morbidly obese, 300+lbs to lose - calories/day?

gigglesinthesun

3000 calories is probably not a crazy number. Unless you have some kind of a metabolic disorder MFB cannot account for. As you lose weight that number will decrease. You don't want to drop too many calories too fast or your body will go into starvation mode which makes it even harder to lose weight.

she'd have to lose at least 400lbs before she'd go into starvation mode as it doesn't affect people until they are down to like 5% bf or something

actually not true, you will not lose weight if your body is starving itself . . .so all the hard work will be fore nothing and you can make permanent damage on your metabolism

actually it is, if you look at prison camps and other starvation situations, the people did not stay fat because they had nothing to eat. Though if you have proof to the contrary I'd love to see it.

Should she eat crazy low calories? No, not because she will not lose weight, but because there are serious health risk like heart failure attached to it. There was one guy in the UK who was morbidly obese and did not eat anything for a year. He was monitored very closely and took supplements and yeast, but he did lose his weight. No OP, I am not suggesting in any way shape or form that this is the way to do it. I do think you should stick with the MFP goal or something close to it, but if you are not losing weight it won't be because you are eating too little.

gigglesinthesun

This seem like an idiotic question, if someone were to say eat all there calories. stay in deficit on donuts will they still lose weight? I eat a generally healthy diet just now smaller portions and measuring pretty much everything. I mean say you go over on a few things in your macros or a person goes over a lot on there macros would a typical person still lose?

you could google the twinkie diet and see

Shannon_PAC

Thanks everyone! MFP has me set at 3400 cals / day, will give it a try for awhile and see how things go.

I know it sounds like a lot, and you might have a hard time getting there if you eat "diet" foods. My journal lately has been terrible because I've had dinner out every night this week due to poor planning and working late, but you can look at it if you want. But in general, sometimes you might have to eat a higher fat content diet to get those calories. Things like eggs, nuts, seeds, almond butter, whole fat dairy, etc, can be your friend.

When I saw my trainer the other day, he said that I look so much healthier. He asked how I'm recovering from our training and I saw, "It's like magic." I was quite slow to recover several times in the beginning and he said I wasn't eating properly. I have changed to include more protein and fat and I feel so much better. Plus it helps me get to my calories that I'm trying to meet.

Good luck!

RusticDreams

Yes I agree those healthy fats sure add up and they are freaking delicious!!!!!

RusticDreams

Oh lordy haha! Interesting read thanks

edwardkim85

If you are 530 lbs now, you got to that weight by eating calorie in > calorie out for an extended period of time.

I don't have problems meeting an 800 kcal diet for a month or two to lose weight as well, but I don't do it because I know weight will bounce back up.

3,000 kcal, start there. Even if you can do 1900 kcal / day, you have lots to lose and 3,000 will still be a fairly large deficit.

When you lose 100kg or so, then drop even more.

If you start off with 1900 kcal/day, after you lose 100kg and stall, what will you do, go down even further to 1500kcal at 300 lbs, then at 200lbs, drop down to 1200kcal, etc etc? It's unsustainable imo.

Also, meet a nutritionist to set out a long term diet plan if you can. I think a professional opinion + mfp will do wonders

starrylioness

I wouldn't go for 1200. The heavier you are, the more you need to eat. You could start with 2,000 cal a day for now, though really what I recommend is going by what MFP tells you to do calorie wise and incorporating some exercise in; whatever you can physically do. (walking is such a great start!)

The reason I wouldn't go for 1200 at your weight is that as you continue to lose, you'll need to constantly readjust your calories lower and lower as time passes and more weight comes off so you don't want to start so low. Plus you need more calories at your size to make your body go! (We're like cars after all - we need fuel to run.)

I'm 5'9 and currently 262 lbs and I eat 1500 cal a day. I started with 1700-1800 when I was at my heaviest and I still lost great so no need to drop down to 1200, in my opinion.

jojo86xdd

I just imputed you stats into multiple BMR calculators using the average female height of 5'7. They all say your BMR (the amount of calories your body burns in a static state) is around 3100 and your TDEE (the amount of calories you should eat to maintain your weight) based on your activity level is about 3800. So if you have your MFP goals set up to lose 1 lb per week, your daily calorie intake will be -500, 3300 calories. If you have it set up to lose 2 lbs per week, your daily calorie intake will be -1000, 2800...so around 3000 is not a crazy number at the least. My suggestion is that you stick with the MFP numbers, and try it out out. I'm more than sure you will see results.

Hope this helps

edwardkim85

People will talk about 'macros' but at your weight I don't think you have to worry about that yet, but more so about portion control and frequency of meals.

Make sure to eat 6 smallish meals instead of 3 large ones when you eat 3400kcal.

That's about 560 kcal per meal. You will find out that with 560kcal as your limit, you will have to find healthy food such as egg whites, chicken breasts, veggies, etc and can eat a large volume of it as well.

6 meals of that / day will make your fat loss faster.

You say you have tried " when I tried dieting before, and can meet or stay under that goal pretty easily. "

but you failed(I'm guessing). Why have you failed in the past? People tend to blame it not on themselves but on situations outside of their control. Unless it's an extreme one, most people experience hardships from everyday living. You need to destress by exercising or finding a hobby rather than focusing on food to releive tension.

In your case with hundreds to lose, you have to think very long term( 2 years +) . You didn't get to that weight in 2 years so it's not fair to think that you can lose it in a heartbeat right?

I have a good friend who dropped 200 lbs ( from 410 --> 210 lbs) so I know how tough it is and how long it takes, but the end result will be worth it!

gl

missyont

Eat the 3000 in good whole foods and try to exercise when you can. As your weight goes down MFP will adjust the calories for you and you will see what you need to have.

WalkingAlong

I wouldn't go to 1200-1500 but I wouldn't do 3000+, either. Losing slow isn't better for you when you're morbidly obese. Talk to your doctor, if you haven't already. I imagine he/she would say you'd be ok to aim for more than a 7000 calorie/week deficit, the usual recommended max. Good luck!

Mr_Knight

I'm currently 532lbs, and was wondering what my calories per day should be to lose weight? I have myself at 1900, as that was what I was at when I tried dieting before, and can meet or stay under that goal pretty easily. Should I go less, maybe 1500 as that's an average healthy woman's cals per day, and decrease it to 1200 as I lose weight, or just go to 1200 now? Eek! Not sure what my calorie goal should be!

Those would all be fine. The most important thing right now is to pick one and stick to it. If that's 1900, then that's great. If you can manage on less, that's even better.

But right now, it's about establishing a good habit. There will be plenty of time to fine tune the exact numbers later.

Good luck!

PS For the sake of completeness...you're at about 75% body fat, so your BMR is going to be around 1700 calories/day. MFP doesn't account for lean body mass, so for heavy people it will always over-estimate your baseline calorie burn.

parkscs

I would do 2000 or perhaps slightly over if you end up very hungry and miserable at 2000. Honestly you could probably go a bit lower and be perfectly fine, provided you eat nutrient-rich food. You definitely don't need to be eating 3000+ calories per day on a diet, even if you're 500 pounds. MFP is generally pretty good at estimating calories, but honestly at higher weights it probably overestimates your TDEE. Regardless, at 500 pounds, your body is able to pull all the energy it needs from your fat stores. The notion that you will plateau and have no where to go, your body will go into starvation mode, etc. is honestly all wrong (no offense to anyone, I'm sure it's well-intentioned). 2000 calories is plenty.

You run into problems when your body cannot pull the calories from your fat stores to make-up your caloric deficit. At 500 pounds, your body has tons of fat to tap into for energy and can easily make-up the caloric deficit from you eating 2000 calories per day. It varies from person to person, but 31 calories per lb of fat per day is an average I've seen tossed around. Figuring the OP has 350 pounds of fat to lose... that's a ton of calories her body can potentially tap into per day. Trust me, you don't need to worry about "starvation mode."

