Upped calories but read conflicting information

cmmdance

Okay, so I was one those people that thought they should eat only 1200 to 1400 calories. I have since upped them to 1700 after figuring my BMR and TDEE. But I am not sure if it enough. I am reading don't eat back exercise calories and then I read eat back exercise calories. This is all confusing. Can anyone look at my diary and let me know your thoughts? Please help. I have only lost 6 lbs. since February, but I have lost 13 inches in measurements.

shadow2soul

If you use the TDEE - 20 %, you don't eat back exercise calories. You're supposed to determine your TDEE based on the amount of exercise you do.

If you choose to do MFP's method or eat close to your BMR, then you will want to eat back your exercise calories.

I NET my BMR, but on days I workout this means that my total intake is right around what TDEE - 20% would be for me.

deksgrl

TDEE is supposed to include your exercise calories, don't eat them back.

cmmdance

Well alright then. I figured my TDEE is 2035. It said you can take 20-30%. So I have 1700, so I will not eat back my calories. I feel better and not so stupid. Thanks for you input.

savoiaS1

You were not starving yourself at 1200-1300 calories I dont care what you read. Everyone is so quick to jump into the starvation mode as an excuse to eat more food. You hit a plateau and what you should have/should do is add 100-200 calories tops and burn an extra 100 calories thru cardio. Sure your metabolism slowed a lil. Everyones does at a restriction. You can simply add more carbs to slightly increase ur metab overtime while keeping ur calories around the same and just take away a little fat and protein. Im not saying u should eat 1200 calories cuz that is a little low altho I have done a few weeks of 1200-1400 before to shed a lil extra BF after 20+weeks of dieting. Starvation really comes into play when you go from 3k calories a day to something like 900. But a slow decrease to 1400 calories will not cause u to go into starvation mode.

Sharonks

Make sure you at least net your BMR. I shoot for 1600 cals per day but I usually have a couple of high burn days where I'll burn 600 cals. When I do that I eat a little more.

herblackwings39

Congratulations on the 6 lbs and the 13 inches! That's a great loss. If you figured your exercise into your TDEE calculation you do not eat back your exercise calories. The only time I can think of when you might need to is if your workout exceeds what you put into the calculator. So if you're set at moderately active and you add in more strenuous activity then you could, technically, eat those calories back I believe.

kethry70

You were not starving yourself at 1200-1300 calories I dont care what you read. Everyone is so quick to jump into the starvation mode as an excuse to eat more food. You hit a plateau and what you should have/should do is add 100-200 calories tops and burn an extra 100 calories thru cardio. Sure your metabolism slowed a lil. Everyones does at a restriction. You can simply add more carbs to slightly increase ur metab overtime while keeping ur calories around the same and just take away a little fat and protein. Im not saying u should eat 1200 calories cuz that is a little low altho I have done a few weeks of 1200-1400 before to shed a lil extra BF after 20+weeks of dieting. Starvation really comes into play when you go from 3k calories a day to something like 900. But a slow decrease to 1400 calories will not cause u to go into starvation mode.

If one eats below their BMR for a lengthy amount of time, there will be a metabolic slow down. Why eat such a low calorie count, when you can eat more calories, not mess up your metabolism and lose weight? Noone said anything about stravation mode

savoiaS1

Im saying you eating 1200-1300 calories a day is not the reason your weightloss stalled. Fat loss is not linear. I was under the impression from ur original post that you were worried you were eating too little calories and that that was the reason your weightloss was slowed. My recommendation when you stall out is to understand that FAT LOSS is NOT linear. And that there is no reason for you to freak out and start changing ur deficit because you think thats the problem. My advice for you just by going off of ur post is if it were me and I was at a stall point. I would Stick with whatever calories you were eating that had you losing weight at a respectable rate. No matter if it was 1300 or 3000 and add an extra 700 calories for the week and in turn burn twice that from cardio. For example...if you were eating 1600x7 a week and burning 500 calories a week from cardio. I would eat 1700x7 and burn 1k calories a week. If you are just dieting and not exercising then you are missing a key component in weight loss.

