why does my daily energy expenditure seem so big?
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Dieting is not eating 900 calories or less a day, that's an eating disorder. Most dieters do not eat so little, but all people with an illness from eating so little do. Dieting is cutting calories by just enough to lose fat at a steady rate. For me for example, that's just over 2000 calories a day I'm eating (based on gym x 4 a week/165 cm tall/31 inch waist/144 lbs). Your body needs energy to perform its vital functions, and that includes requiring energy to burn fat. You wouldn't put a few drops of fuel into a car for a long journey.0
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Dieting is not eating 900 calories or less a day, that's an eating disorder. Most dieters do not eat so little, but all people with an illness from eating so little do. Dieting is cutting calories by just enough to lose fat at a steady rate. For me for example, that's just over 2000 calories a day I'm eating (based on gym x 4 a week/165 cm tall/31 inch waist/144 lbs). Your body needs energy to perform its vital functions, and that includes requiring energy to burn fat. You wouldn't put a few drops of fuel into a car for a long journey.0
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I'm 5'8.5" 170ish pounds eating more than double what you're eating and losing weight...0
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Over the past 7 days, I have eaten 6105 calories (872 per day) and my weight has fallen by 4.79 lb.
My question is, why is my indicated total daily energy expenditure so high?
Your height, weight and sex have most to do with your TDEE...So why am I losing weight at such a high rate?
Most likely because you are only eating 872 calories per day. You are most likely losing muscle... Maybe not the first week (water loss etc). That said, if you keep it up you will lose muscle mass...0 -
Thanks chrism8971 and drmerc for addressing where I'm coming from!
Many thanks for this. I will look up on what people have said about resistance training and increased intake of proteins as ways to reduce muscle loss when on a low-calorie diet.ChrisM8971 wrote: »If something's going wrong, what symptoms should I be getting?
Why can't losing a bit of muscle while eating a low-calorie diet for a few weeks or months be sorted out by doing more exercise? Either after I've reached my target, or starting before?
You will lose some muscle while dieting anyway but the ratio of fat to muscle loss depends on a lot of things, including genetics. The amount of muscle loss can at least be reduced by resistance training, increased protein intake and by not having to large a calorie deficit.
You can address the muscle loss once you reach your goal weight but you might want to look up the term "skinny fat", its not a good look and that's something I can say from experience
As to links have a good delve around on this site http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/
I'm not so interested in the aesthetics, really - I'm halfway towards my target, my paunch is getting smaller, my face is getting less fat, and I've no great problems with how other people may view my body shape - but I will look up about "skinny fat" because it sounds interesting and I'm trying to find out more about what's happening to my body!__drmerc__ wrote: »OP, the reason your calculations seem off are a) you probably do burn more than you are expecting AND b) You're not accounting for water loss due to restricted carbs
Thanks for this too.
Just some background... My aim was to lose 2.2 lb (1kg) per week, which would correspond to 7700 calories if it was all fat, using the usual 3500 per lb figure. That's 1100 per day. I reckon my total daily energy expenditure is about 1950, so I decided to eat around 1950-1100=850 per day. I've now been doing that for a few weeks, and I was surprised to find that my rate of weight loss has been constant at around 4.9 lb per week.
I was aiming to reach my target in Feb 2015, but if my rate of weight loss continues I could reach it in Dec 2014. December isn't far off, and of course I am looking forward to stabilising my weight and eating more food too. (Thanks for your concern, scottacular, but no, I haven't got an eating disorder!)
As for water loss, I haven't been urinating more, but one thing I have noticed is that I haven't felt like drinking so much water. Is that common when people are on low-calorie diets?
As a result of not giving sufficient attention to that change in how I've been feeling (until now), I have just drunk less and not bothered about it. So I will force myself to drink at least as much as I did before, or even more.
Don't worry - I'm not likely to start stuffing my face with food out of fear of an imminent coronary!__drmerc__ wrote: »
Nor do I go weak when I see strings of exclamation marks 
To summarise, where I'm at after today's cogitations and reading the advice here is as follows:
* do more exercise - and really there's no reason I can't start now rather than waiting until after I've reached my weight target
* drink more water
* look into increasing the protein proportion in my diet
* look up on the notions posted by chrism8971 and drmerc
* consider increasing calorie intake (but only slightly - I don't buy the apocalyptic stuff, sorry), especially given that I'll be doing more exercise
Best regards,
John
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The taller the person, the more calories.0
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Your BMR is about 1,700 calories/day. You are already at healthy weight, so you have no reason to eat way below the recommended daily calories. Cross-check the calculators below if you don't believe the people on MFP.
TDEE Calculators:
http://iifym.com/tdee-calculator/
http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/
How to Change your Goals:
Click Goals > Change Goals > Guided, Continue, enter in your accurate information and realistic goal weight, and click Update Profile. MFP will give you good information on how many calories you should eat each day to safely lose weight. You can lose weight without feeling like you are starving all the time. I promise! Good luck!
Direct Link: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/account/my_goals
BMI Calculator: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/tools/bmi-calculator
BMR Calculator: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/tools/bmr-calculator0 -
Just what I hope they all said 872......... seriously.0
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* consider increasing calorie intake (but only slightly - I don't buy the apocalyptic stuff, sorry), especially given that I'll be doing more exercise
Facts are still facts whether you believe them or not.
You can't just exercise your muscle back on that easily. Have you seen Matthew McConaughey? He still doesn't have his muscle mass back from his weight loss and that's a man with all of the resources in the world.
