so my low cal diet won't work to lose 50 pounds?

HannahJDiaz25

Oh my goodness...My breakfast was about 2/3 of your daily intake.

You'll probably hear this again and again on here, but you should eat more. Your organs need enough nutrition and calories to function. It's probably not getting all it needs at this point. I wouldn't wait until you plateau, but rather start upping the calories little by little now.


With a metabolic reset and exercise program (along with clean eating and nutrient dense foods that most often keep you fuller than processed foods) you will not get fat if you consume well over your current intake, I assure you.

THIS^^^^!

LoosingMyLast15

eventually you'll hit a plateau and then struggle to get the weight off eating so little. it's 2:00 EST for me and i've already consumed 1,000 calories. feel free to check out my diary (i believe it's open). today i "splurged" and had a dunkin donuts plain bagel that i dipped into my garlic hummus that had a tablespoon of garlic infused extra virgin olive oil in it. sooooooo good!

i plan on running this evening before dinner then eating back those calories.

i hope your plan works out for you and you keep the weight off for years to come.

TriShamelessly

You are losing weight. Probably a combination of lean muscle, fat and bone density. If you lost at a lower rate while eating a healthy number of calories, you would lose more fat and less muscle. If you did weight training at the same time, you would lose mostly fat, almost no lean muscle and no bone density. It's really up to you what "weight" you want to lose.

All this being to say: MFP isn't about trying to eat the fewest possible number of calories. It's about learning to eat at a healthy level for your body - not too much and not too little. Here are some ideas for adding healthy calories, since you say you are struggling with this:

Chicken with the skin
Steak
Cheese
Whole eggs (including deviled eggs, egg salad)
Full fat dairy (including cottage cheese, yogurt)
Fruit,
Peanut butter or other nut butters
Nuts
Avocado
Dried fruit (raisins, apricots, apples)
Brown rice
Dark chocolate
Salmon
Add Chia seeds to salads or yogurt
Olive oil
Smoothies
Granola/sports nutrition bars
Whole grains or whole grain products

Terrific advice. ^^^^

TeaBea

I have my calories set to what MFP suggest, but I keep hearing and have read about the TDEE - 20% I had a personal trainer/nutritionist tell me to use the MFP calories. I am scared to bump the calories to the TDEE -20% MFP has me at 1250, it was 1350, but since I lost 15 lbs, it took me down to 1250. It is hard to know what to do, becuase different people say diffenernt things.

OK - you told MFP "I want to lose XX pounds per week" when you signed up ...... TDEE doesn't work that way..... it just says take off 20% .... maybe that's 2 pounds maybe that's 1.5 pounds

MFP does not give you credit for exercise UNTIL you log it. The deficit is built into MFP BEFORE exercise. When you add exercise back .... it should be closer to TDEE which INCLUDES exercise.

Bumping up to 1350 is only 700 extra calories a week ..... this is very small when compared to 3500 (calories for a pound).

likitisplit

Also, why would you want to be 190, unless you are six feet tall?

Why not? If she feels good in her own skin at that weight, I don't see the problem. Not everybody wants to be stick thin...

Average body fat for women is between 25% and 31%. To maximize health, one should target the 25% range. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Body_fat_percentage

The average American woman is 5' 4"
At that height, 190 is 32.68 - which is obese

At 5' 6", 190 is 30.73% - Minimum acceptable
At 6'1", 190 is 25% - Maximum health benefits from losing fat.

jonnythan

Also, why would you want to be 190, unless you are six feet tall?

Why not? If she feels good in her own skin at that weight, I don't see the problem. Not everybody wants to be stick thin...

Average body fat for women is between 25% and 31%. To maximize health, one should target the 25% range. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Body_fat_percentage

The average American woman is 5' 4"
At that height, 190 is 32.68 - which is obese

At 5' 6", 190 is 30.73% - Minimum acceptable
At 6'1", 190 is 25% - Maximum health benefits from losing fat.

Those numbers are completely meaningless. You cannot determine body fat using height and weight alone.

You're actually computing BMI, not BF%. BF% and BMI are totally different things.

likitisplit

I have a difficult time believing there are actual doctors monitoring your friends and they will likely regain their weight because they are not learning how to eat for a healthier life style. They are learning how to crash diet.

