Eating back exercise calories
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distortedvision78 wrote: »distortedvision78 wrote: »Right, so MFP has calculated a daily intake goal of 1890cals. I'll work with that and eat back my exercise calories. 1890cals does seem low to me though.
What that is also saying is that your weight maintenance calories (for a day with no exercise) is estimated as 2990 - that really isn't low. It does make it very clear the issue with picking a 1kg/week weight loss target.
I had a look at your exercise diary and your estimates don't seem unreasonable, with the relative sizes of the numbers involved they really don't have the power to derail your progress.
If you prefer a same every day calorie goal (sounds hateful to me, but I'm not you!) then this is a good TDEE calculator - https://www.sailrabbit.com/bmr/
The exercise calories aren't estimated they are from my Polar Grit X HR monitor.
Yes they are very much estimated and depending on exercise type and the person they may range from reasonable to low to high.
Heartbeats are not a form of energy and counting heartbeats is not counting calories.
There is a large range of heartbeat ranges, both for resting HR and also exercise HR.
e.g. I went for a bike ride with an elite level cyclist - at the same speed I was at 150bpm as I was trying hard and he was barely over 100bpm as my hard effort was his easy effort. Calorie burns though would have been very similar.
This!
And if I run relaxed with a HR of over 180 with someone else with same gender and weight who has a HR of 130 we'd burn about the same.
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distortedvision78 wrote: »cwolfman13 wrote: »distortedvision78 wrote: »Right, so MFP has calculated a daily intake goal of 1890cals. I'll work with that and eat back my exercise calories. 1890cals does seem low to me though.
What rate of loss did you select as your goal? What did you put as your activity level as per your day to day stuff? Is it accurate? It doesn't seem particularly low to me as that is around what I would get to lose 1 Lb per week if my day to day was sedentary...but even with a desk job, my day to day is actually light active without exercise. In general, our calorie needs aren't really as substantial as many think, nor does exercise burn the number of calories many people think.
1 kg per week. Right. Just completed today's food diary. Bad day ~ 3000 cals intake.
It probably seems low because you've selected an aggressive rate of loss. 1 Kg per week (2Lbs per week) is 1,000 calories per day below your non-exercise maintenance calories which would be around 2,900 calories.1 -
distortedvision78 wrote: »Right, so MFP has calculated a daily intake goal of 1890cals. I'll work with that and eat back my exercise calories. 1890cals does seem low to me though.
Did you pick a rate of loss appropriate for the weight you have to lose?
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distortedvision78 wrote: »distortedvision78 wrote: »Right, so MFP has calculated a daily intake goal of 1890cals. I'll work with that and eat back my exercise calories. 1890cals does seem low to me though.
What that is also saying is that your weight maintenance calories (for a day with no exercise) is estimated as 2990 - that really isn't low. It does make it very clear the issue with picking a 1kg/week weight loss target.
I had a look at your exercise diary and your estimates don't seem unreasonable, with the relative sizes of the numbers involved they really don't have the power to derail your progress.
If you prefer a same every day calorie goal (sounds hateful to me, but I'm not you!) then this is a good TDEE calculator - https://www.sailrabbit.com/bmr/
The exercise calories aren't estimated they are from my Polar Grit X HR monitor.
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I current weigh 152kg. My target mass is 85kg ie 67kg (147 pounds).
Problem I'm currently having is reducing my calorific intake. If I stick with the 1900 cals per day plus eating back current exercise calories I am constantly hungry and lack energy. I've also had more hypos than usual.
I am building up my exercise program at the gym after a prolonged absence. I think I need to tweak my diet also. I'm open to suggestions.0 -
So go slower? Target 2200 + workouts instead.
I looked at your diary. You're having a *lot* of calories at breakfast. Maybe cut down on the nuts, and do a bit more oatmeal if needed. I don't know if you have particular diet needs, but I assume there are generally more satiating or lower calorie options instead of some of the foods you have, like using artificial sweetener in your oatmeal instead of honey.
Add more protein too, that will help to satiate and retain muscle as you lose weight. There are days you're getting enough, but that's also when you're going way over target for total calories. I aim for 25%-30% calories from protein, which includes supplementing with protein shakes (most of the powder calories are protein) and bars.0 -
distortedvision78 wrote: »I current weigh 152kg. My target mass is 85kg ie 67kg (147 pounds).
Problem I'm currently having is reducing my calorific intake. If I stick with the 1900 cals per day plus eating back current exercise calories I am constantly hungry and lack energy. I've also had more hypos than usual.
I am building up my exercise program at the gym after a prolonged absence. I think I need to tweak my diet also. I'm open to suggestions.
