Women 200lb+, Let's Have A Momentous May!!!

Hi everyone,

I really need support and serious accountability so here it goes. I lost about 80lbs from May 2015- May 2017 with mfp (had a baby in that time also). I gained all of it back and here I am. I keep trying to keep up with logging and I just stop. I need to get back on board and take control of my health.

Goals:
Logging daily
Walking and other exercise 3x week
Better health

Height: 5'3"
SW: 220 lbs 5/2/22
CW: 220 lb (5/2/2022)
5/7:
5/14:
5/21:
5/28:

Hello everyone!
Thank you again for another month of support. This is a wonderful group! I am sorry I don't do tagging parties but know I read each post and am cheering you all on and hugging you when you are down.

SW: 253 lbs
CW:225 lbs
UGW:150 lbs

The scale and I have been wrestling for a few months. I've been logging and exercising and putting in the work and not feeling like the results have been as fast as I wanted. It's been a lesson in patience.
I know I have always needed a lot of water (hello hyperhidrosis) so I decided to try to drink an extra 32 oz a day (now up to 128 oz). Wow did that ever make a difference! The weight came off this week in a woosh! I wish the scale was a little more steady for me rather than these wooshes but it is what it is.

I hit 225 lbs this morning! This is my pre-kids weight. I was this weight for a long time. Old-me would have been happy to stay here. But now I want more. I want to be able to do more than just go to work and come home. My 5 year old has a drive to climb a mountain (he talks about it all the time- He thinks it will happen when he is 10 or 11 years old). Dammit if he does it, I want to be able to do it with him! I don't want to hold him back or leave all the fitness stuff to his fit Dad. I want to participate. Maybe I won't actually climb the mountain (heights and all), but I want to be able to do challenging hikes with my family.

NSV!!! A couple of months ago I bought a 1X goal shirt. It now fits comfortably! I am wearing it to work today! I have two more goal shirts that are non-plus size (regular XL). I tried them on yesterday and they are tight but encouragingly tight. In one month they could fit! I'm very excited to get out of plus sizes. As much as the plus size industry has come a long way, the clothes are still way too expensive. I am looking forward to shopping at a consignment store!

Lets keep working towards our goals together! I look forward to reading about all your journeys!

@biohazardinc okay so ... math

Let's look at why you're getting different answers from different people.

As an example, let's say you've put your activity level at "lightly active" and your goal at "lose 1 lb per week".

The equations we will be using, the ones the calculators use, are to find your BMR, NEAT, TEF, and TDEE. (Your calorie burn is also affected by TEA, but calculators don't use that, so we'll also ignore it for now.

Your TDEE is the amount of energy your body needs to maintain your current weight, while going about your daily life. The formula to determine that is:

TDEE = BMR + TEF + NEAT + TEA
or in the calculators,
TDEE = BMR + TEF + NEAT

So, we just need to find your BMR, TEF, and NEAT.

BMR is part of the equations to find the others, so we start with that.

BMR is the amount of energy your body, at it's current size, needs to maintain basic life functions, regardless of activity level... even in a coma, and on life support.

There are 4 primary formulas for finding BMR, but one of them requires knowing your accurately measured body fat %, and one is... pretty outdated, so we look at the other two. Both are different based on hormone balances, because estrogen and testosterone affect your body differently (male vs female). We'll go with female in this example.

The first is the Harris Benedict equation (revised). This formula has been proven to be about 95% accurate within a range of +/- 201.

BMR = 447.593 + (9.247 × weight in kilograms) + (3.098 x height in centimeters) - (4.330 x age in years)

This equation shows that everyone with normal estrogen levels for a female of their stated age has a BMR which is equivalent to a base of ~447 as well as a given amount for each centimeter in height, and each kg of weight. And that their BMR decreases by the given amount for each year of life after puberty has finished.This equation is *not* appropriate for children or teens.

To solve for BMR, you simply plug in your stats and multiply, then add and subtract in order:

So, for example, I am 42 years old, weigh 117.4 kg, and 155.6 cm tall.

