BMR / TDEE? Starvation mode? Overwhelmed & CONFUSED!

dluckylucas

I have my goal at 135 and I am 5'7", 152 lbs. Female, 40 years old. My calorie limit on MFP is 1200 My BMR is 1,397 and my TDEE is 2227. I am not losing weight and honestly have been stuck at 152 for years. When I have lost 10-15 lbs. I have gained it right back. I went to my doctor today and she told me I am starving myself eating that little calories and that is why I am not losing weight. (WTF?? I don't get it, I don't feel I got fat not eating enough!). I always figured less calories in more exercise / calories out = weight loss!

I am so confused because, then I read this on another post today, "Starvation mode as a mechanism that will stop you losing weight is a myth, just concentrate on ensuring your numbers are as accurate as you can make them." I try to log accurately but noticed recently that on weekends I go over my calories now and then. So I am not really sure if it is that I am not strict enough on weekends or if I am not eating enough like my doctor told me today????

If it is that I am not getting enough calories how many calories should I aim for? And are there restrictions on the types of foods that will get me to that calorie count? Or can I do fun things like have wine? If I am looking to increase my calorie intake are there restrictions on what kind of calories?

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365andstillalive

If your BMR is 1397, you should be eating at least that. However, according to three different websites I used, your BMR is actually closer to 1450. So yes, you have been eating too little, which over a prolonged period of time, can cause a slight drop in your metabolism making it harder to lose weight.

The deficit you can healthily lose weight at is TDEE - BMR (at the most, although for many that's very aggressive, trying TDEE -10% would likely be a better fit. So, 2227 - 1450 = 777 cals per day deficit, which I would argue is significantly too high for the amount of weight you're looking to lose because you're already in the healthy range for your height.

Really, with only 15 or so lbs to lose, you should be looking at setting goals which will allow you to lose between 0.5-1lb per week, so no more than a 500 calorie deficit per day.

You don't need to really restrict the foods you eat, just make sure you're aiming for your macros that are important (like protein). If you want a glass of wine, that's fine, just make sure it fits your calories.

From what you've written, I also think a large part of you not losing weight is that what you think is 1200 calories, actually isn't. Unless you're weighing with a food scale, you really can't be sure. I'm presently not using a scale, but I don't claim that my own calorie counts are by any means perfect and if I hit a point where my loss was being inhibited by not weighing my food, I'd certainly pick one up.

If you find any of that confusing, feel free to message me.

heybales

There are many myths that do indeed go along with starvation mode, aka adaptive thermogenesis, aka metabolic efficiency, that are not true.
But the mode itself is.

You eat too extreme a deficit from what your body wants for your level of activity, and you changed the equation for how much you actually burn. Studies have shown a reduction in total daily burn by 20-25%.
So a deficit that used to cause so much weight loss slowly becomes less and less. Have the values right as you lose weight, you could wipe out your deficit.
Meaning you now need to eat 20-25% less than you could, in order to lose weight, and then to maintain too.

So it doesn't cause you to gain fat, it's usually the binges during that time that cause weight and fat gain because someone can't adhere to that extreme a calorie deficit all the time and they binge and gain fat then.
It doesn't cause you to stop burning fat and start burning muscle, that happens on extreme deficit anyway without enough protein and no strength training, but great odds you'll be doing better muscle burn along with the fat at more extreme deficit.
There are several other rumors too.

The truth is, just keep eating less and less, and even a suppressed system will eventually lose more.
But will you be successful eating that much less if you don't need to?
Will your body improve as much with exercise if it's already slowing things down to compensate for eating level?

There are several negatives to it.
This documentary on the study for showing why it happens is rather negative - life time effect.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2i_cmltmQ6A

This study while showing you can make it happen, and what can help not make it happen, also shows recovery is possible. But you are already there possibly.
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/heybales/view/reduced-metabolism-tdee-beyond-expected-from-weight-loss-616251

You could be badly logging foods not by weight - though to wipe out a whole deficit would be really bad logging.

Use the spreadsheet on my profile page to help with estimate of bodyfat, and then best estimates of BMR (in case you've lost muscle mass already) and TDEE based on what you actually do for exercise, and get a reasonable deficit for amount to lose and amount of activity.
Just stay on the Simple Setup and Progress tabs.
Look at example stats, change them to see effects, then delete them all in yellow cells and put in your own.

