Calorie Help

AshleighCowie88
AshleighCowie88 Posts: 100 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi All

Can somebody please help meee!!!

I'm currently eating anywhere between 1200 and 1600 calories a day. Scooby calculator says that my TDEE is 2633 and I need to eat around 2106 a day to lose fat (20% calorie reduction).

I've sent myself as moderate activite 3-5hours. I walk to and from work daily (2 mile round trip in about 40 minutes) and for the last 4 days, I have been completing week one of C25K, upping my activity by another 30mins a day.

My question is, am I eating enough/too much? Do I eat back my calories? I've been stuck on the same weight for a fair few months now, never getting much below 196 and always hovering around that mark. I've only recently started the C25K and seen no difference as yet but I'm willing to give that another couple weeks to see what happens.

I also have a fitbit so I dont log my activity in myfitness pal.

Thanks in advance for any advice :)

EDIT:

My stats are:

Height 5 foot 8
Weight 195lbs
Age 25

Replies

  • Angylisis78
    Angylisis78 Posts: 32
    I wouldn't eat back the cals you use up walking to and from work, I would simply up my activity level. Since that's not really "exercise", you do it every day, and it's part of your daily life routine.

    If your TDEE is 2633 and you need to lose more than about 50lbs (Im simply guessing here, you could be really tall :) ) Then you can safely lose 2 lbs per week and should be eating 1600 cals a day. If you exercise, you should be eating back those calories, to give you a NET deficit of 1000 cals per day. So you eat 1600 and work out for 300 doing the c25k, then you want to eat another 300 so you don't go below that 1000 deficit, which is 2 lbs a week.

    Make sense?
  • AshleighCowie88
    AshleighCowie88 Posts: 100 Member
    Think so - I need to figure out how much calories I burn with C25K as my fitbit estimates around 350 additional calories per day but that includes walking to and from work.

    So I should try to up my intake to around 1600 when doing C25K and 1300 when Im not?

    Why can't weight loss just be easy haha
  • Angylisis78
    Angylisis78 Posts: 32

    So I should try to up my intake to around 1600 when doing C25K and 1300 when Im not?

    No. You want to eat 1600 a day (if you're TDEE is really 2600) if you don't exercise. if you say burn 300 in your workout, then you'll eat around 1900. I know, it seems like a lot, but really it's not, not when they're healthy foods. I maintained 140 lbs for 6 years before I got diagnosed with a medical condition and gained some weight on 2000 kcal's a day.

    Is the fitbit on of those things you can wear all day long and see what your calorie expenditure is for the whole day, including sleeping?
  • AshleighCowie88
    AshleighCowie88 Posts: 100 Member
    Yes thats the fitbit :)
  • ColeCake292012
    ColeCake292012 Posts: 247 Member
    You're FitBit should do the adjustments for you. If you're doing a non-step related activity, log it.
  • AshleighCowie88
    AshleighCowie88 Posts: 100 Member
    My fitbit does, thats why I don't log my exercise in myfitness pal. However, I don't know how accurate the fitbit calorie counting is since it doesnt measure your heart rate or anything like that.

    Scooby says:

    Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) 1698 calories

    Daily calories to maintain weight (TDEE) 2633 calories

    Daily calories based on goal in step 6 2106 calories

    At the moment Im eating between 1300 and 1600 daily, do I need to eat more?
  • Angylisis78
    Angylisis78 Posts: 32
    My fitbit does, thats why I don't log my exercise in myfitness pal. However, I don't know how accurate the fitbit calorie counting is since it doesnt measure your heart rate or anything like that.

    Scooby says:

    Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) 1698 calories

    Daily calories to maintain weight (TDEE) 2633 calories

    Daily calories based on goal in step 6 2106 calories

    At the moment Im eating between 1300 and 1600 daily, do I need to eat more?

    What does the Fitbit say you've burned on a day when you exercise and walk to work?

    Bascially what Im saying is if you have a monitor that tells you what your burning all day long, figure out what it is on a day when you do the c25k and then on a day when you only walk to work and then on a day when you do neither. Subtract 1000 kcal's from those numbers to get what you should be eating on those days respectively.
  • AshleighCowie88
    AshleighCowie88 Posts: 100 Member
    Ok - so yesterday for example, my FitBit said that I burned 2639 calories for the day. So yesterday I should have eaten around 1600 calories right?

