Please help

brandi8484

I am so confused about the calories I am supposed to eat to lose weight.
32 yo Female - 5'7" - 391 lbs - Sedetary to Little exercise (But I'm trying!)
Am I really supposed to eat 2100 calories a day to lose weight?
I am full at 1600-1700 range. Is that harmful?

I weighed 432 on 1/2/2016 and lost 41 pounds this year doing 18/6 intermittent fasting, but I need something more aggressive.

Barbs2222

If you're full at 1600 - 1700 I wouldn't eat more. Make sure to get your macros. Isn't intermittent fasting the best? I love it, I do 18/6 too. Today I had to eat early because I got up so early. But normally it's 3:00 to 9:00 for me.

riffraff2112

2100 calories is enough for most people, it depends. Only time will tell.
I wouldn't routinely try to eat 500 calories less than the prescribed amounts though. Congrats on your good start. I am not sure MFP is more aggressive though, its more a slow and steady thing.

tlflag1620

How are you determining your intake? If you aren't using a scale to measure your foods, then you are likely eating more than 1600-1700 calories a day. Which is fine, so long as you are losing weight. When you have a good deal to lose there is more "wiggle room" for errors in logging. That said, once you get closer to goal, this could become an issue.

You were eating more than 1600-1700 per day to gain weight. I'm also 5'7" female, 36 years old, and am 150lbs (lightly active) and my maintenance is 1950, so I lose weight on 1600-1700 per day. You would absolutely lose weight on 2100. But your logging needs to be accurate. If you are eyeballing and coming up with 1600-1700, aren't hungry, and are losing weight, you could reasonably continue to do that. Just keep in mind at some point, the losses will slow down/stop.

CharlieBeansmomTracey

brandi8484 wrote: »

I am so confused about the calories I am supposed to eat to lose weight.
32 yo Female - 5'7" - 391 lbs - Sedetary to Little exercise (But I'm trying!)
Am I really supposed to eat 2100 calories a day to lose weight?
I am full at 1600-1700 range. Is that harmful?

I weighed 432 on 1/2/2016 and lost 41 pounds this year doing 18/6 intermittent fasting, but I need something more aggressive.

the best way to lose weight is to be able to eat more and still lose weight. you dont want anything too aggressive or you risk losing muscle mass,hair can fall out,fatigue,mood swings,etc you name it. in MFP type in your height,weight,age,activity level(this does not include exercise) and how much you want to lose. you can do 2 lbs a week(for now), eat to that calorie level and eat back about 25-50% of your exercise calories. macros are important for health but not needed for weight loss, although you want to make sure you get enough protein to retain lean muscle mass you already have. .if you want to continue doing IF thats fine. you didnt gain it overnight and you shouldnt try to lose that quickly either. you may lose more than 2lbs a week due to your weight.

brandi8484

Yes, I am being very diligent on my diary. The sunflower seeds are killing my sodium levels and the salad dressing too
Here are my first 2 days http://www.myfitnesspal.com/food/diary/brandi8484

CharlieBeansmomTracey

brandi8484 wrote: »

Yes, I am being very diligent on my diary. The sunflower seeds are killing my sodium levels
Here are my first 2 days http://www.myfitnesspal.com/food/diary/brandi8484

you dont have to worry about sodium unless you have a health issues where you have to watch or cut down your intake

brandi8484

CharlieBeansmomTracey wrote: »

brandi8484 wrote: »

Yes, I am being very diligent on my diary. The sunflower seeds are killing my sodium levels
Here are my first 2 days http://www.myfitnesspal.com/food/diary/brandi8484

you dont have to worry about sodium unless you have a health issues where you have to watch or cut down your intake

That's good because I loveeeeeee my sunflower seeds

Barbs2222

Yeah I agree with CharlieBeans when I said hit your macros, what I really meant is what she said, get your protein.

brandi8484

THANKS EVERYBODY!
Now I won't be scared to go for 2100 if I'm still hungry. Just seemed like a lot to me

alyssa0061

I started in a similar situation: 28 years old, 5'10"and 397 pounds.

When your weight is higher, you can sustain a larger deficit than MFP allows (max 2 pounds). My doctor was perfectly fine with a 3 to 4 pound a week deficit in the beginning. I agreed with her thinking- it won't last, so take advantage of it while you can and get as much weight off as possible at first. Weighing 400 pounds was far more detrimental to my health than carrying on a large deficit. We aren't talking about just being 'overweight' at this point. My BMI was 57. That's like BMI level dead.