And yes, not a reasonable deficit amount for amount left to lose.

dluckylucas

If your BMR is 1397, you should be eating at least that. However, according to three different websites I used, your BMR is actually closer to 1450. So yes, you have been eating too little, which over a prolonged period of time, can cause a slight drop in your metabolism making it harder to lose weight.

The deficit you can healthily lose weight at is TDEE - BMR (at the most, although for many that's very aggressive, trying TDEE -10% would likely be a better fit. So, 2227 - 1450 = 777 cals per day deficit, which I would argue is significantly too high for the amount of weight you're looking to lose because you're already in the healthy range for your height.

Really, with only 15 or so lbs to lose, you should be looking at setting goals which will allow you to lose between 0.5-1lb per week, so no more than a 500 calorie deficit per day.

You don't need to really restrict the foods you eat, just make sure you're aiming for your macros that are important (like protein). If you want a glass of wine, that's fine, just make sure it fits your calories.

From what you've written, I also think a large part of you not losing weight is that what you think is 1200 calories, actually isn't. Unless you're weighing with a food scale, you really can't be sure. I'm presently not using a scale, but I don't claim that my own calorie counts are by any means perfect and if I hit a point where my loss was being inhibited by not weighing my food, I'd certainly pick one up.

If you find any of that confusing, feel free to message me.

I AM still confused.... trust me 152 doesn't look healthy on me, I am very small boned and I think most of that is fat not muscle. I am working on it though! I am now doing boot camp classes and dedicated to getting back in shape after 2 kids and a desk job! What do I minus the 777 from? the 2227?

dluckylucas

I do have a food scale, however I don't ALWAYS use it. I am confused

VCopple

I was also confused. I went to my doctor. He didn't have anything helpful to say except: go see a dietitian. So he referred me, and I went. It was covered under my insurance as a preventative visit. She sat down with me and went over my goals and we discussed what has worked for me in the past and what has not. She also told me I was eating too little and bumped me from 1200 to 1400 cals a day. Lo and behold I started losing weight.

My recommendation is to find a registered dietitian and have them tel you exactly how many calories you should eat every day, and how many grams of everything. Then, come back to MFP and change your goals. Go into "custom" and enter the numbers the dietitian gives you. That way, your goals and information in MFP is personalized TO YOU and what you need to be successful. :flowerforyou:

365andstillalive

If your BMR is 1397, you should be eating at least that. However, according to three different websites I used, your BMR is actually closer to 1450. So yes, you have been eating too little, which over a prolonged period of time, can cause a slight drop in your metabolism making it harder to lose weight.

The deficit you can healthily lose weight at is TDEE - BMR (at the most, although for many that's very aggressive, trying TDEE -10% would likely be a better fit. So, 2227 - 1450 = 777 cals per day deficit, which I would argue is significantly too high for the amount of weight you're looking to lose because you're already in the healthy range for your height.

Really, with only 15 or so lbs to lose, you should be looking at setting goals which will allow you to lose between 0.5-1lb per week, so no more than a 500 calorie deficit per day.

You don't need to really restrict the foods you eat, just make sure you're aiming for your macros that are important (like protein). If you want a glass of wine, that's fine, just make sure it fits your calories.

From what you've written, I also think a large part of you not losing weight is that what you think is 1200 calories, actually isn't. Unless you're weighing with a food scale, you really can't be sure. I'm presently not using a scale, but I don't claim that my own calorie counts are by any means perfect and if I hit a point where my loss was being inhibited by not weighing my food, I'd certainly pick one up.

If you find any of that confusing, feel free to message me.

I AM still confused.... trust me 152 doesn't look healthy on me, I am very small boned and I think most of that is fat not muscle. I am working on it though! I am now doing boot camp classes and dedicated to getting back in shape after 2 kids and a desk job! What do I minus the 777 from? the 2227?

You're not minusing the 777 from anything, that's the deficit between your BMR and TDEE, which we've already established is FAR too aggressive for the type of weight loss you're looking for. Eating at a deficit of that size, you'll definetly lose weight, however you'll be losing muscle mass at a much more rapid pace than if you were to eat a healthy amount for you. I would honestly recommend a deficit of about 250-400 calories a week (so 0.5-0.8lbs per week). Weight loss isn't meant to be fast, especially when you're already in a healthy range.

