I’m so frustrated how many calories and macros should I be eating?

[Kat303]

I’m trying to cut and I keep crashing on my diet (lethargic, very irritable, sleeping during the day crashing after work and hardly move at times). I know my workouts are suffering too.... I lift 5-6 days a week and usually run a mile 5 days a week and 3.1miles once a week. started working out much more in January.

I’m 4ft 11 and 107 lbs
Currently eating 1300cal could I be on too much of a deficit? 35% carb, 40% protein and supposed to be 25% fat but often I don’t hit that ...

I lost 60 lbs 3 years ago.... I’m no stranger to losing but I can’t keep this up won’t burn if I can’t move! Maybe since I’m smaller now it’s harder? I’m so confused and frustrated

Oh I also went thru this strange bit of insomnia... I’m just all over the place

[Luclin999]

My wife is 5' tall, weight 103 pounds and she needs to eat at 1100 cal/day in order to lose a pound every two weeks. So 1300 may be too much food rather than too little.

[xsquid99]

Unfortunately nobody ever stopped losing weight by eating "too little", as long as you're in a calorie deficit your body will burn fat reserves. However, the smaller you are the less weight you have to lose, so i wouldn't expect that you would see more than 1 lb a week come off at the very most (but more likely its going to be less than that). Your body can also cover up scale weight loss with water weight shifts, and at such a small size that can easily hide weight loss, but that only usually lasts a few weeks at most, so if you've been dieting for 3-4 weeks without any noticeable loss then you'll need to either drop your intake lower or increase your calorie expenditure (move more).

[albanycounty]

If I eat less, Will I lose wait.? I am 6ft if I take 1200 Cals a day and jog 5km daily, how long does it take me to lose 15lbs.?

[brit-iron]

I’m trying to cut and I keep crashing on my diet (lethargic, very irritable, sleeping during the day crashing after work and hardly move at times). I know my workouts are suffering too.... I lift 5-6 days a week and usually run a mile 5 days a week and 3.1miles once a week. started working out much more in January.

I’m 4ft 11 and 107 lbs
Currently eating 1300cal could I be on too much of a deficit? 35% carb, 40% protein and supposed to be 25% fat but often I don’t hit that ...

I lost 60 lbs 3 years ago.... I’m no stranger to losing but I can’t keep this up won’t burn if I can’t move! Maybe since I’m smaller now it’s harder? I’m so confused and frustrated

Oh I also went thru this strange bit of insomnia... I’m just all over the place

So are you losing weight? If yes, how much per week? If more than 1 lb per week, eat more carbs around working out.
If your stalled and not losing then track everything and put yourself back in a deficit.
Also I would do less running and deficit with calories rather than too much exercise.
In fact, quit the running if your lifting hard 5/6 times a week and reset. It sounds like your killing yourself.

[Gringer]

My wife is 5' tall, weight 103 pounds and she needs to eat at 1100 cal/day in order to lose a pound every two weeks. So 1300 may be too much food rather than too little.

That is insanity. Even for a woman. 1300Kcals is too little losing weight or not.

[lsiberian]

Sounds like you hit the limit of your body fat percentage to me. Might be time to take a break from cutting. You are in the healthy BMI range and given you train hard I suspect you are very lean.

[Luclin999]

That is insanity. Even for a woman. 1300Kcals is too little losing weight or not.

My wife's TDEE is on average 1330 cal/day. We've tracked and verified this for months.

[AlexSays]

That is insanity. Even for a woman. 1300Kcals is too little losing weight or not.

Completely untrue

[Gringer]

Completely untrue

1300Kcals everyday is starving yourself. Sorry but that's not healthy in any way. That's like a breakfast to some people.

Why?????

[Luclin999]

1300Kcals everyday is starving yourself. Sorry but that's not healthy in any way. That's like a breakfast to some people.

Why?????

Because for people who weigh 100(ish) pounds to begin with, eating more than that just makes them fatter.

