people who have had success by upping their calories!

Thanks for the help. Right now the only exercise I do is walking/hiking. I walk 25-30 miles a week on my days off. I do not count any walking I do at work etc.. Should I be not eating any of the calories for my walking and hiking? I just want to succeed with both being healthier and lower in weight!

If walking is slower than 3mph on flat, meaning pretty easy, it is just increased daily activity - and that is exactly what the deficit is coming from, so no you don't need to log or eat that back. Mainly fat burning at this pace.

If it is a workout because your breathing is labored and heart rate really gets up there - that is a workout and deserves feeding. That's not mainly fat burning if that much effort.

Thanks for the help. Right now the only exercise I do is walking/hiking. I walk 25-30 miles a week on my days off. I do not count any walking I do at work etc.. Should I be not eating any of the calories for my walking and hiking? I just want to succeed with both being healthier and lower in weight!

If walking is slower than 3mph on flat, meaning pretty easy, it is just increased daily activity - and that is exactly what the deficit is coming from, so no you don't need to log or eat that back. Mainly fat burning at this pace.

If it is a workout because your breathing is labored and heart rate really gets up there - that is a workout and deserves feeding. That's not mainly fat burning if that much effort.

Thanks! I so appreciate any input on this. I do not want to overeat, nor do I want to under eat. so, my question now is as follows. When I walk it is usually at 3.5 to 4 mph, hiking is up and down hills cross country so the speed is variable. I usually do the 25-30 miles in 3-5 days. I do breathe hard, my heart rate is up and I sweat profusely. So, do I skip eating any calories earned from that?

That is a workout then.

If you don't use a HRM for calorie estimate, then the calorie burn tables for walking, which normally are accurate at flat speeds, are no longer correct. You are burning more.

So, even if you use the tables for walking 4mph, and eat those calories back, you are actually burning more than typical.
Don't worry about the extra though.

http://www.am-i-fat.com/calorie_calculator.html

My sister just left Medford - I'd love to walk there too.

bump

I've upped mine, set my goal to 1 lb a week rather than 2 lb a week and have lost 4 lbs in 3 days with a change in diet too (Paleo).

Obviously some of this is bloat etc but I'm much happier with my satiety level!

I've had success! no good pics to share YET...

Tried to lose weight without MFP at 600-1200 calories a day... bad! Lost/gained the same 5lbs for months.
I started March 2011 at 1200 calories/day. I lost those 5lbs pretty quick, about a month!!
Stalled out. Even steven on the scale.
Didn't lose any more weight til June or so, when I bumped to my BMR (about 1400). Lost 2-3 more lbs.
Stalled again just itty bitty tenth of a pound losses here and there.
Didn't lose anything from October til February!!!!!!!! AWFUL!!!! I did lose inches, thankfully, or else I might've given up - are you taking your measurements, people??? :P
Bumped cals again! Now I set my MFP goal to 1/2lb a week, so I'm eating about 1530...
This month I had my BIGGEST LOSS EVER at 2.6lbs in one week - not too shabby for a girl with only 20lbs to lose.

P.S. I DO eat my exercise calories. Most of them, anyway - I usually try to leave a cushion of 100cals in the green in case I've been estimating things wrong.

P.P.S. I've lost about 8" around my waist, 2" around my hips, 2" around each thigh, 1.5" around each upper arm, and 1.5" around each calf since last March. And I've only lost 14lbs. So it looks wimpy, but it is a BIG change. please please please start taking measurements if you have not already!!

i dont understand this. Why does consuming more calories make you loose weight faster? x

If you lose weight too quickly, you'll lose as much lean body mass as you do fat. Losing a bit more slowly, but maintaining muscle and metabolism is the big picture. It's the difference between caring what the scale says, and caring what the mirror says (plus it's much healthier and easier to maintain long term.)

