TDEE
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umbramirror
Posts: 256 Member
Anyone want to help me determine a rough estimate of my TDEE?
I have used TDEE calculators to get a general idea of where my TDEE falls and it seems to be somewhere between 2100-2300 based on whether I am moderately active or very active, though some have suggested to me that it could be even higher (while others say it could be lower).
I have been maintaining roughly since June and seem to average between 125-127 lbs. I am 5'6", 30 years old, and weighed in this morning at 126.8. Lately, day to day I can be anywhere from 126 to 128. Though I would like to maintain at a slightly lower weight, it seems like my body has decided that this is where it would like to maintain. I have estimated that I'm likely at around 19% body fat, and would like to recomp to reduce my body fat a bit more.
Since my weight tends to fluctuate so much, I haven't been able to estimate with my progress whether my caloric intake is appropriate. Lately, I have been averaging around 1750 calories Monday - Friday, and typically will have closer to 2000 or a bit higher on the weekends. I haven't seen any major drops in my weight.
Some information about my daily activity:
I have an office job which keeps me confined mostly to my desk between the hours of 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., though I do get up and walk around or do little exercises throughout the day. I also typically take about a half hour walk during my lunch break. After work, I usually run some errands, I make dinner, walk around the house doing some things, and sit down to watch TV for an hour or two before going to bed.
I workout 6-7 days per week early in the morning before work. My schedule typically looks like this:
Monday: 60-70 min heavy weight lifting (5x5), followed by 15 min HIIT type workout
Tuesday: 40 min vigorous calisthenics, followed by 20 min of some type of cardio (intervals mostly)
Wednesday: same as Monday
Thursday: same as Tuesday
Friday: same as Monday
Saturday: 40 min vigorous calisthenics, followed by a kettlebell circuit (30 min)
Sunday: Hiking or some kind of light cardio
Based on this info, could you guys help me out a bit?
I have used TDEE calculators to get a general idea of where my TDEE falls and it seems to be somewhere between 2100-2300 based on whether I am moderately active or very active, though some have suggested to me that it could be even higher (while others say it could be lower).
I have been maintaining roughly since June and seem to average between 125-127 lbs. I am 5'6", 30 years old, and weighed in this morning at 126.8. Lately, day to day I can be anywhere from 126 to 128. Though I would like to maintain at a slightly lower weight, it seems like my body has decided that this is where it would like to maintain. I have estimated that I'm likely at around 19% body fat, and would like to recomp to reduce my body fat a bit more.
Since my weight tends to fluctuate so much, I haven't been able to estimate with my progress whether my caloric intake is appropriate. Lately, I have been averaging around 1750 calories Monday - Friday, and typically will have closer to 2000 or a bit higher on the weekends. I haven't seen any major drops in my weight.
Some information about my daily activity:
I have an office job which keeps me confined mostly to my desk between the hours of 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., though I do get up and walk around or do little exercises throughout the day. I also typically take about a half hour walk during my lunch break. After work, I usually run some errands, I make dinner, walk around the house doing some things, and sit down to watch TV for an hour or two before going to bed.
I workout 6-7 days per week early in the morning before work. My schedule typically looks like this:
Monday: 60-70 min heavy weight lifting (5x5), followed by 15 min HIIT type workout
Tuesday: 40 min vigorous calisthenics, followed by 20 min of some type of cardio (intervals mostly)
Wednesday: same as Monday
Thursday: same as Tuesday
Friday: same as Monday
Saturday: 40 min vigorous calisthenics, followed by a kettlebell circuit (30 min)
Sunday: Hiking or some kind of light cardio
Based on this info, could you guys help me out a bit?
3
Replies
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Honestly, if you’ve been maintaining since June I’d carry on exactly as you have been doing. Your weight is towards the lower end of the healthy BMI range and despite what you’ve said you think, your fluctuations are perfectly normal.
At most you’re fluctuating in a 4lb range which is as expected for anyone due to water retention, sodium intake, digestive transit etc. Not to mention you’re a female of menstruating age so you’ll almost certainly fluctuate throughout your cycle.
