Am I starving myself??

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michele0211
michele0211 Posts: 2
in Health and Weight Loss
Hello, I am 38, athletic (I play roller derby!), exercise a minimum of 3 x a week for 2 hours each. I weighed myself this morning and I weigh 197 pounds. I have lost about 50 pounds in the past year and a half, but seemed to plateau.

I am just now getting used to this TDEE talk, and I found a calculator online that said I have a BMR of 1592, and a TDEE of 2189. However, I have been trying to stick to a 1200 cal/day diet. I am stuck! Should I be aiming for TDEE-20%, which would be about 1750 cal/day? Will the weight loss pick up again? Thanks for any input!

Replies

  • tmpecus78
    tmpecus78 Posts: 1,206 Member
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    BMR is a cals burned doing nothing all day, so if you are only eating 1200 calories a day you are already at a 395 cal deficit. On top of that you are working out for 2 hours a minimum of 3 days a week, so you are at a very high deficit. A big deficit does not equal too a "bigger" loss of body fat. You need proper nutrition so your body can function. 1200 is waaaay to low for you.
  • ladynocturne
    ladynocturne Posts: 865 Member
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    BMR is a cals burned doing nothing all day, so if you are only eating 1200 calories a day you are already at a 395 cal deficit. On top of that you are working out for 2 hours a minimum of 3 days a week, so you are at a very high deficit. A big deficit does not equal too a "bigger" loss of body fat. You need proper nutrition so your body can function. 1200 is waaaay to low for you.

    BMR is actually what her body needs just to stay alive in a coma. Her TDEE is what you should be subtracting 1200 calories from to determine her actual deficit. Please be careful with misinformation.

    2189-1200= 989 calorie deficit, which is almost 2lbs a week, this is pretty aggressive.

    Your TDEE -20% should be relatively the same amount of calories as if you LOG your exercise, and EAT them.

    1200(goal)+500(exercise calories)=1700 calories to eat.
  • Chief_Rocka
    Chief_Rocka Posts: 4,710 Member
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    Your body has pretty much caught up to 1200 calories. Lower cals or increasing activity isn't a really good option for you.

    I would recommend slowly raising your cals to TDEE, staying there for a while, and the slowly working your way back down.
  • amwoidyla
    amwoidyla Posts: 257 Member
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    I used to play roller derby! If your practices are anything like ours used to be, you burn a ton of calories and you're famished by the end. Especially if it's endurance practice! Hopefully you've been eating back some of the calories you're burning during practice and cross training or else your deficit will be too low and could stall weight loss.

    My advice would be to up your calories from 1200 (whichever method you want to use) and do it for 6 weeks to see any changes. I upped my cals and had what they refer to as a "whoosh" and lost 4 pounds really quickly.

    Happy hitting! (and eating)
  • tmpecus78
    tmpecus78 Posts: 1,206 Member
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    BMR is actually what her body needs just to stay alive in a coma. Her TDEE is what you should be subtracting 1200 calories from to determine her actual deficit. Please be careful with misinformation.

    2189-1200= 989 calorie deficit, which is almost 2lbs a week, this is pretty aggressive.

    Your TDEE -20% should be relatively the same amount of calories as if you LOG your exercise, and EAT them.

    1200(goal)+500(exercise calories)=1700 calories to eat.

    I think you need to re-read my post. I clearly was making a point that if she is only eating 1200 cals and she does NOTHING, she is at a deficit. I was not suggesting to subtract her cals from her BMR.

    Basal metabolic rate (BMR), and the closely related resting metabolic rate (RMR), is the amount of energy expended daily by humans and other animals at rest. Rest is defined as existing in a neutrally temperate environment while in the post-absorptive state.
  • ladynocturne
    ladynocturne Posts: 865 Member
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    BMR is actually what her body needs just to stay alive in a coma. Her TDEE is what you should be subtracting 1200 calories from to determine her actual deficit. Please be careful with misinformation.

