My plan.. opinions please.

lozzieemayjenkins · February 2013

So after researching for what seems like a lifetime, bouncing back and forth all the conflicting evidence and information out there & speaking to a few personal trainers etc.. I've finally devised a plan for myself.

I'm 23 years old, female, 5ft 3 and weigh 208lbs. Only 14 months ago I weighed in at 133lbs -- getting lazy & ditching workouts and eating the wrong foods caused my weight to rapidly increase!!

My BMR is 1743, and my TDEE at sedentary (which I am) is 2097.

I've chosen to eat 1200 calories for six days of the week, and then 2000 on one day which will be the day I weigh in to help prevent a plateau and keep my metabolism guessing.. this averages out to 1314 calories daily, so I'm creating a deficit of 783 calories daily, equating to a pound and a half weight loss weekly.

I am going to start walking more, and begin attending the gym 3 times a week and focus on weight training followed by light cardio. So obviously I'll start burning more & then have a larger calorie deficit. I wore my polar HRM to the gym last week, and burned 500 calories in a 50 minute session.. so I'll estimate that going 3 times a week will equate to 1500 calories burned over the course of a week, so adding that onto my original deficit now gives me 2lbs a week weight loss.

What does everyone think of this plan?

I understand weight loss isn't a race, but I also don't want to lose at a snails pace & I have 80lbs to shift & summer is quickly approaching! I've also heard that eating below BMR is okay for a period of time if the individual is obese and has a high BMI, which I do.. Obviously when I'm at goal weight I'll calculate the calories needed for me to maintain and gradually build up to this & then eat at maintenance which will be over my BMR.

Advice? Opinions? Suggestions?

kingofcrunk · February 2013

Yes. Good.

Greenrun99 · February 2013

So your underestimating your activity level, undereating, and understand its not a race. You will lose weight doing your plan, you will probably increase BF% cause it will be some muscle even with strength training, and more than likely will end in a plateau.

Just my opinion.

CristinaL1983 · February 2013

Sounds good to me!

desiv2 · February 2013

Sounds good to me, you could probably up that calorie goal to 1500, or eat some exercise calories back... the most important thing is to do something that you can stick to. Good luck!

carrieous · February 2013

have you talked to your dr and gotten your thyroid checked? I dont see how anyone can gain that much weight in that short of time without being pregnant or having an underlying medical condition

366to266 · February 2013

I'd like to see a sample menu for that 1200 calories. Are you aiming for perfect nutrition?

lozzieemayjenkins · February 2013

So your underestimating your activity level, undereating, and understand its not a race. You will lose weight doing your plan, you will probably increase BF% cause it will be some muscle even with strength training, and more than likely will end in a plateau.

Just my opinion.

I am sedentary, when I don't exercise I don't do much at all. I'd rather be sedentary and add exercise calories in myself than presume I'm lightly active & be overestimating calorie burn. And I'm not really under eating either, I'll be over 1200 & yes below BMR for a while but with 80lbs of excess fat on my body I think it's safe to create a 1000 deficit daily.

lozzieemayjenkins · February 2013

I'd like to see a sample menu for that 1200 calories. Are you aiming for perfect nutrition?

Nope. Small steps of just staying within calorie allowance for the time being & then gradually focusing more on nutrition.

lozzieemayjenkins · February 2013

have you talked to your dr and gotten your thyroid checked? I dont see how anyone can gain that much weight in that short of time without being pregnant or having an underlying medical condition

Had blood tests and various other tests but there's nothing wrong with me or my thyroid. I genuinely have eaten like an utter pig for 14 months. Constant takeaways & junk food and frequently hitting 4000-6000 calories daily. I know why I've gained weight, I'm not under any illusion as to why and I don't blame anything else apart from my bad choices.

jzammetti · February 2013

So your underestimating your activity level, undereating, and understand its not a race. You will lose weight doing your plan, you will probably increase BF% cause it will be some muscle even with strength training, and more than likely will end in a plateau.

Just my opinion.

I agree with this (as does most recent science).

Eat more than your BMR every day or you will eventually cause damage to your body's ability to function properly - and loss of lean body mass (from eating too little) will slow your metabolism.

