Anyone else discovered low calories are their only option?

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Replies

  • toutmonpossible
    toutmonpossible Posts: 1,580 Member
    #1 eating 800-1000 calories a day..with do SO MUCH damage to your metabolism its ridiculous...please eat.

    #2 with this amount of calories, yes you will lose weight, but you're creating an eating disorder and are starving yourself.

    #3 You need to eat at least your BMR amount of calories...however with exercise your body needs more.

    Please seek a new doctor and or nutritionist. The one you saw obviously doesn't have any idea what their talking about.


    Eating 800 to 1000 is not damaging to your metabolism. The issue is whether you will commit to a diet with that few calories long enough to lose weight.

    People have been on medically supervised diets of 400 calories a day. A few have consumed virtually nothing (again, medically supervised, I'm not suggesting that anyone do this on her or his own). An eating disorder is psychological/mental. You have to have a predisposition for it. If you have problems, obviously you should follow a conservative diet.

    You can eat below your BMR if you want. There's an expert (Registered Dietitian) who posts here periodically who said it is not unhealthy. The issue is whether you will keep it up. Some can, some can't, some will, some won't.
  • toutmonpossible
    toutmonpossible Posts: 1,580 Member
    All the failed experiment with road map taught me was where I maintain and that is at 1510 calories per day.
    Learning is failure? You know your maintenance level. Since you only have 11 lbs to lose, you would not be needing a huge deficit to lose. You can lose on anything below 1510, including 1400, etc. The funniest part is that you're saying TDEE - 20% doesn't work and you're going to do 1200 instead. But 1200 is your TDEE -20%.

    GAINING 7 pounds is failure.

    My actual TDEE worked out to 2300 a day in calories minus the 20% crap.

    No I do not lose at 1400, nor at 1300. You forget even with a food scale there is still the margin of error all scales except calibrated yearly analytical balance scales possess and even those still have a variance of .5-1% error rate allowed.

    So yes, it was a failure. I just wasted 6 months of work. the original 3 to lose that 7 pounds initially and then regained it over the next 3, so by the time I get them back off 9 months of my life will have been spent in vain efforts of weight loss.

    I love this. ONLY on MFP would gaining 7 pounds not be viewed as a failure and a signal that it's time to try something else.:smile: FWIW, I try something for 30 days and if there's no change, I move on.

    The reasonI shoot low is for precisely the reason you mentioned, to factor in error. I roughly track my calorie intake, weigh myself a few times a week, try to get in some activity (although I ignore the calorie burn estimates, which are usually too high). It's really not that hard if you're willing to monitor your progress and think for yourself.

    And eating more to lose more sounds counterintuitive because it is. The people advocating it are not elite athletes who need to challenge their systems; all they have to do is consistently create a calorie deficit and they would lose weight.
  • JAT74
    JAT74 Posts: 1,081 Member
    I know how you feel! Part of me also feels like I've wasted 4 months when I would have been at goal weight and maintaining by now. I listened to the advice and it didn't work for me. Not everyone is the same and I actually suspect that my true BMR and TDEE are much lower than for some other people the same age, weight and height as me.

    I am also interested in other theories too like what my body is able to tolerate ie. Carbs vs low carbs, fat etc. My mum was at yet thinnest of 111 lbs and 5 foot 6 aged 64 when she ate a diet of rice, oats, potatoes, some vegetables, fruit, plain steamed chicken and fish for medical reasons.
  • LiftAllThePizzas
    LiftAllThePizzas Posts: 17,857 Member
    All the failed experiment with road map taught me was where I maintain and that is at 1510 calories per day.
    Learning is failure? You know your maintenance level. Since you only have 11 lbs to lose, you would not be needing a huge deficit to lose. You can lose on anything below 1510, including 1400, etc. The funniest part is that you're saying TDEE - 20% doesn't work and you're going to do 1200 instead. But 1200 is your TDEE -20%.

    GAINING 7 pounds is failure.

    My actual TDEE worked out to 2300 a day in calories minus the 20% crap following the links set forth in the road map post.

    No I do not lose at 1400, nor at 1300. You forget even with a food scale there is still the margin of error all scales except calibrated yearly analytical balance scales possess and even those still have a variance of .5-1% error rate allowed.