    2189-1200= 989 calorie deficit, which is almost 2lbs a week, this is pretty aggressive.

    Your TDEE -20% should be relatively the same amount of calories as if you LOG your exercise, and EAT them.

    1200(goal)+500(exercise calories)=1700 calories to eat.

    I think you need to re-read my post. I clearly was making a point that if she is only eating 1200 cals and she does NOTHING, she is at a deficit. I was not suggesting to subtract her cals from her BMR.

    Basal metabolic rate (BMR), and the closely related resting metabolic rate (RMR), is the amount of energy expended daily by humans and other animals at rest. Rest is defined as existing in a neutrally temperate environment while in the post-absorptive state.

    I don't know how:

    "BMR is a cals burned doing nothing all day, so if you are only eating 1200 calories a day you are already at a 395 cal deficit"

    Could possibly be read any differently than how I read it. But okay.

    Basically it sounds like you're saying BMR is maintenance for a sedentary person. So.... that's wrong.

    If that isn't what you're saying, then I ask, please, rephrase your posts in a way that is less confusing. We really don't need any more people running around thinking they have to create their deficit from their BMR.
  • recoveryjunky
    recoveryjunky Posts: 162 Member
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    BMR is actually what her body needs just to stay alive in a coma. Her TDEE is what you should be subtracting 1200 calories from to determine her actual deficit. Please be careful with misinformation.

    2189-1200= 989 calorie deficit, which is almost 2lbs a week, this is pretty aggressive.

    Your TDEE -20% should be relatively the same amount of calories as if you LOG your exercise, and EAT them.

    1200(goal)+500(exercise calories)=1700 calories to eat.

    I think you need to re-read my post. I clearly was making a point that if she is only eating 1200 cals and she does NOTHING, she is at a deficit. I was not suggesting to subtract her cals from her BMR.

    Basal metabolic rate (BMR), and the closely related resting metabolic rate (RMR), is the amount of energy expended daily by humans and other animals at rest. Rest is defined as existing in a neutrally temperate environment while in the post-absorptive state.

    I don't know how:

    "BMR is a cals burned doing nothing all day, so if you are only eating 1200 calories a day you are already at a 395 cal deficit"

    Could possibly be read any differently than how I read it. But okay.

    Basically it sounds like you're saying BMR is maintenance for a sedentary person. So.... that's wrong.

    If that isn't what you're saying, then I ask, please, rephrase your posts in a way that is less confusing. We really don't need any more people running around thinking they have to create their deficit from their BMR.

    Could just be me but I think I'm reading it like the poster meant it. As if she is eating a huge deficit, not accounting for her exercise.
  • RAFValentina
    RAFValentina Posts: 1,231 Member
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    This is probably too low as pointed out by the first reply, you need some stuff to help your body retain muscle and allow it to lose the fat. Musclee uses a lot of energy to maintain and muscle burns more calories than fatty tissue/unit weight.

    What has worked for me is not having such a massive deficit as I work out, and having one or two days whre calorie intake is either maintenance levels or about 2-300 calories higher than maintenance. I seem to be getting more trim and leaner... it's slow but very steady and I physically find it hard to "pinch an inch" now. I also have more energy to smash out some quailty workouts, and I've gotten much faster runnin in a shorter amount of time (I think this is more energy level based)!
  • ladynocturne
    ladynocturne Posts: 865 Member
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    Could just be me but I think I'm reading it like the poster meant it. As if she is eating a huge deficit, not accounting for her exercise.

    I never said I didn't agree that her deficit is too high. So, what is your point? None of what you said has anything to do with the issue I'm having.
  • tmpecus78
    tmpecus78 Posts: 1,206 Member
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    I don't know how:

    "BMR is a cals burned doing nothing all day, so if you are only eating 1200 calories a day you are already at a 395 cal deficit"

    Could possibly be read any differently than how I read it. But okay.

