Help! I can't get my calories right

indyang77
indyang77 Posts: 34 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hey everyone, need some feedback. I started off at 1290 per MFP suggestion. I lost 25 lbs in 3 moths and in the subsequent 6.5 months I've lost another 15. I started P90x and upped my calories at the suggestion of my Beach Body coach to around 1500. The scale started moving some but now I'm doing doubles --P90x in the morning and a 2 mile power walk at night. I am burning between 800-900 calories a day and based on my updated research, I think my net calories need to be around 1800. I really want to get back to losing 2 lbs a week but HOLY CRAP it feels like all I do is eat and it's hard to keep the macro nutrients in check also. Can anyone give some pointers??? thank you!!

Replies

  • daniellexcara
    daniellexcara Posts: 114 Member
    bump, need help with this too
  • AFitJamie
    AFitJamie Posts: 172 Member
    Hey everyone, need some feedback. I started off at 1290 per MFP suggestion. I lost 25 lbs in 3 moths and in the subsequent 6.5 months I've lost another 15. I started P90x and upped my calories at the suggestion of my Beach Body coach to around 1500. The scale started moving some but now I'm doing doubles --P90x in the morning and a 2 mile power walk at night. I am burning between 800-900 calories a day and based on my updated research, I think my net calories need to be around 1800. I really want to get back to losing 2 lbs a week but HOLY CRAP it feels like all I do is eat and it's hard to keep the macro nutrients in check also. Can anyone give some pointers??? thank you!!

    Hi indyang,

    First, congrats on the 40 Lbs lost!

    I'm not sure why you think your net calorie needs have increased so much? You've been doing this a while, so I suspect you know the standard responses.... I'm thinking that eating 2600 calories isn't that terribly difficult, but if you want to lose more - then consuming less really shouldn't be a problem. (I recogize that at this point I dont know your stats/BMR so it is always hazardous to say anything about targets without details, but....) I know there is a whole army that chants the 'eat more lose more' motto, but the reality for most people is that it simply isn't accurate - if you eat more, your calorie deficit isn't as high and you will not extract as many calories from fat stores... recognizing that presumably you've been eating enough to keep yourself energized and minimize muscle loss (In your BMR range).

    Also, depending on how much you have left to lose, I'm sure you know that maintaining your pace of weight loss will become more difficult.

    And lastly, how long have you been doing the heavy workouts? Any chance your current weight is being impacted by water retention as your muscles heal? (typically only a short term 2-3 week type experience....)

    I recognize these are more questions than pointers, but without a few more details people are unlikely to be ale to fill in some of the blanks for you - so thought I'd ask some and bump this for you at the same time....
  • indyang77
    indyang77 Posts: 34 Member
    Finally! Someone replied :). I have been doing p90x for 8 wks now and just recently started adding in 2 mile walks in the evening, I average 870-950 calories burned hru weight loss a day. My B M R is 2200 calories and about 1700 for weight loss. That means I have to eat around 2600 calories or so to net 1700. After being on 1200 for so long, I am really struggling!!! I try to watch carbs as I respond better to controlled carbs and sugar so then my fat is always up. I can't get in 2600 by eating veggies alone. This can't be this difficult!! :(
  • gjwillia1
    gjwillia1 Posts: 3
    Good for you on the p90x. Great program. Get x2 when you're done. You'll get more athletic. On to calories. It is always easier to take your needed calories including workouts for seven days and average. Day to day calculations are too easy to get wrong. If you know your intake based on the week, then it's easier to adjust up or down for added or lost calorie burn. Also, keep in mind that fat burn slows when you become more fit. Two pounds per week when you are very overweight is not too extreme, but is not possible when you are say 10lbs over. Lastly, don't pay too much attention to the scale. Stay focused on total gains...Strength, endurance, speed, recovery time. All that stuff matters as well. And your best friend of all, the mirror. If you look better then you are better. Though fat loss and muscle gain at the same time is REALLY complicated it can and does happen. So just keep trudging. Base your needs on how you feel. I don't mean, I feel like a cheeseburger, I mean, "I need more carbs", or "I need more protein", or "I just need more food today". Listen to your body and it will tell you. Keep rockin 90x'er.
  • AFitJamie
    AFitJamie Posts: 172 Member
    So a few thoughts..... And more questions...

    You say your BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate) is 2200 calories.. And I'm not arguing here, just trying to understand, but could that be your TDEE? (Total Daily Energy Expenditure) if your BM is 2200, your target net calories really shouldn't be lower than this....

    If I am interpreting your post as TDEE, then think I understand that you are taking 500 calories off of you TDEE a day to lose 1 Lb a week and thus targeting 1700 calories... If this is right, then I would ask what your BMR is (you can msg me your height, age, weight and I can look it up if you like) because you may be able to lower the 1700 a bit - down to net just above your BMR. This can take the strain of feeling like you *have* to eat for those days if you are getting above your BMR on a net calorie intake.

    Now as for getting calories in, the are a lot of options, but one that i often suggest is nuts.. Healthy fats and good protein and *very* calorie dense. Almonds, peanut butter, etc. protein shakes as a supplement could be helpful if you are not getting enough protein. Many are good just to round out a day with increasing protein and closing a calorie gap if you need it. (supplements really should be that though... Supplement your diet, not become a staple of it in my view, but I do use protein shakes.) and of course low fat proteins are great to help you retain your muscle and get your calories - chicken is probably my favorite protein (not deli meat, but cooked whole chicken breast).

    Lastly, and I know this may sound like blasphemy, but are you sure you want to burn off so many calories each day? A solid workout routine is fantastic. it helps retain muscle and encourages fat loss, but if you start working so hard you start to put a strong drag on your calorie intake to the point you are not meeting your base calorie needs each day, then maybe dial the workout back a bit. I would say this is especially true if you feel this workout pace isn't something you are likely sustain when you go to maintenance.... You just want to be careful of building eating habits sound burning 800-900 every day and then stop doing it... Because you obviously need to adjust the food intake then as well....


    Hope this is helpful?
  • indyang77
    indyang77 Posts: 34 Member
    I do love P90X and already have x2 on deck for when I finish :) In 8 weeks I have only lost 6 lbs even w/ all that work but nearly 13" so I am learning that the scale isnt' always teh best judge.

    I do think maybe 900 calories a day in a workout is too much. I just can't get enough calories to keep up at that rate. Plus I"m stinkin tired! LOL.

    I did actually mean my TDEE is 2200. I am not good w/ all the lingo. I need to keep it simple :) How many NET calories a day should I shoot for. MFP has me at 1200 and I know that is not enough, yet I struggle to get much over 1500.
  • AFitJamie
    AFitJamie Posts: 172 Member
    PM sent

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