Unless I’m missing something you have nothing to be concerned about. 😊7 -
I should have read the OP more carefully.
If you are maintaining you are at or around your TDEE.4 -
So if you are maintaining on 1750 through the week, and 2k on weekends that pretty much tells you what your TDEE is...about 1850...
so the question back is what do you need help with?5 -
I figured this was the case, but I wanted to determine a more exact number and also figure out what my activity level would be categorized as.
If I'm maintaining at 1750 during the week, with around 2000 on the weekends, that would be make my TDEE roughly 1800. Is this correct? It seems rather low.
Also, I want to add that I'm always hungry. This hasn't been a very comfortable maintenance period. It has been a significant struggle. As a result of my hunger, I've had some episodes of binging and have still been struggling with resisting them.
I don't want to have this feeling of restriction constantly because it feels like I am really pushing myself which puts me on the edge of wanting to consume a lot more. Is this really how low my TDEE is? It just seems absurd to me. I shouldn't feel like I'm dieting in maintenance.2 -
Sounds like you are maintaining, keep it up. The best way to measure TDEE is real life results. Also keep in mind 19% is pretty lean for a female (depending on how accurate it was measured) so progress can be slower.
Oh I didn't see your post above. Sometimes there is a balance between activity/exercise and intake, if you are doing too much intense cardio which for some can increase hunger vs. moderate or increasing your NEAT which won't. You might want to play around with that. Also your macros.. playing around with protein, fat and carbs, as well as fibre intake, meal timing etc. can help too. It could also be your logging.5 -
I use Kevin Hall's BWP. You can actually start with your original weight and work backwards. It takes into account some metabolic slowing.
Cheers!3 -
umbramirror wrote: »I figured this was the case, but I wanted to determine a more exact number and also figure out what my activity level would be categorized as.
If I'm maintaining at 1750 during the week, with around 2000 on the weekends, that would be make my TDEE roughly 1800. Is this correct? It seems rather low.
Also, I want to add that I'm always hungry. This hasn't been a very comfortable maintenance period. It has been a significant struggle. As a result of my hunger, I've had some episodes of binging and have still been struggling with resisting them.
I don't want to have this feeling of restriction constantly because it feels like I am really pushing myself which puts me on the edge of wanting to consume a lot more. Is this really how low my TDEE is? It just seems absurd to me. I shouldn't feel like I'm dieting in maintenance.
You may be eating more than you log. It is extremely common. Are you weighing everything you eat on a food scale? Are you personally verifying the MFP database entries you choose? Are you being sure to count all the little things like cream in your coffee and cooking oils?4 -
Sounds like you are maintaining, keep it up. The best way to measure TDEE is real life results. Also keep in mind 19% is pretty lean for a female (depending on how accurate it was measured) so progress can be slower.
Oh I didn't see your post above. Sometimes there is a balance between activity/exercise and intake, if you are doing too much intense cardio which for some can increase hunger vs. moderate or increasing your NEAT which won't. You might want to play around with that. Also your macros.. playing around with protein, fat and carbs, as well as fibre intake, meal timing etc. can help too. It could also be your logging.
Hmm... I see... I'll have to look into this. I like the way my routine is at the moment, so maybe I'll have to play around with my macros. Also, yes, it could be my logging. Maybe I'm not being as accurate as I think I am.psychod787 wrote: »I use Kevin Hall's BWP. You can actually start with your original weight and work backwards. It takes into account some metabolic slowing.
Cheers!
I'll take a look at this, thanks!umbramirror wrote: »I figured this was the case, but I wanted to determine a more exact number and also figure out what my activity level would be categorized as.
If I'm maintaining at 1750 during the week, with around 2000 on the weekends, that would be make my TDEE roughly 1800. Is this correct? It seems rather low.
Also, I want to add that I'm always hungry. This hasn't been a very comfortable maintenance period. It has been a significant struggle. As a result of my hunger, I've had some episodes of binging and have still been struggling with resisting them.
I don't want to have this feeling of restriction constantly because it feels like I am really pushing myself which puts me on the edge of wanting to consume a lot more. Is this really how low my TDEE is? It just seems absurd to me. I shouldn't feel like I'm dieting in maintenance.
