Is 1500 enough ?
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markjackson1970
Posts: 9
Have kind of stagnated after a month, been sticking to 1500 and dropped ten pounds or so from 239 to 228 but been stuck on 228 for over a week now, im male and 41, I cycle the 14 mile round trip to work most days at a good speed, so an hours exercise and walk the dog.
Am managing on 1500 and mostly sticking to it, not eating back exercise calories, not hungry all the time but feel like I have just stuck on 228, my BMR always comes out around 2000 cals so should I be eating nearer this, my job is sedentary so I work on my TDEE being 2400 or so, plus the cycling, MFP says that uses 780 cals but I think its probably nearer 500.
Feel a bit headachy at the moment but it could be a tooth playing up.
I can continue as I am, but not sure if I am doing the right thing.
Am managing on 1500 and mostly sticking to it, not eating back exercise calories, not hungry all the time but feel like I have just stuck on 228, my BMR always comes out around 2000 cals so should I be eating nearer this, my job is sedentary so I work on my TDEE being 2400 or so, plus the cycling, MFP says that uses 780 cals but I think its probably nearer 500.
Feel a bit headachy at the moment but it could be a tooth playing up.
I can continue as I am, but not sure if I am doing the right thing.
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Replies
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I would stick to it. A week of no loss isn't really a plateau, just a normal thing. 10 lbs. in a month is great. Your body will take some 'rest weeks' here and there but it all will average out in the end.
I agree, your cycling is probably over-rated, calorie-wise. I ride that distance regularly and I think for me (female, 46, 20 lbs. overweight) it's more like 300 calories burned based on HRM and Endomondo and just how it feels, exertion-wise, compared to other exercises I know the burn levels on.0 -
Thanks, will press on, suppose ten pounds in a month is pretty goog, just got used to getting ont he scales and another pound having gone.0
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I can't say if 1500 is enough but I am changing to the zig zag and seeing if that helps. If you aren't losing change it up!0
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My advice is always eat your exercise calories or at least most of them.0
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I highly recommend browsing through the thread, "Eat more to weigh less." There is some really informative info. It's possible that your metabolism has adjusted to your new routine. You may need to kick your metabolism in gear and eat more.0
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My advice is always eat your exercise calories or at least most of them.
In this instance I agree with this statement. Basically you are only giving your body 1000 cals to function off of. Weight loss or no weight loss that's just not healthy longterm.0 -
You should be eating back some if not all of your exercise calories. Your body needs the fuel to repair itself for one.0
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I platued about the same spot myself. What broke me through it was changing my exercise routine slightly. I would recommend doing this every so often. I added 1 set to each exercise I did and it helped me break through. Now I try to change it up every 3-4 weeks as not to stall out.
Keep at it. You will break through.0 -
How much do you want/need to lose? Losing at 1500 isn't too bad, but I would caution you that as you lose you may need to change your calories, possibly increasing them or zig-zagging as someone else mentioned. However, one week is not a plateau. Personally, I would eat more because of the cycling.0
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You shouldn't be eating less than your BMR.0
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You are not "sedentary" if you bike 14 miles a day.
Do you know what "BMR" really is? It's the basic energy your body needs to survive.
No, you are not eating enough.0 -
Yes,, understand BMR and TDEE, I kind of rate myself as sedentary and work on a TDEE of 2400 and then add on the exercise as my job is in IT and I sit on my backside all day, hence the cycling, which I sometimes extend to 20 plus miles by doing a longer route home, was in the car today as here in England this week it has been horrendous rain, normally doesn't bother me but I got soaked last night so all my gear was sodden, in fact perhaps I was waterlogged !
Think I might bump up the calories and see what happens, it is a novelty for me for someone to say I am not eating enough !
Think I need to have a smaller deficit and not panic if I dont lose for a while.0 -
If it's 1500 total and you're not eating back the 700 calories you burn on that pretty significant bike ride to and from work, I would definitely start eating that back. Especially if you seem to have hit some sort of plateau. I eat all mine back and go over by 400-500 on a regular basis, but every Friday I get on the scale and I'm 1-3 pounds closer to my goal weight.
Try to eat more and see what happens the next two weeks. If you haven't lost in a while, you've got nothing to lose by switching it up.0 -
Yes,, understand BMR and TDEE, I kind of rate myself as sedentary and work on a TDEE of 2400 and then add on the exercise as my job is in IT and I sit on my backside all day, hence the cycling, which I sometimes extend to 20 plus miles by doing a longer route home, was in the car today as here in England this week it has been horrendous rain, normally doesn't bother me but I got soaked last night so all my gear was sodden, in fact perhaps I was waterlogged !
