Do I really need all this food?
joeywreck
Posts: 7 Member
Hello, I am new to maintaining and I’ve recently lost around 56 lbs during my diet. I’m 5’4, male, and I’m 132.8 lbs on a good day! I walk a lot at work, about 7 miles a day apparently. I’m in retail and I’m a supervisor and I mainly walk the floor all day. Myfitnesspal says I lose 500 calories doing it (I’m using my iPhone to track my steps)..
Here’s my issue. I try to work out once in a while lifting small weights but mostly this is how I get my exercise since I’m a really busy person, so in my goal I put that I’m “Lightly Active”. Since I’ve always been distrustful of step trackers (which is why I usually try not to eat my exercise calories even on days I ate 900 calories during my diet). MFP says I’m supposed to eat 2,100 calories a day? I don’t see how I need that to maintain 133 lbs. I’m also supposed to eat the calories I burn through walking which I can’t even be sure is accurate? So far, I haven’t gained or lost a pound, but I’m concerned that it’s just the beginning. Should I be concerned? Do I really need to eat 2100 calories a day? I thought that’s what got me to gain weight (but then again I never tracked calories when I was 190 lbs)..
Should I also eat my exercise calories? Or just some of it?
Here’s my issue. I try to work out once in a while lifting small weights but mostly this is how I get my exercise since I’m a really busy person, so in my goal I put that I’m “Lightly Active”. Since I’ve always been distrustful of step trackers (which is why I usually try not to eat my exercise calories even on days I ate 900 calories during my diet). MFP says I’m supposed to eat 2,100 calories a day? I don’t see how I need that to maintain 133 lbs. I’m also supposed to eat the calories I burn through walking which I can’t even be sure is accurate? So far, I haven’t gained or lost a pound, but I’m concerned that it’s just the beginning. Should I be concerned? Do I really need to eat 2100 calories a day? I thought that’s what got me to gain weight (but then again I never tracked calories when I was 190 lbs)..
Should I also eat my exercise calories? Or just some of it?
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Replies
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If you are counting your steps as part of your "lightly active" you don't want to count them again as exercise. Your working out which is not part of your daily routine is exercise.0
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What was your calorie deficit when you were losing, and how much weight did you lose per week?
You should be able to do the math to figure out what you will maintain at based on how much you ate to lose at whatever rate you were losing at.0 -
The scale will tell, but I will say yes, you probably do need that many calories.0
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What was your calorie deficit when you were losing, and how much weight did you lose per week?
You should be able to do the math to figure out what you will maintain at based on how much you ate to lose at whatever rate you were losing at.
I was losing about 2 lbs a week while eating 1200 calories, then about 1 lb a week with 1500 calories. This is from looking at my progress on the MFP app right now.
I'm okay trying 2100 calories a day for 2 weeks, but I would really like to know from anyone if I really should pay attention to the 500 calories I lost from today for example from walking (520+ calories, i don't remember).. It would be nice to be able to have an extra snack once in a while but I also don't want to get back to where I was.0 -
If it is part of your daily activities, then no, don't eat those back. That would be double dipping. If you want to have an extra snack, go ahead, just cut back somewhere else. A lot of people eat less during the week so that they can eat more on the weekend.
Also, you may want to give it more than 2 weeks. Many people see the scale jump a bit when they start maintenance as they hold on to a bit more water. Give it a month or so to stabilize.0 -
From what I'm hearing, I shouldn't eat my calories back because it's included in the 2100? If I had my goal as Sedentary, it says I'm supposed to eat 1800 calories. Would it be better to just eat that on days I'm not walking around as much? Or should I eat 2100 calories on days I'm not walking as much?
Sorry I'm kind of really worried. Weight loss has been a really big deal for me
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Looking at the math, you should maintain at 2000 calories daily. (1 pound loss a week is 500 calorie defecit daily). But since maintenance is a range, 2100 also sounds about right.
Did you track steps and exercise while losing weight? If so, keep doing the same thing and let MFP add back exercise calories.
