Any advice to a bigger woman to lose lbs.
AliceWatkins14
Posts: 7 Member
Hey :-) I used to be 384 at my highest weight. I am now 330 lbs. I have type 2 diabetes and working on getting off my meds. The dr told me to come back in 3 months and he may be able to take me off them if my blood work is still good or improves. So i was wanting to try and aim to lose 30 lbs by then. Is that a realistic goal? He put me on a 1200 cal a day diet. Open to any advice. Thanks everyone :-D
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Girl, yes! That is totally realistic! I'm following 1280 calories per day, working out with my Les Mills Combat routine 5 days a week. I started on December 28th at 270, I weighed in at my 1 month and was down 20 lbs. You can totally do 30 lbs in 3 months! My biggest piece of advice is to never quit. Starting out, it sucks. But once it becomes habit, you will start to see and feel changes in your body. Stay consistent
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What does MFP say your intake should be? I imagine at 330 you could eat a fair amount more than that, still drop weight, and not give up due to feeling starved all the time.3
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Don't put too much pressure on yourself for timeframes related to weight loss, just keep working at it. Try to walk a little every day, or whatever you can do for exercise. It will contribute to your goals of improving your bloodwork. My bloodwork improved signficantly after I started working out and losing weight, in a matter of 2-3 months.1
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Hi & Welcome...
Do check out this group here: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/3322-100-pounds-with-no-surgery
That seems very low ...I started here on about 1250 calories but was starving & there was no way I could stick it out...so I then upped it to 1450 for the majority of my loss (SW: 275)
I too was Type 2, on meds for it, two for hypertension & two for cholesterol/lipids.
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1200 at 330lbs? Whilst your body can certainly take bigger deficits and losses this seems way too aggressive to me. Compliance could be a big problem in the short term and in the long term, you have nowhere to go because 12oo is the nutritional floor for calorie intake. I'd set MFP to lose 2lbs per week and eat to that goal. I started at 220lbs, had my goal at 1lb per week and started off over 1500 calories per and I ate most of my exercise.
You've done great so far though!3 -
1200 is extremely low. I'm 5'6 and I'm currently taking in 2100 calories and losing weight. If you start at the very lowest you should safely go how are you to reduce cals once the weight isn't coming off? You got this, but seriously I'd adjust how much you're eating.0
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You really should use the MFP calorie suggestion, if the first few weeks you only eat 1200 calories that's great but over time you might find that too restrictive so those days eat how much the app suggests. You can do it!0
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If your doctor set the calorie limit of 1200, there may be other information we are not aware of. Hopefully he has had you talk to a dietitian too.2
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Don't put too much pressure on yourself for timeframes related to weight loss, just keep working at it. Try to walk a little every day, or whatever you can do for exercise. It will contribute to your goals of improving your bloodwork. My bloodwork improved signficantly after I started working out and losing weight, in a matter of 2-3 months.
x 1000 on this solid advice here ^^^
I started out @ 278lbs and at first was not using MFP but just watching portions and my exercise was walking. I invested in the best pair of shoes I could afford and got to hitting the pavements, these sessions became more frequent and longer as I got stronger and my fitness improved (believe me it was hard in the beginning and I started out in my late 40's too).
You have the resources and tools the MFP provides at your fingertips and I was ever so pleased when I got introduced to this site. Get yourself into logging accurately using a digital scale if you are tech minded get a gadget to track your CO and don't get too hung up on your Dr's suggestion of your intake needing to be 1200 calories, mine sure wasn't and it didn't need to be as I was losing quite comfortably on a higher intake.
You have done so well and you sound very motivated so keep up with whatever you are doing and be patient and persistent, as you get down some weeks you might not lose anything others there will be a bigger loss - weight loss is rarely linear and different eating habits, menstrual times, higher sodium, lack of sleep etc etc may impact on your loss.
Eat food you enjoy, that is appropriate for your medical condition. Get some exercise you enjoy and can sustain for your continued health and managing your Type II and before long you will be posting in the Success Stories.
Well done on taking such an active role in your health and for getting the most out of your life. Wishing you all the very best.3 -
I am currently eating about 1200 calories per day and have lost 25 lbs total. Here is my advice:
1. Track (!!!) and try to meet your calorie limit every day, but don't be too worried about going over. That will be discouraging and make you want to quit. Track with fidelity, and you'd probably still be in a caloric deficit no matter what.
