Am I burning enough calories? Questions about eating back.

Skinny_Beans

Hello all :]

I'm a 5'4, 130 woman, I've lost 11 pounds so far just by changing my diet

I have only recently started logging in well to this site, but I find it quite helpful and inspiring! I have however become a calorie-nazi.

After reviewing a few threads on here, i'm starting to worry if I should cut out more calories? My BMR is 1345 calories a day according to this site, which of course is only an estimate. So I eat around 1200 calories a day, which is small yes, but remember I am short, and eat nutrient dense foods. I burn anywhere from 230-700ish calories by jogging and walking per day(and yes 700 is a lot, i'm talking 4-6 hour work outs :])

I should probably keep better count, but in the last two week's iv'e probably been burning around 1600 calories a week. If I have burned many calories in one day i will usually eat back about half of them.

My QUESTION(there it is!) is if it would be wise to lower my calorie intake by a few hundred cal in order to reach my goal of losing a pound per week? Thanks in advance for responses, and I'll try to give more info if you need it.

-Skinnybeans

foremant86

No.

Lowering your calories even farther will NOT help you lose weight faster. You can't starve your body and expect it to let go of fat.

love4fitnesslove4food_wechange

if you're burning ~ 200 calories a day on average in addition to your

1345 x 1.2 = 1614 calories burned sedentary then you're burning ~1800 calories total a day.

you're eating 1200, you already have ~600 deficit.

I'd recommend eating MORE not LESS. Perhaps 1500 calories a day and take it 1/2 pound a week. You're already close to goal and losing muscle will slow down your metabolism and make you "skinny fat" which I'm sure you don't want.

Skinny_Beans

So that'd be starving, eh? What do I do when i've burned a lot of calories-eat them back, eat some of 'em back, is it ok if I don't?

Skinny_Beans

if you're burning ~ 200 calories a day on average in addition to your

1345 x 1.2 = 1614 calories burned sedentary then you're burning ~1800 calories total a day.

you're eating 1200, you already have ~600 deficit.

I'd recommend eating MORE not LESS. Perhaps 1500 calories a day and take it 1/2 pound a week. You're already close to goal and losing muscle will slow down your metabolism and make you "skinny fat" which I'm sure you don't want.

Ah, the numbers confuse me, thanks for this!

LorinaLynn

At 130#, you don't have enough extra body fat to safely lose 1# week. If you try to cut your calories further, you'll end up burning too much muscle, and not enough fat.

Eating MORE than 1200 would be your best bet. You're young and still have a great metabolism. Take advantage of it! Set your goal to a half pound a week, get some exercise, log it and eat the calories. Bonus points for doing strength training...heavy stuff, too, not little girlie dumbbells. Take photos to gauge your progress, and don't get hung up on the scale.

Do that, and you're going to reach your goal body LONG before you reach your goal weight.

I'm twice your age, and lost weight eating an average of 1800-2000 calories a day.

Skinny_Beans

Actually my metabolism is horrible, and then took a major dip around a year ago I don't know if this will sound like utter b.s. , but people in my family tend to hold onto fat. Even when I was 120, I was fat-skinny(skinny-fat?)! True, I didn't tone back then, but the fat was there.

BUT I will try adjusting my calories as you and others have suggested! definitely have to do more strength training.

love4fitnesslove4food_wechange

So that'd be starving, eh? What do I do when i've burned a lot of calories-eat them back, eat some of 'em back, is it ok if I don't?

You'll get a mix of answers---i say eat them back. if you don't you'll LIKELY run into problems down the road. There's no point in starving yourself to goal. You're already thin--let the vanity pounds come off slowly and they'll stay off, they're also more likely to be fat. The larger the deficit the more muscle loss at this point.

Skinny_Beans

So that'd be starving, eh? What do I do when i've burned a lot of calories-eat them back, eat some of 'em back, is it ok if I don't?

You'll get a mix of answers---i say eat them back. if you don't you'll LIKELY run into problems down the road. There's no point in starving yourself to goal. You're already thin--let the vanity pounds come off slowly and they'll stay off, they're also more likely to be fat. The larger the deficit the more muscle loss at this point.

These aren't vanity pounds, I have a really large chest and a pad of fat under it, as well as a muffin top and flabby arms. But yes, starving seems unwise.

love4fitnesslove4food_wechange

So that'd be starving, eh? What do I do when i've burned a lot of calories-eat them back, eat some of 'em back, is it ok if I don't?

You'll get a mix of answers---i say eat them back. if you don't you'll LIKELY run into problems down the road. There's no point in starving yourself to goal. You're already thin--let the vanity pounds come off slowly and they'll stay off, they're also more likely to be fat. The larger the deficit the more muscle loss at this point.

These aren't vanity pounds, I have a really large chest and a pad of fat under it, as well as a muffin top and flabby arms. But yes, starving seems unwise.

you might not think they're vanity pounds but your body does. there's a difference between a healthy weight (for your body) and a goal weight (for your mind, aesthetics, vanity)

choirgirl1130

i would not recommend eat less calories than you are to avoid going into starvation mode. you might try adding some strength training into your exercise routine and not just cardio. you will be able to shape your body and increase muscle mass, which will increase your metabolism

Skinny_Beans

Oh, if we're just talking bmi, then yeah, i'm not "overweight", technically. Thanks for all the advice :]