Lets face it, I'm retarded.

Hi all. I'm new to calorie counting and THOUGHT I understood this whole site but...the more I read the more confused I get.  If anyone could help I would GREATLY GREATLY appreciate it!

I am currently 220 lbs or so. I exercise between 5-6 days a week doing Turbo Jam (have lost 30+ lbs doing it :D) in the morning and on some days I even throw an extra work out in there which might consist of another TJ workout, a walk, a walk/jog.

Would someone just tell me what I need to do to lose 75 lbs by January? Exact cals and exact amount of exercise? Thanks...*sigh*

***edit***

Sorry I got impatient, I just thought I understood this and turns out I really don't. Didn't mean to get snappy =S

I am 22 years old and 5'5. 220 lbs. Started out at 276 around October 19th of last year and just started counting calories about a week ago. Thinking around 1600 is good for me but...again...totally lost and yes I've tried to use the burn and calorie target meter and thats what confused me is that for sedentary (maybe I should bump it to lightly active) my calorie target is like 1211...so does that mean doing NOTHING at all I should remain at 1211? And for lightly active bump to 1600 and remain exercising? See confused. And if it's at 1600...could I add an extra workout and eat an additional 250 and still lose? SOO confused about the deficit.....does eating 1600 cals a day already create that deficit for me?

Thanks SOO much for the replies.

Thanks for everyones help.

I guess I'll just do it on my own like always.

Hiiii... ok, I'm not an expert, but I can share what I've learned so far. You shouldn't set your meter to active if your also logging exercise. I'm pretty sure its only if you exercise on a regular basis, doing pretty much the same types of exercise, and didn't want to have to log it all the time. I would keep it at sedentary, and keep these things in mind 1. You should never be eating less than 1200 cals a day, and you should never have more than a 1000 cal deficit ( cal intake - cals burned) so yes, if your burning 2100 cals just being alive, only eating 1200, plus exercise, you might be creating too large of a deficit, which is no good. I would switch it up, keeping between a 500-1000 cal deficit everyday, keep your metabolisim guessing, lol. Good luck! = )

Hey girl, gotta give people a chance to get to your post- not like an actual live chat room, where you get instant return messages.  Have you used the tools, to see what your calorie intake should be for your age, wght?  When i started last Feb at 315, i was taking in about 1800 calorie- i am also 5'9 though.  You need to input that info into the calorie burn to see where you should be at.  I also just kept myself at sedentary, and just logged exercise- that way if i had a crazy night at work (i'm a nurse), that would be my workout, and just eat my base calories so i would end up with about a 500 cal deficit on average. 

I am currently at 244, so 71 lb down in a little over a year.  I have consistantly eaten around 1400-1700 a day- kind of zig zag, alternating days.  I work nights so it is hard to keep consistant between nights i work to days off.  SO i may eat 1800 one day, 1400 the next, (my maintance is 2200) and i really haven't exercised a whole lot during that time. Maybe 2x a week.

That being said, if you work out 5x week, i would keep the calories at a min of 1800 on those days, a little less the days you don't...but really, use the tools ie- calorie target and burn meter.  you should be great!

Having the rest of your stats would help too.  How tall are you?  How old are you?

I will say that no matter what your activity level the burn meter generally calculates what you burn sitting on a couch doing nothing but breathing.  If you are active you have a higher metabolism then some one sedentary.

Still if your unsure set it to sednetary and log every major activity.  Not just exercise.    Don't go crazy and log going pee or something.  Just things you do for a significant amount of time.  Average this out for a few weeks and then see what activity level is closest.   Use that activity level and only log exercise.

If you shave your stats I'd be glad to help more.

Using the calculator your BMR is 1814 calories if you eat 1600 you are below your BMR and it's not a good place to be.  Using Moderate as your activity level (which is awesome by the way, I don't exercise that much at all) you should be able to eat between 2200 and 2400 calories a day and expect to lose a pound week.

edit - I have sent you a chart with all the activity levels calculated in your email because it won't post into here are a table.

I always set my level to sedentary and then log in work, shopping, cleaning, workouts, etc.....You don't want to go below your bmr...robynready said it calculated to about 1800 cals, so make sure you get AT LEAST that daily. I agree and think about 2200 should be a good number.

and you have to realize that you posted at (what looks like) the middle of the night....not everyone is up then! haha but 15 mins w/o a reply is not long at all, even for during the day. If after a day or two no one responds, then 'bump' it by posting again. LOL the site seems to ebb and flow a bit for when it's busy and people are trolling the forums! haha generally SOMEONE will reply eventually, as long as the person hasn't posted the question a ton of times in different ways or just wants a different answer!

anyway, good luck! I love turbo jams, I had bought the set w a few dvds. Although I have a really advanced weight program where I can't really do it much, I sneak them in on my 'off' days sometiems!

