calorie limit for a 445 lb man for weight loss

jardane1

I am getting so confused on what is the right number of calories i should be eating right now to lose around 2 lb a week. I get the feeling like the calculations that work for smaller people don't scale correctly when applied to much larger people. Here are my stats i am 28 years old, i am 6'4 with a large frame and i am currently at 445 lb. I tend to get somewhere around a half hour of walking in a day at work and i am trying to bike ride 1-3 times a week.

According to the BMR calculator provided by my fitness pal my BMR is 3,085, so is that something i should never go under or do i need to go under that to lose weight?

Some of the calorie limits these calculations give me seem so high that i feel like if i eat as much as they said i should i would be eating more then before i started trying to lose weight. My current limit is 3000 a day and that has not really given me many results and i wonder if that is so high i am not losing anything or so low my body is in starvation mode.

Do i add the calories burned from a collective 30 minutes of walking around work aka if i burn 300 calories from waking during my work day do i need to eat 300 more calories?

I am all kinds of confused!

_Zardoz_

For someone of your size eating under BMR is not an issue. Just type your numbers into MFP then eat back your exercise calories on top of that figure thats the easiest way to start IMO

Have a look at the link that will help

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1175494-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants?hl=guide+to+sexypants&page=1#posts-18361594

kr1stadee

Hi!

BMR = the lowest amount you should be eating to sustain proper bodily function.
TDEE = Maintenance level

At this point in your weight loss journey, I wouldn't be too consumed with eating under BMR.

Did you set your activity level to account for walking around at work? If you put yourself as Lightly Active, than no, don't eat the calories burned (although personally, if I was doing something before MFP and didn't lose weight while doing it, I wouldn't consider it exercise, just activity).

If you go for an extra walk, with the intention that it is exercise, then by all means, log it and eat the exercise calories back. MFP tends to inflate estimates so my personal opinion is to eat half back. (Burned 300, eat 150).

Be sure you are weighing and measuring everything. Everything.
Weigh consistently - so if you get on the scale first thing in the morning, sans clothes, do that each time you weigh in.

Starvation mode is mostly a myth, for us in this day and age anyway.
What do you define as "not really given me many results"? How much in how long?

You'll get there, just keep the faith!!

WBB55

Congratulations on taking charge of your health and habits!

Look at the link above. Read it. Read it again.

But for you right now, I think the key isn't an exact number. The key is consistancy. Pick a number somewhere between 2500-3000. And just stick to that. Don't eat more if you exercise (unless you feel weak and really hungry afterwards, then have a banana or something small). And just build a habit of tracking your food as accurately as you can and walking as much as you can. Do that for a couple months. Try not to stress about anything else you read and hear. Just for now, make it simple. Lay down some good habits.

Don't stress or make it too complicated right now, ok?

jardane1

According to the app on my phone i walk roughly 30 minutes a day in short spurts and that is roughly 250 calories burned if i did calculate it in.

I seem to keep yo yoing between losing two pounds and gaining two pounds for two or three weeks now.

parkscs

Just my $0.02 but anyone who tells you that you can't eat under your BMR doesn't know what they're talking about. You don't need to be cutting on 3000 calories unless that's the only way you can eat enough food to stay satiated and stick with your diet (which it's almost certainly not, particularly if you eat more satiating foods). I might try 2500 calories for a bit and personally I wouldn't log walking calories unless we're talking about a 2+ hour hike. If you told me you were 12% body fat, I would say that you need to be much more judicious about not eating too little and running too aggressive of a deficit. But when you're carrying around a lot of body fat, you can run a more aggressive caloric deficit without any real negative consequences (2 lbs/week is probably the minimum I'd aim for you in your shoes).

jardane1

I have been tracking my calorie intake reliably for a couple of months and it's second nature at this point. I feel like i do need to know what i should be aiming for when it comes to calorie intake and this lack of knowledge is holding me back.

WBB55

I have been tracking my calorie intake reliably for a couple of months and it's second nature at this point. I feel like i do need to know what i should be aiming for when it comes to calorie intake and this lack of knowledge is holding me back.

(1) open up your diary, if you want more targeted advice
(2) If you've been reliably eating 3000 calories for a couple months, I'd drop to 2500 total. The lowest you'd want to go is about 2000 total, in my opinion.

martinel2099

All I would worry about right now Jard is making sure you record everything and set your weight loss goal to no more than 2 lbs per week on fitness pal. Watch this trend over a 4-6 week period (i know this is a while) and if you have a downward trend in weight then you are eating at a calorie deficit and losing weight (good), if you're not I'd take myfitness pal's calorie goal and lower it a tad, maybe 10%.

parkscs

I have been tracking my calorie intake reliably for a couple of months and it's second nature at this point. I feel like i do need to know what i should be aiming for when it comes to calorie intake and this lack of knowledge is holding me back.

