Eating less than goal minus burn, bad?
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mlewczenko
Posts: 3
I have my flex and MFP linked, negative adjustment on, and have my goals set for 2 lbs /week loss. My goal is to lose about 50 lbs and am fairly sedentary 6'2" 249 lb male.
Anyways, I get 1970 calories even at the 2 lbs per week goal and my fitbit daily burn adds anywhere from 3-400 calories to that. So my question is this, I'm two weeks in and my stomach and body have adjusted and I feel really good, and not hungry staying at 1500-1700 total calories for the day, tons of vegetables and filling clean food. Am I hurting my losses by creating a 1500 calorie deficit? Should I be hitting my target closer for better gains? I may have read somewhere that I want to be closer to target. I have not yet started working out, which I plan on starting next week (we are moving in 3 days, so everything is packed).
Looking for some perspective here, thanks!
Anyways, I get 1970 calories even at the 2 lbs per week goal and my fitbit daily burn adds anywhere from 3-400 calories to that. So my question is this, I'm two weeks in and my stomach and body have adjusted and I feel really good, and not hungry staying at 1500-1700 total calories for the day, tons of vegetables and filling clean food. Am I hurting my losses by creating a 1500 calorie deficit? Should I be hitting my target closer for better gains? I may have read somewhere that I want to be closer to target. I have not yet started working out, which I plan on starting next week (we are moving in 3 days, so everything is packed).
Looking for some perspective here, thanks!
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Replies
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mlewczenko wrote: »I have my flex and MFP linked, negative adjustment on, and have my goals set for 2 lbs /week loss. My goal is to lose about 50 lbs and am fairly sedentary 6'2" 249 lb male.
The less you have to lose, the more slowly it comes off. That's just the way the human body works. Eating too little won't make you lose any more quickly. And it increases the likelihood of bingeing.
A healthy, sustainable goal at your size is 1 lb. per week. In another 25–30 lbs., switch to .5 lb. per week. The smaller deficit will also help you transition to maintenance.
You're 6'2", 249 lbs., and eating 1,500 calories?! I'm 5'2", 122 lbs., and I eat 1,800 calories. Food is fuel, and we should all be looking for the maximum number of calories at which we lose weight—never the minimum.0 -
Ok, thank you so much, just wanted to get some clarification. I'll be sure to make sure I'm fueling between meals better and staying closer to the recommended calories.0
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It'll take trial & error to find what works for you. You might even be able to lose 1.5 lb. per week for the first 10lbs. or so. But anything more aggressive than that is just counterproductive.
Patience, grasshopper!0 -
Throw in another reason.
With no exercise using muscle you got - body will easily lose it with more extreme deficit.
Body is always trying to adapt to you eating less than you burn, from slowing down your daily activity (Fitbit should help with that issue) to not rebuilding energy hungry muscle back (using it helps with that issue).
So it really sucks bad to lose the last 10 lbs if the first 10 lbs was decent amount of muscle mass.0
