Upping calories to lose weight: HELP!!
Hi everyone! I am very new to this group and am still trying to learn more about the process so please chime in if you can. According to several calculators, my BMR is 1736 and my TDEE is 2083. I am 23, 5’4 and 205lbs. I have been netting calories in the range of 1200-1350 for the last month or so where my weight loss slowly stalled to a hault. I decided to bump up my calories to a net of 1,600 and am starting to gain weight. Is this normal? If so, how long does it take to level out/start losing again? I am so nervous to eat more because I don't want to gain even more weight and I also find it hard to eat even more than that when I'm not hungry after working out. I eat all of my exercise calories back to maintain my net of 1,600.
0
Replies
-
Hi , your numbers seem a little bit off, you are eating under your BMR according to your post. How many hours are you active a week? This is important for the calculations on the scooby site.
Have you read through the sticky pin notes at the beginning of the discussions? There are also videos to watch as well. I know that there is a ton of information to wade through but it is worth it.
This is not a fast fix method either. If you have been eating very low calorie for a period of time you may need to do a full metabolism reset. This is discussed in the sticky pin notes. This is why reading them is important. And yes you may see a gain in weight. Sorry, i know that is not what you want to hear but it is part of the journey for some, temporary though. It will come off again.
If you give me your activity hours, I have the other numbers and I can calculate the numbers again just to see where you should be for BMR, TDEE and TDEE with a 15% cut. Only you can decide if you need a full metabolism reset or if you can start at the cut number. Please consider reading the notes. They truly give so much information and really helped me when i started.0 -
Hi , your numbers seem a little bit off, you are eating under your BMR according to your post. How many hours are you active a week? This is important for the calculations on the scooby site.
Have you read through the sticky pin notes at the beginning of the discussions? There are also videos to watch as well. I know that there is a ton of information to wade through but it is worth it.
This is not a fast fix method either. If you have been eating very low calorie for a period of time you may need to do a full metabolism reset. This is discussed in the sticky pin notes. This is why reading them is important. And yes you may see a gain in weight. Sorry, i know that is not what you want to hear but it is part of the journey for some, temporary though. It will come off again.
If you give me your activity hours, I have the other numbers and I can calculate the numbers again just to see where you should be for BMR, TDEE and TDEE with a 15% cut. Only you can decide if you need a full metabolism reset or if you can start at the cut number. Please consider reading the notes. They truly give so much information and really helped me when i started.
Thank you so much for replying. I have started to read through, but like you said, it's a lot and I haven't gotten to everything yet. I usually workout 3-4 days a week for about an hour but I work a desk job that requires minimal exercise. I like that MFP doesn't calculate in your exercise because my weeks are not very consistant (some being very active and some not as much due to a busy schedule), with the calculations you are doing will I be able to continue logging my exercise that way? Thanks so much!0 -
So I went to the scooby site and just plugged in your numbers with different exercise levels.
First of all, never eat below BMR. So for you your BMR is 1734, that is the number of calories your body burns at total rest just breathing basically. You should never net below that because if you do, your body will continue to "believe that it is in starvation mode" it will hang on to every calorie it gets no matter what. I
If you are SEDENTARY, and do no exercise at all. You TDEE is 2081, this is the number of calories you would eat for a Reset. TDEE stands for total daily energy expenditure, it means your body requires that number of calories to maintain your current weight.
To lose some fat and gain some muscle, a 15% cut is 1768 calories, at this number theoretically you will lose some fat and gain muscle.
If you are active 1-3 HOURS/WEEK: Your TDEE is 2384, Your 15% cut is 2086.
If you are active 3-5 HOURS/WEEK: Your TDEE is 2688, Your 15% cut is 2284.
If you are active 5-6 HOURS/WEEK: Your TDEE is 2991, Your 15% cut is 2542.
If you are active 7-21 HOURS/WEEK: Your TDEE is 3295, Your 15% cut is 2800.
So there you have all the different numbers from the Scoobysworkshop site, I got the link from the sticky pin notes. Your BMR never changes but the TDEE does and so does the cut depending on how active you are. You eat the same each day, even if you don't exercise that day. The whole idea is consistency. Your body has to learn to trust that you are going to keep feeding it again.
I really urge you to read through the notes. Be prepared to eat well. It is a bit of a shock. Replace all those fat free foods you may have in your house with 2% or more. Eat whole healthy foods, non processed if you can. The girls (Kiki and Lucia) promote strength training as exercise of choice, the reason, it not only gives you lovely looking muscles and definition, it also continues to burn calories long after your work out is over! A double win!! Hope this helps. And welcome to EM2WL !!!0 -
So I went to the scooby site and just plugged in your numbers with different exercise levels.
