confused big time - BRM or MFP Cals

lellie_zpk · September 2012

I am so confused, I have signed up to this sight to lose the last stubborn lbs that i havent been able to budge just by exercising. Now MFP for me to lose 1.5lbs a week has said I should eat 1200 cals a day, I exercise 6 days a week at the minute as i am doing insanity I weight 154lbs and im 5ft 5.5inches tall I try and eat my exercise cals back but I don't always as i dont workout until the evening.

I have been told by a few people on here that im not eating enough calories and that I should be eating atleast my BRM which is stated on here as 1449 cals.

What should I be eating i want to lose 7 - 10lbs, in general i dont like calorie counting but to lose this last lot i have been told to calorie count, am i eating enough calories on 1200 or should i be eating my BRM calories

Please help this is very frustating I dont want to lose muscle i want to lose fat.

yarwell · September 2012

Firstly if it's "the last few lbs" then think in terms of 0.5 or even 0.25 lbs/week, not 1.5. That in itself will move you above 1200 calories.

"Eating your BMR" is a point of view, it doesn't have any real science or logic though. You lose weight by eating less than you use, whatever that amount may turn out to be.

Your diary is closed and you haven't said much about your height / weight etc so it's difficult to say much more. Keep protein at 30% or maybe 35% of your calories to maximise muscle retention.

lellie_zpk · September 2012

Firstly if it's "the last few lbs" then think in terms of 0.5 or even 0.25 lbs/week, not 1.5. That in itself will move you above 1200 calories.

"Eating your BMR" is a point of view, it doesn't have any real science or logic though. You lose weight by eating less than you use, whatever that amount may turn out to be.

Your diary is closed and you haven't said much about your height / weight etc so it's difficult to say much more. Keep protein at 30% or maybe 35% of your calories to maximise muscle retention.

Its my personal goal to lose 7 - 10lbs i could lose more and still be healthy but that is what i would be happy at.

My height is 5ft 5.5inches and my current weight as of saturday is 154lbs.

My problem is i lost weight before purely by cutting out bad food and exercising i never actively counted calories but this method hasnt work for the last lot of weight that i want gone, hense the calorie counting which the nurse stated when i was at the doctors.

Momieof2girls · September 2012

I'd also rec to set your weight loss at .5 pound per week. 1.5 seems too much for the home stretch. I'd try to eat most if not all your exercise cals back. I workout at night too, I had been cramming in an extra 300-400 cals in the pm, but that was just not good. so I upped my cals at breakfast and lunch by 100-150. That helped too.

2hobbit1 · September 2012

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12

Take a look at the roadmap

With the basic information you provided your BMR is around 1500.
Your TDEE while doing insanity 6 days a week is around 2300
If you are eating 1200 daily you are taking almost a 50% cut from your TDEE - the recommended % to cut for morbidly obese is 30%. If you only have 5-10 pounds to lose then you should be near a 5% cut..

lellie_zpk · September 2012

thanks for the replies .5 of a lb is so little to me especially when i could still lose 20lb and be in a healthy range its just the 10 i want to lose. it hard cause alot of different comments.

yarwell · September 2012

thanks for the replies .5 of a lb is so little to me especially when i could still lose 20lb and be in a healthy range its just the 10 i want to lose. it hard cause alot of different comments.

you can still lose 20 lbs, but don't try and do it in a rush. Maybe start at 1 lb/week then drop to 0.5.

A lb of excess fat can provide you with about 30 calories a day, so 20 lbs of excess is 600 cals which does limit your rate of loss.

lellie_zpk · September 2012

thanks for the replies .5 of a lb is so little to me especially when i could still lose 20lb and be in a healthy range its just the 10 i want to lose. it hard cause alot of different comments.

you can still lose 20 lbs, but don't try and do it in a rush. Maybe start at 1 lb/week then drop to 0.5.

A lb of excess fat can provide you with about 30 calories a day, so 20 lbs of excess is 600 cals which does limit your rate of loss.

Not sure I quite understand that. I can do 1lb a week no problem I have a very strong will power and things don't tend to get the better of me I have lost a lot of weight then I fell pregnant and then lost all my baby weight it's just this last lot I have been trying to budge for a few months and I ideally want it gone by November
.

2hobbit1 · September 2012

The rate of loss when you get down to the end is not about you will power but about how your body works. There is only so much fat that you can lose and there is a limit to how much it will give up at a time. The less you have to lose the less you can lose in any given period of time. The higher you deficit is the more you drive your hormones that make your body hoard energy. When you get down where you are now you need to slow the rate of loss so you do not increase your store energy hormones.

yarwell · September 2012

Not sure I quite understand that.

When you eat less than you use the difference comes from your fat reserves. The rate at which they can provide energy has a limit - about 30 cals per day per lb of fat. So if you were say 120 lbs and 20% fat you can only supply 24 lbs * 30 cals/lb = 720 calories a day from reserves, maximum.

So whatever deficit you can sustain initially will get less as you lose weight, as there's less fat available to supply the difference.

lellie_zpk · September 2012

Not sure I quite understand that.