*bump*

@mrsneen

i do a desk job, which predominantly really is sitting at my desk.

i also run a cake making business, which i do maybe two evenings a week, i am on my feet for around 4 hours at a time, cake making and decorating.

i also walk approx 1 hour a time 3-4 times a week.

so my first question is on this website to work out TDEE http://www.fitnessfrog.com/calculators/tdee-calculator.html do i class myself as sedentary or as light exercise?

and my second question is on MFP settings for diet and exercise, so i put into the "hopw many times a week do you plan to exercise etc" 3 times at 1 hour a time and still log my exercise? or do i leave that bit blank and log it?

Really, those activity levels is a combo of work/exercise levels.

You would be right in the middle of Moderately Active actually. You might round-down to nearest 100 if that feels better. But you are higher than Lightly Active big time. You might just shoot yourself in the metabolism if you think you'll make it better by underestimating.

That Diet/Fitness Profile for fitness goals is merely that - goals. And if you don't look at that goals ever, not really goals. Doesn't matter then.
Probably would be good to see if you are hitting your 3.5 hrs goal.
Now for calories burned goal, leave that at 0.
Because if you log workouts now, just use 1 cal because you won't be eating it back.
That way you can look back over fitness diary to see if you have been hitting weekly goals.

Now, if you can remember your single number you are eating to, you could still enter goals for calories, and log workouts with calories.
Just have to remember that what you leave in green for calories left to eat that day, matches the credit calories in the footnote on the food diary.

Thanks for the help. Right now the only exercise I do is walking/hiking. I walk 25-30 miles a week on my days off. I do not count any walking I do at work etc.. Should I be not eating any of the calories for my walking and hiking? I just want to succeed with both being healthier and lower in weight!

If walking is slower than 3mph on flat, meaning pretty easy, it is just increased daily activity - and that is exactly what the deficit is coming from, so no you don't need to log or eat that back. Mainly fat burning at this pace.

If it is a workout because your breathing is labored and heart rate really gets up there - that is a workout and deserves feeding. That's not mainly fat burning if that much effort.

Thanks! I so appreciate any input on this. I do not want to overeat, nor do I want to under eat. so, my question now is as follows. When I walk it is usually at 3.5 to 4 mph, hiking is up and down hills cross country so the speed is variable. I usually do the 25-30 miles in 3-5 days. I do breathe hard, my heart rate is up and I sweat profusely. So, do I skip eating any calories earned from that?

That is a workout then.

If you don't use a HRM for calorie estimate, then the calorie burn tables for walking, which normally are accurate at flat speeds, are no longer correct. You are burning more.

So, even if you use the tables for walking 4mph, and eat those calories back, you are actually burning more than typical.
Don't worry about the extra though.

http://www.am-i-fat.com/calorie_calculator.html

My sister just left Medford - I'd love to walk there too.

Now I am wondering if I have upped my calories enough. I am set to sedentary, of course MFP gives me 1200 cals a day to lose 2 lbs a week which I am not doing. I upped it to 1400 calories and have been eating back my calories frequently. I feel like I am starving all the time, but I am not losing.. I am bouncing between 219 and 225 lbs. I am a 55 year old Female, 5' 11" tall. Currently (this morning) I am at 222.2 lbs. I went to Fat2fit and saw that they say my body fat percentage is 42.2%, my BMR is 1627. I copied and pasted below their dietary recommendations and am wanting some feedback from you on this!

Based on your goal weight, the following chart was generated. The chart shows the number of calories that you should eat on a daily basis to reach your goal weight. At Fat 2 Fit Radio we advocate eating like the thin, healthy person that you want to become. The calorie levels you see in the chart are not extreme, but they do create that all important caloric deficit that is required to get you to your goal weight in a safe manner. Once you reach your goal weight, you will continue eating the same number of calories for the rest of your life to maintain that weight. You'll never be on a diet again.

Based on how much activity you do on an average day, the calories in the right column will be the number of calories that you will be able to eat at your goal weight. If you start eating those calories right now (eating like the thinner you), you will eventually become that thinner person. As you get closer to your goal weight, your weight loss will start to slow down. It is OK to eat a few hundred calories less per day (200-300) to speed up your weight loss at this point.

