I really needed this. I lost 60lbs so far in a very unhealthy way. About two months ago I started exercising and eating well, but always around 1200 net calories a day. May I add that I'm doing Insanity phase 2 right now and I'm starting ChaLEAN Extreme tomorrow. And despite Insanity and running I have only lost 5 lbs in 2 months.
So, starting tomorrow I'm upping my calorie intake to my cut TDEE (2100 calories). I just hope this works and I can finally leave this plateau. Fingers crossed!

Also, should I go by scoobysworkshop's macros as well - it has them at 50carbs, 30pro, 20fat...??? Right now I have them at 40/30/30....

Scooby's allows you to change up the macros according to your needs. 20% fat is hard to hit for some, so anywhere in between those two should be fine. Everyone's body is different, so all macros are just suggestions, not written in stone. We have to find our macro "sweet spot" (meaning allows us to lose weight/gain muscle/keep our sanity at a rate that works for us as individuals)

So if you have the energy that you desire, and feel that your food has a high satiety factor for you as is, then no need to switch it up.

Hi all...please check my numbers:

I am 5'6", 160.5 lbs, 44 years old..

I used fitnessfrog.com to do my numbers (I looked at other sites, too, and they were all a little different but close).

BMR - 1450
TDEE - 2248
Cut (15%) - 1920 , (20%) - 1798

I chose moderate activity level (had light but took the recommendation from this group to go moderate). I am a teacher and on my feet all day. I work out 4-5 times per week on average. I have not started lifting yet. Mostly, I run, play tennis, ride my bike, and sometimes swim laps. I don't typically burn more than 300-400 calories in a workout unless it's a long tennis match. I only had to once this week eat anything back because my net was under my BMR and that was because I played singles for an hour and a half and burned more.

I was not on a low calorie diet before I started looking at TDEE so I'm hoping it is right that I've just jumped right to eating the cut. I have been staying in the range of the 15-20% although I set the 20% number of 1798 as my MFP goal.

I think that's everything I wanted to include detail-wise here just to make sure I'm on track with my numbers. Thank you!

thanx a lot

Looks good to me

It will still be fine, even if you weren't eating super low cals before. It's just a healthier lifestyle all together. No need to deprive yourself unnecessarily......

*Ok so I need to eat 2050 calories a day and not pay attention to my net calories? And only eat back my exercise calories that are over 500. So if in a normal day I burn 800 calories through evercise I should eat back 300 of them equal my 2050 calories consumed not netted?

you got it

my BMR 1313
TDEE 2097

need to up my calories from 1000. am very scared to do so? how many lbs will i gain for how long before my body adjusts and starts dropping weight... and with moderate activity level what should be my consumption level?

Everyone is different. Some don't gain at all, some "gain" up to 10-12 lbs the first week (gain is in quotes, because it is not possible to gain that much in a week, it it is only water weight, that dissipates within a week or two). Either way, as soon as your body trusts that you are not going to starve it anymore, it will not hold onto excess food for dear life. Your number 1 goal is to regain your bodies trust. Then it will perform miraculous acts for you. :flowerforyou:

Be sure to read the "what to expect" sticky if you haven't already, as it explains how the process is differs from person to person and what the factors are that cause the differences. Just remember that you are fixing your metabolism for the rest of your life, which can take time, but is *well* worth it

If your TDEE is 2097, then your deficit would be around 1782 per day. You would eat that amount daily, and only eat back exercise cals if you have a super high burn day (above 469) that nets you below BMR.

Hope that helps...

~Kiki

thanx a lot kiki

I've become very interested in this topic and a huge thankyou to Lucia, Kiki & friends, who have made it much simpler to understand for the rest of us lol
I'm 5'7" and 190 lbs and 35 years old. I've worked out my BMR = 1624, TDEE= 2139 using the scooby online calculators. I did the Cambridge diet 2 years ago, lost a ton of weight really quickly but then put twice as much on !! Now I really struggle to lose weight even at 1200 cals per day. I think my metabolism is pooped from doing the Cambridge, and I really like the theory behind this eat more method. After my holiday in June, I'm going to up my cals to 1850 (= to BMR + exercise) a day to start with and see what happens. I will progressively up it weekly. I think it'll be the boost and the fix that my metabolism needs to work properly again. Fingers crossed!!

