RANT: Careless Weightloss Goals!

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  • Holly2232
    Holly2232 Posts: 2
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    Woot! Woot!

    It is simple! DO NOT GET ON THE SCALE! Judge by your measurements!!!
  • SquidgySquidge
    SquidgySquidge Posts: 239 Member
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    Anyway, I've hunted in 2 pharmacies today for a tape measure and no where seems to stock them. Weird huh? Considering it's 'weight loss season'. I need to find one so I can take my measurements and see where I'm really at.

    [/quote]

    Only going to respond to one piece I for sure know something about :wink: You can always find tape measures in stores that sell sewing supplies, such as JoAnn Fabrics.
    [/quote]

    Thanks, I totally never thought of this - there's one close to me so I'll get one at the weekend :)
  • bookworm_847
    bookworm_847 Posts: 1,903 Member
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    I'm going to take a few minutes and rant a little. It's that time of year again where people are looking to better themselves and set goals for weight loss. I've seen the posts all over the place with challenges folks have set for themselves or competitions with others. While all these are great, the focus doesn't need to be just on weight. If you are doing these types of things and the only marker for success is what the scale reads, you're doing it wrong! If you are eating below BMR on daily basis, you're doing it wrong! If you don't know what BMR means, you're doing it wrong! If you don't know what your BMR or TDEE is, you're doing it wrong! If you haven't taken measurements, you're doing it wrong! If you haven't calculated your body fat percentage, YOU ARE DOING IT WRONG!!!

    This is what people tend to miss when trying to lose weight. If you are eating a very low calorie diet, you will lose weight, not only from fat, but from lean body mass, as well. The scale doesn't tell you which one the weight loss is coming from. This is why gauging your success by body fat percentage is a better way to go.

    Calculate your BMR! Calculate your TDEE! Take 20% from TDEE and eat at that level! Lift weights and eat sufficient protein. Recommended at least .8 grams/lb of body weight. This will help preserve LBM. If you like cardio better, fine, but still find time to get in a couple strength training sessions per week.

    Lastly, don't be in such a hurry to hit some goal. You want this transformation to last. Take is slow and learn how to eat, what workouts you enjoy and what eating pattern fits your schedule.

    Thank you for this post! I'm not ashamed to admit that before I joined MFP, I was doing it WRONG! Perhaps that's why I had so many problems and just gave up so many times. Since I joined almost a month ago, I'm eating better, exercising more, have lost 6 pounds, and the measuring tape is a little smaller around my waist and hips now. I've learned a lot and hope no one takes offense to your post!
  • SDHudgins1976
    SDHudgins1976 Posts: 140
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    Ok, take a deep breath, now let it out?

    Feel better?
  • bfitnbfab
    bfitnbfab Posts: 79
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    Here's the thing that I always get confused about: am I not to go below the BMR of my current weight or my goal weight? I've actually read conflicting information. For me, I do concentrate on the weight because I'm preparing to do an amateur MMA fight and I'm trying to get close to the weight class I want to fight in.
  • Hadabetter
    Hadabetter Posts: 942 Member
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    Anyway, I've hunted in 2 pharmacies today for a tape measure and no where seems to stock them. Weird huh? Considering it's 'weight loss season'. I need to find one so I can take my measurements and see where I'm really at.

    Only going to respond to one piece I for sure know something about :wink: You can always find tape measures in stores that sell sewing supplies, such as JoAnn Fabrics.
    [/quote]

    Thanks, I totally never thought of this - there's one close to me so I'll get one at the weekend :)
    [/quote]
    You can get good soft cloth tape measures where they sell sewing supplies.
  • nellyett
    nellyett Posts: 436 Member
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    You absolutely CAN lose weight without counting calories, without working out, and without knowing a thing about TDEE or BMR. I've done it! At least 5 times! And I gained it back every time.

    I'm so grateful for everything I learned that brought me to MFP in the first place and everything I've learned/still learning since I arrived. Otherwise, I'd have gone with the old standard 1200 cal target I've heard all my life for women when it turns out I can eat 1600-1800 a day plus exercise calories and lose steadily without feeling sick with hunger.

