Not sure whether to up my calorie intake?

athertonsl

I have been using TDEE method since starting my weight loss and have successfully lost 14lb, then I have hit a wall for 4/5 weeks. I am not sure whether this is due to me being a bit lax as I have had hen dos, wedding, parties over the last few weeks or whether it's because as my fitness has improved, my exercise levels have risen and resulted in me burning more calories.

I am 29, 5' 8" and currently weigh 172lb
Using TDEE I was consuming 1700 calories based on exercising 3 x week

I have been using mapmyfitness to log my walking and have recently seen an increase in my distance and speed. 4 times a week I do a 1hr walk which burns approximately 450 calories, then I do 1/2hr walk on 1 day at approximately 225 calories and a metafit class once a week which I count as 300 calories.

As a result of this I decided to keep a log of my calories consumed plus exercise calories burned and found that this has resulted in me netting between 1174 and 1405 calories.

I am concerned that this seems a bit low and could be a factor in my weight loss stall, do you think I should increase my calorie intake?

Any advice greatly appreciated x

SezxyStef

If you have been lax due to parties you have your answer.

And no your "net" calories are not the cause because eating a deficet causes weight loss...and 1174-1405 is a deficet.

athertonsl

I was pretty sure that was the reason but then it did cross my mind that I could also not be eating enough now that my exercise has increased, I will keep an eye on it over the next couple of weeks I think, I have no more 'dos' in my calender for the foreseeable so no excuses! x

lemonlionheart

I'm sure you're going to get a lot of people asking you to open your diary which might help find out what is going on. By how many calories have you been going over at the parties over the last few weeks? I find I can VERY easily blow 3000+ calories at a wedding or other party where there is lots of wine and yummy food. Do you log these? It could easily be blowing your deficit for the whole week.

450 calories seems pretty high for a 1hr walk. I burn 450 in an hour with very high intensity cycling at the gym, and I weigh ~130lb. I calculate this by measuring my heartrate (average 145 for the hour) and using an online tool that was recommended by other users to estimate calorie burn. MFP is notorious for overestimating calorie burns so you may not be burning as many calories as you think.

I wouldn't recommend increasing your calories, the majority consensus on here seems to be that starvation mode is a myth/ something that only occurs when the body is actually starving and doesn't cause your body to 'hold on' to calories if you are in a deficit. More likely you just need to check the accuracy of your food and exercise cals

Good luck!

athertonsl

Thanks leahthelemon, I have only just started being really good again this week after the various events. I get my calories burned from mapmyfitness, I input my weight and it tracks my speed, distance, etc using GPS and tells me the calories burned when I finish, i generally average 4mph. As I know that I am back on track properly now I will keep an eye on it and hopefully that scale will start moving again!

KaterinaTerese

And it might just be one of those big ol' stalls we all experience from time to time!

Be honest and careful in your tracking (exercise and calories; that walking burn does seem high) and let nature take its course. It's possible with parties, etc., you erased some of the deficit you had, but who cares? Weddings = :drinker: Good times!
Weight loss can take a long time, and you can't turn down every piece of cake that comes your way. Just log it and walk (4 mph) away.

I would say just stick to near the deficit you have. If you start to feel burnt out or lugubrious, either add in 150 calories permanently or so or take a few days to eat at TDEE.

You got dis.

doctorsookie

450 for an hour walk seems perfect. I weigh less and walked an hour and a half yesterday with HRM and burned 430 calories. I don't think it's an overestimate on calories bit more of a consistency of exercising. I second your decision to stay the course and just start working out regularly like you are planning to do. You're doing great.

athertonsl

Thanks everyone you've been really supportive