Diet stalled; should I eat *more* or *less*?

bgt84
bgt84 Posts: 7
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi all,

I'm stumped here and hoping that you folks here who understand this all better than I do could be of some assistance.

I'm male, 28 years old, 6' 0", and about 225 pounds. That's down from an all-time maximum of near 275 pounds, which I've lost slowly over several years without following any sort of formal diet program (just eating less and exercising more). I joined MFP several months ago in an attempt to get back on track with dieting, as I'd like to get down to a goal weight of 180 pounds or so eventually and I hadn't been sticking to my informal diet program (or else it wasn't working any longer).

Right now I'm eating about 2,200 calories per day, before exercise. I do 30 minutes on an arc trainer (in addition to some moderate weight-lifting) 5-6 times a week, and I've been figuring that I burn about 300 calories there, so my total daily calorie intake is about 2,500. The arc trainer says that I'm burning about 1,100 calories per hour -- I go at about 135 strides per minute, incline of 8, resistance of 25; I get plenty sweaty and worn out, but I have a hard time believing I'm really burning 550 calories in that half hour, so I've been going with 300 as a best-guess estimate.

The problem, as you've probably guessed, is that my weight loss has stalled. I've been stuck around 225 pounds for months now; my weight doesn't seem to go up, but it's not going down either, and needless to say it's pretty frustrating. I've been looking at some of the TDEE and BMR calculators, and they all seem to say that my BMR is about 2,200 calories per day, and my TDEE is around 3,000 to 3,200. Based on that, it seems like I should be eating even MORE than I am currently if I want to lose weight, but I feel like this can't possibly be correct, as I barely feel like I'm dieting now when I'm eating 2,200 calories. Eating 2,400 or 2,500 calories a day before any exercise just feels wrong to me somehow.

Can this possibly be right? Is there anyone out there of similar age/weight/height who can tell me how much they eat, and how much they're losing?

Help!!!

Thanks all!

Replies

  • lausmit4477
    lausmit4477 Posts: 30 Member
    If you go by TDEE, you would not need to eat exercise calories back. A more simple approach would be to take 20% from TDEE and eat that amount or take your current weight and multiply it by 10-12 and eat that amount.


    Try using http://www.fitnessfrog.com/calculators/tdee-calculator.html.


    Also, people as well as machines over estimate how many calories they are actually burning.
  • IronPlayground
    IronPlayground Posts: 1,594 Member
    What is your overall goal? Achieve a certain goal weight, achieve a certain body fat %, get stronger?
  • jzammetti
    jzammetti Posts: 1,956 Member
    We have to feed our bodies - more fuel for more activity. You have a lot of activity.

    Go by the TDEE method at moderately active and do a 15% cut (do not eat back exercise calories). Test it for a month and re-evaluate if necessary. It seems counterintuitive, I know, but it works.
  • rshatfieldjr
    rshatfieldjr Posts: 3
    I have read that in order to lose about 1lb per week one must limit intake to between 1500 and 1600 NET calories per day. 15 months ago I weighed about 265 (I'm 5'10") and today I weigh 180. I typically eat around 22 to 2300 calories per day and exercise about 500 through walking, climbing stairs, and an elliptical trainer. Curiously, I too have stalled, but in a different way: I am stuck at 180 lbs but my waist etc. continue to shrink.

    See what happens if you can get to about 1600 net calories per day.
  • bgt84
    bgt84 Posts: 7
    Hi all,

    Thanks for all the replies!

    I tried the TDEE calculator posted, as well as a few others. All of them put my TDEE somewhere between 3,100 and 3,400 calories based on my activity level and my exercise. Based on that, if I were to aim to eat my TDEE less 20%, I should be eating between 2,500 and 2,700 calories -- which is about the same to slightly more calories (2,500) than I'm eating now. TDEE less 15% would mean 2,600 to 2,900 calories. So that brings me back to my original question -- based on what these calculators are saying, I should be eating more calories than I am now. And half of the replies to my question say that that's what I should be doing -- but the other half say the opposite. So now I'm thoroughly confused!

    All I know for sure is that what I'm doing now doesn't seem to be working, but I'm still not sure which way I should adjust my calorie intake to get back on track. Help! :)
  • jzammetti
    jzammetti Posts: 1,956 Member
    Are you weighing everything you eat? This can be a problem for many since we are not good at guessing weights of food.

    Also, how are you figuring workout calories? HRM? Fit bit? Something else?

    The truth is, I am in that exact same place right now - couldn't decide to go up or down. My estimated TDEE is around 2300-2400 and I had been eating 1700 or so... stuck for many months (for the second time - first time upping them worked like a charm). So, this time - 10 days ago - I decided to up them to 2000 for a month to see what happens. I put the scale and tape measure away to avoid obsessing... I will check in again in 18 days and if my weight has icnreased, I will adjust down; if it has decreased, then I picked the right way! It is all trial and error and PATIENCE... I also started weighting more often so I can be more accurate with calories in.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,428 MFP Moderator
    Hi all,

    Thanks for all the replies!

    I tried the TDEE calculator posted, as well as a few others. All of them put my TDEE somewhere between 3,100 and 3,400 calories based on my activity level and my exercise. Based on that, if I were to aim to eat my TDEE less 20%, I should be eating between 2,500 and 2,700 calories -- which is about the same to slightly more calories (2,500) than I'm eating now. TDEE less 15% would mean 2,600 to 2,900 calories. So that brings me back to my original question -- based on what these calculators are saying, I should be eating more calories than I am now. And half of the replies to my question say that that's what I should be doing -- but the other half say the opposite. So now I'm thoroughly confused!

    All I know for sure is that what I'm doing now doesn't seem to be working, but I'm still not sure which way I should adjust my calorie intake to get back on track. Help! :)

    Here is how it is... usually TDEE - 20% is good for most people, but those calculators are just estimates, nothing more. If you're eating around TDEE - 20% and not losing... you should subtract 10% from that.

    I always recommend do a quick estimate, If you're not losing, are you eating less than TDEE - 20%?? If you are, increase your calories. If you're not, then decrease them.

    While I would agree with what you are saying, it's possible his deficit is too large and his body doesn't like it. I am about the same stats as he is but 30 lbs lighter, I only weight train 5 days a week and 1 cardio day and I eat 2500 calories. It's quite possible that he needs more calories than currently. I would recommend trying a month at 2700 calories total (and do not eat back exercise calories) and if that weight is still stalled, then cut. I much prefer the approach to increase before cutting for the mere fact that most people tend to cut calories too much up front (me included).

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