    I think I'll change my MFP goals to 1600 calories and see what happens.
  • 3dogsrunning
    3dogsrunning Posts: 27,167 Member
    If you are using TDEE method, you do not "eat" your calories back as they are already included.
    Based on what you described, I wouldn't go with the moderately active setting though, I'd go one step down to the lightly active.

    If you use MFP method, you are supposed to log exercise and eat those calories back.

    Check out this link, it is really helpful.

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants
    Ok - so yesterday for example, my FitBit said that I burned 2639 calories for the day. So yesterday I should have eaten around 1600 calories right?

    I think I'll change my MFP goals to 1600 calories and see what happens.

    That would be a deficit of about 2lbs a week weight loss goal. That is a little high for where you are, I would aim for 1.5lb we week (-750 calories per day).
  • RBXChas
    RBXChas Posts: 2,708 Member
    If you are using TDEE method, you do not "eat" your calories back as they are already included.
    Based on what you described, I wouldn't go with the moderately active setting though, I'd go one step down to the lightly active.

    If you use MFP method, you are supposed to log exercise and eat those calories back.

    Check out this link, it is really helpful.

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants
    Ok - so yesterday for example, my FitBit said that I burned 2639 calories for the day. So yesterday I should have eaten around 1600 calories right?

    I think I'll change my MFP goals to 1600 calories and see what happens.

    That would be a deficit of about 2lbs a week weight loss goal. That is a little high for where you are, I would aim for 1.5lb we week (-750 calories per day).

    ^This. End of thread.
  • Angylisis78
    Angylisis78 Posts: 32

    EDIT:

    My stats are:

    Height 5 foot 8
    Weight 195lbs
    Age 25

    I see you edited your original post to include your stats, I was wondering where the other poster came up with the idea that 2 lbs was aggressive for you, but yes, I would agree it *is* a bit aggressive taking into account your height with your weight. (Though your body size is a variable in this too).

    If you're going to use your fitbit to gauge your activity level and calories then you'll want to eat less than what it says your expending each day. You'll need to actually figure that out based on your height/weight and body size, because someone who's 5'8" and 195 but a large frame will need to lose less than same stats of a smaller framed person.

    If your fitbit says you burned 2639 for the day you'll want to eat less than that to lose weight, how much less will depend on the above stat arrangement. Do you know how much you need to lose? (And I say need, I do not meant want).
  • AshleighCowie88
    AshleighCowie88 Posts: 100 Member
    I need to be around 140lbs to be in a health weight range. I carry all my weight around my belly and hips (unfortunately) - both are currently 44 inches.
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
    Think so - I need to figure out how much calories I burn with C25K as my fitbit estimates around 350 additional calories per day but that includes walking to and from work.

    So I should try to up my intake to around 1600 when doing C25K and 1300 when Im not?

    Why can't weight loss just be easy haha

    TDEE is maintenance. That number should include exercise. You take 20% off (more if you are heavier)....less if you are closer to goal. Then you MEET those calories. You don't have to worry about eating exercise calories back w/TDEE because they are included.

    A 500 calorie cut from TDEE is 1 pound a week. If you are more than 50 pounds overweight you could go a tad higher (750)...1.5 pounds a week.

    Use your BMR to guage your lowest value. If your BMR is higher than 1300 (likely, you're young)....then you risk losing fat+muscle....as opposed to mainly fat. That's the risk when trying to lose weight really fast.
  • Angylisis78
    Angylisis78 Posts: 32
    If you truly need to lose 55lbs you can cut out 1000 cals a day (2 lbs per week) without much issue. In fact, I dropped 102 lbs a few years ago (with only diet and exercise) and lost 2 lbs a week right up until the end when I hit 150 ish and then the rest came off pretty slowly, as I was just trying to maintain. I was even eating around 2000 kcal's a day and only exercising about 300ish.

    If you start seeing your weight loss slow down, then you should back off to 1.5 lbs a week and then back off again to 1 lbs a week when you noticed that starting to slow down.

    I would figure out an average of what you burn on the days you have exercise and the days you don't, and then the days you don't walk to work or exercise and eat 1000 less than what the fitbit is telling you. See if that will help you lose a few pounds. If not, and I know this sounds counterintuitive, but up your cals by 250 and try that for a couple weeks. I have a feeling though if you eat 1600ish a day on the days you exercise and walk and and then a bit less on the other days you'll lose weight and do fine :)

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