EM2LW voodoo

Marie80brown

To start off just want to let you know that this is a positive post, lol. I enjoy the way that this way of eating is a lifestyle change that one can live with. In just a few short week I have changed the way i look at food. Food is no longer the enemy...Its just fuel that happens to be delicious. It has to be some kind of spell cast over me to erase my life long negative outlook on food. I used to think if I was hungry I must be burning extra calories. In reality my body was screaming HELP! I am so glad I accidentally found this group!

I do have a question to anyone who is able to answer. I'm currently eating 2300-2400 calories a day (sometimes more). The scoobie calc actually told me to eat 2100 cals to maintain weight. I"m 5'7, I dropped 3 lbs down to 144 from 147. I'm a pound lighter than when I started. Yes weight loss is great but i'm looking at the long haul. I'm still in my reset (3 weeks). Would it be in my best interest to up my calories again? Or should I just keep it where it is at? By the way i'm currently doing P90X3 the Mass building calendar. workouts are only 30 mins long.

I'll open my diary to anyone who want to view it.

heybales

A reset is eating at potential maintenance - where you neither lose nor gain.

Are you eating at maintenance?
Do you want a real reset?

How long did it take to lose that 3 lbs (exactly, or 3.2?), how many days?
And for those days, what was the actual average of how much you ate?

You can calculate your better TDEE from those 2 values.

Marie80brown

A reset is eating at potential maintenance - where you neither lose nor gain.

Are you eating at maintenance?
Do you want a real reset?

How long did it take to lose that 3 lbs (exactly, or 3.2?), how many days?
And for those days, what was the actual average of how much you ate?

You can calculate your better TDEE from those 2 values.

Thank you so much for the reply. I want a real reset :-) I went back to my diary. The six days before my drop I actually started to eat slightly above 2300 TDEE calories. That week I was extremely bloated then deflated down to my weight current weight. I think I do know what happened. around the second week of upping my calories I was taking a recovery week from T25. I guess yoga and 2300 made my weight went up. I just finished my first week of P90X3.......weight loss! I guess i'm answering my own question (with ur help). I'm going to up my calories by 100 this week.

I can't lie dropping weight at so many calories is pretty AWESOME! On the bright side when it's time to cut i'll take i'll can take a 10% cut from 2400 instead of 2300.

heybales

There you go, I could tell you would know the answers. Now you are ready for any changes down the future road.

And indeed, if body is willing now, just wait till it's all happy and humming along when you take the deficit.

So sounds like you had some water weight reasons there, never want a change of workout prior to valid weigh-in day - muscle retained water for healing throws the math off.

Which would normally be -

lbs gain or lost (pretty sure fat) x 3500 cal in lb of fat = total surplus or deficit in results / number of days = daily surplus or deficit.

Add that to what was eaten on average for those same days, and you have your true TDEE for whatever the workout was during that time. And if it doesn't change, still would be.

AnitraSoto

Sounds like you are doing a great job figuring out your numbers! It really is all a guessing game and lots of trial and error. Personally, I would try bumping your calories up by 100 a day and see what happens. Stay at that level until your weight stabilizes. If you don't have a gain, try bumping it up another 100 and monitor. The calculators give you an idea of what your TDEE is, but these real life trials will confirm it. Like you said, the higher you start, the more you can eat at cut - score!!