eating about 1500, burning 400-500

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daniellexcara
daniellexcara Posts: 114 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hey i'm 20 years old and 5'4. I weigh about 150 right now. I calculated my BMR and its about 1500. I have my calorie goal set at 1500 as well. I tend to eat about 1300-1600 a day and i burn about 400-500 from cardio and strength training. So my main question is: should i be eating more to make sure i always net 1200? Or should i try to net 1500 since thats my BMR? I know this is a common question but Im just not seeing fast results and im wondering why.

You can check out my diary if you'd like :)

Replies

  • vorgas
    vorgas Posts: 741 Member
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    So you eat 1300 calories, and burn 500 calories in exercise?
    So that's giving your growing body 800 calories to live with?
    To keep your blood warm, to keep your bones strong, to keep your hair healthy, to keep your hormones balanced, to keep your brain functioning, to fight off infections, too regenerate lost skin cells, to repair torn muscle, to fight off irritability and depression?
    Good luck with that.
  • daniellexcara
    daniellexcara Posts: 114 Member
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    okay no need to be like that. usually when i eat less i dont exercise those days or i exercise less. but thanks for assuming thats my everyday intake :)
  • StepAwayFromTheCupcake
    StepAwayFromTheCupcake Posts: 119 Member
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    Don't net less than your BMR.
  • pinkstp
    pinkstp Posts: 220 Member
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    Yeah that person clearly didn't read your food journal. I went through about a week's worth to see how much you were eating and noticed that you're trying to lose about 20 lbs. I'm not sure if 1500 sets you at 1 lb a week or what (we're the same height but I have about 15 lbs on ya ;D) but slow and steady wins the race IMO.

    Additionally, maybe focusing less on a goal # and instead on how your body looks and how you feel about your body. Or get into lifting and get trim as hell :) Just my 2 cents though, the # isn't really as important to me - it's more a frame of reference if I get off track. But I'd rather be muscular and weigh 160 than a rail and weigh 130 (which was my goal before I really read into lifting).

    And yes, I would continue to get at least a MINIMUM of 1200 cals in a day :) Good luck on your journey! You look great, btw :)
  • erikmsp72
    erikmsp72 Posts: 137 Member
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    So, to clarify, do you log your exercise on MFP? I didn't see any logged, but you're putting a pretty huge calorie deficit in place if you're eating a several-hundred calorie deficit, the MFP thingy already is building in a calorie deficit, and on top of that you are burning 400 or 500 MORE calories.

    I mean. . . you're working out. Your body needs to repair itself and fuel your life. So leave it some to do that with, would be my thought.
  • daniellexcara
    daniellexcara Posts: 114 Member
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    So, to clarify, do you log your exercise on MFP? I didn't see any logged, but you're putting a pretty huge calorie deficit in place if you're eating a several-hundred calorie deficit, the MFP thingy already is building in a calorie deficit, and on top of that you are burning 400 or 500 MORE calories.

    I mean. . . you're working out. Your body needs to repair itself and fuel your life. So leave it some to do that with, would be my thought.

    its all logged each day. i dont exercise every day -- usually about every other day, but its all logged. Thanks for the advice everyone :)
  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,942 Member
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    The first thing I noticed is that you have strength training as burning in the 200 or more calorie range for 30-40 minutes. I ate to tell you this, but that is not accurate. Are you using MFP's exercise database? If you ware, those calorie burns are mostly overestimated.

    However, you are one fast runner. so those calories might be accurate.

    On the days when you exercise, if you are sure your calories burned numbers are accurate, I would say to eat back more of your exercise calories. You want to be sure to properly fuel you body. By your eating habits and exercising, as well as how much water your drink, it appears you are working very hard.

    Keep up the good work!
  • daniellexcara
    daniellexcara Posts: 114 Member
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    The first thing I noticed is that you have strength training as burning in the 200 or more calorie range for 30-40 minutes. I ate to tell you this, but that is not accurate. Are you using MFP's exercise database? If you ware, those calorie burns are mostly overestimated.

    However, you are one fast runner. so those calories might be accurate.

    On the days when you exercise, if you are sure your calories burned numbers are accurate, I would say to eat back more of your exercise calories. You want to be sure to properly fuel you body. By your eating habits and exercising, as well as how much water your drink, it appears you are working very hard.

    Keep up the good work!

    I use a HRM so im hoping its accurate :) but yeah, i think i could probably eat a couple hundred more calories
  • daniellexcara
    daniellexcara Posts: 114 Member
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    What do you consider fast results?
    How many pounds do you lose per week now?

    ive lost about a pound in maybe 3 weeks :(
  • Sarauk2sf
    Sarauk2sf Posts: 28,072 Member
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    What do you consider fast results?
    How many pounds do you lose per week now?

    ive lost about a pound in maybe 3 weeks :(

    How much did you lose the week before that? It is best to look at weight loss in 4 week chunks.
  • Sarauk2sf
    Sarauk2sf Posts: 28,072 Member
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    Do you use a food scale and log everything you eat and drink accurately?
  • Azdak
    Azdak Posts: 8,281 Member
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    You should be fine. 1500 calories is still 1500 calories. The fact that you burn extra calories doesn't "erase" the food that you take in.
  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,942 Member
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    I use a HRM so im hoping its accurate :) but yeah, i think i could probably eat a couple hundred more calories
    I don't own at HRM, but I understand they can be off sometimes.
  • Sarauk2sf
    Sarauk2sf Posts: 28,072 Member
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    The first thing I noticed is that you have strength training as burning in the 200 or more calorie range for 30-40 minutes. I ate to tell you this, but that is not accurate. Are you using MFP's exercise database? If you ware, those calorie burns are mostly overestimated.

    However, you are one fast runner. so those calories might be accurate.

    On the days when you exercise, if you are sure your calories burned numbers are accurate, I would say to eat back more of your exercise calories. You want to be sure to properly fuel you body. By your eating habits and exercising, as well as how much water your drink, it appears you are working very hard.

    Keep up the good work!

    I use a HRM so im hoping its accurate :) but yeah, i think i could probably eat a couple hundred more calories

    If you are not losing weight, I am not sure eating more would be the best option.

    How much have you lost over the last 4 weeks and the 4 weeks before that? You either have water weight masking your losses or you are eating at more of less maintenance.
  • Sarauk2sf
    Sarauk2sf Posts: 28,072 Member
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    We've known for some time that limiting high fat foods in the diet can be helpful with weight loss. That's because fats pack in 9 calories per gram compared to only 4 calories per gram from proteins or carbohydrates. To many, the message to limit fats implied an endorsement to eat unlimited amounts of fat-free products. Just to clarify, fat-free foods have calories too. In some cases fat-free foods have as many calories as their fat laden counterparts. If you eat more calories than your body uses, you will gain weight. Eating less fat will help you to lose weight. Eating less fat and replacing it with excessive amounts of fat-free products will not.

    Looks suspiciously like spam to me. That is pretty high fat.
  • haymancm
    haymancm Posts: 280 Member
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    If the deficit is not big enough, the scale will not move. If you want to lose more, eat less or burn more calories to eat more. I don't force myself to eat, if I'm not hungry. I weigh myself daily to make sure I'm on the right track with what I'm eating & with my burns.

    Add me if you'd like. :)
  • SophiaHalls
    SophiaHalls Posts: 2
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    You are doing good for now. Never overdo yourself just to see results. It will take some time to see the result that you wish to have. Don't be in a hurry because it can screw your losing weight plans.

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