Seeing Loss on the Scale

ilovesparkle

Okay, so don't judge me, but I have a bet with my mother to see who can lose the most weight by August 5. She doesn't think the BMR/TDEE way of weight loss is correct, so she is 172 pounds and eats about 1000-1200 calories a day, while I eat my BMR of 1798. We both exercise more or less the same amount, but my diet is more vegetable and fruit based as hers is processed.

Someone told me that by eating my BMR, I won't see scale weight loss. Is that true? I know I should expect a gain the first week or so, but will it be enough to beat out the "diet" she uses?

The whole point of me participating in this is to show her that she is ruining her body by starving. Any help?

bradthemedic

I'm going to add a side-note here that doesn't pertain to scale loss, but it's something to ponder as you mentioned "ruining her body." In my personal opinion weight loss is important in a lot of ways and you said it's processed VS clean in a sense. So ponder this:

When your body is fueled correctly your brain is more active, and you are able to do more exercise. As a result when your muscles require energy and nutrients to build they will be fed correctly.
You'll build muscle quicker and more efficiently

After your reach this milestone in August your body will be in much better shape. If you were to go do blood tests for LDL/HDL and every other level you can, your test results would be A) the most improved and the healthiest. That means your system is "better."

Yes weight loss is important and I am not downplaying it at all but there's a lot to be said about someone who is eating very healthy and exercising as opposed to someone eating snacky-cakes flailing around doing Zumba not building muscle due to starvation mode.

dewgirl321

Looking at your diary for the last week, you ARE NOT eating 1798, you are eating much less. Competition is great for motivation, so it's good that you and your mother can help each other that way, but you're not going to make the point that she shouldn't starve herself by starving yourself as well. You should both increase your calories!!!

jg627

You will lose weight eating your BMR, because, unless you sleep 24 hours a day, your BMR is less than your TDEE, which is what you need to maintain. To make the bet fair, you should make it who can lose the most 'fat' and retain the most lean body mass, otherwise she will win if she blows away a whole lot of muscle.

bradthemedic

Looking at your diary for the last week, you ARE NOT eating 1798, you are eating much less. Competition is great for motivation, so it's good that you and your mother can help each other that way, but you're not going to make the point that she shouldn't starve herself by starving yourself as well. You should both increase your calories!!!

I think her concern is that her mother is losing weight eating 1000 calories a day and "sparkle" doesn't really understand how she will lose weight at 1800/day with minimal exercise (1-3hrs a week)

mfpcopine

No, she is not "ruining her body." The chemistry of the human body is not that delicate. The most significant physiological changes have probably already occurred if your mother is very overweight.

If her eating plan doesn't work, she can always try something else. What matters is that she's getting adequate nutrients through what shes eating and feels reasonably good. No one on a strict diet eating calories far below what they're used to feels great all the time.

ilovesparkle

I know I will be healthier. There is no doubt about that.

I just upped my calories to 1798 yesterday. I was eating the 1200-1450 calories a day until I went through and read pretty much everything I could get my hands on.

bradthemedic

No, she is not "ruining her body." The chemistry of the human body is not that delicate. The most significant physiological changes have probably already occurred if your mother is very overweight.

If her eating plan doesn't work, she can always try something else. What matters is that she's getting adequate nutrients through what shes eating and feels reasonably good. No one on a strict diet eating calories far below what they're used to feels great all the time.

I'm not trying to highjack this thread - but yes she is ruining her body. Unfortunately I've met this woman and known her for years, if you saw what she puts her body through you'd agree.

Carry on...

ilovesparkle

She basically exists on cereal, salad and popcorn. Not exactly the best diet. But she's down 40 pounds, so I'm curious as to why that is with all this new information.

mfpcopine

No, she is not "ruining her body." The chemistry of the human body is not that delicate. The most significant physiological changes have probably already occurred if your mother is very overweight.

If her eating plan doesn't work, she can always try something else. What matters is that she's getting adequate nutrients through what shes eating and feels reasonably good. No one on a strict diet eating calories far below what they're used to feels great all the time.

I'm not trying to highjack this thread - but yes she is ruining her body. Unfortunately I've met this woman and known her for years, if you saw what she puts her body through you'd agree.

Carry on...

Well, of course I was assuming that she's eating healthy food, and admittedly the fewer calories you eat, the more carefully you have to choose your food.

But frankly, and I'm not a doctor, I don't think a couple of months of bad eating will make that much difference if she's a basically healthy woman.

ilovesparkle

No, she is not "ruining her body." The chemistry of the human body is not that delicate. The most significant physiological changes have probably already occurred if your mother is very overweight.

If her eating plan doesn't work, she can always try something else. What matters is that she's getting adequate nutrients through what shes eating and feels reasonably good. No one on a strict diet eating calories far below what they're used to feels great all the time.

I'm not trying to highjack this thread - but yes she is ruining her body. Unfortunately I've met this woman and known her for years, if you saw what she puts her body through you'd agree.

Carry on...

Well, of course I was assuming that she's eating healthy food, and admittedly the fewer calories you eat, the more carefully you have to choose your food.

But frankly, and I'm not a doctor, I don't think a couple of months of bad eating will make that much difference if she's a basically healthy woman.

She has high blood pressure, Type 2 Diabetes, High cholesterol and bad knees. So I wouldn't say she's "healthy".

mustgetmuscles1

The scale would not be a good measure of which lifestyle is better. You can absolutely lose a lot of weight by starving yourself. That is not really the point for most people. It is to be healthy. For most of us on here that means losing body fat while maintaining lean muscle. If you starve yourself to lose weight you can succeed but what is that weight loss consisting of? That kind of weight loss looks great on a scale but what if it is mostly muscle. Will you look, feel, or be any healthier when you reach your goal?

What effect does it have on hormone levels, brain function, mood and so on?

ilovesparkle

I am technically 80 pounds overweight for my body and have an obese BMI. So I would like to keep my muscles AND get to my goal weight of 140 pounds.

bradthemedic

bump

kristen6022

The only minor issue I see with this bet is that she's older than you and the older you get the harder it is to lose the weight. You can lose it, but it will take longer, so basically you have the advantage right out of the gate.

For example. My mom and I both started on our journeys on January 1st 2012 this year both weighing 180. I'm 5'11 and 33, she's 5'4 and 58. At this point in time I weigh 2 pounds less than she does. I reached my goal weight of 155 last week. She weighed in yesterday and was 157, and has at least 10 more pounds to go. Theories say it takes longer to lose the last 5-10 pounds and I still lost more than she did.

I think your bet is a good one, will keep you motivated and it's a way to keep in check. But I feel for your mom at the end of this.