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At your height and your goal weight you would be considered underweight.a woman is supposed to eat no less than 1200 calories,a man needs more(due to having more muscle mass).If you dont eat enough you will start having side effects similar to anorexia.If you eat your calories and then burn off 1100 a day thats one thing but taking what you burn off of your calorie allowance and only eating what is left is another.
The more you exercise the more you need to eat and your body needs the fuel.especially if you are doing extreme exercises or burning a lot of calories. Most days I eat twice your calorie intake and Im still losing weight. Im a woman who is 5'6 1/2 and 185 lbs.
even if you were to weight train,with so little calories it would be almost impossible to gain muscle.you wouldnt get in enough protein. 2 protein shakes(with fruit and other things added) and you would be close to going over your current calories. You may not see or notice side effects right away but not eating enough can cause damage to your heart and other organs. for people that think this is bull do some research.0 -
WIth eighteen pounds to lose, a 2 pound per week goal (not to mention what you're currently at) is going to be too aggressive. You should be eating at about 10-15% from your TDEE, which would be 2800-2950 calories. Continuing at your rate, you could start experiencing some major problems from the massive deficit, weakening your muscles and missing various nutrients.0
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I don't know why you say that. My target is 71kg (156.5 lb) and I'm 1.80m (5'11") tall. That gives a body mass index of 71/(1.80^2) = 21.9, which isn't underweight by any definition I'm aware of. It's close to bang in the middle of what's considered the optimal range, 18.5-25, which is exactly why I chose it. In fact it's 0.15 units above, which at my height works out as 1.07 lb. Please don't worry - I'm not aiming to be as thin as a rakeCharlieBeansmom wrote: »At your height and your goal weight you would be considered underweight
I think I've got the main point about muscle tissue nowCharlieBeansmom wrote: »If you eat your calories and then burn off 1100 a day thats one thing but taking what you burn off of your calorie allowance and only eating what is left is another.
You probably get more exercise than I do. I've now decided I'm going to start a proper exercise plan literally tomorrow! May I ask what your rate of weight loss is and whether it's more or less constant at a weekly level?CharlieBeansmom wrote: »The more you exercise the more you need to eat and your body needs the fuel.especially if you are doing extreme exercises or burning a lot of calories. Most days I eat twice your calorie intake and Im still losing weight. Im a woman who is 5'6 1/2 and 185 lbs.
Those aware of it could cite it and even research who paid for it. But I didn't come here to argue! I am going to start a proper exercise plan, will eat some more protein-rich food and am happy to let that put my calorie intake above what it's been. I can see the point about muscle tissue and exercise and also what you say about burning off calories and how that is beneficial for muscles. I'm just not planning to be a long-term slimmer...CharlieBeansmom wrote: »even if you were to weight train,with so little calories it would be almost impossible to gain muscle.you wouldnt get in enough protein. 2 protein shakes(with fruit and other things added) and you would be close to going over your current calories. You may not see or notice side effects right away but not eating enough can cause damage to your heart and other organs. for people that think this is bull do some research.
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You've got my TDEE wrong. I think you're using the figure (3267) that would be correct if all of the weight I'm currently losing was fat. That's what I started this thread to ask for advice about, because my actual TDEE is probably only about 1950-2050. I'm 5'11" tall and male, but my frame is probably slightly smaller than the middle of medium and my lifestyle is pretty sedentary. Maybe it's a bit bigger, but there's just no way it's up by 3000.WIth eighteen pounds to lose, a 2 pound per week goal (not to mention what you're currently at) is going to be too aggressive. You should be eating at about 10-15% from your TDEE, which would be 2800-2950 calories. Continuing at your rate, you could start experiencing some major problems from the massive deficit, weakening your muscles and missing various nutrients.
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All figures aside, that is substantial rapid weight loss. It cannot be accounted for by your probable TDEE and the amount of food you are eating (which is why you came and asked the question). Your TDEE as worked out by the amount of weight loss isn't probable based on your age, height. weight and activity level. Have you considered getting this checked out by your doctor, just incase there is an underlying medical issue?0
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My husband is your height, build and weight. He's not really trying to lose weight (his body fat is 18%) but is tracking food for medical reasons. He has a sedentary job and does no specific exercise apart from the walking involved in his daily commute. He averages about 2000 calories per day and is still losing around 1lb/week. Which is about the most I would recommend for someone with not much to lose.
You need to eat more. Seriously.0 -
if your goal is to lose 2.2 p0unds a week and you are losing 4 pounds a week at 870 calories a day (which is an insanely low amount of calories to be eating) then you can eat 1600 a day and lose two pounds a week ….
a 49 year old man should not be eating 872 calories a day …
I am a 35 year old male and my maintenance calories are about 2500 to 2600 a day ….0 -
You've got my TDEE wrong. I think you're using the figure (3267) that would be correct if all of the weight I'm currently losing was fat. That's what I started this thread to ask for advice about, because my actual TDEE is probably only about 1950-2050. I'm 5'11" tall and male, but my frame is probably slightly smaller than the middle of medium and my lifestyle is pretty sedentary. Maybe it's a bit bigger, but there's just no way it's up by 3000.WIth eighteen pounds to lose, a 2 pound per week goal (not to mention what you're currently at) is going to be too aggressive. You should be eating at about 10-15% from your TDEE, which would be 2800-2950 calories. Continuing at your rate, you could start experiencing some major problems from the massive deficit, weakening your muscles and missing various nutrients.
Will you be able to sustain the weight loss once you've reached your goal weight?
You have a February deadline, what is the rush?
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Check out the Minnesota Starvation Experiement (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minnesota_Starvation_Experiment).0
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