If you are scared to increase calories

yarwell

So I'm confused do I use the Katch-McArdle BMR (1342) or the Harris-Benedict BMR (1604)?? Will that affect the TDEE (2130)?? Becasue the site is telling me the Katch-McArdle is more accurate....but the TDEE is measured based on the Harris-Benedict BMR.....

They are all estimates, derived from curve fitting to populations of test subjects. Few of the test subjects were massively overweight so the predictions can be quite a long way off. There are also ethnic and gender variations.

Katch-McArdle uses body fat to calculate lean mass and then predicts from that, others work on whole weight or height etc (presumably correlating height to lean mass). When I've used it for large ladies with high fat % it comes up with very low numbers that don't seem realistic,

If weight loss is your goal I would use the biggest number and set a deficit from that initially. If it doesn't work you can assume the actual BMR is lower and drop your intake accordingly after a decent period to see if you are losing.

soontobesam

I am in the process of trying to make some adjustments and I have been feeling a little overwhelmed. I'm going to get a tape measure to do all my measurements later this afternoon.

Thank you to all the MFP veterans who provide us newbs with helpful information and really support the community they are a part of.

:flowerforyou:

ElHombre23

Wow!! All this info is just super confusing!! I say, find what works for you and stick with it. Some methods work for some and not for others!! Weight loss doesn't have to be that complicated. Just saying.....

^^^This^^^

saverys_gal

Okay...I got my numbers all figured out and am starting today! Thanks to the OP and everyone else for posting this info!! :flowerforyou:

Now I have a question...I'm looking at having to add in an extra 600cals a day...how do I do that and still keep it fairly healthy? I almost always have a protein shake as a snack. I know nuts are high calorie but uh...eating too much nuts/seeds every day doesn't make my tummy too happy. :embarassed:
Also, what about sugar intake? With the amount of cals I've been consuming my sugar intake is right at MFP guidelines...I limit myself to one or two servings of fruit a day...and try not to have a lot of processed sugars. But if I'm going to be eating more it's inevitable that I'll get more sugar. Thoughts?

Feel free to have a look at my food diary. It's open. I eat very healthy...very little processed foods, mostly homemade items. Very little sugar, lots of proteins and only healthy carbs. Oh and I never really look at the MFP guidelines for sugar since I think their amount is too low anyway but all my sugar comes mostly from natural sources like fruits, veggies, etc. I think if your sugar is coming from natural sources and you're not overdoing it, you'll be fine.

If you want any recipes, just message me and I'll be happy to send them!!

Oh and I second what the OP said about the EM2WL group. They are amazing and supportive!!

Thanks for the response and suggestions! Your food for today is already looking quite yummy, I must say :flowerforyou:

kiku76

I am nervous about this, but am going to give it a shot!

Should I just up my cals by a few hundred for now or should I go all out??

I had a baby 6 weeks ago and had no limit on cals while I was pregnant, but then cut back to 1200. Haven't lost any since counting cals again.

holy smokes, increase them. Are you nursing? 1200 cals is going to negatively affect your milk supply and your energy!

yes! you are exclusively nursing and should include 500-700 more calories to keep your supply up. I logged BFing in my diary. For exclusively BFing it minuses 500 calories. I made sure to eat them back.
I'm nursing a 15 mon old and still make sure I eat that extra 300 calories.

I think it's amazing that you're still nursing! I am 100000% for extended breastfeeding. I plan to BF my kids until they self wean. Well done, mama!

thanks :)My son is a boobie boy. He loves to nurse. I dont foresee him weaning anytime soon and I wont force him. Unless he gets to be like, 3 and still nursing, then we seriously need to do something lol

sleepytexan

HOW TO CUSTOMIZE GOALS ON MFP, based on BMR (basal metabolic rate) and TDEE (total daily energy expenditure)

For those of you who would like to customize your daily calories, choose GOALS, CHANGE GOALS, CUSTOMIZE, then enter in the daily calories you would like to eat.

