Want to lose 30 lbs by end of Feb
natashab61
Posts: 103 Member
Hi all,
I currently weigh 200 lbs and am 5 ft 4.75 in. Since December I have lost about 10 lbs but my progress seems slow. I first decided to try the ketogenic diet and intermittent fasting. They helped but I am a sicker for sugar and carbs and not a big fan of fat. So I decided to switch into a calorie deficient diet. I aim to eat about 800 calories but usually am over it some days into the 1200 calories. I know in weight loss we have to be patient but when I don't see a change in my weight on the scale for 2 days in a row I feel discouraged. Do you guys think I am on the right path?
I currently weigh 200 lbs and am 5 ft 4.75 in. Since December I have lost about 10 lbs but my progress seems slow. I first decided to try the ketogenic diet and intermittent fasting. They helped but I am a sicker for sugar and carbs and not a big fan of fat. So I decided to switch into a calorie deficient diet. I aim to eat about 800 calories but usually am over it some days into the 1200 calories. I know in weight loss we have to be patient but when I don't see a change in my weight on the scale for 2 days in a row I feel discouraged. Do you guys think I am on the right path?
2
Replies
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Ironically, you really aren't eating enough. 1200 calories should be the MINIMUM to consume. Any less and your body won't have energy for basic function. Have you put your stats into this site to see what the calorie guidelines are? What do you do for exercise? Working out regularly will really help. Walking is a great place to start if you aren't doing anything currently. 30 pounds n=might be a little aggressive. I wouldn't recommend setting a goal that you might not be able to hit. Two pounds a week is a high-end recommendation. Best of luck.8
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No. Your diet plan is stupid and unhealthy.
Eat sensibly in a moderate deficit and be patient.1 -
No - you are not on the right path. 1. 30 pounds in that short a time frame is unrealistic. 2. 800 calories is definitely not enough; 1200 might not even be enough, given your current weight.10
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If you want to lose 30 pounds by the end of february, you should've started half a year ago. That's in 50 days, you won't be able to lose that fast in any healthy fashion.
800 calories is also way too low to fill your nutritional needs. Up your calories to something sensible, use a calculator to give you an idea of how many calories you need. At 200 pounds you could probably go for 1.5 - 2 pounds per week (instead of the pound every other day that you are aiming at).17 -
Expecting to see a weight loss every single day is incredibly unrealistic. YOu're going to get frustrated and wind up giving up.
Home scales are not capable of measuring the kind of fractions of a pound that you might lose in a day.
In addition, weight loss is not linear. It doesn't just tick down, down, down a few ounces at a time - it drops, goes up a bit, drops a bit more, goes up more than it dropped, goes down a bunch.... IT DOESN"T JUST DRAIN OUT OF YOU LIKE SAND FROM AN HOURGLASS.16 -
10lb since the start of December is not slow, it is the upper end of reasonable, even without the complication of Christmas.11
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Sorry I am new to this so in follow up why is going below 1200 calories considered unhealthy/bad?1
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http://www.bmrcalculator.org/
BMR is the amount of calories a person burns just living. For me it's about 1330. Just to live and breath. So anything less, especially drastically less doesn't give your body the energy it needs. Unless directed by a doctor, the best recommendation I have it to let this site direct you on a calorie goal.4 -
natashab61 wrote: »Sorry I am new to this so in follow up why is going below 1200 calories considered unhealthy/bad?
Your body needs certain minimums of protein, fat, vitamins and minerals. The less calories you take in the harder it's going to be to meet those amounts. Too big of a deficit also increases the danger of lean mass loss which can become loss of organ tissue if you're going really low.6 -
Is it better to be consistent with the calories you eat each day or a moderate fluctuation ok?0
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I'd recommend staying fairly consistent. If you workout particularly hard in a day, you might want to add an extra snack, but overall MFP gives reasonable targets and if you're consistent with exercise and creating that calorie deficit, you should see results.2
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Anything that low calorie for an extended period really should be done at the direction of a physician. I think that particular diet is usually used for folks with diabetes.1
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800 is waaaaay to low. Please find a nutritionist in your area to talk to. They can help you set up a realistic goal and food plan.0
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natashab61 wrote: »Is it better to be consistent with the calories you eat each day or a moderate fluctuation ok?
