Am I eating too FEW calories?! or too MANY?!

6sixpackplease6 · September 2012

Im 5'10 and 156.8 pounds, and I was the same 3ish weeks ago as well, I have been working out A LOT more than before i started, and I am eating a lot better! and have not been drinking.. I try to stay under my calorie goal, which with exercise is usually around 1600 calories, I usually do between 1300-1500.Let me know what you think. how much should I be eating. I dont have much weight to lose but I still think that I should have lost and not maintained with all this hard work. anyone with any ideas, let me know?!

Ashley8993 · September 2012

Since you don't have a lot of weight to lose, it is automatically going to be harder to drop it. I usually eat around 1200 cals a day unless I do a good amount of cardio. I still don't go above 1400 usually. I have a fair amount of weight to lose for my goals, but what I have been doing is keeping me consistent. Just make sure you're logging EVERYTHING even a little snack here and there that you don't track can add up. Also, if you're changing your eating habits bloating might be an issue. Another thing I have noticed is that I go a week or two without my weight faltering, but then one day it shows the weight drop. Make sure that if you go to the gym to use the scale there and to NOT weight yourself later in the day or after eating. Best to weigh yourself in the morning in the least amount of clothing possible. What you eat throughout the day will make your weight fluctuate.

Like I said, log EVERYTHING and just make sure you're in a deficit with your cals and you'll lose weight.

audmom1218 · September 2012

Too few. Based on your profile (age 23, height 70", current weight 156.8, goal weight 140lb) your Basal metabolic rate is 1559 calories. This means if you were in a coma, this is how many calories your body would need to survive. You are not in a coma, you are probably much more active than that. If you wanted to maintain your goal weight at 140lb you would need to eat 2042-2822 cal per day depending on your lifestyle. I would start by gradually increasing to at least 1800 cal/day.

By continuing to eat below your BMR you are telling your body you are in a famine. So your body in turn will kill muscle (because muscle takes more calories) and storing fat. I'm guessing these are NOT the results you want. If you eat more while continuing to exercise you should break that plateau.

**Edit you should never ever ever ever eat below your BMR. For you, your daily minimum should be at least 1750.)

I should also add the amount of calories to maintain your current weight with a sedentary lifestyle is 1871 calories. That is a very small calorie defecit so it should be slow weight loss. if you add in more exercise to build muscle, since muscle burns more calories per day than fat, you will raise your BMR causing faster results.
(Source: http://www.fat2fitradio.com/tools/bmr/)

azalais7 · September 2012

Looking at your goals (get 6-pack abs), I'm not sure you actually need to lose much scale weight, but to build muscle and lose a bit of fat. And yes, what audmom1218 said--you need to eat a bit more. What you're doing right now is training your body to be more efficient with fewer calories, which sounds nice--efficiency's good, right?--but really is the opposite. You want to speed your metabolism UP.

luvmycandies · September 2012

Look in the forums under In place of a road map and it helps you figure out your correct cals.

Nerdy_Rose · September 2012

Too few. Based on your profile (age 23, height 70", current weight 156.8, goal weight 140lb) your Basal metabolic rate is 1559 calories. This means if you were in a coma, this is how many calories your body would need to survive. You are not in a coma, you are probably much more active than that. If you wanted to maintain your goal weight at 140lb you would need to eat 2042-2822 cal per day depending on your lifestyle. I would start by gradually increasing to at least 1800 cal/day.

By continuing to eat below your BMR you are telling your body you are in a famine. So your body in turn will kill muscle (because muscle takes more calories) and storing fat. I'm guessing these are NOT the results you want. If you eat more while continuing to exercise you should break that plateau.