You dont have to listen to me but I promise you that by adding more calories per day and changing nothing else you will not start magically losing more weight. And if you do it will simply be because fat loss is not linear.

savoiaS1

You were not starving yourself at 1200-1300 calories I dont care what you read. Everyone is so quick to jump into the starvation mode as an excuse to eat more food. You hit a plateau and what you should have/should do is add 100-200 calories tops and burn an extra 100 calories thru cardio. Sure your metabolism slowed a lil. Everyones does at a restriction. You can simply add more carbs to slightly increase ur metab overtime while keeping ur calories around the same and just take away a little fat and protein. Im not saying u should eat 1200 calories cuz that is a little low altho I have done a few weeks of 1200-1400 before to shed a lil extra BF after 20+weeks of dieting. Starvation really comes into play when you go from 3k calories a day to something like 900. But a slow decrease to 1400 calories will not cause u to go into starvation mode.

If one eats below their BMR for a lengthy amount of time, there will be a metabolic slow down. Why eat such a low calorie count, when you can eat more calories, not mess up your metabolism and lose weight? Noone said anything about stravation mode

There is a metabolic slow down in every calorie deficit situation. Either brought on by calorie restriction or energy expenditure. And you are correct in stating that a severe restriction over a lengthy time can cause a larger drop in metabolism. What you need to understand is that "lengthy" time of too strong of a deficit is MUCH MUCH longer then you think. And the knowledge you are passing on is being taken up by many uneducated people and causing them to think that a few weeks too low of a deficit will cause their metabolism to STOP. It takes MONTHS of this situation depending on the individual to cause this to happen. I read of a case in college of a male who actually burned more calories thru cardio then he was even eating for almost 6 months! And guess what....he went from 300lbs to 190lbs. His metabolism was of course a bit of a mess but returned and he was able to maintain his bodyweight at a normal calorie level within 4 weeks of slow reverse dieting.

savoiaS1

Ill also state that every summer I cut to 7-9% bodyfat and sometimes I go as low as 1300-1400 calories a day and I am a MALE with a decent amount of muscle mass. I advice you to read an e book by Lyle McDonald called the Rapid Fat Loss Handbook. And you will see that for 15 days he has people eating only 700-800 calories a day for 15 straight days and these people drop TREMENDOUS amounts of bodyfat and lose very little muscle following his guidelines. Im not saying to try this in fact his book "The Guide to flexible dieting" is a much better choice to read and follow IMO. But his techniques work and are proven and his educational background is lightyears beyond ANYONE on this forum. Point being. Too many people think they are starving thereselves and destroying their metabolism after hearing about metab crash and starvation mode ect ect. After only several weeks of a strong deficit.

LLCoolBean

Ill also state that every summer I cut to 7-9% bodyfat and sometimes I go as low as 1300-1400 calories a day and I am a MALE with a decent amount of muscle mass. I advice you to read an e book by Lyle McDonald called the Rapid Fat Loss Handbook. And you will see that for 15 days he has people eating only 700-800 calories a day for 15 straight days and these people drop TREMENDOUS amounts of bodyfat and lose very little muscle following his guidelines. Im not saying to try this in fact his book "The Guide to flexible dieting" is a much better choice to read and follow IMO. But his techniques work and are proven and his educational background is lightyears beyond ANYONE on this forum. Point being. Too many people think they are starving thereselves and destroying their metabolism after hearing about metab crash and starvation mode ect ect. After only several weeks of a strong deficit.

Thank you, not only do you look like you know what your talking about, it makes a lot of sense and very informative. Nutrition is so complex I have been worrying about this "starvation mode" thing for years since I seriously started working out (and reading up on ****) I think youre right people love this term cause it gives them a reason to eat more. I just wanna figure out what number is right for me and my workouts its so frustrating, im going to look into this percentage thing you all are referring to, I figured theres gotta be some kind of formula

savoiaS1

Ill also state that every summer I cut to 7-9% bodyfat and sometimes I go as low as 1300-1400 calories a day and I am a MALE with a decent amount of muscle mass. I advice you to read an e book by Lyle McDonald called the Rapid Fat Loss Handbook. And you will see that for 15 days he has people eating only 700-800 calories a day for 15 straight days and these people drop TREMENDOUS amounts of bodyfat and lose very little muscle following his guidelines. Im not saying to try this in fact his book "The Guide to flexible dieting" is a much better choice to read and follow IMO. But his techniques work and are proven and his educational background is lightyears beyond ANYONE on this forum. Point being. Too many people think they are starving thereselves and destroying their metabolism after hearing about metab crash and starvation mode ect ect. After only several weeks of a strong deficit.

