Is 1500 cals ok for a dude?

Losingthedamnweight

Just to throwing this out there, I'm a 30 year old dude that's 5'8 weighing in at a hefty 232lbs. I was eating 2000 cals a day and getting my 10,000 steps for awhile and losing weight just fine and then all of a sudden, it stopped producing results. I was doing what I thought was everything right for a couple weeks and my weight would go up and down and all over the place. I would keep losing and gaining the same 2-3 lbs despite my fitbit saying I burned 3000 calories for the day! Ugh

So now 2 weeks later weighing the exact same, I'm considering moving down to 1500 calories and seeing if I have any results that way. What do you think?

Liftng4Lis

Sounds low for your size. Two weeks isn't very long.

257_Lag

I'm curious, were you using your fitbit early on when you were losing?

I added my fitbit about 8 months after I started and came to a screeching halt when I did. It took me a few months to realize that suddenly the fitbit was giving me calories for steps that I had previously not been getting. I disconnected the fitbit from MFP and the loss picked right back up. I still use the fitbit for motivation but I don't take the calories from it anymore.

ajnb88

My goal is around 1700, and I'm often around 1500 total, and I'm 6' 2". Doesn't seem to cause me much harm in terms of energy levels etc.

One thing though, using a fitbit (or anything) can skew your results. I used to subtract calories from workouts etc, but didn't lose anything. Now I've linked accupedo to MFP I see why - because MFP has already budgeted for the calories I thought I was burning.

adawson55510

Sounds very low for your weight in saying that i have done stupid things like 1000kcals for 8 weeks straight and it did work for me but i was tired and moody and could hardly function and is not good long term as it will slow your metaboslim. You should be able to lose weight on 2500kcals if eating consistently everyday and exercising 4-5 times a week as your maintenance is probably more like 3200.

Losingthedamnweight

I'm curious, were you using your fitbit early on when you were losing?

I added my fitbit about 8 months after I started and came to a screeching halt when I did. It took me a few months to realize that suddenly the fitbit was giving me calories for steps that I had previously not been getting. I disconnected the fitbit from MFP and the loss picked right back up. I still use the fitbit for motivation but I don't take the calories from it anymore.

Yep. Been using the fitbit the whole time. I was actually down to 222 just a few months ago and recently gained back the 10 lbs and a big reason I got down to 222 in the first place was cause I always used my fitbit so much. Just seems odd that out of nowhere 2000 calories wouldn't work for me. Out of nowhere I've just been feeling bloated as hell.

And then there's this. I know it's just an estimation, but it says my tdee should be around 3000. So if I ate 2000 for 2 weeks, that's 14000 calories that should've been burned off! I don't get it. Makes no sense to me. My body is working against me. That jerk.


I'm gonna try 1500 calories for awhile and see how it works for me. If that doesn't speed things up I don't know what will!

Ninkyou

2 weeks of not losing weight isn't very long. I'd wait 4-6 weeks and if there's still no change, then you need to reassess. 1500 calories for a man is pretty low. I doubt it's your calorie goal. I think your problem would be more in your calorie burns/fitbit numbers.

Are you weighing your food? If not, this could also be your problem. Accuracy is key when dealing with calories. If you're not weighing your food, you're probably eating more calories than you think.

MityMax96

I'm gonna try 1500 calories for awhile and see how it works for me. If that doesn't speed things up I don't know what will!

marathon, not a sprint....

just sayin

Losingthedamnweight

2 weeks of not losing weight isn't very long. I'd wait 4-6 weeks and if there's still no change, then you need to reassess. 1500 calories for a man is pretty low. I doubt it's your calorie goal. I think your problem would be more in your calorie burns/fitbit numbers.

Are you weighing your food? If not, this could also be your problem. Accuracy is key when dealing with calories. If you're not weighing your food, you're probably eating more calories than you think.

Fitness pal gave me a goal of 1800 cals a day assuming I'm lightly active. And like my above post, the tdee calculators say I should be burning a solid 2900ish cals a day. So if for the past two weeks I'm burning thousands of calories, how could my weight stay the same? The fat would have disappeared wouldn't it? And it's not like I haven't pooped in two weeks, so it can't be that. Maybe my scale just doesn't like me. I should be nice to him and give him some new name brand batteries and see if he will give me a good number.

I haven't been weighing my food because I've been eating a lot of pre packaged food with the calories already labeled.

TheNewPriceIsLoading

Out of nowhere I've just been feeling bloated as hell.

Beer

erickirb

My first question would be do you weigh all of your solid foods with a kitchen scale and measure your liquids?

