What's your magic calories number?
gixbr
Posts: 34 Member
I still haven't found my magic number, the one I should be aiming for to lose weight consistently. Hence I don't lose weight easily like everyone else on a same diet, I do have a cheat meal on weekends or maybe have ice cream too but I never go past maintenance and still I haven't see a lot of changes. I'm definitely stronger and lost a few cm, but I was hoping to have lost more body fat by now, 2.5 months into SL. So my questions is, what number have you set to yourself and you've been seeing constant results? And is it different from your TDEE - 20% recommendation?
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I'm losing about 5 pounds a month at 1630 calories a day averaged. Hungry days and weekends I tend to eat more, other days I eat less and it all averages out to 1630.
1630 is my goal set by MFP to lose 1 pound a week, but I only lose 1 pound a week if I don't eat back my fitbit calorie adjustments. So really I'm doing more of a TDEE-type eating plan.
My TDEE according to my fitbit, Scooby, etc. is around 2400 but its actually a bit lower than that or I'd be losing weight faster. When I calculate my TDEE based on my calories eaten and weight loss its more like 2050 and using that TDEE 1640 is eating at TDEE-20%.
I'm just shy of 5' 6" and currently 184 (started at 200 in March). I walk my 10,000 plus steps a day and do SL 3x per week and I don't eat back for any of that. However, this is only my 3rd week on SL, so I'm not lifting very heavy yet and not sure how my eating patterns will need to change as the weights increase.0 -
According to my Fitbit, my TDEE is Scooby's "moderate" setting. It makes sense, since I'm doing SL 3x a week with some accessory lifts plus some light cardio such as walking/jogging or cycling.
My weight loss is apparently consistent with the numbers (I picked -1/2 lb a week) BUT I usually have 1 or 2 unplanned "fat meals" a week that I don't even bother to log (bbq party with friends, lunch at grandma with homemade food...this kind of unloggable things which usually don't involve low-calorie food). I don't splurge until I puke, but if there is cake I eat it. Since they're not affecting my loss (so far), my TDEE is probably a bit higher than predicted.0 -
Everyone's is very different. I know some people cut at -20% and their numbers are well over 2,000. I took the average calorie recommendation from these:
http://www.1percentedge.com/ifcalc/
http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/
and http://iifym.com/iifym-calculator/
all using the "moderate" or 3-5x a week exercising (I lift 3x a week and try to power walk on my rest days), which gave me 2,275 TDEE. I aim to eat between 1,800-1,950 for fat loss. I hope it's working; end of last week I was starting to see some real results in the mirror, and then BAM - period, water retention and deadlifting swoling make me look like I'm carrying around an extra 8 lbs. :laugh:
I guess what I'm saying is I don't have one. The only magic number I've found for me is lifting heavy-*kitten* things 3 days a week.
Give yourself a long time. Don't get too frustrated. I saw a woman a few months back (cannot find the post, sorry!) who posted her 6mo. and 1 year progress. The difference between the two was HUGE. She didn't look like she had lost that much after 6mo., but her 1 year photo was awesome. Gives me hope!0 -
How I wish I could scan my wrist and have a clear picture on what that "magic number" truly is.
I thought having a fitbit would solve my TDEE mystery problem of not exactly knowing what I burn in a day, fitbit averages between 2500-3000 calories burned depending on my day/weekend/workouts
I do Stronglifts 3x a week, mon-thus-sat and i am on week 6
I do Focus T25 weekday mornings before work
I take stairs at the hospital all day
and I run after work twice during the week
as well I am training for a spartan race, so burpees and pushups and rope climbs are my daily norm!