**Edit you should never ever ever ever eat below your BMR. For you, your daily minimum should be at least 1750.)

I should also add the amount of calories to maintain your current weight with a sedentary lifestyle is 1871 calories. That is a very small calorie defecit so it should be slow weight loss. if you add in more exercise to build muscle, since muscle burns more calories per day than fat, you will raise your BMR causing faster results.
(Source: http://www.fat2fitradio.com/tools/bmr/)

^This

autumnk921 · September 2012

Too few. Based on your profile (age 23, height 70", current weight 156.8, goal weight 140lb) your Basal metabolic rate is 1559 calories. This means if you were in a coma, this is how many calories your body would need to survive. You are not in a coma, you are probably much more active than that. If you wanted to maintain your goal weight at 140lb you would need to eat 2042-2822 cal per day depending on your lifestyle. I would start by gradually increasing to at least 1800 cal/day.

By continuing to eat below your BMR you are telling your body you are in a famine. So your body in turn will kill muscle (because muscle takes more calories) and storing fat. I'm guessing these are NOT the results you want. If you eat more while continuing to exercise you should break that plateau.

**Edit you should never ever ever ever eat below your BMR. For you, your daily minimum should be at least 1750.)

I should also add the amount of calories to maintain your current weight with a sedentary lifestyle is 1871 calories. That is a very small calorie defecit so it should be slow weight loss. if you add in more exercise to build muscle, since muscle burns more calories per day than fat, you will raise your BMR causing faster results.
(Source: http://www.fat2fitradio.com/tools/bmr/)

^This

This definitely!!! You look great - Maybe you just need to lift weights to tone up....Is that something that you are currently doing?

6sixpackplease6 · September 2012

I do currently lift weights on average about 20 minutes X a week and I usually run about 2 miles and throw in a crossfit workout about 3x a week too. (pull ups, pushups, squats, ect)

californiagirl2012 · September 2012

Only YOU can decide the amount of calories. You can get away with eating pretty low when you have fat reserves to draw from but it does not sound like that is your case. There is no scientific evidence for starvation mode for women over 12% BF or men over 6% BF.

I'm on the other end of the height spectrum compared to you. At your height you are going to need more calories than most girls.

Weight loss gets slower as you get leaner and calories need to be tapered up. Weight loss is going to be very very slow the leaner you get (as if you didn't learn patience already if you have had to lose weight).

The bottom line is you decide on calories but closer to the ESTIMATED BMR listed above is a good place to start. You can notch up or down your calories say by 100 and see how you feel and see how you do with weight loss. YOU DECIDE, not any of us, or the help of your doctor.

EccentricDad · September 2012

I do currently lift weights on average about 20 minutes X a week and I usually run about 2 miles and throw in a crossfit workout about 3x a week too. (pull ups, pushups, squats, ect)

Your body will tell you if you are eating too little or too much. Carbs are good for energy, protein is good for building your 6 pack, and fat (not saturated/trans fat) is good for hormone production. Just use these general statements to determine what food to feed yourself next.

BHRussell · September 2012

Best thing is to make sure about your BMR...there is a tool on MFP that will tell you that. Good luck

roeann53 · September 2012

Back when the dinosaurs ruled the earth I weighed 160 and was 5'10", but I didn't carry a lot of fat on me at all. At that time I worked out anywhere from two to three hours a day doing various martial art routines. I had a fat/muscle ratio check, and the tech told me he had never seen a woman carrying so much muscle mass (remember this was back when the dinosaurs ruled the earth and women didn't want to have muscles). He told me not to loss any weight as it wouldn't be good for me. So, that leads me to my question, could your problem losing weight be coming in part from having a high percentage of muscles? I couldn't see how many times a week you lift weights.

jojorocksforeva · September 2012

Membber no one said you have to stick to one calorie for the rest of your life...

LorinaLynn · September 2012

You already look fantastic, and I can't imagine where you'd lose another 20 pounds from. 140 at your height sounds really, really low.

I think your best bet would be to set your goal to .5 pounds a week, eat most of your exercise calories, and toss the scale out the frickin' window. Track your progress through measurements, how clothes fit and by photos.

Blog post on why the scale sucks: http://www.isthisbliss.com/101-reasons-to-ditch-the-scale/

Photographic evidence why the scale sucks:

I'm almost twice your age, way shorter than you, and I lost my weight eating a total of 1800-2000+ calories a day. There is no need to eat so little.