Activity Level Daily Calories
Sedentary (little or no exercise, desk job) 1711
Lightly Active (light exercise/sports 1-3 days/wk) 1961
Moderately Active (moderate exercise/sports 3-5 days/wk) 2210
Very Active (hard exercise/sports 6-7 days/wk) 2460
Extremely Active (hard daily exercise/sports & physical job or 2X day training, i.e marathon, contest etc.) 2709


Which should I select? Does this sound right to you? Sorry to be such a PITA but it is so important to me to be successful!!

Thanks for the help!

bump

Now I am wondering if I have upped my calories enough. I am set to sedentary, of course MFP gives me 1200 cals a day to lose 2 lbs a week which I am not doing. I upped it to 1400 calories and have been eating back my calories frequently. I feel like I am starving all the time, but I am not losing.. I am bouncing between 219 and 225 lbs. I am a 55 year old Female, 5' 11" tall. Currently (this morning) I am at 222.2 lbs. I went to Fat2fit and saw that they say my body fat percentage is 42.2%, my BMR is 1627. I copied and pasted below their dietary recommendations and am wanting some feedback from you on this!

Based on your goal weight, the following chart was generated. The chart shows the number of calories that you should eat on a daily basis to reach your goal weight. At Fat 2 Fit Radio we advocate eating like the thin, healthy person that you want to become. The calorie levels you see in the chart are not extreme, but they do create that all important caloric deficit that is required to get you to your goal weight in a safe manner. Once you reach your goal weight, you will continue eating the same number of calories for the rest of your life to maintain that weight. You'll never be on a diet again.

Based on how much activity you do on an average day, the calories in the right column will be the number of calories that you will be able to eat at your goal weight. If you start eating those calories right now (eating like the thinner you), you will eventually become that thinner person. As you get closer to your goal weight, your weight loss will start to slow down. It is OK to eat a few hundred calories less per day (200-300) to speed up your weight loss at this point.

Activity Level Daily Calories
Sedentary (little or no exercise, desk job) 1711
Lightly Active (light exercise/sports 1-3 days/wk) 1961
Moderately Active (moderate exercise/sports 3-5 days/wk) 2210
Very Active (hard exercise/sports 6-7 days/wk) 2460
Extremely Active (hard daily exercise/sports & physical job or 2X day training, i.e marathon, contest etc.) 2709

Which should I select? Does this sound right to you? Sorry to be such a PITA but it is so important to me to be successful!!

Depends on what method you want to use? Manually set once and forget it, or set MFP to change automatically and feed workouts? Oh, I think Moderately Active - you walk 3-5 days you said. And that is excellent workout.

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If you want to eat back all your exercise calories, and for that serious walking you are getting pretty decent estimates, and you want MFP to set goal calories that lower as you lower weight, then do the following.
Settings - Diet/Fitness Profile
Change Activity Level to Sedentary.
Change Loss Goal to 1 lb weekly.
Your goal should be set to 1624. Right at BMR estimate.
Now log your workouts and calories, and eat them back on the day they apply.

When you get within 20lb of goal weight, you'll need to change to 1/2 lb weekly loss goal.

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If you want to manually set it and forget it, and don't worry about exercise calorie eat-back, then do the following.
Settings - Diet/Fitness Profile
Change Activity Level to Very Active. (trust me on this, difference in calculations between MFP and other site)
Change Loss Goal to Maintain. (trust me on this, you are manually setting your goal)
Now go to Goals - Change - Custom.
Your Net daily goal should be set to 2633, change it to 2210.
Change your Macros as desired.
Change your workout goals as desired, if you want to visually see on Exercise logs how you are doing for your goal. Change calories to 0.

You just created cal deficit to your better estimated TDEE. Now when you finish your Food diary daily, you'll receive encouragement "in 5 weeks you'll weigh..."
And as you get closer to goal weight, the amount of deficit automatically is less, without changing anything.

Do NOT eat back your exercise calories in this case. If you want to log the workout for records, use 1 calorie. Or just remember what your daily number is, and record the calories if desired. Just remember your Daily number in green should match the footnote that says so many credit calories for workout.

