Hesitant to eat more: TDEE..and lifting?

kassiebby1124

Ahoy (: I'm Kassie! Uhm. Well, I've been stalled bouncing around in the 190s so I was told to up my calorie intake. Why not, right? I like food. But..I guess I feel afraid to eat more. It sounds silly, I know. I just don't want my progress to be in vain. I follow the TDEE -20% method, lift 3x a week and do cardio, though I dislike cardio. I'm a vegetarian, also.

Uhm, how quickly would I see results if I lifted and ate at this limit? I know it's slow and steady wins the race, but would I see them within maybe a month? Lately, it's been hard to get up to the number I set myself at. I'm so used to eating so much less, I feel kinda sick when I eat more or I feel bad about it.

**I posted this in a group thread, too**

yarwell

So you're eating TDEE-20% - how many calories of food ? Your closed diary doesn't invite comment.

Generally if you were to add 500 calories a day in a month you would know the effect. If it added fat you would be +4 lbs. So the downside is limited if you want to give it a try.

kassiebby1124

So you're eating TDEE-20% - how many calories of food ? Your closed diary doesn't invite comment.

Generally if you were to add 500 calories a day in a month you would know the effect. If it added fat you would be +4 lbs. So the downside is limited if you want to give it a try.

I'm kind of confused at what you mean...If I added fat?

And I didn't know my diary was closed. My BMR is around 1700 and my TDEE is 2600 so my -20% is around 2100, but I made my limit to be 1800. I'll open it up (if I can figure out how)

ironanimal

So you're not actually doing -20%.

Well at that deficit, if your weightloss were entirely linear, theoretically you would be losing ( (800*7)/3500 ) 1.6lbs a week.

yarwell

If you were to increase your calories and it didn't have the desired effect you would put on fat - but only 1 lb/week if you add 500 calories. So it's worth the chance if you're stalled for over a month.

Edit: Your diary is open now, thanks. Protein tends to be too low in my opinion - at least hit your target. Less carb, more protein. Some of the entries don't correctly allocate protein so although the calories are OK check on the protein too.

kassiebby1124

Oh, okay I get it .

@iron- I'm not so focused on the scale number, as I am body fat percentage. Will I continue to lose body fat if I follow this paired with TDEE?

kassiebby1124

Edit: Your diary is open now, thanks. Protein tends to be too low in my opinion - at least hit your target. Less carb, more protein. Some of the entries don't correctly allocate protein so although the calories are OK check on the protein too.

I'm having trouble with macros, honestly. I know it's per pound of LBM, but I don't know how to do it in regards to percentage. I have 101lbs of lbm, but I don't know how to put that in the macros.

Also, I'm just struggling with protein since I don't eat meat. I just became a vegetarian, so I'm trying to figure out what I should eat protein wise.

Alta2000

You do not eat even close to 1800. Many days you were under 1000 and only now you are at 1400. You need to incorporate more fresh fruits and vegetables in your diet and cut on bread and processed food. Eat more salad, and eat regular foods, not the lowfat/nonfat peanut butter/mayo.

Are you in college? Is there free membership there, or do you have a gym membership, or do you exercise at home? What is your weight/height? What exercises do you do?

ironanimal

Oh, okay I get it .

@iron- I'm not so focused on the scale number, as I am body fat percentage. Will I continue to lose body fat if I follow this paired with TDEE?

That is something none of us can give you a time estimate on, but you will lose body fat, yes. If you're losing weight and retaining as much of your muscle as possible, that weight will come more from fat, so your fat:muscle ratio decreases, and thusly, bodyfat percentage falls.

kassiebby1124

You do not eat even close to 1800. Many days you were under 1000 and only now you are at 1400. You need to incorporate more fresh fruits and vegetables in your diet and cut on bread and processed food. Eat more salad, and eat regular foods, not the lowfat/nonfat peanut butter/mayo.

Are you in college? Is there free membership there, or do you have a gym membership, or do you exercise at home? What is your weight/height? What exercises do you do?

I'm not in college, but I do go to the gym. I'm in the 190s (not too sure where I'm at) and I'm 5'4

I mentioned that I struggled with reaching my limits. My mom just happens to buy a lot of the low fat stuff. I go to the gym 3x a week. I have a 5min warm up on a bike, then I lift for 45 mins to an hour.

yarwell

I don't know what vegetarians do about protein, that's one reason I am not one as it seems a fairly futile idea.

You better find a vegetarian group of friends on here and learn from them. Cheese springs to mind, and eggs, but they're about 70 fat to 30 protein. So whey proteins and the like may be the way to go - protein shakes ??

