should I lower my calories???

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jillybeanpuff
jillybeanpuff Posts: 144 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I'm new to MFP but I spend all day at work on the site reading all the forums :) I have calculated my TDEE and have my calories set at 1650 (I'm 5'2, at 173 lbs) I'm frustrated because in the past 3 weeks I've only lost 3 lbs. I know this is a lot. I am proud of what I have done. I want to have healthy, slow weight loss. However, I'm going on a cruise in about 45 days and I would like to be about 20 or so lbs down by then so I don't look terrible in all of my pictures. I'm fully intending to eat everything I can get my hands on during the cruise, so I know that I will be gaining weight back. I'm wondering if I lower my calories down to 1300 or so if this will help me lose the weight fast. I know I will gain it back, and I know its not healthy, but I want to look good on my cruise! From the standpoint of losing weight fast, is this a good plan? I will say again, I know this isn't healthy. I'm looking for a quick fix momentarily, until I get back and I will continue to lose the right way.
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Replies

  • sweebum
    sweebum Posts: 1,060 Member
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    Why not just cut 200? The lower you go, the harder it is to stick to. And if you go really low and then binge, you will gain a ton of water weight and be totally disappointed in yourself.
  • melaniecheeks
    melaniecheeks Posts: 6,349 Member
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    45 days is about 6 weeks.

    To lose 20 lbs in that time you'd have to lose more than 3 lbs a week.

    Firstly, I don't think that's realistic, and secondly, dropping your intake to 1300 isn't going to do that for you anyway.

    Stop looking for a quick fix. How's your exercise routine? In 6 weeks you can make a noticeable difference to your shape with exercise.
  • LorinaLynn
    LorinaLynn Posts: 13,247 Member
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    In my personal experience, pounds lost slowly LOOK better than pounds lost quickly. So if you want to look good for your cruise, you'll look better if you continue to lose that 1 pound a week than if you tried to lose more per week.

    Any time you lose weight, you lose a mixture of lean mass (muscle) and fat. Your goal is to lose as much fat as possible, while maintaining as much lean mass as possible. With strength training, good nutrition and a moderate deficit, you minimize the amount of lean mass lost. With a high calorie deficit, you end up losing a larger percentage of muscle than you would with a moderate deficit.
  • jasonp_ritzert
    jasonp_ritzert Posts: 357 Member
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    Why would you want to sabotage your weight loss by knowingly eat more on the cruise to cause you to gain back weight? Whats the purpose of losing it in the first place if you are just going to find it again intentionally?
  • Firestar98
    Firestar98 Posts: 30 Member
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    I'm new to MFP but I spend all day at work on the site reading all the forums :) I have calculated my TDEE and have my calories set at 1650 (I'm 5'2, at 173 lbs) I'm frustrated because in the past 3 weeks I've only lost 3 lbs. I know this is a lot. I am proud of what I have done. I want to have healthy, slow weight loss. However, I'm going on a cruise in about 45 days and I would like to be about 20 or so lbs down by then so I don't look terrible in all of my pictures. I'm fully intending to eat everything I can get my hands on during the cruise, so I know that I will be gaining weight back. I'm wondering if I lower my calories down to 1300 or so if this will help me lose the weight fast. I know I will gain it back, and I know its not healthy, but I want to look good on my cruise! From the standpoint of losing weight fast, is this a good plan? I will say again, I know this isn't healthy. I'm looking for a quick fix momentarily, until I get back and I will continue to lose the right way.