    So yes, it was a failure. I just wasted 6 months of work. the original 3 to lose that 7 pounds initially and then regained it over the next 3, so by the time I get them back off 9 months of my life will have been spent in vain efforts of weight loss.
    No, your actual TDEE is 1510. TDEE is by definition the amount you need to maintain. Sorry that your life was wasted and you were unable to do anything else during that entire time or enjoy living or anything. But your TDEE is not 2300. And yes you would lose at 1400. You wouldn't lose as quickly as you would at 1300 but you would still lose. Yes there is a margin of error but the error goes both ways, and you've also already 'calibrated' the relative values of your TDEE and your scale's inaccuracy.
  • Mharren
    Mharren Posts: 60
    For your eating habits to qualify as a clinical disorder they must meet specific criteria. These criteria are mostly psychiatric in nature (See the DSM-IV-TR). Some people have eating habits that qualify as 'disordered eating' in that they eat more calories a day than makes sense according to our current measures of metabolism and neither gain weight or have weight issues. The same can happen with people who eat <900 (general rule of thumb for adult starvation).

    There may not be anything medically wrong with the OP the leads to her needing mathematical calories deprivation to lose weight. All measures in clinical science are 'ball park' and have margins or error: wiggle room. Like fever's. It's not automatically a fever at 38.0C but it could be a fever at 37.5. If the base line is 36.2C, a clinically 'normal' temp of 37.5C is a fever, and 38.0 is even worse, because we have wiggle room, and that's 1.0C change in temperature, not strict set values.

    Why am I babbling about fevers?

    A calorie in dietary application is an arbitrary value, like a dozen, or a mol. If you've ever had to study chemistry you've probably gone 'wait a minute, what the hell, the back of my candy bar makes no sense." This being said, lets say starvation is <800-1000cal/day (someone posted that here). Let's apply wiggle room of 100-300cals for a given person. If the OP needs to wiggle her room below the 'normal' or 'acceptable' range, that doesn't mean she's pathological (like the fever thing). And it doesn't mean there is anything wrong with her.

    That being said, because the OP is aware of their low calorie intake, it is highly advisable that during regular medical check-ups the OP inform the physician of their restricted diet. This allows the physician just to 'keep an eye out' when interpreting routine screening tests to make sure that all is operational and restricted intake can continue.

    Without a psychiatric component and no present physical disorder, there is no 'Eating Disorder', clinically speaking. But there is reason to keep tabs on the health of the individual as it is a feature that deviates from the norm of regular patients.

    If you keep checking out healthy, than arbitrary numbers are no cause for concern.

    Cheers,
    -Mharren
  • toutmonpossible
    toutmonpossible Posts: 1,580 Member
    I know how you feel! Part of me also feels like I've wasted 4 months when I would have been at goal weight and maintaining by now. I listened to the advice and it didn't work for me. Not everyone is the same and I actually suspect that my true BMR and TDEE are much lower than for some other people the same age, weight and height as me.

    I am also interested in other theories too like what my body is able to tolerate ie. Carbs vs low carbs, fat etc. My mum was at yet thinnest of 111 lbs and 5 foot 6 aged 64 when she ate a diet of rice, oats, potatoes, some vegetables, fruit, plain steamed chicken and fish for medical reasons.

    There's nothing wrong with trying things, but it's important to move on when progress is not evident. I suppose i'm less susceptible to some of the odder suggestions on MFP because I've never been overweight nor have I ever had trouble losing weight when I set my mind to it. I ate less and lost. As I've gotten older, I find my caloric needs keep decreasing. it sucks but that's common.
  • Danilynn1975
    Danilynn1975 Posts: 294 Member
    All the failed experiment with road map taught me was where I maintain and that is at 1510 calories per day.
    Learning is failure? You know your maintenance level. Since you only have 11 lbs to lose, you would not be needing a huge deficit to lose. You can lose on anything below 1510, including 1400, etc. The funniest part is that you're saying TDEE - 20% doesn't work and you're going to do 1200 instead. But 1200 is your TDEE -20%.

    GAINING 7 pounds is failure.

    My actual TDEE worked out to 2300 a day in calories minus the 20% crap following the links set forth in the road map post.

    No I do not lose at 1400, nor at 1300. You forget even with a food scale there is still the margin of error all scales except calibrated yearly analytical balance scales possess and even those still have a variance of .5-1% error rate allowed.

