Little advice needed, please.

Samanthaaaaaaaaaaaa
Samanthaaaaaaaaaaaa Posts: 22 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Ok so I need advice from several people please!

3 months ago I started to make changes in my life and really push forward to lose weight and become healthy. So I decided to lower my calories first. I lowered my calories to 1500 a day. I needed a number to stick with and I went with it.

I have lost 23 pounds mainly by just eating 1500 a day.

But I am trying to do a life change, not just a diet. I need something that will work for me years to come. And I'm hearing that 1500 calories a day isn't healthy for me in the long run. And I'm so confused to why.

People say your starving yourself or not eating enough or not being healthy.

But I'm not hungry at all during the day and I actually eat healthier since I been doing the 1500.

Not sure if my body is use to it or not, but I feel like I eat enough. And being on 1500 a day has helped me with not over eating or having seconds and so on.

I been thinking I should up my calories to 1800 a day since I been hearing negative feedback, but I don't think I will eat a full 1800 a day. I guess I will have to try to train myself all over again, but I know I'm going to be nervous I'm going to gain my weight back by going from 1500 to 1800.

And I'm not active hardcore just yet. I'm trying to do small things, like I try to exercise for 20 mins a day, every day, but I'm slowly adding more time to that and trying to add walking. Right now I'm still considered morbidly obese, but I'm doing what I can, sometimes more. More then what I was doing 3 months ago.

Anyways, what's a good amount of calories for someone that is morbidly obese? And don't say 3000 calories because I won't do that. That's what I was eating in the past before I started to change my ways.

And for breakfast I been eating like a banana, orange and a cup of milk. Lunch will be like zucchini, tomatoes & tuna. Then dinner will be like broccoli, asparagus & chicken. And snacks.. I don't really do anymore unless its am snack, then I'll have something like spinach salad or something. Same for pm snack. And things just kinda switch around, but we never allow junk food in the house, or I just don't eat them anymore. And no fast foods. No soda. No juice. Just water.

I been really strong with saying no to certain foods. And I use to eat fast food every day all day. Plus have a bag of chips in my hand all day! So it's been a big change for me cutting all that out cold turkey!

Either way I'm proud where I am today. But I want this to not fail. So advice needed.

1500 or 1800 and why, or more? Opinions pleaseeeeee!

Replies

  • topazlacee
    topazlacee Posts: 8
    I think 1500 calories a day is perfectly healthy, as long as you're eating lean protein, lots of fruits and veggies, with just a smidgy-bit of fat thrown in, because you can't absorb essential vitamins and nutrients without it. You're trying to lose weight, right? For your average, non-overweight person, 2000 calories a day is recommended to maintain a healthy weight. Well, if you're anything like me, we're not average, non-overweight people. The whole idea of reducing your calorie intake is to force your body to burn off that extra padding it's been lugging around. Yes, if you eat too little you can cause your body to go into starvation mode where it immediately packs the fat onto your body, but, if you're exercising and eating healthy, I fail to see how 1500 calories a day is going to cause your metabolism to freak out.

    Now, with that being said... you know how when you exercise, MFP gives you extra calories for the day? Let's say you have 1500 calories a day, and you burn 200 on cardio, MFP will give you an extra 200 calories to consume that day. If you're exercising a LOT (and I'm talking burning more than 400 calories in a single work out) and you don't consume those extra calories that MFP has given you, that can cause some serious issues. A friend of mine was recently on a diet and she had 1200 calories a day, plus she was running 4+ miles a day without being given extra calories to cover the ones she burned during her run. She ran herself down so much she ended up sleeping for 18 hours straight, got up and ate a decent meal, then went back to bed for another 10 hours, then it took another week or so for her to get her body back in balance. That right there is what I consider unhealthy.

    So, I think you're just fine with 1500 calories a day, as long as you're being smart about what you eat and how you exercise. Also, another thing to consider, most of the contestants on the Biggest Loser go from eating over 2500 calories a day to less than 1500, and they're in the gym 6-8 hours a day minimum. If they can do that, then I don't see why you eating 1500 is unhealthy. Just my $0.02 anyways.
  • xidia
    xidia Posts: 606 Member
    Well done for losing 23lbs!

    What's your height, weight, age and general activity level? Do you eat back exercise calories on top of your 1500? Have you plugged your numbers into the In Place Of A Roadmap post calculations?
  • tasson
    tasson Posts: 37
    I have been doing 1200 cals. I'm 44, 5'5" and walk for exercise. I eat 5 times a day and haven't had any issues. I have been doing this for a few months.
  • timbrom
    timbrom Posts: 303 Member
    So, you feel good, you're not hungry, and you're losing weight. What you are doing is obviously working for you, so keep at it.

