Leave well enough alone?

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mrsbeck
mrsbeck Posts: 234 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
So, I weighed in this morning, and I'm down another 4 pounds since two weeks ago. MFP recommends changing my goals. So I mess around with my settings, and find that I'm only set for .8 pound weight loss per week. So I changed it to 1 pound. Now I have only 1320 cals per day, and I'm a little nervous about that...staying at 1400 has been a bit challenging.

What I'm wondering is this: I'm losing, and losing at a good pace on 1400. Should I save the drop to 1320 for a plateau? I'm worried that if I drop too quickly I'll end up in starvation mode...but I love the results I've been getting, and I don't want to do anything to screw that up.

If it helps, I'm 5'1, and weighed in at 180.5 today. My goal weight is 160, and from there I will re-evaluate and decide whether that's a healthy weight for me, or if I should lose more. I generally manage 3-5 workouts a week, which I would like to increase, and would have to increase at 1320, or I'd always be going over cals.

Drop the cals, or leave well enough alone?

Replies

  • FitChickBritt
    FitChickBritt Posts: 161 Member
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    I'd do the 1320 and if you felt like you needed to eat a little extra, throw in some extra exercise for the day.
  • mrsbeck
    mrsbeck Posts: 234 Member
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    I guess the thing that gave me pause was this: I'm losing two pounds a week on the setting that MFP says will give me a .8 pound loss per week. Maybe I shouldn't mess with it...1320 might be too few cals for me.

    I'll definitely give it a couple of weeks...For some reason, I'm really paranoid about starvation mode. I have a tough time staying motivated, and two weeks without a loss is the kind of thing that could really frustrate me.

    Honestly, I can't tell you if I'm looking for advice or just empathy!:laugh:
  • Questfor250
    Questfor250 Posts: 155
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    i agree. Work to hit the 1320 and then as BLJ014 said if you NEED that extra bit then treat yourself to it. But think about it. It is only 80 calories. The key is to follow MFP as best as you can. It will never go below 1200. You will lose the weight.

    I am 6'6" and weigh 299 right now. MFP if left to its own devises tells me to go 1980 calories. I am at 1800 and I am doing fine. You can handle the 1320 easily. Give yourself a chance and believe in what you are doing.
  • mirandam1076
    mirandam1076 Posts: 39
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    Honestly I'd stay right where you are! Once you see the weight loss slowing down then adjust. Your doing amazing! :flowerforyou:
  • BetterVersion
    BetterVersion Posts: 459
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    I disagree. I think as long as you're still losing weight- and more importantly if you are content with the weight you're losing- you should maintain your current goals. Later on, you may hit a plateau and need to drop your calories in order to push through it. I would leave well enough alone for now.
  • mrsbeck
    mrsbeck Posts: 234 Member
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    Later on, you may hit a plateau and need to drop your calories in order to push through it. I would leave well enough alone for now.

    Yes, thank you...for some reason I couldn't seem to articulate that--but it's exactly what I'm afraid of. At 1320, there's not a lot of room to reduce calories if I hit a plateau...But I also like what was said above about believing in myself. Not to get all psychiatrist's couch on you guys, but I do have a few self-trust and self-esteem issues--I'm really afraid of getting in my own way.

    edited for a typo
  • jaycee76
    jaycee76 Posts: 325 Member
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    If it ain't broke then why fix it??

    Keep with what you are doing if it is working and change it when it stops!

    Well Done and good luck x
  • lreed
    lreed Posts: 348 Member
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    I agree, you are doing great, Leave well enough alone for now, when you plateau change your base calories:happy: (but exercise more to keep at the 1400 for food calories!) Great job!
  • m0m2three
    m0m2three Posts: 27
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    I agree... why fix something that ain't broke. If you start to plateau then cut them back, otherwise keep doing what your doing, it's working for you. :wink:
  • Dom_m
    Dom_m Posts: 336 Member
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    I'm going to disagree with the other posters. I think if you're losing weight at a pace you're happy with, keep doing what you're doing. Don't forget to use the tape measure though! You want to make sure its fat you're losing, not lean tissue. The larger your deficit the more likely weight loss is to come from lean tissue rather than fat.

    My advice would be stick with the target calories you're already on until you reach a plateau. BUT, while your motivation is high, see if you can increase your cardio fitness by aiming for 10% extra at the gym each time. This could be a goal of walking 10% further, or a combination of faster and further, its up to whatever routine you like. 10% is a fairly achievable goal I think. If you're currently jogging 2km, it simply means an extra 200 meters. You might want to make it 10% each week.

    You can also have other goals, like making sure you drink throughout the day and enough over the whole day to stay hydrated. Or changing the types of food you eat toward more healthy alternatives. When your motivation is high is a good time to fine tune I think.

    One other note. You WILL reach plateaus. This is just how the body works and I don't know why but we have to live with it. This article: http://www.hussmanfitness.org/html/TSCalDeficits.htm
    has a really nice graph that shows cumulative caloric surplus (ie: if you're deficit is 500 each day, the cumulative surplus decreases by 500 each day) and weight loss. You can see the person's deficit isn't perfectly smooth (realistic right?) but always fairly constant, except over Christmas and his knee injury. The weight loss sometimes stops for a couple weeks, before catching up. When you feel you're in a plateau, try looking at this graph and stick with it. And remember, your body aims for equilibrium, so it may have found one. You may need to decrease your calories further to get the next set of results.

    [ok, by the time I finished writing there were lots more posts that I agree with. When I started, there were only two replies, so those are the ones I'm disagreeing with.]
  • mrsbeck
    mrsbeck Posts: 234 Member
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    Thank you for all the replies...I had decided to stick with 1400 for a few more weeks, and re-evaluate then, but irony has raised her wicked head---I can't figure out how to change it back! I've spent the last few minutes messing around in goals and settings, and can't find a way to manually set my calories to 1400. So, I guess I'll be doing 1320...as someone up the thread pointed out, it is only 80 calories. I exercise frequently enough that I should be able to supplement that with enough exercise calories to be happy. If I find I'm struggling too much, I'll just eat 1400 each day and let the diary think I'm over.

    Also, thanks to everyone for being super supportive, and for keeping this thread kind-hearted.
  • jaycee76
    jaycee76 Posts: 325 Member
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    If you go into goals you can adjust it to what you want in there!!
  • mrsbeck
    mrsbeck Posts: 234 Member
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    It isn't letting me set a goal of .8 a week...I don't want to go to .5 a week, and that and 1 pound are the only options...it doesn't let you set the goals in gradients. Like I said above, that doesn't matter too much...I'm gonna try the 1320 for a couple weeks and see what happens.
  • BetterVersion
    BetterVersion Posts: 459
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    It isn't letting me set a goal of .8 a week...I don't want to go to .5 a week, and that and 1 pound are the only options...it doesn't let you set the goals in gradients. Like I said above, that doesn't matter too much...I'm gonna try the 1320 for a couple weeks and see what happens.

    You can manually set your calorie goals and just ignore what it says you would lose per week. That's really just a generic average number of what you could possibly lose. It doesn't really have an effect on your overall goals.

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