"under her calorie goal"

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kbodnaruk
kbodnaruk Posts: 67
in Health and Weight Loss
Question: when I log my food and exercise on MFP, at the end of the day when i hit "complete this entry" do I want it to say I was "under my calorie goal"? Seems like I am lost and confused about this whole weight loss thing. I have my calorie goal set at 1200. My BMR is 1567 and my TDEE is 2586. I am a stay at home mom so I am not super active but I do workout 5 days a week burning on average about 300 calories during the workout. I am thinking I am not eating enough.... help! (please!).
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  • Firefox7275
    Firefox7275 Posts: 2,040 Member
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    You are certainly not eating anywhere near enough., you should not be netting under your BMR. Have you set to lose two pounds a week? If so change that to one or half a pound. Or have you set your activity level wrong or are you not adding enough calories for your workouts?
  • acogg
    acogg Posts: 1,870 Member
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    Are you only eating at 1200? That is much too low if you are burning 1000 cals from exercise, which nets you only 200 cals for survival. If you are logging your excercise correctly, you should be eating 2000 cals a day to lose a pound a week. I am saying this because Total Daily Energy Expenditure - Base Metabolic Rate = Exercise calories or at least that's what my math says.
  • kbodnaruk
    kbodnaruk Posts: 67
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    I don't think I have been eating my calories back after my workout. I would like to lose 2 pounds a week. This past week I lost 4 (but I am assuming it is water weight since it was my first week really getting into a workout routine). Now that i go back and look my NET calories everyday have been less than 1200. I started reading info on here about TDEE which I had never heard of before and started wondering if I am doing this right. So at the end of the day I don't want it to say that I am "under my calorie goal", correct??
  • kbodnaruk
    kbodnaruk Posts: 67
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    So what should I set my calorie intake for? I really do appreciate your help! I just don't want to go into starvation mode but I also want to lose approx 2 pounds a week.
  • acogg
    acogg Posts: 1,870 Member
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    3500 cals = 1 pound, so to lose two pounds a week, you would need to eat 7000 cals under what your body burns in a week. That's the math, though I don't think it's sustainable.
  • mary_bossard
    mary_bossard Posts: 7
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    So what should I set my calorie intake for? I really do appreciate your help! I just don't want to go into starvation mode but I also want to lose approx 2 pounds a week.

    I'm guessing that you chose "lose 2lbs/week" when you initially did your setup. That's why your calorie allowance is 1200;
    Lower daily allowance= bigger calorie deficit = faster weight loss.

    I'm all for instant gratification :) but do you go hungry, get crabby, etc? If so,bump up your caloric intake daily a couple hundred; if you're feeling OK, I'd then bump it up on your workout days. Throw in the extra calories in the form of protein ,(preferably), to stave off loss of muscle. I speak from experience :)
  • kbodnaruk
    kbodnaruk Posts: 67
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    I have close to 80 pounds to lose to even be close to my "ideal weight" which is why I chose lose 2 pounds a week. I have been packing in the veggies and protein (chicken, tuna, even avacados). And cut out sweet tea and processed sugary foods (cookies, cake, ice cream, etc) I have read to set my calories at 20% below my TDEE which is why as I reading different posts on here I started to question if I was giving my body enough. So would 1800 calories be sufficient for my NET calories for the day? Just seems so high?!?
  • kbodnaruk
    kbodnaruk Posts: 67
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    Thank y'all again for all your help. Like I said as simple as this should be - it is so confusing!! Haha!
  • janetpam
    janetpam Posts: 13 Member
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    Can I jump in? I am new to this and am going backwards. I too have a 1200 calorie allowance and exercise almost every day. I had a deficit in calories for the total week of just over 4,000. I teach spin classes and this has contributed. Sad thing is, I have gained a pound a week by doing this. Calorie wise this is not possible. Can you help clear my confusion? I am going backwards. Basically I need to know this. Do I eat the calories as MFP says, or do I personally cut back by 500 calories a day to lose one pound in a week? Also, does MFP accurately calculate workout calories?
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
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    Thank y'all again for all your help. Like I said as simple as this should be - it is so confusing!! Haha!

    Not really, just follow the MFP program.

    You log exercise, you burned total in the day more than day without exercise, so to keep that 2 lb weekly goal, you eat those exercise calories back.

    You still have deficit there daily.

    If you think that TDEE value sounds high, you are comparing it to what exactly?

    What you used to eat that got you into trouble?

