Could this be my issue? (Calorie Talk)

Marksman21
Marksman21 Posts: 126 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hey folks,

I've been following "In Place of A Road Map 2.0" for my calorie calculations. So far, it brought success till these last few months where I hit a stable 235 lbs and didn't go anywhere. Wasn't bothered so much, but as time went on, I needed to find out why there was no progress.

Info I had was:
Current Weight - 235 lbs
Goal Weight - 200 lbs
Body Fat - 30%
BMR - 2184 (HB) / 1990 (KH)
TDEE - 2621 (Sedentary) [Acquired through Fat 2 Fit calculators]
Suggested Calorie Intake - 2097

Well last few months, I was eating at a steady 1800 calories a day, until recently, I had a craptastic weekend (out of the house, and was having a good time, so I ignored most of it), and ate garbage.... only to come home and find I had dropped to 234 lbs.

That's when it hit me. Am I eating too little? Should I be eating 2097 calories MINIMUM all this time? If so, I need to make some adjustments, but I wanted to know what you all thought.

Replies

  • tricksee
    tricksee Posts: 835 Member
    Sometimes, a day in which you fly through the kitchen like a hurricane can be a good thing, especially mentally!!
  • Marksman21
    Marksman21 Posts: 126 Member
    Don't get me wrong, I didn't REGRET eating a single bite of it.

    Aaaand I was a sucker for trying the new McDonald's Dulce De Leche milkshake. Tasted great. :D
  • dsjohndrow
    dsjohndrow Posts: 1,820 Member
    This happened to me a couple of times early on. However, in year two, as I was close to my goal weight, I had to be really careful of those kinds of splurges. What worked for me was eating the calories I needed to maintain my goal weight.
  • beelanc
    beelanc Posts: 71 Member
    Definitely sounds like you havent been eating enough. From what I got from the article you shouldnt drop too much below your BMR. (20-30% below from what I remember)
  • Marksman21
    Marksman21 Posts: 126 Member
    Definitely sounds like you havent been eating enough. From what I got from the article you shouldnt drop too much below your BMR. (20-30% below from what I remember)

    There is some flexibility to that pending on your Body Fat. Though you are correct, it suggests eating at BMR, no lower, or to 20% lower than your TDEEE. (Those with higher rates of obesity can push it to 30%). 2097 is my TDEE - 20%. Just below BMR.
  • Klemy
    Klemy Posts: 1 Member
    I recently hit a month long plateau, and drove myself crazy trying to figure out why the scale wasn't budging. Finally the only thing I had left to try was increasing my calorie intake. ( I was eating an average of 200 calories below my suggested caloric intake per day) As soon as I increased my calories I started dropping steadily again. Sometimes the seemingly wrong thing is the right thing. If you try this and gain, you can always reduce again.
  • tinak33
    tinak33 Posts: 9,883 Member
    Just and FYI, you should probably re calculate your BMR/TDEE numbers after every 5-10 lb loss.
    The numbers will change.
  • rlmadrid
    rlmadrid Posts: 694 Member
    Definitely sounds like you havent been eating enough. From what I got from the article you shouldnt drop too much below your BMR. (20-30% below from what I remember)

    20-30% applied to TDEE in the article. Your BMR is what you'd need in a coma with no activity... don't drop 30 % below that!
  • thesupremeforce
    thesupremeforce Posts: 1,206 Member
    I believe that you're interpreting that information correctly. The rule around here seems to be "don't eat under your BMR." Try netting in the neighborhood of 2100 per day for a while and see if it works.

    If it helps, I'm currently at 218, eating in that neighborhood and still losing every week.

    If you've been eating 1800, bumping it up a little shouldn't stall you out all that much either (and if you're already stalled, you won't notice a difference).
  • rlmadrid
    rlmadrid Posts: 694 Member
    I believe that you're interpreting that information correctly. The rule around here seems to be "don't eat under your BMR." Try netting in the neighborhood of 2100 per day for a while and see if it works.

    If it helps, I'm currently at 218, eating in that neighborhood and still losing every week.

    If you've been eating 1800, bumping it up a little shouldn't stall you out all that much either (and if you're already stalled, you won't notice a difference).

    I agree with this. I'm a 150 lb girl and I eat 1600-1800 and lose. That's the 'net' calories too. I use the spreadsheet from In Place of a Road Map to keep track over the course of the week and the month. Some days I can lift for an hour and follow it with a spin class and I'm just not hungry. I'll force a protein shake and let it go, because I know I'll likely be ravenous come breakfast at 6. Some days I skip breakfast because I'm not hungry but post-workout I could devour a whole cow.

    I guess what I'm saying is you're right in listening to your body, and you're right that this probably means you should eat a bit more. Give it a try, at least 3 to 6 weeks for adjustment.
  • Marksman21
    Marksman21 Posts: 126 Member
    Just and FYI, you should probably re calculate your BMR/TDEE numbers after every 5-10 lb loss.
    The numbers will change.

    Learned that lesson a while back. The numbers you see are for 235 lbs. Once I reach 230, I'll be recalculating them.
  • beelanc
    beelanc Posts: 71 Member
    Definitely sounds like you havent been eating enough. From what I got from the article you shouldnt drop too much below your BMR. (20-30% below from what I remember)

    20-30% applied to TDEE in the article. Your BMR is what you'd need in a coma with no activity... don't drop 30 % below that!

    Thanks for clarifying...I need to read it again to refresh. :)
  • paintlisapurple
    paintlisapurple Posts: 982 Member
    In my experience eating at a number above your bmr, but below your tdee and exercising your @zz off is the path to happiness. :flowerforyou:
  • Ready2Rock206
    Ready2Rock206 Posts: 9,487 Member
    I've had that happen too - stall out while eating what you're supposed to - then have a "bad" day and bam the scale drops. Always good to shake things up now and again.
  • Marksman21
    Marksman21 Posts: 126 Member
    Definitely sounds like you havent been eating enough. From what I got from the article you shouldnt drop too much below your BMR. (20-30% below from what I remember)

    20-30% applied to TDEE in the article. Your BMR is what you'd need in a coma with no activity... don't drop 30 % below that!

    Thanks for clarifying...I need to read it again to refresh. :)

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12

    Its a good idea to give it a good read. Even if its not for you, its something to think about. Hate sounding like I'm advertising, but its because of the guidelines here, I boosted my weightloss to this point.

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