2nd time around. I am having a more difficult time. Any suggestions are appreciated.
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Lisha_R
Posts: 92 Member
I am now 5'8 and 243lbs. I am a nurse and walk a lot at work. So I put my activity as active ( I don't eat back my exercise calories) A few years ago I lost 65lbs (265 to 200). I started out with a low calorie intake (1200 calories) and had great success at first but I was not happy. I found this group and started weight training. I increased my calories and had success. The best part was I was happy.
Then apathy and a knee injury took over. I stopped tracking and stopped exercising. No surprise I gained back 45lbs in the next year and a half. I was eating too many calories (candy) and not moving my body. Now I want to get back on track and down to 175.
I have increased my exercise (walking for now) and tracking my food. I have a fitbit Charge which has my TDEE as as 2780 (average of the last 3 weeks (2665,2936,2737). MFP calculated my BMR as 1796. I just checked Fat 2 Fit and found this (Harris Benedict 1821, Katch-McArdle 1705) This seems much higher than when I calculated it last time.
I originally set my goal at 1680 then raised it to 1750 and now 1850. I have eaten at goal or below. I am not eating back my exercise calories. I am just getting frustrated. I started 3 wks ago at 245 and am now 243 (dropped to 214 and now am up). I have not started weight training again. My kids schedule makes it difficult. Like a wrote earlier I am just trying to move my body more. Per my Fitbit I have been walking an average of 4 miles a day.
I am trying to eat more basic foods (less processed). I can open my diary if that would help. I am a sugar addict and have restrained myself from candy. Trying to eat more fruits and veggies (smoothies). I am drinking 3-4 liters of water a day.
If you read all of this thank you. I want to lower my calories but need some reassurance that is the wrong way to go. Any suggestions are appreciated.
Then apathy and a knee injury took over. I stopped tracking and stopped exercising. No surprise I gained back 45lbs in the next year and a half. I was eating too many calories (candy) and not moving my body. Now I want to get back on track and down to 175.
I have increased my exercise (walking for now) and tracking my food. I have a fitbit Charge which has my TDEE as as 2780 (average of the last 3 weeks (2665,2936,2737). MFP calculated my BMR as 1796. I just checked Fat 2 Fit and found this (Harris Benedict 1821, Katch-McArdle 1705) This seems much higher than when I calculated it last time.
I originally set my goal at 1680 then raised it to 1750 and now 1850. I have eaten at goal or below. I am not eating back my exercise calories. I am just getting frustrated. I started 3 wks ago at 245 and am now 243 (dropped to 214 and now am up). I have not started weight training again. My kids schedule makes it difficult. Like a wrote earlier I am just trying to move my body more. Per my Fitbit I have been walking an average of 4 miles a day.
I am trying to eat more basic foods (less processed). I can open my diary if that would help. I am a sugar addict and have restrained myself from candy. Trying to eat more fruits and veggies (smoothies). I am drinking 3-4 liters of water a day.
If you read all of this thank you. I want to lower my calories but need some reassurance that is the wrong way to go. Any suggestions are appreciated.
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Replies
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Hi Lisha! Welcome back!
Please don't decrease your calories!
Your calories are still too low for your activity level. Since you have a Fitbit Charge, use the average like you have for your TDEE number. If it's giving you an average of 2780, take a 15% deficit from that (which comes to about 2363 calories daily) and eat that same number of calories every day to lose fat. Yes, you do need to eat more. You don't have to worry about eating your exercise calories back when using the TDEE method - the calculation averages out your activity calories through the week so that you can eat the same amount every day. You can take a new average every month or so from your Fitbit just in case your activity changes a bit. Since you haven't been eating back your exercise calories, your deficit has been too large. I think the walking is great for you right now - that is key - just moving your body. Don't stress about the weight training - just add it in when you can. It sounds like your job is giving you lots of active time, so that's great. Keep in mind that Fitbits underestimate calorie burn for weight training, so when you do add that back, you'll want to manually enter the calories for your weight training. I hope this helps! Oh, be sure to increase your calories slowly. If you choose to work your way up to that 15% deficit number (2363), just add 100 daily weekly. Say 1800 one week ,1900 the next, etc. Increasing slowly will help minimize initial weight/water gain during this process. If you're easily bothered by fluctuations on the scale, it's best to stay off completely for the first few weeks as fluctuations are completely normal. 0 -
Thank you. I will try and raise my calories and keep my activity the same. I am going to add some elliptical for the walking as it is easier on my knee. I will walk when I am unable to get to the gym.0
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I absolutely agree with everything that Jennbecca33 said... EM2WL recommends eating at no more than a 15% deficit from TDEE, so you will want to bump your intake up gradually to that 2,363 15% cut. Just work your way up there slowly to minimize any weight gain or huge fluctuations on the scale. Your current cut is about 33%, which is way too steep. Ignore those little voices in your head and bump your calories up, not down. You will do great!!0
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I am slowly upping my calories. I have had great success with that and am down several pounds. I am finding it hard to get all those calories especially since my husband and I are trying to eat more basic food (not sure what to call less processed foods). More fruit and veggie carbs than bread and rice. Last night I had a egg salad on english muffin to get my calories in. It was yummy.0
