When to reset my days?

ReBootBecca

I am on a 1200 calorie diet and attempt to stay as low carb as I can. I am looking to overall lose over 200lbs as i go on. I am at 402 right now.

Due to my life schedule I do not sleep at normal times. My usual sleep period is from 4am to 11 or 12pm.

Some days I have to flip schedules and I am awake during regular hours.

I attempt on all days to eat my meals at the same time each day if I can. Normal breakfast for me is about 330AM and I wait five or so hours again before lunch or a snack.

Will this affect my weight loss? Some nights I will have my dinner around 5 and not ear again until 330 but be awake that whole time. So, does the long fast still affect me the same as if I were asleep?

I am just worried how this schedule could affect my weight loss but I dont have the current means to change it.

Rodney_Mckay

It only maters how many calories you eat / 24hrs vs. the calories you burn. In this regard it is irrelevant wether you sleep regular hours or no. Although It would be advised to have a proper sleep schedule

PAV8888

I don't think the schedule will affect you that much. Assuming it is sustainable for you.

I would not get too hung up on the exact timing and content or name of each meal as long as you meet your total nutritional and caloric targets over a 24/48/72 hour or weekly time period.

And you do so in a manner that encourages long term continuing compliance with your planned way of eating.

Consistent behavior over time will get you to your goals.

However I would also make it my goal (especially as the weight drops and you become more active) to lose weight while eating as much as possible -- while still meeting my deficit goals.

By starting at 1200 you're going straight for the minimum recommended number of calories.

TavistockToad

If you're currently 400lbs, why are you only eating 1200 cals?????

kazminchu

Your schedule won't affect your weight loss much, if at all. Just eat when you feel like you want a meal. But you can eat so much more than 1200 calories, please do! It's much more enjoyable, much more sustainable, and you'll lose the weight in a much healthier way. I know you want to get to goal as soon as possible, but think of it long term - you need to look after your body and mind! When I was 200+lbs I could lose 2lbs a week eating around 2000 calories a day, with very little exercise, so you'll still lose at a good rate even if you double your calories, and you'll be able to keep it up much longer. You can do this!

Projectjustme

I can only echo the last two posters - please go for as high a calorie goal as possible whilst still losing weight - you can adjust as you go on and if you are eating low carb, you will find that you have a nice boost from water weight in the first couple of weeks. Use the opportunity to retrain your eating habits and go for steady and sustainable loss - good luck and enjoy

asochable

Like others have said, I wouldn’t worry about your schedule (it’s not worth the stress). Plenty of people live healthy lives on weird schedules. Be as consistent as you can with whatever schedule you have and work on hitting your goals that MFP gives you for calories, macros, etc. and you will absolutely lose the weight! Slow and steady wins the race!

Also, I agree about eating whatever MFP thinks you should eat to lose 2 lbs per week and no less than that! Which probably means more than 1200 calories

tinkerbellang83

Unless you're being medically supervised on 1200, please up your calorie intake, 1200 is not enough for you to remain on healthily, you are not getting either the nutrition or the energy you need from that amount and even if you feel fine for a short while you will crash and burn out eventually and could possibly cause yourself longer term problems with your gall bladder and other vital organs.

Even if you are very short at your starting weight your calorie burn daily is around 3100 calories, you can lose weight steadily and healthily on 2100 calories. More importantly you'll be able to keep it up longer because it's more sustainable in the long term.

NovusDies

Starting at 408 you can lose faster than 2 pounds per week and it is really up to you and how you feel whether or not you should do it. What you should not do is just pick a number like 1200 as a per day goal because it is the lowest available. That is not the way to start this journey and, like me, you will be on this journey for multiple years. It is very important that you lose weight in a safe and sustainable way.

From my research the 1 percent rule exists but I have yet to see a lot of science that backs it up. I personally do not believe it is safe to follow this rule as hard and fast unless you have imminent medical problems that prioritizes faster weight loss over losing safely.

I think you should start at 2 for awhile and then adjust to no more than 2.5 more a week depending on your stats. I started heavier than you are now so I already had a longer track record when I hit your weight and while I was losing a little faster than 2.5 at 408 my target was 2.75 and 20 pounds lighter than you are now I did adjust it back to 2.5.

Just because you can does not mean you should. It is very important that you are as happy as possible because otherwise the likelihood of failing is much greater. At your weight I had experimented and through trial and error I had my eating down pat. I knew exactly what I needed to get through most days without struggling.

Every diet I ever started with the idea of losing as fast as I could failed. It practically took an anvil landing on my head to finally realize that it is better to lose slower and have a process that I could sustain.

Please reconsider the 1200.

Britxclarity

Like others have expressed long as you are on a calorie deficit the times you sleep/eat shouldn't effect your weight loss.
But i also want to stress that it is certainly possible to lose weight with a healthier calorie goal. In 2015 i used to way 423lbs. Lost 100 lbs. Got off the wagon and now im back. Started March 7th at 391.
Weighed myself on 3/21 and now i weigh 384.2 that's 6.8lbs in two weeks. With a calorie intake of 2,180 and no exercise. Just wanting to give you an idea.

PAV8888

NovusDies wrote: »

Just because you can does not mean you should.

It is very important that you are as happy as possible because otherwise the likelihood of failing is much greater.