I did scoopy calculations and It said around 2000 cals but i dont lose on that, its like maintenance for me
I dropped to 1800 and I saw a little loss over the month, but I am OBESE and I need more than a little loss
There was a muscle building forum I was reading, suggested an equation of bodyweight x 14 = TDEE
for me this equals 2604
and based on my weight, a 35% calorie reduction is recommended, that equals 911
2604-911 = 1693
I decided last week to eat around 1600 cals, regardless of my burns, if i felt hungry i would eat an extra 100 but if not, i would just leave it
Indeed I lost 2lbs last week. Its the most the scale has moved in weeks! I plan to recalculate this every 5lbs loss, and narrow the deficit from 35% to 30, to 25 to 20 and eventually maintenance! but I think this approach will work, Its allowing me to meet my macros and feel satiated with my food choices
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I'm still (always) working on that magic number! My Fitbit TDEE ranges from 2500 to 3000 so I eat anywhere between 2000 and 2500-ish. Sometimes I'll even eat more than 2500 because lifting makes me huuuuuungry. I only weigh in once a month and so far I've been losing each month, albeit small losses, but that's ok. My body's appearance is more what I'm focused on and I do like what I'm seeing... So I guess my answer is play with your calories and see what works best for you. That may mean eating vastly different calorie amounts each day.0
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Thanks everyone for all the replies, it's nice and encouraging to read about others' success and struggles. Sometimes it's kinda depressing when you see stories about girls eating 1800 cals a day, lifting only 3 times a week and with "the fat just melting off". Why not me too?!!?! :sad:
The constant question in my head is: am I not losing because Im eating too little or because Im eating to much? Im usually around 1650, this week I changed to 1550 to leave extra space for errors while logging. I'm not paying attention to the number on the scale so much anymore, but I haven't seen that big of a change in my body either, that's what bugs me the most.
I know for some people it can take a while to see the changes, like KaterinaTeres said. It's just some days are harder than others to remember that. Today is one of these days 0 -
I weigh the same as I did 1 1/2 years ago. Haven't found any magic numbers.0
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Out of curiosity, how long have you been eating at the consistent deficit? If you've been eating low for a very long while, it might be that your body is adapting to that lower amount (I ain't no scientist, so someone please jump in and correct me if I'm wrong!!) which I believe is called adaptive thermogenesis?The constant question in my head is: am I not losing because Im eating too little or because Im eating to much? Im usually around 1650, this week I changed to 1550 to leave extra space for errors while logging. I'm not paying attention to the number on the scale so much anymore, but I haven't seen that big of a change in my body either, that's what bugs me the most.
While their reasoning is a little sister-sciencey, you might consider what the Eat More 2 Weigh Less gals say: take some time at TDEE to let your metabolism remember "normal," while going heavy at the gym. If nothing else, it'll be a nice mental reset. Hang in there; we're all here for each other! :flowerforyou:0 -
My magic number shifts depending on my activity level and is slightly effected by the nutritional quality of my diet.
I've seen success at a variety of calorie levels. When I first started losing weight (pre-MFP) I didn't track my diet, just started back in the gym and that got me some losses. Then I got serious with the diet and tracked more with weight watchers. I'm not good with logging for long so I made the switch to MFP to drop the cost of WW. I had better success with logging at that point and I was around 1500-1600 calories at that point. As I got closer to goal I bumped up to 1800 or so. Here is something I think provides a good visual of just how random loss can be. This was from my big loss back between May 2012 into the beginning of 2013. I started tracking BF% in November so that is what the extra #'s are.
Right now, I'm back at 134.8 lbs and working toward reducing my BF%. I just started the Strong Curves program and am also taking a boxing class so my activity level is a little bit higher than some. I decided to target 2000 calories starting last week and saw a loss of 1.6 lbs, but because I can somewhat track BF% trends I know some of the loss was LBM - most likely water weight. I was shooting for a TDEE -5% or less so I have some playing around to do with the #'s again. Last week was just lifting and running. This week I am lifting 4x, boxing 3x, and will add 10 min or so of cardio onto the lifting sessions. With more activity I will probably need to up a few more hundred.
So, yeah, long post short, after 2 years, I'm getting closer to figuring out that number, but still searching.