There's a chance you're small framed and that 152 does look unhealthy on you, but that could have a lot more to do with body composition than actual scale weight. Basically, the more muscle you have, the more likely you are to look toned. When you diet aggressively and lose that muscle mass, you can end up keeping a very similar body fat percentage and still being unhappy with your body. Honestly, without more measurements (body fat%, bust/waist/hip, a picture for reference etc), I couldn't even tell you if your goal is realistic.

The take-aways from this are: eat more (at bare minimum you need to eat your BMR); make sure your goal is realistic (calculating body fat percentages will help for this); understand that to lose that 15lbs will likely take you 3-5 months.

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MityMax96

I am so confused because, then I read this on another post today, "Starvation mode as a mechanism that will stop you losing weight is a myth, just concentrate on ensuring your numbers are as accurate as you can make them." I try to log accurately but noticed recently that on weekends I go over my calories now and then. So I am not really sure if it is that I am not strict enough on weekends or if I am not eating enough like my doctor told me today????

Starvation mode Does not exist.....
Or a "damaged metabolism" does not exist...

Your body is responding the way it was designed to.

If it does, I am sure a bunch of kids in Ethiopia should be told their doing it wrong.

tiggerGlasgow

[Kquote]

I am so confused because, then I read this on another post today, "Starvation mode as a mechanism that will stop you losing weight is a myth, just concentrate on ensuring your numbers are as accurate as you can make them." I try to log accurately but noticed recently that on weekends I go over my calories now and then. So I am not really sure if it is that I am not strict enough on weekends or if I am not eating enough like my doctor told me today????

Starvation mode Does not exist.....
Or a "damaged metabolism" does not exist...

Your body is responding the way it was designed to.

If it does, I am sure a bunch of kids in Ethiopia should be told their doing it wrong.
[/quote]

What this fabulous person said.

You need to slowly increase the calories you're consuming until you're back at a healthy consumption level for your body. Layne Norton has some great video blogs on metabolic damage and reverse dieting to help reverse the damage.

jodescorinna

Everyone is over complicating this. It's very simple. Don't listen to all this complicated stuff. Eat 2,000 calories. That should set you on your path to healthy loss.

This isn't overly helpful advice to someone who is saying they are totally confused with the processes of BMR, TDEE etc. Yes the OP could eat 2000kcal a day and as that is just slightly under her TDEE she might well lose weight, all be it very very slowly but it doesn't help her understand.

OP - listen to what people are saying about slowly increasing your calories, 1200 Kcals is very little. It's all about finding what works for you which may take time. I'd definitely start around the 1400 mark and see how it goes. Good luck !

cathigaughanwalton

Just for my 10 pence/cents worth. Start looking at nutrient dense rather than calorie dense a hugely better and healthier way to get fit. Have a look at cutting out wheat/grain based products as they, among with a host of other bad stuff, bloat the body. Same with too much salt, it just encourages the body to retain water. Obvious one, which I'm just throwing into the mix as I'm sure you already know, is try and eliminate all the body unhelpful foods ie fried foods, processed stuff, dairy and increase to beast mode your fresh raw fruit and veggie intake. People get wayyyyyy too wrapped up in calories whereas we should be looking at nutrients. 100 calories of chocolate is around 19 grams, whereas 100 calories of banana is around 106 grams . . and our bodies burn the raw fuel wayyyy quicker than the processed shizz.

If you have excess fat to burn off do high intensity interval workouts, to keep your body on its toes. Aim for a strong workout schedule that you can stick to, but one that you can keep improving on. Our bodies are damned clever sods and adapt to the workloads we do a lot quicker than we realise, this is why HIIT is so good as you can never get used to it. As said above build your body as strong as you can either by doing weights or bodyweight exercises, more muscle, more burn = fitter, healthier you.

Hope this helps sweet pea. All the best.

Cathi x

dluckylucas

I want to thank you all, I am pretty new to MFP & I am grateful for all of the support. There are obviously a lot of opinions on the matter and theories out there! I have learned a lot by asking my question(s). I did re-enter my activity level in the settings on MFP (I had it set too low) I also lowered my goal & lbs. per week goal from 2 to 1.5 and ended up with 1490 calories a day vs 1200. I am going to try that instead and see if that helps. In the meantime, I will continue to research and learn more about BMR and TDEE, as it seems education is key. I also will book an appointment with a dietician at Kaiser as one of you suggested. I am a work in progress! I will also try to use my food scale more! I am so determined to lose this weight, I need more energy to keep up with my kids! I also want to look and feel great! So although I remain confused and a little non trusting that eating MORE food could help me lose weight, which seems ridiculous to me, I will be pro-active and stick with this. Thanks again everyone, now I am off to my spin class!

