Experts: How much should I eat?

EccentricDad

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Acg67

My TDEE is 1924 for sedentary with no active life according to calorieline.com. So, if I want to continue to lose fat (not lbm), I should eat how many calories and how many grams of each macro should I be eating? I just readjusted my calories to 1750 but I feel like that's too high for some reason; does that sound high enough or should I go lower? I am 30, 5'8", I weight 146lbs, I am a small/medium frame, and I've lived a sedentary life most of my life (so no muscle mass to preserve basically). After a 12 hour fast, my neck is 14, my waist is 31.5, and my hips are 36.0. Not sure what information is relative for the way you figure out TDEE and what not, but I figured I'd throw it all out there.

I plan on exercising when I finally have control over my life (family obligations and conflict keep me from it right now), but I don't want it included in my diet anyways and I'd rather manually add it and eat my calories back on the days I do exercise.

So anyone want to help me? So much guesswork and I just want to be sure I'm doing this "right". Any advice that stays on topic would be appreciated.

You are asking to become further "skinny fat", if you're 5'8, 146, have little to no muscle mass according to you and still fat, i'm not sure further trying to diet down much more is the best thing. But seeing as you refuse to find time to workout, you're kinda screwed with what you want to accomplish

drmerc

Take the time you use to make all these forum posts and exercise

McLifterPants

It is my understanding that it is impossible to completely preserve lean mass while eating at a deficit without doing any form of exercise. I may be wrong. Seems logical, though.

Tilran

WTF 5'8 146 and you are looking to lose weight?

I think you have things backwards my friend.

You need to put on a good 20 pounds. If right now you feel "fat" at 146....I cant imagine how little of LBM you have.

You need to hit the gym and lift weights.

Eat your protein and lift weights...get your LBM higher...unfortunately at 30 your progress will be slower.....but not impossible.

EccentricDad

Look, I'm not refusing to exercise. It's complicated. I have 3 people in my house that codepend on me right now due to mental health issues. It's not as easy to find time as you think. I cook all my own meals, I do all the laundry, I do all the shopping, I do all the cleaning. I don't work really hard at it though so I don't count it as exercise, but I am generally on my feet most of the day. I just come to the computer when I am taking a break between tasks. So my point is, I don't have 1 hour to dedicate to exercise. But when the family is caught up, I might load an app on my phone and do some ab training or yoga. But I don't have 1 hour to spare. No stay at home parent does. Because if we did, we'd be working.

So again, what should I be eating?

EccentricDad

WTF 5'8 146 and you are looking to lose weight?

No, 5'8" 146 and I am looking to lose FAT. Big difference. Weight would be LBM, fat, muscle, or anything else that holds my body to a higher gravity; I just want to lose the fat and I've been told you can do it solely on diet (and I have, hence the 70+ lbs lost). I just want to get the little bit left to go away. It's not much.

MidwestAngel

Look, I'm not refusing to exercise. It's complicated. I have 3 people in my house that codepend on me right now due to mental health issues. It's not as easy to find time as you think. I cook all my own meals, I do all the laundry, I do all the shopping, I do all the cleaning. I don't work really hard at it though so I don't count it as exercise, but I am generally on my feet most of the day. I just come to the computer when I am taking a break between tasks. So my point is, I don't have 1 hour to dedicate to exercise. But when the family is caught up, I might load an app on my phone and do some ab training or yoga. But I don't have 1 hour to spare. No stay at home parent does. Because if we did, we'd be working.

So again, what should I be eating?

You don't have time? I work full-time, go to school full-time and have two children that depend on me. I heavy lift 3 days a week and cardio 3 days a week. I get up before everyone else to do this (4:45 am). It can be done, you just have to make it a priority.

ObtainingBalance

Look, I'm not refusing to exercise. It's complicated. I have 3 people in my house that codepend on me right now due to mental health issues. It's not as easy to find time as you think. I cook all my own meals, I do all the laundry, I do all the shopping, I do all the cleaning. I don't work really hard at it though so I don't count it as exercise, but I am generally on my feet most of the day. I just come to the computer when I am taking a break between tasks. So my point is, I don't have 1 hour to dedicate to exercise. But when the family is caught up, I might load an app on my phone and do some ab training or yoga. But I don't have 1 hour to spare. No stay at home parent does. Because if we did, we'd be working.

So again, what should I be eating?

Understandable. Being on your feet all day has to account for some cardio activity. You're not just sitting in bed all day.

I'd suggest you do some of those ab exercises and such on the app. Get some resistance bands or weights, do it now and then in the morning or at night...

I think you should stick to 1,700-1,800 calories.

You are at a healthy weight, I don't think you have any weight to lose. No offense though, do whatever you want. Muscle weighs more than fat.

What I do on here, I set my activity level to sedentary - (MFP then calculates my deficit) I eat the amount they tell me to eat ... and if I exercise, I eat back some of those calories burned... I lose weight.

_granola

Eat at least your TDEE. About 1g of protein per pound of lbm and 0.3-0.5g of fat per pound of body weight. Lift weights. Losing more weight right now is not going to be beneficial to you.

You say you don't have an hour, but I'm willing to bet you spend that much time per day on MFP posting. So exercise instead. Most people have complicated lives and complicated people in them. Most people are really busy. They find time, not make excuses.

ObtainingBalance

Look, I'm not refusing to exercise. It's complicated. I have 3 people in my house that codepend on me right now due to mental health issues. It's not as easy to find time as you think. I cook all my own meals, I do all the laundry, I do all the shopping, I do all the cleaning. I don't work really hard at it though so I don't count it as exercise, but I am generally on my feet most of the day. I just come to the computer when I am taking a break between tasks. So my point is, I don't have 1 hour to dedicate to exercise. But when the family is caught up, I might load an app on my phone and do some ab training or yoga. But I don't have 1 hour to spare. No stay at home parent does. Because if we did, we'd be working.