This is a great article on the whole numbers game that is intake versus output:
http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/the-energy-balance-equation.html0 -
I don't really know. I have MFP set to lose .5 lbs a week, but I would like to lose a little faster so I try to keep about a hundred calories below that limit (don't look at last week lol). I eat back what my fitbit gives me just because I like food. I find it really hard to find a spot where I still lose weight but I can still make progress on my lifts and running.0
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This month my big experiment is "do what the Fitbit tells me" and so far it seems to be working extremely well. (I have it set to 1 lb per week/500 cals per day). I know that for right now *I'm* happier at about 2000 calories a day, which allows me to have a treat.
I'm 5'6", 156, and 30% bf.0 -
While there is some adaptive response to an prolonged calorie deficit, it's quite negligible when it comes to numbers. It can slow down your weight loss *a bit*, not stop it entirely.The constant question in my head is: am I not losing because Im eating too little or because Im eating to much? Im usually around 1650, this week I changed to 1550 to leave extra space for errors while logging.
A large deficit can, however, slow down your weight loss if it causes adherence issues and/or decreased activity. That's why "eating more to weigh less" works for some people. They up their calories and they stop bingeing if they used to, make better choices when they eat out, workout harder, move more outside the gym and therefore lose more weight.
And don't forget that weight loss is not linear, it's the trend that counts. Don't stress over fluctuations.0 -
I haven't found my majic number yet. But seem to be happy around 1800. This is close to my TDEE minus 20%. I am not losing a lot some months nothing but I know any lower and I will not be a happy camper. I am curious to hear what has worked for others.0
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I was at about 1550 before, started stronglifts, do personal training once a week, and jog a few times a week. It was not enough food, so I upped to about 1700 or so.
I've now upped to 1990 because that's my TDEE-10%. I wanted to stay closer to maintenance because I will still be lifting, jogging once a week, and gonna be in the pool a lot of hours a day doing swim lessons soon. I might even have to go higher than that, because just being in the pool 30 mins along with all my other stuff has me huuunnnnngggrrry.
I'm less concerned about losing weight at the moment and more just trying to not gain fat.0 -
I am also still searching for my the magic number. In fact I was so desperate to find my magic number that I went for an exhaled CO2 based RMR test as a Valentin days present to myself
During the test you breath into a machine for an hr while laying in bed. Based on the amount of oxygen a person consumes and the the amount of Co2 exhaled the machine tells the person RMR . RMR is not exactly BMR but very close. RMR stands for resting metabolic rate and tells your calorie requirement if you lay in bed all day. For me this is 1584, so that is the number I should not eat below. btw I am 204 lb with 120 lb LBM.
The dietetitian told me that based on this my TDEE is 2050 IF I live a sedentary lifestyle with desk job and zero exercise . To calculate the TDEE correspond to my true lifestyle I need to add the exercise calories, which I do not really know. Right now I do heavy lifts 3 times a week for 1 hr, and a LOT of walking and some biking.
My main problem finding my magic number is find the calorie level I have willpower to stick to. In January I was eating 2200 while doing p90x3 , which is a program with 30 minutes daily excercise. That was really generous and had no problem to stick to, but experienced zero weight loss. I switched to stronglift in the beginning of March and I tried to eat my RMR so 1585. When things were ok I was able to stick to it, but felt hungry all the time. When sudden family emergency hit and meal planning / cooking fall apart, I ended up binging and probably eating a lot and not logging. I upped my calories to 1950 for a month, but that was too much again an not much weigh loss.
Now I have lowered to 1750 a week ago, and I really hope that I finally hit my magic number with this.0 -
According to this calculation
Total calories consumed+(pounds lost x 3500)/#days my TDEE is about 2157...according to Scooby it's 2250...IIFYM it is 2100...
I used the same calculation when I started lifting ( after 2 weeks of weighing my food consistently) it was 2000. I did TDEE-15% on average for the first 6 months of lifting and lost on average 3/4lb a week.
Notice I say average as some weeks it was 2lbs some weeks it was 1/2lb and some weeks nada.