BMR = 447.593 + (9.247 × 117.4) + (3.098 × 155.6) - (4.330 × 42)

BMR = 447.593 + (1085.5978) + (482.0488) - (181.86)

BMR = 2197.0996

Most calculators will round that to the nearest whole number.

The Mifflin St Jeor equation assumes that each year/kg/cm burns a different amount on average given the average day to day life of people in our somewhat more modern society. It... I have found that the people who tend to find this more accurate are young adults, and people with thyroid issues or on medications which "slow weight loss". But that's just observation. It's always a lower total.

That formula for females/estrogen filled bodies is:

BMR = (10 × weight in kg) + (6.25 × height in cm) - (5 × age in years) + 5

But we don't need 2 BMR calculations to answer your question, so I'll use the HB result.

Next is TEF, which is the amount of energy required to eat the average amount of food needed to reach your BMR.

TEF = BMR × 0.1

That one's easy, we just plug in my BMR. Because the calculators tend to round it, we will too:

TEF = 2197 x 0.1

TEF = 219.7


So now we have our BMR and our TEF, and we just need our NEAT.

NEAT is, essentially, the amount of energy our bodies need to perform our specific day to day activities. What's normal for me is not necessarily the same as what's normal for another woman my age at my same weight and height.

NEAT = BMR × activity level

So, first, ... calculators are all different.

Many use the equations above to find your TDEE. Others simply use TDEE = BMR x activity level. (Or (BMR x activity level) + TEF)

So here's the first problem.

If I was in a coma, not on life support. My activity level would be 0.1.

Plugging that in to our (accurate) equation would give us:

NEAT = 2197 (BMR) × 0.1

or NEAT = 219.7

My TDEE would be:

TDEE = BMR + TEF + NEAT

TDEE = 2197 + 219.7 + 219.7

TDEE = 2636.4

But if we use the formula some calculators use

TDEE = BMR x activity level

TDEE = 2197 x 0.1

TDEE = .... 219.7

So to correct the problem, they assign activity levels as 1 + the standard activity modifier. In my above example that's 1 + 0.1 or 1.1

If you use sailrabbit (by far the best calculator out there because it explains the activity levels and allows use of various formulas and specificity in measurements) you may have seen these adjusted modifiers next to the activity levels, ranging from 1.1 - 1.9.

TDEE = BMR × (adjusted) activity level

TDEE = 2197 × 1.1

TDEE = 2416.7

If we add in TEF, it's TDEE = 2636.4

Okay, so now that they add up the same, and we know what's involved in your TDEE, we can start to answer your question.

Also

TLDR for anyone who skipped the math, lol

Exercise is activity.

When you choose your activity level, some people default to "Sedentary" or "Not Very Active".

Most people don't. Most people don't think they are sedentary ("It's not like I sit around all day doing nothing") and attempt to choose an activity level they believe fits them.

Because this is self reported, it's seldom accurate.Most people overestimate their activity level.

But even when they don't... well...

At the start of this post I set our example to "lightly active"

Those *words* aren't regulated.

Different calculators assign them different modifiers. It could be anything from 0.3 - 0.5, or 1.3 - 1.5, depending on what calculator you were using.

Not only that...

Because you can see the descriptions there, we'll use the sailrabbit calculator, which uses 1.375

"Slightly Active, Exercise or Light Sports 1 to 3 days per week, Light Jogging or Walking 3 to 4 days per week."

So we say, "well I exercise a couple of times a week and I walk a couple times a week, and a lot of chasing after my kids, so that's me!"

Sailrabbit gives me a TDEE of 2521 with that activity level, because it doesn't account for TEF.

In our example, the goal is to lose 1lb per week, or about 500 calories under TDEE.

That means if I eat 2521 - 500 or 2021 calories, I should lose 1lb per week.

So I set my calorie goal to 2021.

Start eating in my limit.

Couple days later it's time for my walk. Remember I said I walk a couple of times per week? Well I go for a walk and synch up my data and the app says I burned 300 calories.

So... should I eat back the 300 calories?

