My plan.. opinions please.

lozzieemayjenkins

Helloitsdan, the OP of the in place of a road map 2.0 has advised me personally to eat 1600, walk at least 10,000 steps a day and weight train followed by light cardio 3 times a week but NOT to eat back exercise calories.

What does everyone think of this?

wibutterflymagic

Helloitsdan, the OP of the in place of a road map 2.0 has advised me personally to eat 1600, walk at least 10,000 steps a day and weight train followed by light cardio 3 times a week but NOT to eat back exercise calories.

What does everyone think of this?

Depends on how much you exercise. If you truly eat 1600 but only burn 200 calories then I think that's fine but if you burn 600-800 that puts you way below a healthy level. Yes, you will see results but if you want to do this the correct, healthy, sustainable way that is not the way to do it.

K_Serz

I've chosen to eat 1200 calories for six days of the week, and then 2000 on one day which will be the day I weigh in to help prevent a plateau and keep my metabolism guessing.. this averages out to 1314 calories daily, so I'm creating a deficit of 783 calories daily, equating to a pound and a half weight loss weekly.

Sooooo many people do not do this and I feel its a reason they start freaking out when they dont see the scale move. I like to do the same thing. Thats the day I can have my pizza or whatever I have been missing all week/month. It also helps keep us sane. I like your plan a lot. It shows you have made yourself more knowledgeable and I do agree with the others, if at first it doesnt work out right away, dont get shocked or discouraged. You will probably need to adjust and tweak things along the way.

lozzieemayjenkins

I appreciate all your comments and responses but I'm going to follow my original plans. I won't be eating 500 calories or following a VLCD or starving myself in those ways, I'll be calorie counting at a 1000 deficit which is perfectly healthy for a young girl whose obese due to 80lbs of excess fat being on my body. My GP advised me to eat 1050 but I didn't want to go that low so I think that 1314 a day is fine for me. I'll be doing a lot of weight training to preserve muscle mass & eating a lot of high protein foods also.

TavistockToad

I appreciate all your comments and responses but I'm going to follow my original plans. I won't be eating 500 calories or following a VLCD or starving myself in those ways, I'll be calorie counting at a 1000 deficit which is perfectly healthy for a young girl whose obese due to 80lbs of excess fat being on my body. My GP advised me to eat 1050 but I didn't want to go that low so I think that 1314 a day is fine for me. I'll be doing a lot of weight training to preserve muscle mass & eating a lot of high protein foods also.

So why did you ask?

lozzieemayjenkins

I appreciate all your comments and responses but I'm going to follow my original plans. I won't be eating 500 calories or following a VLCD or starving myself in those ways, I'll be calorie counting at a 1000 deficit which is perfectly healthy for a young girl whose obese due to 80lbs of excess fat being on my body. My GP advised me to eat 1050 but I didn't want to go that low so I think that 1314 a day is fine for me. I'll be doing a lot of weight training to preserve muscle mass & eating a lot of high protein foods also.

So why did you ask?

Just because I didn't follow advice doesn't mean I didn't appreciate it ;-)

akgordoa

That's a Hell of a plan. I'd just suggest getting as much support as humanly possible. Please feel free to add me. I'm a short girl with a plethora of info much like yours. good luck!

bpotts44

So your underestimating your activity level, undereating, and understand its not a race. You will lose weight doing your plan, you will probably increase BF% cause it will be some muscle even with strength training, and more than likely will end in a plateau.

Just my opinion.

I agree with this (as does most recent science).

Eat more than your BMR every day or you will eventually cause damage to your body's ability to function properly - and loss of lean body mass (from eating too little) will slow your metabolism.

I know waiting for the weight to come off is tough - but you have to look at the big picture

Can you point us to this science? If she eats her BMR she will only lose 1/2 pound per week. Your body will get the energy it needs to maintain your TDEE from fat.

WillLift4Tats

My advice would be to eat 1600-1700 a day and eat back your exercise calories - 1lb a week loss.
Why?
More likely to lose a higher proportion of fat to LBM than by going for a fast loss.
More likely to learn healthy eating habits.
Less like being "on a diet" and more like "changing your diet".
Less likely to get fed up with feeling restricted and give up.
More wiggle room for good days and bad days.
More energy for exercise.
More sustainable in the long run.

I second this!

Third! And I only wish someone had given me this advice when I started losing weight instead of crashing and burning on 1200 cals.

Another vote for this ^

staceypunk

Well I guess it's good that you tested out what people think. Overwhelmingly, people are recommending that you START out by eating more calories than 1200 a day. Going from 4000-6000 daily to 1200 is going to be hard. You are probably setting yourself up for failure. I would START at 1700. Once you have gotten used to eating meals that fill you up you can start decreasing calories. Plus at 1700 less 500 workout calories you will net 1200. So that is still great. Only you can decide, but you should really consider revisiting the things that people have mentioned here. GOOD LUCK!

