Worked out I should be eating 2130 calories

How did you arrive at that figure?

People usually say eat back half your 3xercise calories. But I don't typically. But that may be right if you are doing very intense exercise. But maybe 1800 would be better?

segacs wrote: »

Try using this calculator: scoobysworkshop.com/accurate-calorie-calculator/

Dizzy and lightheaded are a problem.

This. Pick a 15 or 20% deficit to lose weight. 2130 seems like a lot though.

Okay, so you would subtract 10-20% from that overall number.

So 2075 is your (estimated) Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE). That's how many calories you probably burn on average each day. If you want a modest rate of weight loss you would substract 10% from that total for your target, so 2075-207.5 = 1867.5 and if you wanted a more aggressive weight loss you could subtract 20% so 2075 - 415 = 1660.

everythings_rosie wrote: »

Is this your info or just a sample. It's just a sample, right?

What are your height and weight and activity level?

Just use MFP correctly. Put in your stats and weight loss goals, and it will give you how many calories you should eat a day without the exercise. Track everything you eat precisely here. Wear a heart rate monitor when you exercise to see how many calories you burn, then add that amount to your exercise log. MFP will automatically re-calculate your daily calorie allowance to reflect your exercise calories. Most people only add half of their exercise calories though, to be safe (since even heart rate monitors aren't perfect, and might be over-estimating burn). So divide what you burned by two, add that number instead, and then eat your goal for the day.

Example: MFP tells you to eat 1400 calories a day.
You do a hard workout and burn 800 calories, according to your heart rate monitor.
You only add 400 calories to your custom exercise log.
Now you are supposed to eat 1800 calories for the day.
Log your food, stop eating when you get to 1800 ;-)

How long were you eating at 1400, what results were you seeing in weight loss? If dizzy & light headedness were happening then its clear something needs to change. Try adding an additional 200-400/day, monitor your results.

As to 'low carb' what does that mean to you, and is there a medical reason for it? You may need to incorporate more carbs as they're intended for energy use.

everythings_rosie wrote: »

Perhaps Im not eating enough of the right foods then. I do tend to eat low carb.

No. Your body needs fuel to operate. You need to eat more calories if you are burning a bunch. If you are truly burning 800 calories, which might be a bit high for your height and weight in a general hour boot camp style class. I get about 600 at 5'8 and 187 going hard. But you could be getting more....then you really need to eat some of those calories back. Or you will see side effects like dizzy and lightheaded.

If you are set up on MFP correctly and it is telling you to eat 1400 calories, then you should try to accurately figure out what you are burning and eat the majority of that back. The harder and more often you exercise the more important it is that you eat back these calories. Under fueling workouts can lead to headaches, tired, hungry, lightheaded/dizzy, etc. Long term under fueling can lead to more serious things.

Your body needs fuel. Eat food. Just be in a deficit and you will lose weight.

everythings_rosie wrote: »

I do weights at the gym 3 days a week at 8am then bootcamp straight after at 9.30am so burning over 800+ cals on my HRM. I took simple carbs out of my diet as they bloat me and make me feel sluggish. Ive not eaten pasta, potatoes or bread for years. After using the links on this thread, my TDEE is around 2100, so perhaps Ill just up my calories to 1800 for a few weeks and see how it goes. I used to have an eating disorder, and am finding tracking my calories daily, measuring calories burned, weighing food, is controling me so much.

Hmmm, I wonder if working with a therapist during this process would be helpful to you. For one thing, it would be helpful to progressively challenge the rules that you have created for yourself (for example, that you need to cut out certain food groups), and to work though the thinking and anxiety that comes up with calorie counting.

Get a doctor check-up since dizziness is worrisome and especially with a history of eating problems you want to make sure all your labs, etc. are good. I think increasing to 1800 is a great idea.