So you have now learned through experience that 1900 + exercise calories is too low and you have learned your estimated maintenance is 2990 + exercise calories. That gives you a lot of numbers to choose from and @Retroguy2000 has made a sensible suggestion for your next experiment.3 -
Basic math. If you can lose 1lbs a week eating 1500 calories with NO EXERCISE, then adding 500 calories from exercise would leave you with a 1000 calorie net. Even if you ate back the 500 calories from exercise, you'd STILL BE at 1500 calories and losing that 1lbs a week. You DO NOT want to under eat because it WILL slow down your metabolic rate which affects your rate of loss if the deficit is too high for you.distortedvision78 wrote: »Eating back exercise calories does not make sense to me. The point behind exercise specifically cardiovascular is to create a calorific deficit which leads to fat burn. I understand that resistance training increases BMR.
Someone please explain the reasoning behind this weight loss methodology?
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My opinion, just eat your BMR or a little under it. You should lose weight fine.distortedvision78 wrote: »I current weigh 152kg. My target mass is 85kg ie 67kg (147 pounds).
Problem I'm currently having is reducing my calorific intake. If I stick with the 1900 cals per day plus eating back current exercise calories I am constantly hungry and lack energy. I've also had more hypos than usual.
I am building up my exercise program at the gym after a prolonged absence. I think I need to tweak my diet also. I'm open to suggestions.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
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If you're struggling to keep to calories and you're feeling starving, set it to lose slower. You may be undereating for your activity level. Find the level under maintenance where you don't struggle to stick to calories. Then if needed you can lower your calories slowly so it's not such a shock to your system. It's difficult to go straight from overeating to a max calorie deficit0
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My opinion, just eat your BMR or a little under it. You should lose weight fine.distortedvision78 wrote: »I current weigh 152kg. My target mass is 85kg ie 67kg (147 pounds).
Problem I'm currently having is reducing my calorific intake. If I stick with the 1900 cals per day plus eating back current exercise calories I am constantly hungry and lack energy. I've also had more hypos than usual.
I am building up my exercise program at the gym after a prolonged absence. I think I need to tweak my diet also. I'm open to suggestions.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
I just wanted to add a caveat to ninerbuff's suggestion for anyone else other than distortedvision78 who may be reading. distortedvision78 has quite a lot of weight to lose and can afford to eat at a BMR level or a little below because he has a lot of body fat to use as fuel.
I would not suggest that for anyone who isn't obese and I would also say that if you're going to eat at a BMR level, make sure you're getting enough protein and fats. Nutrition is harder the lower you go calorie wise, so be careful with that.
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cmriverside wrote: »
My opinion, just eat your BMR or a little under it. You should lose weight fine.distortedvision78 wrote: »I current weigh 152kg. My target mass is 85kg ie 67kg (147 pounds).
Problem I'm currently having is reducing my calorific intake. If I stick with the 1900 cals per day plus eating back current exercise calories I am constantly hungry and lack energy. I've also had more hypos than usual.
I am building up my exercise program at the gym after a prolonged absence. I think I need to tweak my diet also. I'm open to suggestions.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
I just wanted to add a caveat to ninerbuff's suggestion for anyone else other than distortedvision78 who may be reading. distortedvision78 has quite a lot of weight to lose and can afford to eat at a BMR level or a little below because he has a lot of body fat to use as fuel.
I would not suggest that for anyone who isn't obese and I would also say that if you're going to eat at a BMR level, make sure you're getting enough protein and fats. Nutrition is harder the lower you go calorie wise, so be careful with that.
Good comment endorsed. With the addition that that BMR number - unless you've been to a metabolic lab - is an estimate, not a fact. Most people are close to those average numbers, but not every single person is. Manage your risks . . . and the big risks come with too-fast loss, for most people, not too-slow loss.1 -
His BMR would be around 2,500? Do you folks mean BMR + workout calories, or just BMR every day?
Another reason that's good advice is because it's a little higher than his daily target which he has trouble hitting.
Personally, I find it discouraging to see MFP showing red when I go over target. Usually I'd bounce around some days under, some over, while targeting 10% deficit. So I changed my target to maintenance, and I still aim for 5%-20% deficit (higher deficit on rest/cardio days), and virtually every day I see green in MFP's diary, which I find to be positive feedback.
IMO better to feel good about being on track to lose, then feeling bad because you failed to hit some arbitrary target. YMMV, maybe others need the strict target reminder.1 -
Just BMR. OP has a lot to lose, so just eating BMR would be fine.Retroguy2000 wrote: »His BMR would be around 2,500? Do you folks mean BMR + workout calories, or just BMR every day?
Another reason that's good advice is because it's a little higher than his daily target which he has trouble hitting.
Personally, I find it discouraging to see MFP showing red when I go over target. Usually I'd bounce around some days under, some over, while targeting 10% deficit. So I changed my target to maintenance, and I still aim for 5%-20% deficit (higher deficit on rest/cardio days), and virtually every day I see green in MFP's diary, which I find to be positive feedback.
IMO better to feel good about being on track to lose, then feeling bad because you failed to hit some arbitrary target. YMMV, maybe others need the strict target reminder.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
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