Just started, my calories seem high, I'm wondering

Franksander
Franksander Posts: 2 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi all,

Ok, so I am finally fed up and going to lose this weight. If I can quit smoking cold turkey after smoking 5 packs a day for 20+ years than I think I can man up and lose this weight too.

Needless to say this is my very first week and I am having some issues. Maybe I just don't enough to know better which is why I am here to ask. I am 5 11 and weigh 450 pounds. I have a job that keeps me behind a desk most of the day, and have little personal time. MFP says I should be eating 3200 calories a day.... This is my issue, as it seems to me to be alot.

I find myself having between 400 and 1100 calories a day left over after logging everything, and I mean everything, down to the ketchup and dressing, and everything. So I am wondering,

So my question is very simple, do I need to eat all these calories? I mean if I'm not hungry and don't wan that food must I eat it?

Thanks to anyone and everyone for any help or encoragement.

Replies

  • vzryder
    vzryder Posts: 129 Member
    You are so right, if you managed to quit smoking after all that time, you have what it takes to lose unwanted weight!

    As for the calories and a deficit, if you are meeting your calorie goals, exercising in any way that your lifestyle and time permit you to, if you have left over calories and you are not wanting to eat them, that has to be a good thing?

    i wish you every success and if you need any friends, feel free to add me, good luck!
  • ralevin
    ralevin Posts: 131 Member
    Welcome to MFP - this is totally my opinion - no science behind it (except for my understanding of how BMR works and everything), but it works for me (or did, for a while, then I gained it back because I lost focus - not because MFP failed me - and am back at square one, now).

    MFP calculates a rough estimate of your BMR - basal metabolic rate - essentially how many calories you would burn each day if you woke up, laid in bed all day, and went to sleep at the end of the day. Basically, how many calories your body needs to keep you alive each day. To maintain weight exactly where it is, you would need to eat that many calories each day. 500 calories per day equals one pound per week, so if your goal was to lose 2 pounds per week, MFP recommends eating 1000 calories per day, less than your BMR. With me so far? :smile:

    As big guys, our goal calorie number often shocks us when we first see it. You may be able to eat far less (or, after a few days, you may feel that you're not satisfied unless you eat that number). Chances are good that if you're exercising and eating far fewer calories, you will drop a lot of weight quick;ly over the first few weeks. I think my first time around, starting around 285 (6'0") exercising 5 days a week and coming in under my calories, I lost about 15 pounds in the first 3-4 weeks. That QUICKLY slowed down, and I found that I needed to eat the recommended calories not only to stay satisfied, but to keep my metabolism going at a speed that would continue to drop the weight (albeit at a much more moderate pace).

    I hope this helps! Feel free to add me as a friend, and good luck!
  • jaylas_mom21
    jaylas_mom21 Posts: 311 Member
    As long as your not hungry, I don't think you should eat it. Good luck!
  • Canderson58054
    Canderson58054 Posts: 132 Member
    Welcome to MFP - this is totally my opinion - no science behind it (except for my understanding of how BMR works and everything), but it works for me (or did, for a while, then I gained it back because I lost focus - not because MFP failed me - and am back at square one, now).

    MFP calculates a rough estimate of your BMR - basal metabolic rate - essentially how many calories you would burn each day if you woke up, laid in bed all day, and went to sleep at the end of the day. Basically, how many calories your body needs to keep you alive each day. To maintain weight exactly where it is, you would need to eat that many calories each day. 500 calories per day equals one pound per week, so if your goal was to lose 2 pounds per week, MFP recommends eating 1000 calories per day, less than your BMR. With me so far? :smile:

    As big guys, our goal calorie number often shocks us when we first see it. You may be able to eat far less (or, after a few days, you may feel that you're not satisfied unless you eat that number). Chances are good that if you're exercising and eating far fewer calories, you will drop a lot of weight quick;ly over the first few weeks. I think my first time around, starting around 285 (6'0") exercising 5 days a week and coming in under my calories, I lost about 15 pounds in the first 3-4 weeks. That QUICKLY slowed down, and I found that I needed to eat the recommended calories not only to stay satisfied, but to keep my metabolism going at a speed that would continue to drop the weight (albeit at a much more moderate pace).