This sounds a lot like the prep for bariatric surgery.

CherryOnionKiss

You are losing weight. Probably a combination of lean muscle, fat and bone density. If you lost at a lower rate while eating a healthy number of calories, you would lose more fat and less muscle. If you did weight training at the same time, you would lose mostly fat, almost no lean muscle and no bone density. It's really up to you what "weight" you want to lose.

All this being to say: MFP isn't about trying to eat the fewest possible number of calories. It's about learning to eat at a healthy level for your body - not too much and not too little. Here are some ideas for adding healthy calories, since you say you are struggling with this:

Chicken with the skin
Steak
Cheese
Whole eggs (including deviled eggs, egg salad)


what she said
Full fat dairy (including cottage cheese, yogurt)
Fruit,
Peanut butter or other nut butters
Nuts
Avocado
Dried fruit (raisins, apricots, apples)
Brown rice
Dark chocolate
Salmon
Add Chia seeds to salads or yogurt
Olive oil
Smoothies
Granola/sports nutrition bars
Whole grains or whole grain products

likitisplit

Also, why would you want to be 190, unless you are six feet tall?

Why not? If she feels good in her own skin at that weight, I don't see the problem. Not everybody wants to be stick thin...

Average body fat for women is between 25% and 31%. To maximize health, one should target the 25% range. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Body_fat_percentage

The average American woman is 5' 4"
At that height, 190 is 32.68 - which is obese

At 5' 6", 190 is 30.73% - Minimum acceptable
At 6'1", 190 is 25% - Maximum health benefits from losing fat.

Those numbers are completely meaningless. You cannot determine body fat using height and weight alone.

You're actually computing BMI, not BMR. BMR and BMI are totally different things.

When did I say I was calculating BMR?

The BMI numbers are not completely meaningless. They don't apply to everybody (for instance people with huge boobies or weightlifters), but they offer a good rule of thumb - which is why they are used so widely. For instance, I'm 5'9" and am targeting a final weight of 172 to achieve 25% body fat, based on a hydrostatic body fat test. That would give me a BMI of 25.4, which is off by half a pound.

Beckyloo80

No advice or "bashing" from me but I will say this...

...MFP has led me to learn about and from my body, I fight the urge to do a crazy fad, quick loss way of weight loss almost every week but I have done this before and it is not sustainable. This is the longest I have ever stuck at a weight loss journey and I know that my body needs to go slow in order to sustain.

Your body may start to tell you how it feels about 900cal a day quite soon, listen to it. Fight the urge for the quick fix and you will succeed.

Good luck.

And FYI I eat 1450ish per day and 20lbs down.

^^THIS!!!

More calories does not mean you are going to gain the weight back UNLESS you are eating more processed food and junk.

I started out at 184 lbs in Aug 2011. Yesterday I weighed in at 139.2...... 44 lbs, My goal was 150 lbs. Sure it took me a little over a year and a half, and I did it all by making healthy food choices and eating between 1300 and 1500 calories a day (up to 1750 now). I choose to eat foods that were better for me..... I chose to eat foods that were lower in calories but that I could have MORE of to help keep me full ( half a cup egg white scramble with tons of veggies). You will most likely gain your weight backing eating as you are now. Do not be scared of calories! Just choose your calories wisely. think of them as money..... you have 1200 cals a day (at min), be careful what you spend those cals on.

I hope you see that what you are doing is SO SO SO unhealthy and in the long run, will cause harm...... Please start eating more, you won't regret it and you will feel amazing.... especially when you reach your goal and you are able to keep the weight off!

kristen6022

I'm with everyone else. There's no need to eat that low and lose fast. The time doesn't make one difference. Your health does.

That being said, it sounds like you have it under control and are going to do what you think is right anyway. Us telling you to eat more isn't going to change your mind. You seem to just be looking for someone to agree with your decisions and you won't find that here. When I was losing I ate 1600 + exercise calories and lost a consistant 1lb-2lbs/week, even within my last 10 pounds. I went from 180-145 in 5 months (I'm 5'11). I learned how to eat for the rest of my life. There's no reason to starve yourself just to get to your goal faster. My journey taught me the "safe" way to lose the weight and even though I've gained a few since my low I know how to get it off when the time comes.

beachlover317

I was very discouraged by a friend on my list. We both had the same amount of weight to lose - 100+ pounds. We started on the same day. I decided to go with the road map and she kept doing her less than 1200 cals a day. She lost about 3 pounds every week and every body was cheering her on. I was determined to lift heavy and eat healthy. I was jealous of her losing so fast.

