Does my calorie calculation sounds correct? Please help!
sola24
Posts: 334 Member
I have been at the same weight for quite sometime now, about 2 months. I got a Polat FT4 to track my calories burnt but after seeing the difference in numbers between MFP database and my HRM and after posting in thr MFP forum I came to know HRM calories are not accurate and my HRM is calculating more calories for my exercises. So, I had to re-evaluate my goals as I have changed my exercise routine as well. I am doing PiYo and T25 together
My daily exercise routine looks like this -
PiYo - 20-30 minutes depends on the video length for that day according to the calender
Brisk walking to work - 20-25 minutes
brisk walking back from work - 20-25 minutes
t25 video - 25 minutes ( I am in Beta round now)
Since HRM cannot calculate accurate calories burnt I have decided to eat only a part of it. I have put mfp activity level on sedentary which has given me 1200 calories + I eat part of my exercise calories.
I end up eating 1400-1500 calories everyday. Also I should mention I dont measure my food. So I try to log the highest amount to be sure if I have to guessestimate. And I keep an window for errors.
Am I doing it correct? Also does it sound like I am overtraining?
My daily exercise routine looks like this -
PiYo - 20-30 minutes depends on the video length for that day according to the calender
Brisk walking to work - 20-25 minutes
brisk walking back from work - 20-25 minutes
t25 video - 25 minutes ( I am in Beta round now)
Since HRM cannot calculate accurate calories burnt I have decided to eat only a part of it. I have put mfp activity level on sedentary which has given me 1200 calories + I eat part of my exercise calories.
I end up eating 1400-1500 calories everyday. Also I should mention I dont measure my food. So I try to log the highest amount to be sure if I have to guessestimate. And I keep an window for errors.
Am I doing it correct? Also does it sound like I am overtraining?
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Replies
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Ohh and I missed to add my stats
Height : 5 ft ( probably half an inch less)
Weight : 111-112 lbs (depends on the day)
I work in IT so apart from what I mentioned I dont get to move around much except little housework
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I think if you are comfortable with the calories, and routine, stick with it. Being able to have a daily discipline has been key to me losing and maintaining my weight..0
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I think the problem might lie with the not measuring your food possibly. Can you not buy a cheap pair of electronic scales and try it for a couple of weeks and see if it helps? Just it seems you are not over eating if you are actually only get that number of cals. But I am not sure. Someone with more knowledge will be along soon.
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I think the first thing you should do if you're not seeing results is to actually start weighing your solid foods and measuring your liquid 'foods' by volume. Even if you do it once or twice just to verify that your guesstimates are in the vicinity.
Being 'fit' and 'healthy' is not just about a number on a scale. Its also a lot about how you feel and how you feel you look.
You need to remember that weight loss is a marathon not a sprint!0 -
oops i think i got your post confused with another one, as you havent mentioned if you are happy with the weight loss or not sorry
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Nowhere near over-training - if that level of activity is manageable then stick to it.
According to this calculator: http://iifym.com/iifym-calculator/ 1500 calories would be around your maintenance intake, but if you are not losing weight then it doesn't matter what any calculators say; you are eating at maintenance.
You have several options:- Eat slightly less to lower you calorie intake.
- Exercise slightly more to raise your TDEE above intake.
- Weigh your food - there is a very good chance you are still underestimating how many calories you are eating.
Good luck.
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Are you trying to lose weight? If so, you don't have too much to lose. You're fairly petite already so your BMR is going to be pretty low...
I think you are still overestimating your calories burned from exercise, and that coupled with the fact that you are not really weighing/measuring your food, means that you are still eating too many calories to lose weight. For a half hour brisk walk (and I'm taller and weigh more than you) I would only track about 150 calories burned.0 -
Problem is I have to depend on outside food a lot. I stay as a paying guest where food is provided. Lunch also I order through dabba system (,won't make much sense to non Indians , its a lunch box delivery system ) . all the homemade healthy food. But I can't really measure.0
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What is your goal?0
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Fat loss and inch loss. If not weight loss. Just want to look and feel good.0
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Looks good to me. If you are unhappy with not losing weight, I would suggest not eating more than the 1200, since you are currently eating slightly above maintenance (if exercise is ignored).0
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If you're trying to lose, you need to start accurately logging, meaning weigh and measure your food. Otherwise, you have no idea how much you're really eating.
Additionally, to tone up I would definitely incorporate strength training.0 -
You are doing what I would do as far as your settings go (whether that is correct or not, I don't know). With all your exercise, I would think you are burning more than an extra 300 a day. Your weight seems healthy so I'm not sure what your goals are. If you are not looking to lose weight, your eyeball measurements seem to be working. As far as over training, how do you feel? I don't know the particulars of the 2 programs you are doing. All the walking is fantastic! You should aim to raise your heart at least 3 x's a week. If both of your programs are intense cardio, doing that everyday may be too much. Same goes if you are weight training. You need some recovery time. Just my 2 cents.0
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Problem is I have to depend on outside food a lot. I stay as a paying guest where food is provided. Lunch also I order through dabba system (,won't make much sense to non Indians , its a lunch box delivery system ) . all the homemade healthy food. But I can't really measure.
I'm a sucker for Indian food. Could eat it every day. Nothing better in the world than naan to me.
If you are pulling you food from the database vs entering a recipe it is going to be inaccurate, perhaps significantly so. Especially with Indian recipes I find. the leave a lot out, sodium in many cases. I understand the dabba system, my in laws are Indian. not much you can do there. the people making it wouldn't have a clue about nutritional value.
All I can say is if you search out a food, look at as many entries as possible. Use what seems most realistic.
