This is going to be a mixed view.

Jade1x

Right how to start this?, first i know its going to be mixed views as everyones different!

What do people do to lose weight? Eat less calories or the daily amount of calories on MFP?.

Before when i piled some weight on i basically lost it all by only eatting a little. (but i actuallydidnt feel hungry either)
People talk about starvation mode etc some say it takes ages to kick in and so on

But what im trying to get across is do people find it easier to lose weight if they eat less calories?

aecmagn

Both. I think no matter what people's opinions may be, the most effective way to lose weight is a combination of fewer calories ingested and more calories expended.

erickirb

of course they do, the issue is if you don't eat enough you will have a lack of energy, you may end up burning a large % of lean muscle, instead of the fat you intended to burn. Your metabolism may slow a bit so when you return to eating "normal" you will gain a few pounds.

It is best for long term successful weight loss to have a small caloric deficit. Slow and steady wins the race.

changeisgood55

From all the weight loss shows I've watched they all say the same thing. The only way to lose weight is to burn more calories a day than you take in. The bigger the ratio the more weight you lose per week.

sunshineshica

well I lose weight with exercise. If I don't exercise, i don't lose weight.

luv2ash

I am a firm believer in that it truly does matter what kind of calories you are eating. If you eat fewer calories, you certainly want them to be of the highest quality, wouldn't you?

russelljclarke

You need to eat MFPs recommended intake calories, plus HALF of your exercise calories in addition. As you say, there'll be a mixed reaction to your question, but I read the theory and ran my own experiment to test it. It works, no matter what conflicting theories there are. If you want to read the journal of my experiment, it's at the link below.

R

Lesliecs

You are definitely going to get a mixed view on this one! Best thing is to experiment and find what works best for YOU. Because it works for someone else, doesn't mean it will work for you which is why I avoid giving my opinion! good luck!

mccgivens

When I lost a lot at the beginning, it took me like 4 months to notice it. I didn't own a scale so I never weighed. All I did was walk/hike (3-4 miles) 5 days a week and kept my calories at 1500-1800 a day. I didn't have MFP to guide me. All I had was a notebook, pen and legs. For me, that's what works. I also did not cut anything out of my diet, I just watched my portions and counted everything. Hope this helps.

rml_16

What I think -- from years of dieting myself and also from other who have shared their experiences -- is that each individual has a point where their metabolisms get revved. Sometimes you have to eat a little more to rev it, sometimes a little less. On Weight Watchers, I found I had bigger losses if I ate every point I got, while others could only eat their daily points and some could eat SOME of their exercise and extra weekly points, but not all.

You have to figure out what works for you.

Acg67

every person loses weight the same way, a caloric deficit

rml_16

You need to eat MFPs recommended intake calories, plus HALF of your exercise calories in addition. As you say, there'll be a mixed reaction to your question, but I read the theory and ran my own experiment to test it. It works, no matter what conflicting theories there are. If you want to read the journal of my experiment, it's at the link below.

R

It works for YOU. Everyone will have a different experience.

There was a study a year or so ago with sets of identical twins. They had them eat a certain amount based on 3,500 calories equalling a pound. The idea was that they would all gain the same amount of weight, but it turned out some gained a lot more than others and some didn't gain any at all, even though they were all eating the same number of excess calories.

The finding was that brown fat (which we all have as infants and some retain more than others) helps burn calories, regardless of what you eat or how much you exercise. So while one person will lose 2 pounds a week with a 7,000 calories deficit, someone else might lose 4 pounds and someone else might only lose .5 pounds, etc.

PBJunkie

http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=121703981

The bible to weight loss, your mind will be blown

nukebhs83

i find that i have to eat as close to 1200 good quality calories as possible and exercise. i was sick a week ago and didnt eat much and did lose a couple of lbs but last night when i tried to workout again i noticed that i didnt have the strength to do as much as before so i know i didnt eat enough. i have tried all the ways to lose weight---500 cal--dr monitored diet --passed out just about every day// tried to make myself anorexic--found out i cant live on 2 crackers and a carrot// tried to make myself bulemic--cant make myself throw up (hope i never swallow poison---inducing vomiting wont work) everyone is different and you have to find the right balance for you.

fbmandy55

I have to zig zag. I may net 1000 calories one day and maybe I'll have 1500 the next day. That seems to be working for me at the moment. When I ate a steady 1200 a day I did not lose and plateaued for 6 weeks after I lost my first 30lbs, it's started coming off more when I increased my calories and exercise.

vasare

First of all, it depends of what you would consider as eating less. Since a 100 or 200 calories less may have a positive impact, but cutting out a 1000 might be dangerous.

I've never had much problems losing the weight by eating less. In my teens I've probably tried every diet in the book and it did wonders - short term though. The downside to this is that you can never keep it up. I could go on with 500-700 a day and I didnt feel hungry... but it takes it's toll eventually, after a while I used to feel much more tired in general, had a harder time to concentrate and was often feeling cold. Every tiny slip of overdulgence made my weight go up fast. So it's not exactly sustainable.

Now I simply try not to exceed the calorie limit set by MFP and move more. Seems to be working. The best thing about it is that I don't feel deprived of anything which makes me less likely to fall off the wagon.

SHBoss1673

Here's the problem, and for the record go up and read ericrb's reply, that's about right.

Anyway, the problem is, people think in terms of WEIGHT loss, and that's wrong. People should be thinking in terms of FAT loss. We shouldn't be trying to lose muscle mass (or 99% of us shouldn't at least), and to optimize fat loss there is a window or bubble if you will of calories that you can eat below your maintenance calories where the percentage of weight loss from fat is the highest, eat more than that window, and you don't lose much total weight at all (or none), but along with that, if you eat below that bubble, then the percentage of weight loss from lean tissue goes up fast, and burning lean tissue means lowering your long term resting metabolism, which means, less energy required, which means your body needs less calories than you think, it lowers your energy level, lowers your health, and increases the risk of many syndromes and health issues.

So you see, while you may see short term faster weight loss with a larger deficit, long term you're making it harder to lose and maintain weight.

couple of caveats about this, the more fat you have, the less this applies; so someone who is morbidly obese has a lot more wiggle room than someone who wants to lose 25 lbs. Exercise calories should be a net 0 calorie equation, by that I mean (ONLY IN MFP GUYS) when you burn calories with exercise, you should return those calories to the body; why? Because you've already set a (I'm assuming correct) goal for your individual body, and increasing your deficit will only make life difficult for you.

sallywilson06

I personally find it easier to use MFP because I am aware of what I should be eating and portion control. Without tracking it all down I am more likely to overeat and as we all know that causes you to gain weight. I find it more tempting to see your final results at the end of the day. It motivates you to get off your butt and work out. It keeps you competitive with others that are on here as well. I just find it to be a great motivator.