Every diet I ever started with the idea of losing as fast as I could failed. It practically took an anvil landing on my head to finally realize that it is better to lose slower and have a process that I could sustain.

Please reconsider the 1200.

QFT

The support for 1%, frankly up to 1.5% when good levels of energy reserves are present, exists but it mostly has to do with loss of lean mass. It does not address, at all, multiple other problems that affect people who lose too fast.

Personally I advocate a 0.5% to 1% with the limiting factor being a 25% deficit off TDEE. This being a situation where at least for a while there might be benefits to even exceeding 25% of TDEE in terms of a deficit. However slightly exceeding a 25% deficit does not mean going ahead and creating a 60%+ deficit!

In any case, the OP will have to balance the desire for going fast with both mental and physiological sustainability and I do hope that they will find a happy medium for the years they will have to spend reworking how they interact with food and activity.

And a happy medium is highly unlikely to be found at 1200 or in making things too hard/harder than they have to be for themselves.

A reasonable deficit over a long enough time will do wonders!

njitaliana

I have less to lose than you do, and I am disabled so I don't move much. And I still eat so much more than you--and I lose weight! I eat 1600 calories each day. You could probably do 1700 or 1800 calories each day and still lose. I have 67 pounds off in 8 months eating 1600 calories a day. Please reconsider your calories.

Once before when I tried to lose, I did 1200 calories each day. After I lost a certain amount, I couldn't lose any more because 1200 is the lowest a person can safely eat. I stayed the same for an entire year.

So, I checked how much I should be eating according to my weight and height and activity level, and I saw a dietitian, and it turned out I was supposed to be eating 1600 calories a day, not 1200. Now If I ever stall, I can safely go lower. But, in 8 months, I haven't had to go lower.

An average-weight person needs 2,000 calories a day just to maintain their current weight. So, if you ate 1700 or 1800, you'd still be eating less than an average-weight person needs just to maintain. And an overweight person needs more to eat.

Go to this page to see how many calories you should be eating: https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/how-many-calories-per-day. Enter your weight and height into MFP and see how many calories it tells you to eat. It will be way more than you are eating now.

Your schedule is fine. It's the calories that aren't good.

Maxxitt

I personally end my MFP diary "day" when I go to sleep, usually at 2AM and then I'm up for the day at 9:30 AM, but sometimes it's flipped a bit and I apply the same rules. Sometimes I eat three meals a day and sometimes 2, sometimes I have a snack and sometimes I don't. Food scheduling doesn't matter. Nutrition does matter. Getting adequate sleep also matters.

ReBootBecca

Hey guys, thanks for the responses!
I started at 2300 calories a day. Then moved to 2100, 1900, and just recently went to 1300. I dont plan to stay forever at this spot. As of right now I am eating my full 1300 and have not had any issues with cravings or feeling hungry. I eat my three meals and that holds me well.

I got to be this size during college when I was constantly drinking energy drinks and eating fast food because I was on the go for 16 hours a day seven days a week. I am not addicted to food and actually am not a fan of sweets that much (I do love salty flavors though) I just am taking a more conscious effort to be healthy again and measure portion sizes.

TavistockToad

ReBootBecca wrote: »

Hey guys, thanks for the responses!
I started at 2300 calories a day. Then moved to 2100, 1900, and just recently went to 1300. I dont plan to stay forever at this spot. As of right now I am eating my full 1300 and have not had any issues with cravings or feeling hungry. I eat my three meals and that holds me well.

I got to be this size during college when I was constantly drinking energy drinks and eating fast food because I was on the go for 16 hours a day seven days a week. I am not addicted to food and actually am not a fan of sweets that much (I do love salty flavors though) I just am taking a more conscious effort to be healthy again and measure portion sizes.

What does MFP give you to lose 2lbs per week?

ReBootBecca

It started me at 2300.
I am working on a zigzag method.
I bottom out at 1300 and top out around 2100.
Tomorrow I am going to a wedding so its gna be a high day.

TavistockToad

ReBootBecca wrote: »

It started me at 2300.
I am working on a zigzag method.
I bottom out at 1300 and top out around 2100.
Tomorrow I am going to a wedding so its gna be a high day.

Nut why not eat the full 2300 while you can?

NovusDies

I think you should dump the zigzag business because it is unnecessary and keep your plan as simple as possible. The only advantage of starting with a fair amount of weight to lose is that you get to eat more food. You don't have to change that much and the weight will come off without much of a struggle. The other thing is you can adjust to new habits at a slower pace which makes it more comfortable and thus more sustainable. When I started my journey I was still using full calorie salad dressings because I could. As I lost weight and my TDEE began dropping I began prioritizing calories more and I have dropped to lower calorie options but I still ate an entire pizza today because I could.

There is no reason to jump ahead and eat like a person who has a lot less to lose. Keep your plan as simple as you can, as enjoyable as you can, and change only as needed.

fitoverfortymom

Another vote for more calories. 1200 is just asking for failure. You have a lot of wiggle room, so eat as many calories as you can and still lose. Unless you are in a doctor-suoervised calorie amount, 1200 will become u sustainable.

lorrpb

Since MFP gives you 2300, that's what you should eat to lose 2 lb per week. Sure, some days can be lower and others higher than 2300, but 2300 should be your average..