Weight is a level, not cargo

LindsayRidgeway

I always need to keep in mind that weight, as in the phrase "weight loss", is not like cargo at all. That is, you don't lose weight and then it's gone (other than surgical weight loss, which I know nothing about).

Rather, weight is a level, set by incoming versus outgoing calories. I guess it's similar to a basin in which water is draining out at one rate, and being replenished, perhaps from a hose or faucet, at a different rate. Those rates determine how much water is in the basin.

So for me, thinking in terms of losing a particular amount of weight is a somewhat unproductive approach. What I need is to learn how many calories I can take in, month in and month out, year in and year out, to gradually stabilize at my desired weight, given my general level of caloric expenditure. Of course, I also need to take into account that my caloric expenditure rate changes over the years.

That's not to say I don't want to lose weight. I do. But I need to realize that that's not a useful model of what's going on, and more important, that way of thinking isn't going to keep it off. Establishing the correct caloric intake for my desired weight: That's what's going to keep the extra weight off.

peachyfuzzle

I can see where you're going, but even with being a numbers guy myself, I would find it extremely cumbersome to keep track of caloric intake on a month basis let alone an entire year.

I'll use myself as an example (32, 6'1", started at 310lbs). Say I have my deficit set to lose 2lb/week at 2700cal. That would be 18900cal allowance per week. Multiply by 4, and you're looking at 75600cal/month. Multiply by 52, and you're looking at around 982800cal/year.

So, if everything works exactly optimally, and I've lost 50lbs in six months. At that point, I should have eaten 491400cal. But, my caloric needs were also decreasing at the same time, so at the six month mark after 50lbs lost, that same 2lb/week is now around 2300cal/day.

2300cal/week = 16100
2300cal/month = 64400
2300cal/year = 837200

By the six month mark, I would have already eaten almost 59% of my yearly allowance to stay at 2lb/week. This means that if I wasn't necessarily readjusting my caloric needs every couple of weeks as the weight came off, I now need to make up that extra 9% by going further into a deficit if I'm wanting to remain on that 2lb/week goal by the end of the year. At this point in time, I would have to be very nearly on a VCLD for my height/weight/daily activity which is something that should really only be prescribed under medical supervision.

This is also taking into account that you're still logging daily, and not having a 2000cal over day here, and a 1500cal over day there without logging which could very easily put you above even your yearly calorie allowance exceptionally quickly.

Sure, there is the whole "as long as the weight is coming off" philosophy, but this would be setting up a system of diminishing returns as I'm seeing it. At some point, I would hit maintenance, and likely not be able to tell for at least a month, which would severely impede my progress.

That being said, I'm still a big fan of the weekly allowance goal. A week is just short enough to keep very good track of, and just long enough to adjust for deflation (heh.. get it?).

lemurcat12

That makes sense to me and resonates with what I'm trying to do as I inch up to maintenance (still at least 10-20 lbs to go). I'm gradually reducing my deficit and trying to figure out where I want to be and how many calories I need to eat (on a daily basis, on average) and how much exercise I will do (on a weekly basis) to get me and keep me there.

LindsayRidgeway

Hi, Peachyfuzzle. I completely agree with your goal of losing 2lbs per week, and the notion of daily and weekly allowances. I've had success that way in the past, and now that I'm back on the wagon, it's working again, and I hope nothing will disrupt continued progress for either of us, and a long life of maintaining the right weight when we reach it.

My point is that we're not really shedding pounds, in the sense of shedding a heavy coat so that now we don't have the weight of that coat any more. Rather, we're changing the incoming/outgoing calorie equation, and gradually, our bodies are adjusting to that new equation.

I guess it doesn't matter which way we look at it during the weight loss phase, but it will matter enormously once we get to a weight we're satisfied with. Because at that point, we can't think, "Well, I've lost that weight, now I can go back to my old way of eating." That old way of eating was the equation that got us to the heavier weight. Instead, we need to stick with new equation from now on, and even adjust it over the years, so that our incoming and outgoing calories are always the correct balance for the weight we want to maintain.

Actually, I find this insight about what's happening helpful even during the weight loss phase. Yes, I'll keep weighing myself daily, because it helps my motivation. But at the same time, I can also obtain motivation from on my faith in the caloric equation: Even if the scale doesn't budge for a few days, I'm using the correct balance of incoming to outgoing calories, and my weight will have no choice but to adjust to that balance sooner or later. :0)

Sued0nim

You could simplify all that maths by using an activity monitor, like a fitbit, plus logging workouts, with an HRM, and checking the average TDEE you get over periods of time

LindsayRidgeway

To be clear, I never meant to suggest that one should make weekly, monthly, or annual calculations, or any other complex calculations.

The expression "month in and month out, year in and year out" was meant to express a long-term commitment to the learning and practice of calorie tracking. I think that's a fairly common way of phrasing a continuous process, but I guess some readers found it confusing and thought I meant I believed in computing monthly or weekly calorie totals. Not only is that not the case, I certainly didn't intend it as a point of departure for promotion of even more complex calculations and programs.

For me at least, calorie totals are computed only for the day, which MFP does quite well. This post was not about making calculations. It was a reminder to myself, and any interested reader, that weight is not "lost" like taking cargo off a ship, but that instead, the right balance, and eating/exercising to maintain that balance, must not only occur while I'm losing weight but must continue always, so that an incorrect balance, and resulting weight gain, doesn't occur again.

Need2Exerc1se

I think I get what you mean OP, and I agree. I'm trying to find that balance that will not only get me to goal, but also keep me there. I'm trying to eat now like I will eat to maintain once I'm at goal.

SingRunTing

I agree that focusing on your behavior and habits is far more productive than focusing on what the scale says at the moment. Changing your behavior day in and day out is what makes you lose weight, not the actual acting of weighing yourself and "knowing" what you weigh.