So again, what should I be eating?

You don't have time? I work full-time, go to school full-time and have two children that depend on me. I heavy lift 3 days a week and cardio 3 days a week. I get up before everyone else to do this (4:45 am). It can be done, you just have to make it a priority.

Shes superwoman!

Tilran

Look, I'm not refusing to exercise. It's complicated. I have 3 people in my house that codepend on me right now due to mental health issues. It's not as easy to find time as you think. I cook all my own meals, I do all the laundry, I do all the shopping, I do all the cleaning. I don't work really hard at it though so I don't count it as exercise, but I am generally on my feet most of the day. I just come to the computer when I am taking a break between tasks. So my point is, I don't have 1 hour to dedicate to exercise. But when the family is caught up, I might load an app on my phone and do some ab training or yoga. But I don't have 1 hour to spare. No stay at home parent does. Because if we did, we'd be working.

So again, what should I be eating?

You should be eating high amount of protein to perserve LBM, in your case you probably have roughly 120lbs of LBM so you would want to shoot for 120g of protein per day...let the other macros fall where they may. I would eat at maintenance right now which you said was around 1900? So do 1900 calories and about 120-130g of protein.

As far as working out, do body weight exercises....do pushups and situps...doesnt take but 30 seconds to do a set...do about 10 sets a day...thats 5 minutes of your day. You wont gain mass doing this, but you will build strength which will help you down the road when it comes to building mass.

MidwestAngel

Look, I'm not refusing to exercise. It's complicated. I have 3 people in my house that codepend on me right now due to mental health issues. It's not as easy to find time as you think. I cook all my own meals, I do all the laundry, I do all the shopping, I do all the cleaning. I don't work really hard at it though so I don't count it as exercise, but I am generally on my feet most of the day. I just come to the computer when I am taking a break between tasks. So my point is, I don't have 1 hour to dedicate to exercise. But when the family is caught up, I might load an app on my phone and do some ab training or yoga. But I don't have 1 hour to spare. No stay at home parent does. Because if we did, we'd be working.

So again, what should I be eating?

You don't have time? I work full-time, go to school full-time and have two children that depend on me. I heavy lift 3 days a week and cardio 3 days a week. I get up before everyone else to do this (4:45 am). It can be done, you just have to make it a priority.

Shes superwoman!

Haha no. I just know what I want and I'm going to do what it takes to get it. But thanks!

LittleMiss_WillLoseIt

Take the time you use to make all these forum posts and exercise

^this!! Even if it's just 30 minutes....pull up the app on your phone and do some of those...:)

sjohnny

For someone who has no time to exercise you seem to have tons of time to post random crap all day long. Instead of making 400 new forum posts a day you could do a push-up. People are constantly giving you good advice and you come up with excuses why you can't do it or you just ask the same question again in a new post.

Push-ups, body weight lunges, body weight squats, dips, wall squats, planks. None of this **** costs any money, requires any special equipment or takes any more time than spewing stuff on the interwebz.

EccentricDad

Look, I'm not refusing to exercise. It's complicated. I have 3 people in my house that codepend on me right now due to mental health issues. It's not as easy to find time as you think. I cook all my own meals, I do all the laundry, I do all the shopping, I do all the cleaning. I don't work really hard at it though so I don't count it as exercise, but I am generally on my feet most of the day. I just come to the computer when I am taking a break between tasks. So my point is, I don't have 1 hour to dedicate to exercise. But when the family is caught up, I might load an app on my phone and do some ab training or yoga. But I don't have 1 hour to spare. No stay at home parent does. Because if we did, we'd be working.

So again, what should I be eating?

You should be eating high amount of protein to perserve LBM, in your case you probably have roughly 120lbs of LBM so you would want to shoot for 120g of protein per day...let the other macros fall where they may. I would eat at maintenance right now which you said was around 1900? So do 1900 calories and about 120-130g of protein.

As far as working out, do body weight exercises....do pushups and situps...doesnt take but 30 seconds to do a set...do about 10 sets a day...thats 5 minutes of your day. You wont gain mass doing this, but you will build strength which will help you down the road when it comes to building mass.

Thank you for your reply. I appreciate this. I don't have much strength, but since I've never had strength I don't have much to compare it to. But I have been dabbling with exercise, it's just scary when it's all new to you and your parents didn't make it a priority so you live 30 years of your life as a hardcore gamer only to find yourself 219 lbs and having a lot of health issues. But again thanks for your reply, it was indeed helpful (just not sure how I'm going to get all that protein! A 4 oz chicken is only 26g!)

rides4sanity

With diet only you will lose weight, changing your macros won't make you lose more fat than muscle. The only way to build muscle is to "build it" by working out. Sorry man, that's just the way it is. I understand that you are busy, but until you choose to make the time to incorporate some weight training you won't be able to increase or even maintain your muscle while trying to lose that last bit of fat.

escloflowneCHANGED

You should look into ketosis!

EccentricDad

Okay so before the thread gets locked (as there are all sorts of insults being thrown around) the answer is: Eat maintenance and just effing exercise? Got it, so can someone help me make sure I got my maintenance right?

AllTehBeers

It's gotten to a point where it's not about your diet anymore. At 146, you basically have no LBM to preserve. Bulk up and lift. Since you say you can't exercise, quit posting topics about it until you can.

sarafil

Fitness and exercise have everything to do with mental health. I work full time, I have two children, and I exercise. Why? I find the time because it is important for me, for my mental health, and for my family. They need me to take care of myself, just as I need to make my health a priority. Sorry, I don't buy the "no time to exercise" stuff. I get up at 4 am to exercise, because it is important to me.