Non-Dieting Dropout

Marcie9278

So, I’m done with the non-dieting culture and back into the dieting culture. Must lose this weight now. What do you all do when you start out again? Do you go straight to 1200 or whatever your losing calories are or do you start higher and go down a week at a time. I’m thinking going straight to 1200 is going to make this process much harder because well, I’ve done this a few times. Just wondering what you all do.

RelCanonical

What does MFP give you when you enter in your goals? Unless you are short and sedentary, chances are you can always eat more than 1,200 and still lose weight at a reasonable rate - a reasonable rate being the key here. Many people come here thinking a pound a week is slow, but it’s not unless you have 100+ to lose, and even then it is a perfectly reasonable rate.

stephie_nyc

When I have been out of the game for awhile I just start logging maintenance. Then I drop to a reasonable deficit once I´m back in the swing of things.

MikePTY

RelCanonical wrote: »

What does MFP give you when you enter in your goals? Unless you are short and sedentary, chances are you can always eat more than 1,200 and still lose weight at a reasonable rate - a reasonable rate being the key here. Many people come here thinking a pound a week is slow, but it’s not unless you have 100+ to lose, and even then it is a perfectly reasonable rate.

Agree with that. What are your stats? What happens when you put 1 pound per week in? 1 pound per week is a lot faster than you would think. Trying to lose the weight "now" doesn't do you any good if you don't do it in a sustainable way. Better to do it slower and steadier.

lgfrie

A 1,200 calorie/day diet is brutal and very likely to end in frustration, binging, and then regain. Have you ever met a person who did a 1,200 calorie diet and didn't gain the weight back? I haven't. Not ever.

Go to the MFP Goals tool, enter 1 or 1.5 lbs per week (or thereabouts) as your goal, and eat however many calories it says to eat, never less, and try not to eat more too often. Then you'll get what you want, in time.

AnnPT77

Marcie9278 wrote: »

So, I’m done with the non-dieting culture and back into the dieting culture. Must lose this weight now. What do you all do when you start out again? Do you go straight to 1200 or whatever your losing calories are or do you start higher and go down a week at a time. I’m thinking going straight to 1200 is going to make this process much harder because well, I’ve done this a few times. Just wondering what you all do.

If you've done this a few times - which suggests that the other times weren't all that long-term successful - maybe do it differently this time?

There isn't just an express subway line from "dieting culture" to "non-dieting culture". Neither of those are actual reasonable destinations. Maybe consider riding on over to "figuring out how to maintain a healthy weight permanently culture"? That's a place a person can maybe really settle in.

Y'know, figure out how to eat foods you enjoy in amounts that are filling, nutritious and practical for you personally, but in portions that add up to slightly less calories than it would take to maintain your weight? Use the weight loss process as a way to learn how to eat permanently in a way that will keep you at a healthy weight? Let MFP calculate a calorie target for you, for gradual loss? Then just nudge calories up a bit for long-term maintenance?

Maybe I'm dreaming. Dreaming, here in year 4, almost 5, of maintaining a healthy weight, after decades of obesity.

Just a thought. :flowerforyou:

sijomial

Marcie9278 wrote: »

I’ve done this a few times.

Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.
- Albert Einstein.

What on earth is the lure of 1200 cals? Especially when it clearly hasn't worked before....
Somewhere between the two extremes of under eating and over eating might be the sweet spot you need to find to lose weight, and more importantly, keep it off.

Lillymoo01

lgfrie wrote: »

A 1,200 calorie/day diet is brutal and very likely to end in frustration, binging, and then regain. Have you ever met a person who did a 1,200 calorie diet and didn't gain the weight back? I haven't. Not ever.

Go to the MFP Goals tool, enter 1 or 1.5 lbs per week (or thereabouts) as your goal, and eat however many calories it says to eat, never less, and try not to eat more too often. Then you'll get what you want, in time.

I did a 1200 plus 2/3's of my exercise calorie a day diet, reached my goal weight and have been there for well over 2 years. However, I am not even 5 foot tall so 1200 is appropriate for me. Unless you are vertically challenged 1200 is unrealistic as it is not sustainable. You are much more likely to end up in a binge/restrict cycle than have permanent weight loss.

kshama2001

NovusDies

Marcie9278 wrote: »

So, I’m done with the non-dieting culture and back into the dieting culture. Must lose this weight now. What do you all do when you start out again? Do you go straight to 1200 or whatever your losing calories are or do you start higher and go down a week at a time. I’m thinking going straight to 1200 is going to make this process much harder because well, I’ve done this a few times. Just wondering what you all do.

Sometimes I would transition for a week. Sometimes I would go straight to the lowest calorie level I could tolerate. Each time it resulted in a rage quit and a highly enthusiastic binge-like overfeed. I would promise to resume shortly but it was a promise I always broke.

Aside from visiting a surgeon and having fat sucked out of you there is no losing fat weight now. Eating less than what is optimal for you greatly increases your chances of failure while normally only increasing your rate of loss by a tiny amount. It does not take much to see that the risk vs reward here makes it an unfavorable plan.

amy19355

Marcie9278 wrote: »

So, I’m done with the non-dieting culture and back into the dieting culture. Must lose this weight now. What do you all do when you start out again? Do you go straight to 1200 or whatever your losing calories are or do you start higher and go down a week at a time. I’m thinking going straight to 1200 is going to make this process much harder because well, I’ve done this a few times. Just wondering what you all do.

go for the 'eating food I like in reasonable portions' culture and you might find the answer.

You're already at a very useful site and your questions suggest to me that you would find many answers in the sticky posts found at the top of each forum section.

Calories In, Calories out - it really is that simple of a how to.

Patience is the hardest part, and for me I just keep reminding myself that I won't lose in a day what took me three years to acquire. I'm a year+ into my weight loss journey; lost half of it in the first 8 months, and have spent the last five months maintaining without adding. It's frustrating not to keep losing at the same rate as when I started, but, then I remember that "patience is the hardest part". I spent 10 years putting on 60 extra pounds. I fully expect it will take as many as three years to get it off and keep it off.

good luck to you.