muscle mass and daily calories?

mskatee

Hi all, I'm wondering about how your amount of muscle mass affects calories per day.

A couple of years ago I got down from 200 to 165, and I'm now really wanting to lose that last 20 pounds. I'm 5' 6'' and Fitday says I should be at 1280 calories net a day in order to have a 500-calorie per day deficit. But I'm finding that I'm quite hungry a lot of the time and also kind of dizzy by the end of the day, particularly just before dinner. I do five or six 40-minutes cardio workouts per week and lift weights several times a week as well, but I make sure to eat back those calories.

So anyway, I'm wondering if maybe my amount of muscle mass could mean I'm burning more calories per day that Fitday thinks?

I think I probably have a good amount of muscle mass because 1) I've been working out intensely for about 5 years and have really strong legs in particular (I can leg press 350 for 3x10 reps). 2) when I got down to my current weight a few years ago, I noticed that at the end of my process I went down a half-size without weighing any less, which suggests to me I was maybe adding muscle while losing fat.

So maybe I'm burning more calories than Fitday thinks? Or maybe I'm not eating the *right* 1280 calories (should I try more protein??)? Or maybe I'm just fooling myself because I want to eat more? :-)

I am hoping I don't have to splurge on a fitbit to find out the answer!!

Thanks for any advice!!

PS Forgot to say I'm 42!

TavistockToad

this doesnt directly answer your question, but for the last 20 lbs you could reduce the deficit to lose 1/2lb per week, thereby giving yourself more to eat which should stop the dizziness.

arenkel

A lot of people on this forum recommend using this tool to calculate calories http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/

You may be eating under your BMR, which you probably shouldn't do since you're not obese. (Just my opinion)


ETA: I plugged in your numbers, and your BMR is about 1650, so you're Not eating enough, which explains the dizziness. Try checking out Eat More To Weigh Less.

mskatee

Thanks, that's super helpful!!:happy: