New, help!

redraidergirl2009

Hi, I just joined, figured I'd give this a try. I am playing with the calorie calculator and I'm not sure where to set my activity level so I was hoping for some input? I exercise 5 days a week, 2-3 of those days I do weights at the gym +20-30 mins cardio, then other days I do walking/jogging, a workout video like kick boxing, pilates. or yoga and those videos are about 45mins to an hour. Other than that I am not very active since I am finishing up my schoolwork and will not be getting a job until I graduate in the middle of may. I will likely get an active job then such as hostessing until I can get a difference job. I think I should use the 3-5hrs a week of moderate exercise as my setting, I also want to lose about a pound a week so I am wondering if I should do the 20% of 25% reduction?

As per my weightloss background I have been eating 1500 calories or less daily for about a month and I lost 1 pound at first and then nothing after that. Admittedly one or two days a week I eat 1700 calories but never over 2000 with the exception of one day last week and easter. Before that I was eating 1600-1700 with no results, I just maintained but I did not exercise as much. Prior to that I was on some medication with a side effect of weight gain and cravings for sweets (I don't really eat sweets normally) and I gained 10lbs in 6wks. I got off that medication in december but I am having trouble losing the weight. I am also on blood pressure medication, but that does not appear to have a side effect of weight gain, but I do retain water on it and drink a lot of water daily. I may never be off that medication, but I am hoping losing weight may help get my blood pressure down enough so I can at least reduce my dosage. From my medical records it appears my blood pressure has slowly been going up as I gained weight.

Thanks for reading and your help. I hoping this works.

KarenJanine

How much weight do you have to lose? A 25% reduction would not generally be recommended apart from perhaps in obese people with a lot to lose. 20% should be the maximum cut for most people, decreasing to 15% and 10% as you get closer to goal. People with less than 10lbs to lose should only be aiming for 1/2lb loss per week.

I would agree with the Moderate activity level of 3 to 5 hrs, depending on how long your lifting sessions are. Be sure to reassess this when you get a job though and are on your feet all day. With an active job like waitressing it may be helpful to use a pedometer all day to see how much you are actually moving in a day to get a good idea of how active you are, which is usually considered as the following:

<5000 steps - sedentary
5000 to 7499 - lightly active
7500 - 9999 - moderately active
10000 - 12499 - active
>12500 - highly active

Obviously you'd need to take your workouts into account on top of this.

Also recalculate your TDEE whenever your weight changes by 5lbs.

redraidergirl2009

Thank you for your help. I have a pedometer so I will use it when I get a job. I have 35-40lbs to lose. I am 5'2", 166. I'd like to get to 130. I will try the 20% reduction which puts me at around 1900 calories a day. I really don't think I have been fueling my body. I eat far less than when i was stable at lower weights. A few years ago I post 20lbs eating regularly, I wasn't constricting my calories, but I was working out. Maybe at that time I was at a good number.