When I hit maintenance (in 1/2lb) I am reverse dieting as we speak but have decided 50 calories every other week is good as the 100 a week made me retain water and ticked me off...:laugh:
When I hit 2000 I will eat that for a month and see what happens...if I lose I will up by 50 for a couple weeks rinse repeat.
So I think I found mine...0 -
According to this calculation
Total calories consumed+(pounds lost x 3500)/#days my TDEE is about 2157...according to Scooby it's 2250...IIFYM it is 2100...
I used the same calculation when I started lifting ( after 2 weeks of weighing my food consistently) it was 2000. I did TDEE-15% on average for the first 6 months of lifting and lost on average 3/4lb a week.
Notice I say average as some weeks it was 2lbs some weeks it was 1/2lb and some weeks nada.
When I hit maintenance (in 1/2lb) I am reverse dieting as we speak but have decided 50 calories every other week is good as the 100 a week made me retain water and ticked me off...:laugh:
When I hit 2000 I will eat that for a month and see what happens...if I lose I will up by 50 for a couple weeks rinse repeat.
So I think I found mine...
^ I just did this math and yep still comes out to 2600! so where fitbit tells me im 2800 or 2900 i think its a lil generous...and if my TDEE is 2600 that would explain why I see results fast sticking to 1600ish cals/day. I think maintance for me is about 2000 as well, i remember eating around 2000 and not losing any but firming up! so thats a good sign! Or so i think!0 -
I did great when I started MFP last year and dropped 10 pounds. Then after starting to lift I let my eating get out of control even on TDEE so I've struggled since then. I think I have an idea of how much to eat (its pretty similar to MFP recommended) but have trouble sticking to it. Does someone want to follow me around all day and yell at me for eating things not factored into my calorie count for the day? It's mainly when I eat out on weekends that is the problem...0
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I have my goal set to 2450 / day, but usually stay around 2300-2400. I follow TDEE-15%. My TDEE is 2850-2900 cals/day based on two online calculators, my Fitbit, and a calculation of my average daily intake vs. how many pounds I lost over a set number of days.0
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I weigh the same as I did 1 1/2 years ago. Haven't found any magic numbers.
but you've lost inches...which is better:flowerforyou:0 -
Bump for later. I've recently started lifting so can't say if my magic number is working yet but it feels like I'm not losing (to early to say for sure) I'm going to stick it out for a full month at 1550 and see if it's working. Fingers crossed but my gut reaction is that it's not working
Good luck OP!0 -
Thanks everyone for all the replies, it's nice and encouraging to read about others' success and struggles. Sometimes it's kinda depressing when you see stories about girls eating 1800 cals a day, lifting only 3 times a week and with "the fat just melting off". Why not me too?!!?! :sad:
The constant question in my head is: am I not losing because Im eating too little or because Im eating to much? Im usually around 1650, this week I changed to 1550 to leave extra space for errors while logging. I'm not paying attention to the number on the scale so much anymore, but I haven't seen that big of a change in my body either, that's what bugs me the most.
I know for some people it can take a while to see the changes, like KaterinaTeres said. It's just some days are harder than others to remember that. Today is one of these days
And definitely agree with this!!!0 -
Thanks everyone for all the replies, it's nice and encouraging to read about others' success and struggles. Sometimes it's kinda depressing when you see stories about girls eating 1800 cals a day, lifting only 3 times a week and with "the fat just melting off". Why not me too?!!?! :sad:
OMG that is my sad face when I read those too!!! There was a post a while back from a woman who was my height (5'2) and did SL three times a week and I think it was elliptical twice (I could be totally off but I know it wasn't any excessive amount of activity). She said she ate 2000 calories every day and was losing a lb a week consistently!!!
I haven't lost a damn lb in MONTHS!!!! UGH... with that said, I have no clue what my magic number is. Right now I have my diary set to 1350 while eating back exercise cals. Not going too well but I think I have just become horrible at logging.0 -
I slacked on logging over the winter and put on a few pounds...started keeping my diet in check and logging in February and consistently have lost about .5 lbs/week, which was my goal. By consistently however, I mean over the long term. My weight tends to stick at a number for a week or 2 (or more!) and then I'll drop 3 lbs. But overall I've been having success, while maintaining my strength and definitely feeling a difference in how my clothes fit.