Part of it is self experimentation. If you aren't losing at X calories, drop your calories and reassess. Oftentimes you want to make changes in fairly small amounts, e.g., if you were at 2000 calories, you might try going to 1750 for a bit. But at 3500 or so calories (just a guess as to what you're eating), you can definitely afford to make a pretty sizable adjustment to your calories.

At your weight you can be putting up big numbers in terms of losses every week - and if you're not losing at the moment, I'd definitely drop your calories down. I'm not saying aim for 1500 calories or something extreme like that, but you can afford to be much more aggressive with your deficit. Right now it sounds like you're probably eating something like 3500 calories a day with a 3000 target plus exercise - why not try dropping that to 2500 gross and see if the weight doesn't start falling off?

TavistockToad

i would start with 2500 cals, and dont bother eating back calories from walking at work... thats just part of your normal routine by the sounds of it.

jardane1

I have been all over the board, i was at 2500 for a while and i was told i needed more so i then went to a recommended 3250 and that made me gain 2 lb in a week so i feel like i need to go back down.

I guess i am in fear of "starvation mode" and everything i have read says "never go below BMR ever!" and my BMR is roughly 3000.

I have to actively eat more then i would normally to meet the 3200 and that feels wrong. There is just so much conflicting information and i feel like most of the calculations people use is not scaleable to the 400 lb range.

kessler4130

At your stats, your base metabolic rate, without factoring exercise, walking, etc. is right around 3000. If you eat 3000 calories a day and do nothing you will maintain, to cut 2lbs a week you will need a 7000 calorie deficit through exercise and/or daily caloric deficit. I would cut down to 2500 calories a day, 225 grams of it being protein, and be sure to do 300 calories a day of cardio. That should put you at about 1.75 lbs a week./

tamelakaye79

My advice to is to start on the higher end of your BMR estimates and tweak from there- and remember to evaluate and adjust as you lose weight! If you do not lose for 2 weeks then it needs adjusting. Be consistent (something I struggle with) and good luck! I look forward to hearing your progress reports!

WBB55

I guess i am in fear of "starvation mode" and everything i have read says "never go below BMR ever!" and my BMR is roughly 3000.

The "never go below BMR" does not apply to someone your size. That advice only applies to people under a BMI of 55 or so.

mrsmitchell0510

BMR = the lowest amount you should be eating to sustain proper bodily function.
TDEE = Maintenance level

You should know your TDEE and BMR and then go from there! Your TDEE is how many calories you need to maintain your current weight. For fat loss, cut that number (your TDEE) by 20% and you'll have a good idea of the calories you should be getting per day.
There are several places you can go to calculate your TDEE and BMR.
http://iifym.com/iifym-calculator/ (I've seen some people say this one tends to be a bit high.)
http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/ (A lot of people really like this one.)

Knowing your TDEE and BMR will help you have a better idea of where to start. Once you hit a plateau or your weight loss stalls, recalculate and you'll get a new base to work from.
The important thing to remember is that every person's body works differently and you have to find what will work for you. It does take some trial and error, but you'll find what works for you!
Good luck!

AJL_Daddy

Major congrats on taking this step, my friend.

My recommendation is to forget TDEE, forget BMR, forget trying to out think MFP.

Simply input your info and goals to get your net calorie daily goal. Also, log all your exercise and eat maybe 1/2 those. That way you have an allotment saved for a rainy day.

Just by doing this, and not trying to out think MFP, will result in great success for you.

You got this. Again, congrats!

elliej

I guess i am in fear of "starvation mode" and everything i have read says "never go below BMR ever!" and my BMR is roughly 3000.

'Starvation mode' is largely a myth, don't worry about that.

'Never eat lower than your BMR' not applicable over a certain BMI - I thought over 50 but see below someone put over 55

Eat 2500 for 3 months, logging completely accurately (weighing and measuring) and don't log/eat back exercise cals unless you are sweating your butt off

parkscs

Stop worrying about your BMR. Honestly the only reason you should calculate BMR is to help estimate TDEE - whether you eat at, below or above BMR is almost always not the question you should be asking. If you're really concerned with pushing the limits of an aggressive caloric deficit, what you would want to look at is how much fat you're carrying around on your body - not your BMR. I would honestly forget about BMR at this point, forget about nonsense like starvation mode, and drop your calories down. You'll be fine.

If you want something to focus your attention on, make sure you're getting adequate protein and look into weight lifting. Odds are you'll make great gains even while dropping pounds, you'll feel better and you'll retain more lean mass while losing weight.

jardane1

I guess 80% of the weight loss information available is not meant for large people and i wish i knew that when i started...

WBB55

I guess 80% of the weight loss information available is not meant for large people and i wish i knew that when i started...

Have you talked to your doctor? What calorie amount did your doctor recommend when you told him/her you were starting a new diet?