F/43, 5'2", 213 lbs (100 to lose), plant-based lifestyle, needs help w/ accurate CICO + Macros!
KaroshiQueen
Posts: 213 Member
I’m really confused as to how many calories I should be eating in order to lose weight consistently but semi-quickly. Trying to figure out my macros has made things even more confusing. Because I am so short (5’2”), so heavy (213 lbs), and no spring chicken (43 yrs old), I feel like I don’t have much room for error and need to get this straightened out.
To top it all off, I recently went to a whole food plant based diet, eliminating all meat and dairy. I had zero problems converting to this lifestyle change, other than not knowing what to eat to meet my macro and micro nutrients. I am very concerned about potassium and magnesium deficiencies, as most Westerners are at an extreme deficiency in these and don’t even know it. Electrolyte imbalances can cause heart arrhythmia, which has killed people on a very low calorie diet.
I’m really not concerned about getting enough protein as I do have Quest bars and protein shakes to cover that; however, I’m still confused as to how much protein I really need at this point since I am mostly sedentary and only get on the treadmill MAYBE once or twice a week for a 30-45 min walk. IIFYM quoted me as needing anywhere from 78-99g of protein per day, and honestly I think that’s ridiculously high for no good reason.
I am hesitantly opening my food diary and before you say it – yes I know I’m not eating enough, not even close. That isn’t on purpose! I have zero appetite most of the time, so when I do eat, I try to make it count. My main frustration is that different sources (IIFYM, MFP, etc) give me different calorie goals, so I have no idea what my true deficit should be in order to lose 2-3 lbs consistently. I do understand CICO quite well, and supposedly my maintenance is around 1900 daily/13,300 weekly, so to lose even 2 lbs per week, I’d need to be eating only 900 cal per day. Really? I thought you weren’t supposed to drop below 1200? So losing 2 lbs a day at 100 lbs overweight is “unreasonable” because my calories would be too low to do so? This is frustrating!
Some caveats:
I know this is a lot to read and I swear I’m not trying to complain needlessly. But I don’t know if I need to eat more, exercise more, up my calories, change my macros, etc etc – it’s all so confusing. I have lost 7 lbs in a week but I know that is mainly water weight, even while eating sub-700 cals/day. I haven’t noticed feeling any different eating very low cal, I’m not any more tired than I usually am, which you’d think I would be on the floor right now eating an average of 500 cals/day, but I feel as normal as I did before. No hunger, no extreme fatigue.
I do take iron/B12 supplements for genetic anemia and had to even when I ate meat, so this isn’t related to my dietary changes. I’m legitimately not hungry, I’ve never been a “snacky” person or had any trouble with binge eating. I got fat by lack of exercise and regularly eating over my maintenance, garbage stuff like bacon cheeseburgers, Meat Lovers pizza, lasagna, fried chicken, etc. But I typically only eat once or twice a day, in the afternoon if I get hungry, and dinner every evening with the fam.
I had my thyroid tested, it's on the low side but still in the normal range. My blood glucose is normal and I'm not a diabetic. Anemia has been the only issue with my lab tests, but it's been that way for years, hence the iron supplements.
Why is this so hard to figure out? Am I dense? Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks!
To top it all off, I recently went to a whole food plant based diet, eliminating all meat and dairy. I had zero problems converting to this lifestyle change, other than not knowing what to eat to meet my macro and micro nutrients. I am very concerned about potassium and magnesium deficiencies, as most Westerners are at an extreme deficiency in these and don’t even know it. Electrolyte imbalances can cause heart arrhythmia, which has killed people on a very low calorie diet.
I’m really not concerned about getting enough protein as I do have Quest bars and protein shakes to cover that; however, I’m still confused as to how much protein I really need at this point since I am mostly sedentary and only get on the treadmill MAYBE once or twice a week for a 30-45 min walk. IIFYM quoted me as needing anywhere from 78-99g of protein per day, and honestly I think that’s ridiculously high for no good reason.
I am hesitantly opening my food diary and before you say it – yes I know I’m not eating enough, not even close. That isn’t on purpose! I have zero appetite most of the time, so when I do eat, I try to make it count. My main frustration is that different sources (IIFYM, MFP, etc) give me different calorie goals, so I have no idea what my true deficit should be in order to lose 2-3 lbs consistently. I do understand CICO quite well, and supposedly my maintenance is around 1900 daily/13,300 weekly, so to lose even 2 lbs per week, I’d need to be eating only 900 cal per day. Really? I thought you weren’t supposed to drop below 1200? So losing 2 lbs a day at 100 lbs overweight is “unreasonable” because my calories would be too low to do so? This is frustrating!
Some caveats:
- I’m not going back to eating animal products so that’s just a flat-out “no”.