You may be eating more than you log. It is extremely common. Are you weighing everything you eat on a food scale? Are you personally verifying the MFP database entries you choose? Are you being sure to count all the little things like cream in your coffee and cooking oils?
It's definitely possible. It's probably more likely that I'm eating more than less than what I'm logging. No, I don't weigh everything but I do weigh most of what I eat. When I pick up food somewhere I don't usually weigh, and if I measure a liquid of some kind, I don't usually weigh that. I might be missing some things that do add up. I usually use a cooking oil spray minimally, so I don't usually add that in but maybe I should.
If I am underestimating my caloric intake, then why am I so hungry though? It's very irritating. I feel like I don't eat much at all. It seems like others around me each so much more than I do, while maintaining their weight and doing much less activity than me. I know everyone has a different range based on their individual differences, but it's very frustrating for me.2 -
umbramirror wrote: »Sounds like you are maintaining, keep it up. The best way to measure TDEE is real life results. Also keep in mind 19% is pretty lean for a female (depending on how accurate it was measured) so progress can be slower.
Oh I didn't see your post above. Sometimes there is a balance between activity/exercise and intake, if you are doing too much intense cardio which for some can increase hunger vs. moderate or increasing your NEAT which won't. You might want to play around with that. Also your macros.. playing around with protein, fat and carbs, as well as fibre intake, meal timing etc. can help too. It could also be your logging.
Hmm... I see... I'll have to look into this. I like the way my routine is at the moment, so maybe I'll have to play around with my macros. Also, yes, it could be my logging. Maybe I'm not being as accurate as I think I am.psychod787 wrote: »I use Kevin Hall's BWP. You can actually start with your original weight and work backwards. It takes into account some metabolic slowing.
Cheers!
I'll take a look at this, thanks!umbramirror wrote: »I figured this was the case, but I wanted to determine a more exact number and also figure out what my activity level would be categorized as.
If I'm maintaining at 1750 during the week, with around 2000 on the weekends, that would be make my TDEE roughly 1800. Is this correct? It seems rather low.
Also, I want to add that I'm always hungry. This hasn't been a very comfortable maintenance period. It has been a significant struggle. As a result of my hunger, I've had some episodes of binging and have still been struggling with resisting them.
I don't want to have this feeling of restriction constantly because it feels like I am really pushing myself which puts me on the edge of wanting to consume a lot more. Is this really how low my TDEE is? It just seems absurd to me. I shouldn't feel like I'm dieting in maintenance.
You may be eating more than you log. It is extremely common. Are you weighing everything you eat on a food scale? Are you personally verifying the MFP database entries you choose? Are you being sure to count all the little things like cream in your coffee and cooking oils?
It's definitely possible. It's probably more likely that I'm eating more than less than what I'm logging. No, I don't weigh everything but I do weigh most of what I eat. When I pick up food somewhere I don't usually weigh, and if I measure a liquid of some kind, I don't usually weigh that. I might be missing some things that do add up. I usually use a cooking oil spray minimally, so I don't usually add that in but maybe I should.
If I am underestimating my caloric intake, then why am I so hungry though? It's very irritating. I feel like I don't eat much at all. It seems like others around me each so much more than I do, while maintaining their weight and doing much less activity than me. I know everyone has a different range based on their individual differences, but it's very frustrating for me.
What have you tried thus far to solve your hunger? You can't just assume the correct number of calories will do it.
People smarter than me might be able to explain why your current BF percentage may also be increasing your hunger. I believe that is a possibility but I do not know how it works or when it applies.3 -
umbramirror wrote: »Sounds like you are maintaining, keep it up. The best way to measure TDEE is real life results. Also keep in mind 19% is pretty lean for a female (depending on how accurate it was measured) so progress can be slower.
Oh I didn't see your post above. Sometimes there is a balance between activity/exercise and intake, if you are doing too much intense cardio which for some can increase hunger vs. moderate or increasing your NEAT which won't. You might want to play around with that. Also your macros.. playing around with protein, fat and carbs, as well as fibre intake, meal timing etc. can help too. It could also be your logging.