cathigaughanwalton

Great place to track nutrients: https://cronometer.com/

heybales

I want to thank you all, I am pretty new to MFP & I am grateful for all of the support. There are obviously a lot of opinions on the matter and theories out there! I have learned a lot by asking my question(s). I did re-enter my activity level in the settings on MFP (I had it set too low) I also lowered my goal & lbs. per week goal from 2 to 1.5 and ended up with 1490 calories a day vs 1200. I am going to try that instead and see if that helps. In the meantime, I will continue to research and learn more about BMR and TDEE, as it seems education is key. I also will book an appointment with a dietician at Kaiser as one of you suggested. I am a work in progress! I will also try to use my food scale more! I am so determined to lose this weight, I need more energy to keep up with my kids! I also want to look and feel great! So although I remain confused and a little non trusting that eating MORE food could help me lose weight, which seems ridiculous to me, I will be pro-active and stick with this. Thanks again everyone, now I am off to my spin class!

Still not a reasonable weight loss goal for so little left to lose. 1 lb weekly is reasonable at this point.

The Activity level on MFP is for your work time, your non-exercise part of day. So you went to Lightly Active because of kids - that would be correct usage.

The reason it doesn't make sense to eat more - which think about it - merely means NOT taking as big a deficit, is because you don't understand how the body works. You are still eating less than you burn, but not so much less that you change how much you burn. Eating too much less is a stress on the body. Stress fights against weight/fat loss. Simple as that.
The body wants few changes, and that includes a loss of weight and especially fat.

Did you watch the video and read the study? Others commenting obviously didn't and they are ignorant of research in the last 20 years. There is no opinion on it. Only opinion would be is that what is affecting you personally. Studies are clear for people in general what happens.

And are you going to keep a reasonable deficit by logging that exercise and eating those calories back, or keep it extreme deficit by not doing so?

Any tool can be used smartly and correctly and work well. Any tool can also be used incorrectly, and at best it doesn't work right, at worst it hurts you.

quellybelly

This link is pretty useful

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/974889-in-place-of-a-road-map-short-n-sweet

kvansanity

Are you kidding me... Dude not everyone can eat 2000 calories a day and lose weight especially if her TDEE is 2200. That's only a 200 deficit and with underestimation of calories and overestimation of exercise she's just going to maintain.


*editing, forgot to hit quote button but I'm replying to the guy that said to eat 2000 a day*

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Michifan

Nobody but you can really figure out what your correct caloric intake should be and what your caloric use can be. If you stable, you need to increase your activity or reduce your calories.

Tinker with it for a few weeks. Lower your calories by 10% and add some walks to your routine. If you are going to cut calories, get rid of the least nutritional foods and maybe increase the fibre veggies so that you don't feel hungry.

I learned that optimal my caloric intake level was well below the NIH standards - but the standards are averages and the point of life is to feel good, have energy, and the health metrics (blood labs, pressure, pulse...).

Michifan

And the Starvation Mode / Myth is so misunderstood that it would be comical if it wasn't passed on by so many people.

Your metabolism does slow down as you eat less, but it is like tapping on the brakes compared to the stomping of the accelerator of calorie deficit. That isn't to say that there isn't a delay as the body is figuring out what is going on. The only thing in starvation mode is your body running out of fuel and all the nasty physical effects that go with it.

So I'm not saying starvation is good - its bad. I'm calling starvation the point where body functions start shutting down - not a low calorie diet that makes you hungry (or even feel a bit faint).

To someone used to a 800 calorie diet, 1000 calories will create weight gain. To someone used to 2000 calories, 800 calories could be very painful.

vs1023

Figure out your TDEE and subtract no more than 500 calories from that. I'd start modestly at around a 10-15% deficit. Again it's just an estimation and you will have to be very accurate for a month and then assess by weighing yourself and also take measurements before and after. If you maintain on whatever # you chose you can take each of your days total cals, add them and then average them to figure out your "true" TDEE. So if you have maintained on that # subtract some off of that again, do it for a month, rinse and repeat.

I did this experiment for a month at one time and it gave me a TDEE of 2500 based on my own experience, so taking 500 from that would be 2000 cals/day everyday. Re-assess in a month. I don't like doing 500. I typically start with 2-300. Baby steps, slow ..because who wants to eat LESS food if they don't have to?

