Appropriate Goal??

jesslm_189
jesslm_189 Posts: 4 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi everyone, I'm relatively new to MFP (in my 2nd week) and I'm looking to lose around 30lb. I am 173cm tall, large frame and weigh 191lbs. After reading around the forum a bit, and hearing that my net cal intake should not be less than my BMR of 1680, I realised that my goal of losing 2lb/wk and having a daily goal of 1270 net cal is not going to be good for me in the long term. After further reading I've adjusted my exercise level from lightly active to active (I'm on my feet non stop for work) and lowered my goal to 1.5lb a week. Now my daily net cal value is at 1690, so slightly higher than my BMR but around 30% lower than my TDEE. I plan to work out a maximum of 4 times a week (riding, weights & other strength exercises) and eat back most of the calories I've burnt off. I'm just wondering if this sounds like the correct approach? I admit it's taken me many hours to figure this out and I'm still not sure I even know what I'm talking about :frown:

I'd really appreciate any suggestions/advice.
Thanks so much :smile:

Replies

  • BarackMeLikeAHurricane
    BarackMeLikeAHurricane Posts: 3,400 Member
    Sounds good to me
  • jesslm_189
    jesslm_189 Posts: 4 Member
    Ok, so now I'm even more confused :huh: I read a post from one guy who said that if you selected your exercise level as lightly active or active, you shouldn't log any workouts you do as these levels incorporate the exercise in your daily activity. Is this true?? I work out 4 times a week, so if I continue to exercise but don't log it will I be going under my net calorie intake? Also, I feel like I might actually be more lightly active than active, I work 5 x 5hr shifts a week at a supermarket and am on my feet moving around, cleaning and lifting most of the time but apart from that and my workouts, i'm not doing a whole lot. So the main thing I'm having trouble with is if I select lightly active, MFP has me at 1520 net cal a day, which is lower than my BMR of 1680. So I really have no idea what to do.
    Please help!! :sad:
  • Daysednconfused
    Daysednconfused Posts: 975 Member
    I am definitely NOT an expert on this stuff by any means BUT what I believe is that if you use your TDEE and log your exercise, you are essentially counting your burned calories twice. So , as I understand it, you either choose to use your BMR, choose sedentary and log exercise or TDEE and do not log exercise - or you can log your exercise and just put a 1 for calories burned in order to track your workouts. For me, personally, I want to see those numbers so I use the BMR, sedentary and logging method. Hope that helps a little!
  • prokomds
    prokomds Posts: 318 Member
    I'd set up MFP to reflect your daily (non-exercise) activities - if you're on your feet all day, you're at least lightly active, possibly active. Then you add in your exercise on top of that, eat some of those calories back, and hopefully you should be good to go

    Good on you for reading up on your BMR. The trouble is, if you're setting yourself up to lose 1.5/lbs a week and that puts you below your BMR, that likely means one of two things -- your activity level is higher than you think (active instead of lightly?) or your weight loss goal is too aggressive. There's a reason why you see "recommended" next to the 1lb/week option on MFP

    You could set your level to "active" or you could reduce to 1lb loss per week -- both are going to do about the same thing, which is up your daily calorie goal slightly. I would suggest doing one of those two things so that you aren't eating below the BMR you calculated, give it a month or two, and then reevaluate. As you eventually get closer to your goal you'll have to reduce to .5lb/week (or even less) loss, as weight loss gets slower as you approach your goal. Good luck!
  • prokomds
    prokomds Posts: 318 Member
    One more thing -- you could calculate your TDEE to include your daily exercise, which would put you at active (or even whatever the next one up is). That would allow you to not log your exercise and just eat about the same every day - it should average out, assuming you keep the same exercise regiment, more or less.

    I prefer to not have my calorie goal on MFP account for my exercise, which means I log my exercise and eat a little extra on those days - I see it as a bit of a reward for hard work. The choice is yours :)
  • jesslm_189
    jesslm_189 Posts: 4 Member
    Thankyou soooooo much everyone!!! :happy: You have no idea how much I was stressing about this last night.. I left it at lightly active but reduced my goal weight loss per week to 1 pound and now Im at 1770 net cal a day. I will log my exercide and eat some of the cals back :)

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