Eating enough to lose weight??...sent by a bootcamp instruct

kaylasmomjenn

Mine is saying 2070. There's no way I'd ever be able to eat that much.

LorinaLynn

Thank you for the information.

I have done the calculations over and over and my number is 1726. A 500 calorie deficit to lose leaves me with 1226. This is lower than my calories allotment give to me here at MFP. That's my BMR 1255.45 calculated from the above formula) times my lifestyle (lightly active at 1.375). Why are my maintenance and all other numbers so much lower than everyone's?

I'm sorry if I seem extremely dense.

You're already quite small and shouldn't be aiming to lose 1# a week at this stage. At most, you should aim for .5# a week, or 250 calories below maintenance. I'm older than you, so at 133# my maintenance is around 1730.

Also, try calculating your body fat percentage from a site like this: http://www.scientificpsychic.com/fitness/diet.html It will be an estimate, but it will give you a rough idea where you are. Your goal weight of 110# might not be realistic. I was 110 or less in my teens and early 20s, but back then I had a lean body mass of around 90#. Now, I have a lean body mass of around 106#, so there's no way I could possibly weigh 110 again without losing a LOT of my muscle mass. And without my muscle, I'd be bony AND flabby. Not a look I want.

GCNerd

Bump. I got 2163 to maintain and taking off 500 still gives me an amount much higher than what MFP tells me. I'm wondering if I should adjust my goals on here...

CorinthiaB

I did this last week. However, I followed the spike method whereas I had one day that I had over my BMR. I lost 1.2lbs and broke my plateau. my bmr from the bmr calculator is 1997.2. I then multiplied 1997.2*1.55 to get my total calories needed to maintain. the 1.5 is from the Benedict Harris method for calculating BMR. My level of exercise at 3-5 days a week yielded 1.55. My total calories needed is 3,095.66 that is high. But, I don't want to maintain, I want to lose so I subtracted 1,000 from that number. I came up with 2,095.66. To not exceed my my BMR I capped my calories accordingly. I eat at my BMR for 3 days and I eat below my BMR by 500 calories 3 days. Then on my spike day I may eat 3,000 calories, I am hungry and desire that much food.

lelasutt

bump

smcolton

Bump

amylynna1

Yeah, I used the number 66 instead of 665. Got 1105. Makes a LOT more sense!

then number should be 665. Remember this is about losing fat and gaining muscle. Anything under 1200 is really bad. I was at 1200 and didnt loose uped to 1400 and lost 2 pds!!!

amylynna1

For all those saying , omg no way i should at that much, you are wrong. Just plain wrong. I know, because I was thinking the same way you think for YEARS. a few months ago i was reading a blog that gave me the same info as the OP and i was like, WOW! All this time, i was thinking that eating so few calories would help me lose weight. but it doesnt. AT ALL. please people, stop falling into the trap of thinking that you have to starve yourself to lose weight.

i eat 2260 calories a day, and I am LOSING weight. when i actually get off my fat butt and excercise, i lose even more.

PLEASE STOP BELIEVING YOU HAVE TO STARVE.

I eat 3 good meals and still have snacks and i am losing weight. no funny pills or drinks or anything stupid like that. i feel better, i sleep better. start eating healthier, and eat the right amount of food. its the way our bodies work. they need fuel. if you dont give them fuel, they start holding on to everything they can (fat) because your body needs energy. even if you just sit around all day and do nothing, it needs energy.

i cannot say it enough times, STOP STARVING YOURSELF.

figure out your BMR, multiply by your activity level, and get your daily calories. then just eat and excercise to keep yourself in between those numbers. try this site for finding your numbers. http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/

it works, plain and simple. anyone who works out, body builders, people in good shape will tell you this is what you need to do. and they are proof it works. these are people who eat 3000-4000 calories a day!!! :noway: and they stay fit because thats what their bodies need. so, make sure you dont just do cardio. add in some sort of strength or resistance training. muscle burns more calories than fat. you dont have to be super buff, just challenge your muscles, eat lots of lean proteins to help them grow, and your body will use even more calories.


please please please stop thinking you need to starve. i see so many people doing the same thing i was doing, eating RIDICULOUSLY low amounts of calories, and then wondering why they arent losing weight. eat, be healthy and good luck to you all!!! :happy:

Thank you for posting! Your are living proof. I also though I had to starve myself. I love my life now that I can eat (HEALTHY) that is and still loose fat!! YAY!

amylynna1

For all those saying , omg no way i should at that much, you are wrong. Just plain wrong. I know, because I was thinking the same way you think for YEARS. a few months ago i was reading a blog that gave me the same info as the OP and i was like, WOW! All this time, i was thinking that eating so few calories would help me lose weight. but it doesnt. AT ALL. please people, stop falling into the trap of thinking that you have to starve yourself to lose weight.

i eat 2260 calories a day, and I am LOSING weight. when i actually get off my fat butt and excercise, i lose even more.

