Any experts out there?

onion123
onion123 Posts: 4 Member
in Getting Started
I need to understand this once and for all as I'd consider myself to be intelligent but I can't get my head round this.

I am 5' 11" and I weigh 14st 1lb, so 197lb. I'd like to be 13st so 182lb. I am female and 44 in two weeks.

I run at least three times a week for at least an hour each time - yesterday I ran 8.25m in 1hr 35min. So I'm reasonably fit but not very fast. I swim at least once a week (30 mins freestyle) and I also play a team sport once a week and do the school run (1m each way) 7 times a week in term time. Based on this, I believe I have the exercise part covered.

I do carry a lot of muscle: I have wide shoulders and strong legs, just a layer of fat on top of them and a pot belly that I'd like shot of.

I went on the Scooby site to calculate how many calories I need to eat to lose around 1lb a week. Results were as follows:

BMR - 1626
TDEE - 2520

So based on what I've read on here, I need to drop my TDEE by up to 20% and that's the number of calories I should aim for..right?? 2520 - 20% = 2016.

Questions:
1. Is this the total figure I put in the Goals section (top of column 1)?
2. Why does it then round it up to 2300 and tell me I need a deficit of 300 calories to lose 1lb a week? Where is that 2300 coming from?
3. Have I done this right?

I completely appreciate and understand that it's not all about what the scales say and that I can equally measure success by how my clothes feel. But they are feeling a little snug at the moment and I've gained around 5lbs in recent weeks. I'm in training for two half marathons next month and need to correctly fuel for the that.

I don't profess to understand the macros etc, I'm simply trying to get the basics right so that I know I'm starting off at the right point.

Can anyone give me some (straightforward) guidance?

Replies

  • cookmtn
    cookmtn Posts: 156 Member
    No expert here, but you calculated your TDEE so to go with that minus 20%, go to goals and then custom and manually put in your calories. Then do not eat your exercise calories back, just stick with your original goal. You might want to cut that rate of loss back to half a pound a week as you don't have much to lose and your training.
  • KeepMeFitHappyAndHealthy
    KeepMeFitHappyAndHealthy Posts: 19
    Okay well from what I know TDEE is how many calories you burn in a day based on how active you are (BMR). This number is the amount you should be taking in to maintain your weight! If you want to lose more don't eat the calories you gain back from exercise. I also see you run a lot, but don't do any weight training. Weight training is key to building muscle and toning it. I see you said you carry a lot of muscle but there is a way to weight train and just tone instead of bulk, it might be a good way to help get rid of the layer of fat on your stomach. Shoot me a message if you have any questions on that

Categories