When I do it this way I override MFP's settings and input my own caloric goal, I don't enter my exercise cals burned and just eat that # of calories or close to it everyday. I also specfied my macros (Protein, carb and fat) grams instead of percentages. This is a bit more involved, but another option (IIFYM - if it fits your macros).

Eat less + do more doesn't always work.

vismal

Why has no one mentioned that's its a little suspicious she knows her exact BMR and TDEE down to the calorie? Maybe she used a calculator and got an ESTIMATION of what someone her height and weight would likely have if she was average. The thing about BMR and more so TDEE is it's not a static number.

IMO the OP needs to start again fresh. If I was her I'd slowly up calories to 2000 then eat that level for A MONTH! Be extremely strict with your calorie counting and do not do any cheating. At 2000 calories you should not feel deprived or the need to do any cheating. Weigh 100% of what you put into your mouth. Watch what your weight does over the course of this month. If it goes up DONT reduce calories. It's likely water weight or glycogen.

After the month goes by we can assume a few things. Any metabolic slowdown should have reversed. Hormones like cortisol and leptin should have returned to normal. At this point you can begin to reduce calories. Maybe by 250 or so at first. If you lose weight, great, stick to that number. If you do not after about 3 weeks go by, drop another 250 calories. The biggest key in all of this will be consistency in your counting. If you aren't extremely confident in how much you are eating, this entire method WON'T WORK.

At the end of the day, even taking into account metabolic slowdown, calories in vs calories out still apply. Also people who experience 20% slowdowns have been on large caloric deficits for long periods of time. Most people don't see that kind of slowdown from typical dieting for typical periods of time. One way to avoid such massive slowdowns is to take diet break every 8-12 weeks. Raise calories back to maintenance for 2 weeks for every 8-12 weeks of dieting. This provides a good mental break as well. It may make it seem like dieting takes forever but when you compare it to being stalled for months, it's really not that bad.

dluckylucas

Why has no one mentioned that's its a little suspicious she knows her exact BMR and TDEE down to the calorie? Maybe she used a calculator and got an ESTIMATION of what someone her height and weight would likely have if she was average. The thing about BMR and more so TDEE is it's not a static number.

IMO the OP needs to start again fresh. If I was her I'd slowly up calories to 2000 then eat that level for A MONTH! Be extremely strict with your calorie counting and do not do any cheating. At 2000 calories you should not feel deprived or the need to do any cheating. Weigh 100% of what you put into your mouth. Watch what your weight does over the course of this month. If it goes up DONT reduce calories. It's likely water weight or glycogen.

After the month goes by we can assume a few things. Any metabolic slowdown should have reversed. Hormones like cortisol and leptin should have returned to normal. At this point you can begin to reduce calories. Maybe by 250 or so at first. If you lose weight, great, stick to that number. If you do not after about 3 weeks go by, drop another 250 calories. The biggest key in all of this will be consistency in your counting. If you aren't extremely confident in how much you are eating, this entire method WON'T WORK.

At the end of the day, even taking into account metabolic slowdown, calories in vs calories out still apply. Also people who experience 20% slowdowns have been on large caloric deficits for long periods of time. Most people don't see that kind of slowdown from typical dieting for typical periods of time. One way to avoid such massive slowdowns is to take diet break every 8-12 weeks. Raise calories back to maintenance for 2 weeks for every 8-12 weeks of dieting. This provides a good mental break as well. It may make it seem like dieting takes forever but when you compare it to being stalled for months, it's really not that bad.

Yes, I did use two separate calculators found online I thought it would be good to get as much info as I could for my OP.
And for added info. regarding my activity.... I am doing a weekly spin class (I burned 643 calories according to the heart monitor today), boot camp (very intense), interval / circuit training / weight training classes at the gym 4 times a week plus yoga and walking 2 -3 times a week. My walks are about 45 minutes. I wear a fitbit daily and hit my 10k step and all of my calories on fitbit each day. My fit bit says I burn 2000+ calories a day and I don't log my exercise classes. I do this in addition to chasing my 2 year old around our 1 acre of land (we live in the country). I also garden and keep house. I am an active person. All of this activity for at least the past 6 months, except the gym. I added the gym classes 2 months ago. Prior to the gym I was walk/ jogging pushing the toddler in stroller. Sometimes I will start to lose a few pounds and then hit a social function on the weekend and I am right back where I started on Monday. So with eating more on the weekend I gain.

vismal

Why has no one mentioned that's its a little suspicious she knows her exact BMR and TDEE down to the calorie? Maybe she used a calculator and got an ESTIMATION of what someone her height and weight would likely have if she was average. The thing about BMR and more so TDEE is it's not a static number.