    Basically it sounds like you're saying BMR is maintenance for a sedentary person. So.... that's wrong.

    If that isn't what you're saying, then I ask, please, rephrase your posts in a way that is less confusing. We really don't need any more people running around thinking they have to create their deficit from their BMR.

    The point I was trying to make, which I guess clearly isn't obvious is that 1200cals isn't healthy even if she does nothing all day. No where did I mention or refer to BMR being maintenance.
  • Mischievous_Rascal
    Mischievous_Rascal Posts: 1,791 Member
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    Hello, I am 38, athletic (I play roller derby!), exercise a minimum of 3 x a week for 2 hours each. I weighed myself this morning and I weigh 197 pounds. I have lost about 50 pounds in the past year and a half, but seemed to plateau.

    I am just now getting used to this TDEE talk, and I found a calculator online that said I have a BMR of 1592, and a TDEE of 2189. However, I have been trying to stick to a 1200 cal/day diet. I am stuck! Should I be aiming for TDEE-20%, which would be about 1750 cal/day? Will the weight loss pick up again? Thanks for any input!

    I recently upped my calories to TDEE -10%, and the answer is yes - seven pounds that didn't budge for half a year gone in only six weeks. Big happy face!!! How much more do you need to lose? If you're close to your goal (10 - 15 pounds) you'll want do 10%, so you lose slow and steady and it stays off. Otherwise, 15-20% deficit should be good. Also, I increased my calories slowly, by 150/day each week. Best of luck!
  • ladynocturne
    ladynocturne Posts: 865 Member
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    I don't know how:

    "BMR is a cals burned doing nothing all day, so if you are only eating 1200 calories a day you are already at a 395 cal deficit"

    Could possibly be read any differently than how I read it. But okay.

    Basically it sounds like you're saying BMR is maintenance for a sedentary person. So.... that's wrong.

    If that isn't what you're saying, then I ask, please, rephrase your posts in a way that is less confusing. We really don't need any more people running around thinking they have to create their deficit from their BMR.

    The point I was trying to make, which I guess clearly isn't obvious is that 1200cals isn't healthy even if she does nothing all day. No where did I mention or refer to BMR being maintenance.

    It's strongly implied that you're saying BMR is maintenance by your description of BMR. And also that her deficit starts at calories subtracted from BMR. Just saying it could have be phrased better, I can see that it wasn't what you meant now.

    If it confused me, it probably confused other people. No hard feelings.
  • janerfitnesspal145
    janerfitnesspal145 Posts: 55 Member
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    Rather than starving yourself, I'd guess you're stalling your metabolism if you're only eating around 1,200 calories a day with the amount of exercise you're getting. As as example, I'm 50 years old and 5'4 1/2" and I have my calories set at a minimum of 1,400 per day, PLUS I do eat back my exercise calories. I log my exercise rather than doing TDEE-20% because I do different workouts and I keep changing my schedule, so I feel like logging my workouts gives me a more accurate daily calorie need. I've checked both ways for myself personally and they come out to about the same. If one does a regular workout on a regular schedule, then TDEE-20% would be great. I have steadily lost weight (30 pounds since Feb).

    As another example my hard-headed husband decided that he would lose weight faster if he restricted his calories even more. MFP had him at 2,120 calories a day (a 700 calorie a day deficit for 1.5 lb loss per week), plus eating back exercise calories. When his weight loss stalled, I started looking at his diary everyday and he had restricted himself down to around 1,500-1,800 calories a day or less. I started pushing him to keep his daily calories above 2,000 plus (more on exercise days) and eventually the weight started coming off again. He's done this several times and I have to keep reminding him that too few calories is killing his metabolism.

    Good luck!
  • tmpecus78
    tmpecus78 Posts: 1,206 Member
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    I don't know how:

    "BMR is a cals burned doing nothing all day, so if you are only eating 1200 calories a day you are already at a 395 cal deficit"

    Could possibly be read any differently than how I read it. But okay.

