Coming up to 1,500

Stats: I'm 27, female, 1.7m / 5f 7in. I currently weigh 71kg / 157 lbs, and my target is set to 62 kg or 136 pounds (goal on MFP is lower and I haven't adjusted it yet).

I've lost a good percentage of what I wanted to lose (over 30% of the way there!) but I still have (what feels like) a lot to go. I started as aggressively as MFP allowed, and it gave me a 1,200 kcal goal that I've tried to follow the best I could. During this time, to avoid feeling super hungry (coming from a diet of mac & cheese, pizza, hamburgers, fast food, sugary treats all the time...) I started eating a lot of fruit and vegetables, which I really didn't get before unless it was 1. strawberries with heavy cream, which was awful afterwards since I don't do well with lactose, 2. onions and tomato sauce in my pasta. I stopped eating those super fat cheeses, and cut on white bread, white rice, and sugar to fit my macros and calorie allowance.

But, after reading the forums for weeks, I'm starting to wonder if 1,500 fits me better. :( I am not an active person at all. If I can spend all day on the couch, I will. I'm adding exercise (some weights, walking, couch-to-5k), but I always log this and eat back some of those calories. I'm not sure if my TDEE calculations are accurate with the very minimal exercise I do every day, so I'm a bit wary of just setting my kcals to 1,500 for what feels like a super small daily deficit (which would probably be a super slow loss).

What can I (reasonably) expect if I bring my daily allowance up to 1,500, weight-loss-wise? Any exercise recommendations, macro recommendations, and calorie recommendations are very welcome!

Replies

  • Graelwyn75
    Graelwyn75 Posts: 4,404 Member
    Best advice would be to try it for a few weeks and see what happens, and if it doesn't work out as you wish, you can drop it a ittle. Everyone's body responds slightly differently, so it is the only way really. I have my macros set to 45 carbs, 25 protein and 30 fat, but many seem to do 40, 30, 30, or 40, 40, 20. Play around a little, but try and ensure you are getting a decent amount of protein.
  • lunnay
    lunnay Posts: 65 Member
    Best advice would be to try it for a few weeks and see what happens, and if it doesn't work out as you wish, you can drop it a ittle. Everyone's body responds slightly differently, so it is the only way really. I have my macros set to 45 carbs, 25 protein and 30 fat, but many seem to do 40, 30, 30, or 40, 40, 20. Play around a little, but try and ensure you are getting a decent amount of protein.

    I'm trying to pay attention to the protein, but haven't focused on any specific macro distribution other than 20-25% min protein and trying to keep carbs to 55% or less. If I end the day within those ranges, it's been good enough for me. Of course there are days off.

    Would the macro distribution change anything other than lean mass lost/gained with exercise?
  • lunnay
    lunnay Posts: 65 Member
    Bump. Could really use some advice.
  • lunnay
    lunnay Posts: 65 Member
    Bump. :(
  • nellyett
    nellyett Posts: 436 Member
    I did the 1200 cals a day when I started too. I do HIIT bootcamp training 3-4 days per week and run between 5 and 10 miles per week. I initially lost in the beginning but had plateaued for MONTHS! I was so frustrated! I tried eating back exercise calories, NOT eating back exercise calories, cheat days, Intermittent Fasting, and carb cycling!! LOL

    Through reading all kinds of posts, I wasn't eating enough for MY body. I did a ton of research, gave myself a headache with all the numbers, but have finally figured it out and it's working for me now....btw I only have about 10 lbs to lose. I'm 5'5" and am 139 lbs.

    What I'm doing, and what's working for ME is that I calculated my BMR and TDEE and am going from there. I'll adjust these numbers as my weight changes. I use the 'Sedentary TDEE' number and reduced it by 15%.

    BMR = 1370

    TDEE @ sedentary = 1645 (less 15%) = 1398

    I have set MFP at 1400 cals per day. I use a HRM to track my exercise calories burned and I EAT THEM BACK.

    So....If I have a rest day and don't workout, I eat 1400 cals for the day.

    If I exercise and burn 400 cals I eat 1800 cals for the day. 1400 base cals + 400 exercise cals = 1800 cals but I NET 1400 cals for the day.

    I've also reset my macros to 30% protein, 40% carbs, and 30% fat.