To put things in perspective: it took me 6 months to lose 100 pounds. It took me 4 months to lose the next 30. That's a huge drop in weekly average. I now hover between a 1 to 2 pound deficit a week and have around 90 pounds left to lose.

brandi8484

alyssa0061 wrote: »

I started in a similar situation: 28 years old, 5'10"and 397 pounds.

When your weight is higher, you can sustain a larger deficit than MFP allows (max 2 pounds). My doctor was perfectly fine with a 3 to 4 pound a week deficit in the beginning. I agreed with her thinking- it won't last, so take advantage of it while you can and get as much weight off as possible at first. Weighing 400 pounds was far more detrimental to my health than carrying on a large deficit. We aren't talking about just being 'overweight' at this point. My BMI was 57. That's like BMI level dead.

To put things in perspective: it took me 6 months to lose 100 pounds. It took me 4 months to lose the next 30. That's a huge drop in weekly average. I now hover between a 1 to 2 pound deficit a week and have around 90 pounds left to lose.

It is so good to hear of somebody that was close to my current situation. 100 pounds in 6 months is amazing! That gives me so much inspiration.

alyssa0061

brandi8484 wrote: »

alyssa0061 wrote: »

I started in a similar situation: 28 years old, 5'10"and 397 pounds.

When your weight is higher, you can sustain a larger deficit than MFP allows (max 2 pounds). My doctor was perfectly fine with a 3 to 4 pound a week deficit in the beginning. I agreed with her thinking- it won't last, so take advantage of it while you can and get as much weight off as possible at first. Weighing 400 pounds was far more detrimental to my health than carrying on a large deficit. We aren't talking about just being 'overweight' at this point. My BMI was 57. That's like BMI level dead.

To put things in perspective: it took me 6 months to lose 100 pounds. It took me 4 months to lose the next 30. That's a huge drop in weekly average. I now hover between a 1 to 2 pound deficit a week and have around 90 pounds left to lose.

It is so good to hear of somebody that was close to my current situation. 100 pounds in 6 months is amazing! That gives me so much inspiration.

Thank you! You can do it too. It doesn't have to be 100 pounds in six months. You lost 41 pounds last year, that's awesome! It all helps. That first six months I never, ever let up. All I wanted was to get that 100 off. Since then my loss has naturally slowed, I took a couple diet breaks and I relaxed over the holidays. I feel so much better physically and mentally now that I'm perfectly okay with losing slowly. Every pound I lose now is my new lowest weight since I was a child. And that's pretty cool.

ccsernica

One thing I think you'll need to verify is the turkey legs. They're unlikely to be exactly 100g. That's slightly under a quarter pound, but a turkey leg can have a lot of meat on it. Weigh before and after you eat; the difference will be what you actually took in.

If there's anything in your diary where you might have eaten more than you think, it's those.

CharlieBeansmomTracey

well weighing all foods on a scale can help tremendously(also making sure your entries are accurate as well) but with a lot of weight needing to be lost, at first just eating less may help weight loss.unless you want to weigh everything and be more accurate. you will have to do that eventually once you weigh a lot less.food packaging can be off to 20% off so a serving may be more(in most cases) or less than the package states..

brandi8484

Okay thank you I get my new food scale tomorrow I can't wait!

blambo61

brandi8484 wrote: »

I am so confused about the calories I am supposed to eat to lose weight.
32 yo Female - 5'7" - 391 lbs - Sedetary to Little exercise (But I'm trying!)
Am I really supposed to eat 2100 calories a day to lose weight?
I am full at 1600-1700 range. Is that harmful?

I weighed 432 on 1/2/2016 and lost 41 pounds this year doing 18/6 intermittent fasting, but I need something more aggressive.

see the OMAD (one meal a day) forum.

blambo61

Barbs2222 wrote: »

If you're full at 1600 - 1700 I wouldn't eat more. Make sure to get your macros. Isn't intermittent fasting the best? I love it, I do 18/6 too. Today I had to eat early because I got up so early. But normally it's 3:00 to 9:00 for me.

I'm doing a 20:4 to 21:3 with a splurge day/week. It has been great for me and I've lost a lot of weight. I make sure I eat enough protein and eat veggies and take multi vit/minerals.