2. Avoid eating out and only buy healthy options at the grocery store. Before you go out to eat, check out the restaurant's nutrition fact sheet. Really eye-opening. When i stopped buying crap at the grocery store, i realized that i never really thought about junk foods unless they're right at my fingertips.
3. Eat lots of fruits and vegetables, avoid diet foods or 100 calorie packs.
Hope i helped!2 -
I hear what people are saying here about 1200 being too low, and also suspect that you could lose at a fairly good rate (couple pounds a week) at higher net calories. But I also see that you wroteAliceWatkins14 wrote: »He <i.e., doctor> put me on a 1200 cal a day diet.
In my mind, this makes it a medically-directed diet, especially if it included a specific eating plan. To me, that makes it more arguable that you should stick with that, at least long enough to see if it's workable for you.
However, if there is not an eating plan, and I'm reading too much "doctor directed" into the scenario, or if you do find you have difficulty sustaining 1200, then you might want to run your numbers in MFP & see what you get, and consider a different approach.
I can't give you diabetes-related info (I'm not diabetic), but did find that my lipid profile (cholesterol & such) and blood pressure improved, even before losing weight, when I improved the composition of my diet (more fruits & veg, fewer non-nutrition-dense but high-calorie foods, good protein & whole grains, healthy fats replacing less healthy ones - all that mainstream high-nutrition-eating stuff).
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I started here a month ago at 331.4. I'm now 312.8. I'm 5'8". It's totally realistic. I lost 18lbs in 28 days. I ate 1400-1900 calories a day.1
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I started three months back at 289.5lb, had a calorie goal of around 1900 which regularly goes up to 3000+ with exercise and activity (do around 15-20000 steps daily). While I struggle sometimes to eat all my calories there's no way I'd manage on 1200, right now I've made some changes in what I eat but nothing is banned. I can fit chocolate, biscuits and even takeaways in to my allowance, which I wouldn't be able to do with 1200. As I've lost weight my actual allowance has dropped to just under 1700, but in the same time as it's dropped I've learnt to make better choices and grown more active, meaning I still don't go without. (Had a McDonalds the other day but instead of fries I had a salad without dressing, which saved 300 calories and then water instead of Coke). So far I've lost 37lb (15lb of it this year) and will hopefully break 250lb this week and can honestly say I've not once felt deprived.3
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30 pounds in 3 months at your size is do-able but still a tough one.
1200 cals is also really low. im only 5'1 and eat 1500. 1200 would not be sustainable for me at ALL (been there done that)1 -
Go by what your doctor suggests or ask him his reasoning for you to restrict calories so much. He might feel it best for medical reasons that you aim for 1200 cals, I wouldn't want to tell you to go against your medical professional's advice but see if he can clarify.0
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Great job on losing 54 pounds! Ask your doctor for a referral to a dietician or weight loss clinic. How long did it take you to lose the 54 pounds? With that kind of success I'm surprised your doctor felt the need to give you a calorie restriction since whatever you're already doing is working.1
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kristieshannon wrote: »What does MFP say your intake should be? I imagine at 330 you could eat a fair amount more than that, still drop weight, and not give up due to feeling starved all the time.
I totally agree here. I have BEEN in your shoes. My highest weight many years ago was in the same ballpark. 343. I've gained and lost too many pounds over the years to count them. But 1200 calories is WAY too restrictive for long term success. Short term it will give you results, but maintaining that is unrealistic. You could EASILY lose weight on 1800 calories a day at your weight and feel pretty satisfied. As your weight drops and you need to adjust, you can. Start easier and I promise you will see results. And your doctor will be proud, and none the wiser. But be kind to yourself. Don't punish yourself by being hungry all the time. Good luck!
