Reducing Calories Binge Eating

jordansfooddiary
jordansfooddiary Posts: 5 Member
edited November 20 in Health and Weight Loss
I currently eat 2000-2500 calories at least 4 days a week due to binge eating. Because of this, I am slowly gaining weight. I am trying to reduce my calories realistically without causing MORE binging. Would it be wise to try to go to 1600 + exercise calories rather than what MFP suggests for .5 lbs lost per week which is 1380? I am currently 136lbs/63 inches with a goal weight of 125-130lbs (I'm not really concerned about weight, though. It's more about the way my clothing fits and how I look in the mirror). I am working on establishing a workout routine with cardio and strength, but so far I am only consistent with cardio (spin or BodyCombat class) 2 x a week (not enough to create a deficit).

Replies

  • DeguelloTex
    DeguelloTex Posts: 6,652 Member
    TDEE for 5'3" 136 and sedentary (25 years old) is about 1700. 1600 and eating back exercise calories would have you losing a pound every five weeks, if you were spot on in your logging and your burns.
  • jordansfooddiary
    jordansfooddiary Posts: 5 Member
    edited June 2015
    Thanks. I'm 31, female (should have included that). I've seen my TDEE at 1700 with 4 days of activity. Isn't TDEE supposed to be NOT eating exercise calories back, though?

    My TDEE is 1568 at sedendary which I cannot seem to maintain (I've been aiming for 1500 calories/day).
  • DeguelloTex
    DeguelloTex Posts: 6,652 Member
    TDEE includes all energy expenditure, so it would include any calories you burn and would need to eat back in order to maintain.
  • jordansfooddiary
    jordansfooddiary Posts: 5 Member
    Huh. I guess I was confused about TDEE then. Thanks for the clarification.
  • terbusha
    terbusha Posts: 1,483 Member
    I think that you should focus on resistance training, get in some HIIT cardio, and eat so you maintain your weight. You're in a healthy weight range, so that's great! What I do and what I recommend to people is to eat at a calorie level that allows you to make good progress towards your goal. If you are trying to maintain weight, eat so your weight is stable. This assumes an average calorie burn from you getting in all of your workouts. This will be different for everyone, so you'll have to do some trial and error to figure it out. I'd start ~1600 cal/day. Hit this goal, along with your macros and getting in your workouts, for 2 weeks. If you maintain weight, you're good to go. If you lose weight, increase your intake and repeat. If you gain weight, reduce your intake a bit and repeat. After a few cycles, you'll figure out what works for you in your situation.

    You may very well be able to eat more than you think to maintain your weight. Also, if you're kicking butt in your workouts and eating to maintain weight (with appropriate macros), then you'll slowly get leaner over time.

    If you're looking for some help to figure out what to do for exercise, hit me up. I'm always happy to help out.
  • slaite1
    slaite1 Posts: 1,307 Member
    I stopped binge eating, and a big part was allowing myself to just eat. I decided to go for maintenance, and eat what I want for a while without regard to macros. I kept exercising.

    Once I got to a point where I was not bingeing and felt more in control, I decreased calories slightly and kept decreasing as I remained successful with no bingeing. I am only recently re-focusing on macros-but not at the expense of eating what I like.

    Play with it and see what works. If restriction is causing bingeing, stop restricting. Better to maintain than gain while you get a grip. Just my two cents-best of luck
  • jordansfooddiary
    jordansfooddiary Posts: 5 Member
    Thanks all! I will play w my calories and let myself eat more, but healthy foods. Def gotta stick to the exercise to help w the extra calories though.
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