Guide to calorie deficits

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  • kje2011
    kje2011 Posts: 502 Member
    bump
  • sunshinemonkey
    sunshinemonkey Posts: 44
    thanks banks!
  • fionarama
    fionarama Posts: 788 Member
    I get it - my problem is I really struggle to eat the calories. I just can't think of anything else I want to eat. I feel satisfied with what i have eaten. Isn't it wrong to eat more than what you want to eat? I feel your own body must tell you best after all?
  • dad106
    dad106 Posts: 4,868 Member
    Bumping this for later.. I had my activity level set at sedetary from the moment I started and wondered why I had such a hard time not over eating.. it's because I was actually supposed to be at lightly active. Now that i've upped it, the calorie amount is perfect.. and you just confirmed that for me.

    Thanks Banks :)
  • SHBoss1673
    SHBoss1673 Posts: 7,161 Member
    I get it - my problem is I really struggle to eat the calories. I just can't think of anything else I want to eat. I feel satisfied with what i have eaten. Isn't it wrong to eat more than what you want to eat? I feel your own body must tell you best after all?

    I looked at your diary a little, firstly, I would recommend more veggies, and a more varied type of veggies, mix up the colors and try to get in 4 to 5 servings a day if possible.

    Also, NUTS. I know it sounds to easy but nuts are a great, super high density calorie source that holds both good fats and proteins. AND they don't fill you up and make you feel bloated, so you could add something like a 1/2 serving of sunflower seeds to a salad, and you wouldn't even notice it but it would add a nice healthy chunk of calories on to your food. Don't overlook avocados as well, great source of high quality fats in avocados.
  • SHBoss1673
    SHBoss1673 Posts: 7,161 Member
    Bumping this for later.. I had my activity level set at sedetary from the moment I started and wondered why I had such a hard time not over eating.. it's because I was actually supposed to be at lightly active. Now that i've upped it, the calorie amount is perfect.. and you just confirmed that for me.

    Thanks Banks :)

    don't be afraid to customize either, once you have a good grip on what an activity level is, feel free to examine your life and push your calories up or down. Those pre-set activity levels are generic and made to be altered. Really, you should be looking at your specific situation and tweaking by using the "custom" goals instead of the wizard. I.E. maybe you're not quite active but you're more than lightly active, set your maintenance calories somewhere between the two and you'll have a more accurate reading. Or maybe you went to a doctor with a metabolic testing facility and you actually know your maintenance calories, AWESOME. Put that in instead and your readings will be more accurate.
  • dad106
    dad106 Posts: 4,868 Member
    Bumping this for later.. I had my activity level set at sedetary from the moment I started and wondered why I had such a hard time not over eating.. it's because I was actually supposed to be at lightly active. Now that i've upped it, the calorie amount is perfect.. and you just confirmed that for me.

    Thanks Banks :)

    don't be afraid to customize either, once you have a good grip on what an activity level is, feel free to examine your life and push your calories up or down. Those pre-set activity levels are generic and made to be altered. Really, you should be looking at your specific situation and tweaking by using the "custom" goals instead of the wizard. I.E. maybe you're not quite active but you're more than lightly active, set your maintenance calories somewhere between the two and you'll have a more accurate reading. Or maybe you went to a doctor with a metabolic testing facility and you actually know your maintenance calories, AWESOME. Put that in instead and your readings will be more accurate.

    Yea, I understand that. I know that nothing is perfect but right now the 1570 it's got me at is working.. it's what I was eating most days anyway when I was at the sedentary level. I did customize my macronutrients though to a 40/30/30 ratio.. so we'll see how well that goes.
  • ladyhawk00
    ladyhawk00 Posts: 2,457 Member
    Bump
  • jmore85
    jmore85 Posts: 36
    That's a helpful post, thanks!
  • westcoastSW
    westcoastSW Posts: 320 Member
    Bump :)
  • nansidhe
    nansidhe Posts: 19 Member
    my pleasure. but just remember, when I say a month, recognize that that is an artificial limit I added based on averages I've seen, it may or may not be what you realize, what you want to do is track how you feel. If you go a month on higher calories and don't GAIN, then you're doing it right.

    I guess I should give an update--if just to confirm to people everything that you stated in your original post. After bringing my calorie intake up to 1,200 a day, I gained a total of 1.5 pounds. So, I guess that I really was in starvation mode previously.

    Roughly three weeks later and still "netting" at least 1,200 calories a day, I'm losing again. I've lost the 1.5 pounds that I have gained plus I've lost an additional 3.5 more.

    Looking forward to some day finally seeing what I'm supposed to look like. :o)
  • SHBoss1673
    SHBoss1673 Posts: 7,161 Member
    I guess I should give an update--if just to confirm to people everything that you stated in your original post. After bringing my calorie intake up to 1,200 a day, I gained a total of 1.5 pounds. So, I guess that I really was in starvation mode previously.

    Roughly three weeks later and still "netting" at least 1,200 calories a day, I'm losing again. I've lost the 1.5 pounds that I have gained plus I've lost an additional 3.5 more.

