So, I'm trying to eat the right amount of calorie to coordinate with my activity level.

I was mentally beating myself up over my calorie intake today, when I realized that this wasn't an over eating day or a binge session. I purposefully added in another snack and upped my dinner portion because I was trying to get to the proper calorie intake for my activity level. (As the pics above suggest, I'm lifting 3x and swimming 2x a week.) It's only Monday, but I want to start the week off right.

Today, I ate 2045 and I was SO FULL. I normally eat around 1600 when I'm not exercising. I don't think I can keep eating this much, but I don't want to drop too low in calories that I don't lose any weight or get so tired from lower calories that I stop working out.

I checked out a BMI calculator and this is what it said:

CW: 185
GW: 145
Height: 5'7"

Sedentary = 1726 calories
Lightly Active (1-3 days/week) = 1977
Mod Active (3-5 days/week) = 2229
Highly Active (6-7 days/week) = 2481

I was losing weight just fine when I was counting and not working out. Now that I'm adding in activity, I'm a little confused.

Does anyone have suggestions/advice on this?

I don't think you really need to add very many calories in- maybe 1-200. I don't think that you will stall your weight loss by adding exercise and keeping your calories at 1600. I think most people severely overestimate how active they are or how many calories they burn while exercising.

Just my two cents though!! good luck!

Those are waaaaaaaay to many calories.

My advice, 1200-1500 calories 7 days a week. Have one cheat meal within the calorie allowance.

Aim to do 4 cardio workouts a week and 1 strength training workout and you will be fine.

Eat only whole grains, eat high protein, do not eat fast food, no full sugar anything.

Good luck.

Actually no, I'd have to disagree with this advice. 2,000 cals isn't "way too many calories" I can actually lose a little if I eat that amount daily! Also, everyone should be doing more than 1 strength training workout a week! It's much more important than cardio and helps with fat loss.

1200-1500 for a very active person can be too little calories, actually, depending on the individual.

coffeeshopgirl, see how you feel eating 1600 calories + your workouts. If you feel fine then continue eating that much. Chances are you did not overeat (Especially if you're lifting—are you lifting heavy?). And I know how you feel being full! Bumping up your calories can be daunting at first, but you eventually learn to get used to it.

If you really do want to eat more—ESPECIALLY if you're lifting—you might want to ease yourself into eating more. Maybe try just bumping up to 1700 first Make sure you get adequate nutrition (lots of protein, real foods, etc.) to fuel your lifts.

I LOVE it when ladies lift! Keep it up! You'll love the results!

I agree with this. I never eat less than 1600 calories, and I'm still losing just fine. I aim for 1600-1700 on average days, and I bump up to 2000-2200 on my long run days. I burn almost 200 calories per mile, so when I'm running 9 miles rather than the usual 3, I NEED those extra calories. It took me some time to play around with different amounts to see what was enough to still to lose weight but to also keep me from feeling starving.

Feeling SO FULL on 2,000 calories... I can only wish.

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Everyones body and metabolism is different. If I ate 1600+ calories a day I'd probably gain. Best case scenario I'd maintain or lose maybe 1/2 a pound every now and then and thats if I exercised every day. But thats my body. I have played around with calories long enough to know what works for me. I know I can't eat 2000 calories a day not just cause I'd maintain or gain but because its too much for me, I get a bloated sick feeling on that much food, my body just doesn't like it. I eat fairly healthy foods though so 2000 calories is a tonne of food for me versus 2000 calories of junk food being very little. So you have to keep in mind that too. I feel healthiest at 1200-1350 calories. It gives me energy without pain or tiredness or general blehness. Its not worth hurting yourself by stuffing yourself to the point you feel too full or sick just to meet a calorie recommendation someone else has or some site has , you know what feels best for your body. Just listen to what its telling you. Just make sure your body is getting proper nutrition. You have to play around to find what works for you.

I don't subtract calories for exercise, because it's just really hard to estimate with enough accuracy. The net calories burned from exercises is frequently much smaller than I'd hoped or expected. Really, it's shocking! Most calorie counts for exercise are based on the gross calories burned from it, not net.

I just adjust my calories up if I feel hungry or tired, and down if I'm not losing (and evaluate it week by week).

Thanks for the advice ladies! I'm getting back into the calorie counting after taking a break for the holidays, and the added workouts threw a monkey wrench into my old system.

Thanks for the input!

I'm 5'7 1/2", and when I was 170-175, my BMR+desk job I would burn 2000 Cal/day. (Read: non-exercise day.)

I would *not* panic about eating 2000-2100 on an exercise day. If you stay at or below your BMR you will be safe - unless you're exercising 2-3 hours of high intensity cardio. Does that make sense? --You *know* you're going to burn 2000 no matter what, so if you eat to hunger and you're at 2000 calories on an exercise day, you're safe.

It sounds like you're being mindful and "purposeful" about how you add those calories in, and you're listening to hunger cues. Brava!

As to how much you're burning... as PP have mentioned, it is easy to overestimate how much you burn. Added, 20 minutes of fast swimming is going to burn more than 20 minutes of floating on your back. Which means, how to manage a *specific* deficit (and therefore a specific loss) can get a little tricky. For me, as long as the scale is moving down it's a win.

There are some websites out there that can help with the calorie burn estimate. But if you're hungry, listen to your body as you have been.

Good luck!

When I am mindful of getting a fruit or veggie at each meal/snack (or sometimes both at meals) I seem to fill up nicely, even at 1200-1500cals.

If I burn my calorie budget on high-sugar or high-carb items, I don't stay full as long. If I drink my calories (I have a weakness for hot cocoa) it's not going to be a good day.

Also, if I don't get enough protein, I won't stay as satisfied, and my sweet tooth (of all things!) will kick in.

Hope this helps! It's not fun to feel hungry.