Reducing goal to continue weight loss?

sassydot

Does this make sense to anyone, or should I just take a concrete pill and harden up, and increase my goal?

When I first joined MFP I set my goal to 2lb/week, like most people seem to do. It put me on a 1200 cal/day target that I just struggled to keep up with. I could do it, but it was no fun. I also at the time didn't realise where my maintenance level of calories was, and that eating a few hundred over wasn't actually going to make me gain.
I've learned a bit since then, but at the time it was really discouraging.
I've since come back, and set my goal to 1lb/week.
Again, I can do the goal, but not easily. And its no fun. I stick to it for a few days, then I just can't take any more and have to top-up with an afternoon snack one day.

So I'm thinking of making my goal 0.5lb/week - just so the target is high enough that I can stick to it, and have room for extras when I need them - stuff like a ham sandwich for a snack, or a soda with dinner, you know, not terribly awful stuff but things that just don't fit into a higher goal. I want to try and start on habits that I can continue with forever, and I don't want to be snacking on carrot sticks and cottage cheese forever, so I figure why do it now?

I don't really care that its only a 1kg loss a month, that will still see me past my first goal (70kg) and nearly at my second (66kg) by Christmas time (summer here).

I already lost this weight once a few years ago using WW, but put it back on again because WW didn't teach me any good habits, it was s short-term fix. I DON'T want to have to do this again, BUT I'd rather be the weight I am now and happy and relaxed and all than be a neurotic 'dieter' for ever but be 10kg lighter, IYKWIM.

Thanks.

adegonia

That is what I did! What good is setting a goal if you can't reach it or if you do reach it you are miserable? I have 1450 calories a day and 1 cheat day a week. Some days are still rough, like when my coworkers decide to bake cookies, but I can still eat what I want within reason and I am losing. I customized my calories and at 1450 a day I am to lose .9 a week. I think that is a reasonable goal and an amount of calories I can live with and be HAPPY.

wendyannhall

Don't limit yourself to carrot sticks and cottage cheese... I know that was just an example, but be real about your weight loss. We all know that diets DON'T WORK. If they did, the whole world would be skinny. Do what works for you-but counteract what you do to your body. YES, it is a lifestyle change, and No, I don't think you should eat your entire caloric intake for the day in a family size bag of Cheetos. But snacking is a part of life, and a social stigma as well. If someone brings cookies to work, eat one. ONE. The average calories in one home baked cookie is between 100-200 calories. It's a lot, but not ridiculous. Guess how many are in an apple? About 80. And an apple is all sugar too... The difference is, an apple is natural sugar, a cookie is refined sugar. Do your body a favor... when you do splurge, do something to balance it out. Drinking a soda with supper is fine on occasion, but drink it with a healthy meal, not McDonald's. If you do eat something really salty, DRINK WATER. Water is your best friend. 8 glasses a day is recommended While eating a healthy diet. If you do stray to junk once in a while, drink two glasses extra for every vending size bag of chips, or whatever it is. Snacks (even cookies) have SALT in them, which will quickly dehydrate your body and retain weight... causing us to give up easier and snack more often. If it's irresistible, go for it... but eat healthy for the remainder of the day so your body doesn't feel like you poisoned it. Good Luck!

Oh, and PS... The more you exercise, the more calories your body requires to repair your tissues and keep you in good running order. So, if your splurge is something like a large slice of cheesecake after supper, go for a walk to digest afterward. It's a great way to relax after a meal and helps to burn up some of the calories so they don't stick around. But NEVER do vigorous exercise after eating. When you exercise, your body produces adrenaline, which helps energize you for working out, but it STOPS digestion. A nice after dinner stroll will help burn calories While allowing you to digest your food. Take care of your body and it will take care of you.

sassydot

Thanks for your response, but I'm not sure you understood my post correctly : /

Don't limit yourself to carrot sticks and cottage cheese... I know that was just an example, but be real about your weight loss. We all know that diets DON'T WORK. If they did, the whole world would be skinny. Do what works for you-but counteract what you do to your body. YES, it is a lifestyle change, and No, I don't think you should eat your entire caloric intake for the day in a family size bag of Cheetos. But snacking is a part of life, and a social stigma as well. If someone brings cookies to work, eat one. ONE. The average calories in one home baked cookie is between 100-200 calories. It's a lot, but not ridiculous. Guess how many are in an apple? About 80. And an apple is all sugar too... The difference is, an apple is natural sugar, a cookie is refined sugar. Do your body a favor... when you do splurge, do something to balance it out. Drinking a soda with supper is fine on occasion, but drink it with a healthy meal, not McDonald's. If you do eat something really salty, DRINK WATER. Water is your best friend. 8 glasses a day is recommended While eating a healthy diet. If you do stray to junk once in a while, drink two glasses extra for every vending size bag of chips, or whatever it is. Snacks (even cookies) have SALT in them, which will quickly dehydrate your body and retain weight... causing us to give up easier and snack more often. If it's irresistible, go for it... but eat healthy for the remainder of the day so your body doesn't feel like you poisoned it. Good Luck!

wendyannhall

I didn't address the main part of your post, but I wanted to make you aware of some of the tricks I've learned about eating habits. I apologize.

