MFP weight loss veterans - I need strategy advice!

JoAnna4731

Good morning, all! I am a 44 year old female and hit 170 lbs at 5'3" at Christmas -this is heaviest weight I have ever been without being pregnant. I have an ankle injury that will never fully get better because of arthritis, and I know that it has been exacerbated by the extra weight. I was just starting to feel prematurely geriatric and said "NO MORE!" I have been counting calories diligently since Christmas, and have already dropped 6 pounds (not even really trying that hard!) I have added exercise slowly back into my weekly routines - nothing too strenuous, a max of 30 minutes of brisk walking, aerobics or spinning 5x per week - stuff that I enjoy.

My goal is to get to 145, which historically has been my "happy weight" - top of the BMI scale for height and frame, but I don't really care - it's a weight that can be maintained if remain conscious (but no need to be obsessive!), and I did so for years before I got pregnant with my son seven years ago. I set myself up for a small goal of 5 lbs initially, at .5 pound loss per week, and I seem to have blown through that. My initial daily net calories were 1430 this past month or so. Sometimes I ate them all, sometimes I didn't - I basically ate when I was hungry and focused on proteins. If I had exercise calories, sometimes I ate them, sometimes I didn't. I almost never went over my total allotted calories. The result appears to have been a pound a week.

So when I reset my goal for the next five pounds the other day, I said, what the heck, let's go for a pound per week, since that is what I have been doing anyway! That has put me at 1200 net calories, and I have adhered to that the last couple of days, eating back every single exercise calorie (because I need them!) - I believe that it has resulted in me eating pretty much the same daily calories as I was before.

But man, this feels a lot harder and more restrictive. For whatever reason, the fact that I now NEED to eat back my calories stresses me out . . . regardless of the fact that I end up with the same general result. I find this to be unpleasant, and before, it wasn't. What would you do? Should I go back to the 1430/.5 lb per week plan? My strategy was a lot less precise than this new plan, but I kind of dig losing a pound per week and would like to keep the streak going. Any advice is welcome!

janejellyroll

If I felt like 1 pound a week was a lot harder and more restrictive and it was causing me stress, I'd switch back to the .5 per week. The very fact that you're just now finding this unpleasant . . . I know losing more weight per week can be cool, but I'm generally going to choose "pleasant" over "unpleasant."

quiksylver296

I'm a lot more mentally healthy and happy at 0.5 lbs loss per week. Slow and steady for me!

MegaMooseEsq

1200 is lower than I plan to go, personally, and my goals are fairly similar to yours. I lost 40 pounds last year on the slow and steady plan. Less than a pound a week does take patience, but it adds up, and honestly I think it’s worth it to have the extra flexibility and energy that higher calories brings. There are certainly people with lower than average calorie needs who have to go very low to see any loss, but it doesn’t sound like you are one of them. You’ve made great progress so far - stick with it! You can do this!

MegaMooseEsq

Also, I think people discount the fact that higher calories means more energy for daily activities and exercise
which means more calories burned. It’s hard to track, but I think there’s some real data out there that shows that when you go too low on your calories, you move less and are less focused on your workouts, which leads to lower calorie burns and reduced weight loss. I think that it’s worth trying to find that sweet spot between deficit calories and enough energy to live an active life.

namasara

I think if it feels too restrictive, then you need to just go with your initial plan. It was working for you - and congrats on reaching that first goal! How awesome!! Don't put too much pressure on yourself. You ARE doing this and it sounds like you're doing it well!! So, all that to say that I would keep doing what worked and felt good - raise those calories back up!

kgirlhart

I would stick to what was working for you. If you want you might try for .75 pound per week instead of 1 pound per week and see if that was any easier. But honestly if .5 was working well for you then I would just stick with that.

JoAnna4731

janejellyroll wrote: »

If I felt like 1 pound a week was a lot harder and more restrictive and it was causing me stress, I'd switch back to the .5 per week. The very fact that you're just now finding this unpleasant . . . I know losing more weight per week can be cool, but I'm generally going to choose "pleasant" over "unpleasant."