If you have the same activity while losing weight, but you ate 1500 daily without extra steps or exercise being corrected for, eating at 2100 daily sounds okay. This is the TDEE method, look it up.0 -
First you 7 miles a day walking IS exercise and its just about all the exercise you need. I bet you could jog a fair way if you decided to try it out. If you want to increase your fitness at all, you could do some sort of sprint thing.
7 miles is not light activity either. I'd call it moderate exercise.
As to calories, Increase you calories slowly from your low point and stop where your weight settles fairly easily. Its ok to go up a little, it will come down again so long as you keep eating right. If you have been eating a very restricted diet for a long time, you weight will go up but this is part of resetting your metabolism which may have gotten a bit sluggish due to restricting.0 -
What was your calorie deficit when you were losing, and how much weight did you lose per week?
You should be able to do the math to figure out what you will maintain at based on how much you ate to lose at whatever rate you were losing at.
I was losing about 2 lbs a week while eating 1200 calories, then about 1 lb a week with 1500 calories. This is from looking at my progress on the MFP app right now.
I'm okay trying 2100 calories a day for 2 weeks, but I would really like to know from anyone if I really should pay attention to the 500 calories I lost from today for example from walking (520+ calories, i don't remember).. It would be nice to be able to have an extra snack once in a while but I also don't want to get back to where I was.
The bold part is showing that your current maintenance calories are probably around 2000 - 2200 calories.
Let the anxiety go and just give that a go for at least four weeks. Ignore temporary blips in weight and find the trend.
Then simply make adjustments from there. After a prolonged period with such a severe calorie deficit your maintenance calories could well end up higher.
Would suggest forgetting about steps, exercise, activity settings and just eat that ballpark figure each day (or averaged over course of a week if you prefer) and let your actual weight trend be your guide. Not because that's a better way to eat and maintain for everyone but purely to take away some of the very obvious stress you are feeling. Enjoy your success.
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As above.
Forget about eating back exercise calories, activity levels, worrying about steps or anything else.
Pick what you believe to be a maintenance TDEE (under guess if it worries you as you can adjust up), track and monitor the trend over a few weeks (I use Libra for Android) and adjust as necessary.
The best thing I ever did was work from a TDEE and get rid of the MFP calorie goals, activity levels and exercise calories.
You'll get to the point where it all becomes quite intuitive and you'll know when you need to increase your calories for increased exercise etc.0 -
I think what a lot of people here are missing is you're trying to maintain. In that case yes eat them. You ABSOLUTELY MUST eat them back if you want to maintain your weight.
My advice is to eat all if them and if your gain eat less, if you lose eat more.0 -
thankyou4thevenom wrote: »I think what a lot of people here are missing is you're trying to maintain. In that case yes eat them. You ABSOLUTELY MUST eat them back if you want to maintain your weight.
My advice is to eat all if them and if your gain eat less, if you lose eat more.
Remember TDEE method includes all exercise and activity. It's just averaged out rather than on the day.
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Activity level is active for you, as that is your normal daily activity. Exercise is not part of your activity level.0
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do I really need to eat 2100 calories a day? I thought that’s what got me to gain weight (but then again I never tracked calories when I was 190 lbs)..
See this is the problem : I used to think I eat around 1500 calories a day when I was maintaining and possibly putting on a little bit of weight, I WASNT using a scale or counting calories - I was probably eating 2000-2200 a day. Turns out I lose 1.5lb on properly counted 1500 kcal a week and I'm sedentary, 5'4 and female. My boyfriend (5'5) could eat around 3000 calories while working in retail on the shop floor to maintain.It's a a fairly active job. You can definitely stay on 2000 without putting weight on!
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Thanks everyone, I think I'm going to compromise and try 2,000 since my TDEE says something slightly over 2300 and that really concerns me unless I've had a rough day at work (pushing carts, running around, etc). Just trying to clarify one more thing. Today, I don't work and most of my walking would be at the mall and I would lose 70-100 calories from that, depending how much I walk. On days like these, would it still make sense to eat 2000?0
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Thanks everyone, I think I'm going to compromise and try 2,000 since my TDEE says something slightly over 2300 and that really concerns me unless I've had a rough day at work (pushing carts, running around, etc). Just trying to clarify one more thing. Today, I don't work and most of my walking would be at the mall and I would lose 70-100 calories from that, depending how much I walk. On days like these, would it still make sense to eat 2000?