    Seems so simple to me now, but I was completely confused as to how much I should be eating for weeks!!! It's working like a charm. I lost a full pound this last week, I feel better, sleep better, and have energy for my workouts.
  • lunnay
    lunnay Posts: 65 Member
    I did the 1200 cals a day when I started too. I do HIIT bootcamp training 3-4 days per week and run between 5 and 10 miles per week. I initially lost in the beginning but had plateaued for MONTHS! I was so frustrated! I tried eating back exercise calories, NOT eating back exercise calories, cheat days, Intermittent Fasting, and carb cycling!! LOL

    Through reading all kinds of posts, I wasn't eating enough for MY body. I did a ton of research, gave myself a headache with all the numbers, but have finally figured it out and it's working for me now....btw I only have about 10 lbs to lose. I'm 5'5" and am 139 lbs.

    What I'm doing, and what's working for ME is that I calculated my BMR and TDEE and am going from there. I'll adjust these numbers as my weight changes. I use the 'Sedentary TDEE' number and reduced it by 15%.

    BMR = 1370

    TDEE @ sedentary = 1645 (less 15%) = 1398

    I have set MFP at 1400 cals per day. I use a HRM to track my exercise calories burned and I EAT THEM BACK.

    So....If I have a rest day and don't workout, I eat 1400 cals for the day.

    If I exercise and burn 400 cals I eat 1800 cals for the day. 1400 base cals + 400 exercise cals = 1800 cals but I NET 1400 cals for the day.

    I've also reset my macros to 30% protein, 40% carbs, and 30% fat.

    Seems so simple to me now, but I was completely confused as to how much I should be eating for weeks!!! It's working like a charm. I lost a full pound this last week, I feel better, sleep better, and have energy for my workouts.

    Thanks! This was super informative!
    My weight isn't dropping as fast as it did when I started either, which is why I am rethinking my plan. It's reassuring to know there are people who increased their kcals and lost *more* than before.

    Do you have any links for the HIIT training you do?
  • fitmek
    fitmek Posts: 277 Member
    I did the 1200 cals a day when I started too. I do HIIT bootcamp training 3-4 days per week and run between 5 and 10 miles per week. I initially lost in the beginning but had plateaued for MONTHS! I was so frustrated! I tried eating back exercise calories, NOT eating back exercise calories, cheat days, Intermittent Fasting, and carb cycling!! LOL

    Through reading all kinds of posts, I wasn't eating enough for MY body. I did a ton of research, gave myself a headache with all the numbers, but have finally figured it out and it's working for me now....btw I only have about 10 lbs to lose. I'm 5'5" and am 139 lbs.

    What I'm doing, and what's working for ME is that I calculated my BMR and TDEE and am going from there. I'll adjust these numbers as my weight changes. I use the 'Sedentary TDEE' number and reduced it by 15%.

    BMR = 1370

    TDEE @ sedentary = 1645 (less 15%) = 1398

    I have set MFP at 1400 cals per day. I use a HRM to track my exercise calories burned and I EAT THEM BACK.

    So....If I have a rest day and don't workout, I eat 1400 cals for the day.

    If I exercise and burn 400 cals I eat 1800 cals for the day. 1400 base cals + 400 exercise cals = 1800 cals but I NET 1400 cals for the day.

    I've also reset my macros to 30% protein, 40% carbs, and 30% fat.

    Seems so simple to me now, but I was completely confused as to how much I should be eating for weeks!!! It's working like a charm. I lost a full pound this last week, I feel better, sleep better, and have energy for my workouts.

    Thanks for this! I am kinda similar. I'm 5'3 and 141 and wanted to get down to 135.
    Right now I have my calories set at 1500, just as a reasonable goal to try to stick to if I do not get exercise in. My BMR is 1368.
    I also have my protein set at 30%, fat set at 30% and carbs set at 40%. I don't follow it as religiously as I should, and I'm not losing quick by any means, but I'm hoping after a few weeks of being super aware and watching the numbers on MFP, I will see some kind of result.
  • junipearl
    junipearl Posts: 326 Member
    FYI: a pound is roughly equivalent to 3500 calories.

    So eating 500 calories a day less than your TDEE should result in about 1 lb lost per week.

    If you cut this to 200 less than your TDEE, your weight loss will slow down accordingly (less than half a pound per week).

    This is obviously not a perfect formula and everyone is different, but it gives you some rough guidelines to follow when adjusting your daily intake.
  • lunnay
    lunnay Posts: 65 Member
    FYI: a pound is roughly equivalent to 3500 calories.

    So eating 500 calories a day less than your TDEE should result in about 1 lb lost per week.

    If you cut this to 200 less than your TDEE, your weight loss will slow down accordingly (less than half a pound per week).

