Eating at 1700 or more??

marcenepea

I'm not actually new here, I've started and stopped too many times. I just changed my weight loss goal to .5 pound a week, which brought me to just over 1700 calories a day. I keep reading about people having great success eating more and I have tried the 1200 - 1400 calorie a day in the past and it doesn't last.
- I'm looking for any tips, ideas and thoughts on this. I am 201 (I weigh in again tomorrow so hopefully this will change), 5ft. 7in, 44 year old female. My food diary is open and I would love any thoughts you might have. Also any new friends are always welcome.
- And I almost forgot, I have an underactive thyroid which I take medicine for (when I remember it LOL), so this will probably make things a bit more difficult.
- Thanks in advance for any help

JupeJones

I'm at about 2100 and it has been working great for me.

Then again, I'm male and 6'3", so there's that.

Anyway, I say give it a shot. If it works and you can stick with it, that's what counts. Slow progress is still progress, right?

maybebaby34

Just started two days ago. I had been stuck for awhile. Jumped and ate back exercise calories too. Lost 2# this morning. I do weigh myself daily. I know, I know. .. but it seems right for me. Im 5'2" & 34. My diary is always open.

popslice

I'm 210 at 5'8, so pretty similar to you, and I've been consistently losing about a pound per week eating between 1500-1800 per day. I find that eating this much is sustainable for me - I'm satiated, I have enough energy, etc. When I eat as low as 1200-1300, I start to feel unwell. I haven't been a yo-yo dieter myself - when I decide to do something I'm pretty good about sticking to it - so I wanted to be mindful of approaching weight loss in a way that wouldn't involve a huge amount of deprivation and suffering, so that I can stick with it long term. I've got PCOS that I manage medically, so I totally sympathize with how hard it can be to lose weight with an endocrine disorder.

AmyRhubarb

I'm 46, 5'8", and goal is set at 2000 a day. I usually aim for 1800-2000, depending on the day's activity. Been mostly maintaining for the past year or more, trying to whittle down the body fat percentage a bit more (not trying hard enough! been lax this summer ). Best move I ever made was finding my BMR & TDEE, and eating in between. Basically took a cut from TDEE (10-20%, depending on how much you have to lose), and I always make sure I eat above my BMR.

It's been great for me - sustainable, no "stopping and restarting" at all for nearly three years now. I know my upper and lower limits, which allows for more freedom through holidays, vacations, special dinners, parties, etc.

Great info here: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/974888

steff274

I have an open diary am maintaining or trying to!! I eat a large amount of calories to stop dropping weight!! I think as my fitness increase and muscle tone did my metabolism increased.. I am very active generally and go to the gym too feel free to add if you want a supportive buddy with different goals

sympha01

I'm also 5'7" and 44. I have been eating at over 1850 for almost a year now. I started a bit lower in June of last year, but settled around 1850-1900 last fall and have lost a total of over 140 lbs so far. Obviously I was much bigger when I started so weight loss was faster in the beginning, but I'm under 200 lbs now and still losing fast enough that I recently upped my calories a tad to 1950 to keep my average weekly loss below 1% of total bodyweight.

I exercise a lot, and I mix it up quite a bit: everything from lots of walking to swimming laps to kettlebell stuff and some circuit training with moderate (not heavy) weights.

I don't think there's anything magic that happens physiologically by eating more like that. It's just that those extra few hundred calories are the difference between having wine with dinner or ice cream or pizza or whatever from time to time. Knowing that nothing is permanently off-limits and -- with a little planning -- that I can fit /anything/ into the diet is a psychological life-saver. It's so much easier to stay the course and stay positive. Plus I'm simply less tempted to cheat or lie to myself on my logs.

shadow2soul

Larger calorie budgets are awesome. They allow you to fit in little indulgences and really make it easier to stick to (in my opinion at least). At the same time, for some people it means they have to tighten up their logging (food scale...less guessing).

I'm 5'4.5", 177lbs (as of yesterday morning) and for the last month have averaged about 1920 calories per day.

I averaged around 1800-1900 calories per day last year and went from 218lbs in March to 170lbs in September (month I found out I was pregnant). I'm currently working my way back down from 212lbs in May (2 days before c-section @ 41wks pregnant).

There is no harm in trying it. Try it for a couple weeks. You can track your calorie intake/loss on the progress tab of this spreadsheet and it will give you an estimated TDEE based on how much your losing/consuming. With that info, you should be able to adjust your calories as needed to see the weight loss you want.