    DITTO!!!
  • kaji13
    kaji13 Posts: 172 Member
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    well Im SICK of folks saying you MUST count BMR & TDEE ( the newest & latest macros for self-imposed gurus to insist everyone follow or else fail)


    Im sick of people like the OP overcomplicating weightloss... eat a well balanced diet, take in less than you put out & exercise that includes stregnth training...you will lose weight and/or inches... SIMPLE... to hell with TDEE, BMR, counting points, calories, etc... I dont need to know or to count my body fat percentages...

    Um... "take in less than you put out" IS BMR/TDEE. How can you do that without knowing exactly how much you are "putting out"?

    Edit: I guess this has already been pointed out by a bunch of people :tongue: silly me!
  • iSurvive
    iSurvive Posts: 91
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    I can understand your frustration to a point and why your wrote this post. However I think we all know there is more then one way to lose weight. With it being January there are a lot of newbies on the boards and this post is likely to just confuse some. Are BMR, TDEE, and BF% measurements useful tools? Yes. If you don't use them are you doing it wrong. No. To say otherwise is wrong. I have lost weight before in the past with much success and not used these tools. I gained the weight back because of cancer (in which I gained weight) and then a pregnancy that followed directly after. I am a mess! I am currently working on losing the weight with the help of two doctors and neither has mentioned anything other then how many calories I should be consuming in a day and how much exercise they'd like me to be getting. Over complicating things for people isn't going to help.

    ETA: Calories isn't all they advised they also suggested what types of foods such as lots of fruits and veggies, leans meats, common sense stuff like that. Basically the stuff we ALL know we should be eating but don't! haha!
  • 1ConcreteGirl
    1ConcreteGirl Posts: 3,677 Member
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    I do understand where the frustration comes from, I've seen the 'Im not losing weight fast enough' posts myself, but I just didn't like the OP's wording as it came across as patronising.

    Anyway, I've hunted in 2 pharmacies today for a tape measure and no where seems to stock them. Weird huh? Considering it's 'weight loss season'. I need to find one so I can take my measurements and see where I'm really at.

    AND while I'm here I have a genuine question...I'm set at 1220 calories a day. MFP chose this for me. But my problem is, I'm not hungry enough to eat all the calories I need, even though it's very low.
    Last night I had some snacks just to get me there even though I could have happily gone without them.
    So if I work out that I need to eat more calories, how will this work for me?
    Is it what I'm eating? I'll open my diary now so you can all have a nosey...I want to get this sorted out now so I don't develop bad habits.
    And by the way - I've already put my dinner in for today although it hasn't been eaten yet. And I'm not hungry for it, so I'll just be eating for the sake of it which surely can't be right?? I'm confused!

    Okay, I think someone has already said this, but fabric stores sell soft tape measures that are perfect for what you want. You'll want to take weekly measurements of your chest, each arm, thighs, calves, waist, and butt.

    There's a lot of annoyance on this site for people who "can't" eat 1200 calories because they aren't hungry enough. But I used to have the same problem, until I realized a couple of things. First, I was used to "dieting"--following a restricted eating plan that gave me psychological satisfaction that I was doing something without giving me physical satisfaction because I wouldn't have said I wanted to continue eating only that way forever. Secondly, and this involved educating yourself, there is a hormone in your body called Leptin, which regulates your hunger. Leptin production can be suppressed by restricting your calories too much (under your BMR). Practically speaking, this means that if you eat more, you will begin to feel more hungry. If you eat less, you will begin to feel less hungry. This explains how those suffering from anorexia can eat under 800 calories a day and say they don't feel hungry.

    A lot of people say that if you eat when you aren't hungry, you're just eating from boredom, which isn't strictly true. Figure out the math and work your way up to that amount of calories. You may gain a couple of pounds initially, but then your loss will be steady and more sustainable as your body gets the nutrition it needs to function properly.

    As for BMR/TDEE, if you have not calculated those numbers, use this website and set your activity level to lightly active when you do the calculation: http://scoobysworkshop.com/accurate-calorie-calculator/

    Because you have less than 10 lbs to go, your weight loss will be slower than someone with 60 lbs to lose. You probably have you loss set for about 2 lbs per week, because that's what everyone does at first, assuming that faster loss is better, but in reality with only 10 lbs to lose, you should only be trying to lose 0.5 lbs per week. Your body won't respond well to attempting to force it to lose quickly because it knows it doesn't have that much fat to shed, and if you lose more than that, you are also losing lean body mass, which is what makes you look "toned" once you lose the weight. You want to preserve LBM as much as possible so that you aren't flabby when you lose the weight. So figure out your TDEE and subtract about 15% from that to find your calorie goal.