I do think it is okay to decrease your goal in order to maintain a good perspective on things. The main thing is to stay focused, so do whatever it takes to keep yourself on the bandwagon... One step backwards could just be what you need to start sprinting forward... good luck.

junipuni

I think making your goal .5 pounds a week is a great idea. You are wanting to do this long term, so find what works for you! I think it's a great idea though.

tkrall

I think the main goal of "dieting" is doing it for a lifetime. If you know your body can not live on a certain amount of calories a day, change it. It is making a lifestyle change that you can live with. Not something for a quick fix in the situation. So, if you feel that you need to lower your goal for weight loss to be successful do it! Once you and your body have ajusted to the goal, and you think you can raise it, do it! Keep your body guesing. Good Luck. I wish you the best.

sassydot

Ah, I see, thanks Wendy.

I think I do snack reasonably well, and sustainably I generally don't sit down with a bag of chips or a block of chocolate. My favourite is a sandwich, ham and cheese or peanut butter!
Or a banana, or some nuts. I don't like apples or any other fruit, really, but eat them sometimes.
FTR I *like* carrot sticks, but they're just not a wise snack choice for me I'll be hungry again after 20 minutes.

I don't eat badly, but I don't eat like a dieter, either, and I don't want to. Which I guess is the crux of the problem.

the more I look around, the more it seems like I don't have a lot to lose, compared to some, and as such I probably wouldn't be able to lose a high amount every week, healthily. Loss seems to slow down as one approaches a healthy weight.

I don't exercise a lot. I get out for a 15-20 minute run + 10-20 min walk about twice a week, with sometimes a longer run on the weekends. But that's about it. Its coming into winter here soon and soon it will be dark at 5pm so I won't be going out in the evenings. I start work at 6am so I can't exercise in the mornings, either.

I like the idea of a cheat day! Does MFP allow for the carrying over of calories? With my daily target well above 1200, can I mentally carry over some calories from one day to another between the 1200 and my target? I know there's no function in the calculator for it so I'd just have to do it mentally and go "over".



Soooooo many people seem to be on a 2lb loss/week goal and 1200 cal/day targets that I thought there was maybe something wrong with choosing only 0.5lb.

SHBoss1673

So here's my take, and I don't know you or your situation, so don't really hold me to strictly to this, but it looks as if you have about 14 lbs to lose (6 Kilos), which means you don't have a lot of body fat. This means that your deficit should be pretty small and you should be expecting to lose between 1/4 and 1/2 lb per week or about 1 to 2 Kilos per month (probably closer to 1 than two). Why? well it's that last 20 lbs thing, it takes a while to lose it.

If it were me, I'd set your deficit at about 300 calories (just over 1/4 lb per week) and see how that works for you.

Again, this is a very peripheral analysis having no real data, so take it for what it's worth.

-Banks

sassydot

Hi Banks, Thank you.

My goal is deceiving - it is not probably as low as a lot of people choose:

I have 6kg to lose to reach my first goal(154lb). My overall goal is 66kg(145lb), which is another 4kg, and THAT puts me at a 24.5 BMI.
BUT I am very happy at that weight, its the same as in my picture, and a nice size 12 (10US) so I feel it is not as high as the BMI makes out.
"Ideally" I should be looking to get down to about 60 kg, or about 132lb, but I'm happy with 66. I think I carry a good amount of muscle and I am apparently a large frame (although not tall)
I'm 165cm tall - 5'5"

But yes, not a lot to lose in the grand scheme of things. Compared to what some other people are progressing towards, it is insignificant.

In any other situation I don't even know that I would worry about losing it, BUT it is almost all in front on my tummy.

SHBoss1673

Hi Banks, Thank you.

My goal is deceiving - it is not probably as low as a lot of people choose:

I have 6kg to lose to reach my first goal(154lb). My overall goal is 66kg(145lb), which is another 4kg, and THAT puts me at a 24.5 BMI.
BUT I am very happy at that weight, its the same as in my picture, and a nice size 12 (10US) so I feel it is not as high as the BMI makes out.
"Ideally" I should be looking to get down to about 60 kg, or about 132lb, but I'm happy with 66. I think I carry a good amount of muscle and I am apparently a large frame (although not tall)
I'm 165cm tall - 5'5"

But yes, not a lot to lose in the grand scheme of things. Compared to what some other people are progressing towards, it is insignificant.

In any other situation I don't even know that I would worry about losing it, BUT it is almost all in front on my tummy.

ok, well that changes the numbers a little, I think yeah you can probably get away with a 500 calorie deficit for a month or two, but after you lose 4 or 6 lbs I think you should again consider lowering your deficit to around 300 or so. I definitely think more than a 500 calorie deficit it too much, even with 25 lbs to lose.

sassydot

Cool I've lost about 6-7lb already over the last couple of months from being on 1530 cal/day. (started at 78.4kg, weighed in at 75.1 on Saturday)
This new target puts me on 1780 cal/day

Am I understanding you correctly that my loss won't naturally be at a high rate now regardless of the daily target I choose?
So I might as well choose a 0.5lb/week goal as that's about all I could reasonably expect anyway?

I'm starting to understand why WW wasn't working for me earlier this year - when I look back on my points I was probably only consuming 800cal/day because of the stupid way it penalises fats