Yup. If you use TDEE method, eat that number every day. The light activity days are balanced out with high activity days.0 -
Seriously, stop worrying about how many calories you are going to use walking around a mall.
You've picked 2000 calories. Eat 2000 calories a day (or averaged over a week) for a few weeks whilst observing trends, and change as required.-1 -
If I can maintain on 2200 at 5ft 2" with a desk job (ok I am very active outside of work ) then of course you can.
why on earth would you only have had days with 900 cals is what I'm wondering...
guys in general have higher TDEE'S.
I would suggest you up your cals a few hundred cals at a time until you are eating 2100 cals and maintaining.
Success is being able to maintain our goal weight eating as many cals as possible 0 -
I'm 102lb and my maintenance calories are 2000, so I'm surprised that as a significantly heavier male yours aren't much higher! I don't know many men who eat that little. I think there's a chance your metabolism might also need a shake-up, if you were originally at 900 a day but that's your choice.0
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What was your calorie deficit when you were losing, and how much weight did you lose per week?
You should be able to do the math to figure out what you will maintain at based on how much you ate to lose at whatever rate you were losing at.
I was losing about 2 lbs a week while eating 1200 calories, then about 1 lb a week with 1500 calories. This is from looking at my progress on the MFP app right now.
I'm okay trying 2100 calories a day for 2 weeks, but I would really like to know from anyone if I really should pay attention to the 500 calories I lost from today for example from walking (520+ calories, i don't remember).. It would be nice to be able to have an extra snack once in a while but I also don't want to get back to where I was.
The bold part is showing that your current maintenance calories are probably around 2000 - 2200 calories.
Let the anxiety go and just give that a go for at least four weeks. Ignore temporary blips in weight and find the trend.
Then simply make adjustments from there. After a prolonged period with such a severe calorie deficit your maintenance calories could well end up higher.
Would suggest forgetting about steps, exercise, activity settings and just eat that ballpark figure each day (or averaged over course of a week if you prefer) and let your actual weight trend be your guide. Not because that's a better way to eat and maintain for everyone but purely to take away some of the very obvious stress you are feeling. Enjoy your success.
Exactly this. Pay special attention to the part that says "Ignore temporary blips in weight and find the trend." You are absolutely not allowed to freak out about anything the scale says for a couple of weeks. A lot of people regain a couple pounds of water weight when they stop eating at a deficit. This is not fat, you don't need to adjust your calories for that. If you gain 3 pounds the first week, and nothing after that, you found maintenance.
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Thanks guys. After a week I haven't gained or lost so far (well I gained and lost two lbs it looks like so it's just no big deal to me) so I hope it keeps working! It feels weird not paying attention to steps. I feel like the only way to know if I have a deficit is to guess (today for example I walked more than usual cause I was at school and had to park further than usual and walked two miles total, and I have no idea if that gave me even an extra 100 calories to eat today or what).. So I guess I'll just keep with 2,000 or 2,100 if I feel hungry. I'm back to eating breakfast cause it's hard to fit a lot of food with just lunch and dinner and snacking when i don't have the appetite for a lot of food in the first place.0
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Thanks for the update, sounds like 2000 calories is about right for you. If you find it hard to fit that in, just eat foods that are more calories dense, so you don't have to eat more volume. For example you can dip your apples in peanut butter. Add some cheese to your salad or sandwich. Switch to full fat milk/yogurt/mayo/sour cream. Have a second handful of nuts for snack. Have a glass of juice with lunch, or wine with dinner.
