How do people eat 1600+ calories and still lose weight?

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  • 6ftamazon
    6ftamazon Posts: 340 Member
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    I'm eating 2400 calories a day and losing about 3 lbs a week. Mostly because I weigh 300 lbs, I work a very demanding job, and in work out like a beast with my personal trainer and on my own 5 days a week. It just depends on each person :). My theory is I like to eat, so I'd rather exercise more than cut back more on food lol.
  • stripeytrousers
    stripeytrousers Posts: 23
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    I just need some clarification. My TDEE is about 2100 and my BMR is 1550 so I've set my calories intake to 1700. I understand that I don't then eat any exercise calories back, is this correct?
  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,942 Member
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    I just need some clarification. My TDEE is about 2100 and my BMR is 1550 so I've set my calories intake to 1700. I understand that I don't then eat any exercise calories back, is this correct?
    That is correct for the TDEE method. If you lose weight faster or slower than your goals, adjust calories.
  • fredgiblet
    fredgiblet Posts: 241 Member
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    Males and females losing weight......whole different thing; much easier for males

    This is a BIG one, it's something like a 400 calorie swing just by having dangly bits. My mom would need to exercise at a "moderate" pace to match my sedentary TDEE.
  • julies90
    julies90 Posts: 646 Member
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    I am 5 9 , 140 pounds and I eat upwards of 2,000 to maintain my weight. I workout 6 days a week, but trust me, chances are you can eat a lot more than you think you can.
  • iRun_Butterfly
    iRun_Butterfly Posts: 483 Member
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    I average anywhere from 1600-1800 most days, but I bust my *kitten* at the gym everyday too. I lose about a pound a week, give or take.
  • kelly_e_montana
    kelly_e_montana Posts: 1,999 Member
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    They are probably more active. My total calories burned per day is usually 2500-2600. I have a lot of lean mass for my height, an active job, and I work out or do sports about 7-12 hours per week.
  • PRMinx
    PRMinx Posts: 4,585 Member
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    I work out pretty hard, which takes my calories up (for that day) from 1410 to about 1600-1700.
  • LMDEN2014
    LMDEN2014 Posts: 8 Member
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    My BMR is 1,200 (I am F, 5ft3in, 138lbs) I eat (log my food every day) 1100-1300 cal/day during the week and 1500-1700 on the weekends. Being very conservative, my 4 workouts burn another 2,200 calories/week. I have been doing for 3 months now and I have not lost 1 lb.....pretty frustrating
  • PinkNinjaLaura
    PinkNinjaLaura Posts: 3,202 Member
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    My BMR is 1,200 (I am F, 5ft3in, 138lbs) I eat (log my food every day) 1100-1300 cal/day during the week and 1500-1700 on the weekends. Being very conservative, my 4 workouts burn another 2,200 calories/week. I have been doing for 3 months now and I have not lost 1 lb.....pretty frustrating

    How are you estimating the calorie burn for your workouts? If you're not losing, something in the math is wrong (either you're eating more than you think you are, or you aren't burning what you think you are). I'm F, 5'2", don't weigh that much more than you do, and I eat approx. 1700 calories a day and I'm losing consistently. I work out 5 or 6 days a week at varying intensities (anything from Pilates to running). At your weight you have to work out awfully hard to average 550 calories per workout. I just ran 6 miles to get that.
  • hmaddpear
    hmaddpear Posts: 610 Member
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    I've been eating close on 1900kcal a day for the last eight months - losing around 1.4lb a week. Reasons? Exercise, plus being heavy. My BMR is around 1600 a day at the moment (see the comment on being heavy), my current TDEE is 2600kcal. Both are going to drop as I lose the weight, but I'm resigned to that.
  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,268 Member
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    I am female, 5 ft 7, 160lbs and I lift 3x a week...some sort of exercise the other 2 days...walks/hiit/bike soon I hope...

    my BMR is 1454...I lose about 1lb a week (or have lately) eating 1700 calories a day...my TDEE is 2000 (probably higher I need to recalculate it soon)

    I have a good amount of LBM as well..and I expect my TDEE to be about 2200 when I recalculate so that will mean I can lose on 1800-1900/
  • rawhidenadz
    rawhidenadz Posts: 254 Member
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    People can lose weight eating that much because their TDEE is higher than 1600. I lose about a pound a week eating 2000 calories if I'm working out 5x a week because my TDEE is around 2500 when I work out that much.
  • Nissi51
    Nissi51 Posts: 381 Member
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    I lose on 1600... I am almost 6 feet though, I have a quite the workout schedule.
  • slk_5555
    slk_5555 Posts: 177 Member
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    I thought I understood BMR & TDEE, but can someone just clarify that what I am doing is correct. My BMR us about 1600 and TDEE 1950 - when u did the calculation, I just selected sedentary lifestyle. On this basis, when u exercise. Should I eat back the cals, as they have not already been factored in?

