dieting and counting calories

dolphenfan2
dolphenfan2 Posts: 3 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi all! I am a 42 year old male in fairly good physical shape. I am trying to lose 20lbs and cannot seem to get the scale to budge.I work out 4-5 days a week for 90 minutes each time, ( cardio 30 minutes, free weights 60 minutes) and with a trainer once a week. My problem is the calories. At my height, weight, and activity level I should be eating 2000 calories a day as my tde is 3000. On days that I work out my net calories are below 1000. I drink 6-8 bottles of water a day and don't eat much if any junk food. Thus far, I have lose 10lbs in the last 2 months however its been coming off very slowly and not consistently. My question, do you think that my under eating is slowing down my weight loss as I am having trouble eating back those calories as I feel that its counter intuitive to the weight loss. any thoughts are greatly appreciated!

Replies

  • DemoraFairy
    DemoraFairy Posts: 1,806 Member
    The best way to lose weight is to eat the right amount - not just as little as possible. Eating too little will mean that your body starts to eat itself - it'll use muscle and organ tissue as well as fat, because it can't burn fat fast enough to give you all the energy you need. And I'm sure you already know that under 1000 is way, way too low. Under 1000 is too low for a short, sedentary woman, let alone a guy who's working out 5 days a week with a TDEE of 3000. Eating too little can also slow your metabolism.

    Also 10lbs in 2 months is good! That's over a pound a week, which is the recommended amount. If your ticker is right and you've only got 20lbs to go, you don't want to be aiming for anything more than that. And weight loss isn't linear, it will be inconsistent and jump around, that's perfectly normal.
  • refinedredbird
    refinedredbird Posts: 208 Member
    If you are including your calories burned in your TDEE + deficit then you do not have to eat calories back. If you do not include the workouts in your TDEE, you need to eat them back. You body needs a certain amount of calories to function and repair. It is not counter productive.

    If you have lost 10lbs in 2 months and you do not have a lot of weight to lose, you're losing a good amount of weight. Some months I may not lose anything. Losing pounds is a slow process. The scale is also a liar, it doesn't not take into account muscle gain or lowering of fat percentage. You should be taking measurements and observing how your clothes are fitting you.

    Honestly, you may be over exercising. Sometimes too much of a good thing is just too much. I personally don't do cardio and weight lifting on the same days, maybe alternate and cut your minutes per day.

    Finally, don't get overly obsessive with weight loss. Take your time, take care of yourself, and step away from the scale for a while.
  • MinnieInMaine
    MinnieInMaine Posts: 6,400 Member
    10 pounds in two months isn't slow for someone with less to lose such as yourself. Your goal should be about 1/2 a pound per week so you're actually a bit ahead of the game.

    You know your TDEE so let's go backwards a bit and talk about BMR. This is your Basal Metabolic Rate which is the estimated # of calories your body needs just to support basic functions such as breathing, digestion, brain function, healing, etc. If you don't eat at least this # of caloires, you're eating far too little. If you feel you can't eat more food, turn to calorie dense choices such as meats, whole eggs, nuts, seeds, peanut butter, avocado, healthy oils, etc.

    What's your goal with training? If you're looking to gain muscle, you're never going to do it on a calorie deficit, especially such a high one. Maybe stop focusing on weight and focus more on body compositon (body fat %, measurements)

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