Most people select a goal weight, and that determines their calories. Has anyone tried it the other
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Honestly it's what I'm trying to do... I can't imagine eating less than what I've been eating, so that's where I'm going to stop.0
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Thanks, everyone, for your thoughts. You've given me a lot to consider. I will stick with my plan for now, and if I get stuck for a few months at a weight I think is too high, I will see about tweaking.0
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The problem is that you don't gain weight and stay at that weight. You gain weight and you keep gaining weight.
As another middle aged lady, I essentially did that from 40-53. I wasn't over a lot every day and I only gained a pound or two a year. But I did that for 13 years and gained 30 pounds. I lost it again with MFP and have kept it off 3 years. But my only regret is that I gained it to start with and didn't start sooner.
Plus - and this will kill you - your metabolism definitely slows down with age. So both my kids (16 and 27) eat twice as much as me and are skinny. I used to do that too. My eating actually got less as I got older. But I still gained weight because my body slowed down.
Just suck it up. It really isn't hard to find food that makes you feel good and full and is delicious. Look at your log and figure out the foods that are wasted calories. I realized I didn't need the big glasses of milk and two pieces of bread with my sandwiches. Dropped that and switched to water and tortillas and I was down 500 calories and still eating ice cream for dessert (in little tiny bowls). You can do it.1 -
The problem is that you don't gain weight and stay at that weight. You gain weight and you keep gaining weight.
As another middle aged lady, I essentially did that from 40-53. I wasn't over a lot every day and I only gained a pound or two a year. But I did that for 13 years and gained 30 pounds. I lost it again with MFP and have kept it off 3 years. But my only regret is that I gained it to start with and didn't start sooner.
Plus - and this will kill you - your metabolism definitely slows down with age. So both my kids (16 and 27) eat twice as much as me and are skinny. I used to do that too. My eating actually got less as I got older. But I still gained weight because my body slowed down.
Just suck it up. It really isn't hard to find food that makes you feel good and full and is delicious. Look at your log and figure out the foods that are wasted calories. I realized I didn't need the big glasses of milk and two pieces of bread with my sandwiches. Dropped that and switched to water and tortillas and I was down 500 calories and still eating ice cream for dessert (in little tiny bowls). You can do it.
Your BMR does not decrease that much as you age, and its mainly to do with muscle loss. Our TDEE may well decrease as we become less active.2 -
The problem is that you don't gain weight and stay at that weight. You gain weight and you keep gaining weight.
As another middle aged lady, I essentially did that from 40-53. I wasn't over a lot every day and I only gained a pound or two a year. But I did that for 13 years and gained 30 pounds. I lost it again with MFP and have kept it off 3 years. But my only regret is that I gained it to start with and didn't start sooner.
Plus - and this will kill you - your metabolism definitely slows down with age. So both my kids (16 and 27) eat twice as much as me and are skinny. I used to do that too. My eating actually got less as I got older. But I still gained weight because my body slowed down.
Just suck it up. It really isn't hard to find food that makes you feel good and full and is delicious. Look at your log and figure out the foods that are wasted calories. I realized I didn't need the big glasses of milk and two pieces of bread with my sandwiches. Dropped that and switched to water and tortillas and I was down 500 calories and still eating ice cream for dessert (in little tiny bowls). You can do it.
Your BMR does not decrease that much as you age, and its mainly to do with muscle loss. Our TDEE may well decrease as we become less active.
Well your BMR decreases by 10 or so every year... so that's 300 calories a month... enough to gain a pound a year. Not a huge deal obviously but, give it 10 years without changing your calories and you'll have gained quite a bit.1 -
The problem is that you don't gain weight and stay at that weight. You gain weight and you keep gaining weight.
As another middle aged lady, I essentially did that from 40-53. I wasn't over a lot every day and I only gained a pound or two a year. But I did that for 13 years and gained 30 pounds. I lost it again with MFP and have kept it off 3 years. But my only regret is that I gained it to start with and didn't start sooner.