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FunSizedKJ wrote: »Girl, yes! That is totally realistic! I'm following 1280 calories per day, working out with my Les Mills Combat routine 5 days a week. I started on December 28th at 270, I weighed in at my 1 month and was down 20 lbs. You can totally do 30 lbs in 3 months! My biggest piece of advice is to never quit. Starting out, it sucks. But once it becomes habit, you will start to see and feel changes in your body. Stay consistent
Thank you so much
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When I first started I lost ten pounds my first month, I was 274 and I was eating 2,100 a day. On year later I'm 198 and eating 1600 a day. It's totally doable on 1200 though if you eat lots of veggies but they get boring honestly (I'm being realistic)1
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I hear what people are saying here about 1200 being too low, and also suspect that you could lose at a fairly good rate (couple pounds a week) at higher net calories. But I also see that you wroteAliceWatkins14 wrote: »He <i.e., doctor> put me on a 1200 cal a day diet.
In my mind, this makes it a medically-directed diet, especially if it included a specific eating plan. To me, that makes it more arguable that you should stick with that, at least long enough to see if it's workable for you.
However, if there is not an eating plan, and I'm reading too much "doctor directed" into the scenario, or if you do find you have difficulty sustaining 1200, then you might want to run your numbers in MFP & see what you get, and consider a different approach.
I can't give you diabetes-related info (I'm not diabetic), but did find that my lipid profile (cholesterol & such) and blood pressure improved, even before losing weight, when I improved the composition of my diet (more fruits & veg, fewer non-nutrition-dense but high-calorie foods, good protein & whole grains, healthy fats replacing less healthy ones - all that mainstream high-nutrition-eating stuff).
Medically directed should include medical monitoring not come back in 3 months
So no this sounds more like a less than thought out knee jerk based on minimum calories for nutritional requirements for an average woman
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Weighed in today. I now weigh 322. So excited to see results.5
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1200 to start? What will you do if you stop losing? Exercising more? That is awfully low. Best wishes.0
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But my doctor started me at 1200, too, but did explain that as my weight decreased and my fitness level increased, I would need to raise that and has been great about me calling him and asking about my intake.
Since you're diabetic, if you have questions about the plan the doctor put you on, you should check with him before making any changes.
Also, I couldn't just start eating 1200. I had to start at my 1900+ that I was gobbling before, and drop it down by 100 calories per week, until I was at 1200. Doing it gradually while tracking what I was eating made it easy to see where I could dump things like my afternoon cookie and replace it with an apple. Won't say it was easy, but you can do it!1 -
I'm not a doctor but I started out on my own on 1500 a day at just a little lighter than your start weight only to find I should have been eating almost 2000 a day for a 2lbs a week loss - no wonder I'd been struggling with it and feeling weak and hungry after exercise. I ate what MFP told me, plus I ate back all of my exercise and my loss rate actually increase! You're going to be doing this for a long time. I'd very much recommend a more sustainable deficit which will allow your metabolism to stay high and healthy along the way, but you'd be best discussing this with your doctor of course. I'm 132lbs down at the moment. MFP really does work if you've set your mind to it!0
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So many of us have tried the 1200 calorie lifestyle and for some it works and for others it does not! In my case it did not but I am not afraid of trying new things and this is what you should not be afraid of also. It's not going to kill you to try 1200 cals but know that as you loose per MFP standards your cals usually go down and at some point you may have to adjust calories and that is where I find (I find) people that eat at 1200 cals for too long struggle. Some feel they will gain if they up cals and the more you exercise the more you need to fuel your body. Please just keep in mind that all things are possible but being flexible in your approach is always necessary. Congrats on your journey thus far and do what works for you as long as you are being healthy in your approach. Health, calorie intake, and exercise all amount to different things for all of us! Good luck 0
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I know it's been awhile, but I just figured I would update. I now weigh 308 pounds. And completely off all diabetic medication.22
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AliceWatkins14 wrote: »I know it's been awhile, but I just figured I would update. I now weigh 308 pounds. And completely off all diabetic medication.
WOOOO HOOOO!! Congrats!!!
Thanks for updating!2 -
congrats! if you're looking for a mfp buddy, feel free to add me. I'm semi just starting. my heaviest was 375 five years ago. 348 when I started getting more serious about losing a month ago and 339 today after a few weeks yo yoing.1
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AliceWatkins14 wrote: »I know it's been awhile, but I just figured I would update. I now weigh 308 pounds. And completely off all diabetic medication.
That's great! Thanks for the update.
So, you lost 22 pounds - what daily calorie goal did you end up using? 1200 was unnecessarily low.0
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