Not sure how many calories to eat when I work

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chelseaparton
chelseaparton Posts: 18 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Hi guys

I'm female, 132lbs and 5' 7". I usually net around 1300-1400 per day in order to lose around 1lb a week. I calculated online that my calories to stay the same weight per day are around 1750 when sedentary.

My overall aim is to reduce body fat and then maybe begin a bulk. Currently I swim and cycle a lot and log these into my diary, eating back as much as my body needs. I've only gone over my calories once in the fast few weeks but it was only by around 200 calories, which I subtracted from the following days calories to make up for.

I swim around once a week for 40-60 minutes and cycle several times a week for anywhere between 10 and 60 minutes.

Now onto my work. I recently got a job at McDonald's part time. I work on the front serving customers. I'm on my feet the whole shift (7-8 hours) running around getting several orders at a time. The only thing is I don't know how many calories I'm burning during this time. I'm not able to take my phone to track my steps. I'm considering getting a Fitbit One and attaching it to my bra or sock but I can't afford that at the moment.

On several calorie calculators it's been suggested to eat around 2100 a day when active to maintain so at the moment when I work I'm eating around 1600 to keep losing fat. Does this sound about right?

I try and get my protein to at least 90g per day. But this past week I've gained slightly. I know this could be water weight (free McDonald's every shift and whatnot - now changing that to a healthy packed food!) but I was just wondering what everyone else thought about this? I don't want to overestimate calories burned.

Thank you all in advance!

Replies

  • chelseaparton
    chelseaparton Posts: 18 Member
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    Yea I agree, now switched to high protein sandwiches and salads with fruit instead of McDonald's chicken...

    I know it's pretty hard to lose weight at the weight I'm at. I lose about 2lb every 3 weeks but that's good enough for me. Started measuring my bf% and water weight too so I know if it's water or fat that's being lost/gained.

    Thanks for the help!
  • harlequin0318
    harlequin0318 Posts: 415 Member
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    132lbs at 5'7"...whatever weight youre trying to lose won't be fat, it will also be muscle. Start lifting or doing resistance training to get rid of the skinny fat
  • zoeysasha37
    zoeysasha37 Posts: 7,089 Member
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    I'm 135 and 5'8. So were around the same size. Everyone will be different though . I'd suggest playing with the numbers and see how it goes .maybe try 2000 on your work days for a while and see . ( I actually maintain around 2000 ) but it could work for you .
  • editorgrrl
    editorgrrl Posts: 7,060 Member
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    chelseaparton wrote: »
    I'm female, 132lbs and 5' 7". I usually net around 1300–1400 per day in order to lose around 1lb a week.

    I recently got a job at McDonald's part time. I work on the front serving customers. I'm on my feet the whole shift (7-8 hours) running around getting several orders at a time. The only thing is I don't know how many calories I'm burning during this time. I'm not able to take my phone to track my steps. I'm considering getting a Fitbit One but I can't afford that at the moment.

    First of all, a healthy, sustainable loss is .5 lb. per week for every 25 lbs. you're overweight. So 1 lb. per week is too aggressive at your size.

    Work (including commuting, housework, childcare, and yardwork) is all part of your activity level, and should never be logged as exercise. You didn't say how many 7-hour shifts you do a week. Start at lightly active or active for a couple of weeks, reevaluate your progress, and adjust accordingly: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/account/change_goals_guided

    Log your actual exercise (like biking & swimming). Fitbit One activity trackers are US$100, but Zip is only US$60. With a Fitbit connected to your account, choosing an activity level is a matter of personal preference. If you enable negative calorie adjustments, MFP adjusts your daily calorie goal to TDEE minus deficit. You might find a used Fitbit on Craigslist. Or ask your friends & family if anyone has one they're not using.
  • chelseaparton
    chelseaparton Posts: 18 Member
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    harlequin0318 wrote: »
    132lbs at 5'7"...whatever weight youre trying to lose won't be fat, it will also be muscle. Start lifting or doing resistance training to get rid of the skinny fat

    Yes I know. I'm currently trying to swim once a week and I cycle a few times a week depending on what I'm doing.. Maybe around 90mins in total. But I'm going to start cycling to and from work, which is about 45min each way. Also I'm going to continue with weight training in a couple of weeks when my gym membership starts again. I used to weight train at least 3 times a week but that stopped when I began swimming and working because I didn't have the time.
  • chelseaparton
    chelseaparton Posts: 18 Member
    edited September 2015
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    editorgrrl wrote: »
    First of all, a healthy, sustainable loss is .5 lb. per week for every 25 lbs. you're overweight. So 1 lb. per week is too aggressive at your size.

    Work (including commuting, housework, childcare, and yardwork) is all part of your activity level, and should never be logged as exercise. You didn't say how many 7-hour shifts you do a week. Start at lightly active or active for a couple of weeks, reevaluate your progress, and adjust accordingly: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/account/change_goals_guided

    Log your actual exercise (like biking & swimming). Fitbit One activity trackers are US$100, but Zip is only US$60. With a Fitbit connected to your account, choosing an activity level is a matter of personal preference. If you enable negative calorie adjustments, MFP adjusts your daily calorie goal to TDEE minus deficit. You might find a used Fitbit on Craigslist. Or ask your friends & family if anyone has one they're not using.

    Oh right. Well I'll look at increasing my intake then. I don't really want to lose that much more (now down to 131) so that sounds like a good thing to do.

    I work 6:00/7:00pm-1:30/2:00am 4x a week with a 45 min break usually. I'm going to put my calories at lightly active so on those days I know where I stand (and because I know my maintenance when I'm not working I can keep on top of that too without having to mess around)

    I've found a Fitbit one for UK£65 somewhere. I'll be able to afford that in a couple of weeks so I'll be able to log everything better!

    Thank you!!

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