Plus - and this will kill you - your metabolism definitely slows down with age. So both my kids (16 and 27) eat twice as much as me and are skinny. I used to do that too. My eating actually got less as I got older. But I still gained weight because my body slowed down.
Just suck it up. It really isn't hard to find food that makes you feel good and full and is delicious. Look at your log and figure out the foods that are wasted calories. I realized I didn't need the big glasses of milk and two pieces of bread with my sandwiches. Dropped that and switched to water and tortillas and I was down 500 calories and still eating ice cream for dessert (in little tiny bowls). You can do it.
Your BMR does not decrease that much as you age, and its mainly to do with muscle loss. Our TDEE may well decrease as we become less active.
Well your BMR decreases by 10 or so every year... so that's 300 calories a month... enough to gain a pound a year. Not a huge deal obviously but, give it 10 years without changing your calories and you'll have gained quite a bit.
Agreed that it can add up, but I do not consider 300 calories a month that much and you can always mitigate it by trying to maintain LBM.
Body slowing down =/= primarily BMR decreasing - its usually because we are less active.0 -
would there be a motivation to deviate from TDEE in this manner, other than sheer curiosity?0
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It isn't just getting older lowering your BMR that makes you put on weight. If you think back to how active you were in your teens and twenties ( if you weren't overweight or sedentary ) and how active you are now, there is often a difference. I have issues with my feet and legs so I move less now. I also own a car and my kids are finally old enough that they don't need me chasing them 24/7. You also tend to move toward more sedentary jobs as you get older and more sedentary past times. People just don't think about this stuff, they just think their metabolism alone dropped off the planet. It drops slowly as you lose muscle mass due to aging.1
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I'm not an expert, but WebMD says there's a 400 calorie difference in what the average person can eat between 19-30 to maintain and what they can eat over 50. That was my experience, although obviously it also varied a lot by activity level, which also feeds into muscle mass.
http://www.webmd.com/diet/estimated-calorie-requirement
But 400/calories a day is a lot. Let's say that's too high, and it's really only 200 calories/day (though if you're more active the difference is bigger). That's still a lot. I cut back my eating when I hit 40, but not enough not to gain a pound or two a year. And that's all it takes over 15 years to gain 30 pounds.
The MFP calorie calculations take age into account. I believe there's a reason for that. Whatever they estimate, it works correctly for me.1 -
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I'm not an expert, but WebMD says there's a 400 calorie difference in what the average person can eat between 19-30 to maintain and what they can eat over 50. That was my experience, although obviously it also varied a lot by activity level, which also feeds into muscle mass.
http://www.webmd.com/diet/estimated-calorie-requirement
But 400/calories a day is a lot. Let's say that's too high, and it's really only 200 calories/day (though if you're more active the difference is bigger). That's still a lot. I cut back my eating when I hit 40, but not enough not to gain a pound or two a year. And that's all it takes over 15 years to gain 30 pounds.
The MFP calorie calculations take age into account. I believe there's a reason for that. Whatever they estimate, it works correctly for me.
That is TDEE and not BMR. It's back to primarily activity levels and LBM. I am not saying that it does not go down - but that its more of an indirect factor of getting older, and one that can often be mitigated to a large degree. Its also very individual. The stats above are also skewed - they are averages and the over 50 will include a very wide range of ages.0 -
aDivingBelle wrote: »It isn't just getting older lowering your BMR that makes you put on weight. If you think back to how active you were in your teens and twenties ( if you weren't overweight or sedentary ) and how active you are now, there is often a difference. I have issues with my feet and legs so I move less now. I also own a car and my kids are finally old enough that they don't need me chasing them 24/7. You also tend to move toward more sedentary jobs as you get older and more sedentary past times. People just don't think about this stuff, they just think their metabolism alone dropped off the planet. It drops slowly as you lose muscle mass due to aging.
^^this
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Your calorie goal is not determined by what you say your goal weight is. It is determined by your stats, activity, and at what rate you tell the calculator you want to lose.