When you eat less than you use the difference comes from your fat reserves. The rate at which they can provide energy has a limit - about 30 cals per day per lb of fat. So if you were say 120 lbs and 20% fat you can only supply 24 lbs * 30 cals/lb = 720 calories a day from reserves, maximum.

So whatever deficit you can sustain initially will get less as you lose weight, as there's less fat available to supply the difference.

How many calories should I eat based on 5 ft 6 inches and 154 lbs

2hobbit1 · September 2012

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12

katevarner · September 2012

You could also change your workout. Your body gets used to the workouts if you do the same thing over and over. I started with just walking, moved to walking during the week and aerobics/weights/ walking on the weekends, then added spinning two days a week and weights during the week in order to lose all of mine. Now I'm in maintenance and about to change it all again in order to train to walk a marathon in February. Actually started losing again even tho I'm not trying because I made a couple of changes in my weights program.

Agree with everyone else, tho, that it's much harder to lose the last few lbs. Even as hard as I was working at it and maintaining at least a 500 calorie daily deficit, I didn't lose 1/2 lb per week. I did finally lose all the weight I wanted to lose, tho, and then some.

lellie_zpk · September 2012

You could also change your workout. Your body gets used to the workouts if you do the same thing over and over. I started with just walking, moved to walking during the week and aerobics/weights/ walking on the weekends, then added spinning two days a week and weights during the week in order to lose all of mine. Now I'm in maintenance and about to change it all again in order to train to walk a marathon in February. Actually started losing again even tho I'm not trying because I made a couple of changes in my weights program.

Agree with everyone else, tho, that it's much harder to lose the last few lbs. Even as hard as I was working at it and maintaining at least a 500 calorie daily deficit, I didn't lose 1/2 lb per week. I did finally lose all the weight I wanted to lose, tho, and then some.

I have just changed my workouts I'm currently doing insanity what I really want to no is should I be netting less calories than my bmr

likemeinvisible · September 2012

Not sure I quite understand that.

When you eat less than you use the difference comes from your fat reserves. The rate at which they can provide energy has a limit - about 30 cals per day per lb of fat. So if you were say 120 lbs and 20% fat you can only supply 24 lbs * 30 cals/lb = 720 calories a day from reserves, maximum.

So whatever deficit you can sustain initially will get less as you lose weight, as there's less fat available to supply the difference.

How many calories should I eat based on 5 ft 6 inches and 154 lbs

MFP will give you 1200 minimum and you can live on that just fine. Losing a pound a week is very reasonable at any weight.

lellie_zpk · September 2012

There's just so many different opinions that if u eat below bmr u lose muscle and I don't want to do that. I have felt fine eating 1200 accept today and that's cause I caught my daughters cold so little under the weather

likemeinvisible · September 2012

You could also change your workout. Your body gets used to the workouts if you do the same thing over and over. I started with just walking, moved to walking during the week and aerobics/weights/ walking on the weekends, then added spinning two days a week and weights during the week in order to lose all of mine. Now I'm in maintenance and about to change it all again in order to train to walk a marathon in February. Actually started losing again even tho I'm not trying because I made a couple of changes in my weights program.

Agree with everyone else, tho, that it's much harder to lose the last few lbs. Even as hard as I was working at it and maintaining at least a 500 calorie daily deficit, I didn't lose 1/2 lb per week. I did finally lose all the weight I wanted to lose, tho, and then some.

Your situation is different, walking at your weight produces a very small burn, a higher intensity is required.

lellie_zpk · September 2012

You could also change your workout. Your body gets used to the workouts if you do the same thing over and over. I started with just walking, moved to walking during the week and aerobics/weights/ walking on the weekends, then added spinning two days a week and weights during the week in order to lose all of mine. Now I'm in maintenance and about to change it all again in order to train to walk a marathon in February. Actually started losing again even tho I'm not trying because I made a couple of changes in my weights program.

Agree with everyone else, tho, that it's much harder to lose the last few lbs. Even as hard as I was working at it and maintaining at least a 500 calorie daily deficit, I didn't lose 1/2 lb per week. I did finally lose all the weight I wanted to lose, tho, and then some.

Insanity is a high intense workout program
Your situation is different, walking at your weight produces a very small burn, a higher intensity is required.

likemeinvisible · September 2012

There's just so many different opinions that if u eat below bmr u lose muscle and I don't want to do that. I have felt fine eating 1200 accept today and that's cause I caught my daughters cold so little under the weather

It's true, you will lose muscle to some extent, you certainly won't gain any. Muscle can be preserved under deficit if you do strength training.

likemeinvisible · September 2012

Insanity is a high intense workout program
Your situation is different, walking at your weight produces a very small burn, a higher intensity is required.

I meant for the 113 pound girl walking is nothing. At a higher weight it can be a significant contribution. I have no idea what is the burn for insanity. Whatever the burn is, I would eat about half of the calories unless you are starved and you know the exact number, then you could eat all of it and still be at a deficit.

confused big time - BRM or MFP Cals

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