Opinions on my calories and routine? HELP!

jenlif
jenlif Posts: 3 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Hello MFP'ers. This is my first post on the forum, though I have been lurking for quite a while. I am familiar with both the MFP/eating back exercise calories method and the TDEE x .8 method (I've read in place of a road map and read through the eat more to weigh less group). BUT, I don't know which to chose! I don't know what would be right for me - what will keep the weight off and help me lose the last 10 pounds?

I am 19 years old, 5'4-5'5, and 134 lbs. I have lost 10-12 pounds and would like to lose 10 more. I have been floating around 134 for the past two weeks, and am slightly hungry every day, so I upped my calorie goal from 1200 to 1320 a few days ago. But I am so afraid to up my calorie intake to 1800 (my TDEE x .8)...I'm also pretty scared to eat back all of my exercise calories, since I was consuming around that much (1600-2000 cal/day) in September-October and that's when I gained all this weight in the first place!

My food diary is open. I work out 4-5 times a week (mostly running).

Thank you so much for all your help!

Replies

  • jenlif
    jenlif Posts: 3 Member
    Bump.. anyone?
  • BarackMeLikeAHurricane
    BarackMeLikeAHurricane Posts: 3,400 Member
    Use Dan's road map and start lifting. You may see a slight and temporary increase on the scale but it's just water weight from your muscles holding into glycogen. You'll start losing if you give it time.
  • MrsJBro
    MrsJBro Posts: 59 Member
    Your basal metabolic rate is like 1449 calories, and you would need about 1738 calories to maintain your current weight each day. If you had a balance of 1800 at the end of your day you would see a gain, not a loss. However, you could eat the 1800 and exercise away a few hundred of those calories and see a loss.
  • jenlif
    jenlif Posts: 3 Member
    So is the method I am using now incorrect/bad for my metabolism? (Eating 1320 and exercising 4-5 times a week, eating a bit of those calories back) I guess I am eating below my BMR - maybe upping to 1500 would help?

    For some reason after I did my BMR/TDEE calculations a while ago I thought the road map was telling me that 1800 was my TDEE x .8 ...so that's what I would have to eat every day to lose weight, regardless of exercise or not. That number always seemed a bit high to me though.. hmm
  • jacksonpt
    jacksonpt Posts: 10,413 Member
    It's personal preference. Both methods work, so it really comes down to what type of logging do you want to do? I also think the TDEE method lines up a bit better for people wiht fairly consistent workout routines (pretty steady schedule, pretty standard calorie burns) than it does for people whose workouts vary significantly (today I might burn 150 cals lifting, but Saturday I might burn 6000 racing).

    Try one for a month. If you like it and it works, keep going. If not, try the other.
  • saninator
    saninator Posts: 1
    Hello,

    I have a question slightly in line with this. Is this program set up so that you DO eat back the calories you gain through exercise? For example, my calorie intake is set to 1200 based on the fact that I will be doing 60 minutes of exercise 6 days a week (I'm doing p90x), in order to lose 10 pounds. Is this calorie intake set with the assumption that on the days I work out, I will eat the extra calories burned, and still maintain the calorie deficit needed for weight loss?
  • jacksonpt
    jacksonpt Posts: 10,413 Member
    The MFP method does require you to eat back exercise calories. Other calculators that are based on TDEE factor in exercise to their calculations, so with those you do not generally eat back cals.

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