Revaluating calorie needs after weight loss

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Zapped23
Zapped23 Posts: 1
in Getting Started
Hey guys! I am at 179 pounds now down from 250 pounds from 5-6 months ago. I started eating 2000 calories a day when I was still 250 pounds, slowly going down during the months to 1900 calories a day, then to 1800 calories, and now finally 1700 calories.

Weight loss is still going strong, but starting to slow down slightly. I was thinking about starting to eat 1600 calories a day but I'm not so sure. I think 1600 calories may be cutting it way too low, considering that even at my lowest optimal weight my maintenance calories would be around 1700 to 1800 calories.

I am 5'3 so my optimal weight would be from 120-140 pounds, at least that is what most of the tools say. I certainly have plenty of more weight to lose on my body.

What do you guys think? I would love some feedback.

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  • futuremanda
    futuremanda Posts: 816 Member
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    I think 1600 would be fine, if not every day, at least for some days. That'd be maybe a 580 cal per day deficit, assuming a sedentary lifestyle and no exercise. That'd take about 6 days to lose 1 lb (taking only math into account, from a BMR calc I pulled up).

    I'm not sure how you're exercising or whether you've been eating any of those calories back. You may not want to cut to 1600 if you're burning off like 500 on top of that. You'll also want to make sure you're able to meet any other nutritional goals, of course, especially if you're working out. If you need an extra snack to hit your protein goals, take it.

    You may want to pay more attention to Net Calories than calories eaten, because that'll give you a better picture.

    The closer you get to goal weight, in general, the slower your weight loss will go. You may want to evaluate your fitness goals, or start focusing more on results via fitness (rather than # on the scale) as you approach your goal. Muscle weighs more and takes up less physical space (in general) than fat does, so you might end up losing inches and not lbs.

    Finally, the tools telling you your ultimate weight goal may not be right, depending on your fitness goals. If they're based on BMI (and most are) then they don't account well for people who've built up a fair amount of strength. They also won't help you account for any loose skin (if you end up with any). You might want to come up with a goal... clothing size, say, as well, so that as you approach your goal, you can compare and make your own judgement.

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