What would a healthy deficit be for me?

endermako · June 2014

As you can see by my Diary I'm at the dreaded 1230 calorie range. I just started and plan on working out 5 days a week for 25 minutes a day. I'm 5'4 and currently 187.2 pounds. Can someone help me figure out what my daily calorie intake should be? I know mine isnt right but the TDEE calculators dont make sense to me. The first couple of days on the 1200 calorie limit I was fine but I'm starting to feel hunger pangs which I havent since I started. So I know I need to increase my intake. Please help

endermako · June 2014

bump* anyone?

SezxyStef · June 2014

MFP will tell you that...

Enter your stats and weekly weight loss goal.

If you have 75+ lbs to lose 2 lbs/week is ideal
If you have 40-75 lbs to lose 1.5 lbs/week is ideal
If you have 25-40 lbs to lose 1 lbs/week is ideal
If you have 15 -25 lbs to lose 0.5 to 1.0 lbs/week is ideal
If you have less than 15 lbs to lose 0.5 lbs/week is ideal

Make sure it's reasonable...above it says 1.5lbs a week...follow that.

MFP will build in the deficit from food to lose that amount of weight.

Then you log your exercise and eat back 50-75% of those calories to fuel your next work out.

Aaron_K123 · June 2014

Do they not make sense to you because they tell you to eat an amount of calories that just sounds too large for you? Most people are very unaware of what a normal intake of calories is and mistakenly think that 1500 calories is somehow a normal number...it isn't, it is very low and 1200 is extremely low. Most people maintain at 2000+ calories.

If the TDEE calculator was telling you to eat 1900 calories for weight loss if you are exercising 5 days a week should open your mind to the possibility that it is correct.

That said what is your confusion with the TDEE calculators?

endermako · June 2014

1230 is what MFP gave me for 1.5lbs a week But I'm getting a lot of comments about how this isnt enough

Aaron_K123 · June 2014

Actually this is probably the easier way to go. I can answer questions about TDEE methods if you want but this will probably work for you as well. Just remember if you exercise you should eat additional calories to make up for your burn.

Aaron_K123 · June 2014

You told it you were sedentary when you are exercising 5 days a week. You can keep yourself on sedentary but you should eat back the burn you get from your exercise which I imagine is another 200 calories or so.

SezxyStef · June 2014

are you eating back your exercise calories tho? TDEE-20% typically = MFP+Exercise calories if you choose 1lb a week in MFP.

Keep in mind as well you can change the goal to 1lb a week...

endermako · June 2014

Yes that is the confusion I feel like its too much. I will increase my intake by 200 to make up for my exercise and see how that goes. thank you for the help

Aaron_K123 · June 2014

I'm going to use the following TDEE calculator just to see what it says for you:

http://exrx.net/Calculators/CalRequire.html

I'm going to guess at your age at 30 I apologize if I am overestimating their but just because you have a kid.

I put that you rest 12 hours, do light activity (like walking around, desk work, standing etc) for 11.5 hours and moderate activity for .5 hours.

I get that your BMR is 1620 and your TDEE is 2140. That would suggest you would maintain at 2100 about which seems reasonable to me. 20% less than that would have you eating 1700 which also seems reasonable.

I'd say you should try to eat 1500-1700 in that range and give that a try. 1200 sounds like far to little to me.

Understand that to gain the weight your daily intake was probably close to 3000 calories normally so even 1900 calories is a major change and would probably result in weight loss.

Most people think 2000 calories is a lot but it really isn't.

endermako · June 2014

Oh yea I was eating fast food twice a day for years I know what that did to me haha. I forgot to mention my age but I'm 26 so close enough.

lemurcat12 · June 2014

Me too (actually, 1200). I'm 5'3, 173, but older. Are you putting yourself down as sedentary? MFP explains it badly, but you likely are not really sedentary--if you walk around at all in your daily life you are going to be lightly active, at least. That said, I get 1200 at my age and size even with lightly active.

But importantly, as Sezxy Stef pointed out, the MFP goal changes when you input exercise. I just peeked at one day, and you were eating in the 1200s even though your goal was in the 1400s--the goal changed because you exercised. If you eat back exercise you can probably eat more like in the 1400s. I typically eat quite a bit more than 1200, because I have increased my exercise as I've lost, and eat back those calories (not every one, just because I question some of MFP's estimates, but many of them, and most on days where they are coming in around 1400-1500).

One reason the TDEE estimates may not be making sense to you is that at your likely TDEE looking at -20% is going to be more like 1 lb or often even less per week, whereas the MPF goal you put in is 1.5. Also, TDEE includes exercise already--you don't eat more when you do it--and with MFP you eat more when you exercise, at least if you are using it as intended. So if you want to experiment look at activity level and maybe reducing the weekly goal or--and this is what I did--stick with 1.5 and eat back exercise calories.

endermako · June 2014

I just updated my parameters for MFP to lightly active since I am working out often now. It changed it for me. i guess in a way i'm a little scared to eat the calories back worrying about gaining. It's probably all mental. But since I started on June 1 I've tracked absolutely everything and just got a food scale yesterday which will make my intake even more accurate. I'm happy I can fit in more variety now with an increase in my intake whoohooo! I just have to have a better mindset and not be afraid I guess.

lemurcat12 · June 2014

That sounds good!

SezxyStef · June 2014

Agreed...

If you are in a deficit you wont gain...think about it this way...your goal should be to eat as much food as you can and still lose the weight you want.

If you look at my diary I eat chocolate every night...yes everynight...I prelog and work around it...why because I love my chocolate and it keeps me sane...

I still eat out at burger king, dq etc...I don't eat as much anymore but I still enjoy it and I, as you can see, have lost 50+lbs...

be healthy but don't give up what you really love/crave.

Aaron_K123 · June 2014

Your BMR is 1600. That means if you were lying in a coma in a hosipital bed your body would still require 1600 calories daily to maintain your weight. You are NOT going to gain weight eating 1600 calories a day.

Trust me, if you are accurately logging you can easily eat 1600 calories and still lose weight at the rate of a pound a week.

Aaron_K123 · June 2014

I can give you what I am doing as an example. Yes I am a 6' tall man but honestly being male only adds about 200 calories to your intake requirement and being 6' tall isn't as important as your weight.

I weigh 174, you weigh 186 so actually you are larger than I am (although I have more muscle most likely).

So, I am losing pretty steadily about 1.4 pounds a week. I eat on average about 2000-2200 calories a day to maintain that weightloss. Now I am more active than you and that is why there is a larger difference but still.

I estimate I would maintain my weight at about 2800 calories.

KylaDenay · June 2014

I eat at my BMR which is about 1400 to 1500 and I am 5'3 and 162 lbs. When I started doing it right instead of keeping it the goal of 1270 that MFP told me, I put my goal to 1400. I ate 1400 daily and added back most of my exercise calories. I lost 1 lb the week I started that. I started doing that 3 weeks ago. I can't say anything about the last week, cause I was on my monthly.

It does work to set your goal to your calculated BMR and eat back your exercise calories.

Edit: Just to say I switched from sedentary to lightly active. Even though I have a desk job, the lightly active setting was closer to my BMR.

mebepiglet123 · June 2014

How about working out what you used to eat and totalling up the calories... Start slow. If you are starving choose dense foods that make you feel fuller for longer. Just start cutting say 500 cals from old eating habits and start that way. Slow and steady wins the race. The key is to make it a lifestyle change not a diet then your brain is not fighting you all the way.
Good luck.

What would a healthy deficit be for me?

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