Just need to get it off my chest....

chasetwins

I now am about 10 pounds from my goal weight..I have changed my workouts to 3 days strength (MWF) with 20 min cardio following. On T / TH I will have 50 minutes cardio. All using Turbo Jam. Up till this week it was 2 strength and 3 cardio (no cardio on strength)

(a little history) When I started this journey i was using TDEE-% - worked quite well for along time. My workouts became inconsistent and / or the burn varied ,So I changed my calories to 1550 (total eaten goal not net) which looking back at reports seemed to work well. That got me through several more pounds.
I then changed my workouts to Turbo Jam which takes more endurance than my previous workouts and my hunger cues made that clear. On top of that..being so close to goal I read that I should have a smaller deficit so I entrusted MFP to set my calorie goal for me...now with this I realize that my deficit is built in and I should be eating some of my calories back. I say some because even though I use a HRM..how accurate is that count really?

Well now MFP is basically telling me to eat between 1900 and 2100 calories a day..eeek that sounds like maintenance / gain to me!
I have been hitting about 1600-1700 total eaten with my nets being just over 1200 and I have to tell you my anxiety is setting in with the calorie increase!! It has only been a few days but it is starting to mess with my mind lol I had a hard time last night adding in calories because of my mind playing tricks on me!! I forced myself...but it was not easy on the brain!! (forced as in ate in anyways...not literally lol)

Someone PLEASE convince this crazy mind of mine...I will be just fine and my scale will not show a 10 lb gain on Monday :noway: {{exaggeration on amt of course!}}

DoctahJenn

My advice is not to use MFP's goals - do your TDEE -% without putting in your workouts, then use a HRM to find your burn and eat back most if not all of those calories. It'll let your calories fluctuate according to how much you exercise each day while still being a more accurate base number.

SezxyStef

I am about 6lbs from maintenance...my maintenace when I calculated my TDEE was 1995....it's probably higher now I just need to recalculate in about 2lbs...

Don't jump up to that many...slowly increase over the next couple of weeks if it scares you and you are afraid you will gain.

My plan is that when I hit 155lbs (2nd goal cause I hit 165 a while ago and didn't like what I saw) I will slowly (100 calories a week) push my calories up...

I expect that I will continue to lose a bit of weight as I up my calories from (average 1700) but that's fine as my ultimate goal is 149-152...and once I hit my maintenance I will count my calories and figure out what to do at the end of the summer ...stay at maintenance and lift for body comp or 5-10% deficet to continue to lose.

chasetwins

Thanks guys - I find I underestimate my calories sometimes and over estimate others so I need to be a bit more accurate and then calculate "my own" TDEE instead of using calculators. They all say something different right now. I do not over / under estimate my food so much that it makes an impact on my losses I actually think they balanced each other out - however getting close to that finish line..estimating is not an option..I will enter I had one large ice coffee but only drink half...and not go in and fix it or I will forget to add a condiment to my log etc. Nothing major - I weigh all my "home" food and double check package labels to what I enter.

Stef - my goal is about the same as yours - my first goal was 160 and like you..was not satisfied lol I am ok with an ounce or two gain one week while trying to figure things out..but if it is pounds or continues beyond a week..I will get discouraged and cut my calories back again. I want to do this as right as I can. I am also trying to tone out while losing the remaining - hence the switch to 3 days strength.

Phantom - do you find MFP's goals grossly incorrect? Just curious if that is why you recommended not using it - or do you just really trust the TDEE-% method (which I do too lol)

The advice is great - Thanks again

SezxyStef

If you want to figure out your own TDEE there is a calculation to use.

Pick 3 consecutive weeks that best represent you activity and close as you can get to your current weight.

The calculation is as follows:

Total calories consumed+(pounds lost X 3500)/21 and that gives you your TDEE...that is what I used.

chasetwins

If you want to figure out your own TDEE there is a calculation to use.

Pick 3 consecutive weeks that best represent you activity and close as you can get to your current weight.

The calculation is as follows:

Total calories consumed+(pounds lost X 3500)/21 and that gives you your TDEE...that is what I used.

Thank you tons!! That will no doubt come in handy!!! I think using that will be more accurate than any online calculator lol

SezxyStef

If you want to figure out your own TDEE there is a calculation to use.

Pick 3 consecutive weeks that best represent you activity and close as you can get to your current weight.

The calculation is as follows:

Total calories consumed+(pounds lost X 3500)/21 and that gives you your TDEE...that is what I used.

Thank you tons!! That will no doubt come in handy!!! I think using that will be more accurate than any online calculator lol

Oh for sure Scooby gave me 2250...