Net Calories

Hi Alex,

Congrats on the 8lbs of weight loss.
My answer would be its quite difficult to know the answer to this question with only 2 weeks of dieting. You're setup that you are currently doing is great.

You should aim to lose about 1-2lbs a week. The fact you lost 8lbs is common due to water weight ect.

It sounds like your BMR and TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure) are quite low due to your job. So I would say about 1500 would be correct and obviously you can have additional calories after exercise.

The best way to judge whether you should eat more is to monitor your progress weekly, If you are dropping weight too fast still after about a month, then by all means, you should try eating an extra 100cals or so.

It's wise to eat about 200 to 300 calories below your TDEE for healthy weight loss.
if your net calories are 2300 - 2500 then that would indicate your eating below your net by 350 calories(ish) a day?

You could eat more and still have the same weight loss effects, but just see how it goes after a month or so. I would try to avoid rapid weight loss as when you hit a plateau, you will struggle to subtract anything more.
Don't go all guns blazing, cause then you will have no next step.

Hope this helps.

That's an aggressive rate of weight loss when you don't have much to lose.
It may not be sustainable once the initial enthusiasm wanes and your weight loss slows after the first whoosh of water weight.

Not eating your exercise calories or meeting your daily net goal will turn an aggressive deficit into an excessive deficit and that's not the way to get fit which you state as one of your aims.

I would suggest 1lb a week weight loss goal and eat back your exercise calories - think of this weight loss phase as practice for maintaining. Do now what you plan to do long term - that way all that needs to change is your calorie allowance once you get to goal weight.

Hello and welcome.

First of all, congrats on your 8lb loss so far - you must be doing something right!

It is certainly true that MFP overestimates calorie burn and so for that reason, I'd really recommend getting a heart rate monitor, especially if you are incorporating exercise into your commute to work. These aren't too expensive; I got mine (a Polar FT7) from Amazon for £50 although they have increased in price a bit recently and find it really handy as I cycle to and from work.

Even with a more accurate indication of calorie burn, personally I do try to stick to only eating back 50% of the calories burnt on my commute to work and back. Any additional exercise is a bonus and I try to keep those calories untouched to go towards my weekly deficit. I hope that this will make it easier during maintenance as my daily intake stays pretty constant.

1500 does seem quite low (I start with 1350 and a quite a bit shorter than you but aim for 1450 due to eating back some of my exercise calories!) so I agree with the advice above - see how it goes this week and then try upping by 100 calories or so if the weight continues to fly off.

Best of luck!

Alex, i have been working on around 1600cals per day since 5th jan. Ive lost 1stone so far. I like you started to slowly incorporate exercise which i started at twice a week 15mins for the first week or so. Ive doubled the distances and times now and use a polar loop for day to day activity (looks good on the wrist), and a polar m400 with HRM for my exercise.
I have been quite anal with my calorie counting and often eat less than my allowance. One thing you do need though are days where you eat your TDEE calories at least. If you dont your body risks going to starvation and will store any calories it can as fat. This way you keep your body guessing and metabolism running nicely. Lots of info on "zig zag" diets or methods online.
I mainly cut carbs to reduce my intake and reintroduce complex ones on my higher days to boost.
I was a sucker for rice, now i replaced it with bulgar or quinoa. Eat as much, just a lot less calories and actually more nutrients. Again it depends on how anal you are about things but theres good alternatives on most of the foods you'll love.
Lastly, keep up the weights. More muscle mass = more calories burned at rest etc and subsequently weight loss. Just ensure you have enough protein to prevent muscular atrophy. Again calculators online will help you determine this.

Hope this helps.

Leigh
Was 85kgs (BMI 28 Fat %29%) on 5th jan 2015 now 78kgs BMI 25 Fat %22 and going down with no lean mass deficit.
5ft 9.