Setting Your Calorie and Macro Targets

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Replies

  • reenasamaan
    reenasamaan Posts: 66 Member
    Hello thanks for the reply!

    I've been doing the calories deficit now for almost a year! I lost more than 10 lbs at first but I've stalled the last 6 months! I started resistance training almost 5 months ago and I do some machine weights at the gym for my legs and back, along with pushups with a fitness ball and situps, leg lift and torso twist for my abs. I'd like to incorporate some yoga a few times a week as well. Strength training I do about 3-4 times a week. I actually love exercising but I'm not sure I can dedicate more time to it!

    Thanks!
    Hi there! I'm new to this group and a friend of mine recommended it in order to get my targets in order and learn more about overall fitness, macros, etc! I've been skimming the threads so much and the information is fascinating - there's so much to learn!! First thing for me I've very curious about is "am I doing this right?" Seems silly right? MFP says I should net at 1200 cals a day to lose 1 lb a week. This worked when I first started MFP almost a year ago, but I've stalled a bit since June 2012. I'm 5'5'' and 123 pounds (down from 178 a few yrs ago) and approximately 22% bodyfat. I've been eating at 1400-1500 calories the past 6 months and I've lost no pounds over that time frame. For a month though I was down 2 lbs. I log and record everything, and truth be told I sometimes eat 1800-2000 cals on the weekends. I get in about 65g protein, 55g fat, and 200g carbohydrate daily. I work a desk job that occasionally puts me on my feet, I do about 45-50 mins of cardio every day at the gym and strength train about three times a week.

    I've always been of the understanding that if you weigh less, you should eat less. I can't imagine eating much less with the amount of exercise I do in the morning! But eating more seems foreign to me, too - that's how I ballooned in the first place! Thoughts- do I need to reduce calories or increase them to lose these last 5 lbs of mine? Thank you!

    How long have you been on a continual deficit for? (ignoring the odd 'cheat' day) The 6 months or longer? If longer, what was your calorie intake then?

    What type of strength training do you do?
  • reenasamaan
    reenasamaan Posts: 66 Member
    Sorry regarding my calorie intake, other than the cheat days once or so a week I maintained around 13-1500 a day in the past year or so. Before that I'm not really sure. I've been trying and slowly losing weight for 4 yrs. Counting cals and exercising has been most successful for me. Even Bootcamp and weight watchers before didn't help much!
  • Sarauk2sf
    Sarauk2sf Posts: 28,072 Member
    Sorry regarding my calorie intake, other than the cheat days once or so a week I maintained around 13-1500 a day in the past year or so. Before that I'm not really sure. I've been trying and slowly losing weight for 4 yrs. Counting cals and exercising has been most successful for me. Even Bootcamp and weight watchers before didn't help much!

    Is that gross or net of 'eating back' your exercise calories?
  • reenasamaan
    reenasamaan Posts: 66 Member
    That is just food intake! MFP says to say at 1200 net so net cals I hover between 1000-1200 usually! More if I don't do cardio for the day!
    Sorry regarding my calorie intake, other than the cheat days once or so a week I maintained around 13-1500 a day in the past year or so. Before that I'm not really sure. I've been trying and slowly losing weight for 4 yrs. Counting cals and exercising has been most successful for me. Even Bootcamp and weight watchers before didn't help much!

    Is that gross or net of 'eating back' your exercise calories?
  • sundaywishes
    sundaywishes Posts: 246 Member
    Great info
  • Fr3shStrt
    Fr3shStrt Posts: 349 Member
    I keep referring people to this post, hope you don't mind!
    And thanks for laying it all out nice and easy to understand.
  • newjourney2015
    newjourney2015 Posts: 216 Member
    Bump
  • PrincessMissDee
    PrincessMissDee Posts: 183 Member
    Thanks for this post - this is something I really need to get my head around, I come from a background of not "dieting" but due to various stomach/digestive problems I ate very low for many years without realising.

    I started stalling my weight loss in the summer and have tried everything, eating more, eating less, upping protein, calculating TDEE, nothing seems to be helping.

    January is my new start, I have a month of super clean eating, just because I know I am more likely to stick to a stricter plan, and then from Feb I am going to try to stick to trying to hit macros, once I get what mine should be!
  • reerazzle
    reerazzle Posts: 81 Member
    BUMP
  • This is very helpful, thank you!
  • dez06
    dez06 Posts: 12
    THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU... so much GREAT INFO..........
  • Fr3shStrt
    Fr3shStrt Posts: 349 Member
    simple question (I hope):
    When you measure your waist, I read that you measure at the narrowest part, which for me is probably about 3" above my belly button and it just seems wrong. So could you verify that it is correct (or not)?
    Thanks.
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
    simple question (I hope):
    When you measure your waist, I read that you measure at the narrowest part, which for me is probably about 3" above my belly button and it just seems wrong. So could you verify that it is correct (or not)?
    Thanks.

    Indeed - waist for women, narrowest part. Abdomen for men at belly button, max girth.

    For general tracking - do both. Can't spot lose, can't spot measure either. May have fat drop more in one area than another, hate to miss it's leaving.
  • Sarauk2sf
    Sarauk2sf Posts: 28,072 Member
    simple question (I hope):
    When you measure your waist, I read that you measure at the narrowest part, which for me is probably about 3" above my belly button and it just seems wrong. So could you verify that it is correct (or not)?
    Thanks.

    As heybales says - yes, that is correct.
  • Fr3shStrt
    Fr3shStrt Posts: 349 Member
    Thanks!
  • helenld1
    helenld1 Posts: 233 Member
    Wow - having gone off the rails of late I have taken the last half hour to sit down and truly look at my TDEE and my subsequent macro targets from that.

    I've been eating far too few calories resulting in a binge cycle that I've found very hard to break. Using what I've read here I hope to get myself back in the game.

    Thank you for taking the time to write these no nonsense easy to understand posts. This group is a breath of fresh air in terms of common sense. :drinker:
  • suzely0530
    suzely0530 Posts: 150 Member
    Thank you for posting ! This is what I've been looking for !
  • suzely0530
    suzely0530 Posts: 150 Member
    I calculated my TDEE on one of the suggested links....it says I should be eating 2775 calories per day (now I'm avg 1200). That sounds awfully high to me - and scary !!

    Any guidance would be greatly appreciated :)
  • badzoe
    badzoe Posts: 132 Member
    Great info, thanks.
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
    I calculated my TDEE on one of the suggested links....it says I should be eating 2775 calories per day (now I'm avg 1200). That sounds awfully high to me - and scary !!

    Any guidance would be greatly appreciated :)

    You've provided no info to guide with.

    Not scary to me, because I have no idea in the scheme of things if that sounds high or not.

    BMR method and number, TDEE activity level used?