PLEASE STOP BELIEVING YOU HAVE TO STARVE.

I eat 3 good meals and still have snacks and i am losing weight. no funny pills or drinks or anything stupid like that. i feel better, i sleep better. start eating healthier, and eat the right amount of food. its the way our bodies work. they need fuel. if you dont give them fuel, they start holding on to everything they can (fat) because your body needs energy. even if you just sit around all day and do nothing, it needs energy.

i cannot say it enough times, STOP STARVING YOURSELF.

figure out your BMR, multiply by your activity level, and get your daily calories. then just eat and excercise to keep yourself in between those numbers. try this site for finding your numbers. http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/

it works, plain and simple. anyone who works out, body builders, people in good shape will tell you this is what you need to do. and they are proof it works. these are people who eat 3000-4000 calories a day!!! :noway: and they stay fit because thats what their bodies need. so, make sure you dont just do cardio. add in some sort of strength or resistance training. muscle burns more calories than fat. you dont have to be super buff, just challenge your muscles, eat lots of lean proteins to help them grow, and your body will use even more calories.


please please please stop thinking you need to starve. i see so many people doing the same thing i was doing, eating RIDICULOUSLY low amounts of calories, and then wondering why they arent losing weight. eat, be healthy and good luck to you all!!! :happy:

Every word of this.

I lost weight eating between 1800-2000 calories a day. I lost more weight, faster, with a larger percentage of that weight from fat, than I did eating half that amount years ago.

Thank you for sharing, by the way you look GREAT! I plan to get there!

amylynna1

Thanks OP for the information. I researched and found my numbers. I started this on last Tuesday. I am here to say that I broke a almost 4 month plateau.It worked for me. I found the calories I needed to maintain and I subtracted a 2lb deficit from that number. I haven't been hungry. I love it!

I am SOOOO happy to hear this worked for you. YAY my post helped someone!!!

I am so sad so many people are not eating to supply their body with the correct nutrition they metabolism is so slow they can hardly heat 1200 without gaining. CHEER TO YOU!

amylynna1

The discussion here is so helpful....I feel like I am learning a new "language" with eating more to loose fat not muscle. I am failing miserably at eating the recommended calories..but now that I understand what will happen if I don't I will try even harder to get the healthy calories in. It all seems so crazy but is ANSWERS so many questions as to why I have always plateaued in the past and not lost my weight. Thanks!!

Happy this very active post helped you. I was new to this and its a real eye opener for me!

laura328

bump

amylynna1

My boot camp instructor sent this to me. I find it very interesting and wanted to share. I mean he is a fitness expert!

(Body Fat Burn Registration Link at the bottom…but read on!)

Over eating causes weight gain…duh.

But, did you know that under-eating is almost as bad as over eating?

Doesn’t seem to make sense, but its true…and the fact is that most people are guilty of under eating, most of the time.

Here’s the deal:

Your body is an amazing machine built for enormous stresses.

And, when put to the test it will revert back to one basic function: to survive at all costs.

When we under eat, we have a pretty nifty survival mechanism that kicks in.

The body actually thinks that there is a food shortage and a famine is coming (read up on Epigenetics for this one).

So, if you are trying to starve yourself skinny a couple of days out of the week,

even the very few calories that you do eat will be stored as fat because your body thinks that it needs those calories for survival later.

So what’s the solution if you can’t starve yourself skinny?

EAT! )

We need a certain amount of calories every day just to survive. That’s your Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR).

Your RMR is the amount of calories that you burn while just sitting there. A high RMR is a good thing…because it means less body fat.

The more muscle you have (muscle burns calories, fat does not) the higher your RMR.

The less muscle you have the lower your RMR (and the more body fat you’ll likely have).

