Please help... Eat less or More???

smc864

It's painful to read some of these misinformed suggestions.

You have 200+ pounds of excess body fat, therefore you do not need to eat at or above your bmr. I would stick to what your doctor suggested and eat 1500 calories. If you are eating whole foods like eggs, oatmeal, lean meats, vegetables, etc, 1500 calories is a lot of food. Make sure you are getting enough protein because that will help keep you feel full longer. The macros that MFP suggests are way out dated, so increase your protein goals.

You CAN do this! And by eating 1500-1700 calories/day you will lose weight faster which will help motivate you. I wish you the best of luck and feel free to add me if you'd like a friend.

alasin1derland

Thanks everyone for your advice. I am going to try to continue doing what the Dr. suggested. I like beans they keep me full and for some reason I seem to lose faster when I incorporate them into my diet. I am going to try to make some smarter choices to balance out my caloric intake so I don't get so hungry at night...

I think this is so smart and you are on the right track. It wont hurt you if your calories fluctuate a bit but if you incorporate things like watermelon and strawberries you would be amazed at how much you can eat and feel satisfied. Sometimes eating is more habitual then anything else. For example in front of the tv have a plate of cut up cucumbers, peppers, watermelon, strawberries and plain popcorn. Weight loss should never feel like a punishment. You should feel better as a result of your changes, not miserable. Find out how many calories are in the foods you love and balance them out with low calories options. Skinless chicken breasts are great protein and low calories. This site is a wealth of food ideas. I want to add I am a firm believer in eating your exercise calories. You need to fuel your workouts. Exercise makes you healthier all around but the workouts have to be fueled.

Scubanana7

First of all...you have a GREAT ATTITUDE. That means more than anything. I do agree that you should try your doctor's advice...with a little latitude. If you are hungry at night, then by all means, eat something healthy and filling. If you swing to 1800 calories some days, so what? Going to bed with hunger pains is a sure diet killer. It will break most of us sooner or later. Have a nice snack that shuts up the tummy growls....small apple w tbs of peanut or almond butter, or a string cheese with a couple grapes, or a small protein shake with some spinach and berries. A lot of folks mention greek yogurt. I didn't cause I hate it (haha) and yogurt doesn't fill me up for more than 30 minutes....but that's just me. and that's the point--YOU. What fills you up and lets you get a good nights sleep?

Also, so what if some days you swing a little higher on the calories 1600-1800/1900. You will, most likely, lose just as much that week. You do NOT have to be at exactly 1600/day. Life is not exact. If you feel hungry, you feel miserable, and most of us gained weight in response to some sort of misery, so I'm guessing we need to eliminate misery over food especially!

Keep up the attitude. and google "black bean brownies". There are several recipes. Try one that sounds good to you and have a 'brownie" for a treat. I made them at Christmas, NONE of my family/friends could pick out the secret ingredient and they all loved them! I promise you this is a nice healthy snack that will leave you satisfied (especially if you love chocolate) and shut up the annoying tummy growler.

Good luck honey--your profile pic is gorgeous, by the way.

parkscs

At 355, there's really no reason your body can't get by at 1500-1600 calories per day. Personally, if you can stick with it, 1500-1600 sounds like a better number to me.

That said, if you can't find a way to satiate yourself at 1500-1600 calories, it's better to up your caloric intake than to give up. You can eat 2200 and still lose weight, but you will lose weight more slowly.

I don't agree with this at all. At that weight, her BMR has to at least be in the 2000s and I can't imagine eating 500 less than my BMR. My body would shut down.

Your body doesn't shut down eating under your BMR at 355 lbs. With ~200lbs of excess fat, it can easily make-up the caloric deficit from your fat stores. Eating under your BMR/TDEE becomes problematic when your body cannot pull sufficient calories from your fat stores (i.e., when you're already lean and not carrying around much fat). Studies I've seen suggest your body can pull, on average, 31 kcal per pound of fat per day from your excess fat stores, which is about 6200 potential calories your body can pull from fat stores at ~200 lbs of excess fat. She may be hungry at first, particularly so depending on what food choices she makes, but her doctor is giving the best advice for her long-term health (provided she can stick with it).

This is interesting, the 31 cals thing. Do you mind sharing the study please? Wow. So obese people are safe to go under bmr if they have enough fat stores. I carry 24 pounds of fat on my body. 24x31=744. Obviously I'd be eating into lean body mass at that point so it would be crazy for a lean person to do this. Do you happen to know what the zones are to do this ie what is considered too low a body fat percentage to go under bmr?

1. Alpert SS. A limit on the energy transfer rate from the human fat store in hypophagia. J Theor Biol. 2005 Mar 7;233(1):1-13.

I found it to be a very interesting read, but please don't take this as me suggesting that everyone should approach their maximum caloric deficit/day as suggested by this study.

But, at the same time, I would encourage you to stop thinking about "going under your BMR" - your BMR is nothing special, provided you have enough fat stores to make up the difference. If you go under your TDEE, your body burns fat to make up the caloric deficit. If you go under both your TDEE and your BMR, your body burns fat to make up the caloric deficit. There's simply no difference. Where you run into a problem is when you go under and your body can't pull enough energy from fat stores to make up the caloric deficit, and has to go hunting for energy elsewhere in your body. There's absolutely nothing magical about eating at, above or below your BMR.

neanderthin

At 355, there's really no reason your body can't get by at 1500-1600 calories per day. Personally, if you can stick with it, 1500-1600 sounds like a better number to me.

