Newbie here with diet questions
hsnider29
Posts: 394 Member
Hi all. I am planning on starting SL later on today. I have been going to the gym since last October doing Zumba and various other cardio and using the machines to lift weights. I'm really nervous. My DH is going to participate but he is just as clueless as I am about form and such. I've been watching Youtube videos all night from Mendi (sp).
I have quite a bit of fat to lose. I've successfully lost and regained 30 lbs twice so I have decided to change things this time. I want to lift heavy and not restrict my calories to 1200. I am 5 foot and 155 lbs. I did the BMR calculator online and it estimates that my BMR is around 1440. I set my calories on MFP to match that and I have been eating most of my exercise calories. I would still like to take my Zumba class on Thursday's and Friday's because I enjoy it so much but I'm fine with dropping other forms of cardio.
I guess my question is, how many calories should I be eating on days I lift? I can estimate my calories on cardio days because I have a HRM but have heard they are not effective while strength training. I also don't want to fall into the trap of eating too few calories that won't be something I can maintain when I get to where I want to be. I have decided to stay off the scale and not set any weight loss goals. I do want to lose weight though! I don't even know my BF % but would imagine it is around 35%. Any help on the calories would be greatly appreciate.
Heather
I have quite a bit of fat to lose. I've successfully lost and regained 30 lbs twice so I have decided to change things this time. I want to lift heavy and not restrict my calories to 1200. I am 5 foot and 155 lbs. I did the BMR calculator online and it estimates that my BMR is around 1440. I set my calories on MFP to match that and I have been eating most of my exercise calories. I would still like to take my Zumba class on Thursday's and Friday's because I enjoy it so much but I'm fine with dropping other forms of cardio.
I guess my question is, how many calories should I be eating on days I lift? I can estimate my calories on cardio days because I have a HRM but have heard they are not effective while strength training. I also don't want to fall into the trap of eating too few calories that won't be something I can maintain when I get to where I want to be. I have decided to stay off the scale and not set any weight loss goals. I do want to lose weight though! I don't even know my BF % but would imagine it is around 35%. Any help on the calories would be greatly appreciate.
Heather
0
Replies
-
I got too lazy to try and calculate how many calories I was burning. I started using this instead:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/750920-spreadsheet-for-bmr-tdee-deficit-macro-calcs-hrm-zones
It starts out looking a little confusing, but once you figure out what goes in all the boxes, it's a really simple, step-by-step guide that will tell you how many calories you should be eating based on your activity levels. You can calculate it yourself, but...0 -
Hi Heather I used the TDEE calculator on this site to help me:
http://www.iifym.com/tdee-calculator
There are many others out there that might suit your input criteria better, just google tdee calculator. Also experiment with what food ratios work for you and calorie levels, I am still playing with mine at the moment. Your calories should be higher than your bmr especially if you are working out in some capacity...I think in order to lose weight you need to start at your TDEE minus 20% or something like that?0 -
I do a TDEE based calculation as well, rather than the MFP way of eating back exercise calories BUT I think eating back exercise calories is a great way for people to stay motivated to work out and also to remind them that the secret to fitness is activity.
So, back in the day when I DID eat exercise calories, I gave myself 250-350 (Depending on how long it took me) for lifting. But I can eat WAY more than that and maintain so its not a great metric, but I'd say its a good start anyway, and as long as you're not set to lose more than 1lb/week, a little extra deficit from exercise won't be a bad thing.
Make sure you've got MFP set up to the right activity level. *Most* people are at least lightly active, even before deliberate exercise. You do thinks like walk around stores, make meals, get coffee or water, go to the bathroom, walk from the parking lot, etc. Very few people are truly "sedentary".0 -
I eat my sedentary TDEE-15% and eat back my exercise calories. I also try to maintain a weekly average instead of a daily one. Some days I lift I'm not that hungry and the next day I'll be starving. I've been doing this since 11/12 and I've been losing, but I didn't start Stronglifts until the beginning of December. I'll re-evaluate in the middle of January and adjust from there. What I'm trying to get across with all my babbling is to try something out for a month and be consistent. If you're not losing lbs or inches tweak from there.0
-
I eat my sedentary TDEE-15% and eat back my exercise calories. I also try to maintain a weekly average instead of a daily one. Some days I lift I'm not that hungry and the next day I'll be starving. I've been doing this since 11/12 and I've been losing, but I didn't start Stronglifts until the beginning of December. I'll re-evaluate in the middle of January and adjust from there. What I'm trying to get across with all my babbling is to try something out for a month and be consistent. If you're not losing lbs or inches tweak from there.
Best strategy in the world, really. Try something reasonable (as in not super low cal) and see how you do.0
This discussion has been closed.