I post before that English is not first language of mine
I cut from 215 pounds and am 204 pounds today. My waist is 36 inch but I am aim for 34.
I lift weight on Powerbuild template 4 days a week and do Zone 3 and 4 cardio 5-6 days which add up to around 130 - 150 mins total.
I use the macro factor app but it always give me low calories. I 183cm and 38 years man. I am follow macro factor but it make me eat 2200 to 2300 calories a week if my goal is 198 pounds by end of year. It does not seem like lot of food? 230 carbs 75 fat and 170 protein.
Thanks for the post. I understand your English just fine
To figure out your Calorie intake, Iād recommend our Calorie calculator to figure out what you need to maintain weight. We also have a macronutrient calculator here.
Iād guess your maintenance Calorie intake is ~ 3200 Cal/day with that level of activity. For weight loss, 2300 Cal/day is a bit aggressive, but would definitely get you close to your goal.
There are many different macro splits that will work within this level of energy intake, e.g. higher carb, lower carb, higher protein, or even a bit lower. While Iād personally opt for higher protein and carb intake, you may have a different preference. See here for more information.
Iāve used a lot of calorie / macro trackers. I like Cronometer a lot. But Iāve been using MacroFactor for a while now.
MacroFactor doesnāt require you to enter all your activity or estimate your RMR. It uses some estimates and questions as a starting point, but then it uses your reported calories and weigh-in numbers to automatically adjust.
What that means isā¦.you can get odd numbers, at face value, depending on how accurate your report. For example, say it estimates you need 3000 calories to maintain. And you target .5kg/week loss. So a 500c deficit for 2500.
But then you habitually underreport by 200 calories a day. Maybe you round down or are making a best effort and low balling unintentionally. Or maybe youāre not counting that midnight glass of milk and cookies every couple o days.
Itāll see that you reported 2500, but the scale only moved as much as youād expect for 250. Itāll bump you down to 2250.
Whichā¦.if youāre consistent in your inconsistency wonāt matter cause now youāre under reporting but level out at 2500 real calories. (of course, if you OVER reportā¦the opposite happens)
Which is to say, for MacroFactor you have to kind of let go a bit on the numbers and watch the normalized weight trend and rate to judge.
@Jek sorry, Iām not sure what you mean by āmaintaining is making higher Calorie than some calculator because of a zone that you (I) think existsā. Can you clarify?
I donāt think water intake really matters for weight management long term, but it is possible short-term fluid status changes may throw off various calculations or guidance that doesnāt take that into account.
Yes, I think there is a range of energy intakes where the body compensates rapidly to prevent weight change, though this does vary by individuals.
Increasing or decreasing energy intake by 500 Cals is likely to drive weight gain and loss, respectively. However, the magnitude of weight change will vary in individuals.
Thank you @Jordan_Feigenbaum I use Apple translate now to best phrase replies:
I think my biggest struggle is being able to achieve maintenance. I am good at diet and being structured but it can break down due to all my family and friends. It feels like if I went to achieve results and be healthy I cannot have any errors, it also seems very difficult to truly fit other peopleās ideas of treats or meals into macro and health promoting diets, even if itās just once a week.
Some of them are overweight and okay with that, they place more value on eating and drinking whatever they want than exercise and healthy eating.
Others are just very good at moderating their intake. They eat far less than me or overweight family and friends , have never been overweight and maintain their health with limited exercise. Far less than activity guidelines suggest.
I donāt drink, take drugs or anything like that but I have always struggled with eating healthy and my weight. For many years Iāve managed to maintain a lower bodyweight than my heaviest, always dieting down if my weight ever got too high, but it really feels like maintenance of an optimal body weight requires next-level adherence and social exclusion.
Whilst I could fit a couple of slices of pizza and some fries and ice crĆØme into my calories for a day, I would be under on protein, fiber and over on added sugars and saturated fat .
It seems really difficult to maintain social expectations with my lifestyle choices- which I am committed to in order to be healthy and fix my poor lifestyle when younger.
I do think that restrictive diets can be socially isolating, especially because food is such an important part of many cultures.
In your example, could you have one piece of pizza vs a few, or half the amount of fries? Also, what would be the matter with being under on protein, fiber, and over on added sugars and saturated fat once in awhile?
I would push back against the idea that " It feels like if I went to achieve results and be healthy I cannot have any errors". Long-term weight management is more about what you habitually do vs. what you do once in awhile. Iām sure you knew that, but sometimes it is helpful to hear it again.
Iām getting the sense that your diet may be quite restrictive right now, and so Iām thinking that having some planned diet breaks may be useful. Weāre starting to get into very personalized, specific advice however, so I think further discussion is likely best suited towards a consult or coaching relationship.
