Refining My Diet

justinbfield1490
justinbfield1490 Posts: 4 Member
edited November 13 in Health and Weight Loss
Howdy Folks,

As of this morning I'm down 24 lbs. I started my wight loss journey on Nov 2 of this year. I'm using MFP to track calories. I have only been paying attention to staying under my calories that MFP has assigned to me each day. I have not been eyeing any of the macro/micro nutrients. Most days I don't eat all of the calories assigned for the day, and I mostly average around 1500 calories a day. I do not exercise whatsoever. I'm trying to reach out to the community to see if there is anything I should be doing differently, or any tips that could help me achieve more efficient weight loss. I have been quite worried that I'm losing more muscle than fat. Any helpful tips would be appreciated. Thanks.

Replies

  • crzycatlady1
    crzycatlady1 Posts: 1,930 Member
    I'd suggest hitting the calorie target MFP sets for you, no need to eat less than that because that number already has the deficit built in that you need to lose weight. No need to make things more difficult than they need be :)
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    If you want to focus on preserving muscle, make sure your protein is at around .8 g/lb of goal weight and add in some progressive strength training. Also, don't make your deficit too aggressive. (Without stats can't say more, but that would usually mean cutting no more than 20% of total TDEE and maybe less if you don't have a lot to lose.)
  • GauchoMark
    GauchoMark Posts: 1,804 Member
    you probably are losing about 1 lb of muscle for every lb of fat if I had to guess. You have lost 24 lbs in 4 weeks (6lb/wk). Granted, some of that is probably water weight from just starting, but that is still way too fast. For a 23 y/o guy, especially an overweight guy, you probably need to be eating WAY more than 1500 calories.

    If you lose too fast, you lose muscle mass, risk getting loose skin, crash your hormones (testosterone and others drop, stress hormones increase), etc. This isn't a race. Decide on a reasonable goal and stick to the plan.

    Also, as was stated, make sure you are eating enough protein and it wouldn't hurt to lift weights on occasion to protect the muscle.
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