    Three notes:
    1. When you plateau (unfortunately, this is most likely a when, not an if). This means a few weeks with no weight loss, I'd recommend eating 200-300 more calories to see if that breaks the plateau.
    2. When you start exercising heavier (yes, this should be a when, not an if, but a lot of people find it easier to get lighter first, then start working out heavier), eat your exercise calories back, or figure your TDEE - 20%. I highly recommend http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/937712-in-place-of-a-road-map-ver-3-0 if that doesn't make sense to you
    3. When you get close to your goal weight, you'll want to start eating closer to your TDEE
  • Shereta5
    Shereta5 Posts: 13
    Well, my calories change daily. It depends on how much I exericse. I've averaged 1642 over the last week and lost 3 lbs exercising almost everyday. I did not eat all the calories MFP allowed on any day. I had at least 100 left each day. So, I suggest eat almost all the caloires MFP allows each day after you plug in exercise and see how that works for you.

    Good luck.
  • SabrinaLily
    SabrinaLily Posts: 121
    This is just my opinion, but right now I've cut my calories down to 1,200 a day which is the bare minimum anyone should have. Once I reach my goal weight, I will boost the calories up to anywhere between 1,500 - 1,800 depending on my activity level. That will be sufficient for maintenance. And that's what you need to do is figure out your activity level so you know how many calories you should be eating a day. A certain range will make you lose, another range will maintain your weight, and anything above that, you'll gain. Weight Watchers operates under a similar system. Their "points" are based on calories and they start people out low and once they reach goal, allow them to eat more points per day to maintain goal weight.
  • SlimSumday
    SlimSumday Posts: 379 Member
    Don't fix something if it ain't broke. Just sayin'. :flowerforyou:
  • CM9178
    CM9178 Posts: 1,251 Member
    Ok so I need advice from several people please!

    3 months ago I started to make changes in my life and really push forward to lose weight and become healthy. So I decided to lower my calories first. I lowered my calories to 1500 a day. I needed a number to stick with and I went with it.

    I have lost 23 pounds mainly by just eating 1500 a day.

    But I am trying to do a life change, not just a diet. I need something that will work for me years to come. And I'm hearing that 1500 calories a day isn't healthy for me in the long run. And I'm so confused to why.

    People say your starving yourself or not eating enough or not being healthy.

    But I'm not hungry at all during the day and I actually eat healthier since I been doing the 1500.

    Not sure if my body is use to it or not, but I feel like I eat enough. And being on 1500 a day has helped me with not over eating or having seconds and so on.

    I been thinking I should up my calories to 1800 a day since I been hearing negative feedback, but I don't think I will eat a full 1800 a day. I guess I will have to try to train myself all over again, but I know I'm going to be nervous I'm going to gain my weight back by going from 1500 to 1800.

    And I'm not active hardcore just yet. I'm trying to do small things, like I try to exercise for 20 mins a day, every day, but I'm slowly adding more time to that and trying to add walking. Right now I'm still considered morbidly obese, but I'm doing what I can, sometimes more. More then what I was doing 3 months ago.

    Anyways, what's a good amount of calories for someone that is morbidly obese? And don't say 3000 calories because I won't do that. That's what I was eating in the past before I started to change my ways.

    And for breakfast I been eating like a banana, orange and a cup of milk. Lunch will be like zucchini, tomatoes & tuna. Then dinner will be like broccoli, asparagus & chicken. And snacks.. I don't really do anymore unless its am snack, then I'll have something like spinach salad or something. Same for pm snack. And things just kinda switch around, but we never allow junk food in the house, or I just don't eat them anymore. And no fast foods. No soda. No juice. Just water.

    I been really strong with saying no to certain foods. And I use to eat fast food every day all day. Plus have a bag of chips in my hand all day! So it's been a big change for me cutting all that out cold turkey!

    Either way I'm proud where I am today. But I want this to not fail. So advice needed.

    1500 or 1800 and why, or more? Opinions pleaseeeeee!
    You need to use the Scooby Calculator to figure out how much you should be eating not just pick a number (1500) out of thin air.
    Also, I'm eating about 1350 and I eat a ton more food than you do.
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
    I don't know about the calories ..... but re: walking

    This is a great place to start .... go at your own pace .... do as much (or as little) as you want

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WjduJjO1pLg&feature=related

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n5SeMKN8Bus

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