    I hope this helps! Feel free to add me as a friend, and good luck!

    INCORRECT. The calorie deficit is from your TDEE, not BMR. To the OP- Since your new, to know what I'm talking about you should read this.... http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12
    It'll explain everything in great detail :) I would say no you do not have to eat all those calories since you have a lot to lose, or at least you don't have to EVERY day..... but the closer your Body Fat % gets to normal, the ultimate goal is to not Net below your BMR. If you have any other questions, just ask :)
  • ralevin
    ralevin Posts: 131 Member


    INCORRECT. The calorie deficit is from your TDEE, not BMR.

    My bad - that was my understanding when I frequented the site about a year ago (I don't remember ever seeing the acronym TDEE - it's obviously all over the place now). Excellent tact, by the way.
  • Franksander
    Franksander Posts: 2 Member
    Thanks everyone for the quick answers and all the information.

    So if I get this correctly, because I am extremely overweight eating a few less calories a day won't hurt me BUT I really should do my best to try and eat as close to the recommended calories as I can. If that is not correct feel free to correct me again.

    Thanks again all I really do appreciate it. And I really think I can do this. Just by keeping track so far I have seen some bad choices I was making vs some better choices and was able to change some details, so I think it is possible to do it. I'm really not happy being this overweight, it's just too much for me. I don't know when it happened, but I know I have to do something to change it.
  • ralevin
    ralevin Posts: 131 Member
    Yeah, that sounds about right. As I said, when I first started out, I stayed way under the goal. I think it was partially that first-few-days-drive-to-succeed that made me not feel like I was starving. I lost a lot those first few weeks, and then it leveled off.

    A couple things you should keep in mind:

    Many on this site believe in something called "starvation mode." I'm not sure if there's science behind it, so you should search the forums for it. You basically get to a point where you're eating so few calories that your body slows your metabolism to keep you functioning (think of prehistoric man not getting meals for several days - the body responds to keep you alive), so despite eating far less than the goal, you start to maintain your weight, or lose much less than you would expect. Like I said, read up on it - it may have different effects on different sized people, etc.

    Most on this site would recommend eating back your exercise calories. You'll notice as you track calories that if you burn - for example - 250 calories walking, that amount is added in to the calories you have left to eat for the day. Seems counterintuitive at first, but (I believe) it goes back to the point above about not getting enough calories.

    If I were in your shoes just starting off, I would eat as few calories as I needed to feel satisfied (assuming that stays under the goal) and see where that takes me. If after a few weeks the weight loss really slowed, I might bump up to the recommended goal calories.

    Again, just my opinion and what I would do. Others may say that it is a bad idea, but these are the kinds of things that have worked for me in the past.

    Also, good for you for making this decision to make yourself more healthy. There are tons of supportive people here, so if you get discouraged, keep coming back to the forums.

    Whenever I've hit plateaus (where the weight doesn't seem to move despite still doing what you should do), I do two things to keep myself motivated (sometimes I don't do these, and I lose all of my progress, which is why I've lost as much as 40 pounds at a time 3 or 4 times, and proceeded to gain it all back).
    1. Think of the things I can do now that I couldn't do before. - For example, I just started p90x this week (I'm four days in). My weight has actually gone up a couple pounds, but my clothes are already fitting differently. I've lost almost an inch in my neck, and over an inch in my hips (waist has somehow gone up, though...a little confused by that :) - all in a week. I'm already feeling less tired during the day. If I were just looking at the scale, I would be totally discouraged, but these other facts are keeping me motivated.
    2. Peruse the "success stories" section of the MFP forums. Progress pics are very motivating, but I especially like the NSVs (non-scale victories). These are things that people post that make them feel good about what they're doing, even if the scale isn't showing the same progress (some examples of what you may find there: I wasn't winded when I went up the stairs today; I had to poke a new hole in my belt; someone said I look like I've lost weight; I can tie my shoes)

    Hope this all helps. Try to always stay positive. I guarantee there will be times when that's hard, but find some things (my things are above) that help you to keep the right mind.

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