the on-going debate - HELP

bellaa_x0

i have lost close to a total of 40lbs so far. i am a 25 year old 5'10" female, with 24.3% body fat at roughly 187lbs. my goals have shifted more towards focusing on lifting more and getting my body fat under 20%.

a week ago i started to workout 6 days a week where i lift 4 days and do cardio every morning.

now nutrition wise - i have been "advised" to be eating specific macros (focusing on high protein) which end up totaling around 1400 calories/day. but i have also seen people in the shape i want to be in who claim to eat between 1700-1900 calories/day. previously, i had been eating 1750 calories on rest days and ~1900 calories on workout days.

i weigh and measure everything and i feel better when i know how many calories/what macros to be hitting rather than simply "eating when i'm hungry" or to sustain myself.

what is the right approach that i should be taking?! thanks in advance

TavistockToad

i am 5ft5 and 136lbs and i eat NET 1800 cals to lose around half a pound per week.

1400 seems very low given your stats. if you just want to lose a little bodyfat, your cals should be set to lose 0.5lb per week (or TDEE -10% depending which calculation you use)

bellaa_x0

that was my concern.. 1400 calories seems so low! and this "advice" was given to me by someone who coaches men and women for fitness competitions :sick:

TavistockToad

that was my concern.. 1400 calories seems so low! and this "advice" was given to me by someone who coaches men and women for fitness competitions :sick:

are you training for a fitness competition?

bellaa_x0

not currently.. however it is a goal of mine once i am closer to being in the shape i need to be to do so.

asciiqwerty

have you thought of re-calculating your calorie and macros?

Apple31415

What's your experience with eating several small "meals" throughout the day? How does it effect your appetite? I'm thinking of going with this approach but worried that i'll just stay hungry all the time. I currently eat two pretty significant (1000 calorie) meals and a smallish breakfast to start the day. I can see that it also takes a ton of planning to eat the way you do. Is the payoff worth the effort? Curious if several small meals is better for hunger control.

bellaa_x0

have you thought of re-calculating your calorie and macros?

this is what i'm looking to do, but i need some help with which direction to go to attain my goals

I_Will_End_You

1400 at 5'10, 25 years old sounds very low to me. Especially considering your workout schedule.

bellaa_x0

What's your experience with eating several small "meals" throughout the day? How does it effect your appetite? I'm thinking of going with this approach but worried that i'll just stay hungry all the time. I currently eat two pretty significant (1000 calorie) meals and a smallish breakfast to start the day. I can see that it also takes a ton of planning to eat the way you do. Is the payoff worth the effort? Curious if several small meals is better for hunger control.

i eat 6 meals a day, about every 3-4 hours. it works pretty well; however, some days i am counting down the time until my next meal, others i can go longer than the time i usually wait in between. its a lot of meal prepping, etc. on sundays, but its what works for me with my schedule and demands of my job.

asciiqwerty

have you thought of re-calculating your calorie and macros?

this is what i'm looking to do, but i need some help with which direction to go to attain my goals

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/819055-setting-your-calorie-and-macro-targets
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1234699-logging-accurately-step-by-step-guide

bellaa_x0

have you thought of re-calculating your calorie and macros?

this is what i'm looking to do, but i need some help with which direction to go to attain my goals

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/819055-setting-your-calorie-and-macro-targets
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1234699-logging-accurately-step-by-step-guide

yes i've seen these.. also tried calculating my calories using the scooby calculator but i'm not sure if what i am ending up with is correct.

Apple31415

Ima try to experiment with a "fourth" meal and make my lunch and dinner smaller. I work out at 6pm everyday (before dinner) and could maybe spread my lunch calories out a little to have more available energy for the workout. Sunday prepday sounds like a winner. I really admire and appreciate the fitness competitor look - i'm shooting for a "fit" look rather than a "buff" look myself. Good luck with your ambitions - you've got a great start. Don't lose them curves.

bellaa_x0

Ima try to experiment with a "fourth" meal and make my lunch and dinner smaller. I work out at 6pm everyday (before dinner) and could maybe spread my lunch calories out a little to have more available energy for the workout. Sunday prepday sounds like a winner. I really admire and appreciate the fitness competitor look - i'm shooting for a "fit" look rather than a "buff" look myself. Good luck with your ambitions - you've got a great start. Don't lose them curves.

i would definitely eat something before working out.. i noticed that has helped me a lot to eat an hour or so before working out.

and thank you! good luck to you as well :happy:

TavistockToad

yes i've seen these.. also tried calculating my calories using the scooby calculator but i'm not sure if what i am ending up with is correct.

scooby is usually pretty accurate, what did it give you?

