1000 calorie deficit NOT for people with healthy BMI

sr2000

Banks, since you seem to be very skilled at this weight loss thing I want your advice. I am 5ft 8 inches and weigh 147. My bmi is 23. According to all the charts I am in my ideal weight range for the normal but I don't want to weigh this much. I have always weighed 125-130 eating whatever I wanted and since I turned 35 three years ago I have seen it disappear slowly. I have tried dieting 1000 calories and felt faint. I am also working out at curves at least three days a week burning at least 625 a time. STILL NO WEIGHT LOSS. I have lost a few inches here and there (no pounds) but I get discouraged for a week or two and go back to ice cream and cookies and find the inches and a few pounds. I log on and see all the huge amounts of pounds these people drop and I can't even drop a few. I am taking the sites advice and doing their goals for myself instead of lower calories of my own. I just started that today. It just seems like alot of calories for me to eat. My base calories are 1200 and if I exercise (sometimes I walk and curves) I get 800 more calories. How can I possibly drop pounds eating that much? I just don't understand this whole diet thing... I always thought you starve and exercise and you drop pounds no matter what you weigh but that is not working or me. Is it possible for me to drop pounds if I am in my ideal range or is there something else I need to try to drop these impossible pounds.....? Thanks for you help!

I know every body is different and even women of the same height will carry weight very differently. Yet I still compare myself to other women of our height, 5'8". I haven't weighed under 140 since 8th grade when I had a major eating disorder, my point is that it's not good to obsess about that number on the scale, because it can lead us to dangerous, unhealthy crash diets and overexercise. (speaking from personal exeperience only) From what you have said you are a fit, healthy person who has LOST INCHES, so you are slimmer and looking thin, which is what most of us women want anyway, right?
You're body may just be at it's ideal weight, even if that's not your mind's ideal weight (number). Since you do already have a healthy BMI, try focusing less on the number that's on the scale and appreciate the healthy body that you do have, feel great in your clothes that are fitting nicely as you lose the inches, and probably body fat as well.

Mags

a suggestion for building up protein in muscles: get a Special Alkaline Formula Protein and Calcium Supplement with Casein - its extremely low in fat and with casein your muscle tone should increase in strength 50% + than with a whey for example alternative. An ounce (28g) of the supplement with a 10 os glass of milk, gives over 30g protein and 700 mg of calcium, effectively providing half the daily requirement for protein and calcium, with the other benefits outlined above. Its especially important for women, osteoperosis in later life, etc. It will massily improve your muscle tone if you exercise moderatelu a few times a week if your new to exercise - it does work. Mags:drinker:

Mags

oh and buy some jelly and dissolve in hot water and then transfer to fridge for sugar cravings after exercise if your not used to it - only cals for a pint in volume of jelly, will do you days just leave in fridge:smooched:

sr2000

Body fat % and weight loss
http://www.healthchecksystems.com/bodyfat.htm
This site explains body fat percentages a little bit. Women naturally carry more fat than men. 'About' 15-28% is healthy and "normal" for women. (Over 32% is considered obese)

banks1850

Body fat % and weight loss
http://www.healthchecksystems.com/bodyfat.htm
This site explains body fat percentages a little bit. Women naturally carry more fat than men. About 15-28% is healthy and acceptable for women. (Over 32% is considered obese)

I was sooo close. My trainer said 25% but I imagine that's cuz she is a trainer. :happy:

pmkelly409

BUMP

littlespoon

Thanks Banks for a great post! :flowerforyou:
Maybe everyone needs to learn "IMHO.":drinker:

Ummm....wasnt that what I was doing also?

edyta

just a bump

yellow_pepper

a suggestion for building up protein in muscles: get a Special Alkaline Formula Protein and Calcium Supplement with Casein - its extremely low in fat and with casein your muscle tone should increase in strength 50% + than with a whey for example alternative. An ounce (28g) of the supplement with a 10 os glass of milk, gives over 30g protein and 700 mg of calcium, effectively providing half the daily requirement for protein and calcium, with the other benefits outlined above.

1. Your body can only absorb about 500mg of calcium at a time. So the other 200 mg are useless.

2. In his new book, "In Defense of Food," Michael Pollan speculates that a good part of why we're getting overweight and obese is because we're not really eating food, as our great grandparents would have recognized it, but rather nutrients repackaged in dense blocks of calories, fat, etc.

Rather than taking in MORE nutrients (and calories) via some commercialized substance, we should probably go back to basics. A glass of skim milk with 8-9 grams of protein has 80 fewer calories than a casein-infused glass with 30 grams. And any drink, protein-rich or not, probably doesn't make your brain register the fullness that a less caloric bowl of spinach would. (It's fiber that makes us full!)

maestrachistosa

bump!

beep

THANKSSSSSS

edyta

bump :flowerforyou:

I was thinking about these blogs we now have.
Maybe somebody could copy links to interesting post and that we'll just bump one post for newbies directing to that blog.
What do you think?

edyta

time to bump, i guess

REB89

bump

banks1850

bump

songbyrdsweet

Banks,

What if you don't have a healthy BMI? What if your BMI is in the obese range? I'm assuming that you can afford a greater calorie deficit than 1000, but is there any research on what is actually safe?

I ask because my BMI is still in the "obese" range. (I can't tell you how much it hurt to say that). Up until the last two weeks I' ve been losing weight steadily eating approximately 1500 to 1600 calories a day and doing at least one hour of exercise daily. Over the last two weeks, for various reasons, I've increased my calorie intake to 1700 to 1800 and I've gained 1 pound. All weight loss seems to have stopped dead cold.

I usually burn at least 500-800 calories in exercise daily. I've set MFP for a 2lb a week loss and I usually end up with about 300 or so calories left over for the day. Now, I only estimate portion sizes but I'm pretty honest and I recognize that the calories burned are probably inflated since machines are notoriosly inaccurate.

