I really don't think I've got the hang of this!

Nadireth
Nadireth Posts: 8 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi all,

Just a quick question about net calories. I'm a 22 year old female, weight approxe 215lb (still got that damn water weight!) so I need to eat about 1600 calories a day, which I do mostly manage to stick to. However, I do go to a tough spinning class 2/3 times a week (45 minutes strenuous activity =approx 700 calories burnt) which obviously adds on to how many calories I have to work with. Same with my day job, four hours of walking twice a week = approx 900 calorie burn (I know, crazy!)

So my question is this : in order to lose weight at a healthy rate of 3lb a week, when I have gone to the gym and got these extra calories - does my net total need to equal 1600?

Getting very confused with this as I just want to get rid of this flab!

Replies

  • leebesstoad
    leebesstoad Posts: 1,186 Member
    First, from my perspective, 3 pounds a week is not healthy. It's too much, too fast. Most experts say 1-2 pounds on average. I think 2 pounds is reasonable.

    Weight loss is, in the end, simply a math problem. Take out a calculator, a pencil and paper and do the math. First, where did you come up with the 1600 calories you need to eat?

    One pound is 3500 calories. Say you go to your spinning class 3 times. That is 2100 calories (1400 if it is twice). 1800 calories from the walking twice a week. So you are somewhere between 3200-3900 from the exercise. About a pound of weight loss from the exercise off the 1600 if you didn't eat that back (which I think you should certainly eat at least some of it back). That means you would need to be at a 3500 calorie deficit from what you eat to what you burn through your other activities of daily living. Which means you are calculating your TDEE at 2100 calories if you say you need to eat 1600 calories.
    And that is to lose 2 pounds a week. If you think you are going to lose 3 pounds a week, it means you think your TDEE is 2600 calories a day.. And I just want to make sure that is what you are coming up with.

    Thought when you graduated from school you were finished with math, didn't you? Sorry, no such luck.

    I really do think you need to ratchet down the expectations of 3 pounds a week. It seems too much, and you are setting yourself up for failure, disappointment, and you'll be more prone to giving up. As well as it being too much to achieve at once for an extended period of time. Your body didn't gain the weight all at once. There is no reason to expect it to come off all at once either.
  • Nadireth
    Nadireth Posts: 8 Member
    Thank you for your reply :)

    I mainly got the 1600 from the MFP calculator on the iPhone app, it originally gave me something like 1548 but I rounded it up to 1600 for the sake of my sanity.

    In retrospect, I agree with dropping the 3lb target - gotta remember that it's a marathon and not a sprint! But I must apologise, I'm completely lost with the TDEE (and I'm rubbish at math)- most of the time I do eat over 1600 on gym days. For example today, I burnt 877 calories but ate 1972 so ended up with a net of 1095.
  • leebesstoad
    leebesstoad Posts: 1,186 Member
    Sorry about that, but I was sort of intentionally trying to overwhelm you into rethinking the 3 pounds a week number. Good. 2 pounds a week is certainly reasonable and doable (I did it and I'm damned near 3 times your age). Slow and steady wins the race.

    I think initially, MFP probably is a good place to start as far as the calorie recommendation. Their distribution is a little off for my taste but I could certainly live with it as you begin your journey, so you won't get any quibbles from me. Keeping under the net total for the day is the ultimate target, so eating back some of what you exercise is certainly not a problem.

    Just try to read the message boards to learn the lingo (BMR, TDEE and the like). It takes a while, but you will catch on. I promise you that. And in the end, the math really isn't all that hard. The key numbers are 3500 (for calories for pound) and 500 (calories per day to reach that 3500 calories per pound per week).

    A few words of advice as you get started.

    1) As I said, slow and steady wins the race. There are no quick fixes. there are no magic creams, no instant pills. Anyone who says that is lying.

    2) When you mess up on the diet, and trust me you will because we all do, don't sweat it. It doesn't mean you are a failure as a person, a miserable human being who can't do this. It means you are trying to lose weight and you messed up once, like we all do. Get back on the horse the next day and get back at it.

    3) Don't let the scale run your life. Your weight will fluctuate from day to day naturally through water weight, humidity, menstrual cycle, bad hair days, whatever. Keep your eyes on the big picture. How do you feel over all.

    4) It is okay to treat yourself once in a while to a cheat meal or even day. No harm in doing this. Losing weight isn't supposed to be some sort of cosmic punishment. As long as you are working towards the ultimate ends, however long it takes is how long it takes.

    5) Ask lots of questions, but take everything (even this) with a huge grain of salt. Most people here are genuine and try to be helpful and offer their opinions with the best of intentions. Listen to what your brain tells you to see if it makes sense.

    6) Celebrate the victories. What we refer to here as NSV - non scale victories. When someone compliments you unexpectedly, having to get some new clothes. Those are the moments that make it worthwhile. And they will come.

    Good luck and come back often.

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