And yes, 1300 calories ~is~ a breakfast to some people... Obese people (And Dwayne Johnson).

[AlexSays]

Because for people who weigh 100(ish) pounds to begin with, eating more than that just makes them fatter.

And yes, 1300 calories ~is~ a breakfast to some people... Obese people (And Dwayne Johnson).

Also females on average have significantly less muscle mass and a smaller build, meaning their BMR can be much lower. For a 5'1'' 100lb female with low muscle mass and moderate to low activity levels 1300cals is a perfectly respectable eating level if you consider their TDEE might only be 16-1800 cals per day

[Bushck]

So 1 Kilo= 7700 calories. Losing 1kg a week is a little too fast for healthy weight loss. If you move to fast on it you will send your body into starvation mode and kill your metabolism which will make further fat loss impossible. I think losing 750 grams a week is a good goal. Looking into macronutrients is super helpful for fat loss as well. So maintain a proper diet and also do workouts i think that will help.

[snailsrus]

My wife is 5' tall, weight 103 pounds and she needs to eat at 1100 cal/day in order to lose a pound every two weeks. So 1300 may be too much food rather than too little.

im 5’2 and cut on 1800, is your wife as active as op?

[Luclin999]

So 1 Kilo= 7700 calories. Losing 1kg a week is a little too fast for healthy weight loss. If you move to fast on it you will send your body into starvation mode and kill your metabolism which will make further fat loss impossible. I think losing 750 grams a week is a good goal. Looking into macronutrients is super helpful for fat loss as well. So maintain a proper diet and also do workouts i think that will help.

The bolded part of the above statement is utter and complete BS.

There is no such thing as "starvation mode" where your metabolism somehow magically decides to stop burning calories each day. It is a myth created by fat people that are simply eating more than they think that they are and refuse to admit it.

[Luclin999]

im 5’2 and cut on 1800, is your wife as active as op?

My wife does weight training three times a week, indoor cycling three times a week and walks 10-15k steps per day. So not as active as the OP claims to be but definitely not sedentary either.

[NosyJossie]

1300Kcals everyday is starving yourself. Sorry but that's not healthy in any way. That's like a breakfast to some people.

Why?????

Lol are we ****ing being trolled here? She's not "some people".

I eat 1500 kcal / day. See my thread on the front page...

Negged.

[alec935]

The bolded part of the above statement is utter and complete BS.

There is no such thing as "starvation mode" where your metabolism somehow magically decides to stop burning calories each day. It is a myth created by fat people that are simply eating more than they think that they are and refuse to admit it.

Starvation mode does exist, people just don't understand what it is. Your metabolism slows down first by decreasing NEAT (you subconsciously fidget less, bob your head to music less, get up to take one big **** instead of two small ones) and then by actually slowing your heartbeat, wasting away metabolically active tissues, increasing time spent in bed, cratering immune system etc. The latter stage is rarely reached by people in the developed world, but at that point you are burning significantly fewer calories than your usual TDEE

[Luclin999]

Starvation mode does exist, people just don't understand what it is. Your metabolism slows down first by decreasing NEAT (you subconsciously fidget less, bob your head to music less, get up to take one big **** instead of two small ones) and then by actually slowing your heartbeat, wasting away metabolically active tissues, increasing time spent in bed, cratering immune system etc. The latter stage is rarely reached by people in the developed world, but at that point you are burning significantly fewer calories than your usual TDEE

What you describe though isn't the "Starvation mode" claimed by people coming here saying "I can't lose weight...it's impossible because I ate too little" or as Bushck said "If you move to fast on it you will send your body into starvation mode and kill your metabolism which will make further fat loss impossible."

A decrease in metabolic activity due to reduced body mass and reduced activity is both normal and something which can be compensated for.

What these people are claiming is that with "starvation mode" that their metabolism has become ~so damaged~ somehow that it is (as stated above) impossible for them to lose any weight no matter how large a deficit that they (claim) they are in. A situation which so long as the person in question was still alive and breathing would violate the laws of thermodynamics.