Chibea

My advice would be to eat 1600-1700 a day and eat back your exercise calories - 1lb a week loss.
Why?
More likely to lose a higher proportion of fat to LBM than by going for a fast loss.
More likely to learn healthy eating habits.
Less like being "on a diet" and more like "changing your diet".
Less likely to get fed up with feeling restricted and give up.
More wiggle room for good days and bad days.
More energy for exercise.
More sustainable in the long run.

I second this!

I third it.
I am relatively new and I have 100 pounds to lose. I let MFP set my calorie limit to lose 1.5pounds per week because I have so much extra weight. I eat back all my exercise calories. I have lost weight steadily - 3 pounds the last two weeks - and am definitely creating new eating patterns that will be fine after the weight is off. I don't ever feel hungry and I occasionally overeat which has had no impact on my steady weight loss. Rather than over think and over structure this, just follow the plan and go on with your life

fatsnacker

If you stick to your plan, you will lose weight.
I'm 5ft 3 and now 220lb and I lost weight two years ago by counting calories and exercising but it all came back on when I stopped.

I am now eating normally five days a week and fasting two days a week and have lost 10lbs without exercising so far and I am going to continue this method. I will add exercise eventually but will ensure that I am not fasting on those days.

droneofvelvet

Sounds like a really good plan. Go out there and do it .

So many people give up their diet and exercise goals after a week or so... dunno why everyone is so worried about you getting enough calories. You'll be fine and then if you see your results are not as anticipated you will change it accordingly.

TAsunder

I had a doctor who told me to eat a ridiculously low number of calories as your GP has done. He told me that I only needed 1200 calories per day. He also claimed that I would burn 500 calories walking for 20 minutes and that if I did that every day I would lose one lb per week.

I dumped him and got a better doctor. He apparently sucked at math.

That seems way too low.

MGSR

So your underestimating your activity level, undereating, and understand its not a race. You will lose weight doing your plan, you will probably increase BF% cause it will be some muscle even with strength training, and more than likely will end in a plateau.

Just my opinion.

I agree with this (as does most recent science).

Eat more than your BMR every day or you will eventually cause damage to your body's ability to function properly - and loss of lean body mass (from eating too little) will slow your metabolism.

I know waiting for the weight to come off is tough - but you have to look at the big picture

Can you point us to this science? If she eats her BMR she will only lose 1/2 pound per week. Your body will get the energy it needs to maintain your TDEE from fat.

I'd be interested in seeing some scientific evidence that eating below your BMR is damaging. It's something that's said a lot on here but I've never seen anyone provide the scientific backing to go with it

melaniecheeks

It's a plan. Just like the mfp suggestions are a plan. Just like helloitsdan's recommendations are a plan.

You try something for a month, then you assess if its working or you or not. Then you tweak.

IMHO, dan's plan sounds more sensible.

CristinaL1983

So your underestimating your activity level, undereating, and understand its not a race. You will lose weight doing your plan, you will probably increase BF% cause it will be some muscle even with strength training, and more than likely will end in a plateau.

Just my opinion.

I agree with this (as does most recent science).

Eat more than your BMR every day or you will eventually cause damage to your body's ability to function properly - and loss of lean body mass (from eating too little) will slow your metabolism.

I know waiting for the weight to come off is tough - but you have to look at the big picture

Can you point us to this science? If she eats her BMR she will only lose 1/2 pound per week. Your body will get the energy it needs to maintain your TDEE from fat.

I'd be interested in seeing some scientific evidence that eating below your BMR is damaging. It's something that's said a lot on here but I've never seen anyone provide the scientific backing to go with it

Ditto the request for information about how eating below BMR will damage you. I can and have posted at least a half a dozen studies that show that even on a VLCD with appropriate protein and strength training, LBM can be maintained and after a 16 wk study, women on a VLCD still had the same BMR as when the study was started. Of course, a VLCD should only be done under the supervision of and upon the recommendation of a knowledgeable doctor and I'm not advocating it by any means (nor is 1200 calories by any means a VLCD).

taso42

You're sort of on the right track.
Couple of things - you are not sedentary. When calculating TDEE, it's critical to be honest.
You state you don't want to plateau and don't want to mess up your metabolism. Best course would be to eat at around a 20% deficit, or, say a 500 calorie deficit.

DeeOnAMission

have you talked to your dr and gotten your thyroid checked? I dont see how anyone can gain that much weight in that short of time without being pregnant or having an underlying medical condition
[/quoyte]
Yes this. Definately see a Dr.