Struggling to understand

sozzell
sozzell Posts: 166
in Health and Weight Loss
Hello everyone.

I am probably the only one but I am still struggling to understand all of this (I do struggle with logic at the best of times!).

Could one of you kind people lend a hand?

I have around 14lb to lose. I am female, 28, 5ft7in and weigh 167lb.

When I first started following this properly I managed to lose 6lb but I haven't lost anything in weeks. I have been playing around with calorie goals because at first I was following the ones set up as standard by MFP.

I fully understand that really I should be aiming for a more realistic 0.5lb loss per week, so I would just like to know what calorie goal I should stick to? All this informarion about it already including exercise is really messing my head up!

Here are MY stats.

BMR - 1520
TDEE (FITNESS FROG CALCULATOR) - 1870

I have a desk job however work out 3-4 times per week. Usually, 3 gym visits consisting of 40 mins cardio and strength training and one outdoors run for around 30-40 mins.

Please help!! The thing that really confuses me is ready how some people say that when you enter things such as how often you exercise it is working it out based on you burning that amount per week already so shouldn't be logging exercise calories IN ADDITION? *iz thick*

Replies

  • melsinct
    melsinct Posts: 3,512 Member
    I am also 5'7" and currently at my goal weight of 145 and my BMR is 1380. With so little to lose, you definitely want to set MFP for a 0.5 lb/week loss. I am also a desk worker (sedentary) and have my activity level set as such. Then I log my daily one mile brisk walk with my dog and the pilates that I do several times a week. Some times I eat all of the extra exercise calories I earn, sometimes I only eat some and that works for me. Some people need to eat all, or maybe just half...it seems really person-dependent and you'll have to figure out what works best for you. Based on what you posted, you could instead set your activity level to "active" and not log any exercise, which is what I did for a time until it stopped working for me.

    You definitely do not want to eat below your BMR- those are the calories your body needs to support basic organ function, let alone any activity you do during the course of a day.
  • Skydemon53
    Skydemon53 Posts: 33 Member
    When you enter the number of workouts you do a week, it doesn't effect your daily calorie goal. That exercise is accounted for on the day you do the exercise. Everyone is a little different, and the daily goal is just a guide, and you will likely have to adjust it (by changing your weekly loss) so that your weekly weight loss is what you want. I have mine currently set for a 0.5 lb per week loss, but I'm pretty much maintaining the same weight; because I "cheat" during the day. I don't log in that handful of peanuts that I snack on at night, or the pieces of candy I sneak in at work from our office candy dish. When I was being honest and religiously logging in EVERYTHING I ate (weighing or measuring everything) I was losing at least as much as my weekly goal. Check your weekly net calorie intake. If you are honestly logging everything, and you consume around 1750 calories a week less than your goal, you should be losing 0.5 lbs. If you (like I do pretty often) make up your calorie deficient from the week on weekends by going over your goal by 700 calories, then you aren't going to lose weight. I'm pretty happy with my weight now, though I would like to lose a little more of the fat on my abs...not that I'll ever get that six-pack look!

    Hang in there...and you will eventually get to where you want!
  • sozzell
    sozzell Posts: 166
    Hello, and thank you both for your replies :-)

    I could never eat below my BDR - I struggle to stay around 1500 mark, even with exercise calories! I'm greedy, but I am learning...someone made a brilliant suggestion about telling yourself in advance when you can have something to eat next, like say 2-3 hours. I've always tried 'little & often' anyway, but I was probably doing 'too often' LOL.

    skydemon, hello and thanks! You sound sjust like me - you try to be good during the week and then have a GOOD weekend, meaning you have some really nice tasy treats and some alcohol ;-)

    I think people on here call them 'spike' days? I guess my problem is, my spike days are Fri/Sat/Sun and usually consist of THOUSANDS of calories! It doesn't help that my exercise is usually during the week so perhaps I should try and incorporate some cardio into the weekend :-)

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