IE. Starvation mode (as described by Bushck) is an utter myth created by fat people who when they have trouble losing weight refuse to acknowledge that they are not in an actual deficit and are simply eating more than they claim that they are.

[CommitmentRulz]

What you describe though isn't the "Starvation mode" claimed by people coming here saying "I can't lose weight...it's impossible because I ate too little" or as Bushck said "If you move to fast on it you will send your body into starvation mode and kill your metabolism which will make further fat loss impossible."

A decrease in metabolic activity due to reduced body mass and reduced activity is both normal and something which can be compensated for.

What these people are claiming is that with "starvation mode" that their metabolism has become ~so damaged~ somehow that it is (as stated above) impossible for them to lose any weight no matter how large a deficit that they (claim) they are in. A situation which so long as the person in question was still alive and breathing would violate the laws of thermodynamics.

IE. Starvation mode (as described by Bushck) is an utter myth created by fat people who when they have trouble losing weight refuse to acknowledge that they are not in an actual deficit and are simply eating more than they claim that they are.

Exactly! ^^^^

All one has to do is look at pictures of prisoners of war to see that "starvation mode" as you describe is a myth.

[drTonyD]

My humble opinion is 1300 cal is ok for her size/ stature but giver her activity there may be benefit in reducing the fats and upping the carbs. Seems she’s low on energy. Going a few weeks (2-4 with lower fat and higher carbs) may reset the process. Some people on a cut/ diet have issue with carbs but if you cut the fat it works. So...
Today 35% C, 40%P, 25%F => ~115g C, ~130gP and 36gF
Try moving to something like 45%C, 40%P and 15%F => 145C, 115P, 22gF
Should help the energy and workouts while keeping the deficit on calories reasonable enough,
Thx

[Gringer]

Lol are we ****ing being trolled here? She's not "some people".

I eat 1500 kcal / day. See my thread on the front page...

Negged.

You're a MALE at 5ft11 and 175lbs and 14% BF. That means you have decent amount of muscle mass on you. You are eating significantly less than the average non lifting male does AND you deadlift over 450 right ????. There is no way you can deadlift 450 on a 1500kcal diet everyday. Sounds like your the one trolling by putting fake plates on the bar on your profile pic.. Even cutting on that amount of calories is just plain stupid. If you really are eating that amount everyday you should really consider moving more. That's way too sedentary.

[AlexSays]

You're a MALE at 5ft11 and 175lbs and 14% BF. That means you have decent amount of muscle mass on you. You are eating significantly less than the average non lifting male does AND you deadlift over 450 right ????. There is no way you can deadlift 450 on a 1500kcal diet everyday. Sounds like your the one trolling by putting fake plates on the bar on your profile pic.. Even cutting on that amount of calories is just plain stupid. If you really are eating that amount everyday you should really consider moving more. That's way too sedentary.

Dude you're embarassing yourself, just stop

I've cut on 1500 calories before, it's just a more agressive deficit. You could eat it and be generally fine if you could cope with the increased hunger and was eating satiating enough foods and enough protein. It isn't a permanent state of affairs.

[Kat303]

Thank you for your help guys! I'll try increasing the carbs and lowering my fat. I weight the same as I did two weeks ago so I'm guessing I'm stuck. I'm not terribly caught up on the scale but I would like to lower my body fat %. What is the best way to estimate that? Do those scales work? Calipers? I feel like over the last number of weeks/months I have recompositioned. Should I be eating closer to maintenance so I can better keep up with the workouts? Goal is lose the fat and keep the muscle. I guess I'm struggling with do I suck at my workouts and cut back on them to keep the calories at 1300 or do I up the calories so I can manage the workouts better? I'm starting to want to not workout I'm so tired. I've had three naps this week which is unusual... like crash I can't go on anymore level. I'm so so irritable and angry. I can't imagine cutting more or how people handle it? 1300 I felt was very generous given my size! I lost the 60bls with diet only originally....so balancing the diet with the workout I'm new at.... there was a period where I stopped dieting and just maintained so I haven't been steady at it. I've probably cut harder to lose the 60 but I wasn't really working out too (I did the points with WW at first 3 years ago now so I wasn't tracking calories..I did find I had to go lower then they recommended to drop anything...pcos?).

