May have miscalculated my TDEE. Looking for perspective on my cut.

[ASTRONOMICAL]

I'm 5'11, 187#, ~18%BF

Ive been eating 1800 a day for the last 5 weeks and following a strict IIFYM diet of what most would consider "very clean". I've went from 192.5 to 187. Seems reasonable, but, I'm concerned I may be eating too little. I did the math, but, I may have labeled myself as more sedentary than I really am. Hard to say.

Is it possible that upping my calories by 100 or 200 may actually increase my weight loss or is that just ridiculous?

I'm just considering if I should make any changes for cycle 2 of Allpro's routine. I'll use my calipers after week 5 ends and try and determine what % of my loss has been fat. Perhaps I'm just doing a much more "precise" cut than I've done in the past when I didn't count calories and ate way less protein. My hopes are that I'm just losing less because its all fat as opposed to a lot of muscle in the past.

Thanks.

[Swaffield]

increasing calories will not speed up weight loss, and theres nothing wrong with 5 lbs in 5 weeks, to lose 1 lb a week you would need a calorie deficit of 500 daily and for 2 lbs a week would be a deficit of 1000 cals a day seeing as 1 lb of fat is made of 3500 calories.

[illiniStrive]

1800 for someone at your stats does sound low, but 5lbs in 5 weeks sounds pretty reasonable, so it's likely you're eating more than 1800 calories.

Instead of just increasing calories, it would be better if you got a stricter handle on what your actual intake is so you can better evaluate the situation.

[ASTRONOMICAL]

I guess that sounds right. I was aiming for a 500 cal deficit. I'm going to stop trying to compare my progress to other peoples progress of similar stats. On that note, I don't know how someone with my stats would lose 2 pounds a week without cutting far too many calories and losing lean mass.

Should I just keep doing what I'm doing or can I push for more somehow?

When I do a lot of working out it often feels like a task to eat all the extra calories. I've wondered if my cut would go faster if I did a larger deficit on those days once my protein and fat minimal requirements were met (1G protein and .5G fat per# LBM). Thoughts?

[lee__d]

1800 for someone at your stats does sound low, but 5lbs in 5 weeks sounds pretty reasonable, so it's likely you're eating more than 1800 calories.

Instead of just increasing calories, it would be better if you got a stricter handle on what your actual intake is so you can better evaluate the situation.

This^

I'm entering everything in CalorieKing software and Im weighing it all.

When I do e.g. 700 calories of working out I add that to my daily allowance, too. Perhaps my numbers are off.

Either way, I'm pleased with this rate if its all fat. Time will tell.

Wait. Are you saying that you're eating 2500 calories then?

[ASTRONOMICAL]

I eat 1800 + whatever my workout for the day adds up to. Rest days I only eat 1800.

Sorry I revamped my previous post

[lee__d]

I eat 1800 + whatever my workout for the day adds up to. Rest days I only eat 1800.

So you're not eating 1800 calories per day. Exactly how much do you eat on workout days? Does it vary on certain workout days? How are you estimating (it's inaccurate) expenditure? This is why we suggest to measure and adjust intake based on results and not to worry about estimating expenditure to any significant degree.

[ASTRONOMICAL]

So you're not eating 1800 calories per day. Exactly how much do you eat on workout days? Does it vary on certain workout days? How are you estimating (it's inaccurate) expenditure? This is why we suggest to measure and adjust intake based on results and not to worry about estimating expenditure to any significant degree.

No, I'm not eating 1800 calories every day. Yes, it varies on workout days. I estimated Allpro's at 300 cal for the 35 min it takes me and I estimate jogging 5K to be a little over 400 cal. The cardio varies, so, the additional calories vary.

Thanks for the help, all of you. I appreciate it. Sorry I didn't include everything (sometimes I write wayyyyy too much and get minimal response).

[lee__d]

No, I'm not eating 1800 calories every day. Yes, it varies on workout days. I estimated Allpro's at 300 cal for the 35 min it takes me and I estimate jogging 5K to be a little over 400 cal. The cardio varies, so, the additional calories vary.

Thanks for the help, all of you. I appreciate it. Sorry I didn't include everything (sometimes I write wayyyyy too much and get minimal response).

It's important to list everything pertinent. And I'm not picking on you, but this could be a good example for people to see. Countless times we tell people they are not accurate when they say "I'm eating ___ calories per day", and almost every time they are in fact eating more.

[cnh57811]

That is actually good news for you, OP. What you are telling us is that you eat 2500 cals on workout days and 1800 on rest days. Assuming you workout 4 and rest 3, that averages to 2200. That makes your maintenance 2700.

