Don't Judge but 30/M going from 1200 to 1500 - Nervous

and congratulations on your weight loss!

Nobody ever gave me my man card I got in the line for free cake twice and missed out.

I think I'm getting soft in my old age bit I think you just need a big cuddle and a bit of more help round the house! You seem a sweet guy who's been through a lot of problems one way or another. Glad you havent had all the kind of replies I was expecting on this thread. Was pretty brave of you to post on the forums in the first place with your kind of personality. Take care x

You are 5'9 and want to be 135lbs, that seems extremely low for a man..
Thats a BMI of 19, which is on the far low side of "normal"
Im female and 5'5 and 135lbs is MY goal weight.

You are 5'9 and want to be 135lbs, that seems extremely low for a man..
Thats a BMI of 19, which is on the far low side of "normal"
Im female and 5'5 and 135lbs is MY goal weight.

But that's a nonsensical statement. I'm 5'4" and currently weight about 115lb. I know to get my body fat to the level I want it I'll end up around 110lb. Still healthy, still acceptable BMI and for me and my frame easy to achieve (I mean achievable, it's not easy it's taken me 7 months to lose 8lb) - other people see someone slim and small, but I'm acutely aware of the jiggly bits that need toned and thei tight clothing that I'm determined not to grow out of. So to tell someone you've never seen and know nothing about that their goal is wrong based on what you want for yourself is utterly pointless surely?

Hola!

Well done on the weight loss, that's some achievement! We all know how hard it is to lose it, but how easy it is to gain it back! It's a bugger.

I've had a quick look through your diary and the thing that stands out is, based on what I know from my own personal weight loss journey, and my from my nurtionist appointments is, you have been eating very little for your stats and there's a high chance you have been losing lean muscle, not just body fat. You don't want this. Your sugar levels are quite high too. Once we drop our calories, our bodies adjust to that lower number of cals.....which is why a lot of the time, people will keep slashing their calories when they don't get the results they need and the body will just shut down and store fat. All that happens though is your body just slows down and when you either return to your old ways of eating or, start eating a hell of a lot more (processed/binge eating), you are more prone to gaining weight but more importantly body fat.

I can relate to you being frightened and not wanting to gain the weight back but I think now is a great opportunity for you to change things which is why you've reached out and created this post in the first place. So well done!

Since you're male, you shouldn't be going anything under 1500 cals however based on your sats, if it was me, I'd be getting your calories up to whatever your BMR is as minimum. This is what you need for basic functions to work, say if you were lying in bed all day. You'll know this no doubt. You need to eat to fuel your body to get you through the day regardless of whether you're doing exercise or not. It sounds like you have a busy day doing everything that you do, so eat as much as you can, whilst still watching your weight as you can.

I read you don't belong to a gym which is fine, not all of us can afford it or are bothered about getting fit. It really depends on what your priorites are. If you want to do exercise then you need to choose to do it, and make the time with no excuses. There's ways to work around exercise for free if you do want to get fit.......even half an hour a day in the house doing lunges, planks, squats, dips, pushups and crunches will give you strength and definition. For fitness itself, we're talking cardio! Get the kids out for a walk around the park, do something fun. If you can afford to get a workout dvd then I would totally recommend Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred, 3 x 20 mins workouts - it's absolutely brillant!! Exercise wise, if you start to do it, 50% of your workouts should be weight bearing. It has been found to help weight loss more, opposed to doing just doing cardio. Building more lean muscle allows your body to burn more efficiently and effectively.

Why is your goal 135lbs, if you don't mind me asking? That's far too low for you. You may not like what I am saying but it's true. That's what my goal is and I'm a 31 year old woman at 5ft5.

*ADVICE*

For the next 1-2 months do the following:

Increase your cals now. My advice to you is, once you increase your calories to your BMR at least, you will initially get a gain. This will subside in a week or so. Even in the case of an increase to 1500 cals which is what you want to do, yes, 300 calories isn't loads, but it depends on the person. It's huge to someone like you since you've been aiming at 1200 a day, yet hitting the 950 cals figure a lot. So to you, that's a 33% (or 25% when you hit 1200) increase.

