Please post your success stories with eating at -20% TDEE

joleenl

I just started this method again to try to eat more to lose weight without being hungry. The 1200-1400 calories thing wasn't working for me. I was always hungry. I need some success stories to renew my faith in the process and to give me motivation!

A little more about me:

My TDEE depending on the online calculator is like 2000-2200 based on my job and current consistant exercise. I have my daily calories set for 1800. I'm hoping to start losing again because I was struggling hard core at the low calories making me cheat and binge. AND of course when you get to the point of a cheat or binge... it's always a crazy amount of calories of something that is never a healthy food choice so I am hoping eating more calories in my planned meals and snacks with reduce this problem.

SezxyStef

I love doing TDEE-15%...

I started doing it Sept 9th...when I started weight lifting.

Since then I have consistently lost 1/2lb a week...on average..it might not be every week but that's what I lose.

I keep track on my spreadsheet...

1st week...1/4lb
2nd week ...nadda
3rd week...2lbs

I attribute that to water retention due to weight lifting being new

Week 4 nada
week 5 1/2 lb
week 6 1lb
week 7 1lb
week 8 nadda
week 9 1/2 lb

Then the holidays...I gained 1.5 lb back...

Then nothing for a week then the last couple weeks 1.5lb each week so I am even lighter than I was before the holidays.

Just remember it wont be 1lb a week every week...you will see ups and downs but on average as you can see it works...

In 21 weeks I have lost over 9lbs...(not including the gain over Christmas as I was "on a break")...

Sorova

This is the approach I took and I have lost 90 pounds (265-175). I'm 5'5".

At my current weight (175) I burn 2300-2700 calories per day depending on what I'm doing. This includes about 45-60 minutes a day of walking briskly with my dog, plus a regular lifting schedule and other outdoor fun stuff/chores on top of that. I would describe myself as moderately active in the winter and very active in the summer, when I help my in-laws with their landscaping business. After I lost the 90 pounds, I ate at an average of about 2400 calories a day and maintained for almost a year.

After maintaining for a year I decided it was time to go back and lose the last 20-30 pounds (my ultimate goal is probably somewhere around 150). In weight loss mode I usually eat about 1800 on my less active days and 2300 on my more active or more hungry days. With this approach I lose about a pound a week, give or take, though I sometimes takes maintenance breaks if there's a wedding or some other event that includes rich food. I eat reasonably healthy, with lots of fruits and veggies and almost no packaged food, but I am not a clean-eating devotee. I eat chocolate and french fries and other treats on a pretty regular basis when it fits into my calories.

I think one of the biggest assets you can have in weight loss is a sense of perspective. I don't freak out if my scale weight goes up a pound, or four pounds, due to bloating or a week of rich food. I just keep doing the sensible thing and I know over time it'll get me to the right place. I recognize that sustainable positive change is slow and non-linear. I care just as much about fitness as I do about weight, so even if I don't lose weight for 3 weeks, I can be happy that I added 10 pounds to my deadlift or made it up that hill in my neighbourhood without getting tired. If I am hungry I eat more, and if that means no loss that week, that's fine. I'd rather get to my goal two months later, or two years later, than destroy my body with yo-yo dieting (which is one of the major risks for gall bladder problems, among other negative impacts) or risk a relapse because I'm starving.

marjoleina

I have been on MFP for a while now. I was doing TDEE-20% last year and doing well, then I had a big upset in my personal life and ended up moving back to Europe after 20+ yrs in the States. I gained weight and once I was calmer, I began tacking my food again and was eating 1200 calories and losing nothing.

So I re-entered my data in the haybales spreadsheet and am eating between 1500 and 1600 calories a day. I commute to work 5 to 6 days a week on my bycicle, for 25 minutes each way, and I walk my dog about 1 hr a day every day. I do some core and body weight exercises. I do not currently have a gym I can go to. I have been doing this for the past 3 weeks and have lost 3.5 Kg (about 10 pounds). So I am thrilled and plan to keep going. I will adjust my TDEE once I have lost some more weight. I am female, 48 and 5 foot 5. Currently weigh 70.5 Kg