Trying to get to the gym, but my daughter is refusing to nap! GRR!

Trainer had to stay home sick yesterday, so I was sooo tempted to go home and sleep. But I managed to drag my butt to the gym and workout by myself, dedicated the day to legs. Starting to feel the effects this morning, hopefully I'm not too sore by tomorrow!

Ate pretty well yesterday, though I was over a little bit when I came home to mashed potatoes (my ultimate weakness). Going to start eating more salads starting today, so we'll see how that goes.

What method do you ladies use for determining your calorie intake? BMR/MFP or TDEE? They give me very different numbers, so I'm unsure which is the right one. :S

Hi ladies!
Weighed in at 60kg/132lb today...pretty good after a very social weekend! Goal is 125 (I'm a small framed 5'6")
I notice my weight fluctuates between 130-132, sometimes sticking at 132 for a few days, then dropping back down (but never below 130!) Does this happen to any of you?
I work in an office all day, but I run 6km 4x week, spin 1-2x week, weights 4-5x week, and walk 60-90 minutes a day (benefits of having a chocolate lab!)
Still trying to figure out the best calorie level for my height/age/activity level....I'm around 1500 most days but would love to hear what is working for you.

Ashley: great job with the leg workout! So, I am really trying to figure out my calorie goal as well. MFP has me at 1260 net whereas the TDEE site that Gen recommends has me at about 1750 net. I wish the higher level worked for me, but I have tried 1500 and can't lose weight at that. I seem to do well at about 1350 net (and I burn about 250-300 per day exercising, which I eat, so I am actually eating 1600-1650 calories). I am going to continue to try to track carefully so I can pay attention to what is working. Also, I have mild PCOS, which may cause me to have slower metabolism and need to eat less than others. Several of you seem to be having success with raising calories and still losing weight, but I don't know if I can do that. Lucky me

Gen--nice job yesterday, enjoy your rest day!

Lambe--that's great you had a good weight in! I have been fluctuations between 129 and 134 for the past year, that 129 is such a tease, I am really trying to break through! My goal is 115-120--I am a small framed (based on wrist measurement)

I was a little over yesterday, with just a short walk for burning calories, and won't get to work out much today. Once my daughter starts preschool in a couple weeks I can exercise much more--I can run with the toddler in the jogger every day if I want to. So until then it's a little tough.

Hey Lambie I'm in the same boat as you, in regards to fluctuations. I started at 1450 calories, and am now moving my way up slowly to see what works best for my body. It's great though that you were able to maintain a good weight with the social outings!

Good job on the run Coady! I can't imagine running through intense heat, that takes a lot of dedication. If it's even above 15 C I can't be bothered!

Was feeling a bit sore yesterday from the leg workout the previous day, so I took it easy and did some cardio. Aaaaand now I'm even MORE sore today. Not complaining though, I love knowing that I'm working my muscles! Back to the gym after work though with my trainer, so hopefully the stiffness with wear off a bit before then. Yesterday's food was good, until I had to go out with the bf and stopped at Wendy's.. So I had two chicken wraps (no sauce, so there's literally just chicken, cheese, lettuce, and wrap) and fries (oops). Might have been slightly over calories there, but nothing big.

Y'all have a lovely day!

Ashley --great job with the working out

Gen--I think the public schools start next week here also, but preschool is private and they start very I late. Sort of feels like a ripoff considering how expensive preschool is! The start of kindergarten must be exciting, and it's great you like the teacher . Do you have all day kindergarten? Our district just switched to all day kindergarten, so that will be a big change when my daughter starts next year! Hope you slept good--I guess you are exhausted from exercising? Which is a good thing!

I was over yesterday with no working out at all. Today I have a babysitter so I get to run. I love to eat more the days I run but I really should try to make up some calories today...

Well I didn't realize how hot it was until I was already out, otherwise I might have wimped out. Did well today though in the cooler weather - actually didn't hear the prompt to stop running the last interval and made it another minute or so until I realized I could stop also I flipped through my running log and I just had a really good day when I last checked my running time, because my average is actually about 7:30/km (about 12 minute mile, I think), which makes WAY more sense to me.

I had a piece of cake that I haven't logged yet for yesterday, but I think I was about at maintenance again. Dropping back to -250 from today on, and my back feels good so lifting again tomorrow - yay!

P.S. Ashley - just saw your pics in the weightlifting thread - wow! You've really made a lot of progress!

Hi!
Skipped the weigh-in today as yesterday was a great day socially, but not so much food- and exercise-wise!
Yesterday I was 131lb and I imagine sodium (yummy Vietnamese food!) will have pushed me up a little higher...no point fretting about it...:)
Thank you all for the feed back on calorie levels! Coady how is the higher calorie intake working for you? My 1500 is gross, not net (well except for yesterday!) and I'm wondering if that might be stalling things.
Dana, hope your little one has a great time in preschool! And it will be great to have the routine & time to get in some running! Gen, I hope you son loves kindergarten! Crazy to think the summer has gone so fast and it is almost time for school to start again...

Gen: preschool is less than 3 hours a day, so much different from kindergarten. Kindergarten is also our mandatory 1st year, and I think you have be be between 4.5 and 5.5 in age when you start. We never have after school daycare available--that is so great for you! Working parents just need to figure out their own daycare--it is hard. Enjoy your run!

Coady--great job with the run, glad you are increasing your time

Lambie: how many calories do you burn a day? 1500 gross is probably low if you are exercising a lot. Glad you had a fun social day--that sodium weight will com off!

Ashley: great that you were under calories, yesterday, good luck with weigh in!

I was just a little under yesterday, so I didn't make up much, but at least it was a decent day. I had about 150 calories saved then found myself very hungry right before bed, so there went those calories (sigh).

Thank you all for the feed back on calorie levels! Coady how is the higher calorie intake working for you? My 1500 is gross, not net (well except for yesterday!) and I'm wondering if that might be stalling things.

So much better - on the lower calories I slipped up more often, completely obliterating my deficit in the process, and I didn't see much progress. I also found myself thinking about food slightly obsessively, which I don't think is good. Now I'm seeing steady (if slow) progress and rarely want to binge. It's not as if I was really undereating either - I was aiming for -250/day or .5lb/week loss, but in reality averaging about -500/day (1 lb/week). So just a little bump has made me a lot more satisfied.