I got the same number as robyn for your BMR  1814.  

You definately seem to fit moderatly active so you burn about   2800 calories a day with your metabolism.  with that activity level eatiing anything less then 1800 a day is definatly a bad idea.   Again I agree with robyn... you could eat 2200 to 2400 a day and lose.   Now since you are over 200lbs, it would be alright for you too eat about 2000 a day to maximize your weight loose.  I wouldn't go lower with that amount of exercise you do. 

1600 will put your body into conservation mod and slow your weight lose.  and 1211 would be nearly starving.  Double check the info you put into CC because that figure is way off... and check the goal date you put it.   try to remember that to loose weight in a healthy way you should aim for between 1-2 pounds a week.

first of all, CONGRATS on all that loss!! that's awesome!

i apologize in advance- this might not help too much... BUT i really think you need to play around a bit to see what works for you. the tools here help a lot to see how much you generally burn on a given day. but everyone else has been right when they say you can't have too large of a deficit or you won't lose as fast (which i know doesn't make ANY sense. our bodies are so weird!!!). so if, besides your planned exercise, you have a pretty sedentary lifestyle (sit at desk, not a ton of movement, etc) set it to that, and log your exercise. that doesn't mean you have to eat ALL the calories back that you burn exercising, but that's where i think you should play around. maybe having an extra post-workout snack those days or something.

i think in general your idea for a 1600 intake with "lightly active" lifestyle sounds good. but then don't log your exercise, and keep this in mind on days you don't work out- maybe eat a little less on those days, 1300 ish.

i have been here for a LONG time (2+ years) and am still figuring things out myself. feel free to add me as a friend if you would like some support along the way! i know i need as much as i can get! :)

I'm Sofa King.  Wee tar dead!

I think I'm kinda understanding a lil more now. Thanks everyone so much for replying!

Yeah I'm pretty dang proud of myself *weighed in this morning at 217 ;)* so if I lose 1 more lb that'll be 60 lbs GONE since October 19th! So I'm really hoping by next week the 19th I'll be 216 and officially 60 lbs lighter in 5 months! Ahh feels great!

Also where do you get the BMR thing? Am I missing it or??

I just calculate it my self every time I lose weight, it's different for everyone!

5/3/09

info needed Weight, Height, Age, Fat %

Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR)

Lean Body Mass (LBM)

Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE)

BMR Calculations

Men = 66 + (13.7 X wt in kg) + (5 X ht in cm)-(6.8 X age in Years)

Women = 655 + (9.6 X wt in kg) + (1.8 X ht in cm)-(4.7 X age in Years)

Amy’s BMR as of the 3rd of March.

BMR= 655 + (9.6 X 151.30) + (1.8 X 161)-(4.7 X 29) = 2851.28

Activity Factor (AF)

Sedentary = BMR X 1.2    little or no Exercise

Lightly Active = BMR X 1.375    Light exercise/sport 1-3 days /wk

Moderate Active  = BMR X 1.55  ModerateExercise/sport3days/wk

Very Active  = BMR X 1.725  Hard Exercise Daily/sport daily

Extr. Active  = BMR X 1.9 Hard Daily exercise & Physical

 job or 2 X day training,

Marathon, foot ball Camp,

Contest, Etc.

TDEE Formula

AF X BMR = Total Calories per Day

Amy:

BMR = 2851.28

AF = 1.375

TDEE = 1.375 X 2851.28 = 3920.51

Lean Body Mass

Amy:

Female

Weight 151.30kg

Body Fat % is 55.3% = .553 = 83.503 Kg

Lean body mass = 67.797

New BMR Formula (both sex’s) = 370 + (21.6 X Lean Body Mass in kg)

Now that I know My Fat % I do the BMR & TDEE again

BMR = 370 + (21.6 X 67.797) = 1834.4152

TDEE = 1.375 X 1834.4152 = 2534.125

Now take that to lose weight you need a defict by 500 – 1000 (500 = 1 pound/wk) (1000 = 2 Pound /wk).

So My Calorie in take should be 2034.125 or 1534.125 depending on how much I want to lose!