I'm stuck and a bit confused!!!

tarap003
tarap003 Posts: 16 Member
in Motivation and Support
I'm getting really confused about my weight loss. I started my weight loss programme about 9 months ago and have shed overall about 18 pounds. I was 168 pounds, dropped to my lowest which was 150 pounds and I have now been stuck around the 155 mark since the new year. I'm a very petite frame 4ft 11 inches tall and am aiming to eventually get back down to 115 pounds. 40 pounds to go, so its not as if i've hit that last 10 pound plateau that I keep reading about.

Now I am happy for my weight loss to be slow and steady, but I'd really like it be more consistent and am aiming for the 2lbs a week loss. I am very careful about the measurements of what I eat, of course I've fallen off the wagon now and then at family events and parties etc, but on a day to day basis i'm very careful about weights and calorie counting.

I've now really gotten confused about calories, BMRs and TDEE. I have used a number of different BR calculators which vary between 1100 and 1700 a day. The TDEE i've used all are in the region of 2200. I'm currently eating between 1200 and 1400 cals a day. drinking at least two litres of water a day.

http://www.bmi-calculator.net says my intake should be 1148 (957x1.2), if this is true then I should be consuming 648 calories (with a 500 deficit) in order to lose weight - which just sounds ridiculous! If I go by the TDEE I should be eating 1800.

So it would appear that I am either eating too much or too little a day. It's really difficult to know what to do, everything says the lower figure is just unhealthy and i'm already hungry all the time, which is getting me down. I really don't want to start eating more calories as that is screaming to me that I'll probably end up putting weight on!!

I'm very confused. Has anyone else had similar experiences or have any advice?

Replies

  • Ninkyou
    Ninkyou Posts: 6,666 Member
    You don't take your deficit off your BMR, you take it off your TDEE. If your TDEE is 2200 calories, you take the 500 deficit off of that, giving you 1700 calories.

    I personally use http://scoobysworkshop.com/accurate-calorie-calculator/ to calculate my TDEE/Calorie goals. This calculator will tell you your BMR, Your Maintenance Calories (TDEE), and give you a calorie goal to lose weight.

    Once you've gotten that figured out, I suggest reading http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants

    Get a food scale if you don't have one, weigh all your food in grams, and log everyday consistently and accurately. You should see things go a bit faster then.
  • JenJBS
    JenJBS Posts: 83


    I personally use http://scoobysworkshop.com/accurate-calorie-calculator/ to calculate my TDEE/Calorie goals. This calculator will tell you your BMR, Your Maintenance Calories (TDEE), and give you a calorie goal to lose weight.


    Great site! But I notice there are four different Research Models. Each one gives me different numbers - and they range from BMR 1396 to 1134. Any thoughts on which Model is most accurate, or is it best to do an average of the four???
  • Ninkyou
    Ninkyou Posts: 6,666 Member


    I personally use http://scoobysworkshop.com/accurate-calorie-calculator/ to calculate my TDEE/Calorie goals. This calculator will tell you your BMR, Your Maintenance Calories (TDEE), and give you a calorie goal to lose weight.


    Great site! But I notice there are four different Research Models. Each one gives me different numbers - and they range from BMR 1396 to 1134. Any thoughts on which Model is most accurate, or is it best to do an average of the four???

    I just leave it on the Mifflin setting, but Harris-Benedict is also popular.
  • tarap003
    tarap003 Posts: 16 Member
    Thanks for the response, I was obviously getting confused between the BMR and TDEE abd what they mean.

    However, given that I have been eating 1200 calories (carefully measured on scales) daily for a long time now, I am suspicious that it may be a case that I am eating too little. So as an experiment given that the TDEE calculator that was recommended says 1700 I am going to up my daily calories to 1500 and see if that helps kick start the weight loss again.

    If not then its back to the drawing board!
  • JenJBS
    JenJBS Posts: 83
    Good luck! Hope this change works well for you!

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