    I am trying to net 1600 at the moment & eating back approx 200 cals from exercise on days I work out. So gross I'm eating about 1800.

    Just want to check I'm understanding correctly.
  • shadow2soul
    shadow2soul Posts: 7,692 Member
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    My BMR is 1,200 (I am F, 5ft3in, 138lbs) I eat (log my food every day) 1100-1300 cal/day during the week and 1500-1700 on the weekends. Being very conservative, my 4 workouts burn another 2,200 calories/week. I have been doing for 3 months now and I have not lost 1 lb.....pretty frustrating

    Something is off then.
    Do you weigh your food? **This is a big one for most people. Measuring cups & spoons are generally only accurate for liquids and loose poweders.**
    How are you determining your workout calorie burn?

    When I was working on losing weight, I averaged about 1886 calories per day. Currently I'm 31 weeks pregnant and not trying to lose weight. The reason I was able to eat so much while I was losing weight was:
    - Fitbit Calorie Burn goal set to 2585 calories per day. (that's not just the workout burn, but bmr + daily life + workout)
    - I weigh all my food. (except when I eat out....that's just a little to weird for me)
    - Personal goal have fitbit report that I walked at least 3 miles everyday (this of course is what helped me to get the high calorie burn)
  • AmyEm3
    AmyEm3 Posts: 784 Member
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    I lost almost 50lbs at age 34 (female) eating usually 1600-1800 calories a day with some days between 2000-2400. I started at 185 ish and got down to 134 or so. I ate whatever I wanted but tracked calories closely and I was running about 30 miles a week at a decent pace and doing p90X.
  • Roaringgael
    Roaringgael Posts: 339 Member
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    Its all been said.
    I'm a 55yr old 163cm woman. I have been following a plan to reduce my body size.
    I have lost a considerable amount of weight so far.
    I started out unable to exercise so my TDEE was set to sedenatary/light - I found this one easy to understand
    TDEE Calculator:
    www.fitnessfrog.com

    Some people use others.

    I now exercise regularly so recalculated my TDEE - cause it changes as you get thinner still using sedenatry /light. It is 1960cals.
    I eat it at 30% lower because I still have around the 75lbs to lose (many recommend 20% less if you are less than that overweight) and I eat back some of my exercise cals - because I will always over-estimate my burn. The stats for it are broadly based.

    A woman of my age/height at sedentary/ light has a TDEE of 1960cals. to maintain my body size as is.

    Weight loss is not linear, particularly for women my age.

    These two threads below are excellent reading for anyone who has weight stalled. It helped me enormously.

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/952996-level-obstacles-lose-weight-target-fat-easy

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/919346-still-think-your-1200-or-less-diet-is-a-good-idea
  • Quasita
    Quasita Posts: 1,530 Member
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    I'm what I lovingly call dinosaur-sized.

    My TDEE-cut goal is about 2400 calories. When I'm in beast mode regarding my exercise routine (not right now due to surgery, but soon, and watch out!) I log a TDEE burn anywhere from 4k-6k a day.
    I opted to invest in a BodyMedia unit because the calculators weren't working for me. I was eating the suggested cut given to me by MFP and the scale didn't budge. Definitely learned that my natural feeding inclinations put my calorie intake well below what I needed to function. I increased my intake, and when very active (2-3 hours of exercise per day) it seems 3300-4000 calories eaten is the magic number. Once I gave my body what it needed instead of what I wanted to give it, I started losing 4-6 pounds a week.

    Essentially though, the concepts are the same as everyone. I just opted for a measuring device to get my 24/7 calorie burn rather than average calculators. Those calculators aren't made for very heavy people. But anyway, once you have an accurate understanding of what you are actually burning every day, you can make the right kind of calorie cut, and it will work out.

    By the by, you do eat exercise calories on a TDEE plan. A standard TDEE calculator doesn't incorporate individual workouts. It attempts to approximate the burn you produce during your daily activities... with living and working and stuff. I think it's way more effective to log exercise separately and eat the calories back in a customized way. At least, if you're like me at all, you burn so much when you work out that it drastically affects your daily burn. *shrugs*
  • kgeyser
    kgeyser Posts: 22,505 Member
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    I thought I understood BMR & TDEE, but can someone just clarify that what I am doing is correct. My BMR us about 1600 and TDEE 1950 - when u did the calculation, I just selected sedentary lifestyle. On this basis, when u exercise. Should I eat back the cals, as they have not already been factored in?

    I am trying to net 1600 at the moment & eating back approx 200 cals from exercise on days I work out. So gross I'm eating about 1800.

    Just want to check I'm understanding correctly.

    TDEE method assumes you have already incorporated exercise into the calculation; the NEAT method used by MFP is where you eat back your exercise calories. So to get your proper TDEE numbers, you would need to select an activity level that includes your exercise.

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