Hmm... I see... I'll have to look into this. I like the way my routine is at the moment, so maybe I'll have to play around with my macros. Also, yes, it could be my logging. Maybe I'm not being as accurate as I think I am.psychod787 wrote: »I use Kevin Hall's BWP. You can actually start with your original weight and work backwards. It takes into account some metabolic slowing.
Cheers!
I'll take a look at this, thanks!umbramirror wrote: »I figured this was the case, but I wanted to determine a more exact number and also figure out what my activity level would be categorized as.
If I'm maintaining at 1750 during the week, with around 2000 on the weekends, that would be make my TDEE roughly 1800. Is this correct? It seems rather low.
Also, I want to add that I'm always hungry. This hasn't been a very comfortable maintenance period. It has been a significant struggle. As a result of my hunger, I've had some episodes of binging and have still been struggling with resisting them.
I don't want to have this feeling of restriction constantly because it feels like I am really pushing myself which puts me on the edge of wanting to consume a lot more. Is this really how low my TDEE is? It just seems absurd to me. I shouldn't feel like I'm dieting in maintenance.
You may be eating more than you log. It is extremely common. Are you weighing everything you eat on a food scale? Are you personally verifying the MFP database entries you choose? Are you being sure to count all the little things like cream in your coffee and cooking oils?
It's definitely possible. It's probably more likely that I'm eating more than less than what I'm logging. No, I don't weigh everything but I do weigh most of what I eat. When I pick up food somewhere I don't usually weigh, and if I measure a liquid of some kind, I don't usually weigh that. I might be missing some things that do add up. I usually use a cooking oil spray minimally, so I don't usually add that in but maybe I should.
If I am underestimating my caloric intake, then why am I so hungry though? It's very irritating. I feel like I don't eat much at all. It seems like others around me each so much more than I do, while maintaining their weight and doing much less activity than me. I know everyone has a different range based on their individual differences, but it's very frustrating for me.
The research points that people who are at a reduced weight generally have to either eat less or exercise more than someone who has always been their current weight. According to Libeils work, it can be a 20% difference in calorie needs for weight reduced. Some studies have not shown a decrease in tdee, though many have. It could also be decreases in NEAT. I also believe that some people are wired with a higher appetite than others. Genetics may play a role. One of the reasons I am a fan of lowering the calorie density of your diet in general. It's been shown that satiety has not soo much to do with overall calories in a food, but the volume, fiber, and protein. The SI completed in 1996 shows this.1 -
umbramirror wrote: »I figured this was the case, but I wanted to determine a more exact number and also figure out what my activity level would be categorized as.
If I'm maintaining at 1750 during the week, with around 2000 on the weekends, that would be make my TDEE roughly 1800. Is this correct? It seems rather low.
Also, I want to add that I'm always hungry. This hasn't been a very comfortable maintenance period. It has been a significant struggle. As a result of my hunger, I've had some episodes of binging and have still been struggling with resisting them.
I don't want to have this feeling of restriction constantly because it feels like I am really pushing myself which puts me on the edge of wanting to consume a lot more. Is this really how low my TDEE is? It just seems absurd to me. I shouldn't feel like I'm dieting in maintenance.
Your real world results trump calculator estimates. You don't get any more exact than your own data and real world results. Your weight fluctuations aren't big...they are completely normal. The other thing is that while you may be logging around 1800 calories, you could in fact be eating more considering inherent inaccuracies in logging. Whatever the case may be, you're maintaining...you are at maintenance. You are at the lower end of BMI and very lean for a female which is going to reduce your calories. Whether male of female, maintaining a very lean physique is not all that easy...I know guys who do and they have to be very restrictive and disciplined in their diets...which is why I've never had any interest in being 10% BF and 6 pack abs and whatnot.2 -
What have you tried thus far to solve your hunger? You can't just assume the correct number of calories will do it.
People smarter than me might be able to explain why your current BF percentage may also be increasing your hunger. I believe that is a possibility but I do not know how it works or when it applies.
