Are the rules different for obese people regarding calories,

SolidGoaled

I have about 80 lbs to lose - 100 if I want to get into the lower end of my "normal" weight.

What rules might be different for the folks that have so much to lose? Can we shoot for more than 2 lbs per week? Can we create larger defecits without risking "starvation" mode? Should we avoid "cheat" days? Is it more or less important to eat the exercise calories? Are we more or less at risk of plateauing?

I get a little confused when I read a lot of the info on here - Often, I'll be following along a thread and then read "Unless you are very obese, then that changes things a little and we won't get into it now"

So, I am looking for info specifically for the 80+ to lose people.

kngarber

I want to lose 135 and I followed my calories and lost way more than 2 pounds, so I am just going with it....lol...

DaisyMoo86

I have over 100lbs to lose so i know where you are coming from. My plan lets me eat 1650 cals a day, i have lost 26lb in 6 weeks so only goes to show that 2lb a week doesnt come into it.....add me as a friend. ill help anyone out x

mlemonroe2

I want to lose 135 and I followed my calories and lost way more than 2 pounds, so I am just going with it....lol...

Same here!

amycal

I do believe the more weight you have to lose the more you can lose per week at least initially. Once you are out of obese into overweight it will probably slow to around 2 pounds a week. You need to make sure you are eating enough to fuel yourself though and eat the right kind of foods - lots of lean protein, whole grains fruits and vegetables. These are the foods that will not only help you lose fat but be healthy!

hop3

I had 80 pounds to lose and it had me at 1360

ChelDM

As far as I know the rules aren't different...I am in a pre-op group at the hospital...There are about 20 of us in the group and honestly from what I have learned it is the same as what I see everyone else post here aside the pre-op surgical piece which doesnt apply.

...And I have 85 pounds to lose.

BreakingUpWithObesity2013

I personally don't believe in "cheat days." You are just cheating yourself in the end. Why have cheat days and realize what foods you miss eating and how much you miss eating. Just stick to a certain amount of calories a day and don't have any cheats...in the end you'll reach your goal faster and know that you did it all the right way I have 110 lbs to lose and when you first start you will lose a lot of water weight...making it more than 2lbs a week. That won't last long tho. Then you should aim for 2 lbs a week if that's your goal.

ngr1973

I've been having the same experience - only first 10 days into this but 7 lbs lost.

The problem I'm having is - if I go even a little bit over my calories for the day - I will be .5 lb heavier the next morning OR if I don't eat a lot more protein. I've already gauged that my little protein/carb/fat goals are not for me- but it might be because I'm pre-diabetic but I seem to lose and feel better when I eat a lot more lean protein than it tells me to and very few carbs (and by carbs - really I mean veggies).

Any advice or anyone who is trying to lose about 100 lbs want to exchange tips and inspiration - I'm open to becoming friends!

jlsAhava

Regarding cheat days... I imagine it depends how you think of them.

Some people use them as a means to "confuse the body." If that's how you think of them then I'm not sure of their necessity in the obese person's journey. In my head, cheat days are used in an effort to prevent bigger, more frequent cheats... it's a way to help make these lifestyle changes life-long rather than short-term. If you think of them in that light, then I think they important for people of any size.

Best of luck in you journey! :flowerforyou:

cahira

I've also read that you shouldn't lose more than 1% of your body weight per week. So for someone in say the 170's that's less than 2 lbs. per week. But for someone like me that's nearly 3 lbs. per week. Right now I am just seeing how it goes.

xerinx2011

I have about 15olbs to lose initially then maybe more depending on how i feel! So far ive lost 17lbs in 3 weeks - week 1 9lbs,week2 5lbs and week 3 4lbs. I do expect it to level itself out eventually however.

Ive had 2 cheat days so far one was my sons 1st birthday and one was last night due to emotional eating. However last night was the 1st time i went over my calories (by 300) Im back in force today and am trying to be very clean today to get rid of the junk from last night!

Feel free to add me if you want

kwardklinck

Aim for 2 pounds per week. You may lose 10 pounds really fast but this is just your body getting rid of the junk. Any more than two pounds per week after the first couple of weeks, isn't considered healthy weight loss. As you get smaller, your suggested calorie intake will be smaller. That's because it takes fewer calories to maintain a smaller body than it does a bigger one.

Healthyby30

When I started, I wanted to lose around 155 lbs. I've lost almost 55 lbs now and I do not eat my exercise calories. I eat around 1400 a day (and it's been that amount since I started really). I was losing around 3-3.5 lbs per week consistently. I've slowed down a bit - still losing around 2+ lbs a week usually. I had a cheat day once, do not recommend it lol. It made me feel like crap and I had horrible cravings for days. However, if I do want something and my calories allow I eat it. I tend to not really do too bad though. If you fill up on good foods you won't be as hungry for other stuff anyway. I've never deprived myself of anything and I've lost 54 lbs since Oct 26, 2010.

