Apologies for the same annoying question but...

maria_elaina

when people say you need to eat MORE calories to lose weight, are they just checking you're eating over your bmr?

My stats:

Age: 20
Height: 5"4' (64 inches)
Weight: 113 pounds
BF%: 19.6%
BMR: 1263
Target cals per day: 1560 (not including exercise cals... I never log them as I don't trust my HRM)
Lifestyle: Usually sendentary. Workouts = cardio-7 days per week 10 mins HIIT, weights- 5 days per week...all body, abs, arms, legs.


My goal:
Shift another 4 pounds and assess whether I feel I need to lose more or not.


I guess my question is does the "eating more" thing apply to me or am I fine to stay as I am as I'm eating over my BMR? Also where does TDEE fit into this?

nikilis

your TDEE for a sedentary lifestyle is 1520, so you are eating what would be maintenance if you didn't exercise. because you do this will give you a deficit, so you should loose.

people will tell you to eat more or to eat less.

in the end just check your weight in two weeks and adjust up, down or stay the same depending if you are loosing too much, just right or not enough. just like goldylocks. people will say a lot of things, your own experimentation is more valuable than vague opinion.



I would say you would be fine on what you are on. if you have to stop exercising and want to keep loosing

1520 x .8 = your healthy deficit.

also TDEE = BMR x activity level. sedentary is 1.2

giogioitaly

In genral women should eat around 2000 calories per day. Most of woment however they normally eat around 1200-1500 calories a day and that does not help them to loose weight especially if you are exercising.
Make sure you eat enought caloris per day, have a good balance diet with plenty of fruit and veg, increase your exercise intensity and over a period of 4 weeks you will see the difference.
Also check on your body fat% percentage as many time you may loose fat but not weight, on that case you notice that your waist and hips are getting smaller.
Loosing body fat% is the key......................

maria_elaina

So with my un-logged exercise cals (HRM says between 200-500 cals depending on what day, but like i say i don't 100% trust it) I'd be eating correctly to lose weight? or do I need to cut the food down more?

Today as an example:

Cals I will eat: 1560
Exercise cals according to HRM: 406
Total = 1154 - which is under my BMR??

nikilis

So with my un-logged exercise cals (HRM says between 200-500 cals depending on what day, but like i say i don't 100% trust it) I'd be eating correctly to lose weight? or do I need to cut the food down more?

dont cut down more. as long as you are doing exercise like that every day you could eat as you do lose.

slower is better, especially as you are trying to get rid of fat.

nikilis

So with my un-logged exercise cals (HRM says between 200-500 cals depending on what day, but like i say i don't 100% trust it) I'd be eating correctly to lose weight? or do I need to cut the food down more?

Today as an example:

Cals I will eat: 1560
Exercise cals according to HRM: 406
Total = 1154 - which is under my BMR??

this is hard to say. I'm not sure how accurate your HRM is and your BMR probably has a variance in it also.

I think you just need to track the loss for a week, see how much it is and go from there, people seem to say 1/2lb to 1lb a week when your trying to lose only fat and close to your goal.

if you are worried go up by 100 and check your weight / BF% in a week.

HMVOL7409

Wow, the above is so wrong. Go to fat2fitradio.com and see for yourself as I put in your stats. Your TDEE which has activity meaning exercise included is 2077 if you did exercise 3-5 hrs a week. Your BMR is 1273. If you are wanting to lose cut about 10% from your TDEE and eat that, don't cut more as you really don't need to lose more based on your numbers and its a small amount.. You don't eat back exercise calories as they are factored in. TDEE and MFP figures are not one in the same. You are not sedentary so throw that idea out. If you did not exercise then yes eat around 1600 but since you clearly do, fuel your body.

If you still are confused search the thread; In Place of a Road Map.

maria_elaina

Thanks for the imput!

I'm just so confused as I hear so many different things! One person says its just calories in vs calories out, the higher the deficit the better...some say about starvation mode. Someone else says eat more. I just feel really lost at the minute! I guess the best way is just to see how it goes and tweak it but I just wish there was a simple answer!

Wow, the above is so wrong. Go to fat2fitradio.com and see for yourself as I put in your stats. Your TDEE which has activity meaning exercise included is 2077 if you did exercise 3-5 hrs a week. Your BMR is 1273. If you are wanting to lose cut about 10% from your TDEE and eat that, don't cut more as you really don't need to lose more based on your numbers and its a small amount.. You don't eat back exercise calories as they are factored in. TDEE and MFP figures are not one in the same.

Is TDEE the same as maintenance then? I think thats where I'm confused. So I should be aiming for above my BMR and below my TDEE? The extent to which dependant on how fast I want to lose the weight?

You are not sedentary so throw that idea out. If you did not exercise then yes eat around 1600 but since you clearly do, fuel your body.

I only thought I was sedentary as I'm a student, spend a lot of time sitting around either in lectures or at home, and my job is working from home too. I thought actual exercise was a separate thing, but I guess as I'm not logging it it makes sense to include it. Thanks

nikilis

Wow, the above is so wrong. Go to fat2fitradio.com and see for yourself as I put in your stats. Your TDEE which has activity meaning exercise included is 2077 if you did exercise 3-5 hrs a week. Your BMR is 1273. If you are wanting to lose cut about 10% from your TDEE and eat that, don't cut more as you really don't need to lose more based on your numbers and its a small amount.. You don't eat back exercise calories as they are factored in. TDEE and MFP figures are not one in the same. You are not sedentary so throw that idea out. If you did not exercise then yes eat around 1600 but since you clearly do, fuel your body.

If you still are confused search the thread; In Place of a Road Map.

yep, she could probably eat more. just suggesting experimentation to get to the right number.

but yeh. theres only one way to do everything. thanks for the reminder.

neverstray

you're confused because everyone has a different opinion about it. You have to find something that works for you.

