Newb Alert!! Fat loss questions...

[berrypr]

Hello All,

Looking for clarification on a couple of things...I'll try not to be too long winded....

Important Stuff:
5'6.5"
195
21
39.3% BF according to linear software measurements

1) Cals; read the stickies and calculated my maintenance to be about 2,300 (not tested) so i reduced to 1800 for fat loss. Not seeing much change but it's been 3 weeks and I'm in it for the long haul so I'm patient. At this point I am able to eat the things I enjoy without guilt or feeling hungry so I guess I feel like it's too go to be true!! Am I on the right track or should I go higher or lower??

2) Net; Is one to net their calorie goal daily? I've seen people say you don't have to "eat back" your workout cals but if you're already at a decent deficit wouldn't it be counterproductive to not eat them?

3) Workout; Currently doing C25K MWF and NROL4W with about 20 minutes cardio TThSa and many days my friends want to take a class at the gym so I'll do that as well so I average about 400 exercise cals a day. Is this plan sufficient?

I believe that's it! Like I said I feel as though I eat plenty for satiety but I guess I wonder if it's enough for my body. I get 7-8 hours of sleep and I can get through the day without a nap like a needed before I started. I drink 8-10 glasses of water a day sometimes more. I feel like I'm doing it all right but my measurements are stagnant and I'd hate to waste a bunch of time (and patience) on a plan that doesn't work.

Any help is much appreciated!

[gwnorth]

At 1800 cals/day you should be seeing results. How are you tracking your calories?

This is completely anecdotal, but I found when I was dieting, apart from the immediate water losses in the first 2 weeks, I didn't really see significant changes in the scale until the 6 week mark.

[berrypr]

At 1800 cals/day you should be seeing results. How are you tracking your calories?

This is completely anecdotal, but I found when I was dieting, apart from the immediate water losses in the first 2 weeks, I didn't really see significant changes in the scale until the 6 week mark.

I use my fitness pal to track and all say that's pretty accurate...

6 weeks isn't too far off!! That's reassuring! If at 8 weeks I'm still in the same place would you say calorie reduction is the best step?

[Amanda76]

I use my fitness pal to track and all say that's pretty accurate...

6 weeks isn't too far off!! That's reassuring! If at 8 weeks I'm still in the same place would you say calorie reduction is the best step?

Are you weighing and measuring your foods or just eyeballing it and entering your guesstimates into fitness pal? If you're guesstimating or eating out too much (letting someone else be in control of what's on your plate), NO tracker you use is going to work very well but that's because of inaccuracies you are causing.

Do you have cheat days?

So far as "eating back" your workout calories, most methods of estimating your total daily energy expenditure are going to have your workouts figured in already as an average of what you need in a day. I use the Harris Benedict formula, to come up with my BMR and if you used that it looks like you used "lightly active" as your activity multiplier? Your workouts should have you at the "moderately active" level making it so that you can afford to eat a couple hundred more calories than you have been on a daily basis while loosing an average of a pound a week. So I am surprised you haven't noticed ANY difference eating 1,800 calories if your food entries are accurate and you don't have a day or two when you take a break from your diet.

If you're positive your counts are accurate, give it another couple of weeks before making any adjustments. You could be at a time in your monthly cycle where progress is being masked by water retention. If nothing changes, I'd post a more detailed description of what you eat in a day so someone can figure out what is going on.

[berrypr]

Are you weighing and measuring your foods or just eyeballing it and entering your guesstimates into fitness pal? If you're guesstimating or eating out too much (letting someone else be in control of what's on your plate), NO tracker you use is going to work very well but that's because of inaccuracies you are causing.

I was measuring and weighing everything for two weeks no cheats then I went home for a week (for spring break) and I stopped tracking. I know the foods I ate weren't the best choices but I tried to watch my portions. Of course that can easily get you in to trouble so that's probably what messed me up. But the almost 2 weeks after I got back on track and still no changes.

So far as "eating back" your workout calories, most methods of estimating your total daily energy expenditure are going to have your workouts figured in already as an average of what you need in a day. I use the Harris Benedict formula, to come up with my BMR and if you used that it looks like you used "lightly active" as your activity multiplier? Your workouts should have you at the "moderately active" level making it so that you can afford to eat a couple hundred more calories than you have been on a daily basis while loosing an average of a pound a week. So I am surprised you haven't noticed ANY difference eating 1,800 calories if your food entries are accurate and you don't have a day or two when you take a break from your diet.