SPORADIC EXERCISERS, OR SEDENTARY PEOPLE JUST STARTING:

If you are a sporadic exerciser, it is best to use your BMR (basal metabolic rate) as your daily calorie goal. BMR is a great place to eat to lose weight because it already includes a deficit -- it's the amount of calories needed to keep you alive if you stay in bed all the time. As soon as you get up, the effort it takes just to live burns another 500-ish calories. So . . . if you enter your BMR number, eat there PLUS exercise calories.

REGULAR, CONSISTENT EXERCISERS:

If you are already very active and very CONSISTENT in your activities, TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure) is a great baseline for you. If you are still trying to lose, you might like to go to Fat2fitradio.com and figure out the TDEE for your ideal weight, and eat at that amount. This is very effective, especially because this will be the amount of calories you will eat FOREVER, instead of being fooled by eating 1200 (or whatever) to lose, and then upping to maintenance when/if you get there (that is a recipe for failure bc by the time you get there your metabolism is slowed, so when you eat maintenance calories you gain).

When you are eating at your TDEE to maintain (or at the TDEE of your ideal weight to lose), exercise is already included, so when you log your exercise into MFP, just log it as 1 calorie. That way you keep track of your exercise, but don't eat the calories twice.

blessings.

sleepytexan

WHY 1200 CALORIES MIGHT BE A BAD IDEA:

You lose weight for a while and maybe you will make it to goal (the bigger you are, the longer this will work, however most people can't get those last 10-20 lbs off at 1200 calories).

The longer you do this, the longer your metabolism has to adjust downward and get used to 1200 calories. Assuming you make it to goal, you want to maintain, right? What do you think is going to happen when/if you get there and it's time to maintain, when you start trying to eat "maintenance" calories? You'll gain. Welcome back to the yo-yo.


WHY EATING AT THE TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure) OF YOUR GOAL WEIGHT MIGHT BE A BETTER IDEA:

Eat now, like the thin you at maintenance. Fat2Ftiradio.com can help you find the TDEE of your ideal weight: Choose ALL CALCULATORS, MILITARY BODY FAT%, then get your bodyfat estimate. Now calculate your BMR, and look in the chart below to see the TDEE of your goal weight -- that is how much the thin you will eat at maintenance.

Eating at maintenance for your ideal weight is a great idea because you will eat THIS SAME AMOUNT of calories for life. Your metabolism will not slow down to match too little fuel (1200 calories), and consequently stall on the way to goal, or cause you to gain when you try to increase calories later to maintain.

BTW, if you have been eating below your BMR for an extended period of time, and especially if you have been stalled/plateaued for an extended period of time, you may experience a slight gain for some weeks after you increase to the proper amount of calories. However, at the point where your body adjusts to the proper amount of fuel based on your dally activities, you will begin to lose again and break through the plateau.

Blessings.

kiku76

HOW TO CUSTOMIZE GOALS ON MFP, based on BMR (basal metabolic rate) and TDEE (total daily energy expenditure)

For those of you who would like to customize your daily calories, choose GOALS, CHANGE GOALS, CUSTOMIZE, then enter in the daily calories you would like to eat.

SPORADIC EXERCISERS, OR SEDENTARY PEOPLE JUST STARTING:

If you are a sporadic exerciser, it is best to use your BMR (basal metabolic rate) as your daily calorie goal. BMR is a great place to eat to lose weight because it already includes a deficit because it's the amount of calories needed to keep you alive if you stay in bed all the time. As soon as you get up, the effort it takes just to live burns another 500-ish calories. So . . . if you enter your BMR number, eat there PLUS exercise calories.