Moderate fluctuations are fine. Many people look at the average over a week rather than strictly by day.6 -
Stella3838 wrote: »I'd recommend staying fairly consistent. If you workout particularly hard in a day, you might want to add an extra snack, but overall MFP gives reasonable targets and if you're consistent with exercise and creating that calorie deficit, you should see results.
With that said, some fluctuation is okay. Don't get discouraged if you go a little (or a lot) over one day, or if you're a little under one day.
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Stop with the fad diets - eat properly - vegetables, fruits, whole grains and YES your body "needs" carbs. Realistic loss is 1 lb per week. Speak to a nutritionist.. there are no magic pills, or potions... stop killing yourself.0
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Nope. Unsafe. Unsustainable. Is there anything anyone can say to make you rethink this?2
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Hello!
I think it's good to remember that we were probably all in the place that OP is at some point: impatient, discouraged, seeing so many people with results around us that we want. I think we can encourage and correct someone with empathy and gentleness, instead of calling something stupid when they truly might be ignorant (or maybe not). We don't intrinsically have all the right answers or do the right things.
OP - something that I struggled with (and still find myself doing) is comparing my success to others and trying to rush the process. What you're doing now is trying to speed yourself to 30 lbs weight loss, but it's not really laying a good groundwork for long-term success. It can even damage your body by not giving it enough nutrients, or your mental health by creating a need to survive on as little as possible.
What you need to be doing now is understand that you didn't put on 30 lbs in a month, or two months. The weight you put on was done over time, so it will take time to take it off. Time will continue no matter what you do, so why not set yourself up for lifetime success by eating at a deficit you can sustain and even enjoy? If you're wanting to go low-low cal, then 1200 a day would be sufficient. HOWEVER - this doesn't work for everyone and it doesn't mean you're failing if you need to adjust to 1300/1400, etc. I personally try to stick to 1500 a day, though I am 5'8.
Check out reddit's r/1200isplenty or r/loseit for some kind, helpful information from a very knowledgeable and supportive community.13 -
natashab61 wrote: »Sorry I am new to this so in follow up why is going below 1200 calories considered unhealthy/bad?
Nutritional minimums. You have macros - protein, fat, and carbs & micronutrients - vitamins and minerals. Very low calorie diets (are not for everyone) and should be medically supervised. A Dr. would prescribe special shakes, and supplements to get your daily requirements in.0 -
Not only do you need your nutritional minimums, but a diet like that (with so little calories) is not sustainable. Sure, you may lose a lot of weight quickly, but you aren't teaching yourself how to eat for long term weight loss and maintenance so once you lost the weight and go back to eating what you'd consider "normally," you'll just gain the weight back again.
I think a lot of us have been there. I finally broke the pattern in December 2015 and started with MFP. I'm 5'5" and started at 170 lbs. It took me about 7-8 months to lose 35 lbs.2 -
I just want to say that losing 10 pounds since December is really great. Especially considering the holidays. You should be very proud of that accomplishment.
People are giving good advice (well except the one who recommended 800 calories); you need at least 1200 calories, probably more. Mistakes like this happen.... When I first started, I misunderstood how to properly calculate the calorie goal, and I thought I was supposed to be eating 900 calories a day! Also keep in mind that when you do calculate your calorie goal, it will be under your maintenance calories. So in order to gain weight, you have to consistently eat over your maintenance calories, not your calorie goal. So it would be good to know what your maintenance calories are to have that frame of reference.0 -
If you consistently eat below the nutrition minimums (1200 calories/day if you're a female and aren't under say 4'8''-4'10''), you will probably start to experience things like brittle hair and hair loss, dry cracking skin, poor hormonal response or loss of periods, fatigue, loss of tissue and poor organ function or damage. If you do eat less, you need to be closely monitored by a doctor who can help make sure you're getting enough vitamins, minerals, and other stuff your body needs to function. That is why people are telling you 800 calories a day is not enough.
