Upping calories?

Shellyyy7928
Shellyyy7928 Posts: 78 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Alright so right now I'm at roughly 1700 calls a day and that's using mfps system of losing 1lb a week.

I just got my polar ft4 yesterday and decided to wear if during my 8 hour shift at work. Now, I have a pretty physically demanding job - I work as a resident car aide at an assisted living. The place is 3 floors so I'm running up and down stairs all night, getting people ready for bed, giving showers, running around giving meds and usually from 3p-9p I don't stop moving. And that's a normal night.

Now according to the ft4 I burned ~2100cals during my shift. I know that most of those are just calories from existing but it makes me worried that I'm really not eating enough.

So, can someone help me out here? Should I up calories? Stick to what I'm doing? Just feeling a little lost.

Replies

  • StaciMarie1974
    StaciMarie1974 Posts: 4,138 Member
    Is the Polar a good monitor for overall calorie expenditure or just for cardio? I honestly don't know - I know they used to not be recommended for general use. Sounds like you have an active job, but I doubt you could count it as 8 hours of cardio.

    What activity level do you have incorporated into your MFP goals?
  • WBB55
    WBB55 Posts: 4,131 Member
    What does this calculator say when you set your activity to "moderately active" and "lose fat - 20% reduction"?
    http://scoobysworkshop.com/accurate-calorie-calculator/

    It should give you your
    (1) BMR
    (2) TDEE
    and (3) daily goal

    what numbers does it give you?

    [Edit to add: I think a FitBit would be a better monitor for you to test out your work energy expenditure, personally, than a HRM. Just my two cents, though]
  • madhatter2013
    madhatter2013 Posts: 1,547 Member
    Are you losing steady with where your set at now? If so, I wouldn't change a thing cause what you're doing is obviously working for you.
  • gypsy_spirit
    gypsy_spirit Posts: 2,107 Member
    Be as accurate with the measurement of your food intake as possible. If, at 1700 calories, you are losing about a pound a week, you're spot on. If not, lower or up your calories until you are losing a pound a week (on average).

    The calculators and HRMs are giving you an estimate. I've found the best thing is to be super accurate with what I eat. When I do that - I lose.
  • MinnieInMaine
    MinnieInMaine Posts: 6,400 Member
    HRMs are not going to give you an accurate all day calorie burn. They're intended for use during steady state cardio like walking, running, etc.

    What do you currently have your activity level set at? It sounds like you should be moderately active as much as you're running around during work hours. But it also depends on how many days per week you're doing this. Is it at least 5 days per week or just 2 or 3? Are all your shifts 8 hours?

    I also agree with _gypsyrunner_ that sometimes the calorie level can involve some trial and error. Most of the figures we get are pure estimates based on averages. So they may apply to you or you may actually need to eat slightly higher or lower than someone who has similar stats. If you're losing consistently at 1700 calories, it's probably the best setting for you.

    However, if you feel like it's not enough food, then feel free to increase your intake a bit (maybe take the average of the 2 and go with 1900) but also consider quality vs quantity - make sure you're getting plenty of protein (more than what MFP recommends - usualy around 100g/day is good for active women) and healthy fats. While carbs are essential for energy, they don't tend to stick with you as long as protein and fats do.
  • Shellyyy7928
    Shellyyy7928 Posts: 78 Member
    Going to the scooby site in a second. I work five 8 hour shifts a week. Also have a fitbit- it usually had me going 10-12 miles a shift.
    I was just excited I had gotten the ft so wanted to give it a try. I just got surprised by the calorie burn.
  • WBB55
    WBB55 Posts: 4,131 Member
    Going to the scooby site in a second. I work five 8 hour shifts a week. Also have a fitbit- it usually had me going 10-12 miles a shift.
    I was just excited I had gotten the ft so wanted to give it a try. I just got surprised by the calorie burn.

    FitBit should give you an estimate of calories, too. When you go to the FitBit ap, what does it give you for your total calorie burn for the day? Do you get the weekly updates that tell you how many calories you burned overall thru the whole week?
  • Shellyyy7928
    Shellyyy7928 Posts: 78 Member
    BMR 1539
    TDEE 2386
    Recommended calls 1909

    According to fitbit on the days I work my burn is usually ~2700
  • WBB55
    WBB55 Posts: 4,131 Member
    I would trust FitBit, personally. But you burn less on non-work days, right? So the ~2400 sounds like a really good guess at your average TDEE. So here's my advice, I'm not a doctor, so it's just my two cents.

    You have 25 lbs to lose, I personally wouldn't try to lose more than 1 lb per week if I were you. So that means, again if I were you, that I would try to eat 1900 every day. But I'd see it as more of a range, like this:

    -Every day, eat at minimum 1550
    -Aim for an average of 1900, if you look at your total calories eaten per week (that's 13,300 calories per week)
    -But know that if you have a special day or event, or you're going out to eat, to eat no more than 2400 that day.

    If you do this, and you're accurate about how much your food weighs and everything, then you will lose weight, and probably be very happy with how you feel.

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