Calling all 100 poundish losers...
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I've lost 106lb (then put 15 back on, took 10 back off, put 10 back on, and taking it back off again now :-) and I still have about 40lb left to lose. I acutally starting on Weight Watchers and then switched over to MFP. I use the MFP goal and make adjustments as needed. For instance, I start with what it gives me and if I find that I am not losing, I may only eat back half of my exercise calories. Or, if I am losing but I find that I am hungry all the time, I may adjust my caloire goal for a slower weight loss and go from there. The best general advice I can give you:
-Know your activity level. If you are using MFP, it is set up for you to select a level of general activity and then add exercise calories back on top of it. Do not lie to yourself about this. If you aren't at least standing and walking around most of the day, you are sedentary and you should select that, not lightly active.
- Be patient. It takes time to lose this much weight. It also takes time for your body to adjust to what you are doing and show you results one way or the other. So whatever calorie goal you set, make sure you stick with it for several weeks to see if you will gain, lose, or stay the same. Then adjust accordingly and give it a few more weeks.
- Be realistic. Pick a goal that gives you enough calories to work with. Make food and exercise choices that you can live with. Don't do anything to take the weight off that you aren't willing to keep doing for the rest of your life to keep it off.
- Be honest with yourself. If you aren't losing weight (which happens to almost everyone at some point or another), it is most likely that you aren't running the calorie deficit that you think you are. Evaluate what you are doing and determine if you are underestimating intake, overestimating output, aren't measuring food accurately, etc. Be truthful with yourself about your choices so that you can figure out where you are going wrong and fix it.
- Keep moving. Pick things that you like to do so that you will want to do them. On days when you don't feel up to much, at least go for a walk. Be aware that MFP sometimes overestimates calorie burn, so you may need to adjust how many of them you eat back. I suggest starting at about 75% and adjusting from there.
- Make lifestyle changes gradually. Pick one thing at a time and stick with it for a few weeks until it becomes habit before you start trying to change something else. I suggest starting with tracking everything you eat for a few weeks without worrying about calories limits or what you are eating. After a few weeks you will both have a habit of tracking your food and a better picture of what you are doing right now. Then you can start trying to make small changes to get you down to your calorie goal. After that, you can start working on other goals -- adding exercise, making healthier food choices, etc.
I hope this helps and good luck!0 -
Aiming to lose 98lb, and am halfway there. Started at 238lb, 5'% and 37 years old (38 now, my height's still the same! :laugh: ) I'm losing (still) about 1.5lb a week on 1600 kcals net of exercise. I've got more active as I've slimmed down, and am currently eating just under 1900kcals a day.
I agreed, 1200kcals is low. Use on of the calculators other posters have linked to - calculate your BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate) and TDEE, eat between the two. It's much more sustainable than very low calories.
Good luck!0 -
I have over a hundred to go too. I'm 4ft 10.2 !! Currently 251 lbs.
My allowance is set to lost 1.5 lbs weekly, and I'm on 1490 cals daily. This seems good for me, I can still have treats so I don't feel deprived.
Feel free to friend, We're all here for support and motivation
xx 0 -
What about 200 poundish losers?:happy:0
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I didn't even track my food until I had already lost over 80 pounds. I just cut my portions and started exercising at least 3 times a week. I also stuck to only drinking water and had my coffee in the morning. That was a big deal for this southern girl who loves her sweet tea
You body needs fuel. Make sure you are not putting your body into starvation mode. We want to be burning fat not muscle. Right?
