I need help!

Sarahsue94

Im not new to MFP but Ive recently started keeping track and feel like I will be more successful in my attempts now. Ive been eating around 1200 calories and working out everyday. I do cardio (mostly running but sometime elliptical or bike) for 30+ minutes and the strength training that usually lasts for 30 min to an hour. Ive been reading what those have said about how many calories they were eating and its made me really confused. Am I eating too little? I don't feel like i've been struggling to stay under my 1200 limit, sometimes I stay under by a couple hundred calories.

18 y/o
ht: 5'4"
wt: 163
gw: 135
BMR: 1574
TDEE: 2165 - 20%: 1732

marjoleina

I do not know the answer to your question, I have similar stats so I am interested in what others think.
I am
47 y.o
5' 3"
CW 154
GW 135
BMR 1364
TDE 1994 - 20% = 1595

I often eat between 1100 and 1200 calories and do not use my excersise calories, I think that MFP estimation of my excersise calories is high.
I am not losing tons of weight (unfortunately)

deksgrl

Im not new to MFP but Ive recently started keeping track and feel like I will be more successful in my attempts now. Ive been eating around 1200 calories and working out everyday. I do cardio (mostly running but sometime elliptical or bike) for 30+ minutes and the strength training that usually lasts for 30 min to an hour. Ive been reading what those have said about how many calories they were eating and its made me really confused. Am I eating too little? I don't feel like i've been struggling to stay under my 1200 limit, sometimes I stay under by a couple hundred calories.

18 y/o
ht: 5'4"
wt: 163
gw: 135
BMR: 1574
TDEE: 2165 - 20%: 1732

Since you only have less than 30 pounds to lose, yes, I would eat more. TDEE - 20% is a good goal (and don't eat back exercise cals). Or, try setting your MFP goal to lose 1 pound a week, and see if that plus your exercise cals is close to 1700.

now_or_never12

I do not know the answer to your question, I have similar stats so I am interested in what others think.
I am
47 y.o
5' 3"
CW 154
GW 135
BMR 1364
TDE 1994 - 20% = 1595

I often eat between 1100 and 1200 calories and do not use my excersise calories, I think that MFP estimation of my excersise calories is high.
I am not losing tons of weight (unfortunately)

You have 20lbs to lose.. you won't lose "tons of weight". You need to eat more. Eating so little while trying to lose isn't a good thing. You should be aiming for no more than 1lb per week.

Bamacraft

1200 seems to few for that amount of exercise but i am not aware of your intensity. I set my tracker to lose "0" lbs/week. I ate my full amount of calories and did my exercise routine ~6days per week. Thats where the deficit came from and i didnt worry about it unless i had conducted a very hard day (i.e. Kickboxing + a 3-4 mile run or a 5+ mile run). Those days i'd have a protein shake to get me a couple hundred extra cals. I averaged 3000 - 3500 calories burned through exercise. This also kept me motivated since i knew to be in a deficit i had to workout!

marjoleina

The trainer at the gym told me I had to eat more too, but its hard, since eating more is what got me here to begin with. I am adding more protein and I am eating a little more than I was. I hope it will help. I am not convinced that my intensity of my work outs is all that high. I can't run due to an injury, so that is why I do the eliptical and I just added the classes 2 weeks ago. I don't take the owrkouts into consideration, but I am trying to get closer to 1200 calories for the day without eating junk. I don't have much muscle mass imo.
Thanks for the feedback

deksgrl

The trainer at the gym told me I had to eat more too, but its hard, since eating more is what got me here to begin with. I am adding more protein and I am eating a little more than I was. I hope it will help. I am not convinced that my intensity of my work outs is all that high. I can't run due to an injury, so that is why I do the eliptical and I just added the classes 2 weeks ago. I don't take the owrkouts into consideration, but I am trying to get closer to 1200 calories for the day without eating junk. I don't have much muscle mass imo.
Thanks for the feedback

Do you know that BMR stands for basal metabolic rate? This is the amount they would feed you if you were in a coma, to fuel basic bodily functions like heart beat, breathing, brain function, organ function. So if your BMR is 1364, and you are regularly eating a few hundred calories less than that, you aren't doing your body any favors.

With a TDEE of nearly 2,000, you can certainly lose weight on something more than 1200. To gain one pound a week, you would have to have been eating 2,500 calories a day. Eat 2,000 = stay the same weight. Eat less than 2,000 = lose weight.

sandradev1

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12

This link will give you the tools you need to discover your BMR and your TDEE

Eat your TDEE less up to 20% deficit, ensuring that the figure is above your BMR.

You will lose weight, be healthy and be able to sustain your healthy lifestyle.

marjoleina

Thank you for your replies. I am going to up my calories to above my BMR and less than 20% of my TDE and see how that goes, before I started all this I was eating a lot of sugar (cookies and things at work) and not too much real food. So I am working on changing all that.

deksgrl

Thank you for your replies. I am going to up my calories to above my BMR and less than 20% of my TDE and see how that goes, before I started all this I was eating a lot of sugar (cookies and things at work) and not too much real food. So I am working on changing all that.

I think you will be happier. I am a few inches taller than you but similar weight and age, and I'm eating generally in the 1600-1700 range. I was a crazy person when I tried eating 1200 and I only lost 4 pounds and then nothing more.

marjoleina

That is what has happened, I have lost 5 and now nothing