I've done all the calculations every which way to Sunday, and I can say with absolute certainty and confidence that MFP is right on. The only difference is on rest days, I don't get to eat 2500 calories or whatever, which is what I do if I just eat a constant amount. So, I finally, after years of yo-yoing between many different methods, set my MFP account as sedentary and eat back most exercise calories, and it works out to exactly the same as if I use the "In Place of a Road Map" or "Fat2Fit" or any other. It always works out exactly the same. So, it kind of doesn't matter what method I use. the reason I picked MFP is like I said, on rest days, I eat a little less, which to me makes sense. I'm losing weight, body fat, and my waist line, which are my goals. So, as long as I hit my goals, I feel like I'm doing the right thing. I've been at this for years and have had all the frustrations of plateaus and everything else, and have worked through all that and have determined in the end that MFP is pretty much right on the money.

Do this, figure out what MFP gives you, plus add the calorie burn from a typical workout. then go to Fat2fit or whatever else, and figure out what they say. I bet they will be pretty identical. They are in my case. So, then, you just pick which ever thing you like. With a Fat2Fit method, your calories remain consistent everyday because your workouts and activity level are already calculated in. Some people like that because it's easy. On the other hand, using MFP, working out is motivating because I get more calories to eat, and sometimes I workout twice in one day, or if I have a rest day my calories are less, so I think it's more reflective of my activity level. Also, if I have several rest days in a row, like if I have a family emergency or something, I'm not eating way above where I should, I track for sedentary, and I'll still losre if I stay on track. Using Fat2Fit, you will be eating at a level for an active person, but will be inactive for some period of time. So, you will likely miss your goals.

Anyway, these are some thoughts on the whole thing. Feel free to ask me anything. I've been through it all. I don't know everything, but I think people make too much of all this. It's kind of easy. Well, it's easy on paper. Sticking to it is hard.

HMVOL7409

TDEE looks at your activity level with exercise include; differently than MFP does. You listed your exercise as 7 days a week. Add up the total time in hours to see how much activity you are doing. Forget about sitting at school; it's what exercise you are doing. Yes TDEE is what you would eat to maintain a weight that's why they say cut a certain % for a loss. It creates just enough of a deficit for a healthy, maintainable loss. Cut too low and your body will stall and you will eventually see the scale stop moving. You honestly don't have anything to lose so the time shouldn't be a factor. You can drop BF and stil eat close to TDEE without the scale moving. I'll give you my example of what my profile is like to maybe help. I don't log burns and really don't care what they are as long as I exercise. Now I'm not trying to lose but have been in maintenance since June.

32 yo, 5'2 111lbs, 14% BF

BMR 1300

I lift 3-4 days a week, run/HIIT cardio 4-5 days a week so my average week of exercise is 5-7 hrs depending.

3-5 HR TDEE is 1980
6-7 HR TDEE is 2200

I eat between those 2 numbers daily; closer to the higher one on lifting days. Some days I'll eat just below 1980 but never as low as my BMR. BMR is the calories needed to survive as if you were lying in a coma. You always eat above your BMR. If I wanted to lose I would eat around 1800-1900 as that's an appropriate cut from my TDEE and I have found I do lose with that number range.

HMVOL7409

Wow, the above is so wrong. Go to fat2fitradio.com and see for yourself as I put in your stats. Your TDEE which has activity meaning exercise included is 2077 if you did exercise 3-5 hrs a week. Your BMR is 1273. If you are wanting to lose cut about 10% from your TDEE and eat that, don't cut more as you really don't need to lose more based on your numbers and its a small amount.. You don't eat back exercise calories as they are factored in. TDEE and MFP figures are not one in the same. You are not sedentary so throw that idea out. If you did not exercise then yes eat around 1600 but since you clearly do, fuel your body.

If you still are confused search the thread; In Place of a Road Map.

yep, she could probably eat more. just suggesting experimentation to get to the right number.

but yeh. theres only one way to do everything. thanks for the reminder.

Oh seriously lose the attitude. Trying to explain to her what TDEE really is and that exercise calories are not included and that she is not sedentary. No there isn't one way that's the right way, but having correct information on a particular way is key wouldn't you agree?

nikilis

Wow, the above is so wrong. Go to fat2fitradio.com and see for yourself as I put in your stats. Your TDEE which has activity meaning exercise included is 2077 if you did exercise 3-5 hrs a week. Your BMR is 1273. If you are wanting to lose cut about 10% from your TDEE and eat that, don't cut more as you really don't need to lose more based on your numbers and its a small amount.. You don't eat back exercise calories as they are factored in. TDEE and MFP figures are not one in the same. You are not sedentary so throw that idea out. If you did not exercise then yes eat around 1600 but since you clearly do, fuel your body.

If you still are confused search the thread; In Place of a Road Map.

yep, she could probably eat more. just suggesting experimentation to get to the right number.

but yeh. theres only one way to do everything. thanks for the reminder.

Oh seriously lose the attitude. Trying to explain to her what TDEE really is and that exercise calories are not included and that she is not sedentary. No there isn't one way that's the right way, but having correct information on a particular way is key wouldn't you agree?

I believe the attitude started with you. just gave it back to you. the right advice is key for sure. doesn't mean you have to start with slating someone

mmapags

Well, one of the reasons you're confused is you are shopping for different anwsers and you are getting them. You have the tools here are MFP available to set a 1/2 lb per week deficit and follow it. You are very close to goal weight. Loss will be slow. Use the tools you have. If you throw it out to the forum, you're going to get a forum full of answers. Pick a plan, run with it. Adjust according to results.