When will I have to drop calories?

teags84mfp

Hi guys

Still taking in a lot of information in regards to calorie counting, losing weight and maintenence. So far so good. Feeling energetic to get through my workouts and feeling satiated which is so important for me in curbing the binge eating.

I am eating 1600 cals a day to lose a pound a week. I am wondering if and when I will need to lower calories as I lose weight. Do I have to? Or can I just keep it at 1600 cals for the whole journey with the weight loss gradually becoming very slow, but it will mean I am not hungry?

Thanks in advance,

T ♡

Adammmmm119

Are you doing any type of resistance training to build muscle along the way?

malibu927

If you want to keep your deficit consistent, it's suggested to update your calories after every 5-10 pounds lost

adamali119 wrote: »

Are you doing any type of resistance training to build muscle along the way?

She won't be building any appreciable muscle in a calorie deficit (though resistance training is always a good idea)

taysukidesu

MFP updates every 10lbs you lose, in my experience. You can always just set the site to “maintenance” and choose to only eat 1600 on your own so your limit doesn’t ever change, but I find having a visible limit is more helpful/encouraging. If your goal weight has a lower maintenance than 1600, you might run into problems with your loss stopping, but if you’re very active then you will probably be fine.

teags84mfp

Thanks guys, the only type of resistance training I do is 4 Bodypump classes a week with running in between those days. Not sure if Bodypump is classed as strength training.

Awesome, thank you, good to know that MFP will update me a new calorie allowance with every 10 lbs lost. No, at my goal weight, maintenance will not be under 1600cals, more like 2000. Wow I can't even begin to describe just how happy that makes me knowing I will be able to eat that much food and maintain my goal weight haha!

Adammmmm119

The more muscle you build the more forgiving your body gets of extra calories!

livingleanlivingclean

adamali119 wrote: »

The more muscle you build the more forgiving your body gets of extra calories!

Minimally. And again, she won't be building a significant amount of muscle (if any) in a deficit.

OP, you can keep your calories constant, but as you said yourself, your rate of loss will slow down. This is ok!

teags84mfp

livingleanlivingclean wrote: »

adamali119 wrote: »

The more muscle you build the more forgiving your body gets of extra calories!

Minimally. And again, she won't be building a significant amount of muscle (if any) in a deficit.

OP, you can keep your calories constant, but as you said yourself, your rate of loss will slow down. This is ok!

Thanks hun. Just a quick question, what will the drops be like? E.g will it be 100 cals dropped for every 10 lbs lost?

psuLemon

teags84mfp wrote: »

livingleanlivingclean wrote: »

adamali119 wrote: »

The more muscle you build the more forgiving your body gets of extra calories!

Minimally. And again, she won't be building a significant amount of muscle (if any) in a deficit.

OP, you can keep your calories constant, but as you said yourself, your rate of loss will slow down. This is ok!

Thanks hun. Just a quick question, what will the drops be like? E.g will it be 100 cals dropped for every 10 lbs lost?

It depends. For me, my maintenance calories have never changed, whether i was 220 or 175. Personally, if you are consistently losing, i would drop your calories more. And if anything, id consider refeeds on occasion both from a mental standpoint and hormone standpoints.

psuLemon

adamali119 wrote: »

The more muscle you build the more forgiving your body gets of extra calories!

For every lb of muscle you gain, its an extra 4 to 6 calories burned per day.

dwilliamca

You can calculate yourself. Use the BMR calculator and put in your "new" weight. Times it by activity level and subtract deficit calories. If you haven't seen it here is the how to the MFP uses. https://us.v-cdn.net/5021879/uploads/editor/76/8kn2ubmrqx6s.jpg

JoLightensUp

This calculator is fun to play around with if you have the time and can wrap your head around it:
sailrabbit.com/bmr/
The little question mark help buttons on the page explain everything well.

They are all just estimates. I think experience over time will tell you.

For myself, I don't think I would be satisfied eating less than I am now so I'm not going to change anything if my weight loss slows.
I'm back into the normal weight range and I actually expected the rate to slow before this but it hasn't... I'm not complaining.

Nony_Mouse

I would go with making your deficit less aggressive as you get closer to goal, rather than trying to keep up with 1 lb per week. The less you have to lose, the harder your body fights back, so hunger and fatigue become bigger issues. Incorporating diet breaks and refeeds into your plan will help to offset the hormonal responses to weight loss (decreased leptin and thyroid and increased cortisol), there's a whole thread on that stuff here: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10604863/of-refeeds-and-diet-breaks/p1.

A diet break, for those that don't know, is not just eating whatever you want in the quantities you want, it's eating at maintenance, still tracking everything you pop in your mouth - it has physiological and psychological benefits and is also good practice for when you do get to maintenance for reals. I recently did one, and am now doing five days at deficit (variable depending on amount of exercise) and two day refeeds at the weekends, and it is honestly a walk in the park compared to trying to sustain a 500 cal deficit 24/7 when you're an already healthy weight.

teags84mfp

Nony_Mouse wrote: »

I would go with making your deficit less aggressive as you get closer to goal, rather than trying to keep up with 1 lb per week. The less you have to lose, the harder your body fights back, so hunger and fatigue become bigger issues. Incorporating diet breaks and refeeds into your plan will help to offset the hormonal responses to weight loss (decreased leptin and thyroid and increased cortisol), there's a whole thread on that stuff here: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10604863/of-refeeds-and-diet-breaks/p1.