If not, you are probably eating much more than you think you are making your deficit much smaller than you think it is. I would suggest not changing anything until you go 3-4 weeks with no change, but if you are not weighing food, start that now, it is the only way to really know how much you are eating. Anything lower than 1700 I would consider much too low for a man, esp one your size. If you do lower cals I would not suggest less than 1700

erickirb

I haven't been weighing my food because I've been eating a lot of pre packaged food with the calories already labeled.

Are you eating the full package, many packages contain much more than one serving and the label is per serving so you should also be weighing those foods too

Losingthedamnweight

Well that's interesting. My fitness pal gave me 1910 cals a day to eat up until now, and now I just clicked "update profile" and now it says 1780. Whaaaat? Oh fitness pal. Have you been keeping things from me? I thought we had an open relationship where we could talk about things. Are you trying to keep me fat so I'll never leave you?

This only adds to the confusion. What do you guys think? Should I do the calories mfp recommends (1780) or try 1500 for awhile? You people are smart. I will listen to you!

Ninkyou

2 weeks of not losing weight isn't very long. I'd wait 4-6 weeks and if there's still no change, then you need to reassess. 1500 calories for a man is pretty low. I doubt it's your calorie goal. I think your problem would be more in your calorie burns/fitbit numbers.

Are you weighing your food? If not, this could also be your problem. Accuracy is key when dealing with calories. If you're not weighing your food, you're probably eating more calories than you think.

Fitness pal gave me a goal of 1800 cals a day assuming I'm lightly active. And like my above post, the tdee calculators say I should be burning a solid 2900ish cals a day. So if for the past two weeks I'm burning thousands of calories, how could my weight stay the same? The fat would have disappeared wouldn't it? And it's not like I haven't pooped in two weeks, so it can't be that. Maybe my scale just doesn't like me. I should be nice to him and give him some new name brand batteries and see if he will give me a good number.

I haven't been weighing my food because I've been eating a lot of pre packaged food with the calories already labeled.

This is your problem then. You do know that what is labeled on packaging can be off, right? By up to 20%. If you're not weighing your foods, then your logging is inaccurate, no matter how it's packaged.

As I said, 2 weeks is not a long time. You need to give it more time than that. There could be a whole host of factors coming into play that could keep your weight the same. Especially those packaged foods with high sodium....

Ninkyou

Well that's interesting. My fitness pal gave me 1910 cals a day to eat up until now, and now I just clicked "update profile" and now it says 1780. Whaaaat? Oh fitness pal. Have you been keeping things from me? I thought we had an open relationship where we could talk about things. Are you trying to keep me fat so I'll never leave you?

This only adds to the confusion. What do you guys think? Should I do the calories mfp recommends (1780) or try 1500 for awhile? You people are smart. I will listen to you!

Eat what MFP tells you to, plus whatever your fitbit adjusts to (or at least a portion of it).

erickirb

Well that's interesting. My fitness pal gave me 1910 cals a day to eat up until now, and now I just clicked "update profile" and now it says 1780. Whaaaat? Oh fitness pal. Have you been keeping things from me? I thought we had an open relationship where we could talk about things. Are you trying to keep me fat so I'll never leave you?

This only adds to the confusion. What do you guys think? Should I do the calories mfp recommends (1780) or try 1500 for awhile? You people are smart. I will listen to you!

As you lose weight your BMR goes down meaning it takes less calories to maintain your current weight, so try the 1780 for 3-4 weeks then adjust again at that point

icrushit

I would regard 1500 as too low myself. I have about an inch and a half on you (5' 9.5"), but am 40lbs lighter (193lbs), yet lose weight on about 1900 calories a day, give or take. In fact most weeks I lose 2lbs, or even a little more. I do have a little bit of muscle from resistance training in the past, but am mostly sedentary, with the exception of about 80 mins walking on average a day.

More than calories for me, I found a sustainable eating pattern that left me with no low blood sugar spells, was the way to go. For me, that was ensuring I ate three decent, 500- 600 calorie meals a day, and a few hundred calories left over for snacks. Sometimes I've not felt too hungry, mostly a result of eating a lot more fat, and decent amounts of protein, on a lower carb diet I've been trying out, but I would be very wary about going under 1750 myself. Your mileage may vary, but I would try other things to break your plateau before reducing calories to such a low level.

Losingthedamnweight

2 weeks of not losing weight isn't very long. I'd wait 4-6 weeks and if there's still no change, then you need to reassess. 1500 calories for a man is pretty low. I doubt it's your calorie goal. I think your problem would be more in your calorie burns/fitbit numbers.

Are you weighing your food? If not, this could also be your problem. Accuracy is key when dealing with calories. If you're not weighing your food, you're probably eating more calories than you think.

