You might be a little obsessed when...

Newmammaluv

You come up with applied mathematics like these!

Starting weight 257 = base calories to stay this weight 3000 (moderately active)
Goal weight 160 = base calories to stay this weight 1800 (lightly active)

At a difference of 1200 calories a day how long would it take to lose 97lbs?

1lb = 3500 calories

97x3500 = 339,500

339,500/1200 = 282.916 or 283 days

or 0.34lbs every day

Currently I eat on average 1300 calories a day so in theory it should take....

3000-1300 = 2200 deficit per day

339,500/2200 = 154.32 or 155 day which equals roughly 23 weeks or roughly 5.75 months

By this calculation I SHOULD reach my goal of 160lbs by mid September

summer_anne

Don't forget you'll burn even more calories if you workout!! Then you will get there in no time Good Luck =D

otrlynn

I envy your math brain! Best of luck reaching your goal. A bit of obsession is a good thing to ensure honesty when entering calories burned through exercise, and when entering food quantities.

Newmammaluv

Moderately active is working out 3-5 times a week which is all I will ever do on a consistent life altering basis... why diet any differently than I will live after I drop the weight? I've been fat my whole life so getting there in 6 months seems like a miracle to me. I'm willing to wait... but if I follow consistently and it DOESN'T happen does that mean we've disproved that one pound is always 3500 calories?

missvics

You just made my head hurt!!

Newmammaluv

You just made my head hurt!!

lol I'm sorry... I get that a lot and not always because of the math.

Rbartleman

No, 1 lb of fat is 3,500 calories. You also will use muscle, etc. If you lower your calories too drastically then your body will go into a type of "hybernation" slowing your metabolism meaning you will burn less calories being alive. The goal shouldn't be to just lose weight, it should be to lose fat. You want to make sure you are eating the right things so when you do burn calories it's coming from where it counts. Also, everyone underestimates the calories they are consuming. Most people are off by 20%+. If you really want to know how many you are burning and consuming, etc you might consider purchasing a bodybugg.

Good luck, 11lbs so far is an excellent start!

Juno99

You also have to remember too that as you loose the weight, your deficit will be smaller. 100 lbs vs 200 lbs person don't burn the same amount of calories doing the same activities. I am not a math wizard but there's a minor flaw in your math.

Newmammaluv

Its based on the fact that I would have tio keep the ratio the same. Its called a controlled variable.