That said, if you can't find a way to satiate yourself at 1500-1600 calories, it's better to up your caloric intake than to give up. You can eat 2200 and still lose weight, but you will lose weight more slowly.

I don't agree with this at all. At that weight, her BMR has to at least be in the 2000s and I can't imagine eating 500 less than my BMR. My body would shut down.

Your body doesn't shut down eating under your BMR at 355 lbs. With ~200lbs of excess fat, it can easily make-up the caloric deficit from your fat stores. Eating under your BMR/TDEE becomes problematic when your body cannot pull sufficient calories from your fat stores (i.e., when you're already lean and not carrying around much fat). Studies I've seen suggest your body can pull, on average, 31 kcal per pound of fat per day from your excess fat stores, which is about 6200 potential calories your body can pull from fat stores at ~200 lbs of excess fat. She may be hungry at first, particularly so depending on what food choices she makes, but her doctor is giving the best advice for her long-term health (provided she can stick with it).

This is interesting, the 31 cals thing. Do you mind sharing the study please? Wow. So obese people are safe to go under bmr if they have enough fat stores. I carry 24 pounds of fat on my body. 24x31=744. Obviously I'd be eating into lean body mass at that point so it would be crazy for a lean person to do this. Do you happen to know what the zones are to do this ie what is considered too low a body fat percentage to go under bmr?

1. Alpert SS. A limit on the energy transfer rate from the human fat store in hypophagia. J Theor Biol. 2005 Mar 7;233(1):1-13.

I found it to be a very interesting read, but please don't take this as me suggesting that everyone should approach their maximum caloric deficit/day as suggested by this study.

But, at the same time, I would encourage you to stop thinking about "going under your BMR" - your BMR is nothing special, provided you have enough fat stores to make up the difference. If you go under your TDEE, your body burns fat to make up the caloric deficit. If you go under both your TDEE and your BMR, your body burns fat to make up the caloric deficit. There's simply no difference. Where you run into a problem is when you go under and your body can't pull enough energy from fat stores to make up the caloric deficit, and has to go hunting for energy elsewhere in your body. There's absolutely nothing magical about eating at, above or below your BMR.

QFT.

rosemaryeallman

Thanks everyone for your advice. I am going to try to continue doing what the Dr. suggested. I like beans they keep me full and for some reason I seem to lose faster when I incorporate them into my diet. I am going to try to make some smarter choices to balance out my caloric intake so I don't get so hungry at night...

I think this is so smart and you are on the right track. It wont hurt you if your calories fluctuate a bit but if you incorporate things like watermelon and strawberries you would be amazed at how much you can eat and feel satisfied. Sometimes eating is more habitual then anything else. For example in front of the tv have a plate of cut up cucumbers, peppers, watermelon, strawberries and plain popcorn. Weight loss should never feel like a punishment. You should feel better as a result of your changes, not miserable. Find out how many calories are in the foods you love and balance them out with low calories options. Skinless chicken breasts are great protein and low calories. This site is a wealth of food ideas. I want to add I am a firm believer in eating your exercise calories. You need to fuel your workouts. Exercise makes you healthier all around but the workouts have to be fueled.

rosemaryeallman

Yes, I am eating back my calories from exercise most of the time.

rosemaryeallman

First of all...you have a GREAT ATTITUDE. That means more than anything. I do agree that you should try your doctor's advice...with a little latitude. If you are hungry at night, then by all means, eat something healthy and filling. If you swing to 1800 calories some days, so what? Going to bed with hunger pains is a sure diet killer. It will break most of us sooner or later. Have a nice snack that shuts up the tummy growls....small apple w tbs of peanut or almond butter, or a string cheese with a couple grapes, or a small protein shake with some spinach and berries. A lot of folks mention greek yogurt. I didn't cause I hate it (haha) and yogurt doesn't fill me up for more than 30 minutes....but that's just me. and that's the point--YOU. What fills you up and lets you get a good nights sleep?

Also, so what if some days you swing a little higher on the calories 1600-1800/1900. You will, most likely, lose just as much that week. You do NOT have to be at exactly 1600/day. Life is not exact. If you feel hungry, you feel miserable, and most of us gained weight in response to some sort of misery, so I'm guessing we need to eliminate misery over food especially!

Keep up the attitude. and google "black bean brownies". There are several recipes. Try one that sounds good to you and have a 'brownie" for a treat. I made them at Christmas, NONE of my family/friends could pick out the secret ingredient and they all loved them! I promise you this is a nice healthy snack that will leave you satisfied (especially if you love chocolate) and shut up the annoying tummy growler.

Good luck honey--your profile pic is gorgeous, by the way.

mamma_nee

This is a lifetime change and you will be doing it the rest of your life to be healthy , I say up some calories and be satisfied because if you your always starving its gonna make you give up altogether.

KimberlyinMN

One suggestion I have is to maybe see a nutritionist to help you figure out what filling foods you should be eating. Most insurance plans will cover this (although I don't know if yours requires you to get a doctor's referral). I know there is a lot of information out there online or in books, but it might be better to actually speak in person with someone.

You can do this!!!

rosemaryeallman

Thank you for your kind encouraging words. I will check out that bean brownie recipe. I need to find a few before bed snacks that will fill me up. A protein shake would be good but I am trying to find the right powder that does not have imitation sugars. I found some at my gym but it was almost a hundred dollars.