In this case, the answer is no. I've already accounted for that walk:

"Slightly Active, Exercise or Light Sports 1 to 3 days per week, Light Jogging or Walking 3 to 4 days per week."

So we say, "well I exercise a couple of times a week and I walk a couple times a week, and a lot of chasing after my kids, so that's me!"

That walk was already factored into our TDEE as part of our daily activity level. If we eat it back, we're counting the energy we burned *twice*.

Walking a couple of times per week, and exercising a couple of times per week, I need to take in under 2,021 calories per day to lose weight.

At "Sedentary", sailrabbit puts my TDEE at 2200. So 500 less than that, to lose 1 lb per week would be 1700.

That's without walking or exercising a coupke times per week.

I think to myself "I do a bit more than that, but my walking and exercising isn't really regular for me, so I will use this!"

So I set my calorie goal to 1700 and start eating within my goal.

Couple days later it's time for my walk. Remember I said I walk a couple of times per week? Well I go for a walk and synch up my data and the app says I burned 300 calories.

Should I eat an additional 300 calories? In this case, yes.

1700, plus the 300 from my walk.

I count 2 walks that week, 2 exercise sessions burning ~670 calories, and maybe another 300 burned throughout the week, and I eat back all the calories.

In my first, "Slightly Active" example, I am eating 2021 calories every day for 7 days.

Or 14,147 calories in a week.

In my second, "Sedentary" example, I am eating 1700 calories per day every day for 7 days.

Or 11,900 calories in a week, PLUS, 600 from walks and 1340 from workouts and 300 from other activities.

Total? 14,140 calories in one week.

Same results either way.

Both work, if used appropriately. It depends on what *you* chose to put in to the calculator.

So which is best?

That depends too.

Some people like to eat around the same amount every day, and eating back exercise calories will just confuse them or throw off their hunger cues or its just... not for them.

Those people should figure out their daily intake, taking into account their average activity level including workouts, and eat like in the first example. Same every day, no matter what.

Their exercise has already been accounted for.

Some people have active weeks and less active weeks. Or like "earning" more food. Or like the numbers to zero out.

Those people should figure out their daily intake at Sedentary activity levels (or, if like me, they are homebound and barely move, to "Constricted") and then eat back exercise calories as they are earned.

The second method is vastly more accurate, which is why people who eat back calories tend to be bigger proponents of this option.

People who fast one or more days per week should eat more on days they aren't fasting to make the weekly average balance out, and planning for that can be difficult with individual workouts so they often use the first method.

It's really about what works for the individual.


A few safety notes

Unless being monitored by a doctor or dietician (or a nutritionist with actual credentials), people of normal height (5'0" or taller for women; 5'7" or taller for men) who are 20 years or older, should not eat less than 1200 calories per day for women or 1500 calories per day for men. For children and teens, including adults under 20, or anyone who hasn't finished going through puberty, the minimums are 1500 for females and 1800 for males, regardless of height.

NO ONE should eat less than their healthy weight BMR, even if it's not under the above minimums.

Extremely short humans, (under 5'0" for women or under 5'7 for men) should not eat under 1000 calories per day for women or 1300 calories per day for men.

NO ONE should eat less than their healthy weight BMR, even if it's not under the above minimums.

Finally, your BMI is the best determiner of how much you should aim to lose per week.

If you're in a healthy weight range, that's less than 1/2 lb per week on average

If you're in the overweight category, 1/2 lb to 1 lb per week on average.

Obese category, 1lb per week is safest but up to 2lbs per week.

Morbidly (2-3 lbs per week) or Super-Morbidly Obese (3-5lbs per week) individuals can aim for bigger numbers *solely* because the health risks of morbid obesity sometimes outweigh the health risks of too-rapid weight loss. And that's *sometimes*.

Those numbers are to best figure out your *net* intake for weight loss.

If exercising takes you under the minimum or far below what you have set for a healthy rate of loss, *please* eat back your exercise calories either way.


Edit: spelling errors. Also, holy crap that was even longer than I thought.