When you put it that way, my initial question looks ridiculously silly, haha.

Thanks everyone for your input and kind encouraging words. Interesting stuff, MegaMoose - and I can totally see that happening to me with respect to the energy decrease.

I just switched my goal to .5 per week, which puts me at 1450 calories net per day. Already with exercise points for the day, I am up to a gross allowed intake of 1500. There is a 50% chance that I will eat that number of calories or any additional exercise calories accumulated today. And I ALREADY feel better. Slow and steady it is - I am willing to accept a slower result on the scale.

Thank you very, very much!

janejellyroll

JoAnna4731 wrote: »

janejellyroll wrote: »

If I felt like 1 pound a week was a lot harder and more restrictive and it was causing me stress, I'd switch back to the .5 per week. The very fact that you're just now finding this unpleasant . . . I know losing more weight per week can be cool, but I'm generally going to choose "pleasant" over "unpleasant."

When you put it that way, my initial question looks ridiculously silly, haha.

Thanks everyone for your input and kind encouraging words. Interesting stuff, MegaMoose - and I can totally see that happening to me with respect to the energy decrease.

I just switched my goal to .5 per week, which puts me at 1450 calories net per day. Already with exercise points for the day, I am up to a gross allowed intake of 1500. There is a 50% chance that I will eat that number of calories or any additional exercise calories accumulated today. And I ALREADY feel better. Slow and steady it is - I am willing to accept a slower result on the scale.

Thank you very, very much!

Good luck!

HoneyBadger302

I'm in the slow and steady camp. I just can't deal with the deficit needed for 1+lb a week. Add in that fitness is way more important to me coming back from a tib/fib pilon fracture (basically a nice way to severely f-up your ankle). So I average my calories over the week (rather than the MFP method of eating back your calories by the day) so I can eat approximately the same amount each day. Makes it much easier for me to stick to it. Some days I still end up around maintenance though. Not the fastest, but it's something I can live with long term, too.

MegaMooseEsq

JoAnna4731 wrote: »

janejellyroll wrote: »

If I felt like 1 pound a week was a lot harder and more restrictive and it was causing me stress, I'd switch back to the .5 per week. The very fact that you're just now finding this unpleasant . . . I know losing more weight per week can be cool, but I'm generally going to choose "pleasant" over "unpleasant."

When you put it that way, my initial question looks ridiculously silly, haha.

Thanks everyone for your input and kind encouraging words. Interesting stuff, MegaMoose - and I can totally see that happening to me with respect to the energy decrease.

I just switched my goal to .5 per week, which puts me at 1450 calories net per day. Already with exercise points for the day, I am up to a gross allowed intake of 1500. There is a 50% chance that I will eat that number of calories or any additional exercise calories accumulated today. And I ALREADY feel better. Slow and steady it is - I am willing to accept a slower result on the scale.

Thank you very, very much!

High five!

JeromeBarry1

I began with a goal of losing .5 lb per week, lost more than that for the first 50 lb, and now having once reached my goal range and irresponsibly gained, I'd be tickled pink if I could lose 0.5 lb per week. It saddened me to see that at 44 you have the onset of debilitating osteoarthritis. Life is just not fair.

JoAnna4731

JeromeBarry1 wrote: »

I began with a goal of losing .5 lb per week, lost more than that for the first 50 lb, and now having once reached my goal range and irresponsibly gained, I'd be tickled pink if I could lose 0.5 lb per week. It saddened me to see that at 44 you have the onset of debilitating osteoarthritis. Life is just not fair.

Thank you. I am very grateful that at least I can still walk, even run if I have to! But at the rate I was going, I am pretty sure I was going to need a cane. Even the six pounds I have lost has made a HUGE difference - the pain is becoming less severe and my joints are creaking less. A relative of mine has the same condition I have, and is probably a year from being in a wheelchair, in part because she never sought the physical therapy necessary to prolong her active life. I refuse to end up like that and I will go down swinging before I do.

JeromeBarry1

I'm sure you've heard about glucosamine and chondroitin. They are "may helps" which seem to have helped my wife once but then seemed to have stopped helping.

