New to this - MFP/TDEE/Calories Eaten

kelly_burgess
kelly_burgess Posts: 9 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
So I'm relatively new to all of this weight-loss stuff. I'm between 5'6 and 5'7 and 26 years old. I used to be 120-125lbs but am now up to around 155. I'd like to get back down to what I was before, but I have some questions about what I'm supposed to be looking at and following.

I have a 9-5 desk job but I recently bought a recumbent bike that I use 4-5 times a week. I generally use it for about 40 minutes each time, resistance set between 5-6 (on a 1-8 scale), and going about "13 miles" during that time. I seem to burn an average of 400 calories during each workout. I did literally no exercise before the purchase of this bike.

Anyway, I've been trying to keep track of my calories and my goal is to lose about 2lbs a week. MFP has me at 1200 calories a day which seems like not a lot.

I'm trying to do one of those TDEE calculators but I'm not even sure what to choose (and I've listed my TDEE for each one I choose):
BMR: 1515
Little or no exercise (ex: desk job) TDEE: 1818
Light exercise (ex: exercising 1-3 days/week) TDEE: 2084
Moderate exercise (ex: exercising 3-5 days/week) TDEE: 2349

I exercise those 3-5 days a week but I'm skeptical of the calories I'm burning on the bike just because it seems too easy despite the heart rate increase and being gross and sweaty afterward.

If I'd like to lose the 2lbs a week, about how many calories do you guys think I should be eating in a day? I basically have no idea what I'm doing and I want to make sure that I'm losing weight but not starving myself as I've had issues with that in the past.

I think my diary is public as well if you want to take a gander at what I've been eating recently if that helps at all...

Thank you!

Replies

  • MacSkillz
    MacSkillz Posts: 417 Member
    You're going to get a lot of confusing info about this that will make you even more confused. Everyone has different theories of how it works, but this is what I did.


    I ran into the same issue when I was trying to figure out mine. What I did was pick a middle ground between the "little to no exercise" and "light exercise". So for you, lets say 1950. That's how many calories you would have to eat to maintain your weight with your current lifestyle. And since your looking to lose around 30 to 35 lbs, you want to reduce the 1950 by 20%.

    1950 * 0.2 = 390
    1950 - 390 = 1560

    So for the next 3 weeks, try to eat around 1560 calories each day and see what happens.

    Glad to see you back and if you ever have any questions or need support at all... you know where my office is! lol
  • kelly_burgess
    kelly_burgess Posts: 9 Member
    Thanks, Lesley! 1500 is way more than 1200. I've been so hungry and grumpy.

    Unrelated: there is an ad for Red Robin/Arby's/Panera above this. Hehe.
  • MacSkillz
    MacSkillz Posts: 417 Member
    Thanks, Lesley! 1500 is way more than 1200. I've been so hungry and grumpy.

    Unrelated: there is an ad for Red Robin/Arby's/Panera above this. Hehe.


    You're welcome! And yea, when you aren't eating enough that will happen. And I'm sure the job doesn't help either. :tongue:

    My ad is a for kindle... but that's probably because I've been on Amazon a lot lately buying books for my courses that start on Monday!
  • kelly_burgess
    kelly_burgess Posts: 9 Member
    I'd probably be infinitely more pleasant with a different job. :)

    Anyone else want to weigh in on my goal here? :)
  • kelly_burgess
    kelly_burgess Posts: 9 Member
    bump

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