Admittedly, not much. I guess the only thing I do is sometimes eat more than I should, and like I mentioned before, I have had numerous binges in the past month that had me back and forth with my weight for a bit. I haven't had a binge in over 2 weeks, but I feel at risk constantly.
I really don't know what else to do, except play around with my macros perhaps as mentioned by a previous poster.psychod787 wrote: »The research points that people who are at a reduced weight generally have to either eat less or exercise more than someone who has always been their current weight. According to Libeils work, it can be a 20% difference in calorie needs for weight reduced. Some studies have not shown a decrease in tdee, though many have. It could also be decreases in NEAT. I also believe that some people are wired with a higher appetite than others. Genetics may play a role. One of the reasons I am a fan of lowering the calorie density of your diet in general. It's been shown that satiety has not soo much to do with overall calories in a food, but the volume, fiber, and protein. The SI completed in 1996 shows this.
This is interesting and puts things into perspective. I wonder if I had never gained weight as I teen, if I would be able to eat more at this point. I was around the same weight but with a much different distribution of muscle. If I remember correctly, at 16 I was at 19% body fat but I didn't have nearly as much muscle as I do now.
A decrease in NEAT is also likely a factor, also, maybe I'm simply attending to it more because I am not as active as before I had this job. Now I have more time to focus on my bodily cues and I notice more often that I'm hungry.
I've been trying to do what you had mentioned for the past few weeks. I didn't purposely try to make that change, I think, it kind of just happened. I don't think it has helped much. I think having too much sugar may play a role in this for me. I constantly gravitate towards it, even if what I actually do consume is mostly unrefined. It's still sugar. I usually end up with 150 g of carbs, 75 g of fat, 130 g protein, 48-50 g sugar.
Any advice on how I could change up my ratio?0 -
cwolfman13 wrote: »umbramirror wrote: »I figured this was the case, but I wanted to determine a more exact number and also figure out what my activity level would be categorized as.
If I'm maintaining at 1750 during the week, with around 2000 on the weekends, that would be make my TDEE roughly 1800. Is this correct? It seems rather low.
Also, I want to add that I'm always hungry. This hasn't been a very comfortable maintenance period. It has been a significant struggle. As a result of my hunger, I've had some episodes of binging and have still been struggling with resisting them.
I don't want to have this feeling of restriction constantly because it feels like I am really pushing myself which puts me on the edge of wanting to consume a lot more. Is this really how low my TDEE is? It just seems absurd to me. I shouldn't feel like I'm dieting in maintenance.
Your real world results trump calculator estimates. You don't get any more exact than your own data and real world results. Your weight fluctuations aren't big...they are completely normal. The other thing is that while you may be logging around 1800 calories, you could in fact be eating more considering inherent inaccuracies in logging. Whatever the case may be, you're maintaining...you are at maintenance. You are at the lower end of BMI and very lean for a female which is going to reduce your calories. Whether male of female, maintaining a very lean physique is not all that easy...I know guys who do and they have to be very restrictive and disciplined in their diets...which is why I've never had any interest in being 10% BF and 6 pack abs and whatnot.
I agree with this as well. Studies show wild underestimates of calories intake in people. 35% or more just "eyeballing". Even weighing and measuring have a atleast a 10% inaccuracy from what I have read. After playing around with calculators in general, I have found that the BWP is actually the closest for my N=1 situation. Actually underestimates my tdee, though there are variables it does not take into account. Higher tef, vaping, ect and the evidence that resistance training decrease skeletal muscle efficiency. So If "i" had to use one, I would use it. Though as you said N=1 data trumps anything.3 -
To the very true comment above about reduced TDEE due to perhaps extreme deficit during the diet - some other studies have shown recovery - but it takes months up to a year.
But the hunger part may work itself out sooner.
To a similar point though with suppressed metabolism/TDEE (meaning below potential) - it may be body is still running some systems slower than needed because of the level of food.
And you eat more, you may find yourself moving more and metabolism increasing.
Many will observe for instance the hair/nails growing slower during a diet - if you noticed that, have you noticed it speed up when you went to maintenance?
