calories per day

So I've always had my mfp goal set to 2lbs/week. Even with this goal (MFP put me at 2400 or so, reducing over time with my weight), I was still cutting 800-1000 cals a day on top of that. Also started burning 5 - 6k cals a week at the gym - I've cut bread, pasta, rice and potatoes from my diet (the sticky wicket in my approach will be reintroducing these back in without losing my mind over all the carby, starchy goodness and eating waaaay too much of them).

Anywho, starting mid November, I've dropped almost 90lbs, with about 10 or 15 to go....

The point is this: Everyone is different - what works for me may not work for you - what works for you may not work for someone else, even if they are the same age, height, and weight...our bodies and metabolisms are unique to us.

I suggest "experimenting" with your cals and goals until you find the formula that lets you lose as much as you can while still being comfortable with what you are doing - eating healthy can be very tasty and a lot of fun - if you see your diet as a drag, you probably won't stick to it....so just keep fooling around with it until you find your sweet spot, and then hammer down on it!!

I seem to be eating the recommended calories, but not the calories burned from exercising. I use a HRM to determine my calories burned, but I just can't bring myself to eat all those extra calories! I lost 59 pounds on NS, but gained back about 13 after knee surgery. Now that I'm back at the gym, I feel like I can lose the weight if only I would get serious about this. I find myself binging at night (just have to STOP this). Also, my trainer suggested 40% protein 40% Carbs and 20% fat...any thoughts? Also, any suggestions about how to get back in the mindset I was in two years ago when I really started to lose the weight.

Read this: http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/setting-the-deficit-small-moderate-or-large.html
And then read the rest of the articles on that site, it gives a very good foundation.

I don't know your trainer, and the advice might be tailored specifically for you, but suggestions I've seen that actually hold merit actually list target minimums for macros, not a percentage split. 1 gram protein per pound of lean body mass, 0.35 grams fat per pound of body weight. Something like that.

The thing with exercise calories. Read this thread: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/510406-tdee-is-everything

MFP sets up a calorie target for you if you do no additional exercise (beyond your day to day activities). That's the reason when you log exercise activities it tells you to eat more calories. The good thing about this plan is that on days you need more fuel cause you had a killer workout, you'll have it. The problem with it is that it's NOTORIOUSLY difficult to measure calories burned from exercise. HRM's provide an estimate, and they can get pretty close, but they can still be wildly off. Wearing an HRM while lifting weights? Doing P90X? Heck even interval training or training in difficult conditions (like with a sweatshirt and sweatpants on) can throw off the reading and greatly overestimate calories burned. HRM's are still good to help you keep intensity up in a workout, but take the calorie burned reading as an estimate.

Setting up a daily intake with an activity multiplier, and adjusting as needed may work better for you. You don't need to worry about getting accurate readings for calories burned, and your diet doesn't change from day to day. It's what I do, and I've had decent success with it. Bear in mind this is just a suggestion based on the limited information I gleamed from your forum post. Expert advice would probably be better tailored to meet your needs.

As for the mindset:



That's what I do anyway. I go to a dark place, and think of all the things that really upset me (like posts about the weight difference of muscle and fat, or the necessity of drinking pure water over all other things that can hydrate you, or that a**hole who cut me off on the way to work), and I get through my workouts. Good luck!