Simple Confirmation needed

mell6355

So I have been netting 1200 calories since September and had great success until now!!!! As I have read all over the forum, no one will be shocked by that. I am pretty close to actually seeing some muscle definition now and I am going to start focusing on more strength training and less cardio. So I know I need to change my diet and I have been trying to figure it out.
This post is just an attempt to make sure I am on the right track, I know a lot of people are looking for the same confirmations, so thank you in advance for your time and knowledge.

I am 30, 5'11" and stuck at 199 pounds. I have lost 39 pounds since 9-2012 but been hovering between 196 and 201 since Christmas. With the exclusion of the holidays and mini vacation I log pretty accurate and do weigh foods I am not sure on. I have a desk job but I do get up and walk throughout the day, if it is not subzero I go for atleast one 15 minute walk (usually 2). I do some form of working out 5-6 days a week (45 minutes a day). My goal weight is 175. I used Fat 2 Fit calculators and see my BMR is 1713, I am right in the middle of overweight for BMI, and my light activeity daily calories are 2212, moderately active is 2494. I also try to do 40/30/30 for carbs,protein, and fat.

So I think I should eat no less than 1713 on my rest days. (or any day for that matter)
Try to eat 2212 on regular exercise days and maybe try for 2494 on lifting days?

I am up for trying it for a few weeks and seeing where I get, I have been exhausted the last few weeks and for the first time in 5 months I have not gotten up this week to workout in the morning...... so sad!!!

mell6355

Anyone have a say??? I thought pro's and con's would be flying!

laccy40

I'm new at this too, but I think you are supposed to take 20% off your tdee and just eat at that level. Or if you exercise especially heavily one day, eat back some calories that day.

BarbieAS

If you're going to be lifting more and doing less cardio, you're probably lightly active. If I were you, I'd shoot for an average of about 1775 calories per day - spread it around between rest days and workout days however you want, but look for that average for the week. Your loss will probably pick up again but might be slightly slower than before (and that's ok, you're getting pretty close to goal). If not, try upping them a little more. Give each calorie level 4-6 weeks for a good trial run.

RunsOnEspresso

I think you should definitely be eating above your BMR now. As laccy40 said, TDEE-20% daily is pretty standard. You are within 25 pounds of your goal weight. Also remember that if you are lifting, you may see the scale not move/go up. You didn't mention if you take measurements now. If you don't, start. The scale may not move but you may still lose inches.

1ConcreteGirl

The easiest way to calculate TDEE, in my opinion, is to set your activity level at sedentary, so that you can log all exercise and eat back those exercise calories. Makes it much easier to me.

That said, I ran your numbers and came up with a TDEE of 2243 and BMR of 1869. Your TDEE minus 20% is 1795.

Based on that, you should be NETTING about 1800 calories per day.

Because you have been netting 1200 for so long, you should slowly increase your calories by about 200 per week until you are consistently netting 1800 per day, so that your body doesn't freak out.

haroon_awan

Have a read of http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/how-to-estimate-maintenance-caloric-intake.html

To summarise it, eat: ~11-13 cal/lb of bodyweight.
For example, I weigh 155lbs so for fat loss I should eat between 1705 and 2015 calories per day. To be "specific" I should eat 20% less than my maintenance (2325) so that's 1860 per day.
Set protein to 1g/lb of weight. You can do target weight if you a large amount to lose.
Set fat to .45-.5 (Women handle fats better than men)
Fill the remaining calories with carbs.

Eat the same on ALL days, regardless of whether you are lifting or not.

BarackMeLikeAHurricane

If your goal is fat loss/recomp, eat TDEE - 30% on rest/cardio days and TDEE + 10% on lifting days

mell6355

Wow! Great information thank you for your input! Everyone does it a little different but I think I get the short story. I will give it 4-6 weeks and see where I am. I am a lot happier with my overall health now so losing isn't the primary goal, but I definately want the scale to start moving again!