    The 1200 goal you were assigned and is the only calorie figure you've ever seen?
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
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    Can I jump in? I am new to this and am going backwards. I too have a 1200 calorie allowance and exercise almost every day. I had a deficit in calories for the total week of just over 4,000. I teach spin classes and this has contributed. Sad thing is, I have gained a pound a week by doing this. Calorie wise this is not possible. Can you help clear my confusion? I am going backwards. Basically I need to know this. Do I eat the calories as MFP says, or do I personally cut back by 500 calories a day to lose one pound in a week? Also, does MFP accurately calculate workout calories?

    Water weight. You are doing exercise and asking your body to make improvements, which usually has little to do with weight loss, but gain of water weight.

    MFP already has a daily deficit, go look at your Goals page to see the math when no exercise is counted in.
    You do exercise, you eat it back. Same deficit amount is there daily that way.
  • janetpam
    janetpam Posts: 13 Member
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    Checked the goals and made the adjustment. I get 1200 calories a day. I have worked out to the tune of 310 calories today. If I understand you, then I should eat 1,510 calories to lose the 1 pound. What happens if I don't? Do I lose faster?
  • rymea
    rymea Posts: 16 Member
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    I don't get it either. If you are eating back all the calories you burn then why are you exercising? Not to create a larger calorie defecit to lose weight?
  • llkilgore
    llkilgore Posts: 1,169 Member
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    ...I have read to set my calories at 20% below my TDEE which is why as I reading different posts on here I started to question if I was giving my body enough. So would 1800 calories be sufficient for my NET calories for the day? Just seems so high?!?

    If my understanding of TDEE is correct then it includes calories burned by exercise. 1800 calories would be the total, not net.
  • ladyraven68
    ladyraven68 Posts: 2,003 Member
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    I don't get it either. If you are eating back all the calories you burn then why are you exercising? Not to create a larger calorie defecit to lose weight?

    Exercise has many more benefits than just burning calories for weight loss.
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
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    Checked the goals and made the adjustment. I get 1200 calories a day. I have worked out to the tune of 310 calories today. If I understand you, then I should eat 1,510 calories to lose the 1 pound. What happens if I don't? Do I lose faster?

    You do eat it back, and the deficit stays the same.

    Maybe for a bit you'll lose faster. Depends on genetics, how many years yo-yo dieting, how big a true deficit you are creating anyway, ect.

    And then search the forums for all the people thinking that will work, that have plateaued for 6-9 months or longer.

    And lost muscle mass and now have to eat even less. Or actually, wise up and try to gain some LBM, maybe even muscle back by lifting heavy.

    You add up all the weight lost and all the time including no loss - would have been smarter doing it correctly from the beginning.
  • Firefox7275
    Firefox7275 Posts: 2,040 Member
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    Don't cut so hard unless you are willing to regiment your diet so you get all the nutrients your body needs for health - lean protein and veggies only supply a small selection, you also need dairy, oily fish, other healthy fats, a pile of mineral and fibre rich foods.

    You may find being well nourished whilst losing two pounds a week easier if you bump up your physical activity and eat some of those calories. Be sure you are getting your 10,000 steps every day at any pace and divided through the day; take your daughter to the park with a frisbee or ball or go bowling or other active hobby. Since you are carrying an extra 80 pounds once you are able to work up to a one hour workout you should be able to burn 500 calories if you push yourself. If you can afford a gym membership classes are a great motivation - Boxercise, BodyPump, Spinning and circuits training are all tough.

    Exercising doesn't just burn calories whilst you train, if you work at high levels you can boost the metabolism for up to two days, one study suggested high intensity intervals burns up to twice as much fat as steady state workouts. When you are sore from a strength session you have damaged the muscle fibres, it costs energy to repair that. Also you help maintain or even build muscle mass, this dictates how firm/ soft you will be and affects your metabolic rate. Dieting alone is associated with quite a high level of muscle atrophy, that is more pronounced the faster you try to lose.
  • mrsricta
    mrsricta Posts: 88
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    20% below TDEE is a great guideline to follow! 1,200 is TOO low unless you literally sit ALL day EVERY day and do absolutely nothing, which is not the case if you have children and you say you work out 5 times a week! Sounds like you are making healthy food choices, which is perfect! EAT to LOSE!
  • sandradev1
    sandradev1 Posts: 786 Member
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    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12

    Don't think that anybody has given you this link yet. This gives information on working out your BMR ad TDEE and also gives calculators to work those numbers out. It will also give you an indication of what your calorie goal could be for a healthy weight loss.

    Hope it helps :smile:
  • janetpam
    janetpam Posts: 13 Member
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    Thanks, I think I get it. The two pound gain is getting me confused. I teach spin classes and a water aerobic class so I know I am getting the cardio exercise. I am adding in the weights. I feel very healthy for my age, but I don't want the scale to climb.

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