Confused, need help?

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michelle2808
michelle2808 Posts: 68
in Health and Weight Loss
Please help me understand about calories that you eat, burn, ect......for example how many calories would I need to eat if I wanted to lose a pound a week? And the calories added back in for exercise, should I eat them back? I burn between 250-350 a day depending on the exercise. I've toned up a lot but the weight isn't coming off like I hoped :(

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  • morganadk2_deleted
    morganadk2_deleted Posts: 1,696 Member
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    Are you eating to enough?

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/10589-for-those-confused-or-questioning-eating-your-exercise-calo

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/61706-guide-to-calorie-deficit


    This is just a part of it! please read the link above


    Generally someone with a BMI over 32 can do a 1000 calorie a day (2 lbs a week) deficit
    With a BMI of 30 to 32 a deficit of 750 calories is generally correct (about 1.5 lbs a week)
    With a BMI of 28 to 30 a deficit of 500 calories is about right (about 1 lb a week)
    With a BMI of 26 to 28 a deficit of about 300 calories is perfect (about 1/2 lb a week)
    and below 26... well this is where we get fuzzy. See now you're no longer talking about being overweight, so while it's still ok to have a small deficit, you really should shift your focus more towards muscle tone, and reducing fat. This means is EXTRA important to eat your exercise calories as your body needs to KNOW it's ok to burn fat stores, and the only way it will know is if you keep giving it the calories it needs to not enter the famine response (starvation mode)


    Also this might be helpful http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/00trayn/view/how-to-bust-a-3-month-plateau-87677



    Good luck on your journey
  • naedeeny
    naedeeny Posts: 17
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    Your Daily Calorie Intake to Lose 1 lb. Per Week

    1. Add a zero to your body weight 150+0= 1500

    2. Add 20% for extra daily activity +300

    3. Daily caloric rate =1800

    4. Subtract 500 calories per day -500
    **By eating 500 calories less or by burning 500 calories through exercise

    5. Total =1300


    That calculation should give you a good idea as to how many calories you should be consuming per day...If you multiply the 500 calories times 7 days will add up to 3500 calories which is equivalent to a pound. If you want to lose 2 lbs for the week then subtract 1000 calories per day. That's only if you have that much weight to lose...
  • beccarockslife
    beccarockslife Posts: 816 Member
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    If you've toned up then you've built muscle mass, you may find the fat will start to burn off soon. You don't have much to lose and age will have something to do with it. How tall are you?

    Might be worth opening up your diary so people can give more rounded advice.
  • michelle2808
    michelle2808 Posts: 68
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    I have my calorie set at 1380, it was at 1200 but I didn't feel like I was eating enough so I increased it....is 1380 too high? I'm 149lbs
  • lbfrueh
    lbfrueh Posts: 87
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    I eat 1200 calories a day and have lost a pound a week when I haven't cheated here and there. I know when I don't eat all my calories I've burned, I lose. Sometimes I dip a little into them and other times I eat my 1200. That keeps your body out of starvation. Gotta eat at least that much.

    I have a friend on here who was burning about 250-300 a day running and she would turn around and eat her calories. She wasn't losing anything. Then someone on here I think told her to stop doing that and now she is losing.

    I hope this gives some type of idea but maybe someone else can give you exact information (like a nutritionist or fitness instructor because there are a lot of those on here!)

    Good luck!!
  • beccarockslife
    beccarockslife Posts: 816 Member
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    need to know how tall you are as well. MFP does the maths for you so you should be following that, and eating your exercise calories.
  • michelle2808
    michelle2808 Posts: 68
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    I;m 5'7" and 149lbs.....I opened my diary too :)
    If you've toned up then you've built muscle mass, you may find the fat will start to burn off soon. You don't have much to lose and age will have something to do with it. How tall are you?

    Might be worth opening up your diary so people can give more rounded advice.
    [/quote]
  • michelle2808
    michelle2808 Posts: 68
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    5'7" 149lbs 38yrs - goal weight is 135lbs
  • naedeeny
    naedeeny Posts: 17
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    I;m 5'7" and 149lbs.....I opened my diary too :)
    If you've toned up then you've built muscle mass, you may find the fat will start to burn off soon. You don't have much to lose and age will have something to do with it. How tall are you?