Fitness pal gave me a goal of 1800 cals a day assuming I'm lightly active. And like my above post, the tdee calculators say I should be burning a solid 2900ish cals a day. So if for the past two weeks I'm burning thousands of calories, how could my weight stay the same? The fat would have disappeared wouldn't it? And it's not like I haven't pooped in two weeks, so it can't be that. Maybe my scale just doesn't like me. I should be nice to him and give him some new name brand batteries and see if he will give me a good number.

I haven't been weighing my food because I've been eating a lot of pre packaged food with the calories already labeled.

This is your problem then. You do know that what is labeled on packaging can be off, right? By up to 20%. If you're not weighing your foods, then your logging is inaccurate, no matter how it's packaged.

As I said, 2 weeks is not a long time. You need to give it more time than that. There could be a whole host of factors coming into play that could keep your weight the same. Especially those packaged foods with high sodium....

Oh wow. I feel a little naive for not knowing, but I had no idea pre packaged foods could be off by so much. I just figured some food association or whatever probably routinely measured their food to make sure the calories they state are accurate. Ever since I read your post, I've been googling and found this: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/12/health/12calo.html?_r=0

Ugh. It feels like the world is dead set on keeping all of us fat sometimes. I'm gonna stick to mfp calories and start weighing things more. Adding more exercise too.

Losingthedamnweight

I would regard 1500 as too low myself. I have about an inch and a half on you (5' 9.5"), but am 40lbs lighter (193lbs), yet lose weight on about 1900 calories a day, give or take. In fact most weeks I lose 2lbs, or even a little more. I do have a little bit of muscle from resistance training in the past, but am mostly sedentary, with the exception of about 80 mins walking on average a day.

More than calories for me, I found a sustainable eating pattern that left me with no low blood sugar spells, was the way to go. For me, that was ensuring I ate three decent, 500- 600 calorie meals a day, and a few hundred calories left over for snacks. Sometimes I've not felt too hungry, mostly a result of eating a lot more fat, and decent amounts of protein, on a lower carb diet I've been trying out, but I would be very wary about going under 1750 myself. Your mileage may vary, but I would try other things to break your plateau before reducing calories to such a low level.

This post really hit home for me. I've been stressing so much over losing this damn weight that even 1900 sounded like a lot to me and the second I don't see the results I want, I get upset. I yell at the scale and spend the entire day trying to figure out what I did wrong and I'm a little afraid if I keep going like this, before I know it I'll be starving myself to lose the weight and hating myself for it.

Has your loss been consistent doing what you're doing?

Ninkyou

2 weeks of not losing weight isn't very long. I'd wait 4-6 weeks and if there's still no change, then you need to reassess. 1500 calories for a man is pretty low. I doubt it's your calorie goal. I think your problem would be more in your calorie burns/fitbit numbers.

Are you weighing your food? If not, this could also be your problem. Accuracy is key when dealing with calories. If you're not weighing your food, you're probably eating more calories than you think.

Fitness pal gave me a goal of 1800 cals a day assuming I'm lightly active. And like my above post, the tdee calculators say I should be burning a solid 2900ish cals a day. So if for the past two weeks I'm burning thousands of calories, how could my weight stay the same? The fat would have disappeared wouldn't it? And it's not like I haven't pooped in two weeks, so it can't be that. Maybe my scale just doesn't like me. I should be nice to him and give him some new name brand batteries and see if he will give me a good number.

I haven't been weighing my food because I've been eating a lot of pre packaged food with the calories already labeled.

This is your problem then. You do know that what is labeled on packaging can be off, right? By up to 20%. If you're not weighing your foods, then your logging is inaccurate, no matter how it's packaged.

As I said, 2 weeks is not a long time. You need to give it more time than that. There could be a whole host of factors coming into play that could keep your weight the same. Especially those packaged foods with high sodium....

Oh wow. I feel a little naive for not knowing, but I had no idea pre packaged foods could be off by so much. I just figured some food association or whatever probably routinely measured their food to make sure the calories they state are accurate. Ever since I read your post, I've been googling and found this: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/12/health/12calo.html?_r=0

Ugh. It feels like the world is dead set on keeping all of us fat sometimes. I'm gonna stick to mfp calories and start weighing things more. Adding more exercise too.

I agree, it's really quite frustrating. For example, I usually buy the Perdue Perfect Portions Chicken Breast, that are packaged individually, and I've had chicken breasts from there range from 110g all the way up to 165g, when a serving size is 136g. Thankfully chicken is something that is low calorie and high protein, but it can really mess up your calorie counts!

Even if something is individually packaged, it is by no means accurate to it's label. :indifferent: