I'm pretty sedentary (student, coding) with a BMR of about 1700, and my TDEE is quite low without exercise. I eat at maintenance level (1800 kcal), and then create my deficit through exercise, burning a total between 2200-2300 daily.
So, for those who run a typical 500 calorie deficit and prefer to create it through exercise, what do you do? My difficulty is burning the required amount on a consistent, daily basis, mainly because so much cardio involves the legs.
For example yesterday I went for a 3 mile walk and later in the day did 30 mins of jump rope. Today my legs were wasted so I opted to use my arms and chop wood with a splitting axe for two hours.
One of my favorite ways to burn them is just to go for a long walk, like over 6 miles. That usually burns around 500 calories if you do it in under 2 hours. It's so easy going, however not very time efficient.
view the rest of the comments →
[–] voatkick [S] ago
5'11'' (180 cm), 158 lbs (72 kg).
I used to do low calorie and alternate day fasting diets for a long time and that didn't work out so well for me, so I'm treading cautiously this time around. I'll see how far 1800 kcal can take me and then if I need that final push I guess I will just have to commit to a bit more exercise every day. It should get easier when it comes time to maintain as I'll be able to eat a couple hundred kcal extra per day.
[–] dirkgently ago
Not sure I would handle the alternate day fasting well. Another thing I heard and basically this is how I eat now, is called intermediate fasting? I think that is the term. You just eat minimal calories during the day and eat one big meal early evening. the theory is your body will process your food as energy due to the fasting and wont covert it to fat. I find it easier to do as I can just drink a protein shake in the morning and for lunch another shake and a salad then most of the rest of the calories for dinner.
Good luck.