Caloric Intake/Output

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jwhittyworth
jwhittyworth Posts: 27 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I'm not entirely sure what to do. I'm currently 6'2" at 220 lbs so I'm looking to lose a chunk of weight. According to MFP, I should net 2100 calories a day to lose a pound a week.

The issue is, even though I've gained a decent amount of weight, my body didn't fall too far behind on it's capabilities. Therefore, for the past two weeks I've been biking 15 miles and swimming a little over a mile a day. This, for example, caused yesterday's net to be only 1400 Calories (consumed 2400 - burned 1000).

I know that in order to have healthy weight loss, you shouldn't make drastic changes. But at 6'2" and 185 (goal) this wouldn't be too far from where I should be in net.

Should I eat more? Should I work out less? Both seem counter-intuitive. And since I don't feel low on energy, should I just keep doing what I'm doing?

Any advise would be greatly appreciated!
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Replies

  • justincooper405
    justincooper405 Posts: 107 Member
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    a lot of people don't eat back calories burned, including myself... it acts as a slight buffer for inaccurate logging and going over on my daily goals (for my self),

    If you feel good and not hungry your net looks good to me, but I am far from an expert just experienced.

  • bkyoun
    bkyoun Posts: 371 Member
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    As long as you feel good, you should be fine. The 1000 estimated burn may not be entirely accurate anyway. I usually try to eat back half of calories burned with exercise, so in your case, I would consume 2600 (2100 + 500). Listen to your body. If you feel good, don't worry too much about those extra 200 calories.
  • jwhittyworth
    jwhittyworth Posts: 27 Member
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    Given my current weight, I actually feel like the estimated burn may be too low. It takes a lot to move this blob up a hill at 18 mph lol.

    I'm concerned that I may not be inputting enough calories and could put my body into some weird shock. But I don't feel like I need to eat more; I'm not hungry anyway.
  • KristiMillner08
    KristiMillner08 Posts: 66 Member
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    You might just have to play around with the numbers. If you continue at a deficit and are not losing weight, then slowly up your intake until you hit a number that works for you. Due to the amount of exercise you are getting you need to make sure you are giving your body enough fuel to run. Good luck!
  • jwhittyworth
    jwhittyworth Posts: 27 Member
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    So I may need to eat more in order to lose more?
  • SarahPeters3
    SarahPeters3 Posts: 100 Member
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    As long as you don't feel fatigue or weak all the time you should be okay where you're at you'll know if you aren't eating enough by how much energy you have
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,811 Member
    edited June 2016
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    jwhittyworth wrote: »
    So I may need to eat more in order to lose more?

    Nooooooooo !!! That's not how it works. Food is fuel.

    Your calorie goal is + exercise. At least try it before dismissing it.
    Rapid weight loss isn't always good weight loss.

    Your exercise performance will fall off a cliff after a while of excessive deficit, just because it feels ok now that won't last and you stand a far higher chance of losing much more lean mass than you need to.
    I know that in order to have healthy weight loss, you shouldn't make drastic changes
    You said it.
  • kgirlhart
    kgirlhart Posts: 4,989 Member
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    Mfp is designed for you to eat back the exercise calories. If you are hungry then you definitely should because you need to fuel your workouts. I would start out eating about 50% of the exercise calories and then after about 4 weeks reevaluate. If you are losing more than 1 pound a week you should be able to eat back more of the exercise calories. I usually eat about 80% of mine. I would try to net at least 1500 to make sure you are getting all the nutrients you need.
  • jwhittyworth
    jwhittyworth Posts: 27 Member
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    I've always been told that I shouldn't loose more than 1 to 1.5 lbs a week. So should I be following this more closely to ensure that I'm not over-working/under-eating?

    Issue here is my weight varies a couple pounds within a week as is.
  • justincooper405
    justincooper405 Posts: 107 Member
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    sijomial wrote: »
    jwhittyworth wrote: »
    So I may need to eat more in order to lose more?

    Nooooooooo !!! That's not how it works. Food is fuel.

    Your calorie goal is + exercise. At least try it before dismissing it.
    Rapid weight loss isn't always good weight loss.

    Your exercise performance will fall off a cliff after a while of excessive deficit, just because it feels ok now that won't last and you stand a far higher chance of losing much more lean mass than you need to.
    I know that in order to have healthy weight loss, you shouldn't make drastic changes
    You said it.