REGULAR, CONSISTENT EXERCISERS:

If you are already very active and very CONSISTENT in your activities, TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure) is a great baseline for you. If you are still trying to lose, you might like to go to Fat2fitradio.com and figure out the TDEE for your ideal weight, and eat at that amount. This is very effective, especially because this will be the amount of calories you will eat FOREVER, instead of being fooled by eating 1200 (or whatever) to lose, and then upping to maintenance when/if you get there (that is a recipe for failure bc by the time you get there your metabolism is slowed, so when you eat maintenance calories you gain).

When you are eating at your TDEE to maintain (or at the TDEE of your ideal weight to lose), exercise is already included, so when you log your exercise into MFP, just log it as 1 calorie. That way you keep track of your exercise, but don't eat the calories twice.

blessings.

thanks for this. it makes more sense to me.
So if I do plan on logging my exercises, then my NET at the end of the day should be my TDEE (or the calories allotted from the fat2fit calculator both are very close for me 2196 and 2083)

sleepytexan

thanks for this. it makes more sense to me.
So if I do plan on logging my exercises, then my NET at the end of the day should be my TDEE (or the calories allotted from the fat2fit calculator both are very close for me 2196 and 2083)

yes. If you are that close, I guess you have just a little bit of weight to lose, so eating anywhere between 1883 - 2196 on any given day will keep you losing. This is a range of 200 less than the goal TDEE to your current TDEE. I love this flexibility of not stressing to a hard and fast number on any given day.

kiku76

thanks for this. it makes more sense to me.
So if I do plan on logging my exercises, then my NET at the end of the day should be my TDEE (or the calories allotted from the fat2fit calculator both are very close for me 2196 and 2083)

yes. If you are that close, I guess you have just a little bit of weight to lose, so eating anywhere between 1883 - 2196 on any given day will keep you losing. This is a range of 200 less than the goal TDEE to your current TDEE. I love this flexibility of not stressing to a hard and fast number on any given day.

I am 143. according to f2f, my goal weight is 125. is that considered a little?
see now I'm still lost. if I eat 2000 calories a day, and log my exercises, then my net at the end of the day should be closer to 1700? or am I technically eating the exercise calories and netting 2000?
sorry, I'm super confused and want to make sure i get this right.
crap maybe I should just not log my exercise at all LOL. then I eat 2000 a day right? even on my rest day?

tbresina

Hi! Hello there. Do me a favor and look at the bottom of my post here. See that? Yep, guess what? I eat more than 1200 calories a day. Yep, it works. Thank you for your time.

I love you miss Thang, so sassy!

sleepytexan

thanks for this. it makes more sense to me.
So if I do plan on logging my exercises, then my NET at the end of the day should be my TDEE (or the calories allotted from the fat2fit calculator both are very close for me 2196 and 2083)

yes. If you are that close, I guess you have just a little bit of weight to lose, so eating anywhere between 1883 - 2196 on any given day will keep you losing. This is a range of 200 less than the goal TDEE to your current TDEE. I love this flexibility of not stressing to a hard and fast number on any given day.

I am 143. according to f2f, my goal weight is 125. is that considered a little?
see now I'm still lost. if I eat 2000 calories a day, and log my exercises, then my net at the end of the day should be closer to 1700? or am I technically eating the exercise calories and netting 2000?
sorry, I'm super confused and want to make sure i get this right.
crap maybe I should just not log my exercise at all LOL. then I eat 2000 a day right? even on my rest day?

Your goal weight is whatever you say it is. F2F does not calculate a goal weight. You tell it what you want to weigh and it advises you what the TDEE for that weight is.

If you look at the F2F page, it will tell you your BMR in the paragraph above the chart. Your BMR is probably not 2000; that's probably the TDEE for your goal weight.

If you use your BMR, DO log and eat exercise calories. If you want to use the TDEE of your goal weight, your exercise is already included in the calculation. Either don't log exercise, or log it as 1 calorie.