2 questions though.... firstly, this isnt just for folk who are planning on lifting heavy is it? Im assuming its for everyone, but just helps build muscle for those who have that as their aim?
Secondly, is it important to eat food in the 40/30/30 ratio as given by scooby? If that isnt followed will it still work? Im only asking as I was planning to up my cals but keep low-ish carb. Ive never worked my food out by carb/protein/fat ratio and Im worried that might be too confusing for me to keep track of?
Thanks ladies x

So don't think my body has quit stabilized yet. Gained 1.4lbs this week....6 total BUT I lost .5in off my hips and .25in off my waist this week so that makes me happy!
Again thanks for this group Kiki and Lucia!! I also checked out your video blogs !!!!!!!!!

aww, that's awesome, girl! I'll take my inches all day. Over the years, I've actually come to prefer a higher weight, and only loss in inches. That way, instead of my TDEE dropping because my weight is going down, I still get to EAT and fit in my size 2s = WIN! :drinker: LOL

I've become very interested in this topic and a huge thankyou to Lucia, Kiki & friends, who have made it much simpler to understand for the rest of us lol
I'm 5'7" and 190 lbs and 35 years old. I've worked out my BMR = 1624, TDEE= 2139 using the scooby online calculators. I did the Cambridge diet 2 years ago, lost a ton of weight really quickly but then put twice as much on !! Now I really struggle to lose weight even at 1200 cals per day. I think my metabolism is pooped from doing the Cambridge, and I really like the theory behind this eat more method. After my holiday in June, I'm going to up my cals to 1850 (= to BMR + exercise) a day to start with and see what happens. I will progressively up it weekly. I think it'll be the boost and the fix that my metabolism needs to work properly again. Fingers crossed!!

2 questions though.... firstly, this isnt just for folk who are planning on lifting heavy is it? Im assuming its for everyone, but just helps build muscle for those who have that as their aim?
Secondly, is it important to eat food in the 40/30/30 ratio as given by scooby? If that isnt followed will it still work? Im only asking as I was planning to up my cals but keep low-ish carb. Ive never worked my food out by carb/protein/fat ratio and Im worried that might be too confusing for me to keep track of?
Thanks ladies x

Welcome to the group!

In answers to your questions:

1) EM2WL is for everyone :bigsmile: , cardio bunnies & iron lovers (or couch potatoes! LOL) can unite here, because the math works for all of us. But that being said, we *highly* recommend that everyone include some form of strength training for maximum results. Building muscle gives an extra boost to your metabolism that we'd hate for anyone to miss out on (plus muscle LOVES to be fed :bigsmile: which fits right in to the EM2WL lifestyle.) Plus it helps keep everything "firm", whereas cardio only, will just create a smaller version of what we already have (meaning any "soft" or "jiggly" parts stay soft/jiggly, but just get smaller over all ). But everyone has their own preferred methods of working (or not working) out.

2) Again, you can make it work as best for you, because everyone's ratios will differ, but it is definitely recommend that you track all three. Those are your basic macro-nutrients, and you should try your best to get proper amounts of all 3. Because this is something that will carry on with you for the rest of your life, it should be something that is attainable for a lifetime. So low-carbing (or other severe limiting/restricting of food groups) is only recommended if for health reasons, or other lifestyle preference (i.e. legit intolerances, vegetarian, diabetic, etc). Not to be used as we used to in "fad diets" just until you reach goal. It's perfectly possible to hit your goals while still including some good carb sources. The ratios that you use will be personal to you, but I do recommend that you track all three (even if you choose to keep carbs lower), as they are essential to good health.

Hope that answers your questions. Be sure to check out all of the stickies and vids to help you to be prepared for the process.

And enjoy your vacation :happy:

~Kiki

bump

Current Stats:
Weight 219
Height 5'5
I work a desk job. I'm a banker and don't work out much on the side.

