Is this how it works?

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cyreta
cyreta Posts: 19 Member
I'm so ingrained that 3500 calorie deficit = 1 pd., I haven't figured out how that works with EMTWL. But, I've been thinking and I want to see if this is correct.

My TDEE is 2194. Cut (TDEE- 20%- I've got a LOT of fat to get rid of) is 1713. My BMR is 1460.

So, my cut value is approximately 470 calories off my TDEE number. 470 x 7 = 3290

Then I exercise the 3 to 5 days per week that I used in my TDEE calculation. 2 to 3 days per week I do C25K, burning about 300 calories per day. at 2 days per week its 600 calories total. I do have to eat back some calories on those days to be sure I get to BMR, so probably more like 400 calories total deficit for 2 days per week or 600 calories deficit for 3 days per week.

3290 + 400 = 3690 = 1 pd a week loss.

I also am doing bodyweight exercises 2 to 3 days per week (equaling 4 to 6 days of exercise total), but I have no idea how to calcuate that into MFP. I am logging it into the "comments" section so that I can see improvements, but I figure that the calorie burn isn't enough to make me need to eat more to get to BMR, so I don't worry about how many calories exactly.

I'm actually still waiting for this to start working for me, I think. I have lost about 1 pd a week over five weeks total, but I go up and down, up and down. I can't seem to get out of the 190s (started at 195.5, now down to 191). I never had the big weight gain when I upped my calories from 1200 to 1700; my weight just sort of sat there and then began to inch down. I've lost a few inches which is nice. I've read how people's bodies suddenly seem to click in to this and they start losing 2 pounds or more consistently while eating more- that's what I'm hoping for!

Does what I'm thinking make sense? I'm having a hard time keeping the faith because my weight is swinging up and down. It's also the end of the school year and I'm exhausted, so that might be a factor in my wavering belief. It's hard not to fall back into the familiar over- eating patterns or just reduce calories back down to see some results when I'm sleep-deprived!

Thanks!

Replies

  • justagirl2013
    justagirl2013 Posts: 226 Member
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    I'm not sure, but you shouldn't have to eat back your exercise calories unless you are burning over 700 each time you work out?

    You eat 2194 each day right?
  • cyreta
    cyreta Posts: 19 Member
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    No, I eat my cut of 1713 each day (actually 1700). That's why there are some days that I have to eat a little more to get up past my BMR. It's not usually much more, but I'm trying to do this right. I guess at some point I'll actually bite the bullet and do a 15% cut intstead of a 20%, but I just couldn't bring myself to do it yet. I don't weigh each and every mouthful, since I know that I won't do that after I finished losing the weight, so in my food log it usually hovers around 1600 to 1650. I know that the things I don't measure (like peanut butter) probably bring the number over 1700 anyway, and I'm at a 20% cut instead of 15% so I don't stress it much. Yes, it's a nutso, complicated mind game that I'm playing with myself, but it's the only thing that has kept me in EMTWL this long. Otherwise I would have run screaming back to 1200 calories a few weeks ago lol.
  • justagirl2013
    justagirl2013 Posts: 226 Member
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    Please ignore anything I said. Apparently I have failed at reading comprehension.

    I thought your cut was 2194! I'm sorry about that!

    I will say, you should try to weight things. I don't use mine as much anymore since I'm pretty good at it now, but you would be shocked by the amount that I feel we overestimate! Even measuring things is not always the right weight. Case in point was my oatmeal, I was eating 15 gram more per day then the serving said, that's unwanted calories!