EDIT: If you are consistent with your exercise, go ahead and eat between that 1883 - 2196 per day, every day, without eating exercise calories (they are already factored). If you are inconsistent with exercise, pick your BMR and log AND EAT exercise calories.

blessings.

kiku76

thanks for this. it makes more sense to me.
So if I do plan on logging my exercises, then my NET at the end of the day should be my TDEE (or the calories allotted from the fat2fit calculator both are very close for me 2196 and 2083)

yes. If you are that close, I guess you have just a little bit of weight to lose, so eating anywhere between 1883 - 2196 on any given day will keep you losing. This is a range of 200 less than the goal TDEE to your current TDEE. I love this flexibility of not stressing to a hard and fast number on any given day.

I am 143. according to f2f, my goal weight is 125. is that considered a little?
see now I'm still lost. if I eat 2000 calories a day, and log my exercises, then my net at the end of the day should be closer to 1700? or am I technically eating the exercise calories and netting 2000?
sorry, I'm super confused and want to make sure i get this right.
crap maybe I should just not log my exercise at all LOL. then I eat 2000 a day right? even on my rest day?

Your goal weight is whatever you say it is. F2F does not calculate a goal weight. You tell it what you want to weigh and it advises you what the TDEE for that weight is.

If you look at the F2F page, it will tell you your BMR in the paragraph above the chart. Your BMR is probably not 2000; that's probably the TDEE for your goal weight.

If you use your BMR, DO log and eat exercise calories. If you want to use the TDEE of your goal weight, your exercise is already included in the calculation. Either don't log exercise, or log it as 1 calorie.

blessings.

thanks!
I think I finally got it! I appreciate the help

eta-crap I need to ask. What about breastfeeding? do i account for that? I'm nursing a 1-yr-old, so I dont need 500 extra calories, but if I log it in my diary, it does minus 300 calories. should I be eating 300 more calories a day, so really 2300?

KarinFit4Life

What an awesome topic! Thank you OP!! Wish more people would read carefully and use this method.

fels123

Mine gave me over 2000 cals...that's insanely high!

InnerFatGirl

Can someone help?

sleepytexan

thanks!
I think I finally got it! I appreciate the help

eta-crap I need to ask. What about breastfeeding? do i account for that? I'm nursing a 1-yr-old, so I dont need 500 extra calories, but if I log it in my diary, it does minus 300 calories. should I be eating 300 more calories a day, so really 2300?

yes. you seriously need the extra calories for breastfeeding.

sleepytexan

Mine gave me over 2000 cals...that's insanely high!

why do you think so?

I am 5'4, 44 years old and 130 lbs. My TDEE is 2271 based on my normal daily activities of 6 days/week hard workouts.

My BMR is 1317 (how many calories to eat if I was to stay in bed all day). So assuming I get up and just live life without working out, I'm burning about 1711 calories (probably more because I lift heavy weights). Someone younger and/or bigger than me would have an even higher BMR.

TDEE is my maintenance. So to reiterate, I maintain at 130 lbs. by consuming 2271/day.

I've been sick with stomach virus for about a week, so I had reset my calories down to 1711 since I've been inactive for 10 days. However, let's say I just left it at 1711, and I went and lifted for an hour. That would burn about 350 calories, so my total would be 1711 + 350 = 2061. Let's say I did a 45 minute spin class and burned about 550. That would be 1711 + 550 = 2261.

When you fuel your body correctly, your metabolism thanks you by speeding up and working correctly.

blessings.

Disneymale5000

Wow. I followed the steps and it told me that my goal weight should be what it already is! So I guess I am already on the right track!

sleepytexan

Wow. I followed the steps and it told me that my goal weight should be what it already is! So I guess I am already on the right track!

F2F doesn't tell you a goal weight; it tells you how to eat to maintain your goal weight. You tell it what your goal weight is.

If you are not far from your goal weight, the maintenance cals may be the same as maintenance cals for your current weight. In that case it tells you that you may want to eat 200-300 below the TDEE of your goal weight.

blessings.