I went back and calculated the gross amount of calories I ate during this time and it was around 1650, which coincidentally is right around the same number Scooby gives me for TDEE- 20%.
I've added more cardio lately and it seems to be really helping me meet my calorie goals. This winter I was doing next to no cardio which just didn't fly in conjunction with also eating more calories!0 -
I've been eating around 2300 a day and losing a pound a week, I'm 5'50
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I've been eating around 2300 a day and losing a pound a week, I'm 5'5
I want to hate you for that but that's just badass of you, congratulations! :flowerforyou:0 -
Thanks everyone for all the replies, it's nice and encouraging to read about others' success and struggles. Sometimes it's kinda depressing when you see stories about girls eating 1800 cals a day, lifting only 3 times a week and with "the fat just melting off". Why not me too?!!?! :sad:
OMG that is my sad face when I read those too!!! There was a post a while back from a woman who was my height (5'2) and did SL three times a week and I think it was elliptical twice (I could be totally off but I know it wasn't any excessive amount of activity). She said she ate 2000 calories every day and was losing a lb a week consistently!!!
I haven't lost a damn lb in MONTHS!!!! UGH... with that said, I have no clue what my magic number is. Right now I have my diary set to 1350 while eating back exercise cals. Not going too well but I think I have just become horrible at logging.
Right????
I think the problem (for me) is, my body holds on to the weight until one day I lose like 4lbs at once, it's happened several times to me but when it's been 3 weeks and I'm working my *kitten* off at the gym and having great workouts I'm really hoping to see constant changes and get disappointed when I don't. As much as I try to reason that I will eventually lose the weight my mind is just blaming it on the damn calories and keep trying to find ways to change my diet.
By the way, I really don't look at my weight loss as much as inches lost, I'd never complain if my weight was the same and I had lost like 1000 inches
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I've been eating around 2300 a day and losing a pound a week, I'm 5'5
I want to hate you for that but that's just badass of you, congratulations! :flowerforyou:
*giggle*
When I started about two months ago, I had calculated my TDEE with scooby and ate 1800 calories a day. Nothing happened for the first 5, 6 weeks and I was getting frustrated. I knew when you start lifting weights you gain water etc, etc. But still. The ****ty truth is, we LOVE it when the numbers on the scale move down, because that seems to be the most obvious proof. My "progress" pictures also didn't really show any progress in my eyes and although I lost some cm on my belly, I wasn't so happy.
I put my calories down to 1700 now and finally have the feeling something is happening. And it's still a number I can live with without feeling starved - more would be cooler of course, but yeah, you get the point.
Maybe it's not even that I lowered the calories but more an adjustment of my body, but I will stay with this number for a while.
Good luck finding your number! :-)0 -
I wear a BodyMedia FIT and it takes all the guesswork out. I eat between 1800- 2800 calories a day depending on activity. I am 5'7" and I lose about 0.85 lbs a week. I am close to my goal so my weight loss has slowed down a lot.0
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I also did the CO2 RMR test. It said my metabolism is actually a little higher than predicted- Yah. It gave an RMR of 1483. All well and good. When I calculate my TDEE, using lightly active, I get 1779. No problem there either. Here's the conumdrum: I haven't lost a single pound since September and even then it was REALLY slow. I gained
about 4 lbs on vacation in Italy in October and still can't get rid of that either. Yes, I log my food accurately. I weigh everything like a maniac. Even my lettuce gets weighed. I've been playing around with my calorie goals, trying to get something to work. 1200? nope, 1350? nope, 1450? no so far. I haven't been much of an exerciser until about a month ago when I started SL. BTW: I'm 5'1" current weight 137 and 54 yrs old, which works against me. If anyone has any suggestions, feel free. Oh, I do have a history of insulin resistance, so I eat low carb for medical reasons. Thanks for letting me get this off my chest. 0