First of all, never eat below BMR. So for you your BMR is 1734, that is the number of calories your body burns at total rest just breathing basically. You should never net below that because if you do, your body will continue to "believe that it is in starvation mode" it will hang on to every calorie it gets no matter what. I
If you are SEDENTARY, and do no exercise at all. You TDEE is 2081, this is the number of calories you would eat for a Reset. TDEE stands for total daily energy expenditure, it means your body requires that number of calories to maintain your current weight.
To lose some fat and gain some muscle, a 15% cut is 1768 calories, at this number theoretically you will lose some fat and gain muscle.
If you are active 1-3 HOURS/WEEK: Your TDEE is 2384, Your 15% cut is 2086.
If you are active 3-5 HOURS/WEEK: Your TDEE is 2688, Your 15% cut is 2284.
If you are active 5-6 HOURS/WEEK: Your TDEE is 2991, Your 15% cut is 2542.
If you are active 7-21 HOURS/WEEK: Your TDEE is 3295, Your 15% cut is 2800.
So there you have all the different numbers from the Scoobysworkshop site, I got the link from the sticky pin notes. Your BMR never changes but the TDEE does and so does the cut depending on how active you are. You eat the same each day, even if you don't exercise that day. The whole idea is consistency. Your body has to learn to trust that you are going to keep feeding it again.
I really urge you to read through the notes. Be prepared to eat well. It is a bit of a shock. Replace all those fat free foods you may have in your house with 2% or more. Eat whole healthy foods, non processed if you can. The girls (Kiki and Lucia) promote strength training as exercise of choice, the reason, it not only gives you lovely looking muscles and definition, it also continues to burn calories long after your work out is over! A double win!! Hope this helps. And welcome to EM2WL !!!
You have been so helpful. I seriously can't thank you enough. It seems like the community here at EM2WL is really the best of them all on MFP. Because the TDEE takes into account my fitness level do I ever have to worry about eating calories back??0 -
Oh and when you get to it, you can change your setting manually on your food tracker. So set your macros for protein to 30%, carbs 40% and fats 30%. You can set others too, if you want to track sugar or sodium etc. I track my fibre and have it set for 30mg, as the setting they have is wimpy!!
You can also turn off the exercise tracking, if you leave it on, it will ask you to add calories and your calories are already factored in! What I do is write it in on the edit note at the bottom of my food diary ie strength train 60 min, upper body, shoulders, back
To adjust your settings go to My Home, go to goals, then you will see a spot you can check to adjust manually, make your changes and then at the bottom of the page there is a save icon, i believe. I am reciting this from memory!!! not always the best! ;D0 -
No you don't eat your calories back unless you are more active that usual. If you have your setting for 1-3 hours and you realize you are actually doing 4 hours a week, move up a level. The girls say it is better to overestimate your calories. So in reading your responses your BMR is 1734, Your TDEE at 3-4 hours of exercise is 2688, and your TDEE-15% is 2284!!! So you can see why I was concerned about your calories being at 1600. You are eating at 668 calorie deficit still. Believe it or not it will become easy to fill in those calories.
Try the full fat foods, add some protein smoothies after your work outs, an extra snack in the afternoon. All of these will add up quickly. Set up your food tracker first, then start preplanning your meals if you can. Proteins at each meal, and you will find the calories, carbs and fats will follow nicely into place.
Have you tried watching the videos on you tube? They explain much of what is on the sticky pin notes too, and are a quick way to review and feel better when you feel in doubt. Believe me there will be times when you feel some doubt, it is normal. Just plug away and ask lots of questions, lots of very helpful and knowledgable peeps here!0 -
I have watched the one on the metabolism reset, but it's much easier to take into account now that you have laid it all out for me, but I am still having trouble understanding the exercise part because how does the TDEE know the intensity of your workout/how many calories you've burned, etc? Does it just assume that for every 1 hour you are active you burn a certain amount of calories?0
-
I am not sure how to answer that. I just know that they are measuring the time of exercise.
I did do an experiment with the numbers. I have a Fit bit. It is a little pedometer like gadget that measures steps, stairs climbed, calories burned, distance and my sleep patterns. Once a week I get a summary of it all. Someone on here told me how she takes the calorie total for the week, divides it by 7 and then multiplies it by 0.85 to get her calories for the following week. So I tried it, eerily enough it is almost bang on by about 50 -75 calories to the Scooby TDEE with 15% cut!!!! Amazing.
So I trust the Scooby numbers is what I am rambling on about I suppose. LOL
Oh and I am not a cardio bunny at all. Hate cardio. I just started back in the gym, lifting weights. I love love love the feeling of being strong. My cardio is stairs at work. i make myself take the stairs, I park a little farther in the parking lot but that is about it! I am supposed to be walking on my non training days but I think will swim instead in this heat!0 -
The scooby calculator takes your activity level into account. Of course it does not exactly know it, it is just an assumption. Your burn also depends on your daily activity beside exercising.
I got a FitBit too, and for me the amount of calories the Scooby calculator suggested was too low. I am working out 6 times a week, but I am also fairly active during the day chasing after my three kids, and taking care of house and garden.0