    Might be worth opening up your diary so people can give more rounded advice.
    [/quote]

    Your Daily Calorie Intake to Lose 1 lb. Per Week

    1. Add a zero to your body weight 149+0= 1490

    2. Add 20% for extra daily activity +299

    3. Daily caloric rate =1789

    4. Subtract 500 calories per day -500
    **By eating 500 calories less or by burning 500 calories through exercise

    5. Total =1289

    So you have to consume 1289 per day to lose a pound a week
  • michelle2808
    michelle2808 Posts: 68
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    I put my calorie intake at 1290....now I read a lot about "eating" your calories back? Good or bad?
  • naedeeny
    naedeeny Posts: 17
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    I put my calorie intake at 1290....now I read a lot about "eating" your calories back? Good or bad?

    If you eat them back and don't create a deficit then you won't lose any weight. You will maintain...
  • michelle2808
    michelle2808 Posts: 68
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    that's what I thought, most days I dont eat them back...if anything I may go over a few. I'm trying, this is all new to me :( but there are days when I still feel hungry, I dont' like to feel hungry becasue I dont want to over eat, does that make sense?
  • naedeeny
    naedeeny Posts: 17
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    that's what I thought, most days I dont eat them back...if anything I may go over a few. I'm trying, this is all new to me :( but there are days when I still feel hungry, I dont' like to feel hungry becasue I dont want to over eat, does that make sense?

    If you're feeling a bit hungry try consuming more water during the day. Another alternative is to slowly add 100 calories to your meals per day until you find a happy medium.

    Example:
    This week you eat 1390 and if you still feel hungry try and eat 1490 the next week. If you still feel hungry it means that your metabolism is on high and the best thing to do is to continue eating. Starving will not get results...eating healthy will.

    Don't feel bad, I had the same issue at first.
  • michelle2808
    michelle2808 Posts: 68
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    I drink about 10 to 12 8oz glasses of water per day......now let me ask you, it's not bad to eat a lot of fruits? I'm more of a fruit eater then a veggie eater, but I do get my veggies in there. Also, bananas are high in carbs, is that bad? I freak out if I ate somethign and logged it in here and then I see what it has in it, lol I've never read lables or anything, now I read everything....it takes me longer to shop now! ;)
  • Driagnor
    Driagnor Posts: 323 Member
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    With your age, height and weight you should be looking at a Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE) of about 1970 calories per day (assuming a lightly active lifestyle which I've based on your profile description).

    In order to lose 1 lb a week, you would need to have a 500 calorie per day deficit which would give you a daily calorie goal of 1470 calories per day.

    Now because this calculation includes your day to day activities but not any specific workouts, you should be looking to eat back your exercise calories in order to maintain the 500 calorie per day deficit - if you don't eat them back you may find that your body doesn't have enough energy and you become lethargic and your workouts suffer.

    Also, as you're pretty close to your goal weight, you may find that losing a lb a week may be difficult, but as long as you can get the scale moving in the right direction, you know you're doing things right.
  • naedeeny
    naedeeny Posts: 17
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    I drink about 10 to 12 8oz glasses of water per day......now let me ask you, it's not bad to eat a lot of fruits? I'm more of a fruit eater then a veggie eater, but I do get my veggies in there. Also, bananas are high in carbs, is that bad? I freak out if I ate somethign and logged it in here and then I see what it has in it, lol I've never read lables or anything, now I read everything....it takes me longer to shop now! ;)

    It definitely takes longer to shop!! I just stick to apples and oranges, fresh veggies, lean meats, almond milk, and non-fat yogurt. I stay away from banans because they are high in sugar and I can never have just one. Lol

    You should try adding calories to your meals..that may solve the issue at hand. The problem with eating more fruits is the sugar and carb content...it's good sugar and good carbs but if you load upon them it throws a wrench in your weight loss.
  • michelle2808
    michelle2808 Posts: 68
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    I eat a banana maybe every other day or even every 3 days.....hoever I like apples, but if I eat one it's only one a day; I started to eat an orange in the afternoon as I was told it may help when my energy drops later in the day. This weight lose process sure does take a lot of work, lol this when I start to say I dislike skinny people that can eat whatever they want and not gain a pound :( JK

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