    So I checked out your diary and all that to say: EAT MORE. Getting the calories is easy if you are eating more full-fat products. You also should increase your protein intake to make sure you aren't retaining a lot of water from all the carbs you've been eating. You had a great day for protein on Sunday. If you go to the "goals" tab under "my home" here, you can choose "custom" goals and put in your own calorie goal and your own goal percentages for carbs, fat, and protein, which you will get from calculating your BMR and TDEE.

    Hope that helps!
  • PeachyKeene
    PeachyKeene Posts: 1,645 Member
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    Yeah, I feel real stupid. I made a deal with a friend that if we got to 135 pounds on the scale we would go for a girls weekend retreat. We weigh the same right now, but both are very different. I have lost over 60 pounds and have built a lot of muscle. She on the other hand is a lot of flab and is probably at her max weight. She will probably drop, just watching what she eats. For one, she hasn't already lost any weight, two, she is not building any muscle, etc.... Plus she is like 3 inches short than me.

    I am gonna work really hard to achieve this goal. Knowing everything I know, doing what I know works.

    Stupid for me to put myself under that presure. I would much rather my body look good, than see a number on a scale.

    But we will see who wins in the end, me with my fantastic hard body or her, doing hers her way.

    Wow, you are a really sweet "friend."

    Does being a friend mean to not be honest or tell it like it is? So you think I should sugar coat it?!! I tell her the same thing I wrote here. Having a hard body is not what she wants but to each their own.

    She makes it a competition with me, I am just really competitive and will accept the challenge.

    ETA: I am guessing that your diet/fitness goals are similar to my friends and that is why you resorted to judgmental sarcasm against my comment.
    I don't sugar coat anything, I have been doing this to long. with countless fails
  • wahmx3
    wahmx3 Posts: 646 Member
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    I totally agree with the OP! Figure out the math to help with weight loss, it isn't as simple as eating less.
  • mshopey
    mshopey Posts: 125 Member
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    I still want to be soft when i lose weight.
    I want to be curvy, not muscley.
    I never knew people thought that was such a crime.
    Each to their own i guess.
    Bit of preaching going on in this board.
  • 1ConcreteGirl
    1ConcreteGirl Posts: 3,677 Member
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    I still want to be soft when i lose weight.
    I want to be curvy, not muscley.
    I never knew people thought that was such a crime.
    Each to their own i guess.
    Bit of preaching going on in this board.

    Nobody is talking about being muscley. My guess is you want to be toned... mostly because nobody ever says they want to be flabby when they lose weight, and preserving your Lean Body Mass is what makes you look toned.
  • PeachyKeene
    PeachyKeene Posts: 1,645 Member
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    well Im SICK of folks saying you MUST count BMR & TDEE ( the newest & latest macros for self-imposed gurus to insist everyone follow or else fail)


    Im sick of people like the OP overcomplicating weightloss... eat a well balanced diet, take in less than you put out & exercise that includes stregnth training...you will lose weight and/or inches... SIMPLE... to hell with TDEE, BMR, counting points, calories, etc... I dont need to know or to count my body fat percentages...

    if keeping a ledger and making a grad school project out of your daily meals works for you, so be it, but dont act like its the ONLY way for folks to shed pounds....

    Bravo! Totally agreed.

    Hmmm you have been here since December 2011 and your tickler shows absolutely no weightloss.

    Maybe, WE should listen to the people that have results!!!!
  • BurtHuttz
    BurtHuttz Posts: 3,653 Member
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    Nobody is talking about being muscley. My guess is you want to be toned... mostly because nobody ever says they want to be flabby when they lose weight, and preserving your Lean Body Mass is what makes you look toned.

