Can't seem to process the numbers!
asbandr
Posts: 39 Member
Basically I've always felt that it's important to make sure you're eating enough no matter how quickly you want to lose or how much weight you want to lose. I'm always scared I'm eating too little, so this group was very intriguing for me. For some reason I just cannot fully understand how to get the right numbers, so I was wondering if someone could help me so I could try this out. My stats are basically this:
CW: 127
height: 5'1"
body fat %: 28%
current calorie goal is: 1300 but feel it's too low
I'm not sure how to catagorize my activity level... This trips me up more than anything, but I don't want to estimate wrong and be either too low or too high... So basically my day as a stay at home mom includes all regular housework (probably 1-2 hours a day?), taking care of children and doing all shopping and cooking and anything else you can expect a stay at home mom to do to keep things up at home. I also run 3x a week for about 30 minutes. 3 days a week I also do very minimal strength training. I'm currrently doing the 100 pushup challenge and am doing about 50 pushups broken up into 5 sets 3 days a week, and doing a 1:15 plank. I can't afford a gym membership or weights (highest I have are 8 lb dumbbells) and am also trying not to take on too much so I don't get burned out. Can someone help me understand the numbers and what they mean? Do I log exercise or not? Eat back exercise calories? I averaged about 1600 calories a day last week and lost .6 lb. which I feel is appropriate for my current weight.
I've been reading info on this all day but just feel incredibly stupid because I just can't seem to make sense of it. Please help me in the most simple of terms! Thank you!
CW: 127
height: 5'1"
body fat %: 28%
current calorie goal is: 1300 but feel it's too low
I'm not sure how to catagorize my activity level... This trips me up more than anything, but I don't want to estimate wrong and be either too low or too high... So basically my day as a stay at home mom includes all regular housework (probably 1-2 hours a day?), taking care of children and doing all shopping and cooking and anything else you can expect a stay at home mom to do to keep things up at home. I also run 3x a week for about 30 minutes. 3 days a week I also do very minimal strength training. I'm currrently doing the 100 pushup challenge and am doing about 50 pushups broken up into 5 sets 3 days a week, and doing a 1:15 plank. I can't afford a gym membership or weights (highest I have are 8 lb dumbbells) and am also trying not to take on too much so I don't get burned out. Can someone help me understand the numbers and what they mean? Do I log exercise or not? Eat back exercise calories? I averaged about 1600 calories a day last week and lost .6 lb. which I feel is appropriate for my current weight.
I've been reading info on this all day but just feel incredibly stupid because I just can't seem to make sense of it. Please help me in the most simple of terms! Thank you!
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Replies
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Sounds like you are in my boat. I haven't the clue either. I logged myself as low >.< makes me feel, lazy..lol But I am a mompreneur, so I run my business at home, while taking care of the house and kids when not in school,five days a week plus go to the gym five days a week, run 5K 3times a week plus do weights five days a week, I take the weekends off with the famjam. I would be interested to know as well as I am NOT losing weight at all. I am at 1200 cal a day for my 5ft 2 , 143lb frame0
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I just got a body media fit. I'm noticing I'm burning a lot more than I thought. Here's my stats...
5'3
135lbs
Goal 125.
I've only had this 3 days mind u. But on a non workout day I burned 2100 calories. On a day where I worked out I burned 2500. I'm a stay at home mom. So a non workout day would involve cleaning and a trip to the mall and cooking, all that.0 -
I just got a body media fit. I'm noticing I'm burning a lot more than I thought. Here's my stats...
5'3
135lbs
Goal 125.
I've only had this 3 days mind u. But on a non workout day I burned 2100 calories. On a day where I worked out I burned 2500. I'm a stay at home mom. So a non workout day would involve cleaning and a trip to the mall and cooking, all that.
how much are you intaking?0 -
Bump for later0
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Use a better activity calculator accounting for time and type of activity.
Get a better foundation too using bodyfat stat and best estimated BMR and TDEE then.
Take a deficit appropriate for amount to be lost and activity done. Eat enough protein to maintain muscle.
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/813720-spreadsheet-bmr-tdee-deficit-macro-calcs-hrm-zones0 -
How do I use that spreadsheet? It opens as a view only file.0
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Ok, I figured out how to do the spreadsheet and I put my info into the simple set up. However it's telling me I should be having 1386 calories to lose weight? I feel like that's still too low, I'm already at 1300. I feel like I just can't make sense of most of the information in the sheet and I'm getting frustrated. Would anyone be able to help me figure this all out so I can be on the right track?0
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Then I also looked at the http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/ site and it's telling me I should be having 1693! So very confused!0
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Was Scooby using the Katch BMR, like the spreadsheet was?
Katch is based on how much Lean Body Mass you actually have. If you are lower than avg, or burned some off eating too low, then to maintain it and not gain, you have to eat lower.
At a deficit you aren't going to gain that muscle back now, too late, but you can take correct deficit if you are lifting heavy.
Scooby was probably using Harris or Mifflin like MFP does for your BMR, and of course you selected general activity level, rather than inputting specifics the spreadsheet uses.
Is 60 min walking the same as 60 min lifting the same as 60 min running?0 -
Ok, I figured out how to do the spreadsheet and I put my info into the simple set up. However it's telling me I should be having 1386 calories to lose weight? I feel like that's still too low, I'm already at 1300. I feel like I just can't make sense of most of the information in the sheet and I'm getting frustrated. Would anyone be able to help me figure this all out so I can be on the right track?
Did you read the topic to understand about BMR and TDEE and the differences?0 -
Yeah, I get that BMR is the minimum for my body to function and tdee is what my body burns in a day typically. So I took I think 15-20% off that and that's what gave me the 1693 on scooby. I'm gonna see what happens at 1650 calories for a while I guess. I'm still really confused when we get down to the details.0
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Yeah, I get that BMR is the minimum for my body to function and tdee is what my body burns in a day typically. So I took I think 15-20% off that and that's what gave me the 1693 on scooby. I'm gonna see what happens at 1650 calories for a while I guess. I'm still really confused when we get down to the details.
No, that topic gets into the difference between BMR estimates, which is what you are dealing with.
If you used body fat % estimate in the spreadsheet - you got the most accurate BMR.
If you did not on Scooby, you got an inflated when overweight BMR.
Which means you are eating more than required.
It would be like driving a friends car with broken gas gauge.
They say it gets 15 mpg and it's a 15 gal tank - fill up as needed.
So you figure you'll be safe and estimate 10 mpg, and fill up what you figured it should be.
And not surprisingly, the tank overflows.
But then you do it again the next 150 miles down the road. Fill up and spill out. But you pump out the 15 gallons no matter what.0