Flash forward one year. I am down 74 pounds, I can deadlift 110 pounds & doing Stronglifts, I am running for 32 minutes straight, I am healthy. My hair is thick and shiny. I pay attention to my macros. My friend is about 10 pounds from her goal. She posted the other day that she has serious vitamin D deficiencies, has a lot of loose skin and her hair is falling out.

It may take me another year to lose all my weight, but I will do it. You can too. There are lots of ways to go about it. The key is whether you want to be healthy at the end or not.

Good luck in your decision. :flowerforyou:

ldrosophila

:grumble: Women

mreeves261

I have a difficult time believing there are actual doctors monitoring your friends and they will likely regain their weight because they are not learning how to eat for a healthier life style. They are learning how to crash diet.

This sounds a lot like the prep for bariatric surgery.

Almost certain she is talking about the Medical Weight Loss Clinics, or something of their equal. NONE of which have a doctors name associated with a location. It actually states you are supervised by a highly trained staff. I had a friend that worked for about the equivalent of one of these places, she was not a doctor, but she was the one setting up the meals plans and diet supplements etc. The only doctor sponsored weight loss I can find is through local hospitals, including bariatric doctors.

RBXChas

I should be eating 1700 calories according to the 'in place of a road map' thread.

i've been eating about 900 calories a day.

my plan is to stay on 900

Really?

Think about this for a second.

You didn't get to 250 pounds because you're so darn smart about food. You don't become obese because you make good decisions about nutrition. Right?

So, you went and read a thread full of fantastic info and direction about weight loss because you're 250 pounds and want to lose weight. So what do you do? Throw all that advice and information out the window.

Really?

Yup, she went from 251 to 236 in 2.5 weeks on the Roadmap. That's 15 lbs in 2.5 weeks, or 6 lbs/week. That's pretty dang good. At that rate (assuming a completely linear loss), she could lose 50 lbs in a little over 8 weeks, or just about two months.

How that is not fast enough, I don't know, but while eating 900 calories/day instead of 1700 may get her there a bit faster, the long-term outlook is not nearly as good. Her body might resist going past a certain point, whereas at 1700, she can probably continue to lose assuming she has more to lose from there.

jonnythan

I should be eating 1700 calories according to the 'in place of a road map' thread.

i've been eating about 900 calories a day.

my plan is to stay on 900

Really?

Think about this for a second.

You didn't get to 250 pounds because you're so darn smart about food. You don't become obese because you make good decisions about nutrition. Right?

So, you went and read a thread full of fantastic info and direction about weight loss because you're 250 pounds and want to lose weight. So what do you do? Throw all that advice and information out the window.

Really?

Yup, she went from 251 to 236 in 2.5 weeks on the Roadmap. That's 15 lbs in 2.5 weeks, or 6 lbs/week. That's pretty dang good. At that rate (assuming a completely linear loss), she could lose 50 lbs in a little over 8 weeks, or just about two months.

How that is not fast enough, I don't know, but while eating 900 calories/day instead of 1700 may get her there a bit faster, the long-term outlook is not nearly as good. Her body might resist going past a certain point, whereas at 1700, she can probably continue to lose assuming she has more to lose from there.

Imagine how much faster she could lose eating 400 calories!

likitisplit

I was very discouraged by a friend on my list. We both had the same amount of weight to lose - 100+ pounds. We started on the same day. I decided to go with the road map and she kept doing her less than 1200 cals a day. She lost about 3 pounds every week and every body was cheering her on. I was determined to lift heavy and eat healthy. I was jealous of her losing so fast.

Flash forward one year. I am down 74 pounds, I can deadlift 110 pounds & doing Stronglifts, I am running for 32 minutes straight, I am healthy. My hair is thick and shiny. I pay attention to my macros. My friend is about 10 pounds from her goal. She posted the other day that she has serious vitamin D deficiencies, has a lot of loose skin and her hair is falling out.

