Okay after looking at a few days of your food diary.

1. I have no idea what you consider clean eating but I see a lot of stuff that is processed.
2. MFP underestimates protein IMO so the extra protein is awesome but maybe try to get more chicken and fish in your diet to get protein from foods.
3. Very few people are actually sedentary. If you are standing/walking/cleaning a lot at your job then I would say you are definitely active. Maybe consider switching to the TDEE - % method of eating so you eat the same amount everyday regardless of exercise or activity. I work a desk job during the day and work at a horse farm in the afternoon and evening along with training two horses so I am very active and using my TDEE has really worked for me because I was feeling the same way you are now when I was not eating enough.
4. Don't be afraid to eat more carbs, they will give you energy, add more fresh fruit or oatmeal, i.e. complex carbs because they will energize you longer.
5. Take your days off to rest if you need to, it sounds like you are not conditioned to your work yet and you are exhausted and not giving your body enough time to recover thus the need for coffee to go to the gym. If you feel it necessary to exercise on your days off then go for a walk or something low impact. You don't need to kill yourself.
6. Your water intake is awesome. But "if your pee ain't clear you're dehydrated" according to a health class I just had at work. Keep that in mind when your clothes are drenched after work.

I like this website to calculate my TDEE because you can break down your activity into hours:

http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/

Hope this helps. Good luck.

annacataldo

1. I have no idea what you consider clean eating but I see a lot of stuff that is processed.

I think it looks pretty dang good, minus just a couple things; cottage cheese, mini corn tortillas, yogurt, etc. Like I said, it wasnt perfectly clean eating, but pretty close minus just a few things throughout the week. Pretty close to clean eating without trying to, its just how it ends up.

2. MFP underestimates protein IMO so the extra protein is awesome but maybe try to get more chicken and fish in your diet to get protein from foods.

Id love to eat more fish, but its expensive (and for something that doesnt fill me well it doesnt make sense to buy an expensive thing if ill still be hungry after it uses my calories, and as i stated, im low income so me and expensive things dont happen. some days ill have a tuna sandwhich for lunch if i ran out of pre-made lunches. i eat alot of chicken. I only have protein shakes on days I go to gym, not on work days.

4. Don't be afraid to eat more carbs, they will give you energy, add more fresh fruit or oatmeal, i.e. complex carbs because they will energize you longer.

i have 1-2 fresh fruits a day generally; but not as much on days off (the last couple days), because its a good work snack and I cant afford to buy it for more than just 1 or 2 times a day. today Im having blueberries with oatmeal already, as put into my diary..i dont like oatmeal, but i know its good for me so try every now and again... im not afraid of carbs, but have been trying to learn to cut back on them; i use to have breads, pastas, rice, potatoes, etc with every meal, and trying to get out of that habit. Today im having pasta (whole wheat), corn tortillas, and oatmeal. On most days, my carb percentage is higher than my protein or fat percentage. Im working on getting protein above all else right now.

5. Take your days off to rest if you need to, it sounds like you are not conditioned to your work yet and you are exhausted and not giving your body enough time to recover thus the need for coffee to go to the gym. If you feel it necessary to exercise on your days off then go for a walk or something low impact. You don't need to kill yourself.

Ive been working for just under 8 months now; its been this way the entire time but wasnt watching calories before or eating that great with alot of stops at vending machines/stops at mcdonalds out of convenience cuz i wasnt managing my time well. Every day off use to be a rest day, and alls i did was gain 45 pounds. I walk all week at work, so doing a low impact walk wont push me any further. I want to beable to gain muscle. I want to use the gym membership I pay for. I want to go to the gym with my boyfriend instead of missing out on time with him (i work nights and he works days theres already enough of that). All I do on my days off is cook, clean, rest, gym. I usually only spend an hour at the gym tops, burns usually 600 calories. walking, bicycle, and lifting. 15-20 minutes each. Nothing too huge. My days off are the only days i can go, i cant go during work days. I feel like i need a rest day, but dont want to use that as an excuse to be lazy, which is what ive done over the last 2 years to put 45lbs back on.

6. Your water intake is awesome. But "if your pee ain't clear you're dehydrated" according to a health class I just had at work. Keep that in mind when your clothes are drenched after work.

Yea, ive wondered that before too; "whys my pee still yellow, ive drank enough water", but im not sure how to get more; ive tried to increase it, even just a couple cups, and it always makes me have to leave the floor and have a coworker cover me while I go use the restroom. Its just unprofessional of me, and dont want to get into trouble, or lose my job. I cant drink water after work because I have to go to bed the minute i get home and cant be losing sleep cuz i gotta wake up to pee once or even twice. my pee is clear on weekends, i just hadnt correlated it with how much i sweat at work before.

I like this website to calculate my TDEE because you can break down your activity into hours:

what is TDEE? lol. and if it is the same calorie intake everyday, how does that work when i work 3 days have 4 off (and 4 on 3 off every other week)...wouldnt i be eating too much half the week?

It says I should eat 2737 calories a day..over 1000 more than mfp, and that I should be having 231 grams of protein a day. How the heck is that suppose to happen? lol. Thats alot of food and alot of protein.

TeaBea

BMR - Basal metabolic rate.....the calories your body would use if you were in a coma

Sedentary (activity level) - gives you a small % above BMR

TDEE -Total Daily Energy Expenditure....this should be your BMR + activity level + exercise ......this would be the calories needed to MAINTAIN your current weight.

Because TDEE includes everything up front .....no need to log exercise. You simply take a % AWAY from this number & eat that

http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/

This takes some of the guesswork out of calorie burns....MFP uses an estimate ....it has to. Calorie burns are based upon height, weight, age, gender, exertion level.....and more. MFPs number could be inflated. Everytime you log some movement could be over (or under) calories.

There are lots of variables to get right.

deksgrl

Figure out your TDEE. Eat 20% less than that. Your TDEE will include exercise, so you don't have to eat back more for exercise.

Use the Scooby calculator that TeaBea posted. Set it for "Moderate Exercise" and 20% deficit see what it gives you for daily calories.

Eat this much for 2-3 weeks and see how you feel. If you still feel run down, you could try eating a little more. If you still feel run down after that, you might want to see your doctor to see if you are deficient in iron or other things.