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So the difference there is, the manual method daily eat is always the same no matter exercise or not, and that will be less calories than the auto-method where you eat more because of the exercise on just those days. Your NET on a weekly basis ends up being the same.
On a weekly basis though, it would all be the same.

And you learn to eat according to your workouts. Miss a workout, skip 2 snacks that day. Add a workout, add a snack. Big dinner Sat night, leave 200 in green on Fri and Sun, eat smaller meals rest of Sat, enjoy dinner out. Workout that day.

i am trying to lose about 20 pounds or so (i'm about 145-150 right now) and it reccomended i eat 1200 a day so do you think i should up this? or just eat more on a day that i am working out?

up it up it up it!!!!!!!!! check out the link in the OP's post, it will help you figure out how many you really should be eating. Imho, MFP should never tell anyone to eat 1200 calories. EVER. At least eat your BMR, if not more. please!!!! AND eat back your exercise cals!!!

Well, that's not exactly true. My BMR is only 1215. So, 1200 is really okay for me--and others like me. As long as I net 1200 per day, I am netting my BMR. This is incredibly sad for me, because I would love to eat more to lose. But, my TDEE is around 1500. So, I can't really afford to eat more.

I know that most people aren't as short as me, but to say NEVER just isn't the truth.

Fair enough, you are right. But to have a BMr that low you have to be very short which most of the population isn't. And honestly, with my knowledge of statistics, I'm guessing tha there is a larger margin of error for people at the ends of the curve 9on these calculators. Ie very short or very tall. Which would mean that they're averages would not be correct and that is why the calculators set you at 1200 for BMr. Even if you are short, your cells and organs still need the same amount of calories as everyone else, so I find it harder to believe that below 1200 is accurate. But I could be wrong, it'd be interesting to hear from someone short who has tried wearing a hrm all day to find our their actual TDEE.

Actually, I said 1215, not below 1200. And my TDEE is 1503. I have worn a bodybugg to find it.

Oh, cool! That's interesting. Wouldn't be gut instinct but awesome that you've checked it out!

bump!!

I have been fascinated reading this thread, but am still a little confused. I am 5ft 3 and weigh 150lbs my goal is 120lbs. not only do I want to lose weight (the healthy safe way) but I want to tone up my wobbly bits and be able to see some muscle definition (but NOT be muscly/bulky I want a soft yet defined body) I currently do at least 30 minutes a day of 30DS (on day 6 of level one) plus at least 2 times a week I will do Zumba for between 20 - 45 minutes plus most evenings I do some work on my arms with weights (only 2.5lbs weights) plus ab work. I have been fighting with the same 2-3lbs for the past few months now, so need a kick start, and thought this may help IF I know what to do properly.

MFP puts me at 1200 a day, but when I work out my BMR is states 1360. I have also worked out my TDEE I was not sure what activness to put as Mon - Fri I am sitting at a desk all day, so I worked it out for little or no exercise and that was 1743 (*0.8) 1394, light exercise was 1990 (*0.8) 1592 and moderate was 2243 (*0.8) 1794.

In all of your opinions what would you recommend I do? Apologies if this is a repeat of what somebody else has asked, I am pretty new here and getting slightly confused lol Jen x

You are not at Sedentary level with that much exercise. Definitely Moderate level. Could round down to nearest hundred.

What site did you use for TDEE estimate, because those values don't work out?
For instance, Moderate is BMR * 1.55, which ends up 2108 * 0.8 = 1686 (or round to 2100 * 0.8 = 1680).

Then you would eat to that every day, workout or not. You would NOT eat back exercise calories since already in there. And if you spot checked calories burned with HRM, would likely be at or slightly under BMR for those days. Rest days allows recovery.

And since you have been so underfeeding your system for that workout level - you will see great body improvements first, weight loss will come later until body catches up with what you are asking it to do.

Just upped mine this week to about 1500-1600, and I'm nervous! I'm finding it difficult to eat this much after being at 1200 for so long.