    Listen to little calves up there, she knows what she's talking about.
  • crazytreelady
    crazytreelady Posts: 752 Member
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    well Im SICK of folks saying you MUST count BMR & TDEE ( the newest & latest macros for self-imposed gurus to insist everyone follow or else fail)


    Im sick of people like the OP overcomplicating weightloss... eat a well balanced diet, take in less than you put out & exercise that includes stregnth training...you will lose weight and/or inches... SIMPLE... to hell with TDEE, BMR, counting points, calories, etc... I dont need to know or to count my body fat percentages...

    if keeping a ledger and making a grad school project out of your daily meals works for you, so be it, but dont act like its the ONLY way for folks to shed pounds....

    THANK YOU
  • PeachyKeene
    PeachyKeene Posts: 1,645 Member
    Options
    well Im SICK of folks saying you MUST count BMR & TDEE ( the newest & latest macros for self-imposed gurus to insist everyone follow or else fail)


    Im sick of people like the OP overcomplicating weightloss... eat a well balanced diet, take in less than you put out & exercise that includes stregnth training...you will lose weight and/or inches... SIMPLE... to hell with TDEE, BMR, counting points, calories, etc... I dont need to know or to count my body fat percentages...

    if keeping a ledger and making a grad school project out of your daily meals works for you, so be it, but dont act like its the ONLY way for folks to shed pounds....

    THANK YOU

    Exactly what is MFP good for if you are not using it to count calories or track you exercise etc....?
    I don't understand!!
  • magdalen13
    magdalen13 Posts: 62 Member
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    Isn't that what the "guided goals" are for on MFP?

    Give people a guide, set the goals for them, and let them get on with counting calories and earning some back via exercise?

    I've just spent an hour looking at changing my goals as I think they are now too low for my changing goals. I read through TDEE/BMR etc etc. Did all of the calculations. Then went to the MFP guided goals and guess what...the MFP goal came out within 80 calories of the TDEE -20% calculation.

    It doesn't have to be complicated. MFP does it for you. I don't think that MFP has got it wrong, its worked for many, many people on the site, me included. Set your loss at 1lb per week, choose an activity level that best describes you, and take it from there.

    Not saying that TDEE/BMR/BF% etc is wrong, but hasn't MFP done the hard work for most people?

    So those reading this wondering "what the hell??" don't rush off to change things. If the MFP goals are working for you then keep up the good work.

    Yeah -- OP sparked my curiosity as well (thanks for starting the discussion!) and I went and did the calculations, and came out within about 100 calories of my MFP guided goals... so, I guess well done MFP on that front. I think more of the trouble comes in when people don't understand how to set their MFP goals to what they are eating/exercising, or choose to not track accurately at all... Or have unrealistic goals to begin with.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,868 Member
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    Isn't that what the "guided goals" are for on MFP?

    Give people a guide, set the goals for them, and let them get on with counting calories and earning some back via exercise?

    I've just spent an hour looking at changing my goals as I think they are now too low for my changing goals. I read through TDEE/BMR etc etc. Did all of the calculations. Then went to the MFP guided goals and guess what...the MFP goal came out within 80 calories of the TDEE -20% calculation.

    It doesn't have to be complicated. MFP does it for you. I don't think that MFP has got it wrong, its worked for many, many people on the site, me included. Set your loss at 1lb per week, choose an activity level that best describes you, and take it from there.

    Not saying that TDEE/BMR/BF% etc is wrong, but hasn't MFP done the hard work for most people?

    So those reading this wondering "what the hell??" don't rush off to change things. If the MFP goals are working for you then keep up the good work.

    Yeah -- OP sparked my curiosity as well (thanks for starting the discussion!) and I went and did the calculations, and came out within about 100 calories of my MFP guided goals... so, I guess well done MFP on that front. I think more of the trouble comes in when people don't understand how to set their MFP goals to what they are eating/exercising, or choose to not track accurately at all... Or have unrealistic goals to begin with.

    This is very true. Also, a lot of people do little to no research before using this tool and they think 1,200 calories is a maintenance goal so they make all sorts of efforts to stay below it, not understanding that their is already a considerable (often too large) deficit in that goal. To the OPs point, not understanding BMR and TDEE exacerbates this problem because they continue to under nourish themselves thinking they're at maintenance (and should be)...but they have no idea what maintenance (i.e. TDEE) is.

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