Advise Needed: Increasing daily goal to TDEE Moderate

Nefetete

Hi All,

So there are so many posts about eating less and lowering the cals, I have the opposite situation and need advise. For the last 3 months I have set my daily goal to TDEE - 20% ( 1518 cals ) and lost over 10 lbs. Recently my workouts have increased in both intensity and actual time I spend at the gym. Here is a typical week ( with exception of this week, since I hurt my back ( )
===================================
Mon: 45 min Strength training & 30 cardio
Tue: Rest Day
Wed: 30 - 45 min cardio
Thur: 45 min Strength training & 30 cardio
Fri: Rest Day
Sat: 45 min Strength training & 30 cardio
Sun: 30 - 45 min cardio (I sometimes skip working out on Sundays but not often)
====================================

So I re-run my numbers again with the assumption that my activity level should be moderate vs light (I think moderate is correct, but let me know if I am just dreaming here ) .

Activity Level Daily Calories

Lightly Active (light exercise/sports 1-3 days/wk) 1898
Moderately Active (moderate exercise/sports 3-5 days/wk) 2139
Very Active (hard exercise/sports 6-7 days/wk) 2381

With my currently goal I am loosing just under 1lb per week and have another 20 to go. Should I change my daily goal to 1700 cals ( TDEE - 20% moderate) or is this "if its not broken why fix it" type of situation. I don't want to stop my weight loss, and worried that the increase will do just that. Would really appreciate your thoughts.

Oh yeah, my diary is open if anyone wants to take a look ( just skip this week)

Thanks )

Chief_Rocka

is this "if its not broken why fix it" type of situation.

^^^^

Nefetete

I was hoping some ppl had the same situation & had increased their cals.  Would have liked to hear if it worked or not. But guess not. 

Helloitsdan

You can play with the numbers on a weekly basis to see if you start gaining then back off to maintain.
Use activity as a means of creating a deficit to lose fat.
Eat back to maintain.
That kinda stuff.

Once you understand what your TDEE is and can use it to maintain for about a month then you can do just about any manipulation you like to gain or lose.

katevarner

I agree with Dan. Try it for a week, and if it stalls you out, then drop back. You are doing great so far!

As far as personal experience, I started at TDEE-500 eating 1650 in February, working out hard just 2 days per week, light on 4 and then just walking the dog on my "rest" day. In June, I upped my workouts to 6 heavy per week and upped my calories to 1850 (still TDEE -500) and still continued to lose at the same rate (which for me was .8 lbs. per week). Hit my goal in August.

Nefetete

You can play with the numbers on a weekly basis to see if you start gaining then back off to maintain.
Use activity as a means of creating a deficit to lose fat.
Eat back to maintain.
That kinda stuff.

Once you understand what your TDEE is and can use it to maintain for about a month then you can do just about any manipulation you like to gain or lose.

So should I try to find my maintenance level now ? I am nowhere near at the stage where I want to maintain, wish I was, but still  have 20lbs to go.  

Also, would my maintenance not be around 2100 cals based on my activity level,  +/- some. 

cmriverside

Try the 1700 for a month. Adjust if necessary after that. No one can answer this for you - you have to experiment. Since you are so close to goal, it makes sense to eat more, you really should readjust calorie intake every ten pounds or so.

cmriverside

...also, expect it to be a little slower to lose now. This happens to everyone, and is a normal thing. Your weight loss will slow down when you have less to lose. Your body wants that buffer of fat for any emergencies - you know, like illness, or famine.