    Rather than losing the weight perhaps you could increase your muscle? 6 weeks is enough time to get a small amount of muscle definition while still losing 1-2 pounds per week.
  • sbjmorgan
    sbjmorgan Posts: 158 Member
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    Eat what calories MFP tells you to, workout 4-5 times a week for an hour and eat like crap on your cruise. You're going to see good results just eating healthy, clean whole foods and lifting weights, you're going to feel like crap when you gorge on high cal, high fat foods and you'll be back after your cruise to maintain a healthy life rather than just a number on the scale.
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
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    Lose weight fast while planning to gain it back by stuffing your face on a cruise. Sounds like a top notch plan to me. Good luck with that.
  • jillybeanpuff
    jillybeanpuff Posts: 144 Member
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    I'm doing 30 Day Shred now. I'm on day 8 of level 1, so I'm hoping that doing that will help me out with the muscle toning. Honestly, I don't care if I lose 20 lbs or 5, I just don't want to look fat in a bikini in the Bahamas.
  • BondBomb
    BondBomb Posts: 1,781 Member
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    Why would you gain it all back on your cruise?
    1600-1700 calories can be a lot of food. And that's for your weight loss. Why not continue to eat at your current calories until the cruise and then bump it up to maintenance for the cruise if you want to eat more.
    Lets be honest. The people on the cruise aren't really going to give a crap what you look like. And I'm assuming whomever is going on the cruise with you knows what you look like.
    I think you should keep your eye on the prize. Once that cruise is over you will still have to look at yourself in the mirror everyday.
  • kcallas88
    kcallas88 Posts: 192
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    I'm new to MFP but I spend all day at work on the site reading all the forums :) I have calculated my TDEE and have my calories set at 1650 (I'm 5'2, at 173 lbs) I'm frustrated because in the past 3 weeks I've only lost 3 lbs. I know this is a lot. I am proud of what I have done. I want to have healthy, slow weight loss. However, I'm going on a cruise in about 45 days and I would like to be about 20 or so lbs down by then so I don't look terrible in all of my pictures. I'm fully intending to eat everything I can get my hands on during the cruise, so I know that I will be gaining weight back. I'm wondering if I lower my calories down to 1300 or so if this will help me lose the weight fast. I know I will gain it back, and I know its not healthy, but I want to look good on my cruise! From the standpoint of losing weight fast, is this a good plan? I will say again, I know this isn't healthy. I'm looking for a quick fix momentarily, until I get back and I will continue to lose the right way.

    Yeah you could starve yourself at 1300 and loose weight, but dropping 20lbs quickly isn't necessarily going to make you look good on your cruise. Building muscle and giving your body definition will make you look better then just trying to loose 20lbs.

    Lift heavy things, do some weight training...
  • BondBomb
    BondBomb Posts: 1,781 Member
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    I'm doing 30 Day Shred now. I'm on day 8 of level 1, so I'm hoping that doing that will help me out with the muscle toning. Honestly, I don't care if I lose 20 lbs or 5, I just don't want to look fat in a bikini in the Bahamas.
    If you eat like crap you will be bloated and "look fat" anyway.
  • melaniecheeks
    melaniecheeks Posts: 6,349 Member
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    How lovely to have a cruise to look forward to! Where are you going? Have you cruised before? Do you have your capsule cruise wardrobe ready to go :wink:
  • cedarghost
    cedarghost Posts: 621 Member
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    I'm frustrated because in the past 3 weeks I've only lost 3 lbs.
    I know a lot of people who would be happy to consistently lose a pound a week. Here's a scenario:
    You lower calories because you're impatient.
    You lose a little more weight.
    Your metabolism adjusts to account for the lowered intake.
    You start losing ZERO pounds in 3 weeks.
    You make the same forum post as a thousand other people who followed that path, wondering what is wrong.
    You finally figure out that under-eating is as bad as overeating and have to figure out your maintenance and eat that for 8 weeks to reset your metabolism.
    You gain back everything you lost in the process.