Thank you, not only do you look like you know what your talking about, it makes a lot of sense and very informative. Nutrition is so complex I have been worrying about this "starvation mode" thing for years since I seriously started working out (and reading up on ****) I think youre right people love this term cause it gives them a reason to eat more. I just wanna figure out what number is right for me and my workouts its so frustrating, im going to look into this percentage thing you all are referring to, I figured theres gotta be some kind of formula

You are welcome. You were one of those people who listened to misinformation and GOOD FOR YOU in realizing that not all info out there is true. Continue to read real information from educated people. I am simply passing on information I have read myself and put to use in my own quest. This game takes time and trial and error for everyone. Slow and steady wins the race EVERY TIME when it comes to fitness and a sustainable physique that you are proud of.

savoiaS1

Im saying you eating 1200-1300 calories a day is not the reason your weightloss stalled. Fat loss is not linear. I was under the impression from ur original post that you were worried you were eating too little calories and that that was the reason your weightloss was slowed. My recommendation when you stall out is to understand that FAT LOSS is NOT linear. And that there is no reason for you to freak out and start changing ur deficit because you think thats the problem. My advice for you just by going off of ur post is if it were me and I was at a stall point. I would Stick with whatever calories you were eating that had you losing weight at a respectable rate. No matter if it was 1300 or 3000 and add an extra 700 calories for the week and in turn burn twice that from cardio. For example...if you were eating 1600x7 a week and burning 500 calories a week from cardio. I would eat 1700x7 and burn 1k calories a week. If you are just dieting and not exercising then you are missing a key component in weight loss.

You dont have to listen to me but I promise you that by adding more calories per day and changing nothing else you will not start magically losing more weight. And if you do it will simply be because fat loss is not linear.

I just thought it was an interesting approach to go low then slowly increase your calories when you stall out. There have been many people who have stalled out on low calorie diets for months at a time. I personally did RFL(which you mentioned in the other topic) the book is complete crap btw. I did it for a 5 weeks, first week i lost 10lbs in 3-4 days. Then stalled out for a month. I was eating about... 1,300 calories a day. at 297lbs. I realized i was just spinning my wheels, took 2 days off. Had 2 days of refeed, gained back all the weight. It was a complete waste.

It works for some and doesnt for others. I personally would never do RFL. Mainly because you do pretty much NO cardio and weight training. Lyle only made that book because EVERYONE wants the quick fix. The guide to flexible dieting is a much better book but unfortunately nobody wants to read that. Back to what I originally said. What I was trying to say but maybe didnt come out correctly was. When I hit stall. I usually add an extra bit of carbs to my weekly calories. But in turn I burn MORE then that thru cardio. Why this works for me? Who knows. Maybe i just break thru the plateau BUT my logic is that the extra carbs gives me more fuel for intense cardio and workouts and maybe at the same time the carbs very slightly increase my metab a bit which carbs can do. P.S. your weightloss is fantastic which im sure everyone has said to you already. But Ill add my congrats as well. Good job.

StArBeLLa87

Im saying you eating 1200-1300 calories a day is not the reason your weightloss stalled. Fat loss is not linear. I was under the impression from ur original post that you were worried you were eating too little calories and that that was the reason your weightloss was slowed. My recommendation when you stall out is to understand that FAT LOSS is NOT linear. And that there is no reason for you to freak out and start changing ur deficit because you think thats the problem. My advice for you just by going off of ur post is if it were me and I was at a stall point. I would Stick with whatever calories you were eating that had you losing weight at a respectable rate. No matter if it was 1300 or 3000 and add an extra 700 calories for the week and in turn burn twice that from cardio. For example...if you were eating 1600x7 a week and burning 500 calories a week from cardio. I would eat 1700x7 and burn 1k calories a week. If you are just dieting and not exercising then you are missing a key component in weight loss.

You dont have to listen to me but I promise you that by adding more calories per day and changing nothing else you will not start magically losing more weight. And if you do it will simply be because fat loss is not linear.

