In place of a road map!

This is the best I can do!

I'll hand you the tools for a successful and sustainable diet that you can use and manipulate to achieve your goals.
If you are looking to lose weight, you just eat the calories given by doing the simple math and following the directions on the page.
If you are looking to maintain weight, you add 20% to the number given and youll know approximately what your TDEE is.
The link is at the bottom of this grand post!

I've said it several times here on this forum and i'll say it again and again:

True dieting needs the knowledge of 3 very important numbers.

1) TDEE or Total Daily Energy Expenditure.
This is the amount of calories you burn all day.
From before you wake up in the morning and pee to the time you lay your head down at night to sleep and into the night.
One of my biggest pet peeves is seeing a post on the forum or on someones Diary "Ugh! I feel sooo guilty because I went over calories today!" when the person went over a few cals over a 40% cut from TDEE.

Knowing TDEE allows you to understand that anything above TDEE is a surplus and you will "eventually" gain weight.
Anything at TDEE you maintain weight.
Anything below TDEE you lose weight to an extent. (see BMR)

2) BMR or Basal Metabolic Rate or RMR Resting Metabolic Rate.
If you were in a coma and in the hospital, the doctors would feed you your BMR in calories.
This ensures you have enough nutrients for vital organs to function.
http://www.brighthubeducation.com/science-homework-help/107443-ten-essential-organs-in-the-human-body/
This is just a small list of vital organs in the human body.
Eating at BMR and staying in bed should maintain things as long as you do nothing at all.
Most people who start using MFP dont really understand the importance of this BMR number.
They jump in with both feet thinking "I'm going to lose soooooo much weight and be fantastic!"
What they dont understand is by not eating back calories from working out, they are netting below BMR.
The only people who should be eating below BMR are folks who have had Gastric Bypass, 500-700 cals/day, or people who are morbidly obese and only for an extremely short time and only prescribed by their "Nutritionist".

Most people who eat at or below BMR will lose weight for a short time.
20-50% of most weight lost on a Very Low Calorie Diet is from Lean Mass.
This is the opposite of true dieting.
Most people who diet want to have better looking bodies and live a healthy life.
They want to reduce fat mass and raise lean mass.
Eating at BMR or lower actually maintains fat mass while dropping lean mass.

If the body does not get enough energy from calories in, it will seek ways to slow itself down.
Leptin levels drop, cortisol levels rise.
Anabolism stops and catabolism begins.
The body switches gears hormonally and tries to maintain fat, a non active tissue that stores energy, by burning lean mass, an active tissue that uses calories.
So in essence fat mass starts to stay the same while lean mass drops.
You can see how this can extend your dietary lifestyle right?

Eating at or below BMR with intentions to eat back calories from working out is a convoluted way of thinking.
We should be eating the proper amount of nutrients first, then creating a deficit with our workouts!
That way if you miss a workout, you still have the proper nutrients in your system.
Youll actually have more energy eating right and sleeping right than if you jumped into a VLCD.
This has been proven!

3) Body Fat%
So many people dont really know what their body fat% is.
I'm shocked every time I ask a member and they dont have a clue!
Some people dont even know what a safe BF% should be!

Athletes (6-13% for men, 16-20% for women)
Fitness (14-17% for men, 21-24% for women)
Acceptable (18-25% for men, 25-31% for women)
Obese (25%+ for men, 32%+ for women)

A good way to diet correctly is to set a body fat% goal as opposed to a weight goal.
The human body fluctuates up to 5lbs on average daily!
That would drive any person crazy who likes jumping on the scale every 30 mins!
Measuring body fat is a more sane approach to the diet.
Expecting a 2-5% change in a month is certainly acceptable in the lower ranges.
In the higher ranges it really depends on your BF%, macronutrients and workout routine.
An interesting paper written by Martin Berkhan, creator of www.LeanGains.com talks about the amount of fat the human body can burn in a day. After reading it I started working out 3 times a week and had better results than working out 5 days a week.
https://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=160054937436250

Understanding body fat and how you lose it will certainly keep you from hopping on the scale every day and probably have you running up to GNC for a handy set of calipers $20.

So now that I have given you the 3 most important numbers to always know while dieting, i'll give you a good source to figure all this information out on your own.
This was the first source I used to help myself and countless others to lose weight.
Once you have this link you can keep using it as you drop weight and body fat to recalculate your numbers.
Remember that as lean mass rises and fat mass drops, youll have different nutritional needs!

To truly benefit from a FAT BURNING program you will need to have some type of resistance training.
If you are not lifting weights or doing body weight workouts, you will have a very hard time maintaining lean mass while in a caloric deficit.
I always suggest for gym goers, the Stronglifts 5x5 or Starting Strength programs.
Both teach basic compound moves and can help catapult your strength.
I'm sure you can find many other lifting programs but do keep in mind, if you lift Minnie Mouse dumbbells youll have Minnie Mouse muscles. =D

Cardio is great for accelerated fat loss but if you are overweight or obese I would only recommend a brisk walk.
Every pound of fat on your stomach is 8 on the knees and 10 on the upper back.
Once you get down to an acceptable BF level then run to your hearts content.

