Managing Expectations re Rate of Loss

BikerGirlElaine

That topic title sounds really serious, sorry about that. It's really not that big of a deal. Here's what's up.

I started with 75 pounds to lose so I've been trying to lose 1 1/2 pounds a week. Soon I'll be getting in the neighborhood of 40 pounds to lose, so I should only expect to lose a pound a week, right? I'm going by the posts in this group, esp. Setting Your Calorie & Macro Targets.

I've been tracking my TDEE and it is higher than any calculator -- somewhere between 2,800 and 2,700. I keep waiting for it to start coming down, but it hasn't so far. And so now I'm getting confused.

Should I just keep my calorie & macro target static and let my rate of loss do whatever it is going to do? Or should I somehow try to manage things so that I start to only lose 1 pound per week?

I originally picked 2,000 calories/day as an estimate of what I thought my maintenance calories were going to be someday. So yeah, I pulled it out of the air. That's a 27% cut from my observed TDEE. So there's plenty of room for my TDEE to come down. It just... hasn't so far. Is that because I'm so fat to begin with, or because I'm just special like that?

Thanks for your answers!

prattiger65

If you are eating above your BMR I think just keep doing what you are doing.

Sarauk2sf

If you are eating above your BMR I think just keep doing what you are doing.

Just to make a couple of comments re the not eating below your BMR:

1) most people do not know what their BMR is
2) it is not necessarily an issue eating below your BMR, depending on the context.

Sarauk2sf

Are you still losing 1 1/2lb a week?

DopeItUp

You're doing pretty much what I'm doing. I set a hard calorie goal so that over time, as my TDEE decreases, my deficit will slowly decrease too. It's like a self-adjusting calculation, without having to do any work. Plus I eat the same amounts consistently instead of having to modify my intake over time.

prattiger65

If you are eating above your BMR I think just keep doing what you are doing.

Just to make a couple of comments re the not eating below your BMR:

1) most people do not know what their BMR is
2) it is not necessarily an issue eating below your BMR, depending on the context.

To point one, based on the original post, the OP has a good deal of knowledge and I feel pretty sure they know their BMR.
To point two, you are correct, I was speaking only to the context of the OP.

BikerGirlElaine

Yes Sara, I'm still losing 1 1/2 pounds per week. Well, so long as I stick close to my calorie goal. I had it higher, at 2150, for several weeks and when I went significantly over it my loss would slow (go figure, huh?), so I put it back down to 2000 so that when I go over -- which I do! -- it isn't as detrimental.

I also had a period of time where my logging wasn't as accurate and that caused me to stall a little bit. Once I tightened that up things have been smooth since.

I think I found my answer overnight, it sort of has to be more NEAT. It's springtime now and I am spending a whole lot less time in front of the computer. Jan-Mar I was hardly moving at all outside of work & the gym. I think I've read somewhere that increasing NEAT can be a couple hundred calories per day?

And let's see if I'm thinking about this right... If my TDEE is coming down, but I am eating the same amount, then I should have extra energy to do more NEAT. And I'm not specifically tracking NEAT (that's what NEAT is anyways) so it keeps my TDEE up without my realizing it?

Re BMR, that's interesting I hadn't thought about that... If my TDEE is higher than the calculators my BMR must be, too? But I don't tolerate deprivation very well and if I was really eating below BMR I'm sure I'd be a mess. So I'm probably OK there.

So really, I guess I just want confirmation that as my amount of 'weight to lose' gets lower, if I should change anything to slow my weight loss. I've seen lots of threads about people who need to decrease their calories to speed their loss. But my instinct is that if I feel well and things are going smoothly, that I don't need to worry about that?

DopeItUp, how long has the static number been working well for you? I'd be pretty stoked if I could just stay at the same calorie number all the way through this process!

SideSteel

Yes Sara, I'm still losing 1 1/2 pounds per week. Well, so long as I stick close to my calorie goal. I had it higher, at 2150, for several weeks and when I went significantly over it my loss would slow (go figure, huh?), so I put it back down to 2000 so that when I go over -- which I do! -- it isn't as detrimental.

I would keep your intake as is based on your results.

I also had a period of time where my logging wasn't as accurate and that caused me to stall a little bit. Once I tightened that up things have been smooth since.

This is pretty common.

I think I found my answer overnight, it sort of has to be more NEAT. It's springtime now and I am spending a whole lot less time in front of the computer. Jan-Mar I was hardly moving at all outside of work & the gym. I think I've read somewhere that increasing NEAT can be a couple hundred calories per day?

NEAT is a very good tool to use. I know for me right now, my NEAT has gone up considerably as the weather has improved. I'm out walking with my son every day.

Re BMR, that's interesting I hadn't thought about that... If my TDEE is higher than the calculators my BMR must be, too? But I don't tolerate deprivation very well and if I was really eating below BMR I'm sure I'd be a mess. So I'm probably OK there.

Possibly but not necessarily since activity could be solely responsible for the increase. But either way it's not very important provided that you are looking at your results, monitoring how you feel, and making adjustments accordingly.

So really, I guess I just want confirmation that as my amount of 'weight to lose' gets lower, if I should change anything to slow my weight loss. I've seen lots of threads about people who need to decrease their calories to speed their loss. But my instinct is that if I feel well and things are going smoothly, that I don't need to worry about that?

I would expect that as you lose more and more, your rate of loss will eventually slow down. When this happens, you need to evaluate whether or not you are still losing at a rate you can deal with. If you can't, then you either increase activity or decrease intake or do a combination of both.

Sarauk2sf

Just re-enforcing a couple of comments from SideSteel.

It seems as though you are doing really well where you are so I would not change anything. Your calories are nice and high and a lot of your calorie burn is coming from things like NEAT which is not as stressful on the body as more intensive 'formal' exercise.

You make a good point regarding energy and NEAT levels. It touches on the fact that people kind of self regulate to a range of calories that they maintain on. One of the factors is regarding energy and how much they are moving in general. More energy in general means a naturally higher NEAT much of the time. I think getting a good amount of sleep impacts this as well. Less energy you just move less and expend less effort day to day as well as in the gym. Good energy levels upregulate this and as such increases TDEE. I think NEAT levels is also a reason why we tend to put on weight, or find weight loss harder, over the winter - just less moving around, which is hard to quantify as we often do it without being completely aware of it.

DopeItUp

DopeItUp, how long has the static number been working well for you? I'd be pretty stoked if I could just stay at the same calorie number all the way through this process!

Hmmm honestly I'm not sure. I'd say a year or so? It's been quite some time since I touched any of my MFP settings. My weight loss is just gradually slowing over time, I have about 20lbs to go now out of ~106 total.

Chief_Rocka

I don't have much to add other than what's already been said. It's good that you're thinking ahead, it makes adjustments a breeze, but resist the urge to mess with what's working.

BikerGirlElaine

Thanks a bunch everyone for taking the time to reply. I'm all set and you can lock this thread.