So you're saying based in these numbers I can eat back my workout calories and be fine?

I can do better with getting more protein in so maybe I'll work on that. And I have been eating out for lunch but I use the company calories and I pay attention to what they deem a serving size as compared to what I ate. I thought I was doing it correctly but I guess I can start cooking my lunches to insure I'm getting all of the right numbers at every meal.

So for now I'll stick to my calories and my workout add more protein and eat lunch at home. See you all in 3 more weeks!!

Thank you for your help ladies!

[andrerox80]

So you're saying based in these numbers I can eat back my workout calories and be fine?

you don't eat back workout calories. those calories are taken into account in your activity factor (which is used to figure out your maintenance from your bmr).

[Amanda76]

I was measuring and weighing everything for two weeks no cheats then I went home for a week (for spring break) and I stopped tracking. I know the foods I ate weren't the best choices but I tried to watch my portions. Of course that can easily get you in to trouble so that's probably what messed me up. But the almost 2 weeks after I got back on track and still no changes.





So you're saying based in these numbers I can eat back my workout calories and be fine?

I can do better with getting more protein in so maybe I'll work on that. And I have been eating out for lunch but I use the company calories and I pay attention to what they deem a serving size as compared to what I ate. I thought I was doing it correctly but I guess I can start cooking my lunches to insure I'm getting all of the right numbers at every meal.

So for now I'll stick to my calories and my workout add more protein and eat lunch at home. See you all in 3 more weeks!!

Thank you for your help ladies!

What I was saying was that you DON'T need to eat your activity levels back because they are already figured into your daily average.

I was surprised you weren't seeing any change eating 1,800 calories a day because your activity level should be allowing you to eat a little more than that every day while making progress. But, you haven't stuck solidly to those calories and have allowed other people to be in control of your food so it is possible you've been eating more than what you thought.

Preparing your own lunches and working more protein into your calories are great changes to make. Hopefully that will get the scale moving over the next few weeks!

[LunicaAshes]

You will probably get back on track if you track really well from here on out. I got off the habit of tracking a few weeks in and my progress stalled even though I thought I was doing well. Once I got into tracking meticulously, I realized I had been eating closer to maintenance during that time. Good luck! Let us know how it goes.

[berrypr]

Since I shouldn't be eating workout calories i think that may be part of the problem up!! I was eating around 2100-2200 cals a day but with exercise I was netting 1800!! Oh my it's no wonder there's no change...thank you all for the heads up!

Adding to my changes no more tracking exercise so I won't be tempted by the "extra" cals!! Thanx everyone!

[Amanda76]

Since I shouldn't be eating workout calories i think that may be part of the problem up!! I was eating around 2100-2200 cals a day but with exercise I was netting 1800!! Oh my it's no wonder there's no change...thank you all for the heads up!

Adding to my changes no more tracking exercise so I won't be tempted by the "extra" cals!! Thanx everyone!

Keep us posted on your results!

[berrypr]

Hello ladies!

Just wanted to come back and thank you all!! I couldn't wait until tomorrow to see if the scale ha changed but looking in the mirror today I noticed a bit of a decrease in my waist! I haven't measured but I find comfort in seeing it so I am definitely keeping up with the changes you all encouraged...thank you thank you thank you!!!

[Amanda76]

Hello ladies!

Just wanted to come back and thank you all!! I couldn't wait until tomorrow to see if the scale ha changed but looking in the mirror today I noticed a bit of a decrease in my waist! I haven't measured but I find comfort in seeing it so I am definitely keeping up with the changes you all encouraged...thank you thank you thank you!!!

That's wonderful! I would take tape-measurements and pictures (nobody has to see them but you) on a monthly basis because sometimes the scale doesn't give you all the information you need. Also, as you lean up sometimes the changes don't seem as dramatic as time goes on (you see yourself every day), but when you compare pictures from month 1 to pictures from month 3 or a year from now, the changes are obvious.

Keep up the great work!