    So yes, it was a failure. I just wasted 6 months of work. the original 3 to lose that 7 pounds initially and then regained it over the next 3, so by the time I get them back off 9 months of my life will have been spent in vain efforts of weight loss.
    No, your actual TDEE is 1510. TDEE is by definition the amount you need to maintain. Sorry that your life was wasted and you were unable to do anything else during that entire time or enjoy living or anything. But your TDEE is not 2300. And yes you would lose at 1400. You wouldn't lose as quickly as you would at 1300 but you would still lose. Yes there is a margin of error but the error goes both ways, and you've also already 'calibrated' the relative values of your TDEE and your scale's inaccuracy.

    The road map thing that people around here love to push as gospel and follow it, follow it, follow it or die by starvation! gave me that number as did Helloitsdan via PMs. I followed it, gained weight.

    But ya know what you are so determined to be right when you don't know me, my lifestyle, stress level or jack diddly about me.

    SO here's your "YOU ARE RIGHT!" gold star darling! Go back and play in your precious it's right thread for eat more to weigh less playground.

    But for the record, GAINING WEIGHT IS A FAILURE.
  • JulesAlloggio
    JulesAlloggio Posts: 480 Member
    This guy is an actual Doctor...feel free to educate yourselves by watching this.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EY1DsZMNfNw
  • toutmonpossible
    toutmonpossible Posts: 1,580 Member
    This guy is an actual Doctor...feel free to educate yourselves by watching this.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EY1DsZMNfNw

    Based on the quality of your prior statements I will not waste my time. Everything you said was inaccurate.
  • JAT74
    JAT74 Posts: 1,081 Member
    Mharren I'm not eating less than 900 calories and have no intention of doing so, my primary goal for weight loss is to lower my body fat to a healthier level as it's current around 31 percent. At the least I'll go down to 1100 calories but I'll keep experimenting from where I am now and see if I can lose at 1300 and if not I'll lower my cals again.
  • mindydaile
    mindydaile Posts: 8 Member

    No, your actual TDEE is 1510. TDEE is by definition the amount you need to maintain. Sorry that your life was wasted and you were unable to do anything else during that entire time or enjoy living or anything. But your TDEE is not 2300. And yes you would lose at 1400. You wouldn't lose as quickly as you would at 1300 but you would still lose. Yes there is a margin of error but the error goes both ways, and you've also already 'calibrated' the relative values of your TDEE and your scale's inaccuracy.

    The road map thing that people around here love to push as gospel and follow it, follow it, follow it or die by starvation! gave me that number as did Helloitsdan via PMs. I followed it, gained weight.

    But ya know what you are so determined to be right when you don't know me, my lifestyle, stress level or jack diddly about me.

    SO here's your "YOU ARE RIGHT!" gold star darling! Go back and play in your precious it's right thread for eat more to weigh less playground.

    But for the record, GAINING WEIGHT IS A FAILURE.

    I think your response to this poster was completely uncalled for. Look at what they are actually saying! All of the calculators online (including the road map and dan and everything else) uses ESTIMATES that are based on the population at large. The are STARTING points from which you can then refine and discover your individual numbers.

    You've done that. Your experimentation found that for you the estimates are not right - your TDEE is lower than the "norm" which is why the numbers you are getting from all theses calculators are wrong.

    Your TDEE is 1510. Not whatever the calculators say. Try eating 1510 - 20% for a month and see where you stand.
  • toutmonpossible
    toutmonpossible Posts: 1,580 Member

    But for the record, GAINING WEIGHT IS A FAILURE.

    Yes, white is not black, up is not down and 2 + 2 = 4, at least in the real world. :smile:
  • estherlion
    estherlion Posts: 86 Member
    I am experiencing the same exact thing as you. I am going to go see a Dr in my area that can hook me up to a machine and tell me my real RMR so i don't waste more time. I need this weight off!!
  • janetteluparia
    janetteluparia Posts: 318 Member
    5:2 works. Once you establish it, do TDEE-20% on your feast days. It works. Broke my plateau and I am SO grateful!!
  • Deipneus
    Deipneus Posts: 1,855 Member
    So after 4+ months on MFP and after following tons of advice to eat more, eat at TDEE - 15,20 or 25 pc and to eat back exercise calories etc. without success I've finally concluded that the only way I can lose any scale weight OR body fat is to eat no more than 9000 calories per week or an average of just under 1300 per day. All this while burning off 3000 calories through exercise including lifting weights 3 times a week.
    Good for you and congratulations. As you are discovering, various people will have a problem with your 9,000 calories a week but at one time I ate at that level myself with no ill-effects.
  • JAT74
    JAT74 Posts: 1,081 Member
    Janette I'm glad it worked for you but it's not working for me and it's been nearly 5 weeks. I love doing 5:2 but can't do TDEE - 20 pc on fast days so that's why I've decided to eat 1450-1650 on feast days of lower still if I have to.
  • Danilynn1975
    Danilynn1975 Posts: 294 Member

