Please advise on wether I'm eating too much or too little!
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bodie83carla
Posts: 12 Member
Hi guys
I've been using MFP since June and have lost 14lbs so far. However over the past two weeks I've hit a plateau. Weight is staying exactly the same.
MFP gives me 1220 calories a day, I usually do over 10,000 steps a day and my Fitbit is linked to MFP and I eat every extra calorie I'm given for the steps so that I net around 1200 each day (eat around 1500 calories and burn approx 300).
Because of the plateau I've calculated BMR and TDEE. BMR is 1238 and TDEE 1548.
So what do I eat to start losing again? If TDEE already takes into account activity (I put lightly active as I'm a teaching assistant and those steps mainly come from that) I need to eat less than 1548 to lose weight. But how much less?
Again, on a typical day I eat around 1500 (and burn 300 for net of 1200) on average.
Am I eating too much or too little? Think I'd strugggle eating any less!
I'm 32, female and 130lbs currently. Want to lose another 10lbs.
Thanks in advance!
I've been using MFP since June and have lost 14lbs so far. However over the past two weeks I've hit a plateau. Weight is staying exactly the same.
MFP gives me 1220 calories a day, I usually do over 10,000 steps a day and my Fitbit is linked to MFP and I eat every extra calorie I'm given for the steps so that I net around 1200 each day (eat around 1500 calories and burn approx 300).
Because of the plateau I've calculated BMR and TDEE. BMR is 1238 and TDEE 1548.
So what do I eat to start losing again? If TDEE already takes into account activity (I put lightly active as I'm a teaching assistant and those steps mainly come from that) I need to eat less than 1548 to lose weight. But how much less?
Again, on a typical day I eat around 1500 (and burn 300 for net of 1200) on average.
Am I eating too much or too little? Think I'd strugggle eating any less!
I'm 32, female and 130lbs currently. Want to lose another 10lbs.
Thanks in advance!
0
Replies
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In the end, these are all estimates, even with a fitbit. I would eat the same amount of calories daily for 3-6 weeks and adjust based on actual results. But I somehow down a teacher would only have a TDEE of 1500.
ETA: Do you log daily and do you use a food scale?4 -
Dieting reduces your metabolism. So it is highly likely that you've reached your maintenance calories. If you read the message board you will discover that most successful dieters don't eat back exercise calories.
What makes you think you can't go lower than 1500? A woman should be able to go right down to 1000cals per day with no ill effects.
But the lower you go the more careful you must be to eat a balanced diet. Make every calorie count.
The good news is that once you start to get closer to your target and start increasing calorie intake alongside increased activity, you'll find your metabolism will slowly increase.
Great that you are using a tracker. Sustained activity 10k/day is just right. It will be an important part of your maintenance programme.
Good luck. Happy to friend.1 -
bodie83carla wrote: »Am I eating too much or too little?
1. Two weeks is a bump in the road, not a plateau. Think long term.
2. If by asking if you are eating too little you mean should you eat more to lose weight, the answer is no. Eating more is never the answer to losing weight.
You are doing great. Just keep up the good work and the results will follow.2 -
Vegplotter wrote: »Dieting reduces your metabolism. So it is highly likely that you've reached your maintenance calories. If you read the message board you will discover that most successful dieters don't eat back exercise calories.
What makes you think you can't go lower than 1500? A woman should be able to go right down to 1000cals per day with no ill effects.
But the lower you go the more careful you must be to eat a balanced diet. Make every calorie count.
The good news is that once you start to get closer to your target and start increasing calorie intake alongside increased activity, you'll find your metabolism will slowly increase.
Great that you are using a tracker. Sustained activity 10k/day is just right. It will be an important part of your maintenance programme.
Good luck. Happy to friend.
Adaptive thermogenesis (metabolic adaptation) is highly overstated. There are many factors that need to be taken into consideration: length of dieting, macronutrient composition, training and more.
And I would disagree with the bold.5 -
Vegplotter wrote: »Dieting reduces your metabolism. So it is highly likely that you've reached your maintenance calories. If you read the message board you will discover that most successful dieters don't eat back exercise calories.
