I am soooo confused

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  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,874 Member
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    deedee3732 wrote: »
    Is it really just CICO or is keto the answer? Vegan? Low carb? So many conflicting viewpoints and everyone has extremely convincing arguments.

    CICO is an energy equation...it is at play always, regardless of what particular diet or WOE you are doing. All diets work the same way...you lose weight in a calorie (energy) deficit. Low carb, including keto may be beneficial for some if they have insulin resistance though I don't think going to the extreme of keto is remotely necessary...it's just the current diet de-joure. Some people also experience appetite suppression when they reduce carbohydrates which can aid in weight loss...I'm not one of them.

    A calorie is just a unit of energy. You require XXXX amount of energy to maintain your existence, go about your day to day, perform exercise, etc. When you consume a balance of energy (ie your calories coming in are commensurate with your energy expenditure), you maintain your weight. When you consume energy in excess of what you require to maintain the status quo, that surplus energy is stored for later use as body fat. When you consume less energy than your body requires to perform all of its functions, you burn body fat to make up the difference...it's kind of like a backup generator...when you don't provide enough energy for your body, your backup generator kicks on to make up the difference.
  • rosiorama
    rosiorama Posts: 300 Member
    edited March 2019
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    tmpecus78 wrote: »
    julesdechaine wrote: »
    Don't preach, because you wont find anyone thats not an elite athlete that eats and works out better than me.

    :D

    Ok, I'm not the only one who thought this sentence was a ridiculous. :s

    Nope. Anything after a statement like that is only eyeroll-worthy.

    OP, It’s all about CICO. Buy a food scale, weigh everything and make sure you log accurately. Eat what you like, but keep within a reasonable calorie deficit. Crash diets make you suffer unnecessarily, and the fad diets are only trying to make CICO more complicated than it is. Counting calories doesn’t sound cool but it works if you give it a chance and do it properly.
  • hope516
    hope516 Posts: 1,133 Member
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    Bottom line the only reason ANY diet works is because of CICO. There is no magical pill or eating formula outside of that to just absorb fat. (as much as I pray for this daily...lol) With that being said you need to find which of these methods works better for YOU. I have found that cutting out carbs and eating high fat works for me, for now.

    The food is satisfying and I don't feel deprived. But for other ppl that love sugar and bread it wouldn't work for them if they felt deprived always.

    You need to find what works for you. Ultimately, you don't have to cut anything out of your diet as long as you stick to the principle of CICO.
  • zeejane03
    zeejane03 Posts: 993 Member
    edited March 2019
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    Bwilty7 wrote: »
    GOAL weight times 12 gives you your calorie goal.

    37%carbs/33%protein/30% healthy fats.

    It's great that you've found a way that works for you but macros ratios are a pretty individual thing. When I bother to track my intake I'm usually at around 60% carbs because I eat a plant focused diet. Someone else may do better with a low carb macro ratio etc.

    Also, your math doesn't work for me-if I do my current goal weight x12 it puts me at almost my maintenance calorie intake. That wouldn't get me to where I want to be at.
  • debrakgoogins
    debrakgoogins Posts: 2,034 Member
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    Bwilty7 wrote: »
    I disagree - the masses generally aren't out burning 7-800 calories over and above their BMR.

    Sure, the masses aren't but some of us are. I can easily burn 7-800 calories over my BMR when I go for a longish run. I burned 1100 calories on Sunday alone. How do I calculate my TDEE? Experience - it's 2100. I have been here for six years. I know what numbers contribute to weight loss for me. I know what numbers cause weight gain. I know what it takes for me to maintain. I also know what it takes to fuel my body, MY body, not yours or anyone elses. When I am training for a race, I need more carbs. When I am concentrating on weighlifting, I need more protein. Every person is different and assigning a blanket formula for success is ludicrous.
  • WinoGelato
    WinoGelato Posts: 13,454 Member
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    Bwilty7 wrote: »
    WinoGelato wrote: »
    Bwilty7 wrote: »
    GOAL weight times 12 gives you your calorie goal.