The best advice I can give you from personal experience is stop thinking about it so much. I was the same way. Do what your body tells you. At one point I was working out burning 600-800 calories a day and only eating 1200 calories a day. That's a net of 600-800. After about a week I was drained. No energy, headaches, etc. So I increased my calories a bit and cut back a bit on the workouts. I never stopped losing. Now I workout 5 days a week and eat roughly 1400 calories a day. I feel great!

megamom

I have been watching Heavy lately and they are all on a 1200 to 1400 calorie diet and working out around 4 to 5 a day. No eating back their exercise calories and they don't seem to worry about starvation mode. Why is that? Is it because they have so much to lose?

dunztar

Some foods make you lose more fat than others. Specially those that take more calories to digest than what they contain

Adsnwfld

The slower more natural rate you lose fat the better the chance it will stay off. 2 lbs a week goal is just fine, you may lose faster but it isn't a real big deal. I found that weight fell off of me the heavier I was. As I slimmed down it was harder to lose at a quick rate. I'm still losing but at a close to maintenance rate.
Try to avoid fad weight loss methods. Eat what you plan on eating for the rest of your life. You'll quickly find out by strictly counting calories what food you should and should not be eating. Calories isn't the only piece but nutritional content is important also.

Levahna

I started with over 100lbs to lose and the site wouldn't let me lose anymore than 2lbs a week. Anything more would probably be unhealthy and possibly put your body in starvation mode. My calories allowed go down every 10lbs lost. Calories allowed are dependent on current weight, because it's what is needed to fuel your body.

I personally don't do cheat days. This is a lifestyle change so why would I not change it one day a week? I don't deny myself if I want something. . . I just do it in moderation and plan how to not let it affect the bigger goal!

polo571

Personally when I started June 15th I started with 2000 cals a day and I worked out and concentrated on eating better. I didnt have any cheat days unless I dropped cals for another day. Tom Venuto says it best. His opinion is if you smoked 2 packs of cigs for 20 years would you have cheat cigs? It makes yah think. I think changing your lifestyle and be consistent is important but you have to find your groove too.

SolidGoaled

Cahira - you know, they should give you a % of weight loss that is safe per week rather than pounds - that makes more sense to me, being 240 lbs.

SolidGoaled

Xerin - how many calories are you eating per day?

SolidGoaled

All of these responses are so interesting. Thanks all - keep it coming

dengarrett

I am going for 115 pounds myself. Take a look at my blog entry "My MFP Math" at http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/dengarrett for some info regarding the settings I chose.

SolidGoaled

Should we (we=those who need to lose 80-100 lbs) be using recovery drinks after a workout? Or does it hinder the fat loss?

xerinx2011

My goal is 1650 a day i think but i tend to average out about 1400 a day. Obviously some days its higher and others its lower but it seems to be working for me. When ive exercised it obviously puts them up higher but i dont tend to eat those calories back, although sometimes a may eat a few. I just kinda take each day as it comes and try to get as close to my goal as posiible

lilmissy2

I would say no, the rules aren't different. You should be aiming for a 600-1200kcal deficit per day (1lb-2lb weight loss as calculated by MFP). The main thing that changes is that your energy expenditure is much more difficult to estimate, this is why a lot of people will lose weight much faster than MFP predicts. I don't think this is necessarily a bad or harmful thing however overall, research suggests that people are more likely to sustain weight loss achieved with a 600kcal deficit - I guess because the 'diet' itself is more sustainable or perhaps because the change in your BMR induced by caloric restriction isn't so severe.

Pandorian

It's really going to depend what your eating habits were previously. My BMR for my starting weight was 2400 calories, and I had added 15 lbs in a year so I was certainly having more than that. And I was just eating, I'd go to the store my once a week, hey it was an 80km return trip where I live, buy a bag of cookies, chips etc. But all too often if I didn't portion the items out as soon as they came into the house they would often go from new bag to garbage bag in an evening. Mindless calories at work, grabbing a chocolate bar just to be "busy" between customers, popcorn fills that void now if I need to be eating something and water isn't cutting it. But with eating like that the weight was creeping up, SEEING how many calories it took to maintain that weight I realized just how much I was overeating with my snacking etc, I joined here and set for 2 lbs a week loss, I've had a few slips and overages but now that I've cut out fast food, and am logging what I'm eating, if it passes my lips it gets logged. It has led to overall loss in my time here.

I don't think the rules are different but our habits sure are, my weakness was mindless eating and lack of portion control, now that I'm logging everything and weighing my portions the weight loss is happening, and it's leading to losses.

Meant to add in here but forgot because lunch is ready! Today I'm heading to a birthday party where dinner is potluck so I'm making myself a nice healthy lunch just before I go to the party and will have and enjoy my piece of cake and maybe some snacks but knowing I won't "pig out" just because there's basically a buffet of food available to me.

mamagooskie

I always followed the MFP calorie allowance and lost more than then the 2lbs a week. I actually averaged 10lbs a month for almost a year. Now that I am so much closer to goal its slowed down and weekly losses are way less.

I don't think there are special rules for obese people its just all about calories in vs calories out.I do believe in cheat days though and I had plenty of them myself within the last year. Some of them were really bad cheats but I'd lose weight even on those weeks. Now I have to be more careful but overall the losses still happen.