What makes you think you can't go lower than 1500? A woman should be able to go right down to 1000cals per day with no ill effects.
But the lower you go the more careful you must be to eat a balanced diet. Make every calorie count.
The good news is that once you start to get closer to your target and start increasing calorie intake alongside increased activity, you'll find your metabolism will slowly increase.
Great that you are using a tracker. Sustained activity 10k/day is just right. It will be an important part of your maintenance programme.
Good luck. Happy to friend.
Adaptive thermogenesis (metabolic adaptation) is highly overstated. There are many factors that need to be taken into consideration: length of dieting, macronutrient composition, training and more.
And I would disagree with the bold.
Me, too. I eat back at least 50% of my exercise calories daily. The rest I leave (unless I'm particularly hungry that day) to compensate for any inaccuracies in my food logging, or in case the calorie burn from exercise is overstated.1 -
Way I see it is to 1. make better food choices, not saying that your not, just tighten it up where possible. 2. And up your activity. If you're at a plateau you might wait it out a few weeks.
3.You could stager your calories. Like one day eat 400 calories above, another 400 below so the average is still where you want it.
4. Or set your calories and not log the exercise calories for a week or so. I've seen some folks that log one calorie for light to moderate activity. If you're ravenous, then chose wisely above your calorie goal. It's no big whoop to go over with good choices.
Getting below that 130 mark is hard for some reason. I'm doing trying #4.
Good luck! Oh don't be afraid to add weights! Helps greatly!0 -
If your TDEE is 1548 and you're eating 1500, you have a 48/day deficit so will lose very slowly. BUT if you're taking 10k steps a day and still have TDEE of 1548, then you're either very short OR at an ideal weight. A smaller body uses less energy.
My guess is that you misunderstand TDEE. That is the total amount of energy your body uses in a day. Looking at Fitbit, how many TOTAL calories did you burn yesterday?
Other than that, 2 weeks is not enough to worry about. You've lost 14 pounds in ~3 months. If you have not changed anything in the past few weeks, then keep going as you are. If your weight loss stalls for another 3-4 weeks, then you can assess your accuracy. Or for the fun of it, you can now. Food scale for all solids? Logging everything? If yes & yes, then try leaving an extra 100 calories 'on the table' of your Fitbit adjustment just in case your Fitbit calories burned calculation is off. No device is perfect.bodie83carla wrote: »Hi guys
I've been using MFP since June and have lost 14lbs so far. However over the past two weeks I've hit a plateau. Weight is staying exactly the same.
MFP gives me 1220 calories a day, I usually do over 10,000 steps a day and my Fitbit is linked to MFP and I eat every extra calorie I'm given for the steps so that I net around 1200 each day (eat around 1500 calories and burn approx 300).
Because of the plateau I've calculated BMR and TDEE. BMR is 1238 and TDEE 1548.
So what do I eat to start losing again? If TDEE already takes into account activity (I put lightly active as I'm a teaching assistant and those steps mainly come from that) I need to eat less than 1548 to lose weight. But how much less?
Again, on a typical day I eat around 1500 (and burn 300 for net of 1200) on average.
Am I eating too much or too little? Think I'd strugggle eating any less!
I'm 32, female and 130lbs currently. Want to lose another 10lbs.
Thanks in advance!
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Thanks guys - I'm pretty sure food is accurate as I scan everything and also weigh food.
I could eat less than 1500 (if I have a day with no steps I keep to 1200 calories) but if I've been on my feet all day at work I really need those extra calories as I'm famished!
I'll stick to MFP for another week or two. If I haven't lost I'll start eating less.1 -
Although - by eating less I'm going to be netting UNDER 1200 - is that okay?
Is it okay to NET less than 1200 as opposed to eating under 1200?0 -
BTW the .25 multiplier to go from 1238 bmr to 1548 TDEE is sedentary. There is no exact # of steps to explain that, but if you're hitting 10k steps then your activity level is higher than sedentary.0
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StaciMarie1974 wrote: »BTW the .25 multiplier to go from 1238 bmr to 1548 TDEE is sedentary. There is no exact # of steps to explain that, but if you're hitting 10k steps then your activity level is higher than sedentary.
I put "lightly active" into TDEE as it had teacher in the description. I'm only 5ft 1 so I expect that's correct?
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What does Fitbit show for total calories burned yesterday, the day before, etc.? That is your TDEE, if you average it out. More reliable than an online calculator since its tracking your actual movement. Such as Fitbit shows I burned 1792 yesterday, and 1846 Monday.bodie83carla wrote: »StaciMarie1974 wrote: »BTW the .25 multiplier to go from 1238 bmr to 1548 TDEE is sedentary. There is no exact # of steps to explain that, but if you're hitting 10k steps then your activity level is higher than sedentary.
I put "lightly active" into TDEE as it had teacher in the description. I'm only 5ft 1 so I expect that's correct?
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Vegplotter wrote: »Dieting reduces your metabolism. So it is highly likely that you've reached your maintenance calories. If you read the message board you will discover that most successful dieters don't eat back exercise calories.
What makes you think you can't go lower than 1500? A woman should be able to go right down to 1000cals per day with no ill effects.
But the lower you go the more careful you must be to eat a balanced diet. Make every calorie count.
The good news is that once you start to get closer to your target and start increasing calorie intake alongside increased activity, you'll find your metabolism will slowly increase.
Great that you are using a tracker. Sustained activity 10k/day is just right. It will be an important part of your maintenance programme.
Good luck. Happy to friend.
A woman should not be going as low as 1000 calories.
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StaciMarie1974 wrote: »What does Fitbit show for total calories burned yesterday, the day before, etc.? That is your TDEE, if you average it out. More reliable than an online calculator since its tracking your actual movement. Such as Fitbit shows I burned 1792 yesterday, and 1846 Monday.
Sorry to sound thick - do you mean where it says "calories out" in Fitbit?0 -
Didn't do that right - do you mean where it says calories out?0
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I do not included my exercise in my food allowance.0
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Scanning does not ensure accuracy as scanning will take you to a user added entry. I'll never forget the time I scanned one food and it took me to another completely unrelated food.bodie83carla wrote: »Thanks guys - I'm pretty sure food is accurate as I scan everything and also weigh food.
I could eat less than 1500 (if I have a day with no steps I keep to 1200 calories) but if I've been on my feet all day at work I really need those extra calories as I'm famished!
I'll stick to MFP for another week or two. If I haven't lost I'll start eating less.
I also cannot see how your TDEE is so low as you are on your feet all day.Vegplotter wrote: »Dieting reduces your metabolism. So it is highly likely that you've reached your maintenance calories. If you read the message board you will discover that most successful dieters don't eat back exercise calories.
What makes you think you can't go lower than 1500? A woman should be able to go right down to 1000cals per day with no ill effects.
But the lower you go the more careful you must be to eat a balanced diet. Make every calorie count.
The good news is that once you start to get closer to your target and start increasing calorie intake alongside increased activity, you'll find your metabolism will slowly increase.
Great that you are using a tracker. Sustained activity 10k/day is just right. It will be an important part of your maintenance programme.
Good luck. Happy to friend.
1. Mfp is designed so that you eat exercise calories back unless TDEE -20 has been manually added.
2. 1000. Nope. Women's minimums are 1200. If OP has been exercising and doesn't eat back done calories, she could possibly be netting 900 calories.
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Perhaps my TDEE is low due to my height of 5ft 1?
I do check food when scanned to make sure it matches the packet etc - I also check websites for calories of foods etc.0 -
bodie83carla wrote: »Perhaps my TDEE is low due to my height of 5ft 1?
I do check food when scanned to make sure it matches the packet etc - I also check websites for calories of foods etc.
Your TDEE is a combination of what your body would burn if you do nothing (which can be lower if you are a smaller person) and what your burn through activity. If you are on your feet all day, that will make your TDEE higher, even if you are a shorter person.1 -
I would stick with what you are doing and give it more time. If you lost on it and you know you are tracking your intake correctly just keep plowing ahead.0
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