Feel good at 1500 calories

nasr25

Now I am not saying I can’t eat more but I feel satiated around that many calories. Let me explain I am someone who can not go without soda. I have tried to quit many times before but always give in. Recently I have been drinking diet sodas and making homemade ice teas with zero calorie sweetener. Before doing this I would consume an average of 450 calories in drinks alone. But now I am at zero. Now the issue is do I go over this 1500 calories or do I stay there for the time being. I was thinking of adding some snacking to get me to 1800 calories to avoid issues. Maybe things will change it’s only been two weeks since the change to zero calorie drinks maybe the hunger will come back and that will decide it for me. Has anyone had the same experience?

nasr25

By the way I am a male 28 years 5’10” that’s why I believe I should consume more I know for a female 1500 would not be that bad but for me it would be the bare minimum. I also have a lot to lose. 80 pounds to be exact. So I can eat more and still hit two pounds a week.

lynn_glenmont

nasr25 wrote: »

By the way I am a male 28 years 5’10” that’s why I believe I should consume more I know for a female 1500 would not be that bad but for me it would be the bare minimum. I also have a lot to lose. 80 pounds to be exact. So I can eat more and still hit two pounds a week.

Then go ahead and eat more. Why make it harder than it has to be, and risk unnecessary muscle loss, etc.?

nasr25

You are right I think it’s just the idea of getting to my goals faster while I am not feeling any hunger. I just look it like hey I am still getting the same nutrition since 1500 and 1950 is the same except without the empty calories. It’s just my brain trying to justify my decision.

lynn_glenmont

nasr25 wrote: »

You are right I think it’s just the idea of getting to my goals faster while I am not feeling any hunger. I just look it like hey I am still getting the same nutrition since 1500 and 1950 is the same except without the empty calories. It’s just my brain trying to justify my decision.

Look at it this way. You're still getting the same (inadequate? barely adequate? suboptimal?) nutrition you were getting when 23% of your calories were coming from regular (sugar-sweetened) soda. Taking away the empty calories doesn't suddenly mean that there is more nutrition in the remaining calories than there was previously (I'm assuming no other major changes in your diet). And you've added the stress of forcing your body potentially to not do things like repair muscles and skin and keep your immune system running at full force, because there just aren't enough calories to go around anymore, and there are (apparently) limits to the rate at which your body can tap into energy stored as fat. Give yourself a break.

nasr25

Yeah that makes sense I’m going to up my calories today to 2000 and just go from there. I do an average of 3.5 to 4 miles walking a day which gives me about 300 calories extra. That and my TDEE is 2700 so 2700+300=3000. At 2000 I should still get 2 pound weight loss in theory.

NovusDies

nasr25 wrote: »

You are right I think it’s just the idea of getting to my goals faster while I am not feeling any hunger. I just look it like hey I am still getting the same nutrition since 1500 and 1950 is the same except without the empty calories. It’s just my brain trying to justify my decision.

Remember that if your goal is to lose fat weight not just to get to a number on the scale then faster is not really moving towards your goals since you risk losing more muscle.

Also, how you feel now will likely change as weeks begin to roll into months. Whatever plan you have now may need several revisions as time goes on. It may even need to be discarded and a new plan devised. I never realized that carrying as much weight as I did actually had a few benefits. I assumed it was all negatives and it was almost all negative but energy management and hunger control for me were easier when I was substantially larger. Some of changes were the dramatic decrease in fat stores, some were related to my activity level increasing as my weight decreased, and some are just because I am not the same person.

The one thing it took me forever to figure out is that each time I started thinking I was smart and had a smart plan I was doomed to failure. Starting stupid and realizing I would have to learn as I went was actually the smart way to go. What I know is what works for me at the moment. In 10 more pounds I might be stupid again and need to figure something new out.