IMO the OP needs to start again fresh. If I was her I'd slowly up calories to 2000 then eat that level for A MONTH! Be extremely strict with your calorie counting and do not do any cheating. At 2000 calories you should not feel deprived or the need to do any cheating. Weigh 100% of what you put into your mouth. Watch what your weight does over the course of this month. If it goes up DONT reduce calories. It's likely water weight or glycogen.

After the month goes by we can assume a few things. Any metabolic slowdown should have reversed. Hormones like cortisol and leptin should have returned to normal. At this point you can begin to reduce calories. Maybe by 250 or so at first. If you lose weight, great, stick to that number. If you do not after about 3 weeks go by, drop another 250 calories. The biggest key in all of this will be consistency in your counting. If you aren't extremely confident in how much you are eating, this entire method WON'T WORK.

At the end of the day, even taking into account metabolic slowdown, calories in vs calories out still apply. Also people who experience 20% slowdowns have been on large caloric deficits for long periods of time. Most people don't see that kind of slowdown from typical dieting for typical periods of time. One way to avoid such massive slowdowns is to take diet break every 8-12 weeks. Raise calories back to maintenance for 2 weeks for every 8-12 weeks of dieting. This provides a good mental break as well. It may make it seem like dieting takes forever but when you compare it to being stalled for months, it's really not that bad.

Yes, I did use two separate calculators found online I thought it would be good to get as much info as I could for my OP.
And for added info. regarding my activity.... I am doing a weekly spin class (I burned 643 calories according to the heart monitor today), boot camp (very intense), interval / circuit training / weight training classes at the gym 4 times a week plus yoga and walking 2 -3 times a week. My walks are about 45 minutes. I wear a fitbit daily and hit my 10k step and all of my calories on fitbit each day. My fit bit says I burn 2000+ calories a day and I don't log my exercise classes. I do this in addition to chasing my 2 year old around our 1 acre of land (we live in the country). I also garden and keep house. I am an active person. All of this activity for at least the past 6 months, except the gym. I added the gym classes 2 months ago. Prior to the gym I was walk/ jogging pushing the toddler in stroller. Sometimes I will start to lose a few pounds and then hit a social function on the weekend and I am right back where I started on Monday. So with eating more on the weekend I gain.

I stick by my original advise then. Completely reboot. Be more consistent with your calories. If you are going to eat more on the weekend, eat less through the week. You only need to average your daily calorie limit, not hit it every day. If your goal is 2000 you can eat 1700 M-F then have 2750 on Saturday and Sunday. When you reduce calories after you reset, you can reduce them from your M-F or your weekend. I would advise not going crazy with this deviation though. While you technically can do something like eat 1000 calories M-F and have a lots of calories over the weekend, massive swings like this make consistency and compliance an issue.

heybales

Yes, I did use two separate calculators found online I thought it would be good to get as much info as I could for my OP.
And for added info. regarding my activity.... I am doing a weekly spin class (I burned 643 calories according to the heart monitor today), boot camp (very intense), interval / circuit training / weight training classes at the gym 4 times a week plus yoga and walking 2 -3 times a week. My walks are about 45 minutes. I wear a fitbit daily and hit my 10k step and all of my calories on fitbit each day. My fit bit says I burn 2000+ calories a day and I don't log my exercise classes. I do this in addition to chasing my 2 year old around our 1 acre of land (we live in the country). I also garden and keep house. I am an active person. All of this activity for at least the past 6 months, except the gym. I added the gym classes 2 months ago. Prior to the gym I was walk/ jogging pushing the toddler in stroller. Sometimes I will start to lose a few pounds and then hit a social function on the weekend and I am right back where I started on Monday. So with eating more on the weekend I gain.

Not sure why you aren't using your tools properly then. You obviously know you burn much more than 2000 calories then, since Fitbit can't estimate calorie burn on non-step based activity.
If you gain that much over the weekend to show up - it's water weight. That just shows how muscle glucose depleted you are.