If you have 100 lbs of LBM then you want to be eating 80g of protein to get 0.8 g per lb. Go to http://www.myfitnesspal.com/account/change_goals_custom and dial in the required protein level to get a target of 80g.

80g of P is 320 calories which would be 16% of 2000 for example. You may be overestimating your TDEE too, what's your body weight ? Spotted it - Katch McArdle puts your BMR at 1360 so let's say TDEE is 2000. http://www.calculatorpro.com/calculator/katch-mcardle-bmr-calculator/ with 48% body fat.

kassiebby1124

That is something none of us can give you a time estimate on, but you will lose body fat, yes. If you're losing weight and retaining as much of your muscle as possible, that weight will come more from fat, so your fat:muscle ratio decreases, and thusly, bodyfat percentage falls.

What is the best way to retain muscle?

@yarwell- I've wanted to buy protein shakes, I just can't afford it right now.
My body weight when I last weighed was 195.

yarwell

Suggest you try a vegetarian group for low cost veg protein ideas.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/groups/search?utf8=✓&phrase=vegetarian

http://www.nomeatathlete.com/vegetarian-protein/ gives some info on protein foods (scroll down)

ironanimal

That is something none of us can give you a time estimate on, but you will lose body fat, yes. If you're losing weight and retaining as much of your muscle as possible, that weight will come more from fat, so your fat:muscle ratio decreases, and thusly, bodyfat percentage falls.

What is the best way to retain muscle?

@yarwell- I've wanted to buy protein shakes, I just can't afford it right now.
My body weight when I last weighed was 195.

Plenty of protein, moderate deficit and challenging weight lifting - doing sets where you can't push out more than 8 reps at a time.

If you do the math you'll probably find that per gram of protein, protein shakes are one of the cheapest options. As a vegetarian you can do whey, can't you?

kassiebby1124

Thank you both, very much.

@Iron- yeah, I'm pretty sure I can. (:

metaphoria

Regarding protein:
1/2 cup 1% cottage cheese - 16g
Good quality Greek or other yogurt (read ingredients, avoid gelatin or cornstarch) - protein amounts vary.
Sunflower and pumpkin seeds are healthy fats and have more protein than most nuts.
Quinoa and lentils are higher in protein than other grains.
Soy has protein but has been suggested that it simulates estrogen so eat in moderation if this concerns you.

LauraW1219

Body bi vi protein shakes. 7 carbs, 1 fat, 12 protein, and 5 fiber. I know it's 40 bucks a month, but well worth it.

ironanimal

Body bi vi protein shakes. 7 carbs, 1 fat, 12 protein, and 5 fiber. I know it's 40 bucks a month, but well worth it.

My regular old whey protein shake is 1 carb, 1 fat, 16 protein - before I even include the milk I mix it with and I paid £40 for 5kg of it. The Body by Vi just seems... pointless.

kassiebby1124

Thanks everyone c:

LauraW1219

To me they taste better so much so I don't have to use Milk in the shake. I just use steam distilled water. You can keep that whey stuff. If I can't stomach the taste I know I won't use it. I was only trying to give her other options.

Alta2000

You do not eat even close to 1800. Many days you were under 1000 and only now you are at 1400. You need to incorporate more fresh fruits and vegetables in your diet and cut on bread and processed food. Eat more salad, and eat regular foods, not the lowfat/nonfat peanut butter/mayo.

Are you in college? Is there free membership there, or do you have a gym membership, or do you exercise at home? What is your weight/height? What exercises do you do?

I'm not in college, but I do go to the gym. I'm in the 190s (not too sure where I'm at) and I'm 5'4

I mentioned that I struggled with reaching my limits. My mom just happens to buy a lot of the low fat stuff. I go to the gym 3x a week. I have a 5min warm up on a bike, then I lift for 45 mins to an hour.

You should set it to 1740, that's your TDEE-25%, http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/
Get something like Skippy's crunchy peanut butter, not the smooth and not the honey one. 2 tb is 190 calories. Eat green salad with lemon or vinegar and olive oil for dressing. 1 apple daily or another fruit so it will become a daily routine. Can you eat eggs? Hard boil a dozen and leave them in the fridge to eat as snack. Get Greek yogurt, Fage has better taste, or Dannon regular and add olive oil and salt and pepper for savory, or add honey and walnuts (small quantities of walnuts/honey/oil) to eat for sweet.

You should also incorporate more cardio. Do 20 min HITT after weights, or walk in an incline, or take a class if your gym offers and are included in the membership.