That’s why some cardio is good, but strength training/resistance training like we do in boot camp is key when it comes to looking awesome (naked).

So, give your body the right nutrients in the right portions (40% protein, 40% low glycemic carbs and 20% fats), eat at least 5 times per day and...

Your body will respond in amazing ways.

In fact all our campers decide to start eating this way are blown away at how fast the weight drops off…as in 4 to 5 pounds per week fast.

Its not rocket science or magic…just a neat little bit of physiology that YOU control )

So, exactly how many calories do YOU need to eat every day to maintain a lean sexy figure?

Grab your calculator and use the formula below:

For Women: 665 + (4.35 x weight in pounds) + (4.7 x height in inches) – (4.7 x age in years)

For Men: 66 + (6.23 x weight in pounds) + (12.7 x height in inches) – (6.8 x age in years)

Take the number from above and multiply it by the level of exercise listed below:

(i.e. If you’re doing boot camp 4+ days per week you fall into the Moderately Active to Very Active category - multiply by 1.55)

1.2 (Sedentary, Little or No Exercise)

1.375 (Lightly Active, Light Exercise 1 to 3 days per week)

1.55 (Moderately Active, Moderate exercise 3 to 5 days per week)

1.7 (Very Active, Hard exercise 6 to 7 days per week)

1.9 (Extremely Active, Hard daily exercise and/or physical job)

And viola! There ya have it!

Now you have your plan to eat to stay lean!

Can you elaborate about how exercise will play a role in this. I think the numbers are scaring people. (If you already did that, I apologize, there are a lot of posts to go through still). In another topic I had posted regarding the BMR/RMR, I was told to subtract 500 to 800 from the total obtained from the formula above (which includes the activity level), and that was to be my daily target to consume per day.

your exercise is accounted for in the calculation. For instance mine was 1830 and I try to consume that each day. If I dont exercise I go under like 1600 or so. I know the numbers sound scary but take the big number like 2300 and substrate the 500 for a loss and simply trust your body. It may not happen overnight but it will lead to fat loss if you are honest with the process, calculations and commitment!

amylynna1

I have read and reread this information several times today to try and get a clear understanding. Can someone please tell me where the 40% carbs/40% proteins/30% fat comes from? I saw that someone had 40%/30%/20%. How do I calculate what my percentages should be for 1 lb/week weight loss? Help!

Im sorry I did not write this but only posted it. I was told the 40 40 30 is or close 40 30 20 is good calculation for fat loss.

use the calculation noted and take the large number you get and subtract 500 from the total. This will lead to 1ob weight loss projected*

amylynna1

So if my BMR is 1341 I should take away a 500 deficit to lose?
[/quote

Your BMR should not be 1341 I dont think, Where did you get that number, Please try to recalculate

NYCDutchess

This is totally confusing to me, can you help me?

fimary

bump, thanks as this applies to me, have never eaten enough and always put on weight.

chefgorman

to read later

ratherbeskiing

mine was 1635.25 mfp has me at 1560 so close! :bigsmile:

FitMama2013

I know a lot of people are VERY skeptical of the "eat more to lose" mentality, but I can tell you that it's working for me.

When I started here at MFP at 239 I was eating around 1,500 gross calories per day and burning between 700-1,300 calories a day through exercise (100% cardio). So I was netting between 200-800 calories per day and I dropped 32lbs really quickly (within 4 months).

Last October, my weight loss came to a HALT. I re-evaluated, changed my workouts to more strength training and less cardio, but kept eating the same.

It wasn't until the end of January when I started P90X and started eating ALOT more that the scale started to move. I eat at my TDEE sedentary, add my exercise calories, then subtract 500 to get a 1 pound per week deficit. So:

TDEE sedentary for a 5'6 female weighing 203: 2159
Add an average of 600 for my workout: 2759
Subtract 500 to get a deficit: 2259

So, I aim for 2,259 each day. Days that I work out extra, I eat extra.

I can tell you that I feel 100% better, stronger, healthier, and fitter, and I don't have any trouble at all getting in my calories when they are healthy ones. And I'm still losing weight - not super fast, but fast enough to be healthy and sustainable.

When I did the formula in this post, it's nearly the same as the TDEE process I described above - I did it for sedentary (so multiplied by 1.2) and got 2,229 calories, to which I would need to add my exercise and then subtract a deficit. I use sedentary since my exercise varies each day with P90X - some days it is intense and some days it's yoga.