Myxalplyx

Chick,
I'd stick with the recommended weekly calorie intake. It'll work. Take your time with all this and by all means, do not try to rush it. It'll come off. See the success stories section. And good luck! I can't wait to read about your results as it works out for you. You'll get there.

Oh...and take your before pictures of yourself NOW. Save them for yourself. It'll be a great motivator when you take pictures further down the line and compare them to when you start.

lucan07

This seem like an idiotic question, if someone were to say eat all there calories. stay in deficit on donuts will they still lose weight? I eat a generally healthy diet just now smaller portions and measuring pretty much everything. I mean say you go over on a few things in your macros or a person goes over a lot on there macros would a typical person still lose?

Calories are calories so weight loss is same whatever the source health would probably suffer in other ways tho!

eyleene

3000 calories is probably not a crazy number. Unless you have some kind of a metabolic disorder MFB cannot account for. As you lose weight that number will decrease. You don't want to drop too many calories too fast or your body will go into starvation mode which makes it even harder to lose weight.

she'd have to lose at least 400lbs before she'd go into starvation mode as it doesn't affect people until they are down to like 5% bf or something

actually not true, you will not lose weight if your body is starving itself . . .so all the hard work will be fore nothing and you can make permanent damage on your metabolism

thats what happens to yoyo dieters and why they end up going backwards . The 1st time you restrict calories , you body doesnt know whats happening . if you put weight back on , and then go on another diet and restrict calories , your body remembers and uses what it gets more efficiently . unfortunately this efficiency doesnt stop when you stop dietting which is why it is so much easier to regain lost weight , the more often you yoyo the worse it gets and the harder to lose AND keep off . Changing your lifestyle by retraining yourself to eat healthier AND do enough exercise is the only solution for long term quality of life .

laceandbits

If you stop thinking of the 300+lbs you want to lose as part of you (as they won't be there for ever) and think of yourself as the slimmer person inside carrying 300lb of weights, or shopping, or bags of garden compost with you at every single step you might realise how hard your body is working to just move you around, and why even with over 3000 calories a day you will still be using more than you eat.

As you lose weight, or need to carry less with you, your body won't be working so hard and your calorie allowance will decrease to keep the weight loss going.

Forget counting the calories as such, MFB will do that for you. Your job is to make sure you weigh or measure every crumb which passes your lips, and record it honestly in your food diary. If you were to do that for a week on what you eat now, before you even start the 'diet' you might be surprised at just how many calories you have been taking on board.

pain_is_weakness

Also I can't even begin to count the amount of MFP users that have played around and found that they actually are lose more weight when they upped their calories. Myself included, sure you will lose weight, eventually, but to consistently lose weight you start big and work yourself down and yes you can hold weight form not eating enough, eventually you will start losing again when your body starts eating away at the muscle and storing the fat

davepearson86

Some good advice and some terrible advice here. Try whatever mfp suggests (3k+) for 2 weeks, if you lost weight keep calories the same. If your weight stayed the same drop 200 calories wash rinse repeat. Re evaluate every 2 weeks. You're going to need a defect for 2-3 years probably so this has to be sustainable. I would aim for 4 lbs a week for the first good while.

It's easy to want good numbers this month but in reality there's going to be 30-40 months involved here, take your time and dial it in slowly ask anyone whos dropped significant weight long term this is the best way.

RhonndaJ

Chick,
I'd stick with the recommended weekly calorie intake. It'll work. Take your time with all this and by all means, do not try to rush it. It'll come off. See the success stories section. And good luck! I can't wait to read about your results as it works out for you. You'll get there.

Oh...and take your before pictures of yourself NOW. Save them for yourself. It'll be a great motivator when you take pictures further down the line and compare them to when you start.

This!