    No, your actual TDEE is 1510. TDEE is by definition the amount you need to maintain. Sorry that your life was wasted and you were unable to do anything else during that entire time or enjoy living or anything. But your TDEE is not 2300. And yes you would lose at 1400. You wouldn't lose as quickly as you would at 1300 but you would still lose. Yes there is a margin of error but the error goes both ways, and you've also already 'calibrated' the relative values of your TDEE and your scale's inaccuracy.

    The road map thing that people around here love to push as gospel and follow it, follow it, follow it or die by starvation! gave me that number as did Helloitsdan via PMs. I followed it, gained weight.

    But ya know what you are so determined to be right when you don't know me, my lifestyle, stress level or jack diddly about me.

    SO here's your "YOU ARE RIGHT!" gold star darling! Go back and play in your precious it's right thread for eat more to weigh less playground.

    But for the record, GAINING WEIGHT IS A FAILURE.

    I think your response to this poster was completely uncalled for. Look at what they are actually saying! All of the calculators online (including the road map and dan and everything else) uses ESTIMATES that are based on the population at large. The are STARTING points from which you can then refine and discover your individual numbers.

    You've done that. Your experimentation found that for you the estimates are not right - your TDEE is lower than the "norm" which is why the numbers you are getting from all theses calculators are wrong.

    Your TDEE is 1510. Not whatever the calculators say. Try eating 1510 - 20% for a month and see where you stand.

    Which still means I wasted 6 months of time failing at weight loss. That 1510 minus the 20% is 1208. Which according to everything that the eat more folks preach is going to starve me to death. do untold damage to my body.

    Now account for the scale inaccuracy, becaue I am not going to personally spend 3 grand on an analytical balance like they use in professional labs, and I probably should stop eating for the day at roughly 1000 to 1050 calories a day to allow for that inaccuracy.

    Which will in turn set off riots because OMG! I'm starving myself.

    If reading a thread about other folks struggles to follow this hallowed sanctified eat more stuff and it's failures for us personally offends you, then perhaps you should stick to the threads preaching eat more. I don't go in them because they don't work for me and there's no sense telling other people who are doing well they are wrong. Also by that same logic train perhaps telling me I am wrong when I did try it is also just ignorant. But thanks anyway for your PC policing skills. You'd make an excellent HR rep.
  • katy_trail
    katy_trail Posts: 1,992 Member
    low calorie smo calorie
    it was never for me
  • toutmonpossible
    toutmonpossible Posts: 1,580 Member
    I am experiencing the same exact thing as you. I am going to go see a Dr in my area that can hook me up to a machine and tell me my real RMR so i don't waste more time. I need this weight off!!

    That's smart.
  • Mads1997
    Mads1997 Posts: 1,494 Member
    I am similar. I started out eating what MFP gave me to lose the recommended weight loss per week (1600 cals I think it was )and also ate all my exercise calories back. While this worked for the first 20 kilos it stopped working so I tried upping my calories on the advice of the eat more 2 weigh less crew so I went from 1600 to 1700 to 1800 and kept gaining, I stuck at it for a few months and gained just as many kilos back. I tried changing exercise etc nothing seemed to work. It wasn't because I had slowed my metabolism either like everyone tried to tell me.

    In frustration I went to a registered dietician. I told her all the problems I was having losing weight so we had my BMR tested and it came back that my BMR is a lot lower than any online calculator gave me. I am now eating under my BMR (not unhealthy or dangerous if you have plenty of fat stores) and have been losing again.
  • JAT74
    JAT74 Posts: 1,081 Member
    Wish I was in a position to do the same but will have to stick to trial and error. I definitely have plenty of fat stores!
  • LiftAllThePizzas
    LiftAllThePizzas Posts: 17,857 Member
    All the failed experiment with road map taught me was where I maintain and that is at 1510 calories per day.
    Learning is failure? You know your maintenance level. Since you only have 11 lbs to lose, you would not be needing a huge deficit to lose. You can lose on anything below 1510, including 1400, etc. The funniest part is that you're saying TDEE - 20% doesn't work and you're going to do 1200 instead. But 1200 is your TDEE -20%.