I totally agree I'm actually using this approach and knock on wood I haven't hit a stall yet!

savoiaS1

Im saying you eating 1200-1300 calories a day is not the reason your weightloss stalled. Fat loss is not linear. I was under the impression from ur original post that you were worried you were eating too little calories and that that was the reason your weightloss was slowed. My recommendation when you stall out is to understand that FAT LOSS is NOT linear. And that there is no reason for you to freak out and start changing ur deficit because you think thats the problem. My advice for you just by going off of ur post is if it were me and I was at a stall point. I would Stick with whatever calories you were eating that had you losing weight at a respectable rate. No matter if it was 1300 or 3000 and add an extra 700 calories for the week and in turn burn twice that from cardio. For example...if you were eating 1600x7 a week and burning 500 calories a week from cardio. I would eat 1700x7 and burn 1k calories a week. If you are just dieting and not exercising then you are missing a key component in weight loss.

You dont have to listen to me but I promise you that by adding more calories per day and changing nothing else you will not start magically losing more weight. And if you do it will simply be because fat loss is not linear.

I totally agree I'm actually using this approach and knock on wood I haven't hit a stall yet!

Awesome. Keep it up! And if you hit a stall DONT FREAK OUT.

StArBeLLa87

Im saying you eating 1200-1300 calories a day is not the reason your weightloss stalled. Fat loss is not linear. I was under the impression from ur original post that you were worried you were eating too little calories and that that was the reason your weightloss was slowed. My recommendation when you stall out is to understand that FAT LOSS is NOT linear. And that there is no reason for you to freak out and start changing ur deficit because you think thats the problem. My advice for you just by going off of ur post is if it were me and I was at a stall point. I would Stick with whatever calories you were eating that had you losing weight at a respectable rate. No matter if it was 1300 or 3000 and add an extra 700 calories for the week and in turn burn twice that from cardio. For example...if you were eating 1600x7 a week and burning 500 calories a week from cardio. I would eat 1700x7 and burn 1k calories a week. If you are just dieting and not exercising then you are missing a key component in weight loss.

You dont have to listen to me but I promise you that by adding more calories per day and changing nothing else you will not start magically losing more weight. And if you do it will simply be because fat loss is not linear.

I totally agree I'm actually using this approach and knock on wood I haven't hit a stall yet!

Awesome. Keep it up! And if you hit a stall DONT FREAK OUT.

Lol yeah I'm struggling upping my cals but I eat pretty clean! Trying to get up to 1500 calories due to my activity level! But really I don't feel like I starve myself I eat pretty balanced meals with what I can eat! This is a life style change not a diet to me!

savoiaS1

Im saying you eating 1200-1300 calories a day is not the reason your weightloss stalled. Fat loss is not linear. I was under the impression from ur original post that you were worried you were eating too little calories and that that was the reason your weightloss was slowed. My recommendation when you stall out is to understand that FAT LOSS is NOT linear. And that there is no reason for you to freak out and start changing ur deficit because you think thats the problem. My advice for you just by going off of ur post is if it were me and I was at a stall point. I would Stick with whatever calories you were eating that had you losing weight at a respectable rate. No matter if it was 1300 or 3000 and add an extra 700 calories for the week and in turn burn twice that from cardio. For example...if you were eating 1600x7 a week and burning 500 calories a week from cardio. I would eat 1700x7 and burn 1k calories a week. If you are just dieting and not exercising then you are missing a key component in weight loss.

You dont have to listen to me but I promise you that by adding more calories per day and changing nothing else you will not start magically losing more weight. And if you do it will simply be because fat loss is not linear.

I totally agree I'm actually using this approach and knock on wood I haven't hit a stall yet!

Awesome. Keep it up! And if you hit a stall DONT FREAK OUT.

Lol yeah I'm struggling upping my cals but I eat pretty clean! Trying to get up to 1500 calories due to my activity level! But really I don't feel like I starve myself I eat pretty balanced meals with what I can eat! This is a life style change not a diet to me!

Honestly if u are losing on whatever you are doing I wouldnt change much. You said u havent stalled so why add more calories? The increase of activity will help u burn more at ur current calorie level. That being said if u r going insane with hunger and on the brink of a binge then by all means add a small amount.

