azalais7 Member

I think it's because your weight distributes differently/variably across the surface of the scale, so it can't get an accurate read.

Nuts are great for you and having some every day within your calorie range is fine. But 600 calories worth may well mean that you're denying your body something it needs--what's your overall calorie allowance?

The basic idea is to get your average TDEE over a week, so it doesn't really matter if you do less exercise on one day and more on another. I exercise approximately 3.5 hours a week, and like you I'm not constantly on the move the rest of the time (I'm a teacher). My activity level is set to 3-5 hours, and my TDEE 15% cut…

Whatever your total consumed calories for the day are (1840 or whatever), you would subtract your exercise calories from that to determine whether you're eating above your BMR. If you're eating 1840, you'd only have to burn 75 calories through exercise to take you below your BMR. If you have yourself set at light activity…

The main reason free weights are better is that they incorporate more muscles ("compound exercises") rather than involving just one muscle group ("isolation exercises"). Machines are largely isolation exercises. As others have said, using machines is better than nothing! But you might add in some bodyweight compound…

And you can build a slight bit of muscle on a small deficit. I'm eating at about 300-250 below TDEE and am slowly gaining muscle and burning fat.

I would shoot for three times a week to give your body sufficient time to rest. If you're focusing on one body area each time (e.g. legs one day, back and chest another day, etc.), you might be able to do four times a week. But rest is key! Otherwise you risk overtraining, which will stall your progress.

It partly depends on how you've calculated your TDEE in the first place. What kind of activity level did you use?

I would absolutely not take this person's comment as evidence that you need to do something more about your rear.

It's because MFP largely follows conventional wisdom that a good diet is full of carbs.

Re: exercise calories: the MFP calorie goal is based on your supposed daily activity level, not counting exercise, and is what you should be eating if you don't do anything else. In other words, the calorie deficit is already built in. The reason to eat back exercise calories is that exercise takes that deficit even lower,…

Yeah, it's unfortunate that MFP automatically puts your number in GLARING RED OH MY GOD! when you go over on your protein macro, when its default setting should in fact be a minimum goal for most folks.

HA!

Your protein levels are fine--MFP automatically sets the percentage on the low end of things. General recommendations are anywhere between .5 grams-1 gram of protein per pound of lean body weight per day. I shoot for 100 grams a day.

Yep--but the online calculator is free. :wink:

It's true that it's impossible to get a super accurate measurement of body fat without the calipers or the water displacement tank (and even those won't necessarily be 100%). However, if you pick one method and stick with it, it will at least allow you to measure change. I agree that if you're using an online calculator…

The Paleo diet doesn't have an issue with good fats (e. g. eggs, avocado, fat from fish--which is incredibly good for you!). Not only are fats necessary, they also help increase satiety. And it isn't zero carb--it allows vegetables, which have some carbs. This isn't to say I think strict Paleo is the way to go, but I don't…

I do want to stress, as a few others have, that when you are doing a program such as 30 Day Shred that incorporates weights into a cardio workout, there is such a thing as too heavy for safety. What the OP is talking about here is not straight-up lifting. OP, how long have you been doing the program? Do you no longer feel…

This was not a lecture. I was simply pointing out that it's not likely analogous to the OP's situation, and given that she expresses concern about the possibility of getting big and bulky if she uses heavier weights, potentially misleading.

Is she going to do 30DS all day long? Does she have testosterone levels like a man?

Yep, me too!

Uses and needs is pretty much the same thing--BMR is what your body needs to sustain itself even if you were in a coma. Since we all get up, go to work, etc., we burn more than that every day already. Add in exercise, and the burn goes up even more. I'm 5'7", 168 lbs, 38 years old, 31% BF. I can't remember what MFP gave me…

Yep.

Just FYI, you would have to work extremely hard, lifting incredibly heavy and eating over maintenance, to even hope to get big bulky muscles as a woman. For the vast majority of us, lifting heavy a few times a week will create precisely the "toned" look you want and raise your metabolism a bit. On edit: What erickirb said.

This is completely and utterly awesome. In my case, it was engagement photos. The one in my profile is one I actually like, even if I am still a little upset at how thick I look through the middle. Others in the set, though, really horrified me, and I couldn't focus on how happy I look in them. There's going to be an awful…

From what I understand, folks who have a great deal of weight to lose may continue to lose eating below BMR longer than other folks, simply because their BMR is so much higher in the first place.

I would totally agree. Yes, you do want to take it a bit slowly so that your metabolism adjusts.

You may well not be eating *enough*. One of the unfortunate things that happens if you go on a very low calorie diet is that your metabolism slows to compensate. That means that at a certain point you'll hit a plateau where your body has adjusted to functioning on very few calories.

Sounds like a good conversation. I can only say what others have said, that this is probably a combination of two things. First, he may have his own insecurities and feel as if your excited comments about the progress you've been making are somehow a criticism of him for not doing the same. Second, as someone else noted…

Weight training will also help you increase your muscle mass, which will increase your metabolism.