That said, I'm a little frustrated and trying to find out if the problem is too few calories or too many.

Actually, there is research on that. I'd have to do some digging to find the article by Lyle McDonald, but he's written a lot of them about a lot of stuff, and one of my favorite is on the acceptable caloric deficit based on body fat %. The general consensus is that one lb of fat will supply 31cal of energy per day. So, if you have 10 lbs of body fat, it can supply 310 cals a day, meaning that doesn't have to come from your muscle. If you have 30 lbs of body fat, it can supply 930 cals of energy per day. I'll use my measurements as an example.

I weigh around 132 normally, and my BF is about 20%. 132*.20=26.4. I have 26.4 lbs of body fat, so I can support of a deficit of 818 cals per day, maximum. That's not 2lbs per week, but it's still a large deficit. However, when you pair that against what I burn in a day (~2400 cals), I still have to eat at least 1600 calories a day (2400-800=1600).

If I were to eat in a 1000 calorie deficit, 200cal a day would have to come from somewhere else--muscle mass. At the end of the week I'd be losing about 1.5 lbs of fat and 1/2 lb of muscle, which is really awful progress actually. After dropping just 6lbs of fat, I'd be down almost half a year's worth of muscle built! (Yes, it does take that long to build a couple pounds of muscle as a trained, natural female hehe....none of this 'bulking up and looking like a man' nonsense.)

beep

beep

for bunny

fatsis

I have seen so many people with "10 pounds to lose" with a 1000 calorie deficit. It drives me a little nuts. You guys know who you are. You realize that, unless you are a 280 lb 6 foot 8 inch giant, that's not the right place to be, right?

If you are at a healthy BMI, chosing a 1000 calorie deficit is going to cause you to burn muscle, which slows down your metabolism, which makes it harder to burn energy, which makes gaining fat easier...vicious cycle. To a lesser degree, this goes for people ranging up the BMI scale, the higher your BMI, the higher your calorie deficit can be safely (there are limits of course).

If you have 10 pounds to lose (just a metaphor, I actually mean A healthy BMI somewhere between 21 and 25) you should be concentrating on a small deficit (say 250 calories a day or so) and using a combination of cardio and weight training to increase muscle tone and density (not size necessarilly).
Increased muscle mass will increase your metabolism as muscle burns energy, pound for pound, at a much higher rate than fat EVEN WHEN YOU AREN'T WORKING IT OUT. As a side benefit, muscle looks smooth and tone, not bumpy and "cottage cheesey".

Also, when you are at a healthy BMI it takes (as it SHOULD) a long time to lose significant weight. Expect 10 pounds to take you 3 to 9 months to lose if you stick with it.

SIDE NOTE: I'm not a doctor, nor am I a registered dietician, I'm just someone who's been through it, researched it, and lived it. You may not like this post, but you can't deny the logic. Obviously what I post is my opinion, so chose to believe it or not, I can't force you too, but I know this, it works!

Hey Banks.

I have been at MFP now for 3 weeks and I have lost already but it is because I am eating for one person now and getting exercise that I was not at all b4. I am realistic and I know as I continue I
will need to be more careful with carbs, fats, and other details that I might not realize, but right now I am targeting calories only. How important is BMI for me to track.

This might be important. I am running 1 Mile (6mph) 5 days a week and weightlifting twice a week and I trying to work slowly adding a 1/2 mile on every so often and adding more weighlifting by summer.

Thanks

jaxkipi

You're right Banks. Great advice. I agree. :flowerforyou:

banks1850

it's a general guideline, something to be generally aware of and a tool to use to help you assess your overall health. It really depends on if you think you can be honest about your body. If you think you are to harsh in your critisism of your body, then you should rely more on tools and less on your perception. I.E. tape measurements, body fat percentages, BMI, heart rate, and of course the scale.
The idea is to get where you need to be without going to extremes. Expect things to not go as smoothly as the math says they should. Expect that you WILL become healthier, but that doesn't mean you will lose the weight you think you should (although in most cases that is also the reality). Expect to have weeks that you feel like you haven't budged an inch. It's all part of the process. But after everything is said and done, if you do it slowly, it will be SOOO much easier to maintain and be happy with your new body!

fatsis

it's a general guideline, something to be generally aware of and a tool to use to help you assess your overall health. It really depends on if you think you can be honest about your body. If you think you are to harsh in your critisism of your body, then you should rely more on tools and less on your perception. I.E. tape measurements, body fat percentages, BMI, heart rate, and of course the scale.
The idea is to get where you need to be without going to extremes. Expect things to not go as smoothly as the math says they should. Expect that you WILL become healthier, but that doesn't mean you will lose the weight you think you should (although in most cases that is also the reality). Expect to have weeks that you feel like you haven't budged an inch. It's all part of the process. But after everything is said and done, if you do it slowly, it will be SOOO much easier to maintain and be happy with your new body!

Well said and thanks.

beep

Bump

banks1850

yet another bump

banks1850

bump

banks1850

boop

banks1850

wanted to give this a quick bump

shorerider

I wish there were certain posts that people have to read before they can sign up for MFP!

Or some sort of disclaimer that people need to read first.

One site that I tried out before finding MFP made you enter in your health issues and when I plugged in diabetic, a warning popped up that that site's recommendations and suggested menus were not to be used for diabetics. It still let me sign up but I had to agree to the understanding that their guidelines weren't intended for people in my medical condition.

edyta

bump

AJCM

BUMP!!!!


Another Monday with 0lbs lost,:grumble: and I needed to re-read this... 23 BMI, so Banks (and all of you) has inspired me to just keep truckin along...