Activity Level and Calories

AKosky585

I am fairly new to EMTWL....I upped from 1200 to 1600 calories per day. I have been here for 2 weeks, while also doing the Turbo Fire workouts 6-7 days per week. On top of that, I usually get on the treadmill 2-3x per week for a 30-45 minute brisk walk.

My job is 40 hours a week on my feet. I work in a bakery, so I am constantly moving.

According to my Body Media, I burn anywhere from 2500-3100 calories per day. I always thought that this was way high, but it could be quite accurate and I am underestimating myself.

I am 27, 5'4 and 140 pounds.

What should I set my activity level as, and does 1600 calories seem like enough?

holleysings

NO WAY IS 1600 ENOUGH!!!! That is a HUGE deficit. You're definitely netting below your BMR. You should take your average calories burned for a week from your body media and cut from there. I too have a high burn and I almost never eat below 2300 even on a cut. You probably should be set to extremely active.

heybales

I am fairly new to EMTWL....I upped from 1200 to 1600 calories per day. I have been here for 2 weeks, while also doing the Turbo Fire workouts 6-7 days per week. On top of that, I usually get on the treadmill 2-3x per week for a 30-45 minute brisk walk.

My job is 40 hours a week on my feet. I work in a bakery, so I am constantly moving.

According to my Body Media, I burn anywhere from 2500-3100 calories per day. I always thought that this was way high, but it could be quite accurate and I am underestimating myself.

I am 27, 5'4 and 140 pounds.

What should I set my activity level as, and does 1600 calories seem like enough?

What basis do you have to think that 2500-3100 for that much activity sounds too high? The fact you may have been eating at 1200?

In fact, I'd bet the BMF is underestimating the TurboFire, that's not the kind of actions and movements it estimates well on.

AKosky585

I guess that in my mind, yes, the fact that I NEVER lost on 1200 (I always had to go lower) to lose weight had me thinking I had a super slow metabolism. I absolutely refuse to go under 800 calories though to only drop 1 pound a week (which is what I stupidly did 10 years ago in high school)

The only place to go is up. Yesterday I had closer to 1800 calories, so maybe since its been 2 weeks at 1600 and my clothes are still fitting fine, then it is time to up again.

katevarner

I find that my BodyMedia is pretty accurate. Do you really only have 16 lbs. to lose? If so, you only need to be eating at most 500 per day under your TDEE. When I was trying to lose, I ate 500-650 per day under that day's TDEE and lost a little over a pound a week at first and about .8 lbs. per week as I got closer to goal. I think you are exercising too much and not eating enough. Try to get within 750 calories of your TDEE every day, and I'd get even closer. Take at least one rest day per week--your body needs a break to rebuild. If you doubt the validity of BMF, then discount it about 10% but no more. It's very likely that you burn that much per day. If you want to use a calculator instead of the BMF (and I wouldn't since the calculators aren't any more accurate and will likely be less accurate since they aren't geared to the person, just your numbers), then go with very active or even extremely active (my BMF corresponds to about midway between the two with 5 workouts per week and a relatively active job).

1600 is barely above your BMR, and with the workouts, unless you are eating back all of your exercise calories, you are still way too low. EAT!

AKosky585

I am trying to eat! lol

One of my main thing is getting the calories in while still being 80% healthy. Like for today, I still have at least 500 calories left, but am out of fat already. What can I eat that will help me get in those calores without adding much if any fat?

And yes, I do have 16 pounds to go. I will reevaluate once I get there, but definitely no more than 21 pounds to go. I am mainly concentrating on how I look/fit of clothes though. I haven't weighed in over 2 weeks.

holleysings

I am trying to eat! lol

One of my main thing is getting the calories in while still being 80% healthy. Like for today, I still have at least 500 calories left, but am out of fat already. What can I eat that will help me get in those calores without adding much if any fat?

And yes, I do have 16 pounds to go. I will reevaluate once I get there, but definitely no more than 21 pounds to go. I am mainly concentrating on how I look/fit of clothes though. I haven't weighed in over 2 weeks.

Stop eating low calorie processed foods like sandwich thins. Switch them out for calorie-dense whole grain bread or start eating oatmeal. A cup of oats is 300 calories and good for you! Eat twice as much as you normally would eat at breakfast. Put more stuff on your salad. Don't be afraid of healthy fats! Nuts and avocados are great, healthy, high calorie foods.

You have to switch your mindset from "how low calorie can I make this meal" to "what do I need to eat to properly fuel my body today." I had to make a similar switch back in June. It's hard at first, but you can do it! :flowerforyou:

Greenrun99

I am fairly new to EMTWL....I upped from 1200 to 1600 calories per day. I have been here for 2 weeks, while also doing the Turbo Fire workouts 6-7 days per week. On top of that, I usually get on the treadmill 2-3x per week for a 30-45 minute brisk walk.
...
According to my Body Media, I burn anywhere from 2500-3100 calories per day. I always thought that this was way high, but it could be quite accurate and I am underestimating myself.

Your body media takes into account your BMR and then your steps and your turbofire etc.. so if your calories you burn per day just from laying on your back is 1400 (or could be higher), then you add turbofire, which for an hour you probably burn 500 calories, then your moving all day, another 500.. and you hit the treadmill for a brisk walk for 45 minutes, probably 250 calories.. so your upt here at your body media estimate.. so you are way undereating, you should be around 2200 calories a day...

Also if you are close to being over on a macro, just work harder the next day to be closer but that doesn't mean you can't eat the food.. calories are calories.. we just try to be even so we aren't eating just junk all day.. but fat does not equal fat on your body.. You still need the calories, just try not to end the day at 80%, 10 and 10 or something like that.. its just a guide to follow not a be all end all stop eating type thing.
And I looked at your diary, I could only say try a bit more with protein if your looking for the body image instead of scale weight, you want to retain that LBM and with your high burns, any scale movement will probably result in losing more of that.

AKosky585

Thanks for the suggestions everyone! I definitely have some ideas for making my calories higher now. I appreciate the time took to help me out on this!