80 pounds down in 120 days?

kk_140

I see posts like this in the success stories forum all the time. How does that even work? Is it because these people have a lot of weight to lose? Or they exercise a lot? I am just curious. When I got to 120 days on mfp I had lost 26 pounds and feel pretty fabulous sitting at around 135lbs.

I just see these and think "wow, I've been eating 1,200 calories a day and lost 26 pounds. What were those people doing?" Lol.

So what is the science between more weight to lose=lose weight faster?

DISCLAIMER: before this gets out of hand, I'm not saying "oh you are morbidly obese, the weight will just melt off without effort" I'm just curious about the science behind it. Please understand I just am curious and mean no offense in any way.

BigT555

its mostly because they have alot to lose, i lost around 50 in my first 120 days (started out at 275, 35-40% bf)

as for the science, its because they are able to have a greater deficit while still eating a safe amount of food

StaciMarie1974

Impossible, maybe not. But that doesn't mean its a realistic goal.

There are some who go to the extreme. At one point my husband lost 50 pounds in about 3 months. (He reached his goal.) But in my opinion he cut his calories more intense than he should, and at the time he had enough free time (and determination) to workout for 3-4 hours per day. Granted easily 5+ of it was 'water weight'. And when his free time changed, and he started working a job that was very stressful/unpleasant environment - he had not learned any tools to help. So he stopped exercising, went back to old/bad eating habits (huge amounts in a single sitting, lots of grease, etc.) and not suprisingly, he put the weight back on plus a few more. He has been working at a more moderate approach, and is down 25-30 in the past 4 months but is stalling a bit. Having a hard time finding motivation to get moving again.

StaciMarie1974

Ps-Not so much science as math.

Someone with a lot to lose also has a much higher BMR, can burn more without doing a major amount of intense cardio.

Compare a 5' 6" 25 year old female, 250 pounds vs 150 pounds.

250: BMR x 1.2 (for sedentary to light activity) is 2322.
30 minutes of low impact aerobics 4x a week is 345 each.
So 2322x7 + 345x4 = 17634
-7000 to lose 2 pounds, works out to 1520 calories per day.

150: BMR x 1.2 (for sedentary to light activity) is 1800.
30 minutes of low impact aerobics 4x a week + 30 minutes of high impact aerobics a week = 445 (for the entire hour)
1800 x 7 + 445 x 4 = 14380
-5250 to lose 1.5 pounds, works out to 1304 calories per day.

So the bigger person burns more. The smaller person needs to work harder (and/or longer) to burn more. And the smaller needs to aim for a smaller deficit in order to have a decent calorie intake range. Even so - by this scenario the 150 really shouldn't have more than a 3500 deficit per week. That would add 250 calories per day.

(Keep in mind that all else being equal, the 150 pound example probably has fewer joint/back/etc. issues and can do more physically. This is why I used low impact aerobics as a cardio example for the 250 pound person. As time progressed and the 250 pound person lost weight, improved fitness levels - she would need to turn up the intensity to keep getting the same burn and/or readjust goals. Such as after losing 30-40 pounds, aiming for only 1.5 pounds per week.)

StaciMarie1974

Back to the topic of my husband and I myself. When he really sets his mind to it, he can lose big and in a short amount of time. Partially because he had more to lose (pounds total and %) than me, and because men often have a higher muscle mass %.

I started Christmas, he started at the end of January. By sometime in March he passed me in the pounds lost department, even though I had a head start. But he struggles with consistency and I do well there. I'm still at it, and doing well in the life changes I've made. He has stalled for the past few weeks. Not really gaining, but not doing anything to get back 'on track'. And as the story of the tortoise & the hare goes, I'm pulling ahead...