SLLRunner

that was my concern.. 1400 calories seems so low! and this "advice" was given to me by someone who coaches men and women for fitness competitions :sick:

It sounds to me like what you were doing before this advice was working very well.

I have been at maintenance for awhile, but i recall losing weight on about 1800 calories plus exercise calories, which often came to about 2,000 or thereabouts each day--and, I am 5 ft 4 and 52 years old. I do cardio as well as heavy weight lifting.

I advise you to just keep doing whatever you have been doing.

bellaa_x0

yes i've seen these.. also tried calculating my calories using the scooby calculator but i'm not sure if what i am ending up with is correct.

scooby is usually pretty accurate, what did it give you?

BMR - 1674
TDEE - 2800
to achieve goal - 2310 calories; based on the following inputs:

female
187.2lbs
5'10"
25 years old
5-6 hours/week strenuous exercise (this is where i'm not 100% what to put)
goal - lose fat - 20% calorie reduction
6 meals a day at the following macros - 60% protein, 25% carb, 15% fat

SLLRunner

yes i've seen these.. also tried calculating my calories using the scooby calculator but i'm not sure if what i am ending up with is correct.

scooby is usually pretty accurate, what did it give you?

I agree. It's the only TDEE calculator that comes close to what I eat now to maintain, and what I ate to lose weight.

SezxyStef

I at 5 ft 7 41 years old and 156lbs eat 1800 and still am losing I am upping my calories...200 a day in the last two weeks...I lift 3x a week and HIIT or some form of cardio 2x a week.

1400 is not nearly enough....

I found scooby was off by about 100..so it's pretty good.

asciiqwerty

generally pick one / whichever one

get really accurate with your logging use scales to weigh all your solids in grams
do this for 6 weeks

at the end of the 6 weeks look at your weight change and average calorific intake
if your weight was constant then you were eating at maintenance
if your weight decreased then your difference from maintenance = weight change (lb) *3500 calories
divide this by the number of days and you'll know what your deficit was per day over the period - you can then increase or decrease this to suit you

this is one way to account for consistently innacurate logging

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TavistockToad

yes i've seen these.. also tried calculating my calories using the scooby calculator but i'm not sure if what i am ending up with is correct.

scooby is usually pretty accurate, what did it give you?

BMR - 1674
TDEE - 2800
to achieve goal - 2310 calories; based on the following inputs:

female
187.2lbs
5'10"
25 years old
5-6 hours/week strenuous exercise (this is where i'm not 100% what to put)
goal - lose fat - 20% calorie reduction
6 meals a day at the following macros - 60% protein, 25% carb, 15% fat

the macros look a bit crazy, and i am not sure you would need a 20% cut when you dont have a massive amount to lose. why not try it for 6-8 weeks and see what happens?

bellaa_x0

I at 5 ft 7 41 years old and 156lbs eat 1800 and still am losing I am upping my calories...200 a day in the last two weeks...I lift 3x a week and HIIT or some form of cardio 2x a week.

1400 is not nearly enough....

I found scooby was off by about 100..so it's pretty good.

agreed.. i can't eat 1400 calories and reach my goals, i feel like i'm damaging myself already (less than 2 weeks in)

bellaa_x0

yes i've seen these.. also tried calculating my calories using the scooby calculator but i'm not sure if what i am ending up with is correct.

scooby is usually pretty accurate, what did it give you?

BMR - 1674
TDEE - 2800
to achieve goal - 2310 calories; based on the following inputs:

female
187.2lbs
5'10"
25 years old
5-6 hours/week strenuous exercise (this is where i'm not 100% what to put)
goal - lose fat - 20% calorie reduction
6 meals a day at the following macros - 60% protein, 25% carb, 15% fat

the macros look a bit crazy, and i am not sure you would need a 20% cut when you dont have a massive amount to lose. why not try it for 6-8 weeks and see what happens?

i think i want to go with 40/40/20

cwolfman13

yes i've seen these.. also tried calculating my calories using the scooby calculator but i'm not sure if what i am ending up with is correct.

scooby is usually pretty accurate, what did it give you?

BMR - 1674
TDEE - 2800
to achieve goal - 2310 calories; based on the following inputs:

female
187.2lbs
5'10"
25 years old
5-6 hours/week strenuous exercise (this is where i'm not 100% what to put)
goal - lose fat - 20% calorie reduction
6 meals a day at the following macros - 60% protein, 25% carb, 15% fat

the macros look a bit crazy, and i am not sure you would need a 20% cut when you dont have a massive amount to lose. why not try it for 6-8 weeks and see what happens?

Agreed, seems like a good starting point...might be a bit high on the activity level and calories, but a good starting point from which to make adjustments as per real world results.

bellaa_x0

thanks guys - i am going to start off eating 2,076/day with a 40/40/20 macro break-out and see how things go.