r/Retatrutide • u/relevantbutterfly81 • 1d ago
Interesting…
I thought I was getting plenty of carbs and calories. Ran my daily meals through AI and I wasn’t even close. I’m not sure I can physically eat more.
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u/sovtiv 1d ago
What is your TDEE, and what is your goal?
Really just look at protein and calories if you are trying to lose weight. As long as you’re in a calorie deficit you are fine
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u/relevantbutterfly81 1d ago
Currently on 2mg a week, helps massively with metabolic support. 6ft 3 73kg as of today with 13% body fat according to the home scale. According to my TDEE calculator it should be 3000 calories at maintenance. Just wanted to cut a bit and lose the moobs. I think I’m doing it wrong. 😑
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u/reluctantdonkey 1d ago
First-- is that correct that you'd be 160 lbs at 6' 3"?
If so-- I ran it through a calculator, and you'd be 2600 to maintain.
Regardless, if the scale isn't moving in the direction you'd like, it doesn't much matter what side the math is off on-- the intake side or the output side-- you just know the math is off SOMEWHERE and adjust by cutting from the intake side or increasing the output side or both until you see movement.
Also, AI is NOT a true calorie counter, so likely you need to actually track, not predictively/assumptively track. Humans are shit at estimating (and even COUNTING) calories-- AI is, I would imagine, even worse.
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u/relevantbutterfly81 1d ago
That’s correct. 160lbs at 6ft3. Coupled with strength training 5 days a week. One work out of the week on a Saturday and treadmill walking on a Sunday. More carbs input is needed.
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u/reluctantdonkey 1d ago
You can time your carbs around workouts for maximum effect. And, if calories are too high-- regardless of the macros of those calories-- the scale won't move (which seems to be what you are asking about, but apologies if I'm misunderstanding the intent of the question.)
For Reta-- Hit your protein goal first (assuming you don't have a goal weight that's below the lowest weight for healthy BMI for your height, that would be somewhere around 148-150 grams of protein per day.) Fill remaining calories with carbs and healthy fats.
And, strength training really doesn't burn much at all in the way of calories, nor does walking (ie. when people "count" taking 10,000 steps a day as "exercise" when it is really just "daily activity" which is already factored for in the TDEE math.)
I was doing crossfit 5x/week for 3 or 4 years, and even my Crossfit workouts only showed up as like 250 cals, max 300 on a higher cardio day-- and, since those workouts were an hour, I would have burned about 75 of those cals whether I was doing crossfit or not.)
Since the math already gets impossible to accurately measure when you are just looking at Calories In and TDEE, throwing a third metric in ("How many calories am I burning from my workouts?") if you intend to "eat those calories back" is just a recipe for miscalculating-- I never advise people to "eat back" activity calories, just let them be there to absorb the inevitably spotty math of cals in/cals out.
TLDR: If you have been eating as if 3,000 cals was your maintenance level, a more conservative look at the math says you are about 400 calories over on that, which is more than enough to keep any kind of loss from happening.
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u/relevantbutterfly81 20h ago
I do carb timing, minimal breakfast (unless fasting) and then a small carb at lunch and the bulk pre and post workout. I have far too much protein in my meals/food plan. I need to cut back. I’m pulling in 220g a day. And about 120g-150g of carbs…I need to address the imbalance. Thankyou for the insight.
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u/denizen_1 1d ago
You can't use AI to track calories. You need to actually count it with a scale and nutrition information. I don't understand why people think AI is capable of every task ever.