Decreasing calories as I lose weight?
whitefamilysk
Posts: 6 Member
Been doing keto for almost 2 weeks and lost 5 pounds so far (some of which I'm sure is water, but still happy with it:) My carbs are around 20-35 a day and I am just getting used to the things I can eat etc. I feel no desire to eat high carb foods and really enjoy eating this way. I am doing IF as well, 14/10 but may try 16/8 when I feel ready. My TDEE calories with a -500 deficit is 1971 but I find that I only need about 1600 a day average and I'm just full so I don't want anything else to eat. My question is this, as I lose weight, will I need to decrease the calories lower and lower to keep losing or perhaps should I just pay attention to my body and hunger?
Thanks in advance:)
Thanks in advance:)
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After each 10 lb loss I recalculate my calories using MFP #'s...I wish MFP would do that automatically but they don't2
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Thanks a lot for the reply:)0
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I think Megan's advice is good. I'm in a slightly different camp and the following has worked well for me in the past and is working well right now. Basically while on Low Carb/Keto, and carrying a "LOT" of excess weight, I personally like to cut my calories right down where I would envision I would be at Goal weight minus 500 calories or so. What this means for me, is I'm generally eating 1600 calories a day and I too am totally satisfied, almost never get hungry, sleep well the whole nine yards really. (plus what I do eat is delicious, and that really helps). At the same time I know I won't be reducing calories from this point either.
However, I believe this works as a very obese individual as one has a high fat energy availability... Basically we have so much ample fat to burn that the body is able to make up the caloric deficit easily. In the past though, this means as weight comes off (a good long while for me personally from now) I will actually need to increase calories, as hunger, and energy dictates, as my body is no longer able to access the required amount of energy from shrinking fat supplies. This is in fact what happened to me in the past... This has the added benefit of greater weight loss through the Start and intermediate periods of your weight loss, but it will still eventually come to a crawl, as it should.
The positive side is, as you finally get to the point where added calories come back in... You should already be to the point, where adding exercise has already happened, or if you choose to it won't be nearly as painful on the feet and ankles. etc. And that can help ramp up some of the lost momentum.
I know a lot of people might not agree with me, but this has been my experience and I've been there with others also following low carb and coming down from 400+ and it's worked for them as well.
The most important thing is, you really do need to listen to your body. If you are hungry or finding yourself tired throughout the day, then you owe it to yourself and your body to eat more and stay healthy on the journey.
All that said though, CICO (Calories in / Calories out) should always be in the back of your mind, specially as weight loss slows and you near goal, maintenance and beyond. Keto isn't Magical, Calories will always be king. Keto however does make doing it much easier for many of us, specially for those of us with former carb/sugar addiction, and the constant Keto metabolism does wonder for hunger, and the bodies ability to utilize fat stores for energy steadily which I believe contributes to the reduce hunger response especially going into IF of any variety. So if one chooses in the long term to introduce some carbs back in, one also needs to be aware that those former low hunger levels will likely change and it will become paramount to work even harder to come to grips with CICO and maintenance for the long term.
I'm a babblepuss. All the best on your journey @whitefamilysk2 -
Thanks so much for all this information! Like I said, my TDEE minus 500 is 1971 and I am satisfied around 1600ish. I was just concerned that as I lose weight, in order to keep losing, I might have to drop my calories to a really low number or something. I have found that I'm not hungry very much, but I was trying to eat more because I don't want to be only losing when I have a low calorie day, if that makes sense. I don't want to have to drop my calories to 1200 to keep losing or anything like that. I'd like this to be something I can keep doing long term. I think the best thing might be to keep tracking to make sure I don't go over my calorie deficit of 1971 and count my carbs but then listen to my body because some days I have more and some days less based on my activity in the day. I work out 5 days a week and have for months, I lost 20 pounds that way (eating a standard diet and tracking calories) but then I was stuck for over a months losing nothing, hence why I'm trying keto. So far it's not hard to eat this way and I love it but I know I still have a lot to learn and I really appreciate you taking the time to fill me in with some great tips/ideas and things that have worked for you. Teagan0
