Calories vs. Activity

allechia40
allechia40 Posts: 4 Member
edited November 24 in Fitness and Exercise
Hi, not new to trying to lose weight but new to strength training and high intensity interval training. I am currently 220 lbs, 5'2, 42 year old female that has a daily target goal of 1200 calories and 30 net carbs. I have committed myself to the gym 6 days a week doing 20 minute hiit and 45 minute strength training. The inches and the pounds are falling off but I am STARVING! Today has been my biggest challenge to not overeat and was not successful in keeping at calorie goal. I am wondering if I am eating enough calories to sustain my body while keeping my commitment to the gym. I don't want to create negative side effects if they are not warranted.

Your opinion? Your thoughts?

Replies

  • allechia40
    allechia40 Posts: 4 Member
    Great read! Thank you.
  • arditarose
    arditarose Posts: 15,573 Member
    Are you eating back exercise calories? 1200 seems low for your stats. I know you are short but at 220, you can be eating quite a bit more to be losing weight. Also...are you really doing HIIT and strength training all 6 days per week? What program are you doing?
  • allechia40
    allechia40 Posts: 4 Member
    Most days I don't eat the calories burned back. I only count the cardio calories burned. I don't track calories for strength training. I am working out six days a week and just started doing HIIT on the treadmill for twenty minutes. Running 1 minute, walk 1.5 minutes, increasing pace as I can keep up. Always over 4.5. I am working arms one day and legs the next. Eating the 1200 calories with a max of 30 carbs hadn't been too big of an issue but today I have noticed that I am super hungry. I did go over my calorie goal today by nearly 300 calories and that is really a first for me since I started 18 days ago.
  • arditarose
    arditarose Posts: 15,573 Member
    allechia40 wrote: »
    Most days I don't eat the calories burned back. I only count the cardio calories burned. I don't track calories for strength training. I am working out six days a week and just started doing HIIT on the treadmill for twenty minutes. Running 1 minute, walk 1.5 minutes, increasing pace as I can keep up. Always over 4.5. I am working arms one day and legs the next. Eating the 1200 calories with a max of 30 carbs hadn't been too big of an issue but today I have noticed that I am super hungry. I did go over my calorie goal today by nearly 300 calories and that is really a first for me since I started 18 days ago.

    You're not eating enough. If you're going to shoot for 1200 calories you AT LEAST need to eat back your exercise calories. You could be doing damage, especially if you are logging correctly. You're netting under 1200 if you're not eating exercise calories back.
  • lorrpb
    lorrpb Posts: 11,463 Member
    I agree, at 220 you should eat more than 1200, especially with all the workouts. 1500 as you did today should be just fine.
  • allechia40
    allechia40 Posts: 4 Member
    Thank you for the responses, sometimes its better to hear it from someone else than to just assume.
  • ilovec4eva
    ilovec4eva Posts: 13 Member
    I would make sure your eating enough protein for your sustained muscle target weight.and at leat getting 100% of your vitamins in then you can stress whether or not you need to adjust calories
  • arditarose
    arditarose Posts: 15,573 Member
    Sometimes we try to over do it! Mess around with some TDEE calculators as well as inputting your stats in MFP. If you find your TDEE is 2400, you can eat 1400 to lose 2 pounds per week. Or you could shoot for 1 pound or a 1.5 lbs. You'll find the best rate for you.
  • deenavess
    deenavess Posts: 1 Member
    I had this really bad injury and had to have surgery on my ankle to have pins put in. Before the accident I was really active because I usted to love to run. Well I can't do anything right now and I have another surgery coming up to take the pins out. From me having to sit around all the time I'm just gaining weight . I've gained a good bit of weight and I'm 5'3. What would be a good calorie intake for me daily so that I'm not overdoing it?
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 25,630 Member
    For the first 4 months here, I was on 1250 cal + about half my exercise calories. That worked well for me. I felt fairly comfortable and lost 15 kg.

    Do try to eat at least half your exercise calories ... but ... be realistic about the number of calories you're burning. MFP and others tend to over-estimate the number of calories burned a bit. I always try to estimate a bit on the low side.
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 25,630 Member
    deenavess wrote: »
    I had this really bad injury and had to have surgery on my ankle to have pins put in. Before the accident I was really active because I usted to love to run. Well I can't do anything right now and I have another surgery coming up to take the pins out. From me having to sit around all the time I'm just gaining weight . I've gained a good bit of weight and I'm 5'3. What would be a good calorie intake for me daily so that I'm not overdoing it?

    Enter your details into MFP. Set your activity level as sedentary. Choose an amount you want to lose each week (e.g. 1 lb/week) ... and MFP will give you your maximum calories. :)

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