Think I might bump up the calories and see what happens, it is a novelty for me for someone to say I am not eating enough !
Think I need to have a smaller deficit and not panic if I dont lose for a while.
You probably won't have as small a deficit as you think, since your activity level is very unlikely to be sedentary.. Even if you were sedentary, 1500 is very low for a man. Do not panic if you gain either, because you're likely to gain water weight once you start properly feeding your body. Remember, if you up your calories - by even 400 per day - that's still less than 1 pound per week, so if the scale goes up by 3 or 4 pounds, it's technically impossible for it to be fat gains. If you do up your calories, and I suggest you do, I'd even advise you put the scale away for like a month or more before weighing in again. Yes, people can lose big numbers eating very little food and saving money, but I'd rather be able to eat more, enjoy my life, and not gain every pound (and more) back when I hit my goal and try eating at maintenance levels.0 -
So, perhaps bump to 1800 ?
Really appreciate the help with this !0 -
Sedentary TDEE estimate of 2400 plus 14miles of biking daily and a BMR of 2000. Why are you eating 1500? Where did that idea come from? You're teaching your body how to do everything it's supposed to do on 2400+ calories with just 1500. It will learn how to do that. You will end up eating 1500 calories/day for life to maintain whatever weight loss you do end up seeing and you will probably feel terrible.
Please eat more. You're a man in your 40's. You should be priming your body to go into your 50s and 60s in great shape. You can't do that if you don't fuel it.
You should be eating at least 2000 per day plus all the calories you burn from biking. Then you'll have a deficit of about 400/day and will lose almost a pound a week.0 -
What is your BMR? (Edit, this was kinda rhetorical but anyhow, you said it's around 2000 - close enough to my own. I eat 2500 PLUS exercise calories and I'm doing just fine, though I am a bit younger).So, perhaps bump to 1800 ?
Really appreciate the help with this !
If you refuse to eat exercise calories (or don't monitor with a good HRM) then go to http://www.fat2fitradio.com/tools/bmr/ and get their recommendation for your goal weight. MFP is far too aggressive, especially when people set themselves to sedentary and aim for 2 pounds per week.0 -
Feel a bit silly now
I took the MFP recommendation of 1500, in fat it came up initially as 1600 as I thought I was 250 plus, was actually 239, not good but not as bad as it could have been. Have been following it religiously and have been within a few calories, only thing I didnt count was milk in Coffee as I forgot, but that cant be many.
Will order a HRM so I can more accurately work out the number of calories I use during the cycling, have been doing that for four years now and it is fairly easy, can bowl along at 18/20 mph but the system rates that as racing and says its 1000 cals or more, so downgraded to 14-16 mph (vigorous), I find it fairly easy now and try to boost my pace, I end up smoking past most of the other cyclists I see on the commute, much to their chagrin, the younger ones when the chubby middle aged bloke goes steaming past !
It is a bit of a relief really to think I should eat a bit more, 1500 doesn't go very far.0 -
You are not "sedentary" if you bike 14 miles a day.
Do you know what "BMR" really is? It's the basic energy your body needs to survive.
No, you are not eating enough.
BMR has nothing to do with the food you eat today. It is what your body burns to survive, yes. But it can burn off stored calories just as well as today's intake. The body doesn't really differentiate. It's like saying you need to replace the gas your car burns in a day, each day. It's just a tank of gas. If you want to make the tank lighter, you just need to drive more than you fill.0 -
Feel a bit silly now
I took the MFP recommendation of 1500, in fat it came up initially as 1600 as I thought I was 250 plus, was actually 239, not good but not as bad as it could have been. Have been following it religiously and have been within a few calories, only thing I didnt count was milk in Coffee as I forgot, but that cant be many.
Will order a HRM so I can more accurately work out the number of calories I use during the cycling, have been doing that for four years now and it is fairly easy, can bowl along at 18/20 mph but the system rates that as racing and says its 1000 cals or more, so downgraded to 14-16 mph (vigorous), I find it fairly easy now and try to boost my pace, I end up smoking past most of the other cyclists I see on the commute, much to their chagrin, the younger ones when the chubby middle aged bloke goes steaming past !
It is a bit of a relief really to think I should eat a bit more, 1500 doesn't go very far.
Don't feel silly! There is so much junk information out there... I just feel badly that a grown man is led to believe he has to starve to take off some unwanted weight. Just FYI... I'm 37, female 5'7" and 172 lbs... I'm eating 2000 calories per day PLUS all my exercise calories (about 3500/week) and am not gaining if I don't gain fat eating that much, you won't.0
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