    GAINING 7 pounds is failure.

    My actual TDEE worked out to 2300 a day in calories minus the 20% crap following the links set forth in the road map post.

    No I do not lose at 1400, nor at 1300. You forget even with a food scale there is still the margin of error all scales except calibrated yearly analytical balance scales possess and even those still have a variance of .5-1% error rate allowed.

    So yes, it was a failure. I just wasted 6 months of work. the original 3 to lose that 7 pounds initially and then regained it over the next 3, so by the time I get them back off 9 months of my life will have been spent in vain efforts of weight loss.
    No, your actual TDEE is 1510. TDEE is by definition the amount you need to maintain. Sorry that your life was wasted and you were unable to do anything else during that entire time or enjoy living or anything. But your TDEE is not 2300. And yes you would lose at 1400. You wouldn't lose as quickly as you would at 1300 but you would still lose. Yes there is a margin of error but the error goes both ways, and you've also already 'calibrated' the relative values of your TDEE and your scale's inaccuracy.

    The road map thing that people around here love to push as gospel and follow it, follow it, follow it or die by starvation! gave me that number as did Helloitsdan via PMs. I followed it, gained weight.

    But ya know what you are so determined to be right when you don't know me, my lifestyle, stress level or jack diddly about me.

    SO here's your "YOU ARE RIGHT!" gold star darling! Go back and play in your precious it's right thread for eat more to weigh less playground.

    But for the record, GAINING WEIGHT IS A FAILURE.
    Sorry to disappoint you. I'm not into eat more to weigh less or IPOARM or whatever. I'm not a member of any of those groups and I don't care what those people say. You are missing the point. Your TDEE is 1510. I really don't care what Dan or anyone else says your TDEE is. The numbers the calculators give you are only a ballpark estimate to be used as a starting point. I don't need to know your lifestyle, stress or jack diddly. All I need to know is that you said you found that your weight stayed the same at 1510. That's your TDEE. That is what TDEE means.

    1500 times 80% is 1200.
    Your TDEE - 20% = 1200.

    By eating at 1200 you are actually doing TDEE -20%. So saying that it doesn't work is a failure.

    And sorry again that you allowed seven pounds to ruin your life.
  • JulesAlloggio
    JulesAlloggio Posts: 480 Member
    This guy is an actual Doctor...feel free to educate yourselves by watching this.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EY1DsZMNfNw

    Based on the quality of your prior statements I will not waste my time. Everything you said was inaccurate.

    Wow thats not very nice... hmmm sorry you feel that way.
  • madrose0715
    madrose0715 Posts: 463 Member

    No, your actual TDEE is 1510. TDEE is by definition the amount you need to maintain. Sorry that your life was wasted and you were unable to do anything else during that entire time or enjoy living or anything. But your TDEE is not 2300. And yes you would lose at 1400. You wouldn't lose as quickly as you would at 1300 but you would still lose. Yes there is a margin of error but the error goes both ways, and you've also already 'calibrated' the relative values of your TDEE and your scale's inaccuracy.

    The road map thing that people around here love to push as gospel and follow it, follow it, follow it or die by starvation! gave me that number as did Helloitsdan via PMs. I followed it, gained weight.

    But ya know what you are so determined to be right when you don't know me, my lifestyle, stress level or jack diddly about me.

    SO here's your "YOU ARE RIGHT!" gold star darling! Go back and play in your precious it's right thread for eat more to weigh less playground.

    But for the record, GAINING WEIGHT IS A FAILURE.

    I think your response to this poster was completely uncalled for. Look at what they are actually saying! All of the calculators online (including the road map and dan and everything else) uses ESTIMATES that are based on the population at large. The are STARTING points from which you can then refine and discover your individual numbers.

    You've done that. Your experimentation found that for you the estimates are not right - your TDEE is lower than the "norm" which is why the numbers you are getting from all theses calculators are wrong.

    Your TDEE is 1510. Not whatever the calculators say. Try eating 1510 - 20% for a month and see where you stand.

    Which still means I wasted 6 months of time failing at weight loss. That 1510 minus the 20% is 1208. Which according to everything that the eat more folks preach is going to starve me to death. do untold damage to my body.

