Peeps who have lost 100+ : Calorie Allowance vs. TDEE-20%?

Supadoopafly

Hi there,

I'm doing some reading around the forums. Just wanted to throw this out there... All those folks who have lost 100+ pounds - what route did you take?

Option 1. Sustained low calories i.e. 1200kCal per day?
Option 2. Set MFP Calorie allowance and reduce as you lost weight?
Option 3. TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure) route i.e. TDEE-20%?

Or was it a mixture of the above i.e. starting with option 1 and may be moving on to another option? If so, how did you find the transition .. how did your body react?

Patience is a virtue (I have no virtues! :-) *joke*), but which method did you find "easiest" for seeing the quickest results?

Finally (if you are now maintaining), what method do you use to maintain?

Thank you in advance.

scubasuenc

I haven't lost 100lb yet, but I've been using # 2 quite successfully to lose almost 60lb. I only eat a small portion of my exercise calories back. The MFP goal was 1680 net calories when I started (set to 2lb per week loss) and it is now down to 1230. Next adjustment I will go to a 1.5lb per week loss.

I didn't consider TDEE because I couldn't even spell it when I started.I plan to switch to TDEE - 20% as I get closer to my goal weight. As long as the MFP numbers are working for me, I'll stick with it.

Velum_cado

Of the three of those, I did option 2. But only for a short time. I lost 80 lbs before I started logging by just eating fewer calories and exercising. When I joined MFP I decided to log my calories because why not, eh? But then I started obsessing over the numbers, so I stopped. I've continued eating like I was before and have continued losing weight.

I know some people need to log things to keep themselves on track, but I just don't find it helpful. For me, it's more helpful to just find a diet I can stick to long-term and pay attention to how my body responds.

COliver416

347 to 237 right now. I ate a sustained low calorie diet, with a hefty cheat meal once or twice a week. So, I would eat right 80% of the time and then refuel with something like a Fish and Chips, or one of my favorite dishes, Tostito scoops and cheese dip.

My first 60 pounds was lost using a jogging in place workout at home program. The next 50 have been lost from Power 90 and Focus T 25.

I'm doing 1 but I'm increasing my calories as I lose weight. I started off at an extremely low (below the recommended calories, now I'm up to anywhere between 1800 to 2,000 a day, and still dropping 1 to 3 pounds a week.

cwolfman13

I haven't lost 100 Lbs, but I can tell you that the method is pretty much irrelevant. If you're doing it right, MFP and TDEE - X% is basically 6 of 1, half dozen of the other.

The only difference between the methods is where you account for exercise...with MFP (NEAT method) you account for exercise after the fact when you log it and get those calories you're supposed to "eat back". With TDEE, you account for some estimate of exercise calories in your activity level...those calorie requisites are already built in.

From there, it's a matter of comparing loss rate goals...when you select 2 Lbs with MFP, most females are going to get 1200 calories (plus exercise). TDEE - 20% is going to be a variable rate of loss depending on what your actual TDEE is...but generally speaking, it is usually closer to 1 Lb per week for most people give or take.

In RE to #2, you should be doing that regardless of methodology...as you lean out you should slow things down to preserve lean mass. Nobody should be trying to lose at the same rate when they have 10 Lbs or whatever left vs when they had 100 Lbs to start with.

WBB55

When I lost my 100 lbs, I was not adding back exercise calories. I tried to eat the same amount every day. It varied what that amount was, depending on how motivated I was to stay in a deficit. At first, I did about 1800 calories. Then about 1400. The only cheat days were holiday dinners.

At the time, with everything else new I had to learn about being healthy, I think having a different calorie goal every day would have just been too confusing. HOWEVER, I do recommend that people eat more protein and lift weights more than I did (since I didn't really do either, and it's been a tough recovery putting back on the muscle and bone density I lost).

SWink06

I watch my calories, keep my total carbs under 100 and my protein at 70 or above.

tacticalhippie

A mix of 1 and 2