So confused, please someone help!
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gaveruz
Posts: 47 Member
Ok, I found this topic by accident this morning and after some reading I am seriously considering trying it. I am so confused though.
I calculate my BMR at 1283 according to MFP (35, Female, 147 lbs.)
Then I calculate my Maintenance Calorie Intake = 1283 * 1.3 = 1668
Then the calories that need to be burnt to have a 1000 deficit = 615
Now, and this is where it is complicated for me; do I set my daily goal to 1283 or to 1668??? I usually burn about 500 calories per day in average, 5-6 days a week. There may be days where I can squeeze a bit more for 800+ total when I work out twice a day.
I am soooooo confused!
I calculate my BMR at 1283 according to MFP (35, Female, 147 lbs.)
Then I calculate my Maintenance Calorie Intake = 1283 * 1.3 = 1668
Then the calories that need to be burnt to have a 1000 deficit = 615
Now, and this is where it is complicated for me; do I set my daily goal to 1283 or to 1668??? I usually burn about 500 calories per day in average, 5-6 days a week. There may be days where I can squeeze a bit more for 800+ total when I work out twice a day.
I am soooooo confused!
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Replies
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Ok, I found this topic by accident this morning and after some reading I am seriously considering trying it. I am so confused though.
I calculate my BMR at 1283 according to MFP (35, Female, 147 lbs.)
Then I calculate my Maintenance Calorie Intake = 1283 * 1.3 = 1668
Then the calories that need to be burnt to have a 1000 deficit = 615
Now, and this is where it is complicated for me; do I set my daily goal to 1283 or to 1668??? I usually burn about 500 calories per day in average, 5-6 days a week. There may be days where I can squeeze a bit more for 800+ total when I work out twice a day.
I am soooooo confused!
This is how I've broken it down, for another group. Maybe it will help you...
To the other group - I mentioned that I would post the Olivia method (from here on MFP). I'll just post how I do it so it will be easier to explain. I have set my goals to not lose any weight and that I'm not going to be doing any exercise. This is how many calories I can eat to maintain the exact weight I am now. Next, I go under "tools" and figure out my BMR. I want to make sure I at least eat that many calories daily since that is how much my body needs for it to do basic functions. Right now, to maintain my weight, I can eat 1540 calories (doing no exercise to pad that number). But I still want to lose weight and I still need to at least eat what my BMR number is. Are you following, so far? My BMR number is 1231 calories. So if I do nothing else but not go above my BMR calories, I am at a calorie deficit of 309.
1540 maintenance calories -
1231 BMR calories
309 calorie deficit
If I do that every day, I would lose almost a pound a week. But what if I want to lose more? Exercise is the key! Let's take yesterday...
1540 where I have MFP set -
1374 I ate a little extra
166 calorie deficit +
512 calorie deficit that I burned from exercise
678 calorie deficit
I hope this is making sense. If you just set MFP for maintenance (before exercise), and figure out your BMR calories each time you lose weight, as you log your food and exercise, MFP will figure out your deficits for you! :-) The big things to remember are:
NEVER eat less than your BMR calories.
NEVER create a deficit larger than 1000 calories.
Both of those things will hamper your weight loss!
If your deficit is showing larger than 1000 calories, only those exercise calories (the ones to bring your number back to 1000) are the ones that you would eat back. If I don't have a very large deficit the day before, and I'm just a little over the 1000, I don't eat them back. I also really recommend the Polar FT7 HRM, to track your exercise calories, so you're not just guessing since MFP can be a little off and so can the gym exercise machines.
This method has made a lot of sense to me and has helped me. I really like knowing and being in control of my deficit. It isn't an exact science. In other words, if you figure your deficits, and know that you should lose 2.4 lbs this week, but you've only lost 1.8, the other extra might be coming off next week with that loss.
One more thing... Olivia is the woman who posted about this. That's why it's called the Olivia method. She didn't make it up. She got it from a nutritionist that is specialized for runners. I figured that, even though I don't run, I do other exercise that burns calories.
I have other tricks to help with our weight loss, that I will post another time. In the meantime, using the Olivia method, getting the sleep I posted about before, and drinking water, water, water will definitely be great tools for the journey!
P.S. As you lose weight, you will need to change your maintenance numbers also.0 -
What I have also done is create a little card (from a spreadsheet) that lists what my maintenance, BMR, and minimum calories needed with exercise in 5 pound increments. That way I always know what those numbers are. I put it in my purse so I always have it with me.0
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