    Now account for the scale inaccuracy, becaue I am not going to personally spend 3 grand on an analytical balance like they use in professional labs, and I probably should stop eating for the day at roughly 1000 to 1050 calories a day to allow for that inaccuracy.

    Which will in turn set off riots because OMG! I'm starving myself.

    If reading a thread about other folks struggles to follow this hallowed sanctified eat more stuff and it's failures for us personally offends you, then perhaps you should stick to the threads preaching eat more. I don't go in them because they don't work for me and there's no sense telling other people who are doing well they are wrong. Also by that same logic train perhaps telling me I am wrong when I did try it is also just ignorant. But thanks anyway for your PC policing skills. You'd make an excellent HR rep.


    Wow. Bitter much? So YOU failed at EATMORE. It didn't work FOR YOU. Do you find it neccessary to be hostile to everyone who writes in this thread who SUCCEEDS with it? Is this thread about you or the OP??? Personally, any learning in the process to a healthy life should be valued...but hey. Continue with your bitterness. For every indivdual who succeeds here on VLCD, there are significantly more succeeding with EatMore.
  • quill16
    quill16 Posts: 373 Member
    Yes!!!!! I thought it was just me at first, but I have been successful at 1200 cals and lost ALL of my weight with this and exercise. I wish I could eat more, but now after years of trial and error ,I have truly learned how my body reacts. I exercise about 2 hours a day Running 5 miles/day and swimming an hour 6 days a week. I added in lifting and free weights 3 days a week .All this burns 800-900 cals a day. I eat 1200-1300 cals/day to lose and 1400-1500 cals to maintain. I have been on maintenance for almost a year now. When I gain back5 or so lbs I go right back to 1200 cals and get it off. I weigh everyday.These are things that work for me and everyone has to figure it out. The numbers are averages and guides. I know what worked for me.
    FYI I am fit and not starving. My muscles are getting bigger and stronger. My bloodwork is perfect and my doctor is pleased.
  • madrose0715
    madrose0715 Posts: 463 Member
    All the failed experiment with road map taught me was where I maintain and that is at 1510 calories per day.
    Learning is failure? You know your maintenance level. Since you only have 11 lbs to lose, you would not be needing a huge deficit to lose. You can lose on anything below 1510, including 1400, etc. The funniest part is that you're saying TDEE - 20% doesn't work and you're going to do 1200 instead. But 1200 is your TDEE -20%.

    GAINING 7 pounds is failure.

    My actual TDEE worked out to 2300 a day in calories minus the 20% crap following the links set forth in the road map post.

    No I do not lose at 1400, nor at 1300. You forget even with a food scale there is still the margin of error all scales except calibrated yearly analytical balance scales possess and even those still have a variance of .5-1% error rate allowed.

    So yes, it was a failure. I just wasted 6 months of work. the original 3 to lose that 7 pounds initially and then regained it over the next 3, so by the time I get them back off 9 months of my life will have been spent in vain efforts of weight loss.
    No, your actual TDEE is 1510. TDEE is by definition the amount you need to maintain. Sorry that your life was wasted and you were unable to do anything else during that entire time or enjoy living or anything. But your TDEE is not 2300. And yes you would lose at 1400. You wouldn't lose as quickly as you would at 1300 but you would still lose. Yes there is a margin of error but the error goes both ways, and you've also already 'calibrated' the relative values of your TDEE and your scale's inaccuracy.

    The road map thing that people around here love to push as gospel and follow it, follow it, follow it or die by starvation! gave me that number as did Helloitsdan via PMs. I followed it, gained weight.

    But ya know what you are so determined to be right when you don't know me, my lifestyle, stress level or jack diddly about me.

    SO here's your "YOU ARE RIGHT!" gold star darling! Go back and play in your precious it's right thread for eat more to weigh less playground.

    But for the record, GAINING WEIGHT IS A FAILURE.
    Sorry to disappoint you. I'm not into eat more to weigh less or IPOARM or whatever. I'm not a member of any of those groups and I don't care what those people say. You are missing the point. Your TDEE is 1510. I really don't care what Dan or anyone else says your TDEE is. The numbers the calculators give you are only a ballpark estimate to be used as a starting point. I don't need to know your lifestyle, stress or jack diddly. All I need to know is that you said you found that your weight stayed the same at 1510. That's your TDEE. That is what TDEE means.