Someone of your height and weight can safely lose around 1.5-1.8 pounds per week while staying at or above 1200 calories and shouldn't really lose more than 2 per week.
Things that affect your daily weigh-ins: hormones, sodium, new or increased exercise, not going to the bathroom regularly, time of the month, stress and poor sleep. An increase or staying the same on the scale does not mean you are not loosing fat. You might want to use a tape measure and also look at inches/cm lost - or only weight yourself once per week.
People very frequently overestimate the amount of calories they eat each day, and careful logging is required as you get closer to your ideal weight. If you find over a few weeks that you are gaining or not losing (not from one day to the next), you don't need to drop under 1200 calories but you might need to be more accurate and weigh portions of food.
Slow weight loss can be frustrating, absolutely. But you don't want to damage your health while dropping pounds, you want to be around to enjoy the benefits! Exercise can help here - you don't need it to drop pounds, but it can help change the shape of your body more quickly while you're doing it. You might see results (loss of inches or changes in how your clothes fit) more quickly while safely losing weight if you also exercise.3 -
Your approach is too aggressive and may compromise your health. Would you be okay with your hair falling out during your 800 calorie intake? Because it can happen when calories are too low.
Patience and consistency with a moderate deficit will help you lose 30lbs, but it may take 5 months or longer.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
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I want to thank everyone here from the bottom of my heart for all of the great advice. I will bump up my calories to 1200 and even 1300 as recommended by MFP. Thank you all!18
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natashab61 wrote: »I want to thank everyone here from the bottom of my heart for all of the great advice. I will bump up my calories to 1200 and even 1300 as recommended by MFP. Thank you all!
Good luck!! You got this!3 -
youre setting yourself up for failure.0
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I'm actually a little in shock with some of the comments on here... I was in OP position when I first joined MFP, as I'm sure some of you were too. I didn't know anything about calorie counting or losing weight the 'healthy' way. I believed all the fads about detoxes and cutting carbs and sugar.. it's what you read about and what the medial falsely advertises.
A pat on the back for the people giving this woman helpful advice and explaining why what she was doing was wrong, but the others? "Your diet plan is stupid", "You're setting yourself up for failure"... how rude! I get what you mean, we get these posts a lot and it's annoying knowing someone is going about weight loss the unhealthy way, but why not explain why it's unhealthy? Or tell them what they should be doing instead? We're meant to be helping and motivating each other, not scaring people off or judging them about what they 'think' is right.
Rant over
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TDEE calculator it will get you on the path you need. With info you put in the results will tell you how many calories you should be eating. You can google TDEE calculator. You might be surprised how many calories you should be eating. Good luck! You'll get the hang of it!!!!0
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natashab61 wrote: »Hi all,
I currently weigh 200 lbs and am 5 ft 4.75 in. Since December I have lost about 10 lbs but my progress seems slow. I first decided to try the ketogenic diet and intermittent fasting. They helped but I am a sicker for sugar and carbs and not a big fan of fat. So I decided to switch into a calorie deficient diet. I aim to eat about 800 calories but usually am over it some days into the 1200 calories. I know in weight loss we have to be patient but when I don't see a change in my weight on the scale for 2 days in a row I feel discouraged. Do you guys think I am on the right path?
Hey there. Sorry for being lazy in my reply, but I put a post together that might help:
Read this
Basically though, well done! 10lb not far off your first stone and thats excellent. Its progress and working
Understand that you burn calories sitting still and sleeping. Your body needs basic energy to function. Eat too little, then you will get lethargic and feel poorly. Skin/hair damage and so on. This is why its sensible to eat around 75% minimum or your calorie needs. Check my link anyway, feel free to ask me in DM or quote on here (so I see it) for pointers 3
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