So here is the link.
Use it in good health!

visit http://www.fat2fitradio.com/tools/
Do the Military Body Fat Calc first, then the BMR tool.
The Military BF calc is accurate up to about 2%.
The BMR tool will give EXACT calories to eat on a daily basis.
This number is static and I only recommend eating back so your NET is at least 200 above BMR.
Add 20% to suggested calories to know your TDEE.
Use the Katch McGardle BMR number to know your BMR.
Never eat at or below BMR.
For Fat loss plans set up macros at 30% Protein/Fat.
This % is only because MFP wont allow single %.

For more fine tuned macronutrients.....
1g Protein per lean body mass or total goal weight.
.35-.60g Fat per LBM or total goal weight.

Most of the time these numbers are close to 30% of total daily cals.

If anyone has any questions feel free to ask.
If I missed something important please let me know.

Hugs!
=D

"Great bodies are built in the kitchen and while we sleep! Everything else is secondary."

When i did the military fat and bmr it said i should be eating 2509 for moderate activity... Therefore if i have this correct i should eat 1000 caliries less than this to lose 2 pounds a week ie. 1509 ? I hope i finally have this figured out

This is soooooo confusing. I can accept the confusion though because I am usually one to overthink things instead of just reading what the boxes say at the bottom. I also tend to get caught up in other posts and then my brain starts to hurt O_O

I have to keep looking at the top of the page of my Fat 2 Fit Radio Custom BMR Calculation to remind myself that the tool IS taking into account that I eventually want to weigh 135 lbs. I'm just going to throw it out there....it DOES NOT feel comfortable to know that with the calculations telling me that on the 4-5 days a week i'm moderately active (crossfit, jogging and weight training) I will need to eat 2065 calories, and 1598 on the days I have little or no exercise. I'm only saying this so I can get it out into the open so maybe my fear will dispel a little.

I'm eating 1300-1400 a day now. I train in the AM. By the time I get to work I AM TIRED. I don't want to do much and get a little irritated when asked to get up and participate in moving stuff, or carrying equipment (i'm in IT so it's usually computers, monitors, etc). I have also been one to stick to a super strict clean low calorie, high protein, lose a few pounds, then blow it all, carb it up and abandon the eating/workout plan for 3-4-5-6 months, come back and go through the entire cycle. AGAIN.

I'm going to try this way and trust the process. I'm tired of yo-yo'ing and stopping/starting over and over again. I really want a lifestyle change, something that I can stick with and not feel like i am just waiting for the next "blowout" lol

thanks for this post, and i'm so glad i found this site!

Melissa

This isn't in place of a road map - it IS my road map.

I am not trying to get to my destination by taking the fast lane and all the risks associated with trying to get there too quickly, I am happy to take the safer scenic road, and arrive at my destination happy and healthy.

youve lost what....3% body fat eating about 1600 daily with 1 or 2 spike days of 3k in 5 weeks?
Amirite?

Yep - you are correct.

I'm a very happy bunny.

This is a typical loss in my group BTW.
For those who are in the higher body fat% you can lose even more if you are smart about what you eat and how you rest. Working out is a secondary thing.
Its all about eating and getting the proper sleep.
People who successfully diet down quickly are those who are working out 305 times a week with 2 full rest days and get 6-9 hours sleep.
Calories are high and carbs are premium fuel.

This isn't in place of a road map - it IS my road map.

I am not trying to get to my destination by taking the fast lane and all the risks associated with trying to get there too quickly, I am happy to take the safer scenic road, and arrive at my destination happy and healthy.

youve lost what....3% body fat eating about 1600 daily with 1 or 2 spike days of 3k in 5 weeks?
Amirite?

Yep - you are correct.

I'm a very happy bunny.

This is a typical loss in my group BTW.
For those who are in the higher body fat% you can lose even more if you are smart about what you eat and how you rest. Working out is a secondary thing.
Its all about eating and getting the proper sleep.
People who successfully diet down quickly are those who are working out 305 times a week with 2 full rest days and get 6-9 hours sleep.
Calories are high and carbs are premium fuel.

Not to add too much confusion to it, but wouldn't it be more accurate (and perhaps easier for people to log on MFP) to use the "sedentary" number and then log exercise using a heart rate monitor, and then eat those calories? I mean, I can say I exercise 3-5 days/week, which I do, but if I only exercise for 30 minutes versus 1 hour, obviously I'm burning fewer calories.

Again, not to make it too complicated, but just wondering if you think that might be easier for some/more accurate for calorie tracking?