    1500 times 80% is 1200.
    Your TDEE - 20% = 1200.

    By eating at 1200 you are actually doing TDEE -20%. So saying that it doesn't work is a failure.

    And sorry again that you allowed seven pounds to ruin your life.

    ^^^ Exactly. God math hurts.
  • westcoastgrl21
    westcoastgrl21 Posts: 172 Member
    At the risk of feeling the wrath of most of the MFP community, I support you on this one. I think I fall into the category of a "unique snowflake" as they like to call it on here. My TDEE is about 2300-2800 per day (according to my BodyMedia). I'm on my feet most of the day, and I hit the gym (heavy lifting plus 40 min of cardio) daily. I've tried all sorts of methods of weight loss, and the only thing that has EVER worked for me was cutting calories to about 1500 per day. I recently tried the "roadmap" method for 2 months hoping that there was some method that would allow me to eat a little more and still lose, and the scale didn't budge. Plus I was hungry at the 1900 calories it allowed. Fail. I'm not technically "overweight", 133 lbs at 5'7" tall, ~26% bodyfat. I am easily able to maintain my weight at around 2300-2500 cals a day, HOWEVER once I gain a little extra (I tend to indulge in sweets a bit too much), it's incredibly difficult for me to lose it again. You know your own body and so long as you've been screened for medical issues then do what is working to lose the weight. Just be very aware that the foods you're eating are nutrient-rich so you get everything you need micro-nutrient wise. I do endorse weight lifting, as adding muscle mass will increase your metabolism and allow you to maintain your weight at a higher calorie intake once you get to where you want to be. Good luck to you and keep up the good work!
  • Danilynn1975
    Danilynn1975 Posts: 294 Member
    All the failed experiment with road map taught me was where I maintain and that is at 1510 calories per day.
    Learning is failure? You know your maintenance level. Since you only have 11 lbs to lose, you would not be needing a huge deficit to lose. You can lose on anything below 1510, including 1400, etc. The funniest part is that you're saying TDEE - 20% doesn't work and you're going to do 1200 instead. But 1200 is your TDEE -20%.

    GAINING 7 pounds is failure.

    My actual TDEE worked out to 2300 a day in calories minus the 20% crap following the links set forth in the road map post.

    No I do not lose at 1400, nor at 1300. You forget even with a food scale there is still the margin of error all scales except calibrated yearly analytical balance scales possess and even those still have a variance of .5-1% error rate allowed.

    So yes, it was a failure. I just wasted 6 months of work. the original 3 to lose that 7 pounds initially and then regained it over the next 3, so by the time I get them back off 9 months of my life will have been spent in vain efforts of weight loss.
    No, your actual TDEE is 1510. TDEE is by definition the amount you need to maintain. Sorry that your life was wasted and you were unable to do anything else during that entire time or enjoy living or anything. But your TDEE is not 2300. And yes you would lose at 1400. You wouldn't lose as quickly as you would at 1300 but you would still lose. Yes there is a margin of error but the error goes both ways, and you've also already 'calibrated' the relative values of your TDEE and your scale's inaccuracy.

    The road map thing that people around here love to push as gospel and follow it, follow it, follow it or die by starvation! gave me that number as did Helloitsdan via PMs. I followed it, gained weight.

    But ya know what you are so determined to be right when you don't know me, my lifestyle, stress level or jack diddly about me.

    SO here's your "YOU ARE RIGHT!" gold star darling! Go back and play in your precious it's right thread for eat more to weigh less playground.

    But for the record, GAINING WEIGHT IS A FAILURE.
    Sorry to disappoint you. I'm not into eat more to weigh less or IPOARM or whatever. I'm not a member of any of those groups and I don't care what those people say. You are missing the point. Your TDEE is 1510. I really don't care what Dan or anyone else says your TDEE is. The numbers the calculators give you are only a ballpark estimate to be used as a starting point. I don't need to know your lifestyle, stress or jack diddly. All I need to know is that you said you found that your weight stayed the same at 1510. That's your TDEE. That is what TDEE means.

    1500 times 80% is 1200.
    Your TDEE - 20% = 1200.

    By eating at 1200 you are actually doing TDEE -20%. So saying that it doesn't work is a failure.

    And sorry again that you allowed seven pounds to ruin your life.

    ^^^ Exactly. God math hurts.

