Office job & Calories
Claairey1992
Posts: 90 Member
Hi there
I've started a job for 9 weeks where I'm seated at a desk for about 70-80% of the day and I'm averaging about 3,500 steps per day which is obviously very little. I'm currently on 1,200 calories but I am absolutely starving, especially after I finish work!! Am I not eating enough calories .. or eating too many?!? Can I burn calories just through working? Don't feel like I'm losing a lot either.
Was just wondering what peoples advice would be?!? And before anyone suggests it I haven't got time for workouts after work (please don't ask me to explain just trust me I don't )
Thanks xx
I've started a job for 9 weeks where I'm seated at a desk for about 70-80% of the day and I'm averaging about 3,500 steps per day which is obviously very little. I'm currently on 1,200 calories but I am absolutely starving, especially after I finish work!! Am I not eating enough calories .. or eating too many?!? Can I burn calories just through working? Don't feel like I'm losing a lot either.
Was just wondering what peoples advice would be?!? And before anyone suggests it I haven't got time for workouts after work (please don't ask me to explain just trust me I don't )
Thanks xx
0
Replies
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I've used IIFYM's TDEE calulator to better figure my caloric intake based on activity level.
So go here:
http://iifym.com/tdee-calculator/
Choose ENTER ACTIVITY LEVEL from the FORMULA menu.
Then enter the times for each area.
Once you have your total daily caloric need figured out you can go -10% to -20% to see what calories you should be eating.
Above all though, with a desk job make sure you get up for at least a 15 minute walk twice a day and get in another 30 minutes of walking or working out after.
All the best.0 -
You burn calories 24/7...the vast majority of your calorie requirements come from your body just functioning and keeping you alive...these are your basal calories...your BMR calories. Beyond that you burn calories just doing day to day stuff...you burn calories working and cooking and cleaning and driving to work, etc. These are called your NEAT calories (Non Exercise Activity Thermogenesis). Things like getting up and walking around, parking further away from your office building, taking the stairs, parking further away from the grocery store, etc...these are all ways to improve your NEAT and increase your body's calorie requirements. Then finally you have exercise which generally represents the least of your body's calorie requirements.
1200 calories is a pretty huge deficit from your maintenance level of calories. It may be too aggressive for you...it is for many...but really, that's up to you. I did much better with a more reasonable calorie deficit that resulted in slower weight loss but better dietary adherence. Also, you're supposed to eat back exercise calories with MFP...that is the way this tool is designed...you don't include that activity in your activity level, you account for it after the fact and get those calories to eat back. Just make sure you are not overestimating burn...most people vastly overestimate their burn and also substantially underestimate their intake.
Also, weight loss is slow...you didn't put the weight on overnight and it's not coming off overnight. It took me the better part of a decade to put my weight off...it took me about 9 months to lose 40 Lbs...from that perspective, even though it was pretty slow loss...it's pretty fast compared to how long it took to put on.0 -
You burn calories 24/7...the vast majority of your calorie requirements come from your body just functioning and keeping you alive...these are your basal calories...your BMR calories. Beyond that you burn calories just doing day to day stuff...you burn calories working and cooking and cleaning and driving to work, etc. These are called your NEAT calories (Non Exercise Activity Thermogenesis). Things like getting up and walking around, parking further away from your office building, taking the stairs, parking further away from the grocery store, etc...these are all ways to improve your NEAT and increase your body's calorie requirements. Then finally you have exercise which generally represents the least of your body's calorie requirements.
This is the simplest explanation for BMR and NEAT that I have read so far. Thanks for making it make sense!0 -
I burn around 2100 calories (without working out) working at a desk all day so I would be starving if I only ate 1200 calories too. Definitely take the advice to find your BMR/TDEE. Then make sure you eat enough protein and fat (fat is NOT evil) to keep you fuller longer.0
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So when I was losing weight (and now that I am maintaining) I had to find a way to get more active through out the day and I , too, had a office job. So I made sure that if i got up to go to the bathroom I walked to the one farthest away. I would walk twenty minutes at lunch, eat my lunch over twenty minutes, then walk back to work for twenty minutes. I would park as far away as possible to get more steps in. At home I would make sure I walked up and down stairs as much as possible.
I do 10 to 30 minutes of yoga or barre3 every morning. It's working for me. My Nike fuel band records the calorie burned for my activity. My calories are 1530 for maintenance, and that keeps me full most days.0 -
Thanks guys! My TDEE & BMR is 2,198 .. not sure how many calories to eat?!?0
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