The spreadsheet was made by the very helpful heybales (sp).
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0Amt7QBR9-c6MdGVTbGswLUUzUHNVVUlNSW9wZWloeUE#gid=14

Azurite27

If you're not already, consider switching to the name-brand of your thyroid medication. It made all the difference in the world for me for weight loss as well as management of other hypothyroid symptoms. Also keep in mind that the calorie number on any website is just an estimate, you may need to adjust it up or down based on how you actually lose over several weeks.

kcjchang

I'm 5'8", 45, & male. I haven't been able to meet my daily caloric goal of 1630 (started around 1820) but been consistently eating just below maintenance of around 2000-2200 and making up the difference with exercise. I walk ~40 miles per month (~2.3 miles per work day at >4 mph pace) and ride 6-8 hours per week (16-17 mph pace). My hardest days have been on my rest days from cycling where I find myself starving. So far so good and I'm averaging around a pound per week. It's a different strategy but works for me; just not sure how well it'll workout on the long term especially once I hit my weight goal and the eventual cut back on the exercise.

First thing I would do if I was you is to be vigilant on your thyroid medication as T3/4 are important in maintain a whole host of cellular activities including regulation of protein, fat, and carbohydrate metabolism.

Second, I would recommend exploring different strategies with respect macro-nutrient composition. My weakness is carbohydrate so I limit them and try to eat more lean protein. I find protein helps with hunger control while limiting my loss of LBM. I also employ structural refeeds (6 week cycle for now - a day of steady feeding of carbohydrates to moderate my hormone levels) and try to be somewhat flexible with my diet with cheat meals sprinkled once per week of so (still working on moderation part).

Finally, if you haven't started with a regular exercise routine consider it. Regular and moderate exercise has been shown to promote weight maintenance but not that good as a substitute for weight loss (caloric restriction works much better and more efficiently; longer hours and higher intensities are need for exercise as a substitute). However, it does help with maintaining your metabolic hormone levels and limits the slow down attributed to the cutbacks as the body shed both fat and LBM. I try to limit my exercise to long steady state efforts to promote utilization of fats. I also monitor my cycling intensity so that as I become more fit, I increase my training stress. My goal is complete a century next season.

AliceDark

Be prepared to hear a lot of cr@p from people IRL if you mention 1700 calories! It's a perfectly reasonable number based on your stats, but people who are uninformed about weight loss tend to latch on to 1200 as some kind of a magic number and think that's what you HAVE to do in order to lose weight. It's not, and you already know it doesn't work for you, but some people are stupid.

Here's another way to think about it: you could set your goal for 2 pounds a week, make yourself miserable and suffer through a month, maybe two, before you can't take it any more. At the end of a month, you'll have lost 8 pounds, but you won't go any further because you hate it.

Or, you can set your goal at .5 pounds per week, not make yourself miserable, and have enough room in your eating plan that you don't even notice that you're cutting calories. At the end of a year, you'll have lost 26 pounds and be happy about it.

carryncoulson

I would say, that having sodium show up would be quite important. Salt can sabotage weight loss in a big way and its good to let you know how much you are taking in. I am losing more steadily taking a slower weight loss with a larger calorie budget. I think when you eat too little you slow down your metabolism too much. Mine is around 1800 calories and I don`t feel deprived at all. When you feel deprived your body goes into starvation mode and the next thing you eat gets stored instead of utilised for fuel.

vamaena

AliceDark wrote: »

Be prepared to hear a lot of cr@p from people IRL if you mention 1700 calories! It's a perfectly reasonable number based on your stats, but people who are uninformed about weight loss tend to latch on to 1200 as some kind of a magic number and think that's what you HAVE to do in order to lose weight. It's not, and you already know it doesn't work for you, but some people are stupid.

I couldn't agree with this more! I was telling my mom last night that I was eating between 1800-2000 calories a day and she freaked out at me (I'm 5'8", currently 292lbs, I workout 3-5 times weekly for 2-3 hours at a time, mix of cardio and strength training). She had latched onto the notion that women shouldn't be eating more than 1350 calories a day and to lose weight you need to eat a maximum of 1200. I had so much trouble explaining to her why that was mistaken. She's constantly on my back about how I'm "eating too much" to lose (yet I've lost 46lbs by eating plenty of healthy food). So yeah, 1700 is great! Just be careful when announcing your calorie goals to uninformed people.

