My diet plan - good or bad?

thepineapplez
thepineapplez Posts: 14 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I currently weigh 250lb and I want to lose 10lb per month. I plan on doing this with a combination of diet and exercise.

I set up a points system for myself to stay motivated:
  • If I work out in the morning, I get 1 point
  • If I have a 1000 calorie deficit at the end of the day I get 1 point
At the end of each week, I count my points.

If I have 10 or more points that week, I add them to my total for all weeks and reward myself with a booster juice. Every 30 points I get, I additionally reward myself by allocating $250 of my savings towards the new computer I want.

If I have less than 10 points at the end of the week, I subtract 10 points from my overall total for all weeks, setting me back at least a week from getting me my big reward (computer).

My Diet:

I eat mostly Hol Food, a meal replacement. This makes it really easy to keep track of every nutrient and calorie I eat as well as making sure that my meals are well balanced. Anything else that I may eat, I also record for my calorie intake but with less accuracy. Today I have purchased a large container of whey protein. I plan on eating 1 scoop of this (27g protein) per day, mix in with my hol food.

Exercise

I mostly focus on cardio, with a little strength building. As I stated already, I try to work out in the morning whenever possible. Some mornings I will go to the gym and walking on a treadmill (max incline at 3mph for 40 minutes) and some weight lifting (5-10 minutes). Other mornings I will go for a bike ride for 30-60 minutes.

Then I try to get another workout in the evening. Usually biking, sometimes racquetball or tennis, sometimes martial arts. My best workout is when I bike to racquetball, play for an hour or two, then bike home uphill into the wind.

So I have a few questions about this diet plan.
  1. I burn 4000+ calories a day and I want a 1000 calorie deficit. Does this mean I should be eating approx 3000 cal per day?
  2. My measurement of burned calories comes from my fitbit charge hr 2. Is this accurate? I am worried that it is inaccurate and because of it, I am eating too much.
  3. I started eating whey protein because I want to work out more but sometimes my muscles get too tired so I have to let them rest. Is extra protein a good solution for this?
  4. What other effects will additional protein provide?

Thank you







«1

Replies

  • serindipte
    serindipte Posts: 1,557 Member
    Mind if I ask where your 4000 figure comes from? You didn't mention your height or age, but a 20 yr old man of 6'2" has to be athlete level in activity to burn that many calories.
  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,562 Member
    How much weight are you looking to lose? Right now 10 pounds a month would be fine (about 1 % of your weight), but as you get closer to your goal that won't be as sustainable. Additionally, you should look into doing some form of strength/resistance training to preserve your muscle mass as you lose.

    Long story short: set up a reasonable deficit. Eat foods that fit your goals. Skip the reward/punishment system and figure something else out...say, for every 10 pounds lost you put $250 towards the computer.
  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,562 Member
    raywojtalewicz wrote: »
    I agree that you might be setting yourself up to fail. With that said, one thing that will help is lifting more then 5-=10 minutes. Try to lift at least every body part 1 time per week and try to get in at least 16-20 sets. You need more muscle in your body to get more of caloric burn each day. Also, so you will never eat out again, or go to a party and eat. That seems a bit daunting to me, but if you can do that, more power to you. Protein will help you recover quicker and make you feel more full. Also, do not fear fat!. At 250 lbs, you should be consuming around 100 grams per day of good fats. Aim for 1-1.5 grams of protein per pound of body weight and fill the rest in with carbs. Mostly being greens.

    250 grams of protein is way overkill. .8-1 gram per pound of lean mass/goal weight is the normal recommendation.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    thepineapplez wrote: »
    amh927 wrote: »
    I was 253 on January 3. Today I am 211. I did this by counting my calories, eating high nutrition foods instead of empty calories and having a few days where I ate dessert because it was a date night, etc. I walk when I feel like it, because up until now the weather has been awful. You don't have to force down meal replacements, etc. Because if it were me, as soon as I lost the weight I wanted I would drop the meal replacements, binge on all the food I refused to let myself have the past few months and gain it all back.

    I am not forcing down meal replacements.

    As I have already said, I enjoy this kind of life style and I am doing so voluntarily because I enjoy eating meal replacement over real food. Meal replacement is cheap to make and purchase, easy and cheap to ship because of the density, drastically cuts down on waste products such as garbage as well as resources such as fresh water or electricity for constantly preparing meals and washing dishes and other messes, the taste is easily modified, takes almost no time out of my day, etc. etc. There are a million reasons why I choose meal replacement over real food for the majority of my meals.

    just out of interest, how long have you only eaten meal replacements for?
  • thepineapplez
    thepineapplez Posts: 14 Member
    edited May 2018
    midlomel1971 wrote: »
    Lawdie. Just figure out how many calories you have to stay at or under for weight loss. Eat that many calories.

