Figuring out calories

Okay, so I've been really trying to get in at least 1200 calories a day to try and get these last few pounds off. I was only eating around 1000. I still can't seem to break the 170 mark! Offical weigh in day in Saturday, so maybe I will by then, but I'm frustrated, eventhough I know stalls are normal, espeically this far out, and this close to goal/normal weight.

I'm really trying hard to figure out if I'm eating enough. Something about upping my calories over 1200 scares me, which I know is super stupid. I run at least 3 days a week, and do crossfit/HIT type workouts at least 3 days a week. I know I'm burning more than I'm taking in. I'm just at a cross roads. I'm scared to eat too much then gain, and have even more to lose, but I hate to think that not eating enough is what is driving me so crazy.

Thoughts? I do get at least 100g of protein a day and drink TONS of water, around 90oz or more.

Being as close to ideal weight as possible a few things can be causing you difficulty.

1) Body Fat % -  Depending on your lean muscle mass you may have an extremely difficult time getting to your goal weight.  Forget the BMI and base things on Body Fat %.  Figure just for example you weight 170 if you have a 20% body fat you are carrying 34 pounds of fat or 136 pounds of lean muscle plus bones and fluids etc.  Sounds like a lot of fat still?  well 20% body fat is considered normal as you get into the teens you move into atheltic.

2) To high a deficit.  Like most you probably have a ball park of what you burn while working out, but is this number accurate?  on a treadmill do you are done do you take the calorie burned number as word on what you burned?  Well beware because these numbers are based on averages so it may be close to what you have done or completely off. If it asks your weight it might be a bit more accurate.  HR monitors with advanced calorie computations are the most accurate but even they can be off at times.

3) Resting Metabollic Rate (RMR) something you don't hear discussed often on here is real crucial in knowing your calorie goal.  This is the number of calories your body burns just to carry on it's life critical functions.  This also represents the number based on your lifestyle that you should be able to eat and maintain. This also goes to your caloric deficit

I bring up the RMR because as you get closer to ideal body weight, maybe not your goal, it becomes a bit more critical in what your body will do.  Most of us know about or have heard about putting bodies into starvation mode some believe in it some don't even in the medical and fitness worlds it is still debated. But as you get closer to ideal body weight there is a ideal deficit that your body will accept and still allow you to lose at, everything I have read in researching my training techniques and properly fueling my sessions puts this number at about 600-800 calories TOTAL. 

So if you have an RMR of say 1500 and you only take in 1000 calories you already have a 500 calorie deficit  if you burn 500 Calories at the Gym you will have about a 900 deficit for the day, which is outside what is believed to be the ideal zone.  This is why losing the last few pounds can take so long.  It is really better to base things on a weekly avg since controlling things on a daily basis is going to make you insane.

All of that said I would ask this.  What will you be able to do 10lbs lighter that you can't do now?  It sounds as if you live a healthy and active lifestyle.  You have turned you life around and are probably loving what you are capable of doing now.  Your family and friends are more than likely proud of you and in some ways probably inspired to change their lives just a bit.

So what can you do 10-20 pounds lighter that you can't do now?

Awesome job BTW and you look great!

Thanks for this! I really need to find out what my actual body fat % is because I know the online calculators arent very accurate. I also need to figure out m RMR I suppose.

for body Fat % use a scale, bod bod or some other more modern form.  Due to the excess skin and such the caliper method still used won't be very accurate.  Your PCP, Surgeon or even GYm or trainer at the gym may be able to point you to someplace that does RMR/Metabollic testing, I get mine done at the gym.

• This is what I did: 
•  
• *12-18 Months After Surgery: eat 1200 calories a day (I ate 1200 calories a day until 15 months when I reached my goal weight)
• *18 Months after surgery (or when goal weight is reached before 18 months): Maintenance calories (BMR/RMR & Activity Level) (Malabsorption of calories lasts approximately 18-24 months)
• * I do not participate in a formal exercise program due to Rheumatoid and Osteoarthritis. I do move around a lot more and do a lot more walking.

Paul is on the money. You really need to work with your Registered Dietician to determine your caloric intake needs taking into consideration your weight, body mass, and activity level. You need to determine your RMR and then go from there.

I agree with finding a professional to get you started on the right track.  After that, I recommend an app called Mynetdiary (it's a website as well).  I LOVE this app for not only tracking calories, bu****er, vitamins, exercise, and so much more.  It rates the food you consume on the new Food Score scale of -5 to +5 with 0 begin average.  It analyzes your total day as far as calories consumed vs calories burned, what your deficit is (including any exercise), and gives you highlights (positive and negative) of your day.  Right now mine tells me that I have consumed less then 400 calories, which is in the starvation zone and could be detrimental to my health - but it's only 10am so I'm good!  it also tells me what % of my foods were carbs, fats, and proteins.

Have I said I love this app?

I love My Fitness Buddy (for iphone).  It's a great app too and does all the things mentioned before plus has a HUGE database of foods, is easy to adjust portion size down, etc.  Very easy and tells you not only protein, calories, carbs, etc. but also calcium, potassium--pretty much everything.  And logs exercise and fluids as well.  Gives daily and weekly averages.

Thanks everyone! I log all of my food on My Fitness Pal, and use a heart rate monitor during my workouts. So I think I have some what of a handle on how much I burn/take in. I just don't know my RMR. I need to check into that and my Body Fat %.

Like everything else on this journey, maybe it will just be trial and error.

Thanks for asking this Morgan! I was wondering the same thing myself--
I am within 25 pounds of my goal and am still wondering if I will get there. I am going to get my body fat% measured and find out about the RMR as well.

Good luck to you, we have relatively the same start and goal weights.

You go girl!!!!!