I could tell MFP I wanted to weigh 120 Lbs or 150 Lbs or 175 Lbs but my calorie target would be the same regardless as it is dependent on my stats, activity, and desired rate of loss.0 -
CoachJen71 wrote: »way around? Select a calorie zone and let your weight fall where it may, just to see what happens?
Sure. If you set that number to your intake at your desired maintenance weight, you start eating at your proper intak from the start and there is no transition to maintenance.
So how would that work with MFP? I am 120 with a goal of 110. Do I set my weight in MFP to 110?
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It's been almost a year since I asked this, so here's an update on my findings:
A) The calorie range was too low when I first started, because I was heavier then. And it should have been Net not Gross.
A longtime confusion over eating back only 50% of exercise cals also caused me to cut too hard for a while. I should have ignored that advice and just trusted my Fitbit.
C) Netting in the 1400 range now seems to keep me in the 130-140lb weight range, but I will need more time to really know for sure. The Trendweight.com line is still shifting a bit more than I would think represents true maintenance.
D) I did have to step up my activity level as I got smaller in order to get as many gross cals as I would like to eat. (I do eat lighter in the beginning of the week so that I can have heavier cal meals or treats on the weekends. Tried TDEE, but I didn't like the tiny dinners out on the weekends.)0 -
Honestly it's what I'm trying to do... I can't imagine eating less than what I've been eating, so that's where I'm going to stop.
This makes sense to me. Once we have an idea of how much we eat and we have a chance to experiment with eating at different levels we need to choose something that we can live with for a long time. Essentially the healthiest weight that we can sustain happily. I'm happy to trade a BMI of 25 or 26 with more calories per day than a BMI of 20 or 21.0 -
aDivingBelle wrote: »It isn't just getting older lowering your BMR that makes you put on weight. If you think back to how active you were in your teens and twenties ( if you weren't overweight or sedentary ) and how active you are now, there is often a difference. I have issues with my feet and legs so I move less now. I also own a car and my kids are finally old enough that they don't need me chasing them 24/7. You also tend to move toward more sedentary jobs as you get older and more sedentary past times. People just don't think about this stuff, they just think their metabolism alone dropped off the planet. It drops slowly as you lose muscle mass due to aging.
I am pretty sure I don't eat as much as when I was younger, and do weigh a little more, mostly more muscle as my workouts are "heavier" now. But then thinking about it, I weigh almost as much as my highest healthy young adult weight, 10 stone, which happened the year I had breakfast, lunch, and dinner provided to me, even though I was dancing several hours a day my weight came up, I'd never eaten like that before. So maybe yeah, there isn't really a difference in metabolism but a difference in means - I can afford to eat whatever I want now, that's not been true throughout life.
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I suppose that's sort of what I did. I realised I like eating an average of 2100 calories so my weight range is 128-133lbs - (I feel slim at my range). I'm 5ft 2 /46/active.
I suppose ideally I would like to be 7lbs lighter but I'm just not prepared to eat less than I do now....0 -
The problem with a goal of a number is how on earth do you know how you will feel or look when you get there? My goal was 126 but that was omy a number I kind of remembered being when I was 18. I got near it and just got fed up chasing numbers so I maintained after a year of chasing the same 3 lbs around and thought what am I doing?? Just do what feels right!1
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Mine is the opposite. I was overweight and not all that active in my teens and 20s. I am now pushing 40 and am the most active I have been my whole life. My TDEE is significantly higher now than it was 10 years ago. I don't see that changing anytime soon.
I think this is the case for me too, I didn't get active until I was in my very late 30s. At 44 and 5'3" my TDEE is over 2000
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CoachJen71 wrote: »I am a little confused by the assertion 'Most people select a goal weight and that determines their calories'. How does goal weight determine calories (other than an indicator of a reasonable deficit to select). I think I must be missing something.
No, that was what I meant. I am still in the process of losing, so am still looking at things from that point of view.
Then I am still confused and I still have the question as to how does goal weight determine calories?
If I understand the OP...
She has a bottom line as to how low she will go one her calories...1400-1600. At some point she will stop losing weight and that is the weight she will be satisfied with.
