1200 calories vs a higher calorie/fat diet
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MummyStumpf
Posts: 33 Member
MFP has caculated my calories as 1200 per day (loosing 2lbs per week). My weight loss has been slow and up and down but that has been I have had periods of not tracking and not execising.
On a good week, I stick to my 1200 calories and exercise (mixture of cardio and strength with light weigths) for approx 5-6 hours per week and I loose on average 3lbs.
My question is.. I saw this guy called Joe Wicks Aka the Body Coach talking about eating a higher calorie diet including good fats (cocunut oil/advocado/nuts/seeds and lean protein) as well as doing 20 mins of HITT 4-5 times a week as best way to burn fat and build muscle. He says that weight loss will plateau when you restrict your calories.
Am thinking of increasing my calories and following his programme/reviews.
What successes have people had with this approach?
BTW I'm 5"3 and weigh 180. I've lost 25lbs and want to loose at least another 40lbs.
Any feedback would be helpful
On a good week, I stick to my 1200 calories and exercise (mixture of cardio and strength with light weigths) for approx 5-6 hours per week and I loose on average 3lbs.
My question is.. I saw this guy called Joe Wicks Aka the Body Coach talking about eating a higher calorie diet including good fats (cocunut oil/advocado/nuts/seeds and lean protein) as well as doing 20 mins of HITT 4-5 times a week as best way to burn fat and build muscle. He says that weight loss will plateau when you restrict your calories.
Am thinking of increasing my calories and following his programme/reviews.
What successes have people had with this approach?
BTW I'm 5"3 and weigh 180. I've lost 25lbs and want to loose at least another 40lbs.
Any feedback would be helpful
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Replies
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It seems like the 1200 calorie a day plan is working. You know when you have those periods of not tracking and not exercising, in reality you are probably consuming more than 1200 calories a day. I say, you know this works when you follow the plan. The science behind it makes sense....What he is selling doesn't compute for me!0
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You mean 1200 plus exercise calories?0
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The periods of non-adherence are what raise red flags for me. It sounds like possibly 2 pounds a week is a bit of an aggressive deficit for you.
You're short, and there's no room for trimming down calories when you get closer to goal if you start at the lowest possible amount.
It sounds like you plan on being pretty active. I don't know how many calories this person you mentioned is recommending, but at the least, I'd say it would probably be best to change your goals to 1 pound a week loss and then eat back half your exercise calories.
Regarding fats, YES! Add them. They are important for satiety. What's your current macro balance?0 -
You have a similar body type to me. I'm 5'3 and started at 196 2 years ago. I've lost 40 eating around 1400-1500 per day (I wasn't weighing food until recently so that's a guess). I'd say set your goal to half a pound per week. I know it's slower but it's much easier to fight the lapse in tracking and working out.
Feel free to add me, maybe I can help out some!0 -
Liftng4Lis wrote: »You mean 1200 plus exercise calories?
I usually eat an extra 200 out of an average of 400 exercise calories...0 -
DaniCanadian wrote: »You have a similar body type to me. I'm 5'3 and started at 196 2 years ago. I've lost 40 eating around 1400-1500 per day (I wasn't weighing food until recently so that's a guess). I'd say set your goal to half a pound per week. I know it's slower but it's much easier to fight the lapse in tracking and working out.
Feel free to add me, maybe I can help out some!
Ok will do, thanks. Half a pound a week is far too low for me. 2lbs a week is too slow for me, but it's the maximum!
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Don't exercise and eat your calories back. Eat and exercise those extra calories away. Food first.0
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mamapeach910 wrote: »The periods of non-adherence are what raise red flags for me. It sounds like possibly 2 pounds a week is a bit of an aggressive deficit for you.
You're short, and there's no room for trimming down calories when you get closer to goal if you start at the lowest possible amount.
It sounds like you plan on being pretty active. I don't know how many calories this person you mentioned is recommending, but at the least, I'd say it would probably be best to change your goals to 1 pound a week loss and then eat back half your exercise calories.
Regarding fats, YES! Add them. They are important for satiety. What's your current macro balance?
This is what the body coach talks about. If you are starving your body now, as you loose weight it has no where else to go. Eating 1200 calories won't work when I continue to lose weight.
He talks about eating 1800-2000
Calories a day I guess.
I have no idea what a macro balance is!0 -
It seems like the 1200 calorie a day plan is working. You know when you have those periods of not tracking and not exercising, in reality you are probably consuming more than 1200 calories a day. I say, you know this works when you follow the plan. The science behind it makes sense....What he is selling doesn't compute for me!
He's basically saying that starving your body will show weight loss for a time but it isn't sustainable. Not sure exactly if the in's and out's..
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A macro balance is the amount in grams, or percentage of Fat, Protein and carbs etc you're aiming for everyday0
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What you should be looking at is doing a diet thats sustainable that will help you first get to target without quitting, help your body adjust and help you keep it off.
If 2lb a week is too slow for you, then realise that a healthy rate of loss is 1-2lb a week.
Personally I set my calories for a level I can sustain and doesnt make me miserable. Becayse i get out there and do exercise I earn myself the flexibility to eat extra calories if I ever want a pizza, chocolate beer etc.
1500+ is much easier to live with.
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I would suggest going the TDEE route. In my experience that gives me way more calories to eat without worries about eating back calories and get the same weight loss results. That way you can have room to adjust after some time depending on the results you get.0
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christinev297 wrote: »A macro balance is the amount in grams, or percentage of Fat, Protein and carbs etc you're aiming for everyday
I don't record this. I tend to have a Nutriblast for breakfast or low calorie toast if I'm rushing and carbs for lunch and less for dinner (more protein). I don't eat a lot of processed food and just try to keep it simple..