If not it may be you could eat more and still maintain.
100 extra calories eaten a day - if it was truly above your TDEE, would take 35 days to slowly add on 1 lb of fat.
Anything more is just water weight so doesn't matter, since likely not visible.
But may show body is willing to store more carbs in muscles for workouts, which stores with water.
But likely your systems would speed up, you'd move just slightly more, and you would have a higher TDEE.
Test for a couple weeks. Pretty simple.
Observe if you feel more energetic, if workouts are better, if hair/nails grow faster, ect.
Oh, make it a real 100 extra, even if current calories is higher than logged, only add on 100 extra actual calories.5 -
psychod787 wrote: »cwolfman13 wrote: »umbramirror wrote: »I figured this was the case, but I wanted to determine a more exact number and also figure out what my activity level would be categorized as.
If I'm maintaining at 1750 during the week, with around 2000 on the weekends, that would be make my TDEE roughly 1800. Is this correct? It seems rather low.
Also, I want to add that I'm always hungry. This hasn't been a very comfortable maintenance period. It has been a significant struggle. As a result of my hunger, I've had some episodes of binging and have still been struggling with resisting them.
I don't want to have this feeling of restriction constantly because it feels like I am really pushing myself which puts me on the edge of wanting to consume a lot more. Is this really how low my TDEE is? It just seems absurd to me. I shouldn't feel like I'm dieting in maintenance.
Your real world results trump calculator estimates. You don't get any more exact than your own data and real world results. Your weight fluctuations aren't big...they are completely normal. The other thing is that while you may be logging around 1800 calories, you could in fact be eating more considering inherent inaccuracies in logging. Whatever the case may be, you're maintaining...you are at maintenance. You are at the lower end of BMI and very lean for a female which is going to reduce your calories. Whether male of female, maintaining a very lean physique is not all that easy...I know guys who do and they have to be very restrictive and disciplined in their diets...which is why I've never had any interest in being 10% BF and 6 pack abs and whatnot.
I agree with this as well. Studies show wild underestimates of calories intake in people. 35% or more just "eyeballing". Even weighing and measuring have a atleast a 10% inaccuracy from what I have read. After playing around with calculators in general, I have found that the BWP is actually the closest for my N=1 situation. Actually underestimates my tdee, though there are variables it does not take into account. Higher tef, vaping, ect and the evidence that resistance training decrease skeletal muscle efficiency. So If "i" had to use one, I would use it. Though as you said N=1 data trumps anything.
Not to mention the FDA allows a 20%+/- range in calorie accuracy on food labels.
https://www.berkeleywellness.com/healthy-eating/nutrition/article/can-you-trust-calorie-counts3 -
Ok, my last post for the day. I'm currently on forum probation for being, well... me... lol I think @heybales is onto something about taking time for hormones to adjust. I posted some research on that in the maintenance forum some time back. It shows satiety and hunger hormones going back towards baseline after a year. I also think you might be trying to maintain a weight that is too low for you. @cwolfman13 stated is also right I think. I don't think "sugar" has much to so with anything. Read a meta analysis recently on the impact of fresh fruit consumption on bf. What it shows was fruit might have a slight slimming effect. Now, the packaging of said "sugar" might. If it is in a source like cookies vs an apple. I personally am struggling some days, but am seeing improvements weekly with just shutting up and letting weight drift up. Best wishes ma'am.3
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umbramirror wrote: »I figured this was the case, but I wanted to determine a more exact number and also figure out what my activity level would be categorized as.
If I'm maintaining at 1750 during the week, with around 2000 on the weekends, that would be make my TDEE roughly 1800. Is this correct? It seems rather low.
Also, I want to add that I'm always hungry. This hasn't been a very comfortable maintenance period. It has been a significant struggle. As a result of my hunger, I've had some episodes of binging and have still been struggling with resisting them.
I don't want to have this feeling of restriction constantly because it feels like I am really pushing myself which puts me on the edge of wanting to consume a lot more. Is this really how low my TDEE is? It just seems absurd to me. I shouldn't feel like I'm dieting in maintenance.
