Guide to calorie deficits

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  • megankayden
    megankayden Posts: 37 Member
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    Thanks!
  • bailey1981
    bailey1981 Posts: 9
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    Thank you so much for posting this very informative piece.
    Can I jsut further clarify something with you though- and you'll have probably heard it all before so sorry if I have missed it.

    I have a desk job so I keyed myself as being "sedentary". However, I am quite an active person working out 4-5 times a week, which is normally quite hardcore exercise; boxercise, circuits, spinning etc. I have also been training for a triathlon so lots of training there.
    I have been doing MFP for 31/2 months but only managed to lose 10lbs. Whilst I am happy with this, I thought given the exercise and the diet I have been religious about, weight loss would be quicker. I selected wanting to lose 2lbs per week when originally inputting MFP so I am given a calorie goal of 1200. (I have 28lbs to lose)
    I try to eat all my exercise point but sometimes have 100-150 left over.

    Reading what you posted, I am beginning to think I am not eating enough? Can you help please.
    Thanks
  • marquesajen
    marquesajen Posts: 641
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    Rock on!
  • SHBoss1673
    SHBoss1673 Posts: 7,161 Member
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    Thank you so much for posting this very informative piece.
    Can I jsut further clarify something with you though- and you'll have probably heard it all before so sorry if I have missed it.

    I have a desk job so I keyed myself as being "sedentary". However, I am quite an active person working out 4-5 times a week, which is normally quite hardcore exercise; boxercise, circuits, spinning etc. I have also been training for a triathlon so lots of training there.
    I have been doing MFP for 31/2 months but only managed to lose 10lbs. Whilst I am happy with this, I thought given the exercise and the diet I have been religious about, weight loss would be quicker. I selected wanting to lose 2lbs per week when originally inputting MFP so I am given a calorie goal of 1200. (I have 28lbs to lose)
    I try to eat all my exercise point but sometimes have 100-150 left over.

    Reading what you posted, I am beginning to think I am not eating enough? Can you help please.
    Thanks

    yeah, with 28 lbs to lose, I doubt 2 lbs a week is reasonable, I'd look more towards the 1 lb a week range, maybe, if you're body fat percentage is high, you could do 1.5, but that's a big maybe. And no, I doubt you're truly sedentary if you're working out hard 5 days a week, probably somewhere in the middle between sedentary and lightly active, you can customize your actual weight loss if you really want, to account for that without jumping all the way up to lightly active.
  • mrogers52
    mrogers52 Posts: 378 Member
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    bump
  • MiaMcBetty
    MiaMcBetty Posts: 45
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    Bump.. :)
  • rainbowbuggy
    rainbowbuggy Posts: 320
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    bump
  • Ilovedrinkingtea
    Ilovedrinkingtea Posts: 597 Member
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    Bump! xx
  • suz74
    suz74 Posts: 77 Member
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    Thankyou, this definitely helps a lot. :-)
  • SHBoss1673
    SHBoss1673 Posts: 7,161 Member
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    Thankyou, this definitely helps a lot. :-)

    my pleasure. glad to help!
  • kje2011
    kje2011 Posts: 502 Member
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    bump
  • sunshinemonkey
    sunshinemonkey Posts: 44
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    thanks banks!
  • fionarama
    fionarama Posts: 788 Member
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    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
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    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
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    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
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    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
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    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
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    Bump
  • jmore85
    jmore85 Posts: 36
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    That's a helpful post, thanks!
  • westcoastSW
    westcoastSW Posts: 320 Member
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    Bump :)

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