really need calorie help

amontanye · November 2013

Ok, so I've read post after post about making sure to NET at least 1200 calories. MFP does put my goal at 1200 based on my goals. I started at the beginning of this year and lost 15lbs first three months and have been stuck there since. I upped my calorie intake for a few months (same exercise routing) with still no change in results. most of the body calculators say my BMR is 1450 or so. (and say I should be eating 1500 calories or so to lose- I assume that is with my exercise calories not net)
For the past week I really started measuring to see if I was over estimating and I was very close without measuring. My net calories for the past week are as follows: 1341, 1137, 729, 992, 1020, 1357, 1785. (these are also very similar to my net from 1st 3 months when I did lose). I tend to exercise at night when I do- so try not to over eat during the day in case I can't get my exercise in at night. But I hate trying to eat all my calories back at night right before I go to bed- especially when I'm not hungry.
As a guide for this week- with these net calories- I was having a nice steady loss each day through Friday and got a large gain (from Friday) but overall net gain of .2 lbs for the week. I know yesterday was an aweful food day. With these numbers, am I really putting myself in starvation mode?

any recommendations would be helpful.

heybales · November 2013

Net calories is assuming you know correctly how much you burned in exercise - which is very doubtful.

What was your Gross eaten?

Now, until you spot checked for a week, you only estimated the food side of the equation?
And from you test you were close enough.

Did you truly measure, as in quantity, which is really intended for liquids, or did you actually weigh the food?

Be ready for move revelations if you did not weigh, you need to do that for 2 weeks.

Calorie amounts for foods is based on grams, weight, of the food. The volume measurement is there for convenience and can be very incorrect.

If you measured vegetables, probably not too bad since so low calorie anyway. Peanut Butter though .... Fruit ..... Trail mix .....

The only valid weigh-in day for avoiding fluctuations of false gain and loss is morning after rest day, eating normal sodium levels and not sore from last workout.
So most of your days was just noise of inaccurate data, not useful.

You should be able to eat above your BMR and below your TDEE (maintenance and exercise) and lose just fine.

amontanye · November 2013

For my calorie burn, I do use a fitbit flex which at least gives me a more accurate picture rather than me guessing.

Gross: 1500, 1580, 1149, 1470, 1378, 1699, 2161.

I have a food scale that does liquids as well and I was measuring everything (still am, since I did figure a week wasn't enough data)
I do realize my daily scale readings are just normal fluctuations. and gave my net weekly amount. I do weigh same time every morning when I get up. and I only started tracking daily just to see what my fluctuations looked like.
I have been fluctuating between 171 and 175 since March and it hasn't mattered what I do, that's why I figure I don't know what I need to change to make a difference.

heybales · November 2013

So good, keep weighing your food (measuring is the term used for volume only correct for liquids) and see where that goes.

Have you read the FitBit FAQ's about what it does and does not estimate well for calorie burns?
For instance, non-step related can be very underestimated.

To your BMR, was that based on age, weight, height?
Do you have the same average ratio of fat to Lean Body Mass and muscle mass that others would have?

What is your Katch BMR, which requires a bodyfat % estimate?
What if you've lost some decent muscle mass or never had it compared to others?
You may need to be eating less. Then again, may have a potential you need to be eating more.

How is your adherence through the week, through the months, to your eating goal?
Weekly splurge meals, or regular binging, because of eating too little, can actually have you gain if you've suppressed your metabolism down.

How is your daily non-exercise activity level, hitting good movement goals with FitBit?

Docpremie · November 2013

First, I find my FitBit UNDER estimates rather than over estimates. I can lose when I eat the exact same calories as my FitBit says I burned. I spoke with someone who used both a FitBit & a Body Media Fit, and she found the FitBit underestimated by 300-400 calories/day--she'd also lost over 100 pounds, so I tend to believe her.

How tall are you & what do you weigh?