    Makes sense
  • capaul42
    capaul42 Posts: 1,390 Member
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    If you're finding you're not really hungry enough to eat back your exercise calories, you could always tweak some of your foods through the day. Add in some calorie dense items like peanut butter, cook dinners in oil or butter, make your snacks slightly higher in calories...stuff like that.
  • jwhittyworth
    jwhittyworth Posts: 27 Member
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    A high calorie snack I current eat is a mix of pistachio, almonds and Brazil nuts. Fat content always gets flagged by MFP...
  • loulamb7
    loulamb7 Posts: 801 Member
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    jwhittyworth wrote: »
    I've always been told that I shouldn't loose more than 1 to 1.5 lbs a week. So should I be following this more closely to ensure that I'm not over-working/under-eating?

    Issue here is my weight varies a couple pounds within a week as is.

    Yes, aim for 1 lbs/week, deficit of 500 calories/day. Just because you can get away with netting 1400 now, doesn't make it a good plan. As sijomail said, energy drop off will be like falling off a cliff, it'll hit you hard and quick. So keep your net at 2100. We have similar stats and I was able to lose 1 lbs/week at 2350 +eating exercise calories back. You just need to be aware that these numbers are estimates and you need to adjust based on personal experience.

    Weight will always vary up/down a few pounds during the day and week. Use an app like Libra or Happy Scale to track your weight loss trend.

  • Bob314159
    Bob314159 Posts: 1,178 Member
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    justincooper405 wrote: »
    a lot of people don't eat back calories burned, including myself... it acts as a slight buffer for inaccurate logging and going over on my daily goals (for my self),

    If you feel good and not hungry your net looks good to me, but I am far from an expert just experienced.

    I agree - I went for a one hour semi-hike today - climbed hills equal to 30 flights of stairs- my Garmin says its 264 calories - which I assume to be a vague guess so I don't log it - I also assume I will under report my food - so it balances out.

    On days when I fell hungry from my workouts I might be losing more calories - bu on those days I'll eat 300-400 more- so it again cancels.
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
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    Use your brain, not your stomach.

    Vast majority here trying to lose weight probably did exactly the opposite - listening to their body - hence the need to lose weight now.

    With knowledge of all the ways it can fool you - sure you can do that.

    I did 8 mile run last night, ate a snack bar, and didn't feel hungry for dinner even after 3 hrs of getting sidetracked.
    Since I'd only had 600 cal that day prior to that point - was 800 for the day a smart move?

    Not if I want a good recovery and good bike ride today.

    That MFP base goal (net) is for no exercise expected - and probably not even an accurate assessment of daily activity burn that most underestimate.
    You do more - you eat more.
    You do less - you eat less.

    Simple life lesson that probably we all have fun adapting to when winter comes around the same time as some big tasty family meal times.
  • NorthCascades
    NorthCascades Posts: 10,970 Member
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    jwhittyworth wrote: »
    Given my current weight, I actually feel like the estimated burn may be too low. It takes a lot to move this blob up a hill at 18 mph lol.

    Rent a power meter for a week ($75 here) and you'll know with absolute certainty. Or, if you track your food and exercise meticulously, you can basically tease out the same knowledge over the course of months using your data and your scale.

    I'd suggest eating your exercise calories back. You want to lose no more than about 1 lbs per week (you said); you do that with a 500 kCal deficit. If that comes to 2,100 kCal of food per day with no exercise, then it's 2,100 + X if you exercise, X being how many calories you burned cycling and swimming and doing whatever else. If you want to lose weight as quickly as possible, you'd not eat your exercise calories back.

    Fatigue (from lack of fuel) can sneak up on you.
  • jwhittyworth
    jwhittyworth Posts: 27 Member
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    Then I guess I'll need to start focusing on greater consumption because I think cutting my output wouldnt be smart since I'm trying to increase stamina and efficiency.

    What are some good filler foods? I tend to have a couple fruits a day, hand full of nuts, cottage cheese, yogurt, and occasional salad as midday snacks. I want to up how many vegetables I eat but that will do nothing for caloric intake.

    Ideas?
  • mcginger1
    mcginger1 Posts: 128 Member
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    My favorites are sweet potatoes (plain), quinoa (or other whole grains), sauteed kale and roasted veggies (prepped with a little olive oil, salt & pepper).

    (Having the same issues as you, so following this thread...)

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