Could use a little help

heyjude345

A little background: I started my weight loss journey in July, 2011 and have lost just under 73 pounds. Most of this was lost by eating 1200-1400 calories and just walking. I now weigh 197 and am 5' 5" tall. I have joined a gym and run/incline walk 4-5 days a week burning ~ 300 calories a time (according to treadmill). I also do general circuit weight training 3 days a week.

I recently bumped my calories up to 1565, but that is still a 30% cut from my calculations of BMR 1546 and TDEE of 2207. Suggestions are welcome...and my diary is open. Thanks!

Noor13

Hi there! Great job on losing that much weight.
But.....since you have been losing it on a low cal diet I suggest you should think about doing a reset. You need to fuel your body especially when doing exercising as well.
Did you read through all the stickies? There is a lot of information there.

heybales

A little background: I started my weight loss journey in July, 2011 and have lost just under 73 pounds. Most of this was lost by eating 1200-1400 calories and just walking. I now weigh 197 and am 5' 5" tall. I have joined a gym and run/incline walk 4-5 days a week burning ~ 300 calories a time (according to treadmill). I also do general circuit weight training 3 days a week.

I recently bumped my calories up to 1565, but that is still a 30% cut from my calculations of BMR 1546 and TDEE of 2207. Suggestions are welcome...and my diary is open. Thanks!

How much were you losing on a normal weekly basis before you changed your routine and eating level? Like 6 weeks prior to that?

That can help tell what your current TDEE is, and whether that is high or low to estimates, and how much you can raise calories slowly without going over current TDEE until body is willing to raise metabolism, if there is any differences.

Because for the whole journey (estimate 56 weeks) it's 1.3 lb weekly, which isn't bad. Congrats.

heyjude345

I have been losing around a pound a week, sometimes more, sometimes less since the beginning of my journey. I honestly have not noticed a difference in my weight loss since I bumped up the calories. When I started exercising more, I stayed the same weight for a few weeks, but now am back to losing just under a pound a week generally. Thanks for all the help you can give me! I obviously have started on this path of healthy living and I want to continue!

crystalwelshroberts

I obviously have started on this path of healthy living and I want to continue!

Bravo! You are winning already!

heybales

I have been losing around a pound a week, sometimes more, sometimes less since the beginning of my journey. I honestly have not noticed a difference in my weight loss since I bumped up the calories. When I started exercising more, I stayed the same weight for a few weeks, but now am back to losing just under a pound a week generally. Thanks for all the help you can give me! I obviously have started on this path of healthy living and I want to continue!

So around a pound a week means you had on avg 500 cal deficit daily.

So add 500 to whatever you were eating on avg before increasing activity - that was your TDEE then.
Take a current weeks worth of exercise burn calories totaled up, divide by 7, added to that past TDEE, and there is new avg TDEE. With same metabolism mind you.

That it stayed the same after eating more means your metabolism was suppressed, and it has gone up, and you have the same deficit still.

Don't dwell on thought you probably could have been eating more and losing the same the whole time, unless that will convince you perhaps there is a better way, especially now with exercise, and you might as well get the full benefit from it.

Now, can learn from that for going forward though. Is there more room for your metabolism to go up even higher?
While there are studies showing suppressed metabolism has some health benefits by purposely doing it - it's not great for faster weight loss, and the benefits don't out-weigh the negatives of being overweight.

I'd suggest you see just how high you can get the metabolism going.

You know you have 500 deficit right now then.

Increase daily eating by 250 for two weeks, since your metabolism seems to have recovered quickly.
So if your metabolism stays the same, that should mean just a 1lb loss in 2 weeks. If you see more than that, then your metabolism did go up.
In which case do another 2 weeks with even 250 more. If it matches or goes up, your metabolism went up again.

The great thing about increased metabolism, all daily activities will now burn more.
So you may think you are eating 250 more, and say metabolism goes up 250 more. But the increase calorie burn of all the other daily activity, all mainly fat-burning, goes up too. Meaning you burn more.

Who wouldn't like to eat 250 more and burn an extra 350 more?

For logging current stats and changing down the road, try the spreadsheet linked to in this topic post.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/677905-spreadsheet-for-bmr-tdee-deficit-calc-macro-calc-hrm

heyjude345

Thank you so much for your help. I have increased from 1280 to 1580 for two weeks and have noticed little change in my weight loss. Do you think I should stay at 1580 for another two weeks and then bump another 250 calories?

heybales

Thank you so much for your help. I have increased from 1280 to 1580 for two weeks and have noticed little change in my weight loss. Do you think I should stay at 1580 for another two weeks and then bump another 250 calories?

But you increased calories and activity to the tune of the same amount almost, right?

So in essence, you are in the same place you were before exercising, correctly eating less for less activity then, now more for more.

I'd say finish the 2 weeks and bump it up 250 more to test for 2 weeks.
Worst thing that can happen is you lose 1/2 what you've been losing. Best is you start losing more.