    Done!

    This is what I am asking for help with. I burn 4000+ calories a day and I want a 1000 calorie deficit. Does this mean I should be eating approx 3000 cal per day? That seems like a lot, which is why I am asking.

    TavistockToad wrote: »
    thepineapplez wrote: »
    amh927 wrote: »
    I was 253 on January 3. Today I am 211. I did this by counting my calories, eating high nutrition foods instead of empty calories and having a few days where I ate dessert because it was a date night, etc. I walk when I feel like it, because up until now the weather has been awful. You don't have to force down meal replacements, etc. Because if it were me, as soon as I lost the weight I wanted I would drop the meal replacements, binge on all the food I refused to let myself have the past few months and gain it all back.

    I am not forcing down meal replacements.

    As I have already said, I enjoy this kind of life style and I am doing so voluntarily because I enjoy eating meal replacement over real food. Meal replacement is cheap to make and purchase, easy and cheap to ship because of the density, drastically cuts down on waste products such as garbage as well as resources such as fresh water or electricity for constantly preparing meals and washing dishes and other messes, the taste is easily modified, takes almost no time out of my day, etc. etc. There are a million reasons why I choose meal replacement over real food for the majority of my meals.

    just out of interest, how long have you only eaten meal replacements for?

    I have eaten soylent for 1.5 years but then had to switch back to real food for about a year because I was moving around a lot for work. I have now been eating Holfood for about a month and I love it.


  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    thepineapplez wrote: »
    midlomel1971 wrote: »
    Lawdie. Just figure out how many calories you have to stay at or under for weight loss. Eat that many calories.

    Done!

    This is what I am asking for help with. I burn 4000+ calories a day and I want a 1000 calorie deficit. Does this mean I should be eating approx 3000 cal per day? That seems like a lot, which is why I am asking.

    TavistockToad wrote: »
    thepineapplez wrote: »
    amh927 wrote: »
    I was 253 on January 3. Today I am 211. I did this by counting my calories, eating high nutrition foods instead of empty calories and having a few days where I ate dessert because it was a date night, etc. I walk when I feel like it, because up until now the weather has been awful. You don't have to force down meal replacements, etc. Because if it were me, as soon as I lost the weight I wanted I would drop the meal replacements, binge on all the food I refused to let myself have the past few months and gain it all back.

    I am not forcing down meal replacements.

    As I have already said, I enjoy this kind of life style and I am doing so voluntarily because I enjoy eating meal replacement over real food. Meal replacement is cheap to make and purchase, easy and cheap to ship because of the density, drastically cuts down on waste products such as garbage as well as resources such as fresh water or electricity for constantly preparing meals and washing dishes and other messes, the taste is easily modified, takes almost no time out of my day, etc. etc. There are a million reasons why I choose meal replacement over real food for the majority of my meals.

    just out of interest, how long have you only eaten meal replacements for?

    I have eaten soylent for 1.5 years but then had to switch back to real food for about a year because I was moving around a lot for work. I have now been eating Holfood for about a month and I love it.

    Yes -- if the 4,000 is an accurate estimate of how much your body is using per day, then a calorie goal of 3,000 would be a 1,000 calorie deficit.

    Since we're all just starting with estimates for how much energy your body is using, you'll want to track for a while, pay attention to your real life results, and then make any necessary adjustments. Many people find they burn more or less than their initial estimates. Others find that it was spot-on and they don't need to change anything.

    As you lose weight, your body will use less energy day-to-day and during intentional exercise, so you won't be at 3,000 forever.
  • deannalfisher
    deannalfisher Posts: 5,600 Member
    1) 4000cal seems like an extremely high calorie estimate - even with your working out
    2) even if you were proposing eating real food and not MR - extremely restricting eating plans are often setting up for failure (I would say the same thing to people who were eating only cabbage soup or other fad diet plans)
  • 100_PROOF_
    100_PROOF_ Posts: 1,168 Member
    Weight loss doesn't have to be that hard. I know it's all confusing and overwhelming at first but it's very helpful to remember that as long as you create a calorie deficit, you will lose weight.
    Weight loss comes down to calories. Create a calorie deficit- you'll lose weight.

    It's helpful to learn moderation and portion control because these are tools that will help you for life. Meal replacements are like a bandage. They may be helpful at first but not so much forever. At some point if you want to have a healthy relationship with food and a well balanced diet, it's going to be a good idea to learn moderation and portion control. You'll thank yourself later on if you take the time to put in the work now.
    There's no short cuts and no easy way out ( besides surgery) so putting in the work needed for long term success is going to be a good idea.
  • quiksylver296
    quiksylver296 Posts: 28,439 Member
    This seems relevant...

    https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10664065/eliminating-a-diet-food-mindset#latest

Categories