Eating MORE to weigh less success stories...pls.

TDEE is just an estimation and it can be off anywhere from ten to fifteen percent. SO if you calculate it at 2000 and you are off 15% on the high end, well that 20% cut just turned into a 5% cut..whoops...

You really need to go trial and error with your intake and find out at what number you lose, what number you gain, an what number that you maintain...

I pretty much know that if I eat in the 2000 to 2200 cal range that I will lose; if I eat about 2500 to 2600 I maintain, and 2601 and above I start to gain....

The way I always see is that you should eat TDEE- 20%.

Look for the road map that people often get referred to, that should help you figure out what you're supposed to eat. I eat based on what my dietician and my doctor have planned for me, so I am of no help there.

{{{{{{{{{ :smooched: HUGS :smooched: }}}}}}}}}}}}}}

Thank you so much!!!! I subtracted 20% from my number and came up with 1695 cals on my non-fasting days!!!! This is A LOT more than I usually eat, but much more "reasonable" and much less scary and doable--with joy! YAY!!!

:flowerforyou:

If you are 5:2 fasting you eat your TDEE 5 days a week and a lot less (usually around 500 calories) 2 days a week. The TDEE - 20% method gives you a goal to hit every day. If you were to combine it with 5:2 fasting you'd be undereating. Don't mix your methods.

If you find it hard to get the calories in add in high calorie density food. Almonds, avacado, nuts in general, whole milk. You could make yourself a banana milkshake or a smoothie with yogurt, oats, berries and stuff in. Lots of extra nutrients as well as cals.

I eat my TDEE-20% at 1831 calories and I'm 5'3. I've followed if for 60 days. I started out 131lbs heavier than my pre-injury weight. I'm now back into my smallest jean size (which were way too tight 60 days ago), my ab lines are showing again, and I look better than I did before. I've concentrated on fat loss over weight loss and I couldn't be happier. Hope this helps.

dont you think that it also depends on your activity level?
While doing Insanity, I ate 1900+ and lost 2 pants sizes. But after the 60 days I switched to a lesser program and I had to reduce my calories down to 1500 to continue.
I just started Insanity again and increased again too, and continuing to lean out.

I'm not sure if I qualify as a success story *just* yet (smiles) but I can give you my experience. I recently had metabolic testing done (very similar to calculating your TDEE, but done in a doctor's office with oxygen masks and electrodes and all sorts of stuff). Turns out my daily needs (if I woke up and never moved - just my daily needs) are 1441 calories. I burn fat calories at a heartrate between 125 and 139 during exercise. Now - compare that my past - when "dieting" I ate 1200 calories a day. I killed myself with aerobics - insanity, kickboxing - you name it, I've tried it. And yes, I would lose weight, painfully slowly, and put it back on the instant I stopped. And since that kind of lifestyle (for me) was very hard to sustain - I always stopped at some point.

This is my second week on doing it the "right way." I eat back most of my exercise calories so I am eating in the 1700-1800 daily calorie range. I have energy. I feel better. I am sleeping better. My emotional mood is better. The first week I lost 1 pound. This week I am on target to lose 1.5. This thing is - I don't feel like I'm even working hard to do it. It's just - easy. It might be slow - a pound a week - but that's a good, healthy and sustainable goal for me. (As an aside, I still do Insanity, but it's probably hilarious to watch because I do it veeerrrrry slowly and I do it low-impact to keep my heartrate in fat-burning range - however, I'm not exhausted and I actually look forward to doing it. According to my heartrate monitor, I'm still burning 350 calories a workout.

I started at 1200 & lost weight, but was tired & not quite right. I then hit a weight loss plateau. I calculated my TDEE (confirmed with Fitbit One) & BMR and adjusted by calories accordingly with TDEE-20% deficit. I've continued to lose weight & now feel great & have tons of energy. I have spent most of the summer doing heavy gardening, landscaping, etc. That has included moving 20 yards of topsoil & mulch by the wheel barrel load, lifting heavy concrete pavers to build retaining walls & edge beds, plus planted a ton of shrubs, trees & perennials. I could never have done that last summer, as I didn't have the energy & did NOT tolerate heat. This year it has been hard work, but not impossible. I've actually been quite proud of myself, as I've out worked my 18-20-something year old nieces many times over. They dropout & I keep going. We've completely redone/rebuilt my parents' yard & deck. I'm 54-y.o. & feel better than I have in more than a decade! It works!!!!

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