You should be safe to go by what MFP sets you at to lose 2 pounds per week. (I'm sure that would still be above 1200)
Best of luck to you!! You can do it 0 -
One of the things I did when I started was a little different. I got on the calorie calculators and found what the maintenence calories were for me when I get at the weight I wanted to get to. By definition, that's the number of calories that if I ate every day (assuming I was average for my age, sex, and height) my weight would go to. If I was below that weight and I ate that many calories, I would go up to that weight, if I was above, I would go down. Again, assuming you are average, you NEVER have to go below that amount of calories and you will get to the weight you want, fast if there is a big gap between where you are now and where you want to be, and really really slow if you're close. This helped me a lot when I was deciding how many calories I wanted to eat in my plan. It was a nice data point and I try not too eat too much lower than that number, so if MFP decided it should be much less, I knew that I needed to choose less weight loss per week..0
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I have lost 100lbs (on a good day!) and can categorically state that I will NEVER eat as low as 1200 calories a day. As I lose my daily calorie allowance drops in line with the calories my lighter body will expend, but I will alter my loss rate goal so that I can still live life comfortably and not come off the rails as I would if I was always hungry.0
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What about 200 poundish losers?:happy:
LOL--Yes 200 poundish losers, too!
It's so helpful and encouraging to get advice from people in the same boat as you... Thanks again for all the responses. Best of luck to you all!0 -
Basically I started "watching what I was eating" which entailed decreasing sweets, sodas and "white carbs" (white bread, white rice, potatos and pasta). I eventually gave up all sodas because whether they are diet or regular, I don't see any benefit in them at all. I also gave up all caffienated beverages. I began walking. Nothing too ambitious mind you, considering i started at around 450 lbs. Back then walking 1 mile was a pretty big deal. After my weight loss slowed down (approximately 1 year and 100 lbs lost) I joined a local gym and attended 2 days a week, then 3 days and now I'm "normally" attending 5 days a week. I lift weight M-W-F & do cardio on T-TH). There have been a few minor set backs along the way (broken foot, tendonitis in the left arm & a couple of pinched nerves), but I'm actually going for a skin removal consultation on Monday due to the excess amount of loose skin that's left over from the large amount of weight lost. Even though it was lost at a relatively slow pace, there is quite a bit of skin. Gastric surgery was not an option for me and since I have a loving wife and 3 young sons, dying at an early age wasn't the legacy and example I wanted to leave behind for them. Slow (sometimes it seemed excrutiatingly so!) and steady does win the race with your weight loss journey. Don't buy into gimmics and fads, just work hard and eat smart. Oh yeah, set short term goals that are attainable and have an ideal long term goal. I say "ideal" because it may change when you get closer to it. I wish you the best of luck!0
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Congrats to all the losers on here! 190 seems unimaginable, but right now 10 pounds sounds great... LOL The fortitude and consistency it take to get those big numbers are highly admirable! Hats off, to you all in successes big and small!0
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I have almost 170lbs to lose. Fill up on fresh whole foods, if it's not enough eat more. Invest in a digital scale that does both oz, and grams, and allows you to set to zero to account for containers, etc. You can make it on 1200 calories, but it will take discipline. Don't beat yourself up if you go over. Like any huge life changes you will need to adjust to this change too.0
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Also, I learned that when I exercise I get to eat more. lol0
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I lost 100 lbs in 2006-2008, and kept it off for a few years (until I started putting on muscle from training).
1200 is fine if you don't get angry, cranky, or make everyone else's life miserable, and manage to get all of the vitamins, vegetables, carbs, protein, fats, minerals, fiber, etc. that you need over the long term to not experience health effects later on.
Years later, I'm still battling the bone and muscle loss. Do yourself a favor, lose slowly, eat more than 1200. Lift weights, walk every day, take a multivitamin.0 -
yes, keep it at that but when you exercise, and yes get started on that immediately, eat those exercise calories back. I started at 234 and 1200 but I rarely ate that because I walked or swam so I was able to earn more calories that way. I wouldn't worry too much about tdee right now. just stick with the 1200 and earn your extra calories so you can eat more than that. good luck.. you can do itI have a long way to go in my weight loss.. I'm currently 251 lbs, 5'3" and 47 years old.. I'm wanting to get off to a good start so in the "Guided" setting I put 2 pounds per week and it gave me 1200 calories. Looking to see what all you have done that have lost a lot of weight.. Should I keep it at 1200 calories? what did you do?
Thanks,
Kim Garman0
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