- I’m not a fan of rice/pasta because they put me in a “carb coma” where I feel like crap and I gain water weight. I’ve learned to mostly live without them just fine.
- Black beans are okay but I’m really not a bean person so I don’t want to be stuck eating beans/legumes all the time.
- I love all veggies and fruits, even the weird ones. However, as an example, I came up with a sample daily plan to get all my potassium (4700 daily) from fruit/veg sources and discovered I’d have to eat so much quantity to get there that I couldn’t keep my total calories under 1400. What a Catch 22!
- Tofu is okay, I can eat it but not every day. I’ve never had seitan and have no idea how to cook it. This is why protein bars and shakes are easier for me to manage.
- I want to stay on top of getting enough fiber. So far avocados and protein bars have been helping me get there. I could eat a whole avocado every single day, I love them that much, but the high fat scares me. I don’t want to sabotage my weight loss over avocados.
- I did Keto 3 yrs ago and did lose weight, but I felt like crap physically.
- I did a 57-day juice fast 2 yrs ago and did lose weight with more energy, but my hair thinned and juicing is just not a sustainable lifestyle. Plus it is expensive as hell. I went back to my old ways.
I know this is a lot to read and I swear I’m not trying to complain needlessly. But I don’t know if I need to eat more, exercise more, up my calories, change my macros, etc etc – it’s all so confusing. I have lost 7 lbs in a week but I know that is mainly water weight, even while eating sub-700 cals/day. I haven’t noticed feeling any different eating very low cal, I’m not any more tired than I usually am, which you’d think I would be on the floor right now eating an average of 500 cals/day, but I feel as normal as I did before. No hunger, no extreme fatigue.
I do take iron/B12 supplements for genetic anemia and had to even when I ate meat, so this isn’t related to my dietary changes. I’m legitimately not hungry, I’ve never been a “snacky” person or had any trouble with binge eating. I got fat by lack of exercise and regularly eating over my maintenance, garbage stuff like bacon cheeseburgers, Meat Lovers pizza, lasagna, fried chicken, etc. But I typically only eat once or twice a day, in the afternoon if I get hungry, and dinner every evening with the fam.
I had my thyroid tested, it's on the low side but still in the normal range. My blood glucose is normal and I'm not a diabetic. Anemia has been the only issue with my lab tests, but it's been that way for years, hence the iron supplements.
Why is this so hard to figure out? Am I dense? Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks!
0
Replies
-
I would strongly advise not making this too complicated. You don't need to worry about Macros at this point. Enter your stats and goals into MFP, let it tell you how many calories to eat, then track your food to ensure you stay in a deficit. Eat what you like, in moderate portions that fit into your calorie budget.6
-
Yes, you are not heavy enough to lose two pounds a week.
Your options:- Eat the MFP calorie goal for 1-1.5 pounds loss per week plus your exercise calories for four weeks, evaluate your progress, tweak calories, OR
- Eat another calculator's goal for 1-1.5 pounds loss per week (that's a 500-750 calorie deficit) for four weeks, evaluate progress, tweak calories
All calculators give you estimates. None are 100% spot on. It is a waste of time to search for one that is spot on. Just pick one and move on.
I always recommend doing a balance of resistance training and cardio for overall good health but whether you want to do that or what exactly you eat is up to you.3 -
I like to use this TDEE calculator. It takes its data from a few different equations. http://www.sailrabbit.com/bmr/
As you mention, yes, you are not eating enough. There is a reason that MFP and other websites set a 1200 calorie minimum. When you eat lower than that for a prolonged period of time, you damage your body. You can pass out. You can develop vitamin deficiencies. You can lose your muscle mass. You can lose your hair.
It's not something to be taken lightly - and sometimes you should force yourself to eat more if you have to. A few tablespoons of nut butter will do the trick.
Plugging your stats into the TDEE calc, it's giving me approx. 1900 for your Sedentary TDEE. If you have a desk job and don't move around much, that's how many calories you'd need to maintain your current weight.
I'd stick with a 500 calorie deficit, so aiming for 1400 NET calories per day. So if you do some exercise, eat back at least a portion of those calories. This should result in about a pound lost each week, which is a nice sustainable pace.
There's no need to over-complicate.3 -
Well, you definitely need to eat more. With what you're currently taking in, you're not just going to lose fat, but muscle. I'm 45, vegetarian, 5'3", woman, started at 254, now down to 181 with goal of 130. If you'd like to check my diary, it's open. I tend to eat a lot of legumes and processed veg food like Gardein. Also eggs and dairy, which I realize you aren't into, but that's okay. (I rarely have protein bars, myself.)
4 -
estherdragonbat wrote: »I'm 45, vegetarian, 5'3", woman, started at 254, now down to 181 with goal of 130.
