Calorie intake help

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HanMW96
HanMW96 Posts: 51 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Have I done the right thing here nutrition-wise?:

Before lockdown and gym shutting I was eating 3000-3050 calories a day. I'm still at work and am trying my best to stay as active as I usually am, but I thought I'd be burning less calories whilst in lockdown despite my efforts.
So when the gym shut and we went into lockdown I dropped my intake to 2800 but after a few days I was about half a kilo lighter. So I increased to 2900, but when I weighed myself after about 10 days (yesterday), and I'd lost nearly a kilo.

I'm currently only 53.75kg with a BMI of 18.8, so I know I need to gain some weight but I don't want to reduce my exercise. I've decided to up my intake to 3100 and weigh myself probably on Thursday and again on Saturday or Sunday, to see if there's a weight increase.

Do you think that's the right thing to do, or should I increase back to 3000 first and see if that helps? I'm just worried that cause I lost weight on 2900 and am not far off underweight, that if I don't increase enough I'll lose more. But I'm also worried I'll gain fat (I'm doing mostly cardio but also strength and conditioning workouts with body weight or up to 20kg).

Any advice? Please be kind in your comments, or don't comment at all.

Replies

  • NovusDies
    NovusDies Posts: 8,940 Member
    edited April 2020
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    I would go back up to your previous intake if you need to gain weight anyway. Give it about a month and see where you are.

    The amount of time doesn't really support your theory of a 100-200 calorie deficit. Over 10 days that would be more like a quarter kilo total of fat. So I think you may be experiencing a drop because of mainly water weight and perhaps a little fat if you were in a deficit.

    Has your eating behavior changed since you entered lockdown? Did you eat out more before? If so, you may be reacting to a lower sodium diet.
  • HanMW96
    HanMW96 Posts: 51 Member
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    I'm eating pretty much the same foods now as pre-lockdown.

    I'm brisk walking (4.8-55.1mph) for 60 minutes outside each morning instead of on the treadmill- does outdoor walking burn a lot more calories? I'm doing 30-60 minutes other exercise on top of my walk, plus I'm on my feet all day and try to keep physically busy all day, but this is no different to before lockdown (although I think gym classes are bit more intense than my home exercise, but I don't know for sure).

    Thank you for your answer! :smile:
  • NovusDies
    NovusDies Posts: 8,940 Member
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    HanMW96 wrote: »
    I'm eating pretty much the same foods now as pre-lockdown.

    I'm brisk walking (4.8-55.1mph) for 60 minutes outside each morning instead of on the treadmill- does outdoor walking burn a lot more calories? I'm doing 30-60 minutes other exercise on top of my walk, plus I'm on my feet all day and try to keep physically busy all day, but this is no different to before lockdown (although I think gym classes are bit more intense than my home exercise, but I don't know for sure).

    Thank you for your answer! :smile:

    It would burn more calories but how much more is hard to know. I burn about 15 more calories per mile because my neighborhood has some hills to climb as I walk. They aren't terribly steep but enough.

    How often were you weighing yourself before this all happened? Is it possible you were retaining water just before?
  • HanMW96
    HanMW96 Posts: 51 Member
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    I've always weighed myself every three-ten days depending on whether or not I feel as though my weight has changed.. I've been 55-56kg for a long time so I doubt it was water retention, and now at just under 54kg I'm only like 1kg away from underweight 🙁
  • NovusDies
    NovusDies Posts: 8,940 Member
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    HanMW96 wrote: »
    I've always weighed myself every three-ten days depending on whether or not I feel as though my weight has changed.. I've been 55-56kg for a long time so I doubt it was water retention, and now at just under 54kg I'm only like 1kg away from underweight 🙁

    Since it takes a 7700 calorie deficit to lose a kilo of fat it still seems like water weight plays a part. Since I do not know your life and habits it is hard to know how to figure it out. Over 13ish days even at 250 calorie deficit you would only be approaching a half a kilo.

    I might be missing something obvious. It has been a long day for me.



  • HanMW96
    HanMW96 Posts: 51 Member
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    Hmmm, okay, thank you! 🙂 I'm going to eat 3000 a day for the time being, and just keep monitoring my weight.

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