    I can add, and subtract, multiply and divide. My "TDEE" is actually 1510, 20% less of that is 1208. not 1207, not 1209. 1208.

    Not bitter. Just sick of people telling me what should work. glad it did for you. As of now I have lost well over 40 pounds, closer to fifty. When you have been here just a wee bit longer than 2 months and have really gotten deep into your "journey" come back and tell me wasting 6 months isn't a disheartening endeavor.
  • madrose0715
    madrose0715 Posts: 463 Member
    OP: I have been playing with the number of calories I consume for a couple months now. My activity level has changed dramatically since I started logging here back in February. I think, ultimately, the process of playing with the numbers is advantageous because it let's you see how your body responds to different calorie levels. I believe that IPOARM supporters would agree that ultimately, each indvidual needs to do that. For anyone to think that one standard/calculator will be the answer for one and all is rather ridiculous. Many people succeed at higher calorie intakes, but I think individual variations to the calculators are absolutely the norm and no one should feel like they 'fail' because they cannot lose weight at higher intakes.
  • madrose0715
    madrose0715 Posts: 463 Member
    All the failed experiment with road map taught me was where I maintain and that is at 1510 calories per day.
    Learning is failure? You know your maintenance level. Since you only have 11 lbs to lose, you would not be needing a huge deficit to lose. You can lose on anything below 1510, including 1400, etc. The funniest part is that you're saying TDEE - 20% doesn't work and you're going to do 1200 instead. But 1200 is your TDEE -20%.

    GAINING 7 pounds is failure.

    My actual TDEE worked out to 2300 a day in calories minus the 20% crap following the links set forth in the road map post.

    No I do not lose at 1400, nor at 1300. You forget even with a food scale there is still the margin of error all scales except calibrated yearly analytical balance scales possess and even those still have a variance of .5-1% error rate allowed.

    So yes, it was a failure. I just wasted 6 months of work. the original 3 to lose that 7 pounds initially and then regained it over the next 3, so by the time I get them back off 9 months of my life will have been spent in vain efforts of weight loss.
    No, your actual TDEE is 1510. TDEE is by definition the amount you need to maintain. Sorry that your life was wasted and you were unable to do anything else during that entire time or enjoy living or anything. But your TDEE is not 2300. And yes you would lose at 1400. You wouldn't lose as quickly as you would at 1300 but you would still lose. Yes there is a margin of error but the error goes both ways, and you've also already 'calibrated' the relative values of your TDEE and your scale's inaccuracy.

    The road map thing that people around here love to push as gospel and follow it, follow it, follow it or die by starvation! gave me that number as did Helloitsdan via PMs. I followed it, gained weight.

    But ya know what you are so determined to be right when you don't know me, my lifestyle, stress level or jack diddly about me.

    SO here's your "YOU ARE RIGHT!" gold star darling! Go back and play in your precious it's right thread for eat more to weigh less playground.

    But for the record, GAINING WEIGHT IS A FAILURE.
    Sorry to disappoint you. I'm not into eat more to weigh less or IPOARM or whatever. I'm not a member of any of those groups and I don't care what those people say. You are missing the point. Your TDEE is 1510. I really don't care what Dan or anyone else says your TDEE is. The numbers the calculators give you are only a ballpark estimate to be used as a starting point. I don't need to know your lifestyle, stress or jack diddly. All I need to know is that you said you found that your weight stayed the same at 1510. That's your TDEE. That is what TDEE means.

    1500 times 80% is 1200.
    Your TDEE - 20% = 1200.

    By eating at 1200 you are actually doing TDEE -20%. So saying that it doesn't work is a failure.

    And sorry again that you allowed seven pounds to ruin your life.

    ^^^ Exactly. God math hurts.

    I can add, and subtract, multiply and divide. My "TDEE" is actually 1510, 20% less of that is 1208. not 1207, not 1209. 1208.

    Not bitter. Just sick of people telling me what should work. glad it did for you. As of now I have lost well over 40 pounds, closer to fifty. When you have been here just a wee bit longer than 2 months and have really gotten deep into your "journey" come back and tell me wasting 6 months isn't a disheartening endeavor.

    See - your emotions on this subject are so reactive you are making ridiculous assumptions about things. I have lost over 60 pounds since February 2012 and well over 30 inches on my body. The fact that I have only had a profile on MFP for 2 months does not discredit my logic.