I feel the same way...I won't eat any less than 1600 (preferably 1800) calories again. So if I stop losing before I reach where I would like to be...I will just settle for that weight instead of lowering my calories.
So I have been struggling lately about what my goal weight will be and I think you just solved my problem! I lost from about 195 to about 125 and I haven't been able to decide if I want to keep going. I will just eat to where I'm satisfied (probably about 1600 to 1800 a day) and let it happen on its own...whew I feel better
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I started off with something similar. I worked out my weight at my target BMI and then calculated the BMR using Harris Benedict equation at that weight and use that as my MFP target.
I always eat at least my future BMR and try not to exceed what my approximate TDEE would be at that weight, not always, but this is all about the long game.
My thinking is that I'm teaching myself how to eat for the rest of my life. Obviously I will hit maintenance very slowly using this method, but in my way of thinking I'm already eating at future maintenance and that should make it easier for me to stay there when I get there. I will no doubt have to do some tweaking as well, as those BMR calculations are just a guide.
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CoachJen71 wrote: »Tried TDEE, but I didn't like the tiny dinners out on the weekends.)
I do TDEE, and I also bank calories for the weekend.0 -
I guess I plan on making sure my activity is high enough to allow me to eat what I want, but I am lucky enough to be a fairly tall guy and can still eat a good amount. I know eating in the 1200 -1500 range forever sounds pretty hard forever, but if it was that or fat I would do it.0
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I'm actually planning this for maintenance. I'm planning to reach a goal weight, then eat to my comfort without going overboard and let my weight settle where it wants to settle. My aim would achieve a good balance between my level of effort and my comfort level. I mean what's the point of reaching a goal weight if maintaining it will be too difficult and uncomfortable? How long would I last muscling it through? Since my goal weight is a range not a number I'm expecting to be fine with it wherever it falls as long as I can maintain it long term.0
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CoachJen71 wrote: »Tried TDEE, but I didn't like the tiny dinners out on the weekends.)
I do TDEE, and I also bank calories for the weekend.
How does that work, exactly? I had thought TDEE was eating at maintenance daily?1 -
frannyupnorth wrote: »My thinking is that I'm teaching myself how to eat for the rest of my life. Obviously I will hit maintenance very slowly using this method, but in my way of thinking I'm already eating at future maintenance and that should make it easier for me to stay there when I get there. I will no doubt have to do some tweaking as well, as those BMR calculations are just a guide.
That works if you don't have a lot to lose. As I mentioned in my update, I started too soon and underate for that current weight. Otherwise, it was a pretty good plan.
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makingmark wrote: »I know eating in the 1200 -1500 range forever sounds pretty hard forever, but if it was that or fat I would do it.
I keep reminding myself that. LOL0 -
When I decided to never diet again to lose weight I did change my macro that cut out off of my cravings and just eat until I feel stuffed. Over time I am down from my peak 250 pounds to 200 pounds eating all I want to eat and have maintained there for the last year.
So I did neither way but just adjusted my macro and let the weight and number of calories be self adjusting after my self regulated eating order returned.
From my understanding unless we have developed an eating disorder for some reason CICO is automatically managed to yield the best human health.0 -
CoachJen71 wrote: »"Sarauk2sf wrote:Then I am still confused and I still have the question as to how does goal weight determine calories?
I thought people work out what their healthy weight should be for their height/age/frame etc, then either MFP or a TDEE Calc would give them an idea of what their possible calorie intake should be to maintain that weight?
I did that way.
I first was using my current TDEE - 500 cal to figure out a daily goal, and sticking to that.
But as i went forward, and noticed how slowly the goal crept down as i lost weight, i decided, just for fun, to punch in my goal weight and calculate TDEE. I saw that it was really close to my current TDEE-500 goal.
What occurred to me then is that if i could simply build the habits to eat that many calories each day, i would be "in maintenance" before i'm even at my goal weight.
It has slowed down my loss some, but i feel good, i feel like the lifestyle is easily sustainable, and i suffer way less anxiety about going out for a meal or otherwise splurging infrequently, since i know my generally healthy habits will balance it out.0
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