I really need some help
tracieangeletti
Posts: 432 Member
I am absolutely driving myself nuts and getting SO confused. I've read about a bazillion threads on TDEE and the concept makes all the sense in the world to me but I'm having a very hard time with it. For starters when I first started my journey I was probably eating at too much of a deficit ,1200-1300 calories a day, and I've really been working on correcting it. I've gone to Fat2FitRadio.com and scooby's workshop to calculate my TDEE and each give me a different TDEE but not by that much. I will give you my stats first. I'm a 46 year old female, 5' 1 1/2", approx bf at 28%, and 129 lbs. I would like to be at 24% bf and weigh about 122 lbs or less. I have lost close to 30 lbs over a year with some time off from exercising and dieting here and there because of my MS. I do a spin class for 55 minutes 3x a week, I do 2-3 miles on elliptical 5x a week, strength train for 30 minutes 3x a week, and do a 60 min Body Pump type class (low weight, many reps) once a week, and for good measure I do the rowing machine about 10 minutes 3-4x a week. I have absolutely no idea how much I burn during exercise because at this time I don't have the money for a hrm. Scooby has my BMR at 1281 and my TDEE at 1986 with my daily goal at 1588 at a 20% reduction. I'm calorie phobic and can have OCD issues when it comes to eating at my calorie level, so I tend to eat just at or a little under my calorie goal. I was under the misconception for awhile that my calorie goal was closer to 1700, and I hope that eating at about 1650 calories for a few days or so hasn't gotten in the way of progress. I just recently read an article that suggests I should subtract about 200 calories off that daily allotment right off the bat to account for incidentals such as wrong info on nutritional labels, mints, licking food off fingers etc... Is this necessary and if so how much would you suggest to subtract? The trainer at the gym told me I shouldn't be eating more than 1200 calories a day, and my friend and children, who are very into nutrition and working out feel that 1588 is still too low a calorie allotment. I'm now extremely confused and nervous if I'm doing this right. Am I on the right track? Should I add or subtract? PLEASE help!! Any and all info will be appreciated!!
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First of all get a different trainer. ......1200?0
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First of all get a different trainer. ......1200?
Yeah, that's what he said. When I told him I was hungry a lot of the time he said that was normal and if I need to to eat 1/3 a cup of oatmeal. Have you ever seen what 1/3 of a cup of oatmeal looks like??? I wanted to cry!! lol0 -
Use Scooby and use the correct activity level. Get a new trainer or don't include him/her in your eating plan. 1200 is too little. You should do a 5-10% cut from your TDEE, assuming you used the correct activity level. Your main focus to me seems like you want to lose body fat. If you could attain 24% bf and stay the same weight would that matter to you?
Reason I am asking is if you not, you should start lifting heavy to help with retaining LBM and reducing body fat.
Also because you want to lose about 7lbs your cut is wayyy too steep at 20% and 5-10% would be better for your stage.
As far as the 200 calories for error, I don't do that, never heard of that and if you seem to be encountering caloric errors maybe you should use a digital scale.0 -
Use Scooby and use the correct activity level. Get a new trainer or don't include him/her in your eating plan. 1200 is too little. You should do a 5-10% cut from your TDEE, assuming you used the correct activity level. Your main focus to me seems like you want to lose body fat. If you could attain 24% bf and stay the same weight would that matter to you?
Reason I am asking is if you not, you should start lifting heavy to help with retaining LBM and reducing body fat.
Also because you want to lose about 7lbs your cut is wayyy too steep at 20% and 5-10% would be better for your stage.
As far as the 200 calories for error, I don't do that, never heard of that and if you seem to be encountering caloric errors maybe you should use a digital scale.
The activity level I used was the moderate one, 3-5 hours of exercise a week. He explained if you workout 5-6 days a week that that was the one to use. And yes, my goal is to lose the body fat and increase muscle, although, I know you can't do that in a deficit. I'm trying to change my mindset about the scale and I guess I really don't care what my weight is as long as I'm healthy, lean, and fit. I want to be comfortable in my own skin and not so focused on rolls of fat. lol A 10% cut would bring me to 1787 calories a day which to me sounds wonderful but terrifying at the same time. Working on getting over that. I am currently doing a strength training program called Chalean Extreme and I have one month left of the three month program . When I finish I'm thinking about checking into either Strong Lifts 5x5 or The New Rules of Lifting for Women. I don't know anything about them but I have seen people mention them in the forums. I'm very new to strength training and still very intimidated by it but because of my MS I have lost a lot of muscle strength so it is important to get it back. Thank you so much for your help so far! Any other suggestions I should do?0 -
It sounds to me like you are more than Moderately active - I would go up to the next level and re-figure your TDEE. Since you are so close to your goal, a 10% deficit is probably plenty. Don't underestimate your activity level - it will just result in you continuting to undereat...0
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I do a spin class for 55 minutes 3x a week, I do 2-3 miles on elliptical 5x a week, strength train for 30 minutes 3x a week, and do a 60 min Body Pump type class (low weight, many reps) once a week, and for good measure I do the rowing machine about 10 minutes 3-4x a week.
According to this description, I estimate that it comes out to be more than 5 hours a week, in which case you would want to use the next level up from moderately active with a 10% cut.
As far as being afraid of eating more, don't! Your body will really thank you for it, you will have better energy and feel amazing with the freeness of not being tied to a low calorie goal.0 -
I checked out the next level, 5-6 hours of strenuous exercise a week, and that brought me up to 1989 calories a day. That is almost panic attack inducing!!! lol No, seriously. Terrifying. How do I go about eating that much without gaining weight? Should I up my calories by 100 a day every few weeks til I reach the 1989? At what pace would you suggest? I know if I made that huge leap now I would gain.0
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I checked out the next level, 5-6 hours of strenuous exercise a week, and that brought me up to 1989 calories a day. That is almost panic attack inducing!!! lol No, seriously. Terrifying. How do I go about eating that much without gaining weight? Should I up my calories by 100 a day every few weeks til I reach the 1989? At what pace would you suggest? I know if I made that huge leap now I would gain.
Nothing wrong with cascading up to your level. And you can expect some water retention along the way, but it is not permanent. Remember it takes 3500 calories a week ABOVE your TDEE to gain a pound of fat.0 -
I checked out the next level, 5-6 hours of strenuous exercise a week, and that brought me up to 1989 calories a day. That is almost panic attack inducing!!! lol No, seriously. Terrifying. How do I go about eating that much without gaining weight? Should I up my calories by 100 a day every few weeks til I reach the 1989? At what pace would you suggest? I know if I made that huge leap now I would gain.
Nothing wrong with cascading up to your level. And you can expect some water retention along the way, but it is not permanent. Remember it takes 3500 calories a week ABOVE your TDEE to gain a pound of fat.
Good reminder!! I wouldn't have thought of that on my own!! Really, I wouldn't have. lol Thank you all so much for your help. Listening to your advice has helped me to feel much more confident going forward. Hopefully, in a few months I'll be able to post my success story!!
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It is scary at first, but once you get up to where you should be you will wonder how you could have lived on less. I have gradually increased my calories over time, ****inuing to challenge my metabolism, and am currently able to maintain at 2300. In another month or so, I may try to go to 2400.
Just trust the process and take it slow. You may see some temporary gains along the way as your body adjusts,but remember, it is just your body adapting. Don't panic over those fluctuations.
Especially if you continue your heavy lifting, you will be thrilled with the changes in your body, once it has the fuel to build some muscle...0
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