    37%carbs/33%protein/30% healthy fats.

    These kinds of generic formulas and blanket macro splits rarely work for the masses. It fails to take into consideration activity level and an adjustable rate of loss once nearer to goal.

    Your formula would have me at 1440 calories. Is that gross or net intake?

    My TDEE is around 2100 so this would have me losing faster than 1 lb/week. Do you think that’s adviseable?

    I disagree - the masses generally aren't out burning 7-800 calories over and above their BMR. You shouldn't have to adjust once you get.closer to your goal in this formula because you'll be closer to homeostasis.

    How do you calculate your TDEE and BMR? InBody Scan? Faulty online formulas? Blood test?

    BMR is the amount of calories your body needs to just sustain basic functions - anyone with a lightly active or higher lifestyle that incorporates exercise regularly is actually likely to be burning several hundred calories above their BMR.

    Knowledge of my own TDEE comes from my FitBit and is borne out by my own data and results.

    As others have said - macro percentages that provide satiety and fit within an individual’s preferred way of eating also vary from person to person. There are people who thrive on HCLF. There are people who need to eat very low carb diets in order to help manage medical conditions. There are people who find a balanced macro split to be optimal for their own satisfaction and adherence.

    Again - blanket formulas rarely work but why not advise OP to start with the numbers provided by MFP and tweak from there?
  • deannalfisher
    deannalfisher Posts: 5,600 Member
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    Bwilty7 wrote: »
    GOAL weight times 12 gives you your calorie goal.

    37%carbs/33%protein/30% healthy fats.

    by your numbers i should eat 1680cal a day (assuming a goal weight of 145lbs - which would put me in normal BMI)...haha, i would kill someone from hunger on that - i maintain (with a normal weight fluctuation) on 2700cal a day...1600 would have me in a pretty steep deficit
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 32,170 Member
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    Bwilty7 wrote: »
    GOAL weight times 12 gives you your calorie goal.

    37%carbs/33%protein/30% healthy fats.

    As a universal? LOL, no. That would give me 1620 calories daily based on current body weight. I'm now in maintenance, up a few pounds because Winter, and losing slowly at 1850 before exercise. If I went by ultimate goal weight, your formula would give me 1400-1500: Serious underfueling.

    C=50%, P=20%, F=30% gets me as close to my gram goals as I can get by percent (I'm eating to 100g P, 50g F, who cares about carbs if calories and energy are OK).

    People should let MFP estimate their calorie goal (even though it, too, underestimates me), and test-drive that for 4-6 weeks, then adjust.
    Bwilty7 wrote: »
    WinoGelato wrote: »
    Bwilty7 wrote: »
    GOAL weight times 12 gives you your calorie goal.

    37%carbs/33%protein/30% healthy fats.

    These kinds of generic formulas and blanket macro splits rarely work for the masses. It fails to take into consideration activity level and an adjustable rate of loss once nearer to goal.

    Your formula would have me at 1440 calories. Is that gross or net intake?

    My TDEE is around 2100 so this would have me losing faster than 1 lb/week. Do you think that’s adviseable?

    I disagree - the masses generally aren't out burning 7-800 calories over and above their BMR. You shouldn't have to adjust once you get.closer to your goal in this formula because you'll be closer to homeostasis.

    How do you calculate your TDEE and BMR? InBody Scan? Faulty online formulas? Blood test?

    I calculate my NEAT/TDEE by having logged my intake, exercise, and scale weight as accurately as practical for nearly 4 years. I don't care what my BMR is, particularly, except as a matter of idle curiousity. All I need to know is my current approximate TDEE, and be clear that losing fast would be crazy-stupid, and everything will be fine.

    The "let MFP guess and test for 4-6 weeks" method works fine. People who want to eat the same calories daily, rather than using the MFP "log and eat exercise calories separately" method should use a TDEE calculator instead, to get a starting estimate.

    That's all assuming (as your posts do) that a person wants to calorie count.

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