If you're eating 1,750 during the week and 2,000 on the weekends, that'd imply a TDEE of 1820. BUT ...
As a result of my hunger, I've had some episodes of binging
It's nearly impossible to nail down the impact of binging on TDEE, because normally, binging isn't carefully measured. But suffice to say that if by "binge" you mean 1,000 calories and you do it, say, once a week, then you're looking at another 150 calories added to the TDEE. So let's call it 1970.
And:
No, I don't weigh everything but I do weigh most of what I eat.
So let's toss in another 150 per day for moderate undercounting of calories.
That brings us to 2120, which is what the TDEE calculator is saying. So it probably isn't far off. In fact it might be right on the nose.
What I don't get is why this is a concern. You're at an ideal BMI and are fluctuating within a very normal few pounds. There's a certain amount of unavoidable fluctuation due to water and other things going on in the body. Doesn't mean your fat is going up or down.6 -
For a food solution to your hunger there are a number of things you can try. I suggest that from this point forward you keep a log for when you feel hungry that is not shortly before a meal. Also make notes for when it is time to eat again and you do not feel hungry yet or you do not feel much hunger. This will start to clue you in on which meals are working and which meals are not.
The usual place to start is replacing some of your carbs with more protein and other carbs with higher fiber.
If after a few days that does not seem to be getting you anywhere try increasing your fat.
If that is still not working try increasing your volume by eating a high amount of low calorie food.
If that is still not working try skipping a meal so that you have larger portions on the 2 remaining meals or go the other way and try eating smaller meals more often.
If that is still not getting it done come back and ask for more ways to experiment.
2 -
@cwolfman13 Mm... it seems that this is what it's coming down to. Perhaps I am eating more than I realize. I thought I was being accurate, but I'm not 100% precise. I mean, is it even possible to be 100% precise? I don't think so. There are so many factors that make tracking of calories incredibly inefficient. I feel like I hyper focus on tracking, but I probably have been more lax than I've meant to by slightly over measuring and still tracking at the minimum measurement. I'll have to tighten the reins and increase my accuracy the most that I can.
@psychod787 Thanks for your input as usual, sir. I do think it has something to do with my body having to adjust. So far, it has been 5 months since I've actively been in maintenance so hopefully, with time as long as I stick to this same rhythm, my hormone levels will adjust. I could be attempting to maintain at too low of a weight for my body, but I truly like how I feel at this weight in comparison to higher weights. At some point, I might consider going up and building strength, but right now I really would like to stabilize first.
Also, I do think I'm one of those people that have an incredibly high appetite. It has always been that way for me.
@heybales Your post was very insightful, thank you.
Actually, I feel like my body is still behaving as if it was in an extreme deficit. My nails don't grow very quickly and they're quite brittle actually. My hair and skin have been awful as well... hair has been snapping and is dry, skin is prone to breakouts lately. Also, my menstrual cycle is inconsistent. I had lost it for awhile but it has returned, though has not resumed as it was before. I'm still pretty tired and overall in a state of feeling drained. I think that my workouts could feel better. I don't have as much strength and stability as I probably should.
I'm going to try the method you mentioned and see how that goes. It sounds like a reasonable plan, so let's see what happens. I'll have to be much more precise with my tracking from now on, and see if I can successfully add that actual 100.2 -
@Theoldguy1 Very interesting. I always figured that the labels weren't too accurate. Again, another factor to keep in mind regarding the inefficiency and inaccuracy of tracking. There is only so much that can be done and I guess meticulousness and consistency are key.
@Igfrie This is all true. Perhaps my TDEE is closer to 2100 and I'm unknowingly eating at maintenance. I guess what bothers me is that I feel as though I'm all over the place. I would like some consistency and to know with certainty what I should be consuming. I don't want to unknowingly eat at maintenance. I want to eat at maintenance with full awareness of the process and what exactly I'm doing.
@NovusDies Thank you. This is all very helpful. Especially the bit about keeping a record of hunger. Then, I can compare those hunger levels day to day with my activity level and macros. I'm going to try all of these suggestions, and attempt to find a better approach to all of this.0
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