Since I have plenty of calories to spread out throughout the day I tend to eat several smaller meals and space out my food (I actually eat something almost every 1.5-2 hours).

suz_ers

Hi there! I'm 5'3'' and now at 235 pounds. I eat 1800 calories a day, and go to the gym about 4 times a week (more if I actually make it on the weekend lol). I've heard a lot of people say that more calories helps them lose rather than less. I generally lose at least a pound a week, but it varies. Good luck! Friend request is on the way!

sympha01

AliceDark wrote: »

Be prepared to hear a lot of cr@p from people IRL if you mention 1700 calories! It's a perfectly reasonable number based on your stats, but people who are uninformed about weight loss tend to latch on to 1200 as some kind of a magic number and think that's what you HAVE to do in order to lose weight ...

Preach! I get freaked out reactions all the time from people when I tell them how much I eat. I actually went in for a regularly scheduled checkup after I had lost my first 50 lbs. My doctor didn't know I had been working on my weight and was very pleased for me, etc. He was quizzing me about what I was doing to make sure I wasn't doing anything unhealthy. I said I was exercising a lot and he looked a bit skeptical at first though he settled down when I gave him some of my heart rate stats; then when I told him I was eating in excess of 1800 calories a day his eyes popped out of his head and he did actually say "Wow ... yeah if you weren't exercising so much you'd have to eat a lot less. I guess. I don't actually know a lot about weight loss ...." LOL.

I like my doctor a lot, and one of my favorite things about him is that he admits stuff like that. Because doctors in the U.S. and Canada have only the most minimal of requirements in nutrition to graduate med school and no continuing education requirements on the subject. It's good to know that, actually. So many doctors really insist that you take their word as gospel on everything, even stuff outside their area of expertise and training.

AliceDark

There's so much extra baggage attached to calories when you're a woman, and all of it is BS. Food is fuel, and you need a certain amount of it to keep your body running. The goal shouldn't be to survive on as few calories as humanly possible -- that's crazytown. The goal should be to be able to eat as many calories as you can while still losing weight. Most people have to drop their calories at least once while they're losing weight, because as you get smaller you need less fuel. If you start out at 1200, where are you going to go? You can't live on grass and sunshine

redfisher1974

I have been at 1700 cals a day for 20 days now and lost 5 pounds already... I'm 6' and 200 lbs. Could I eat more? Yes but It's not too bad staying around 1700.

Libertysfate

I average between 1400-1800 a day whether it's cardio or strength training day and I'm 5'2", 108 lbs. I'm just trying to maintain, though. Still manage to drop weight.

jharlowlives

I'm 5'7" and at 1730 kcals/day, didn't exercise at all and lost 7lbs last month

allie_00p

I'm 5'6" 134lbs and eat at 1700cals a day. On lifting days I give myself an extra 150 cals to play with if I'm super hungry, I leave them on the table (so to speak) if I don't need them. I have been losing weight consistently at this number for the last 4 months and using the IIFYM approach.

I think your diary for Tuesday looks great! Feel free to add me if you'd like

ETA: I think setting your calorie level close to your TDEE is great, but you want to be really accurate when logging your food - weigh & measure every little thing because it doesn't take a lot to put you back at or above your maintenance calories.

brandiuntz

I'm 5'8", 165lb. Started at 220lb. I eat 1900-2100, depending on exercise. I also have hypothyroidism. Stay on your medicine, as keeping your levels in the proper range is important (for overall health, much less weight loss).

Stay accurate with your logging, be patient, and you will have success. Adjust your calories as needed, but give any adjustment time to take effect (be patient).

50sFit

Calories in vs calories out is different for each of us, but my average daily intake is well over 3000...and I lose 1 pound per week. My maintenance is around 4000.
I am a very active person who trains over 3 hours per day on top of being on my feet a lot.
Mine is a lifestyle - not a diet or exercise routine. Everybody must find their own zone.
Good Luck!

marcenepea

Thank you all for the tips and friend request. I was a bit disappointed this morning when I weighed in and hadn't lost anything this week. But on a bright note I hadn't gained and I drank WAY too much during the week . I will do my best to stay patient and not panic at any gain.
I'm ready for this new lifestyle.

Dragonflize

I am 1800 a day ,,,,60 ,,,5 10' and if I stick to the plan I lose every week ,,,,,my problem is staying focused ,,

FRiNADA

I'm 5'4 and weigh around 130. I was able to loose 10lbs by eating 1700-2000 a day but I burned off around 500 calories from exercise. It was a lot slower of a pace for me, loosing about 0.5lbs a week but with patience comes great reward and it doesnt feel like a diet so much. You can eat as many calories you like just put in the effort to burn off the excess.