The sooner you eat the correct amount of calories, the sooner you can sort your body out and improve your eating habits. I read some research that it takes around 21 days to break/form a new habit. You say you are a stay at home day who is also the maid, butler and cook so I wouldn't deem your activity level to be sedentary as you're going to be "on the go" a lot. Double check your BMR figures. Use this to calculate your BMR and TDEE: http://www.jillianmichaels.com/fitness-and-diet-tips/determining-your-AMR. I would put you at Light Physical Activity based on what you have said as a minimum. For friends I have helped with weight loss advice, once they've worked out their TDEE using the link above, I always say, reduce this by 10-20% and stick to that calorie level each day. In your case, I would probably suggest a 10% decrease from your TDEE since you're not currently doing exercise.

As for your meals, I would recommend that you aim for 3 meals and 2 snacks a day. Don't go any longer than 4 hours in between eating. Limit stimulants and eat as clean as you can and keep on with the good number of fluids you have each day.. for me as a rule of thumb to make things easier for myself, I aim for 1/2 my plate being veg with 1/4 protein and 1/4 complex carb. Change your macros to 40% carbs, 30% protein and 30% fat too on MFP under "Goals".

I hope that has helped and, if I can help with anything else, give me a shout and lastly, good luck on your journey.

Sarah

First off, please be gentle with your responses. I am a highly sensitive person (HSP) and I don't like aggressive criticism.

Since July 23rd I've been at a 1200 calorie deficiency. Actually, I haven't hit 1200 calories since my diet started in April (but I started tracking my food in July). This has been pretty successful though since I lost 64 lbs and have dropped my body fat from 23% to 18% and my BMI from 28ish to 23ish. But now that I am in the "healthy" range for my height, I have been thinking about increasing my caloric intake and changing my macros (again). My biggest concern though is that I'm going to pack the lbs back.

For those curious to run my numbers, I am 30 years old, male, 5'8", and last weighed in at 155.8. My activity level is SEDENTARY because I am a stay at home dad and a homemaker. There really isn't time to do any exercises around the house because I am also the house maid, the cook, and the butler. Again don't judge, this is the lifestyle I chose after losing my job so if you don't like it STFU and keep your "man card" talk to yourself.

So when you run my numbers, you'll see that I have a daily rate of around 2050 calories burned and a BMR of 1,639 calories/day. By eating 1500, I'll still be at a deficient of 500 calories (which I see is recommended) but I'm still concerned that I will A) put on weight, Cost the family more money because of my increased strain on the family, C) Be forced to eat grains to fill calories (I'm Gluten Intolerant) , and D) Going to stop losing weight even though the deficiency is still there.

My goal is to be at 135 lbs, which puts me in the middle of the "healthy bmi" range. And when I get there, I was going to have egg white protein incorporated in my diet and start lifting heavy crap around the house (can't afford a $10/month gym membership; we are poor).

I dunno, 300 calories doesn't seem like a whole lot, but it's going to create an extra meal in my daily caloric intake and money is already tight trying to eat as it is. And I know some of you are going to say "A man that was at 1200 in the first place, that's stupid" but keep your ego out of this. I need someone to tell me what to expect when I increase my caloric intake and tell me how my body is going to respond to the extra food. Also, when I should I implement the increase? Make a 4th meal (like I plan) or increase my caloric intake each meal?

Hi,

first of all, I applaud you to be manly enough to take on the job of stay-at-home dad and housekeeper (and butler ) - not sedentary at all, but I chose that level for the BMR as well, even though I run around all day being the one bringing home the bacon (or, I should say, the low-fat ham).

Okay, to your question: as you already know, nothing is written in stone, and you have a good grasp of tracking your food already. So just try it out. If you find you gain from an increased 300 cal intake, reduce it to 200. If you find you lose and end up losing too much (personally, I think 132 is really low for a man at 5'8, but I am sure you now what is best for you), add another 50 or 100 cal.

Congratulations on your loss - now you have the luxury of playing with your calories - so just listen to your body and adjust and tweak where and when you need to!!

Cheers
Karin