If you let MFP set your calories, then yes, you eat back exercise calories. I decided to use the TDEE method mostly, because I didn't like the constantly changing calorie goal. I see a number of days with calories <1000 in your post. Why are you eating so low??? If it's because the FitBit subtracted calories, don't go under 1200 cal/day EVER! Plus, as I noted, the FitBit tends to underestimate. If you want a more constant calorie goal, then I'd switch to the TDEE-deficit method & self-set your calorie & macro goals. For protein, ensure you are getting AT LEAST 1 gram/pound lean body mass--for most women that's 100-120 grams/day. Your fat should be set at 0.4 grams/pound of lean body mass. Carbs are whatever is left. Disconnect your FitBit from your MFP account, so it doesn't make adjustments to your calorie goal. Then meet your calorie goal most every day!!! If after 3-4 weeks, you're not losing then adjust your daily calorie goal by 100 calories & watch for another 3-4 weeks. You may need more calories or less calories, it can be a little trial & error from the TDEE-deficit calculation. If you need to lose >20 pounds, set your deficit at TDEE-20%. If your need to lose 10-20 pounds, then TDEE-10 to 15%, and once you're down to <10 pounds to lose, set your goal to TDEE-5-10%.

Meeting your macros, especially protein, is very important! You want to lose fat not muscle (lean body mass), so protein intake is very important. The more lean body mass you lose, the lower your BMR will be. That's where folks get lost in the "starvation mode" idea. It's not so much borderline/low calories cause "starvation," as it robs you of your lean body mass, and as the lean body mass drops, so does your BMR (i.e. daily basal calorie burn). Resistance training/heavy lifting is also essential for maintaining lean body mass/muscle as well. The combination really does work. Just look at my ticker!

amontanye · November 2013

BMR was based on age, weight and height.
Have no idea about the rest of BMR questions. I have never had my bodyfat measured. and never compared anything to anyone else. I'm not sure how to calculate lean body mass vs. fat, muscle mass etc.
Overall, my weekdays tend to be lower calorie days and my weekends tend to be higher. I had a month or so (end of July/august) where I wasn't tracking as well) got frustrated with no loss. So I may have been eating a little more then, but again, weight stayed between 171-175.
My daily activity level- on non-cardio days where I'm not running, my steps are usually in the 6000-7000 range. I would classify it as decent movement. I used to have a fitbit zip which seemed to do step activity quite well. my flex I'm still getting use to as it does track a little different since it is on my wrist.

I have just recently (like last week) added some strength training to help with core (a be a little more consistent). I love running, so my main form of exercise this year has been running (with a little strength training here and there but nothing significant).

amontanye · November 2013

I'm 5'4, 174 currently. My goal is to get down to 135.

I will need to read again on changing to TDEE-20%. I know I did that for a few months with no change. But again, maybe I wasn't doing something right.
And with my flex, I do realize that it probably is low in calculating. I did have low days this past week and it wasn't really on purpose. It's more that I exercise at night and not hungry before I go to bed and don't end up eating back all my calories.

I have never really tracked macros very much. As long as I was break even in MFP I thought I was doing good.

Docpremie · November 2013

MFP protein recommendations are very low! As I noted, most women need at least 100-125 grams of protein. Do a search for the thread "In place of a roadmap." I was able to download an Excel document from there that figures %BF & LBM from there. It's not as accurate as using calipers, but it's not bad. If I look at pics for %BF, my calculations are pretty much dead on. The Excel spreadsheet also helps work through all the recommendations for calories & macros. I've been using that method for months with great success. Protein intake is VERY important to keep muscle mass while losing fat. I've been doing the same calculations for several of my family members & they've lost anywhere from 40-70 pounds using this method. Together we've only lost 2-3 pounds of LBM & my sister managed to gain 2 pounds of muscle mass with appropriate lifting & exercise--a feat that is fairly difficult to accomplish while losing weight.

There is also a MFP group called "Eat more to lose more;" I'm sure they could help you as well.

heybales · November 2013

The spreadsheet is on my profile page.

(Oh, Doc - it's been updated on 10/30 too for changes to women's sedentary TDEE compared to men's with the same LBM).

Help estimate bodyfat%, get BMR from that, use better activity calculator than 5 rough levels, and get eating goal reasonable for amount to lose and type/time of exercise.
Also track progress in case some weeks is inches more than pounds lost.

And a FitBit tab in case you do want to keep syncing and not stick to single number daily goal - though that is easier. So method to get best figures from your FitBit to get TDEE too.

really need calorie help

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