okay, I'm new, and I have a question about calories

olehcat

Er...wasn't sure what to put in the subject line to explain what I want to ask.

Okay, so I've been playing with a LOT of the TDEE calculators. I have been putting in my current weight and stats and figuring out how many calories I could eat to maintain current weight (152) vs. how many to lose weight.

So my question is, why can't you put in your ideal weight (for me, 120) and eat the calories that it would take to maintain THAT weight. It seems like that amount is higher than the amount that is given to you to lose weight at a higher weight.

For example, if I put in that I am 152 pounds and am moderately active (run 4-5 times a week for 30 minutes), I get weight loss numbers around 1500-1600. If I put in that I am 120 pounds and moderately active, I get maintenance numbers around 1800-1900.

In any of your experiences, would you still lose weight, albeit a bit slower, if you ate maintenance calories for your ideal weight vs. weight loss calories for your current weight?

(Feel free to ask for clarification if this is confusing...it's early morning and my brain isn't quite awake yet.)

Anyway, am dying to find out because I want to pick a calorie amount and stick with it. And I would rather have an amount where I can eat more food, even if it's slower weight loss. But I want to make sure that there is indeed weight loss and not just me eating at current maintenance.

BernadetteChurch

That's a really interesting question. I don't really know the answer but I'm off to do some calculations of my own!

JenMc14

As long as you're eating at a deficit, you'll lose. I believe the fat2fitradio.com calculator does as you're suggesting as well. But, instead of comparing your current weight loss numbers and ideal maintenance, you should compare the two maintenance numbers, how different are they? If they're only different by 100-200 calories, I would imagine your loss would bevery slow. Ut, you'd get to eat more. So, it's really up to you which you'd prefer. Eat a bit less, perhaps faster loss, or eat more with a slower loss.

wild_wild_life

Sure, it will work. As long as you are eating at a deficit from your current maintenance, you will lose weight. What deficit you choose is up to you but the appropriate deficit will depend on your current weight and goal weight, since people with more to lose can manage a bigger deficit.

General guidelines for maximum healthy rate of loss per week:
75+ to lose = 2lbs 
50-75 to lose = 1.5-2lbs 
25-50 to lose = 1-1.5lbs 
15-25 to lose = 1lbs 
0-15 to lose = 0.5lbs 

3500 cal defcit is approximately 1 lb loss per week, so if you have a 500 cal daily deficit, 500x7=3500 so you should lose 1lb per week. If you are trying to lose 1.5 lbs per week, you would choose a 750 cal daily deficit, for example.

So figure out what your appropriate maximum weight of loss is (probably around 1lb per week if you want to lose 30 lbs) and go with a 500 cal deficit from your current maintenance, or, if you want a smaller deficit, that's fine too, it will be slower but possibly more sustainable as you won't feel as deprived.

Nothing wrong with using your maintenance goal as your current goal in your case but I don't think that's a good rule of thumb as it would break down at the high and low ends of the spectrum.

Hope that helps!

ETA-- you will also see TDEE-20% recommended as a good weight loss goal because it will give you a moderate deficit. Anything in that range is fine, as long as your deficit isn't too high (750 per day probably being the max in your case). This will also need to be adjusted to a smaller deficit as you lose.

olehcat

jsl, thank you for the information, that is VERY helpful! Good point about comparing numbers for current maintenance vs. maintenance for ideal weight! I still have some research info to look into. Meanwhile, am eating around 1400-1500 calories, which should lead to loss...