A diet break, for those that don't know, is not just eating whatever you want in the quantities you want, it's eating at maintenance, still tracking everything you pop in your mouth - it has physiological and psychological benefits and is also good practice for when you do get to maintenance for reals. I recently did one, and am now doing five days at deficit (variable depending on amount of exercise) and two day refeeds at the weekends, and it is honestly a walk in the park compared to trying to sustain a 500 cal deficit 24/7 when you're an already healthy weight.

Thanks for this info Nony it is really helpful. When I was severely restricting and undereating last year through my weight loss, it turned into a year long binge/restrict cycle that made me stack on 37lbs. My body and hormones were most likely out of whack and my body was simply screaming at me to eat and repair the damage. I know better this time and know that I have to eat more.

I like your advice and idea of refeeds every now and again, I will read that link you pasted. I agree with you, I dont want to make my deficit too agressive as I get close to goal as it will make me far too hungry.

sijomial

As long as 1600 + exercise calories is more than or equal to your eventual weight maintenance level when you get to goal weight you can stick to that number all the way. A declining rate of weight loss without needing a big jump up in calories when you get to goal is perfect IMHO.

hedwardsb

If you're eating 1600 calories and doing 4 body pump classes a week, there's a good chance you will continue to lose about the same amount even as your weight goes down. I would think those body pump classes are blasting the calories. If I eat 1600 a day, I lose pounds whether I'm in the 130s or the 120s, and I'm a 5'5" middle aged woman.

teags84mfp

hedwardsb wrote: »

If you're eating 1600 calories and doing 4 body pump classes a week, there's a good chance you will continue to lose about the same amount even as your weight goes down. I would think those body pump classes are blasting the calories. If I eat 1600 a day, I lose pounds whether I'm in the 130s or the 120s, and I'm a 5'5" middle aged woman.

That is fantastic to hear, thank you!

ZoneFive

taysukidesu wrote: »

MFP updates every 10lbs you lose, in my experience. You can always just set the site to “maintenance” and choose to only eat 1600 on your own so your limit doesn’t ever change, but I find having a visible limit is more helpful/encouraging. If your goal weight has a lower maintenance than 1600, you might run into problems with your loss stopping, but if you’re very active then you will probably be fine.

I wouldn't count on that, if I were you. MFP didn't update for me, and I kept the same calories for a few months. Not until my weight loss stalled did I think to refigure my numbers, and then it was a few hundred calorie drop. (We were not amused.) Re-calculate your numbers every 5 lbs/2.5 kg and save yourself the trauma.

misnomer1

I would actually increase my intake as i reach closer to maintenance so I can ease into it and so that i reduce chances of losing muscle mass.
I have less than 10 lbs to lose now, and i have reduced deficit to 250kcal from 500kcal.

mmapags

teags84mfp wrote: »

Nony_Mouse wrote: »

I would go with making your deficit less aggressive as you get closer to goal, rather than trying to keep up with 1 lb per week. The less you have to lose, the harder your body fights back, so hunger and fatigue become bigger issues. Incorporating diet breaks and refeeds into your plan will help to offset the hormonal responses to weight loss (decreased leptin and thyroid and increased cortisol), there's a whole thread on that stuff here: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10604863/of-refeeds-and-diet-breaks/p1.

A diet break, for those that don't know, is not just eating whatever you want in the quantities you want, it's eating at maintenance, still tracking everything you pop in your mouth - it has physiological and psychological benefits and is also good practice for when you do get to maintenance for reals. I recently did one, and am now doing five days at deficit (variable depending on amount of exercise) and two day refeeds at the weekends, and it is honestly a walk in the park compared to trying to sustain a 500 cal deficit 24/7 when you're an already healthy weight.

Thanks for this info Nony it is really helpful. When I was severely restricting and undereating last year through my weight loss, it turned into a year long binge/restrict cycle that made me stack on 37lbs. My body and hormones were most likely out of whack and my body was simply screaming at me to eat and repair the damage. I know better this time and know that I have to eat more.

I like your advice and idea of refeeds every now and again, I will read that link you pasted. I agree with you, I dont want to make my deficit too agressive as I get close to goal as it will make me far too hungry.

This is great info and I'm glad to see that you are taking it seriously! The thread Nony linked to is one of the best threads to come along in a long time. I am in agreement with most who say don't adjust and just let your deficit taper down. 2 reasons. First, as has been mentioned, as you get leaner it gets harder to lose and you don't want to risk lean body mass. Second, one of the key skills to keep the weight off is to learn to eat the way you should after weight/ fat loss.

MegaMooseEsq

I spent some time playing around with my numbers at https://www.supertracker.usda.gov/bwp/index.html and came up with a target (around1750) that has me losing just over a pound a week right now, gradually slowing until I reach my goal weight sometime about a year from now. I’ve been losing at 2000-2200 this year and slowly lowering to 1750. I might lower my calories slightly more in a few months, but maybe I won’t. I’m fine with this process taking longer if I means I’m not miserable and I stick with it.

jayemes

I just checked my calorie goal since I'm down 25 pounds and it dropped me 40 calories a day to continue losing a pound a week (I still have 20+ pounds to lose) Thanks for nothing OP!

teags84mfp

jayemes wrote: »

I just checked my calorie goal since I'm down 25 pounds and it dropped me 40 calories a day to continue losing a pound a week (I still have 20+ pounds to lose) Thanks for nothing OP!

Haha..... my bad! 40 cals drop is not that bad though. Oh hang on, 40 cals a day? Man that is rough.