MelanieCN77

I've been at maintenance for a while, and when I feel like shaving off a half pound or pound I just try to leave 1-200 cals on my diary at the end of the day and it will take as long as it takes. I have zero interest in a 1200 cal diet. My lowest allowance during the last 5-10lbs of my loss was about 1350 and I found it very tough, and over-exercised to get myself enough cals each day. I just took since November to take off 4-5 lbs in my slow way and it's doable and not a "project" and just a way of getting on with things.

JoAnna4731

MelanieCN77 wrote: »

I've been at maintenance for a while, and when I feel like shaving off a half pound or pound I just try to leave 1-200 cals on my diary at the end of the day and it will take as long as it takes. I have zero interest in a 1200 cal diet. My lowest allowance during the last 5-10lbs of my loss was about 1350 and I found it very tough, and over-exercised to get myself enough cals each day. I just took since November to take off 4-5 lbs in my slow way and it's doable and not a "project" and just a way of getting on with things.

Thanks for your reply. I went into this with the intention of being gentle with myself, and the 1200 calories felt harsh. I feel much more in control with the 1450. Sometimes perception is reality

ITUSGirl51

I’ve started upping and lowering my calories every week. When I am feeling tired and very hungry I move the calories up to .5 loss, I don’t lose that week. Probably logging errors so I’m negating my deficit by 50 calories or so. So the next week I will change it back to 1 lb loss and be more restrictive and I will lose 1.5 lbs. I also eat exercise calories back (calories on my Apple Watch for exercise not all the active calories). I would be way too hungry if I didn’t.

PAV8888

ITUSGirl51 wrote: »

I’ve started upping and lowering my calories every week. When I am feeling tired and very hungry I move the calories up to .5 loss, I don’t lose that week. Probably logging errors so I’m negating my deficit by 50 calories or so. So the next week I will change it back to 1 lb loss and be more restrictive and I will lose 1.5 lbs. I also eat exercise calories back (calories on my Apple Watch for exercise not all the active calories). I would be way too hungry if I didn’t.

There is nothing wrong with what you're doing and it is perfectly valid.

Hiwrver, you do have a measurement/expectations issue.

You cannot tell in a week, especially when set to 0.5 lbs, whether you actually lost on track or not.

Count your total deficit and compare to your trending weight over a period of 4 to 6 weeks and then decide if your deficits are tracking well as compared to your losses!!!

MegaMooseEsq

PAV8888 wrote: »

ITUSGirl51 wrote: »

I’ve started upping and lowering my calories every week. When I am feeling tired and very hungry I move the calories up to .5 loss, I don’t lose that week. Probably logging errors so I’m negating my deficit by 50 calories or so. So the next week I will change it back to 1 lb loss and be more restrictive and I will lose 1.5 lbs. I also eat exercise calories back (calories on my Apple Watch for exercise not all the active calories). I would be way too hungry if I didn’t.

There is nothing wrong with what you're doing and it is perfectly valid.

Hiwrver, you do have a measurement/expectations issue.

You cannot tell in a week, especially when set to 0.5 lbs, whether you actually lost on track or not.

Count your total deficit and compare to your trending weight over a period of 4 to 6 weeks and then decide if your deficits are tracking well as compared to your losses!!!

Agreed. I cycle calories during the week to lose .5 to .75/week, and you really do have to account for a little more water and waste weight than if you ate the exact same thing every day. I often see most of my weight loss appear in big drops every couple of weeks or so. I’d recommend making a graph or using a trending app to help see those larger patterns. I also sometimes think about it as lowering my top weight in addition to hitting new lows. It might be a week or two before I stop seeing a particular high number on the scale, but it’s fun to say goodbye. It’s been over two weeks since I saw 170 or 169, for example, so I consider those retired, with my current record low of 164 logged four days ago.

lorrpb

You experienced a rapid initial weight probably due to water loss. With only about 20 lbs to lose, it is recommended to target 0.5 per week. The fact that MFP now gives you 1200 proves that the 1 lb goal is too much. If you lose a bit more than 0.5 sometimes that's OK, but don't make that the goal.