When do you lower your calorie goal?
Options
cncrafton
Posts: 82 Member
Hey folks!
So, I'm coming up on almost two months of calorie counting. I have lost about sixteen pounds and I feel like I might be stalling a bit. There are a lot of factors that might be involved in this so I am making an effort to NOT freak out. It's hard for me.
Anyway, I am wondering if it's time to lower my calories. Based on the Scooby calculator, my calorie goal when I started should have been around 2,300. That was just…not reasonable for me so I went with 2,200. Not sure why those 100 calories were easier for me to handle, but they were! Based on the same calculator, my calories right now should be 2,240. I just feel odd keeping the same calorie goal for so long (I know it hasn't been so long, but it feels SO long!).
I am toying with the idea of dropping to 2,100 or at least 2,150. Not a big difference, but I'm just not sure if it would be better to stay at 2,200 until I lose ten more pounds, at which point that would be my actual goal on the Scooby calculator, and then adjust every five pounds from there.
Obviously trying it for a few weeks is not going to hurt me (my BMR is ~2,000) and online calculators can really only tell us so much and we have to listen to our bodies to figure out the rest. I guess I am just curious how other people decide when to lower their calories?
So, I'm coming up on almost two months of calorie counting. I have lost about sixteen pounds and I feel like I might be stalling a bit. There are a lot of factors that might be involved in this so I am making an effort to NOT freak out. It's hard for me.
Anyway, I am wondering if it's time to lower my calories. Based on the Scooby calculator, my calorie goal when I started should have been around 2,300. That was just…not reasonable for me so I went with 2,200. Not sure why those 100 calories were easier for me to handle, but they were! Based on the same calculator, my calories right now should be 2,240. I just feel odd keeping the same calorie goal for so long (I know it hasn't been so long, but it feels SO long!).
I am toying with the idea of dropping to 2,100 or at least 2,150. Not a big difference, but I'm just not sure if it would be better to stay at 2,200 until I lose ten more pounds, at which point that would be my actual goal on the Scooby calculator, and then adjust every five pounds from there.
Obviously trying it for a few weeks is not going to hurt me (my BMR is ~2,000) and online calculators can really only tell us so much and we have to listen to our bodies to figure out the rest. I guess I am just curious how other people decide when to lower their calories?
0
Replies
-
Hello!
Before you cut your calories-let me ask you something.
Have you been taking a diet break?
You should be eating at TDEE every 5-6 weeks for one week to keep your metabolism up.
If you don't your body will adapt and take your cut value as your new TDEE what seems to be happening in your case.
If you drop the calories further, your body willt ke the new cut sooner or later as the new TDEE, and so on.
Try to eat at maintenance for a week, and then go back to your cut.
Maybe that's all you need to do. Rather eat more and lose then less, right?0 -
Hello!
Before you cut your calories-let me ask you something.
Have you been taking a diet break?
You should be eating at TDEE every 5-6 weeks for one week to keep your metabolism up.
If you don't your body will adapt and take your cut value as your new TDEE what seems to be happening in your case.
If you drop the calories further, your body willt ke the new cut sooner or later as the new TDEE, and so on.
Try to eat at maintenance for a week, and then go back to your cut.
Maybe that's all you need to do. Rather eat more and lose then less, right?
WHat Noor said:) You always want to UP your calories before you lower them. If you are getting results where you are at but things are stalling a bit, then its time to give your body a break and eat at TDEE for a week or two. Then go back to where you were.. ONLY then if after a few weeks there if things havent started moving again, would you want to consider lowering your cals a little bit0 -
Interesting! Thanks, folks! I will try that first!0
-
Interesting! Thanks, folks! I will try that first!
How much have you been losing each week for the last 3 wks?
How much have to been eating in total on avg for the last 3 wks?
You now know your TDEE for this amount of exercise that you are doing?
Loss lbs weekly * 3500 / 7 + avg eaten = TDEE.
TDEE / avg BMR during those 3 weeks = your personal multiplier for whatever your level of activity was.
As weight is lost, if routine stays the same, new BMR x personal multiplier = new TDEE to take deficit from.0 -
You might need to help me with the math here a bit.
Avg cals eaten in three weeks: 14,670
Pounds lost in three weeks: ~5 (so 1.66 weekly)
1.66(3500)/7 = 830 + 14,670 = 15,500, which is a daily TDEE of 2,214 - eating at a 20% cut, my daily goal would be 1,772.
Where am I going wrong here in my math? That doesn't seem right. I have been losing steadily eating 2,200 cals a day. Am I missing another step? Math is not my strongest suit, so I might be totally off here.0 -
You might need to help me with the math here a bit.
Avg cals eaten in three weeks: 14,670
Pounds lost in three weeks: ~5 (so 1.66 weekly)
Where am I going wrong here in my math? That doesn't seem right. I have been losing steadily eating 2,200 cals a day. Am I missing another step? Math is not my strongest suit, so I might be totally off here.
Yep, mixing up weekly and daily avg's there.
1.66 lbs avg weekly (if all fat, hopefully was) * 3500 calories/lb fat = 5810 calorie weekly deficit = 830 calorie daily deficit avg.
14670 calories eaten weekly avg / 7 days = 2096 calorie daily eating avg.
2096 + 830 = 2926 is what was really burned each day. You only fed 2096 of it, creating a 830 calorie deficit avg daily, leading to 1.66 lbs loss weekly.
So TDEE for whatever your level of activity was during that 3 weeks was 2926.
Now, take the Mifflin BMR for the beginning weight and ending weight and get avg BMR for those 3 weeks. Easier if you know the Katch BMR which wouldn't have changed since it's based on LBM. And your excellent choice of diet here means you likely retained most of that LBM for just last 3 weeks.
2900 / avg BMR = your personal multiplier for activity that was done.
This will let you see if your Lightly Active was decent estimate.
So it sounds like you are indeed where you expected to be.
So after you lose 5 lbs, you get new BMR figure for new weight, times that personal multiplier, and there is your new TDEE for that new weight with same activity.
Now take your 20% deficit from that.0 -
Okay, that makes much more sense! Thank you!0
-
bump for future reading!0