    Looking forward to some day finally seeing what I'm supposed to look like. :o)

    wow, sound's like your body is making up for lost "loss" time. Good work!
  • ozycat
    ozycat Posts: 72 Member
    bump!
  • LauraMarie37
    LauraMarie37 Posts: 283 Member
    Banks thanks so much for posting this! I have a question about activity level. Is the level based on how much you workout or your level of activity without working out? I am a stay at home mom during the week. Do one hour and 20 minutes of hot yoga five times a week and on the weekend I am a cocktail server at a very fast paced casino for eight hours two nughts a week. I have my activity level at lightly active then add in my workouts. But wondering if I need to up my activity level to moderate?


    I have been using MFP for three days. I got the app on my phone and I am loving it. I am pretty lean. 18-19% body fat 5'8 148 pounds. BMI 22.5 just looking to lose the last eight pounds or drop one more dress size. Not so much concerned with the number on the scale. I started added some gym sessions 3x a week on top of the hot yoga 5x a weeks to burn the extra fat. I know now I wasnt eating enough calories and after a few days would feel like crap and eat everything it site that was carby and sugary. It's been a vicious cycle of me reducing what I eat to lose the last little bit of weight. I do it for a week and lose 4 pounds or so but cant maintain it and spend the next few days gaining it back eating everything in site.

    Thanks so much for sharing your knowledge!
    Jen

    Bump; also, I'm curious to see what your answer to this person is regarding her activity level. I'm in a similar situation in that I workout a lot (I'm a professional dancer), but when I'm not working out I'm pretty sedentary. Also, while my cross training workout are as intense as I can make them, my hours of rehearsal and teaching aren't necessarily that intense (though sometimes they are; it depends on the day).

    Basically, I read somewhere that your "activity level" really means your activity level outside of what you log. Since I log my cross-training and rehearsal, and eat those calories back, should I consider myself sedentary/lightly active because I am pretty sedentary outside of what I already log?
  • rileysowner
    rileysowner Posts: 8,330 Member
    bump
  • charlene77
    charlene77 Posts: 250 Member
    I wasn't going to read through the whole 19 pages, so someone may have already said this.....but for someone to actually work this out properly I think it would be important to let a person know where they take their calories off of! Some people take it off their BMR, some people take it off of their total daily needs. Here is an example of what a misinformed person would do: 1760 is my BMR, I am obese, so I should lose 2 pds a week. Therefore, I should be eating 760 calories per day. We wouldn't want that now would we? I think this is an important addition to the origional post, respectfully :)
  • SHBoss1673
    SHBoss1673 Posts: 7,161 Member
    I wasn't going to read through the whole 19 pages, so someone may have already said this.....but for someone to actually work this out properly I think it would be important to let a person know where they take their calories off of! Some people take it off their BMR, some people take it off of their total daily needs. Here is an example of what a misinformed person would do: 1760 is my BMR, I am obese, so I should lose 2 pds a week. Therefore, I should be eating 760 calories per day. We wouldn't want that now would we? I think this is an important addition to the origional post, respectfully :)

    BMR should not be a consideration when using this guide. It's not needed for this.
  • lcarter25
    lcarter25 Posts: 286 Member
    I am going to zig zag my calories. Do I eat extra on the days I exercise?
  • innerfashionista
    innerfashionista Posts: 451 Member
    bmp
  • SHBoss1673
    SHBoss1673 Posts: 7,161 Member
    I am going to zig zag my calories. Do I eat extra on the days I exercise?

    "zig zagging" or calorie cycling is an advanced technique and doesnt' fit with this basic guide. The question you pose can't really be answered easily, that depends on your calorie cycle, how big of a gap you are trying to impose, which days will be your high calorie days in relation to your workout days, the type of workout, what your body fat % is...etc. As you can see, this goes far deeper and you need to do some very deep investigation not only into the logic behind calorie cycling, but also how you will set it up for yourself individually. As one might imagine, much of this would depend on your specific situation, and therefore it would be wrong of me to try and answer a question like this without being far more well versed about your situation than I am (which, in most cases requires the type of consult a dietitian would do with a client). In other words, don't just jump in and say "I think I'll try zig zagging my calories." Have a specific reason and goal for doing this, otherwise you're grasping at straws.

    SIDE note: I am all for calorie cycling if you do it the correct way, I just believe it's a more advanced form of nutrition and should not be undertaken without some pretty serious planning and a specific goal in mind.
  • lcarter25
    lcarter25 Posts: 286 Member
    umm thanks i've just read its good for plateaus. I'm gonna eat the higher amounts on my exercise days.

    Im sure I will be fine
  • tmontgomery69
    tmontgomery69 Posts: 180 Member
    bump
  • SunLove8
    SunLove8 Posts: 693 Member
    Bump
  • smlamb33
    smlamb33 Posts: 342 Member
    BUMP
  • Stacey661
    Stacey661 Posts: 15
    bump
  • Jujubie
    Jujubie Posts: 130 Member
    Someone has just attracted my attention to this post. What a great explanation.
  • momcindy
    momcindy Posts: 194 Member
    This was helpful...
  • ladyhawk00
    ladyhawk00 Posts: 2,457 Member
    Bump
  • JeSuisPrest
    JeSuisPrest Posts: 2,005 Member
    bump
  • rileysowner
    rileysowner Posts: 8,330 Member
    bump
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