I am 5'7 40 y/o female who maintains on an average of 2000 calories a day. Most days, I want to eat more. Lots more. Remember, food is fuel, but it should be enjoyed. 0 -
An update: I've been stuck at around 134.6 to 134.8 for days and I actually didnt like it so I went back to 1500 calories a day. Now I'm at 131.4.. So yeah I'm not sure what to do. When I was eating 2,000 sometimes I'd see 137 on the scale and it just really bugged me. I also am bothered that the steps I walk don't count anymore which isn't very motivating. I walked 10 miles yesterday and if I followed 2000 calories the 869 calories I lost from the walking would've meant nothing. I'm going to try to move up from 1500-1600 to at least 1700 and see how that works out. But I'm very cautious.0
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Maintenance will generally be in a range of +/- say 5 lbs so the scale is going to move around a bit in any case. You will also gain a little when moving from a deficit to maintenance due to your glycogen stores replenish. If your weight was consistently creeping up every week, but if you were bouncing around then you were maintaining. And what happens if it did go up a bit, could you not lose it again just as easily. A fear of gaining can be an unhealthy out look on things as well0
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Putting in the numbers I can find for you age, height, weight, and sex your BMR is about 1560. Working from that the following are the various numbers based on possible activity levels:
Sedentary (little or no exercise, desk job) 1872
Lightly Active (light exercise/sports 1-3 days/wk) 2145
Moderately Active (moderate exercise/sports 3-5 days/wk) 2418
Very Active (hard exercise/sports 6-7 days/wk) 2691
Extremely Active (hard daily exercise/sports & physical job or 2X day training, i.e marathon, contest etc.) 2964
So 2100 does not sound out of line in any way.
You would probably be more wise selecting a weight range (say 130 to 140 pounds) and as long as you remain in it you should consider yourself doing fine. 4-6 pound weigh variations that have nothing to do with increased fat stores but coming from undigested food, water retention, or other factors like that. I found your last post unclear, were you staying at 134.6 to 134.8 or did you go up to 137, or was the 137 just an individual weight point perhaps on a day where you were retaining water or it was taking a while for your food to move through your digestive track.
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Eat the 2100. Enjoy it. Heck, drink a beer or two if you like. Don't worry about anything less than a consistent 5lb gain. Seriously, water weight happens to everyone. You re active. Trust MFP.0
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rileysowner wrote: »I found your last post unclear, were you staying at 134.6 to 134.8 or did you go up to 137, or was the 137 just an individual weight point perhaps on a day where you were retaining water or it was taking a while for your food to move through your digestive track.
That was just a specific day when my food was probably just digesting, but it's a number I haven't seen on the scale In a long time so it shocked me.
Some have said I should have a pretty big range of a weight goal. The thought of going from having a range of 133-140 seems really shocking to me. I can now wear a size small and I like the way clothes fit and look on me and I don't want that to change. I can see the difference in being 140 and 133, my clothes fit better when I'm 133-135. I guess I was just really worried because my weight wasn't changing, no matter what and I felt I gained weight. I drink a lot of water on high sodium days because I've heard about water weight, I've blamed my scale, I blamed the one day I drank some alcohol even.. I might've overreacted. So far today I ate 600 calories or so, and I can't help but think how much I should eat for the rest of today and the week.0 -
We have about the same stats, except I'm female. My TDEE is a little lower...I can't imagine not wanting to eat at least 2000 calories.0
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From a hypothetical base weight of 137lbs. that's only a 3 - 4 lb swing in either direction. That's a fairly typical range for normal fluctuations. The weight chart for MFP is somewhat limited. You can learn a lot about normal fluctuations from using a weight tracker that tracks trends and adjusts for fluctuations.Some have said I should have a pretty big range of a weight goal. The thought of going from having a range of 133-140 seems really shocking to me.
https://trendweight.com/
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Weight training is super important to keeping the weight off. It will help you have a better physique and make you feel better about how you look and feel. It's not the number on the scale that counts. I weigh 148 and am skinnier than I have ever been in my life, even though I weighed 140 when I got married. My body fat hovers at 20%.
There are some really good tips on BodyBuilding.com for beginning lifting. You don't have to spend a million hours at the gym lifting weights to see results. I lift from 30 - 60 minutes per day, about 4 days per week. That's probably a lot less time than walking 7 miles per day.
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