HELP!! Clueless but not really...just need advice

camsmommy2008

Hey Everyone!

I am confused and stuck in a rut so to speak....

I started MFP like everyone else at the standard 1200 calories and I manually bumped it up to 1600...wasnt losing so I bumped it down to 1500 and am not seeing anything....please help if you can....I am all for learning about eating more to weigh less but I am confused about if I eat back my exercise calories or not. I have been eating them back to make my net 1600/1500 as that is what seems easiest to me is to eat them back.

Here are my stats:
Gender: F
Age: 33
Height: 5'5"
CW: 189.5
GW: 150
I am a teacher of special needs children so I am on my feet all day most of the day. I also workout/do some form of exercise at least 45 minutes daily.

I have 3 spreadsheets that I have made in excel that tally my homemade chart of calorie goal/calories out/exercise and net, one of minutes exercised and a third of calories burned that I can email you if you think looking at them may help you to help me. My email address is clshelly@geneseeisd.org if you want to email me and I will email them to you.

Thank you for any and all advice I need some guidance :ohwell:

camsmommy2008

I forgot to add that I would like to lose about 2 lbs a week. I am averaging about 3300-3700 calories burned through exercise throughout the week. Do i need to cut my food intake or try and burn more calories??? I thinking looking at my charts ive made may help...

nixirain

This is what Scooby says you should eat to lose for Moderately active:

Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR)1623

Daily calories to maintain weight (TDEE) 2516

Daily calories including 20% cut 2013

You may need to eat more based on how strenuous you work outs are. Eating more to weigh less is not about FAST weight loss. It's about losing the weight and never having to worry about losing weight again and fueling your body. You do not eat back your calories at this method.

LAWoman79

I eat my BMR and eat back ALL of my burned calories.

gemiwing

We lose weight in the kitchen and reshape in the gym.

You're losing weight through a modest calorie reduction. Working out six days a week can actually backfire and stall your weight loss- especially if you're not eating enough to fuel your workouts. So if you like to work out then by all means- keep at it! Just make sure to eat enough fuel. If you're working out to either punish yourself for 'letting yourself go' or to lose weight faster- then slow it way down.

You're on your feet all day and workout six days a week- you my friend, are active. Select the active category when you calculate your TDEE. Take 15% off that and mow down! Don't eat back exercise cals once you figure out your 'cut value' (15% off your TDEE) because your exercise is already figured in.

If you haven't yet- read the 'what to expect' sticky.

You also don't have tons of weight to lose so making sure you keep fueled through food is doubly important for you. 2lbs a week might be overly ambitious and might not even be needed if you start seeing results you like in the gym without scale movement.