eat more to weigh less folks

bump!

I too am eating more to weigh less. It is working for me. The big thing I am doing is eating a lot less carbs and fat also vvery little prepackaged processed food. My actual calories would be a lot less but quantity is a lot more. Typically for breakfast I have an apple, banana, 35 calorie yogurt and an oatmeal. This is a lot more than I ate before.

I eat cheese (allergic to nuts) for calorie dense items. I really feel confident and happy eating this way. Seeing people eating 1200 calories makes me sad.

Here Here on the cheese. When I am "done" for the day. I use cheese (and nuts) to make up a large deficit if I have one. Just watch the sodioum.

This might be worth more of my time/research.

Read this.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/912920-in-place-of-a-road-map-3-2013

I'm doing TDEE -20% Initially with my MFP limits I had put on a kilo so I decided to re-think as I wasn't eating back exercise calories (just couldn't face eaint my dinner and then an extra 500 cals eat back after 7pm at night).

I'm back down to the original weight since I've been doing it the last week and hope I will have lost a bit more by next weigh in next week.

Any responses to the net calorie question? Is the TDEE-20% our net calorie goal so do we eat our exercise calories?

Thanks.

You can do it either way. If you calculate your TDEE including your exercise routine you do NOT eat them back.

I prefer to calculate my TDEE without exercise. Then when I exercise I GET to eat them back. This works as an incentive for me to exercise!

If I do things this way the Scooby calculator comes up about right for me. A measly 1252 calories. If I include exercise in the calculation however, even if I underestimate intensity and number of workouts per week, I get a much higher number than I could maintain at, much less lose at.

But to be fair, when I'm not working out I take 'sedentary' to a high art form and I suspect that the calculator wasn't set up with quite that much sedentariness in mind.

*edit* No, logic fail, it had to have been set up with that much sedentariness in mind or else none of the numbers would have come out right. Hm. Not sure what is going on with that.

Try this one and see what you get:

http://iifym.com/tdee-calculator/

Much more accurate for me due to just how sedentary I really am minus the workouts. Thanks!

TDEE-20% + eating back exercise calories works for me.

One thing you all have to remember. If your TDEE number is 2500 then you have to eat a caloric diet less then that if you want to lose weight. If your body burns a total of 2500 calories per day and that is what you eat, then your weight will stay steady - YOU WON"T LOSE....

My TDEE is 2516 per day so I eat 1500 calories per day. This allows me to burn 1000 calories of fat per day or 2 pounds per week.

I missed a lot in this thread, apparently, so here are some replies..

Problem for me is that my TDEE is over 3000 based on how much I workout and that just feels so difficult to eat without eating crap.

This is the tiniest bowl I own. Inside of it is 600 calories of cashews.



I would probably eat 10 of these bowls in one sitting if I didn't restrain myself.

You can find lots of other nutritious foods to make up a healthy diet.

I love almonds and other nuts...but how do you keep all your columns (fat, sat. fat, protein, sugar, etc.) in check without going over? I'm eating 1,300-1,500 calories per day before exercising off anywhere from 500-900 calories/day 6x per week. Even at that low calorie amount I'm over in several columns. My TDEE - 20% = 2,465.6

My diary is open. I'm not a "clean eater"...too picky(!) but I do try to eat good snacks. I've been losing an avg. of 2-2.5 lbs per week. BTW...Today was not an average day...BK turkey burger was not so "lower-calorie" after all, lol!! I usually research ahead if I eat out...and I try to avoid BK, etc. altogether.

I am not saying eat only nuts, just that the "oh my, it's so hard to choke down another bite so I can't fathom raising my calories" is ridiculous. For me, I don't track sugar - I looked and I often get over 100g a day. What I honestly strive for MOST days is to get over 40g of fiber (I often break 100g), try to get protein up but I don't stress it like many here do, try to keep my sodium under 2500mg, and the rest falls where it may. I feel way better when I eat beans and legumes and vegetables, compared to when I eat a lot of protein from meats. I don't know why that is. I eat at home, fresh prepared meals, the majority of the time. I use coconut, peanut, and olive oils... I try to keep my trans fat as close to 0 as possible, but other than that, I don't stress about fat.

Problem for me is that my TDEE is over 3000 based on how much I workout and that just feels so difficult to eat without eating crap.

This is the tiniest bowl I own. Inside of it is 600 calories of cashews.



I would probably eat 10 of these bowls in one sitting if I didn't restrain myself.

You can find lots of other nutritious foods to make up a healthy diet.

Awesome point made!!

Yummmm...but what about the fat macro?

What about it? Fat is not the devil.

TDEE-20% + eating back exercise calories works for me.

TDEE already includes exercise calories.. The T stands for Total.

One thing you all have to remember. If your TDEE number is 2500 then you have to eat a caloric diet less then that if you want to lose weight. If your body burns a total of 2500 calories per day and that is what you eat, then your weight will stay steady - YOU WON"T LOSE....

Nobody who suggests the TDEE-% method didn't already know that... Hence why we say to subtract a healthy percentage, typically 10-20%.

My TDEE is 2516 per day so I eat 1500 calories per day. This allows me to burn 1000 calories of fat per day or 2 pounds per week.

So you're at a 40% deficit, which is very likely too high, and putting your intake under your BMR... Do you know what your BMR is?

To lose weight healthily, you eat X calories, where X is somewhere under TDEE and somewhere over BMR.

BUMP

I tried the Scooby calculator and it did not work for me to eat -20% TDEE. I maintained so I bought a Body Media Fit and now I eat 2250 calories and my total burn for the day is 3250 which is 1000 cal deficit. I am losing at 2lbs per week consistently now. What I learned is that my body actually burns about 2200 calories per day just laying around doing nothing but some days it's more. It's nice to not have to worry about and wonder what I'm doing wrong. The numbers are there.

I can definitely say that I am much happier now that I can eat basically what I want and still lose weight. I am able to still be social with my friends etc. I know that as I get smaller, I will have to gradually make some changes which is fine with me. I am 272lbs and I think many of us with lots to lose get discouraged when we have to drastically cut out a lot of things at once, plus learn how to incorporate exercise. It can be a little overwhelming.

Btw- my exercise for now is spinning daily. I sometimes take a rest day depending on how my body feels.

Just posting to say eating about TDEE -20% after netting 1200 for some time and then giving up because 1200 calories isn't sustainable for me I gained 5 lbs in the first 2 weeks. I was pretty upset. This morning I found the scale finally going in the other direction (down!)

I know it's only one day, but I think if you're in it for the long haul this is the way to go. I seriously don't want to go back to 1200 calories, always being hungry, not getting enough nutrients. Most importantly, I don't want to go back to not having the energy to work out or the space in my calorie "budget" to allow for pre and/or post workout shakes and/or snacks.

So question for you all.. My husband is a big guy. He's 6 foot 4 and currently right about three hundred pounds, he works at a desk job and has a long commute. I set his activity levels as very light, and came up with a Tdee of 4343! That sounds outrageous to me. In order to lose he'd be right at about 3000? Am I doing this right?