StArBeLLa87

Im saying you eating 1200-1300 calories a day is not the reason your weightloss stalled. Fat loss is not linear. I was under the impression from ur original post that you were worried you were eating too little calories and that that was the reason your weightloss was slowed. My recommendation when you stall out is to understand that FAT LOSS is NOT linear. And that there is no reason for you to freak out and start changing ur deficit because you think thats the problem. My advice for you just by going off of ur post is if it were me and I was at a stall point. I would Stick with whatever calories you were eating that had you losing weight at a respectable rate. No matter if it was 1300 or 3000 and add an extra 700 calories for the week and in turn burn twice that from cardio. For example...if you were eating 1600x7 a week and burning 500 calories a week from cardio. I would eat 1700x7 and burn 1k calories a week. If you are just dieting and not exercising then you are missing a key component in weight loss.

You dont have to listen to me but I promise you that by adding more calories per day and changing nothing else you will not start magically losing more weight. And if you do it will simply be because fat loss is not linear.

I totally agree I'm actually using this approach and knock on wood I haven't hit a stall yet!

Awesome. Keep it up! And if you hit a stall DONT FREAK OUT.

Lol yeah I'm struggling upping my cals but I eat pretty clean! Trying to get up to 1500 calories due to my activity level! But really I don't feel like I starve myself I eat pretty balanced meals with what I can eat! This is a life style change not a diet to me!

Honestly if u are losing on whatever you are doing I wouldnt change much. You said u havent stalled so why add more calories? The increase of activity will help u burn more at ur current calorie level. That being said if u r going insane with hunger and on the brink of a binge then by all means add a small amount.

Lol nope no binging for me quite opposite I just started eating at 1000 to 1200 so I think I'll try to just stay at least at 1200 no less! Ty for the advice! Oh by the way I don't agree with you when you said khloe kardashian in the celebrity forum haha
Thanks or your input!

savoiaS1

Im saying you eating 1200-1300 calories a day is not the reason your weightloss stalled. Fat loss is not linear. I was under the impression from ur original post that you were worried you were eating too little calories and that that was the reason your weightloss was slowed. My recommendation when you stall out is to understand that FAT LOSS is NOT linear. And that there is no reason for you to freak out and start changing ur deficit because you think thats the problem. My advice for you just by going off of ur post is if it were me and I was at a stall point. I would Stick with whatever calories you were eating that had you losing weight at a respectable rate. No matter if it was 1300 or 3000 and add an extra 700 calories for the week and in turn burn twice that from cardio. For example...if you were eating 1600x7 a week and burning 500 calories a week from cardio. I would eat 1700x7 and burn 1k calories a week. If you are just dieting and not exercising then you are missing a key component in weight loss.

You dont have to listen to me but I promise you that by adding more calories per day and changing nothing else you will not start magically losing more weight. And if you do it will simply be because fat loss is not linear.

I totally agree I'm actually using this approach and knock on wood I haven't hit a stall yet!

Awesome. Keep it up! And if you hit a stall DONT FREAK OUT.

Lol yeah I'm struggling upping my cals but I eat pretty clean! Trying to get up to 1500 calories due to my activity level! But really I don't feel like I starve myself I eat pretty balanced meals with what I can eat! This is a life style change not a diet to me!

Honestly if u are losing on whatever you are doing I wouldnt change much. You said u havent stalled so why add more calories? The increase of activity will help u burn more at ur current calorie level. That being said if u r going insane with hunger and on the brink of a binge then by all means add a small amount.

Lol nope no binging for me quite opposite I just started eating at 1000 to 1200 so I think I'll try to just stay at least at 1200 no less! Ty for the advice! Oh by the way I don't agree with you when you said khloe kardashian in the celebrity forum haha
Thanks or your input!

Haha I couldnt really think of anything.

cmmdance

Holy Smokes that was a lot of information. My original post was to get input on my diary and questions about TDEE. I was hoping for advice about my nutritional intake and exercise to see what else I can do to lose the weight. I started at 1200 calories and exercised averaged about 300 calories a day. When I stopped losing weight was when I increased my exercise with the same amount of calories. I also found that eating 1200 calories was very hard. So I increased to 1400, and then I lost a little. I have since increased my exercise and now average 500-800 calories burned a day. But no weight loss again. I am beginning to get aggravated. I measure my food and write everything down. I have been working out hard. I am not giving up, I am hoping that I learn from this to improve my overall knowledge of diet and nutrion.