How does this sound as my game plan?

tinableee
tinableee Posts: 5
in Fitness and Exercise
So, I'm at one of the lowest weights I've ever been, but my journey isn't over yet. I'm aiming for fat loss and retaining the muscle that I have.

I was doing the 1200 calories a day thing for the past two days until I read about how horrible that is for your body.

SO, I picked up the spreadsheet that's floating around here for BMR and TDEE and TDEG, and here's what I've got:

BMR: 1,470 calories
TDEE (at light activity level or from daily minutes/hrs activity from spreadsheet) = 2057 calories
TDEG from spreadsheet: 1559

So for MFP, I customized it to be 1600 as my calorie limit, and set the diet goals as "maintain." The spreadsheet says this will give me approximately a 1 lb loss every week.

This SHOULD mean that I should have an average deficit of 2057 - 1600, correct?

And then I was thinking, if I exercise harder one week than I usually do, that would be extra deficit, which can only help.

Workout plans:

MWF: Stronglifts 5x5. Just started this strength training program so I'm currently at light weights and working on my form.
Tues, Thurs, Sat: Walking 30 minutes at a brisk pace (4-5mph) with big hills. I live in a hilly neighborhood. I'm working up to running very slowly, as I'm very prone to knee and hip injuries, but even running it should be about the same mph for me.
Sunday: Rest

Thoughts? Did I calculate my calories sort of right? I guess I'll find out in the next few weeks haha.

Like I said, I'm aiming for fat loss and retention of whatever muscle I still have after the weight I've already lost.

Replies

  • astronomicals
    astronomicals Posts: 1,537 Member
    Assuming you calculated your TDEE properly, that actually sounds pretty damn solid. Im surprised. Most people come up with something ridiculous.

    "And then I was thinking, if I exercise harder one week than I usually do, that would be extra deficit, which can only help. "

    within reason... if youre consistently doing more exercise then you would be altering your TDEE and you should probably be eating more... for instance, if you do an extra thousand calories of exercise a week then you really need to bump it up about 150cal daily. (150*7=950)
  • tinableee
    tinableee Posts: 5
    Assuming you calculated your TDEE properly, that actually sounds pretty damn solid. Im surprised. Most people come up with something ridiculous.

    "And then I was thinking, if I exercise harder one week than I usually do, that would be extra deficit, which can only help. "

    within reason... if youre consistently doing more exercise then you would be altering your TDEE and you should probably be eating more... for instance, if you do an extra thousand calories of exercise a week then you really need to bump it up about 150cal daily. (150*7=950)

    Good point. I will keep that in mind.

    I have no idea if my TDEE is really, truly accurate. I'm currently just going off the basic formulas. I'll have a measuring tape this week to use the more complex formulas involving BF%, and maybe in a month or so I'll have a Fit Bit &/or Heart Rate Monitor to get a more accurate reading. For now, I think this is the best I can do. I'll just have to see what my physical results are from giving this a shot.

    Thanks for the support!
  • astronomicals
    astronomicals Posts: 1,537 Member
    Another thing to note is that you can still "zigzag" your calories if you want... it can be beneficial to eat more on days you exercise a lot...

    in that case just make sure the calories total 1600*7 at the end of the week..... easier done with phone app cuz it shows a nice graph..

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