You have a device that can help greatly in determining your TDEE, if you use it correctly.

I just did a 39 day review of my Fitbit stats compared to actual weight loss and amount eaten during some training for event.
Calculated TDEE based on results was 3528 (42 hrs of training during that time), Fitbit with corrected manually logged workouts was 3494. That's 1% difference.

So you have a HRM to get perhaps better estimate of calories burned in your workouts.
Manually log all your workouts but the walking, you burn more doing that stuff then Fitbit is aware of.
Log on Fitbit or MFP, doesn't matter, causes the same effect.
Sync up MFP and Fitbit in case you don't, negative and positive adjustments.
Set the MFP activity level to Lightly Active, since you obviously are with kid at home outside of all that exercise.
Set your weight loss goal to reasonable amount on MFP, the 1lb for now, 1/2 lb when down to last 10 lbs.

And you do need to follow the reset advice above first, the Fitbit calorie burns are based on a healthy body, so is HRM. Yours isn't right now, so those estimates are off.
Increase eating by 100 a day, for a week at a time. Get up to what a corrected Fitbit daily burn says.

dluckylucas

Why has no one mentioned that's its a little suspicious she knows her exact BMR and TDEE down to the calorie? Maybe she used a calculator and got an ESTIMATION of what someone her height and weight would likely have if she was average. The thing about BMR and more so TDEE is it's not a static number.

IMO the OP needs to start again fresh. If I was her I'd slowly up calories to 2000 then eat that level for A MONTH! Be extremely strict with your calorie counting and do not do any cheating. At 2000 calories you should not feel deprived or the need to do any cheating. Weigh 100% of what you put into your mouth. Watch what your weight does over the course of this month. If it goes up DONT reduce calories. It's likely water weight or glycogen.

After the month goes by we can assume a few things. Any metabolic slowdown should have reversed. Hormones like cortisol and leptin should have returned to normal. At this point you can begin to reduce calories. Maybe by 250 or so at first. If you lose weight, great, stick to that number. If you do not after about 3 weeks go by, drop another 250 calories. The biggest key in all of this will be consistency in your counting. If you aren't extremely confident in how much you are eating, this entire method WON'T WORK.

At the end of the day, even taking into account metabolic slowdown, calories in vs calories out still apply. Also people who experience 20% slowdowns have been on large caloric deficits for long periods of time. Most people don't see that kind of slowdown from typical dieting for typical periods of time. One way to avoid such massive slowdowns is to take diet break every 8-12 weeks. Raise calories back to maintenance for 2 weeks for every 8-12 weeks of dieting. This provides a good mental break as well. It may make it seem like dieting takes forever but when you compare it to being stalled for months, it's really not that bad.

Yes, I did use two separate calculators found online I thought it would be good to get as much info as I could for my OP.
And for added info. regarding my activity.... I am doing a weekly spin class (I burned 643 calories according to the heart monitor today), boot camp (very intense), interval / circuit training / weight training classes at the gym 4 times a week plus yoga and walking 2 -3 times a week. My walks are about 45 minutes. I wear a fitbit daily and hit my 10k step and all of my calories on fitbit each day. My fit bit says I burn 2000+ calories a day and I don't log my exercise classes. I do this in addition to chasing my 2 year old around our 1 acre of land (we live in the country). I also garden and keep house. I am an active person. All of this activity for at least the past 6 months, except the gym. I added the gym classes 2 months ago. Prior to the gym I was walk/ jogging pushing the toddler in stroller. Sometimes I will start to lose a few pounds and then hit a social function on the weekend and I am right back where I started on Monday. So with eating more on the weekend I gain.

I stick by my original advise then. Completely reboot. Be more consistent with your calories. If you are going to eat more on the weekend, eat less through the week. You only need to average your daily calorie limit, not hit it every day. If your goal is 2000 you can eat 1700 M-F then have 2750 on Saturday and Sunday. When you reduce calories after you reset, you can reduce them from your M-F or your weekend. I would advise not going crazy with this deviation though. While you technically can do something like eat 1000 calories M-F and have a lots of calories over the weekend, massive swings like this make consistency and compliance an issue.