    This is obviously not a perfect formula and everyone is different, but it gives you some rough guidelines to follow when adjusting your daily intake.

    Thanks! I know the maths, but I've not been losing as consistently as I should. The deficit I was at with 1,200 should give me over a pound every week (I weight every day in the morning, and I don't see any huge water weight changes), but I was "stuck" in the same kg for four weeks. After a day of 2,400 kcals (averaging out to 1,200 with the following three days) I started seeing a drop. Now I'm still not losing, and after a lot of reading it seems like a higher kcal allowance will make me lose more. It doesn't seem to be as straightforward as the maths lead me to believe. :(
  • nellyett
    nellyett Posts: 436 Member
    Thanks! This was super informative!
    My weight isn't dropping as fast as it did when I started either, which is why I am rethinking my plan. It's reassuring to know there are people who increased their kcals and lost *more* than before.

    Do you have any links for the HIIT training you do?

    I am a member at a bootcamp in my area. I love it! They change things up every day, Heavy weights and body weight exercises, timed intervals, tabatas, complexes, etc. It keeps things interesting, and there's a terrific group of women there that have all become friends.

    If you have an opportunity to join a bootcamp or crossfit class in your area, it would be well worth while! Even if it's just for a month or two so you can get an idea of the programs, etc. and can continue on your own. If I'm away, I will train like we do in class, plus I did the C25k program and have become completely hooked on running, (no one was more surprised at that than me!!), so I run on my off days for cardio. I try to do at least 30-45 minutes of SOMETHING everyday. It really doesn't take much.

    There are a bunch of HIIT training apps available, but I haven't really found one that I like yet. The C25k app I used was by Run Double. It made ALL the difference for me!

    Oh and the other thing I've really paid attention to this last week is my water intake. I've made sure to get enough each day since Monday, and in addition to that plus eating more, I'm down 2.2 lbs in 5 days!! :) I will tweak my numbers again once I'm at the 5 lb mark.
  • nellyett
    nellyett Posts: 436 Member
    [Thanks for this! I am kinda similar. I'm 5'3 and 141 and wanted to get down to 135.
    Right now I have my calories set at 1500, just as a reasonable goal to try to stick to if I do not get exercise in. My BMR is 1368.
    I also have my protein set at 30%, fat set at 30% and carbs set at 40%. I don't follow it as religiously as I should, and I'm not losing quick by any means, but I'm hoping after a few weeks of being super aware and watching the numbers on MFP, I will see some kind of result.

    I have to remind myself to be patient and to trust the process....lots of water has helped too. I mostly make the effort to meet my protein requirements and let the rest fall where it may. So far so good, and I'm sure that there will be little adjustments along the way, but I feel sooooo much better!!
  • lunnay
    lunnay Posts: 65 Member
    Thanks! This was super informative!
    My weight isn't dropping as fast as it did when I started either, which is why I am rethinking my plan. It's reassuring to know there are people who increased their kcals and lost *more* than before.

    Do you have any links for the HIIT training you do?

    I am a member at a bootcamp in my area. I love it! They change things up every day, Heavy weights and body weight exercises, timed intervals, tabatas, complexes, etc. It keeps things interesting, and there's a terrific group of women there that have all become friends.

    If you have an opportunity to join a bootcamp or crossfit class in your area, it would be well worth while! Even if it's just for a month or two so you can get an idea of the programs, etc. and can continue on your own. If I'm away, I will train like we do in class, plus I did the C25k program and have become completely hooked on running, (no one was more surprised at that than me!!), so I run on my off days for cardio. I try to do at least 30-45 minutes of SOMETHING everyday. It really doesn't take much.

    There are a bunch of HIIT training apps available, but I haven't really found one that I like yet. The C25k app I used was by Run Double. It made ALL the difference for me!

    Oh and the other thing I've really paid attention to this last week is my water intake. I've made sure to get enough each day since Monday, and in addition to that plus eating more, I'm down 2.2 lbs in 5 days!! :) I will tweak my numbers again once I'm at the 5 lb mark.

    Gyms and other more... organised exercise aren't my things. I've started doing c25k (I use the app by ZenLabs since it was free when I looked for one), and I'm up to week 3 day 1. (Repeated week 2 one extra day, so I've been "running" a total of eight times). I'm not really ready for "high-intensity" running yet, I struggle to finish the three minutes jogging, but I'm happy with the progress there. :)

    I really have to watch my water intake. I don't think I get enough but I rarely feel thirsty. I've been making an effort to catch up at the end of the day but there's only so much water I can drink at once.

    Thanks again!