According to Scooby's Home Workouts:
BMR = 1780
TDEE = 2136
20% Cut = 1709
15% Cut = 1816

So this means if I set my calorie goal in MFP to equal my BMR that would be a better cut for me. I'd rather do the 20% cut than anything else but I can be flexible. Fitbit says that my daily burn is between 2300 and 2500 daily. I have a hard time eating back calories after exercise though. I'm not sure how fitbit adjusts for exercise though since I never see a correlation between my calorie goal on MFP and the deficit created by my fitbit adjustment. I usually have a adjustment of 300-500 calories daily. I also recently adjusted my stride so the calories could fluctuate now.

I'm going to go ahead and put myself out there, because frankly I would love the feedback.

I'm 5'8", 167, and 39 yo.
BMR - 1511
TDEE - 2342
-15% cut is 1991

I have been doing 1500 base + eating back my exercise calories and my weight has been -8 pounds in the last 5 months. I am always starving - always.
I eat pretty clean, sorta vegan really (primarily soya, greek yogurt & tofu), massive quantities of water (2-3 gallons daily). I do HIIT cardio 5-6 days/wk really early am, power yoga 1/day wk, belly dancing 1/day week, lift 3-4 days a week. I do not sleep much or well. Currently work is semi-sedentary - I work in Construction so a day may be really busy and I'm on my feet all day or sit in meetings all day. My lowest weight was 148 (size 2) and my husband complained - that was February 2011 BEFORE I quit smoking.
I hit 175 at christmas and it's really getting to me. April 30th - I'm one year smoke free and have really good upper body toning (from the yoga - which I HIGHLY recommend), but weight is almost stagnant.
(Note: this has been a lifestyle change since I started this journey 9/13/10 @ 261 pounds)
I would welcome any thoughts and/or feedback.
Thanks :blushing:

I'm going to go ahead and put myself out there, because frankly I would love the feedback.

I'm 5'8", 167, and 39 yo.
BMR - 1511
TDEE - 2342
-15% cut is 1991

I have been doing 1500 base + eating back my exercise calories and my weight has been -8 pounds in the last 5 months. I am always starving - always.
I eat pretty clean, sorta vegan really (primarily soya, greek yogurt & tofu), massive quantities of water (2-3 gallons daily). I do HIIT cardio 5-6 days/wk really early am, power yoga 1/day wk, belly dancing 1/day week, lift 3-4 days a week. I do not sleep much or well. Currently work is semi-sedentary - I work in Construction so a day may be really busy and I'm on my feet all day or sit in meetings all day. My lowest weight was 148 (size 2) and my husband complained - that was February 2011 BEFORE I quit smoking.
I hit 175 at christmas and it's really getting to me. April 30th - I'm one year smoke free and have really good upper body toning (from the yoga - which I HIGHLY recommend), but weight is almost stagnant.
(Note: this has been a lifestyle change since I started this journey 9/13/10 @ 261 pounds)
I would welcome any thoughts and/or feedback.
Thanks :blushing:

ok..........Feedback....(you ready? )

way.too.much.exercise :noway:

You are overtraining, sweetie...

yes, you def need to up the cals w/all of that working out. but I also suggest that you check out this link I posted in my status earlier, to get where I'm coming from:
http://www.shapefit.com/overtraining-exercising-too-much.html

Any of it sound familiar? :huh:


~Kiki

Basic Metabolic Rate (BMR): 1480

Daily Calories to Maintain Weight (TDEE): 2035

Daily Calories based on Goal in Step 6: 1729


So...how many calories should I be eating daily, then? 1729? or 1480? I'm confused...

Basic Metabolic Rate (BMR): 1480

Daily Calories to Maintain Weight (TDEE): 2035

Daily Calories based on Goal in Step 6: 1729


So...how many calories should I be eating daily, then? 1729? or 1480? I'm confused...

1729 daily

What about on days that I exercise? Just eat the same amount? I'd prefer a steady number and just not eat the exercise calories back.