How long did it take you to lose those 73 lbs?0 -
I sent you a friend request!
I also viewed your diary and noticed you only eat 900 calories per day?! and even then you are only eating half of that? It may be that you can't lose weight if you don't eat enough. You might want to think about eating no less than 1100-1200 calories per day.5 -
perkymommy wrote: »
It may be that you can't lose weight if you don't eat enough.
I've lost 7 lbs in the past week/10 days so that is great; I know it's water weight but still no complaints here. I was just hoping to be able to lose 2-3 lbs a week consistently, but apparently I'm too short to do that safely.0 -
KaroshiQueen wrote: »estherdragonbat wrote: »I'm 45, vegetarian, 5'3", woman, started at 254, now down to 181 with goal of 130.
How long did it take you to lose those 73 lbs?
I started on October 30th, so about 9 months.4 -
KaroshiQueen wrote: »perkymommy wrote: »
It may be that you can't lose weight if you don't eat enough.
I've lost 7 lbs in the past week/10 days so that is great; I know it's water weight but still no complaints here. I was just hoping to be able to lose 2-3 lbs a week consistently, but apparently I'm too short to do that safely.
It's not just your height. It's your weight and the fact that you are a woman. Most women are not able to lose 2-3 pounds per week consistently. Our calorie burns just don't support that unless we are quite heavy. I would expect your weight loss process to take 2-3 years.1 -
1% of your body weight is the 'safe' amount to try to lose each week. You are presently barely above the "ok, 2 lb per week" level and if you succeed at that for 6 weeks you'll be out of the 2 lb/week 'safe' range.
Here's an alphabetic list of best vegetable sources of potassium and magnesium per 100 g You can adjust the search terms to get different results. https://ndb.nal.usda.gov/ndb/nutrients/report/nutrientsfrm?max=25&offset=0&totCount=0&nutrient1=306&nutrient2=304&nutrient3=&subset=1&fg=11&sort=f&measureby=g4 -
Thank you everyone for the replies so far! I admit, I am a bit disheartened because I thought for sure 10-12 mos was enough time to get all the weight off but apparently not.
0 -
KaroshiQueen wrote: »Thank you everyone for the replies so far! I admit, I am a bit disheartened because I thought for sure 10-12 mos was enough time to get all the weight off but apparently not.
Don't let the reality of how long it will take get you down. During that entire time you're losing weight you're going to be feeling so much better. Right now you're probably thinking that life doesn't start until the weight loss is done. But the reality is that your life is going to start getting more fun as soon as you start losing.5 -
10-12 months isn't enough time to get to your ultimate target. But it is enough time to make a visible difference and to feel incredible.
Increase your exercise- swimming, daily walking, cycling, and most importantly... just take it 5lbs at a time for now.
2 -
P.S. This might seem less daunting if you think about the top of the healthy BMI range for now. Look, all of a sudden, you've only got 78 lbs to go! (Same height as you, so that's how I know.)
Nothing against you aiming for 113, by the way, but I believe in breaking the big goals into smaller components. It really works. You will not believe the physical difference you will feel with each 10-20 lbs gone.3 -
HeliumIsNoble wrote: »P.S. This might seem less daunting if you think about the top of the healthy BMI range for now. Look, all of a sudden, you've only got 78 lbs to go! (Same height as you, so that's how I know.)
I like this trick!2 -
One other thing. (Sorry, really should put things in one post.)
Protein. There are a lot of different figures floating around. The two I pick are- 0.8g per kilogram bodyweight for sedentary adults and 1g-1.1g per kilogram bodyweight for sedentary vegans which I pretty much am. The increased requirement for vegans is to account for poorer bioavailability in plant sources of protein. I've seen it quoted that the protein aim should be calculated per kg of healthy goal weight (I would pick top of BMI goal, not your Ultimate Goal Weight one). I can see that argument, but as insurance, as my diet is so very plant-based, I have always used my current weight when calculating my goal
This goes into more detail about it all, and about avoiding specific protein deficiencies, which is something I don't feel equipped to explain --> http://www.theveganrd.com/vegan-nutrition-101/vegan-nutrition-primers/plant-protein-a-vegan-nutrition-primer/
3 -
KaroshiQueen wrote: »estherdragonbat wrote: »I'm 45, vegetarian, 5'3", woman, started at 254, now down to 181 with goal of 130.
How long did it take you to lose those 73 lbs?
Stop fixating on how long it takes to lose the weight. In my opinion that's your #1 problem.