Thank you VISMAL, nice body by the way & at 118 lbs lost seems you know what you are doing! I will seriously consider your advice! I meet with a dietician today and will discuss further. Thanks again to all that have helped me try and get a handle on this.

dluckylucas

Additionally, it would be really challenging for me to eat 2000 calories a day. I would be afraid of a few things:

1. Feeling really crappy from all of the food, eating "too much" makes me feel sluggish.
2. My pants won't fit in a week or less, I would have nothing to wear!
3. Gaining more weight from the experiment and having even more to lose in the long run? Plus I would be used to eating a lot, wouldn't that "stretch the stomach?"
4. I don't see how I would even ingest that much food on a busy day? That would be almost twice as many calories as I am currently eating. I am a busy mom and currently using protein bars and shakes (lunch and snacks) to get to my 1200 calories. Would I be doubling up on all my snacks and shakes?
5. Those who advised this method are men, have any women tried this "re-set?" I would love to hear from you.

Again, I will ask the dietician..... but these are all thing things that pop up in my head when I hear 2000 calories. Am I over thinking this whole thing?

vismal

Additionally, it would be really challenging for me to eat 2000 calories a day. I would be afraid of a few things:

1. Feeling really crappy from all of the food, eating "too much" makes me feel sluggish.
2. My pants won't fit in a week or less, I would have nothing to wear!
3. Gaining more weight from the experiment and having even more to lose in the long run? Plus I would be used to eating a lot, wouldn't that "stretch the stomach?"
4. I don't see how I would even ingest that much food on a busy day? That would be almost twice as many calories as I am currently eating. I am a busy mom and currently using protein bars and shakes (lunch and snacks) to get to my 1200 calories. Would I be doubling up on all my snacks and shakes?
5. Those who advised this method are men, have any women tried this "re-set?" I would love to hear from you.

Again, I will ask the dietician..... but these are all thing things that pop up in my head when I hear 2000 calories. Am I over thinking this whole thing?

I can address all of those points.

1. If you choose your foods right, 2000 calories doesn't have to feel any more or less then 1500 calories. Use calorie dense foods like peanut butter, avocado, nuts, etc.
2. You will not gain fat eating 2000 calories a day if your maintenance is higher then 2000 calories a day. You must eat 3500 calories above maintenance to gain 1 lb of fat. Any gained weight would be water and glycogen
3. See number 2
4. You can increase calories any way you want. Meal timing is largely irrelevant. Also, how accurate is that 1200 count. Do you weigh all your food on a scale or do you use things like cups and tablespoons (those are meant for liquids) or even worse, do you just estimate? Sometimes a poorly counted 1200 calories is almost the same as an accurately counted 2000. How often do you eat out or have food you do not prepare? Most people, especially active people need more then 1200 calories and feel hungry if they truly go that low.
5. Being a women vs. a man doesn't make a difference here. We all lose weight if we eat less then we burn. We all gain weight if we eat more then we burn (in the long run of course). All the reset is for is to attempt to establish your actual maintenance calories. If you TDEE is really around 2200 then any weight gained cannot be fat. You will technically still be in a deficit.

I think the most important thing here is how accurate your calorie count really is. Your diary is not public so I can only speculate (if you make it public I can look at it and be more precise). Like I mentioned above, if your calorie count is off, it would literally explain everything. Are you still strict with counting on the weekends as well? They count just as much and it's quite easy to eat/drink away the entire weeks deficit during the weekend. At the end of the day, even if metabolic slowdown has occurred, calories in vs calories out will always determine long term losses or gains in weight.

dluckylucas

"t's quite easy to eat/drink away the entire weeks deficit during the weekend." Yes, as mentioned before this could be my problem. I wouldn't be surprised if it is my only problem. I tend to have social events on the weekend that always include a glass or two of wine and some snacking. I am always at least 2 pounds up on Monday morning. I don't eat dairy or gluten and try to keep the snacking protein based. I own a seafood restaurant, so if I am eating out, I will eat my restaurant food but again I keep it to just fish and veggies, prepared in a "dietary" way. I mostly do my protein shakes for breakfast and lunch and go by the calorie count on the cartons. I do measure also but you are right I use measuring cups and tablespoons. I also graze a lot out of my garden and then estimate my salad / greens & veggies intake. For snacks, i count out my almonds or eat a protein bar and the nutrition info is on the back so I use that in my calculations. Sounds like I need to not have so much fun on the weekend and use my food scale! Do you think if I do these things I should still do the reset???

shortntall1

Ok my TDEE is 2385 and my BMR is 1735 and I eat around 1300 - 1400 a day. Am I too low? I have it set for 2 lbs a week loss.