I know waiting for the weight to come off is tough - but you have to look at the big picture

sijomial · February 2013

My advice would be to eat 1600-1700 a day and eat back your exercise calories - 1lb a week loss.
Why?
More likely to lose a higher proportion of fat to LBM than by going for a fast loss.
More likely to learn healthy eating habits.
Less like being "on a diet" and more like "changing your diet".
Less likely to get fed up with feeling restricted and give up.
More wiggle room for good days and bad days.
More energy for exercise.
More sustainable in the long run.

TavistockToad · February 2013

My advice would be to eat 1600-1700 a day and eat back your exercise calories - 1lb a week loss.
Why?
More likely to lose a higher proportion of fat to LBM than by going for a fast loss.
More likely to learn healthy eating habits.
Less like being "on a diet" and more like "changing your diet".
Less likely to get fed up with feeling restricted and give up.
More wiggle room for good days and bad days.
More energy for exercise.
More sustainable in the long run.

I second this!

Charbonie1 · February 2013

I'd suggest you don't eat below your BMR and instead increase your activity to 30 mins daily -- that would be much healthier and you'd lose a pound a week.

Dfracassa · February 2013

I think you'll be fine. Cutting out one little thing can make a huge difference, and quickly, when you have a lot of weight to lose. Heck, even just walking a bit more can be the thing that makes a change! The pounds will fall off you if you pay attention. Don't worry about these naysayers.

366to266 · February 2013

The thing that worries me is, unless the OP is going to be obsessive about making every one of those 1200 calories count, nutrition-wise, she is going to do herself harm.

Been there, done that.

That's why I am interested to know what those 1200 are going to consist of.

wibutterflymagic · February 2013

With your size I would start out at more like 1500 calories. Starting at 1200 you will have now where to go when you need to lower your calories when you're smaller. Good luck.

*edit* Eating 1200calories and then exercising and burning off 500 gives your body a net of 700calories. NOT HEALTHY!!! You need to make sure you are eating back your exercise calories. MFP already has a deficit calculated into the calorie goal it gives you. You shouldn't be eating drastically below that level.

alpine1994 · February 2013

My advice would be to eat 1600-1700 a day and eat back your exercise calories - 1lb a week loss.
Why?
More likely to lose a higher proportion of fat to LBM than by going for a fast loss.
More likely to learn healthy eating habits.
Less like being "on a diet" and more like "changing your diet".
Less likely to get fed up with feeling restricted and give up.
More wiggle room for good days and bad days.
More energy for exercise.
More sustainable in the long run.

I second this!

Third! And I only wish someone had given me this advice when I started losing weight instead of crashing and burning on 1200 cals.

now_or_never13 · February 2013

Do not have that large of a deficit for too long. You can get results eating more.

That high of a deficit for too long will cause you to lose a large amount of muscle. If you want to have that high of a deficit ensure you are eating more than enough protein (much higher than the recommendations here) and make sure you lift heavy weights often to try and preserve your muscle.

You should be netting your BMR. Netting too low kills your muscle mass.

I am around the same size as you and eat 1550 daily plus any claories I earn from exercise.

Eating 1200 and exercising off a few hundred leaves your body with not nearly enough fuel. You do need to eat more.

Weight loss isn't always about the math.. just because you have a 1000 cal a day deficit doesn't mean you will lose two pounds each week. Just because your deficit is set at 1lb doesn't mean you will lose 1lb each week.

da_bears10089 · February 2013

My advice would be to eat 1600-1700 a day and eat back your exercise calories - 1lb a week loss.
Why?
More likely to lose a higher proportion of fat to LBM than by going for a fast loss.
More likely to learn healthy eating habits.
Less like being "on a diet" and more like "changing your diet".
Less likely to get fed up with feeling restricted and give up.
More wiggle room for good days and bad days.
More energy for exercise.
More sustainable in the long run.

I second this!

Third! And I only wish someone had given me this advice when I started losing weight instead of crashing and burning on 1200 cals.

ditto

lmelangley · February 2013

My advice is to be a little flexible with your plan:
1. Try it for a month and if it works for you, continue. If it doesn't, make changes. We're all different and sometimes things that should work just don't. For example, I can't lose at 1200 calories, but a lot of folks can. I'm a 1325 girl.
2. Allow yourself to mix up your high calorie day of the week. It's nice to pick one day to weigh in, but if that day is Saturday and you want to go out with friends on Friday, it's good to be able to switch the calories to Friday. It also makes it easier to maintain your plan - lots of folks fall off the wagon because they get frustrated trying to adapt their eating regimes to real life.

My plan.. opinions please.

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