    Basically it sounds like you're saying BMR is maintenance for a sedentary person. So.... that's wrong.

    If that isn't what you're saying, then I ask, please, rephrase your posts in a way that is less confusing. We really don't need any more people running around thinking they have to create their deficit from their BMR.

    The point I was trying to make, which I guess clearly isn't obvious is that 1200cals isn't healthy even if she does nothing all day. No where did I mention or refer to BMR being maintenance.

    It's strongly implied that you're saying BMR is maintenance by your description of BMR. And also that her deficit starts at calories subtracted from BMR. Just saying it could have be phrased better, I can see that it wasn't what you meant now.

    If it confused me, it probably confused other people. No hard feelings.

    No worries!
  • paleojoe
    paleojoe Posts: 442 Member
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    Hello, I am 38, athletic (I play roller derby!), exercise a minimum of 3 x a week for 2 hours each. I weighed myself this morning and I weigh 197 pounds. I have lost about 50 pounds in the past year and a half, but seemed to plateau.

    I am just now getting used to this TDEE talk, and I found a calculator online that said I have a BMR of 1592, and a TDEE of 2189. However, I have been trying to stick to a 1200 cal/day diet. I am stuck! Should I be aiming for TDEE-20%, which would be about 1750 cal/day? Will the weight loss pick up again? Thanks for any input!

    If you don't mind me asking, how tall are you? I ask because at 197lbs working out 3+ days per week at a high level, I am trying to wrap my head around a BMR of 1592.
  • michele0211
    michele0211 Posts: 2
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    I do enter my exercise into MFP, and most of the time, with a 2 hour practice (as was said earlier) I burn about 1000 calories (I have measured with a heart rate monitor). Last night for example, our warehouse was a sauna! It was exhausting!

    My goal weight is 150-160 pounds. So as you see, I need to lose about 40 more. So reading the above posts, I need to increase my caloric intake to 1750 - slowly, correct? That number is If I don't enter exercise.

    Now, if I enter the skating into MFP, it adds the 1000 calories that I burn at practice to my available calories for the day, upping it to 2200 (if I were to stick to a 1200 cal/day diet). So at a minimum, I should be eating 2200 calories those days? I'll be honest, some days I just don't feel like eating after a heavy workout like practice, so I'm usually below what MFP recommends.

    I am 5'6".....
  • dejamos
    dejamos Posts: 53 Member
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    The point I was trying to make, which I guess clearly isn't obvious is that 1200cals isn't healthy even if she does nothing all day. No where did I mention or refer to BMR being maintenance.

    It was perfectly clear to me.
  • paleojoe
    paleojoe Posts: 442 Member
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    Here is what I came up with. Please everyone check my math... also if you think I am out of my mind feel free to speak your peace.
    My numbers are slightly rounded.

    Since I don't know your body fat % I used the Harris-Benedict Equation...

    655.1 + (9.56 x weight in kg) + (1.85 x height in cm) - (4.676 x age in yrs)
    655.1 + (9.56 x 89) + (1.85 x 167) - (4.676 x 38)
    655.1 + 850 + 308 - 177 = 1635 x 1.55 (activity) = 2535 - 500 (deficit) = 2035
    655.1 + 850 + 308 - 177 = 1635 x 1.55 (activity) = 2535 - 1000 (deficit) = 1535

    So for a calorie range I would put you at...
    1500 - 2000 calories per day.

    You have 40 - 50lbs to lose so you can be pretty aggressive with your deficit. As you get closer to your goal weight you will have to make the deficit smaller. Rule of thumb I use is 30 calories per pound you want to lose. If I knew your body fat I could be more accurate.

    Thoughts?
  • dakotababy
    dakotababy Posts: 2,406 Member
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    I was eating around 1500, but I should have been eating around 1850 (according to Scooby's calculator)...I have consistently been eating more, and the weight has finally started to come off. I was in a long 8 month plateau as well.

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