BMR is 1256
being a short women is no fun lol

[AlexSays]

Thank you for your help guys! I'll try increasing the carbs and lowering my fat. I weight the same as I did two weeks ago so I'm guessing I'm stuck. I'm not terribly caught up on the scale but I would like to lower my body fat %. What is the best way to estimate that? Do those scales work? Calipers? I feel like over the last number of weeks/months I have recompositioned. Should I be eating closer to maintenance so I can better keep up with the workouts? Goal is lose the fat and keep the muscle. I guess I'm struggling with do I suck at my workouts and cut back on them to keep the calories at 1300 or do I up the calories so I can manage the workouts better? I'm starting to want to not workout I'm so tired. I've had three naps this week which is unusual... like crash I can't go on anymore level. I'm so so irritable and angry. I can't imagine cutting more or how people handle it? 1300 I felt was very generous given my size! I lost the 60bls with diet only originally....so balancing the diet with the workout I'm new at.... there was a period where I stopped dieting and just maintained so I haven't been steady at it. I've probably cut harder to lose the 60 but I wasn't really working out too (I did the points with WW at first 3 years ago now so I wasn't tracking calories..I did find I had to go lower then they recommended to drop anything...pcos?).

BMR is 1256
being a short women is no fun lol

There is no accurate way to measure your bodyfat short of a DEXA scan. The scales, calipers etc are all wildly inaccurate. The only way to monitor yourself is the mirror (or progress photos if you find it hard to see changes in yourself daily). A good indicator can be that if your bodyfat is going down while your weight isn't (due to muscle gain), your waist should still be getting smaller. However even that depends on where your body tends to store and lose fat and in what order.

If you have been maintaining for more than several weeks and you want to go into a straight fat loss phase then all you need to do is reduce your calories. It might be worth getting back to basics and being really honest with your tracking to ensure you are actually still eating at 1300 calories first however

[Luclin999]

BMR is 1256
being a short women is no fun lol

I think that you are off on that BMR number.

According to the most accepted methods for calculation, for your BMR to be 1256 you would have to have 91 pounds of total lean mass on your frame which at 107 pounds would put you at 15% body fat, which for a woman would make you really lean (ripped).

So unless you are already ultra lean (in which case why are you dieting?) a more realistic number for your resting metabolic rate is probably closer to 1050-1100 calories/day.

[AlexSays]

PS: Ignore Yasminoneil, eat protein, it is an essential macro-nutrient and resistance training of any kind will up your body's requirement for it

[snailsrus]

At 107 weight loss should not be a goal. I would eat maintenance which my guess is 1500. Focus on building muscle, what is your measurements on your waist now then check in three weeks

[alec935]

Never realized how much calories impacted recovery till I decided to track em for a week. 2000 calorie diet, and my muscles would be sore for 3 days. Bumped up to 2500, and there was barely any soreness the next day, from the same workouts. Same protein each day. I was shocked

[NosyJossie]

You're a MALE at 5ft11 and 175lbs and 14% BF. That means you have decent amount of muscle mass on you. You are eating significantly less than the average non lifting male does AND you deadlift over 450 right ????. There is no way you can deadlift 450 on a 1500kcal diet everyday. Sounds like your the one trolling by putting fake plates on the bar on your profile pic.. Even cutting on that amount of calories is just plain stupid. If you really are eating that amount everyday you should really consider moving more. That's way too sedentary.

Lol. I just had a DEXA Scan (Thank you AlexSays).

I am NOT 14% BF.