    The moral of the story: have patience and realize this isn't a race. And if it isn't broke, don't fix it.
    Welcome to yo yo dieting.
  • jillybeanpuff
    jillybeanpuff Posts: 144 Member
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    I'm definitely not eating like crap, at least I don't think I am. I haven't had any processed food in 3 weeks. I'm eating protein at every meal, lots of fruits and veggies, and I feel great.
  • danasings
    danasings Posts: 8,218 Member
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    Why would you gain it all back on your cruise?
    1600-1700 calories can be a lot of food. And that's for your weight loss. Why not continue to eat at your current calories until the cruise and then bump it up to maintenance for the cruise if you want to eat more.
    Lets be honest. The people on the cruise aren't really going to give a crap what you look like. And I'm assuming whomever is going on the cruise with you knows what you look like.
    I think you should keep your eye on the prize. Once that cruise is over you will still have to look at yourself in the mirror everyday.

    Excellent advice!!
  • MightyDomo
    MightyDomo Posts: 1,265 Member
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    What your wanting to do is very unrealistic and also harmful to your weight loss journey. Gaining it all back after losing it isn't the best goal, it hinders your overall goal and I am sure you would rather just keep working to reach it.

    10lbs in that time is much more realistic, not what you want to hear but probably a better answer for you but you will also be losing inches as you do so and will probably look good when you go. Maintain when your on the cruise and continue on your journey afterward knowing the next cruise your going to be on you will look even more fantastic than the last.

    Just increase your workouts each week and I am sure you will have some good results and still be happy when you go :)
  • MB_Positif
    MB_Positif Posts: 8,897 Member
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    I'm definitely not eating like crap, at least I don't think I am. I haven't had any processed food in 3 weeks. I'm eating protein at every meal, lots of fruits and veggies, and I feel great.

    Seriously just stick with this. You will not regret it. Maybe ramp up your exercise between now and the cruise and as someone else suggested, find out your calories to maintain your weight during the cruise.
  • RhinestoneRocky
    RhinestoneRocky Posts: 124 Member
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    I, too, am going to repeat what a lot of people have already said...eating fewer calories probably won't help you see your goal any faster. Sorry.

    I would highly recommend adding additional cardio and weight lifting to your routine. Keep your calories the same but safely increase your work outs.

    Bondbomb is 100% right. I couldn't agree with her more.

    But there is also this...You have lost 3 lbs in 3 weeks! That is a wonderful accomplishment! Don't get so worked up about losing this 20 lbs in 45 days. Set a mini goal for 10 lbs in that time frame. Work your butt off by moving around more. But please do so safely so you don't injure yourself before your trip. I think adding weight lifting would definitely yield faster results and at the very least help you lose inches a smidge faster.

    Don't give up! You can still accomplish so much in 45 days! :)
  • minizebu
    minizebu Posts: 2,716 Member
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    I don't believe that your timetable is realistic for the amount of weight you want to lose.

    I am 5'2". I started out at 186.5 and have lost 29 pounds eating about 1660 kcal/day with an average TDEE of around 2000 kcal/day in the last 152 days.

    I would not advise lowering your calories. I would advise lowering your weight loss goal for the 45-day timetable.

    The body weight simulator created by the NIDDK is a fantastic tool for predicting how much weight you can realistically lose in a given timetable, following a given caloric intake and exercise regimen. Check it out:

    http://bwsimulator.niddk.nih.gov
  • jltotaro
    jltotaro Posts: 23
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    I'm really glad you posted this topic. I've been wanting the same type of "quick fix" because we're headed to Vegas for a wedding first weekend of April and I really want to be down a LOT of weight.

    But looking at the responses, it looks like I should just keep doing what I've been doing and maybe, just maybe start utilizing these dumbells we've had lying around the house for years!!

    My problem is I want it gone NOW! And many years ago (13?!?) I was on Atkins and got to see really, really fast weight loss (20 lbs in the first 2 weeks). In fact I got all the way down to 135 (lost 45). BUT, I only went down one pant size to a size 12. I now see that if I had lost the weight slowly, on a healthier diet, and actually added in some weight training and exercise, it would have been a much healthier and noticeable 135. And I would have been able to keep it off. Instead of gaining it all back (plus more) almost immediately and keeping it for 13 years!

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