There are several reasons that we don't recommend adding in 'burned workout' calories. For one, it is very inaccurate to try and do this. Secondly, when your maintenance is calculated, the activity factor already accounts for those cals burned during a workout. BMR * Activity Factor = TDEE. So, there is no need to add those cals back in...they're already there. Sorry for the novel, but this was worth explaining, I thought.

[Tommy W.]

To get your true daily caloric intake, add all weekly cals and divide by 7. THIS is your daily intake.


To the OP, If it ain't broke don't fix it. When you plateau just cut back the cals slightly. If your loss is going well there's no reason to re invent things.

[ASTRONOMICAL]

Thank you. That really helped clear things up. I didn't account for my workout in my activity factor, I only assessed my daily life, which is sedentary.

If I understand correctly, I should figure out (approximately) how much my weekly expenditure from workouts is and I should spread it evenly across my week? Should I now just do 2200 a day regardless of whether or not its a training day or should I keep doing what I have been (which is assessing daily calories and not weekly averages)? To balance or not to balance the week.

and a related question

Should I keep working off 800 calories the afternoon of a night of heavy drinking or should I just spread that out over the week as well? Seems like I could spread it from how I'm getting this now. I'm not giving up brewing, so, don't even suggest I don't drink it in the first place. Those IPAs are best fresh.


Guess I'm thinking too much. I'll have to revisit the calorie & macro sticky, but, I don't remember all of this being there in the original post.

Thanks Lee, cnh, Tommy, illini and swaff.

[cnh57811]

As long as you are eating 2200*7=15400 cals per week, the timing of those calories has a negligible effect on body composition. YOU should choose how to split those cals up depending on how you respond to meals around your workout, how you enjoy eating your food, etc. It's really personal choice from here on out.

I personally eat like a bird during the day and like a king in the evenings. I just like going to bed full.

[lee__d]

Thank you. That really helped clear things up. I didn't account for my workout in my activity factor, I only assessed my daily life, which is sedentary.

If I understand correctly, I should figure out (approximately) how much my weekly expenditure from workouts is and I should spread it evenly across my week? Should I now just do 2200 a day regardless of whether or not its a training day or should I keep doing what I have been (which is assessing daily calories and not weekly averages)? To balance or not to balance the week.

and a related question

Should I keep working off 800 calories the afternoon of a night of heavy drinking or should I just spread that out over the week as well? Seems like I could spread it from how I'm getting this now. I'm not giving up brewing, so, don't even suggest I don't drink it in the first place. Those IPAs are best fresh.


Guess I'm thinking too much. I'll have to revisit the calorie & macro sticky, but, I don't remember all of this being there in the original post.

Thanks Lee, cnh, Tommy, illini and swaff.

You can average what you've been eating and eat that amount everyday. Or continue cycling calories like you are. However, if you continue cycling, I wouldn't base it off an estimate of calories burned; I would just pick two amounts: Say 1800 off day and 2500 workout day, just so it eliminates a variable when you do have to adjust calories down when weight loss stops.

[ASTRONOMICAL]

As long as you are eating 2200*7=15400 cals per week, the timing of those calories has a negligible effect on body composition. YOU should choose how to split those cals up depending on how you respond to meals around your workout, how you enjoy eating your food, etc. It's really personal choice from here on out.

I personally eat like a bird during the day and like a king in the evenings. I just like going to bed full.

Thanks for the quick reply. This will make things a lot easier for me. It's not in the cal/macro sticky (not the main post anyhow). Maybe it should be.

I'm going to take this advice and relax a bit. Seems like I'm on track.

[ASTRONOMICAL]

You can average what you've been eating and eat that amount everyday. Or continue cycling calories like you are. However, if you continue cycling, I wouldn't base it off an estimate of calories burned; I would just pick two amounts: Say 1800 off day and 2500 workout day, just so it eliminates a variable when you do have to adjust calories down when weight loss stops.

Sounds simple. Sounds good.

Guess that pretty much concludes this.

I'm going to try a balance through cycle 2 (@2200cal a day) and see how I like it. If I revert back I'll go to 1800*3/2500*4.

Thanks again all ... Anything that simplifies things is good!

[lee__d]

Sounds simple. Sounds good.

Guess that pretty much concludes this.

I'm going to try a balance through cycle 2 (@2200cal a day) and see how I like it. If I revert back I'll go to 1800*3/2500*4.

Thanks again all ... Anything that simplifies things is good!

In the end, the real reason to increase on workout days is just to help performance. If dropping the calories doesn't hurt and makes it simple, then by all means.