For those who are stalling - give it a try. What's the worst that happens??? And when I say give it a try, I mean for at least a month. You may not see results immediately, but a few weeks later I can definitely see a change.

There are a bunch of really smart women in the women eating 2,000+ calories per day group...if you have specific questions, they might be able to help!

becky2967

this is the part that amazes me.. my BMR is 2,500 but i know if i ate that i wouldnt loose weight, i was eating about 2,100 when i was gaining ;/ so now i am burning like 1,500+ each day and eating about 1,700... but for me it seems i only seem to lose from a small portion and excessive exercise. ( i do however have 2days a week of 500- exercise and a 2,000 eat) i would love to be able to eat more it would mean being able to have a proper tea rather than toast!

kaw811

I really think everyone is different. Makes sense, but what worked for me when I was in my 40s is not working now in my 50s. And trust me I am trying hard. I've been around the block a few times and know that people have different metabolisms and some definitely WOULD gain on that program and some would shed pounds easily enough.

It gets very discouraging when someone says THIS is the magic ticket and then it doesn't work for someone else. I am happy when something works for someone else though.

Find out what works for you...but in general I agree. We are hurting our bodies, stressing them out and making them susceptible to illness and disease when we over diet and over exercise.

ZarrX86

Thank you for sharing! But it seems kind of counter-intuitive. Why are anorexic people so thin, then? It just basically comes down to calories in, calories out.

Well the thing about that is if you starve yourself for long enough, yes you will lose weight. Your body will eventualy burn muscle away to feed you so youll eventually lose weight but in the most unhealthy way possible. thats why anorexic people look like twigs, they burned all their muscle away to feed themselves.

In short, not eating alot wont help you lose weight instantly, in the long run it will but is highly NOT recommended because you body will eventually use muscle to gets its calories

tmoyer1209

I have come to a halt on my weight loss, so it is worth a try to me. I recently started lifting more heavily and I will use this in combination for a month and see where I am at. I also had my bf% done recently, so I have a benchmark to compare to in addition to measurements and the scale.

LastMinuteMama

:flowerforyou: gonna read this later

SafireBleu

This is kind of confusing to me. Someone said it was different numbers if you wanted to lose fat and gain muscle at the same time is there anyway to get that formula? I'd love those numbers.

I think it was HelloitsDan that said he runs numbers for people. Did you say it is different calculations depending on your goal? I'd love some help figuring it out. I have been losing but so slowly, less than a pound most weeks no matter how much I work out.

ts1122

Yeah, I used the number 66 instead of 665. Got 1105. Makes a LOT more sense!

then number should be 665. Remember this is about losing fat and gaining muscle. Anything under 1200 is really bad. I was at 1200 and didnt loose uped to 1400 and lost 2 pds!!!

I was also at 1200 and upped only to 1300 but started losing more - I am now upping my calories again

insyweensy

bump

ladyraven68

I have come to a halt on my weight loss, so it is worth a try to me. I recently started lifting more heavily and I will use this in combination for a month and see where I am at. I also had my bf% done recently, so I have a benchmark to compare to in addition to measurements and the scale.

If you have your fat % try putting it in here - http://www.fat2fitradio.com/tools/bmr/

or ask helloitsdan very nicely and he'll run the numbers for you.

I was on 1200, had a big loss for a month, then stalled, so realised that eating under my BMR wasn't good for me.
Dan ran my numbers and I'm now on 1750

I was expecting a gain to start as my body sighed with relief at the extra food, but instead it came down.

Personally I am doing my best to stay within BMR and TDEE.

As you say, what I was doing before wasn't working so there's nothing to lose doing something different, except fat

SafireBleu

I run numbers daily for friends on MFP and they are losing weight between 1600-2700 calories.
This stuff works.
One thing to remember though is you wont see much scale movement for a while.
Most of the effects of this will be in body fat %.

is this the forumla you use to help friends set up their numbers?

I have a dietary calc I use for different types of diets.
It has settings for cuts, bulks, IF and concurrent fat loss/lean mass gains.
So far its been accurate as long as the person who gives me their stats has a proper body fat%.

This is the quote I was looking for. If I want concurrent fat loss and lean mass gains what would be the formula to use? If you could help me figure this out I'd really appreciate it.