Im so confused I thought I was on the right track

AngelAura777

But I think Im calculating my calories wrong I have been eating at 1800-1900 calories for about a week and a half and I thought I was eating at my tdee at a 15-20% Deficit but now im starting to think I have been eating at maintenance the whole time. I was eating back my exercise calories even though I used a TDEE calculator that included activity level.

Im 22 5 foot 5 inches I weigh 69kgs and I exercise 6-7 times a week with 3 strength sessions and 3-4 light to moderate cardio sessions So I Selected moderate activity and my TDEE is 2342
So I worked it out and 20% less is minus around 470 calories which brings me to 1872 calories as my goal.

I weighed myself (I know the scales lie) and my weight hasn't changed in 2 weeks but neither has my inches at all so thats why I have a suspicion that im maintaining.

Should I be eating up to 1872 calories overall before exercise calories are subtracted and not eat back my exercise calories or should I be Netting 1872 calories after exercise is subtracted??

31prvrbs

Hey girl,

If you're eating your TDEE and eating exercise cals back, then yes, you would be eating at maintenance. TDEE figures exercise cals in, so there is no need to eat them back....

*****BUT****....considering how much you exercise, you may have picked the wrong activity level, which would mean that you are actually still pretty close to your deficit, and just need to be consistent at the new cal level.

using this calculator, select the total amount of HOURS you work out per week, to see what your activity level *truly* is (most people underestimate):
http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/

It will give you your BMR, TDEE and your deficit cals. eat your deficit amount daily (*without* eating back exercise cals, as they are already figured in)


2 weeks is still a bit soon to see results in the beginning. Your body needs to adapt to the new level of cals, which is why you have to figure out your numbers and then stay there for 4-6 weeks consistently..


~Kiki

Whisperinghorse

Thanks for the Scooby calculator link.... Looks like I've been eating too much :embarassed:

witrixie2011

Thanks for the Scooby calculator link.... Looks like I've been eating too much :embarassed:

Oops!! I think I was eating too much too! :blushing:

With how hectic my life has gotten, I don't really fit in the 1-3 hours or 3-5 hours of exercise category. So I'm going to take the average of the two and try it for a month. Hopefully it'll get me back on track.

AngelAura777

Thanks! that calculator is great! it makes sense I have been eating just a little bit over my deficit now I can be more consistent because I know how much I should be eating instead of changing my calorie goal all the time because I wasnt sure!

nutritionwhiz

Yep - I was in the same situation. Trying to net 1900 per day instead of just having food intake at 1900. I figure the last couple of weeks this put me at maintenance so I have reset metabolism in case it was messed up before. Just started on Monday to eat 1900 food intake. Still tracking exercise as this is a goal of mine also. I find I exceed my minutes per week goal for exercising but fall short of my calories burned per week goal. So working to reach this target while keeping my intake consistent.

Keep up the good work!

harlanJEN

INTERESTING ! I just used the calcs at the Scooby site. Confirmed I was right on. Mifflin puts my TDEE at 2297; Harris-Benedict at 2404. The calcs I'd done earlier put my TDEE in the 2200-2400 range. COOL BEANS ! But, what I liked about this site is that it gave you options for lose fat/gain muscle and 5%, 10%, etc. reductions. So ... I've been eating a tad too low I think - not drastic. But even with the Mifflin calcs - 1900 is where I will choose my deficit once I come off a week of maintenance.

From what I"ve read, Mifflin is about 5% more accurate than Harris, so I"m using those #s.