If after all that you are not losing weight then quite possibly the food has a much higher calorie value than anticipated. I run into that mostly with Indian food. ok I am going naan and aloo gobi now, just made myself hungry0 -
tracyledyard wrote: »You are doing what I would do as far as your settings go (whether that is correct or not, I don't know). With all your exercise, I would think you are burning more than an extra 300 a day. Your weight seems healthy so I'm not sure what your goals are. If you are not looking to lose weight, your eyeball measurements seem to be working. As far as over training, how do you feel? I don't know the particulars of the 2 programs you are doing. All the walking is fantastic! You should aim to raise your heart at least 3 x's a week. If both of your programs are intense cardio, doing that everyday may be too much. Same goes if you are weight training. You need some recovery time. Just my 2 cents.
According to HRM I am burning 600-750 calories per day that is an overestimation may be. PiYo is mainly bodyweight strength training and T25 beta is mainly cardio with some strength training with dumbbells. I am not looking for weight loss as such. And its not like I am not absolutely losing weight but losing it very slowly which I am okay with. I just want to reduce inches and get more fit.
My purpose of this post was to get a review of my workout plan currently as I changed it in the last 2 weeks i.e increased intensity by starting two workout programs. Before I was doing only t25 alpha and walking. t25 beta has more intensity and I added PiYo. On top of that I got my HRM to measure calories and they show quite higher numbers for calorie burn than MFP database. I posted this to forum and people asked me to eat only 60-80% of the calories burnt. So I changed my activity levels to sedentary and adding my HRM calories and eating a part of it back. Before I had put it on lightly active and used to eat the calories which MFP used to give me.
Just reviewing if my current plan sounds okay or its sounds aggressive or not enough?0 -
Problem is I have to depend on outside food a lot. I stay as a paying guest where food is provided. Lunch also I order through dabba system (,won't make much sense to non Indians , its a lunch box delivery system ) . all the homemade healthy food. But I can't really measure.
I'm a sucker for Indian food. Could eat it every day. Nothing better in the world than naan to me.
If you are pulling you food from the database vs entering a recipe it is going to be inaccurate, perhaps significantly so. Especially with Indian recipes I find. the leave a lot out, sodium in many cases. I understand the dabba system, my in laws are Indian. not much you can do there. the people making it wouldn't have a clue about nutritional value.
All I can say is if you search out a food, look at as many entries as possible. Use what seems most realistic.
If after all that you are not losing weight then quite possibly the food has a much higher calorie value than anticipated. I run into that mostly with Indian food. ok I am going naan and aloo gobi now, just made myself hungry
I agree with you on the Indian food thing
specially when I am eating out. For homemade stuff I know calories are probably less. and sometimes I try to log the ingredients rather than the dish. Hopefully I will be able to get my own place soon and can cook myself.
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awesome, good luck. The dabba system is quite incredible isn't it? I wish they could do that here but we will never figure out how to do it properly0
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it is actually
actually the city I live in, its not so popular there. But we did find a small vendor which delivers food to our office and in limited amount. Food its home cooked and tasty. 
Before I had to cook my own lunch or take whatever horrible tasting food was provided where I stay 0 -
If you don't weigh your food you have no idea how much you're eating hence you re consuming too many calories
That's the only place you need to look0 -
So you can't really calorie count your food in your current situation.
Shame for calories burned really - you can't actually verify the accuracy so don't expend a lot of effort trying to, just be consistent with your estimates.
Would suggest just stick with your routine and monitor your results over a period of time.
"And its not like I am not absolutely losing weight but losing it very slowly which I am okay with. I just want to reduce inches and get more fit."
Sounds perfect to me so carry on.
As for your routine if you enjoy it and don't feel tired carry on, I certainly wouldn't call it overtraining.0 -
"I don't measure my food"
Then we are done here, right?
There can be no further meaningful progress based on you guessing what's going on. Guessing doesn't count.0 -
SergeantSausage wrote: »"I don't measure my food"
Then we are done here, right?
There can be no further meaningful progress based on you guessing what's going on. Guessing doesn't count.
Like I mentioned its not possible because of the choices I have. And it worked for me till now. I really do not believe you need to measure your food to lose weight, sometimes you just have to be a little smart
Weightloss isnt really my goal, I was just rechecking with everyone about my lifestyle change. As of today morning I am 110.7 lbs , I really do not think weightloss should be my goal but fat loss should be.
I don't think I should be judged just because I am doing it a little differently than others. :P Frankly, (for this comment you can judge me all you want) all the food scale and stuff are too first world. (Grabs a bowl of popcorn and waits for bashing) :P
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It's perfectly possible to lose weight without weighing and measuring food, it's just less efficient.
Just eat less or exercise more until you lose weight.
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Wow! Sorry to see a couple negative remarks regarding your journey... Geez. I agree with the guy who said to stick with your current revised plan and progress monitor. Body measurements might be a better thing for you to measure than weight especially since your goal is to lose inches. Good luck!! It will be slow but I bet you'll see an increase in your fitness level as you ramp up the intensity of your routine.0
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It's perfectly possible to lose weight without weighing and measuring food, it's just less efficient.
Just eat less or exercise more until you lose weight.
I completely agree with you. I do not want to define my lifestyle by numbers. For some this might be perfectly normal, for me its not People are different. 0 -
tracyledyard wrote: »Wow! Sorry to see a couple negative remarks regarding your journey... Geez. I agree with the guy who said to stick with your current revised plan and progress monitor. Body measurements might be a better thing for you to measure than weight especially since your goal is to lose inches. Good luck!! It will be slow but I bet you'll see an increase in your fitness level as you ramp up the intensity of your routine.
Yes, I am sticking to my plan for sometime. I was actually training 7 days a week and that kinda tired me out. Now I am going to increase intensity on weekdays and take rest on weekends Hopefully the inches will melt away.
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