It may take me another year to lose all my weight, but I will do it. You can too. There are lots of ways to go about it. The key is whether you want to be healthy at the end or not.

Good luck in your decision. :flowerforyou:

Way to go, Beachlover!

Annie83uk

i did that, i used to eat one meal a day, i would go to work with no breakfast, drink a bottle of coke in my lunch break or rice cakes with cheese, i would come home and have a plate of pasta with soup, or mushy peas and thats all i would eat all day. other days i might of had a packet of noodles for lunch, sometimes i had jacket potato cheese and beans, or tinned pasta meals. anyway if i was to work that out now i was probably only having bout 800 calories a day.i never exercised, the only exercise i did was going to work, i lost 3 stones in less then 3 months, i was always tired, i got very depressed and unstable, i then met my husband and started to eat proper meals i put on so much weight because my body wasn't used to that kind of food but i was happier. i put on 5 stone in 10 years and i'm paying for it now, i'm trying again but this time i am monitoring my food properly and exercising to tone my body, i have lost 16 pound in 6 weeks, i am the happiest i have ever been and i have so much energy. please don't go the same way i did i felt i was nearly on the verge of an eating disorder and it was scary, the reason i put on the weight was because i lost it too quick. one time during my diet i was so hungry i ate 10 fake mars bars and lost half a stone. please listen to your fellow mfp people and control your diet sensibly, the reccomended calorie intake will help you and teach you about nutrition along the way, also exercise will make you feel stronger willed. good luck on your weight loss, we all have your best interests at heart. sorry bout the essay lol :flowerforyou:

mstrickland9

I should be eating 1700 calories according to the 'in place of a road map' thread.

i've been eating about 900 calories a day.

my plan is to stay on 900

Really?

Think about this for a second.

You didn't get to 250 pounds because you're so darn smart about food. You don't become obese because you make good decisions about nutrition. Right?

So, you went and read a thread full of fantastic info and direction about weight loss because you're 250 pounds and want to lose weight. So what do you do? Throw all that advice and information out the window.

Really?

Yup, she went from 251 to 236 in 2.5 weeks on the Roadmap. That's 15 lbs in 2.5 weeks, or 6 lbs/week. That's pretty dang good. At that rate (assuming a completely linear loss), she could lose 50 lbs in a little over 8 weeks, or just about two months.

How that is not fast enough, I don't know, but while eating 900 calories/day instead of 1700 may get her there a bit faster, the long-term outlook is not nearly as good. Her body might resist going past a certain point, whereas at 1700, she can probably continue to lose assuming she has more to lose from there.

Imagine how much faster she could lose eating 400 calories!

Yes 400 calories!! Why not???? If 900 is so great, why not 400?

mreeves261

i did that, i used to eat one meal a day, i would go to work with no breakfast, drink a bottle of coke in my lunch break or rice cakes with cheese, i would come home and have a plate of pasta with soup, or mushy peas and thats all i would eat all day. other days i might of had a packet of noodles for lunch, sometimes i had jacket potato cheese and beans, or tinned pasta meals. anyway if i was to work that out now i was probably only having bout 800 calories a day.i never exercised, the only exercise i did was going to work, i lost 3 stones in less then 3 months, i was always tired, i got very depressed and unstable, i then met my husband and started to eat proper meals i put on so much weight because my body wasn't used to that kind of food but i was happier. i put on 5 stone in 10 years and i'm paying for it now, i'm trying again but this time i am monitoring my food properly and exercising to tone my body, i have lost 16 pound in 6 weeks, i am the happiest i have ever been and i have so much energy. please don't go the same way i did i felt i was nearly on the verge of an eating disorder and it was scary, the reason i put on the weight was because i lost it too quick. one time during my diet i was so hungry i ate 10 fake mars bars and lost half a stone. please listen to your fellow mfp people and control your diet sensibly, the reccomended calorie intake will help you and teach you about nutrition along the way, also exercise will make you feel stronger willed. good luck on your weight loss, we all have your best interests at heart. sorry bout the essay lol :flowerforyou:

Awesome for you!!! Glad to hear you didn't get back to your old ways!