Calorie help to lose weight!

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edgecombe14
edgecombe14 Posts: 3
in Health and Weight Loss
Hello everyone. I made a New Years resolution to get back into shape and I've done well with maintaining diet and exercise this far, however I feel like I'm doing something wrong. I am a 20 year old female, 5'8" and have weighed around 150 for the past few years. I would like to lose 15 lbs but I also focus a lot on strength training so I don't care as much about how much I weigh compared to how I look. Anyways, I do fairly long cardio 4-5 days a week and burn around 650-750 calories each time. I do strength training (weight lifting) 5 days a week for about 45-65 minutes each time. So on workout days, I'm burning between 800-950 calories at the gym. I monitor my diet and have a goal to eat around 1,370 calories. I understand that I need to consume at least 1200 calories per day to avoid starvation mode, HOWEVER I'm unsure if I need to be consuming 1200 calories or NETTING 1200 calories after exercise. I am working hard to build muscle and I feel like I need to be eating more to do so. But I do not want to gain fat from eating too much. Can somebody help me out? I have only lost about 2lbs since the beginning of January but I have noticeably put on muscle and lost a bit of fat. If someone could offer some advice about if I need to be eating 1200 to lose fat or netting 1200 l, would really appreciate it. Thanks!

Replies

  • catofcanals
    catofcanals Posts: 20 Member
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    You definitely need to be netting 1200, at the very least. Eat back most, or all, of your exercise calories. In theory, if you're eating 1370 and burning 650-750, you're netting only 600-700! With intense exercise like you're doing, you can afford to eat more. Try to net your 1370 goal instead. Good luck!
  • jabby2us
    jabby2us Posts: 12 Member
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    catofcanals, Can you break that down in baby-laymen terms? Calorie counting for Dummies terms?
  • AmyRhubarb
    AmyRhubarb Posts: 6,890 Member
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    You should be netting 1200 - at least! With the amount of exercise you're doing, I think your daily goal should actually be higher. If you're trying to actually build muscle that isn't going to happen on a calorie deficit, especially at 1200 or even 1300 (unless you are a very tiny person).

    If you mean that you'd like to actually lose fat and reveal & preserve the muscle beneath, then you want a small calorie deficit with plenty of protein.

    Great info on this very thing right here: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/974888-in-place-of-a-road-map-2k13
    There are links to tools for calculating your numbers and step by step instructions for setting up custom calorie goals and macro goals here at MFP. I've had my best success with losing fat and inches and keeping my lean muscle since following that info.

    Good luck!
  • edgecombe14
    edgecombe14 Posts: 3
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    Sorry for the late reply. That's very helpful, thank you!

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