~*~ Opinions about calorie intake ~*~

samanthanic0le

Okay, first off, thanks for clicking. I wanted to get a few opinions on my daily intake/habits. So far, upping my calories has (sort of) worked for me. I started off at 1200, it didn't work for me. I've been eating around 1600-1800 for about a month, and going to the gym for 2 weeks. I try to go to the gym 5 days a week, going for about 1.5 hours on the bike/elliptical. I'm slowly attempting to integrate lifting as well.

The first two weeks that I went up to 1600/1800, I didn't lose anything. About a week ago, I lost 2 pounds. Now, I don't seem to be losing anymore, I actually went up 2 pounds. I'm not worried about this past week only because of how many factors go into the scale, and I know healthy weight loss can take time. My real concern is if I'm actually consuming a healthy amount. This isn't meant to be rude or against anybody who eats a low calorie amount, but I'd like to hear from the "eat more to lose" crowd if possible. I've read so much about eating more to lose healthily, and I believe it. It's really hard for me to bury that "pretty much starve myself to lose weight" mindset. I'm definitely getting better though, and who doesn't enjoy a good amount of food/fuel for the day?

Okay! Now that the boring story is over, quick estimations from various calculators:

BMR: (around) 1850
TDEE: (around) 2600

Since I'm seeing some results, I'm debating staying at 1600-1800. (1600=rest days, 1800=gym days). I thought about maybe trying this for another 2-4 weeks and seeing what happens.

If I don't continue losing, should I go up to 1900-2100?

neverstray

My understanding is that you should eat at your goal weight TDEE. Some people vary the calories, but its easier for me to just leave it alone. If you simply eat at your goal TDEE, you'll just gradually drift to that. I think its very easy. I'm hoping it works.

nixirain

Okay, first off, thanks for clicking. I wanted to get a few opinions on my daily intake/habits. So far, upping my calories has (sort of) worked for me. I started off at 1200, it didn't work for me. I've been eating around 1600-1800 for about a month, and going to the gym for 2 weeks. I try to go to the gym 5 days a week, going for about 1.5 hours on the bike/elliptical. I'm slowly attempting to integrate lifting as well.

The first two weeks that I went up to 1600/1800, I didn't lose anything. About a week ago, I lost 2 pounds. Now, I don't seem to be losing anymore, I actually went up 2 pounds. I'm not worried about this past week only because of how many factors go into the scale, and I know healthy weight loss can take time. My real concern is if I'm actually consuming a healthy amount. This isn't meant to be rude or against anybody who eats a low calorie amount, but I'd like to hear from the "eat more to lose" crowd if possible. I've read so much about eating more to lose healthily, and I believe it. It's really hard for me to bury that "pretty much starve myself to lose weight" mindset. I'm definitely getting better though, and who doesn't enjoy a good amount of food/fuel for the day?

Okay! Now that the boring story is over, quick estimations from various calculators:

BMR: (around) 1850
TDEE: (around) 2600

Since I'm seeing some results, I'm debating staying at 1600-1800. (1600=rest days, 1800=gym days). I thought about maybe trying this for another 2-4 weeks and seeing what happens.

If I don't continue losing, should I go up to 1900-2100?

The standard from my understanding is to eat your TDEE - 15% in the Eat more to weight less community. You can join the group and ask the question to then experts directly.

samanthanic0le

Alright, thanks guys.

jennkain97

First, no one who is working out like you are should be @ 1200 calories, so upping it was a definite move in the right direction. You probably saw that 2lb increase because you've been adding the lifting into your routine. Muscle weighs more than fat, so as you add it, you will see occasions where this will happen. Instead of checking the scale, pay more attention to your measurements, and you should be seeing some results.

If you're still stagnant, rather than upping your calories again, maybe try switching out some carbs for more protein. Not all of them, since we need carbs for energy, but proteins will help build muscle, which burns more fat...

Good luck!

samanthanic0le

thanks<3

Musikelektronik

Here's the issue, in my opinion. You don't know for sure what your TDEE really is. No one does for sure. But those calculators on the Internet aren't very good.

Here's how I know: I bought a Bodymedia FIT ("BMF") armband. If you're not familiar, it's a device that you wear on your arm; it has sensors; and it reads some insane number of data points every minute. And in doing so, it calculates how many calories you're burning, it tells you precisely how long you sleep each night, and other stuff. Mine tells me that my TDEE is about 2550 (it was higher, but it's slowly going down as I lose weight). All the calculators on the Internet said my TDEE was like 2200 or less. If I'd blindly listened to that number, I'd be eating 1600 calories a day right now, and I'd be totally miserable.

Anyway, because I have the BMF, I now know almost exactly how many calories I burn each day, and I eat accordingly. On low-burn days, I eat less. When I burn more, I eat more. But the key is, I always keep a good deficit going. Always at least 500 per day and sometimes as much as 1000 or 1100. The results have been very good. Since March 6, I've lost 16.5 lbs. And I eat well every day. I'm never hungry because I eat about 1900 cals. a day, on average.

My advice is to get more and better information about your body. Since I'm 6'0" tall and weigh 196 lbs., and my TDEE is right around, and sometimes less than, 2600, I doubt that yours is 2600. It could be, but it seems kind of unlikely. You could be eating too much. Or maybe you're not eating enough.

So stop the guesswork and get a BMF. I've seen them for as low as $99 on. Walmart's website. I paid more for a fancier version, but it was the best $200 I've spent in a long time.

Good luck.

cmriverside

I like the "eat at your goal weight maintenance caloires" . I also like TDEE minus 15%.

Try it. Don't change anything else for one month. It takes that long to measure a trend.