Focus on losing wisely not quickly and the rest of it will fall into place. Keep doing what you're doing and it's almost certainly going to end badly in some way.1 -
Uh, just so you know, you said you eliminated all dairy and will not go back to eating animal products but Quest bars are not vegan. Quest bars are made from a blend of milk and whey protein which both come from dairy. There are vegan protein bars and protein shakes out there you can look into though, but Quest bars shouldn't be an option anymore.8
-
You can do it! I echo all the statements about taking things slower. The thing is, if you do this right, you'll only have to do it once! So many people do the crash diet-regain even more cycle, which is so hard on your body and your confidence. It might take twice as long or even longer if you take things slow, but you will make progress and you will get there.2
-
Larabars are going to be your expensive friend instead of Quest.1
-
JeromeBarry1 wrote: »Larabars are going to be your expensive friend instead of Quest.
Larabars aren't too expensive but they are far from protein bars. I'd think of them as more of a dessert bar if anything. OP, some vegan protein bar/powder brands I know off the top of my head are Vega, Garden of Life, Bhu Fit, Orgain's plant-based line, some NuGo bars are vegan, YouBar, and if you want something very similar to Quest with a high fiber amount, try D's Naturals No Cow Bars. I'm not even a vegetarian and I really liked those when I tried them. They also have vegan protein fluffbutter that's pretty tasty.3 -
If you want to lose 2 lbs a week at your height and weight, you are going to need to move more. That rate of loss is not too extreme for someone with your BMI - I'm not sure what the others on the thread are thinking but you are obese and over 200 lbs, and should be perfectly able to lose at that rate, at least for a while - but a sedentary small woman just doesn't use that many calories. Twenty minutes a day of sweaty exercise (moderate to high intensity - not the kind you can text during) would get you 300 extra calories, and you could then eat 1200 calories a day and lose 2 lbs. Plus you would improve your cardiovascular health. In addition, more intense activity would protect your lean muscle, so that you lost primarily fat and not muscle. Protecting your muscles while you are in a deficit is another very good reason to eat enough protein.
3 -
Maxematics wrote: »Uh, just so you know, you said you eliminated all dairy and will not go back to eating animal products but Quest bars are not vegan. Quest bars are made from a blend of milk and whey protein which both come from dairy. There are vegan protein bars and protein shakes out there you can look into though, but Quest bars shouldn't be an option anymore.
I do use the Vega protein for shakes but didn't realize Quest bars had milk in them. Thanks!1 -
The Vega bars are really good, almost too good. Plantfusion Lean is a delicious powder -- they have sample packets at Whole Foods an on Amazon. And tempeh is my fave meat substitute.
Everyone is dead right about going slow and doing it once. Trust me, I know.3 -
Maxematics wrote: »JeromeBarry1 wrote: »Larabars are going to be your expensive friend instead of Quest.
Larabars aren't too expensive but they are far from protein bars. I'd think of them as more of a dessert bar if anything. OP, some vegan protein bar/powder brands I know off the top of my head are Vega, Garden of Life, Bhu Fit, Orgain's plant-based line, some NuGo bars are vegan, YouBar, and if you want something very similar to Quest with a high fiber amount, try D's Naturals No Cow Bars. I'm not even a vegetarian and I really liked those when I tried them. They also have vegan protein fluffbutter that's pretty tasty.
Clif's Builder Bar is also a good option for vegans. I think they have about 20 grams of protein each.1 -
Maxematics wrote: »Uh, just so you know, you said you eliminated all dairy and will not go back to eating animal products but Quest bars are not vegan. Quest bars are made from a blend of milk and whey protein which both come from dairy. There are vegan protein bars and protein shakes out there you can look into though, but Quest bars shouldn't be an option anymore.
I was thinking this same thing about Coffee Mate, which is made from dairy.1 -
Maxematics wrote: »Uh, just so you know, you said you eliminated all dairy and will not go back to eating animal products but Quest bars are not vegan. Quest bars are made from a blend of milk and whey protein which both come from dairy. There are vegan protein bars and protein shakes out there you can look into though, but Quest bars shouldn't be an option anymore.
I was thinking this same thing about Coffee Mate, which is made from dairy.
Whoops - I thought non-dairy creamer actually meant non-dairy. Looks like I'll have to switch! Thanks!0
This discussion has been closed.
Categories
- All Categories
- 1.4M Health, Wellness and Goals
- 393.6K Introduce Yourself
- 43.8K Getting Started
- 260.3K Health and Weight Loss
- 176K Food and Nutrition
- 47.5K Recipes
- 232.6K Fitness and Exercise
- 431 Sleep, Mindfulness and Overall Wellness
- 6.5K Goal: Maintaining Weight
- 8.6K Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
- 153K Motivation and Support
- 8K Challenges
- 1.3K Debate Club
- 96.3K Chit-Chat
- 2.5K Fun and Games
- 3.8K MyFitnessPal Information
- 24 News and Announcements
- 1.1K Feature Suggestions and Ideas
- 2.6K MyFitnessPal Tech Support Questions