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deniztuzu2 wrote: »I would suggest going the TDEE route. In my experience that gives me way more calories to eat without worries about eating back calories and get the same weight loss results. That way you can have room to adjust after some time depending on the results you get.
I need to look into this. Not exactly sure how to go about changing my settings..0 -
What you should be looking at is doing a diet thats sustainable that will help you first get to target without quitting, help your body adjust and help you keep it off.
If 2lb a week is too slow for you, then realise that a healthy rate of loss is 1-2lb a week.
Personally I set my calories for a level I can sustain and doesnt make me miserable. Becayse i get out there and do exercise I earn myself the flexibility to eat extra calories if I ever want a pizza, chocolate beer etc.
1500+ is much easier to live with.
I'm actually pretty used to eating 1200 and don't find it too hard. I just wonder if eating more calories may produce quicker results. On the days I cheat, it's a emotional eating. Feeling stressed/tired. When I'm feeling good and "on it", then 1200 works for me..0 -
MummyStumpf wrote: »I'm actually pretty used to eating 1200 and don't find it too hard. I just wonder if eating more calories may produce quicker results. On the days I cheat, it's a emotional eating. Feeling stressed/tired. When I'm feeling good and "on it", then 1200 works for me..
I can't see an argument that you'll lose faster if you just eat more. You could change what you're eating within your 1200 towards the guidelines suggested in your question, then consider adding 100 a day for a week at a time - ie 1 week on 1200 with more fat / less carbs, then 1 week on 1300.....
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I've started following Joe Wicks and I'm intrigued by the philosophy so far - basically it's all about eating foods which are rich in nutrients combined with good fats to fuel your body. So basically whole foods, whole grains and lean protein. I'm still counting my calories but find I'm getting more out of what I chose to "spend" them on e.g. my meals are way more satisfying and keep me fuller for longer. I've given up caffiene, fizzy drinks (including diet coke) and sugar unless it's fruit - was tough at first but I feel loads better for it.
Sadly its £150 to do the full Body Coach plan but he posts loads of recipes and cooking tutorials on instragram, twitter and facebook plus you can sign up to a 14 day email update on the website which gives you loads of ideas and food shopping lists for free (my favourite price!)0 -
It's time for you to set more realistic goals. Your weight loss has been slow because, although you have 'good weeks" where you stick to your way-too-low goals, you can't seem to stick to it otherwise. That's because your weight loss is too aggressive.
If you have 75+ lbs to lose 2 lbs/week is ideal
If you have 40-75 lbs to lose 1.5 lbs/week is ideal
If you have 25-40 lbs to lose 1 lb/week is ideal
If you have 15-25 lbs to lose 0.5 to 1.0 lb/week is ideal
If you have less than 15 lbs to lose 0.5 lb/week is ideal
As you weigh less and less, you should be losing less and less each week. You can sustainably lose 1 lb/week. Change your goals on MFP. That should bump you up to 1,300-1,500 or so calories per day. You didn't put on the weight overnight- you're not going to lose it overnight. Eating more means you're more likely to stick to it, you'll have more energy, and you'll lose less lean mass.
HIITS are a great workout. However, this here is nonsense:MummyStumpf wrote: »...best way to burn fat and build muscle. He says that weight loss will plateau when you restrict your calories.
You can't burn fat and build muscle at the same time, apart from newbie muscle gains.
"He says that weight loss will plateau when you restrict your calories. " This is a massive oversimplification. The more weight you lose, the lower your maintenance calories are. At my highest weight, my maintenance calorie level was 2,100 cal/day. If I ate 1,600 cal/day, I lost 2 lbs. Overtime, I have lost a LOT of weight. Now, I eat 1,600 cal/day and I lose .5 lbs/week. That's because I weigh less, not because I'm plateauing. Theoretically, if I ate 1,600 calories for the rest of my life, I would keep losing weight until I was at a weight for which 1,600 calories was maintenance. Running the numbers, I would be very underweight to have 1,600 calories be my maintenance level.0 -
MummyStumpf wrote: »What you should be looking at is doing a diet thats sustainable that will help you first get to target without quitting, help your body adjust and help you keep it off.
If 2lb a week is too slow for you, then realise that a healthy rate of loss is 1-2lb a week.
Personally I set my calories for a level I can sustain and doesnt make me miserable. Becayse i get out there and do exercise I earn myself the flexibility to eat extra calories if I ever want a pizza, chocolate beer etc.
1500+ is much easier to live with.
I'm actually pretty used to eating 1200 and don't find it too hard. I just wonder if eating more calories may produce quicker results. On the days I cheat, it's a emotional eating. Feeling stressed/tired. When I'm feeling good and "on it", then 1200 works for me..
Sorry, but you are working hard and not eating enough. That's why you have cheat days. People that don't workout that hard can afford to have an aggressive deficit. There was a recent study published stating that it might not be detrimental to lose weight quickly, but the study didn't really go super long term in its findings.
Saying that, adding more calories won't net you quicker results. AND more importantly, it would probably be in your best interest to change your focus to LASTING results.
Hard workouts need to be fueled. It's fantastic that you're putting in such great exercise efforts. Eat at a more modest deficit.
What are your stats? How old are you? How tall are you? How much do you weigh?
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