Creating a Calorie Deficit

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francescainwonderland
francescainwonderland Posts: 24 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Just a second of background: My name is Francesca, So far I've lost 60 pounds. I started at 230 and now I'm at 170. I'm 5'2" 1/2". I've lost some weight that isn't reflected on my ticker because it was before MFP, at about 1.5-2 pounds per week. When I first started I could get away with eating at 1600 calories and walking 3-4 times a week.

So for the past week or so I've hit a bit of a plateau. I'm hesitant to use that word because it has such a stigma about it, and I'm not sure what happened is necessarily a plateau but more of me not creating the right calorie deficit. I want to lose 2 pounds a week, recently I've been doing that at around a 1300 calorie diet and being on the elliptical for an hour 4-5 days a week, burning about 600 calories per hour. I know in order to lose 2 pounds a week I have to create an 1000 calorie deficit a day. As far as I understand, that means I have to net 1000 less than my BMR, which is at about 1600, so I'd have to net at about 600. For me that's pretty extreme. That could mean eating at 1200 and moving my exercise to every day, or working out longer some days and having maybe a day off. It's not realistic for me to work out any more than that so I'd probably have to eat at 1200.

So I guess my question is, is it necessary to go that kind of extreme (at least it's extreme to me) to lose 2 pounds a week? And if it is, is it worth it? I'm not really sure how to balance how many calories I eat/burn, and still have it be maintainable and not too drastic and also still lose weight at the rate I want to. Sorry if this is super basic or has been explained to death. I hope I'm making sense, I'm not too great at explaining things. But anyway, any advice or suggestions are welcomed. Thanks!

Replies

  • mjl54
    mjl54 Posts: 127 Member
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    As you get closer to your goal weight you may need to drop it to 1lb a week.
  • whierd
    whierd Posts: 14,025 Member
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    You are misunderstanding some things. BMR is your Basal Metabolic Rate, which is the amount of calories you need just to sustain normal system functioning. TDEE Is your Total Daily Energy Expenditure, which is the number you need to eat under in order to lose weight.

    Eating 1,000 calories under, now that you have lost so much weight, is a bad choice in my opinion. You should shoot for a more reasonable loss of 1lb/week and a 500 calorie pay day deficit. The reason for this is that it is les stressful on your body and you are less likely to binge or give up. Also, you will be teaching yourself more sustainable eating habits, making it easier to transition to maintenance eating once you are at Goal Weight.

    One week simply is not long enough to call it a plateau.


    Are you eating back your exercise calories?
  • lcfairbairn74
    lcfairbairn74 Posts: 412 Member
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    You need to take 15 to 20% off your TDEE, not your BMR. You should be eating at least your BMR every day.:noway: :flowerforyou:
  • Cshutchison
    Cshutchison Posts: 6 Member
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    I would say you may need to switch to losing one pound a week instead of 2, now that you are at a lower weight. If you try and set your calorie goal to low and exercise too much you may find that you are too tired to finish a workout because you are hungry. Even by losing one pound a week you will still get to your goal weight it will just take a little longer.
  • francescainwonderland
    francescainwonderland Posts: 24 Member
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    You are misunderstanding some things. BMR is your Basal Metabolic Rate, which is the amount of calories you need just to sustain normal system functioning. TDEE Is your Total Daily Energy Expenditure, which is the number you need to eat under in order to lose weight.

    Eating 1,000 calories under, now that you have lost so much weight, is a bad choice in my opinion. You should shoot for a more reasonable loss of 1lb/week and a 500 calorie pay day deficit. The reason for this is that it is les stressful on your body and you are less likely to binge or give up. Also, you will be teaching yourself more sustainable eating habits, making it easier to transition to maintenance eating once you are at Goal Weight.

    One week simply is not long enough to call it a plateau.


    Are you eating back your exercise calories?


    Yeah, that's one of the reasons why I was hesitant to use that word. No, I'm not eating back my exercise calories generally. Once a while I might if it's a special occasion or something like that.
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
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    As you get closer to your goal weight you may need to drop it to 1lb a week.

    ^This^

    Weight loss is not linear .... the smaller we get.... the fewer calories we require. A too large calorie deficit will promote muscle loss......

    Pounds per week
    75+ lbs to lose 2 lb range
    Between 40 - 75 lbs to lose 1.5 lb range
    Between 25-40 lbs to lose 1 lb range
    Between 15-25 lbs to lose 1.0 lb range
    Less than 15 lbs to lose 0.5 lbs range
  • whierd
    whierd Posts: 14,025 Member
    Options
    You are misunderstanding some things. BMR is your Basal Metabolic Rate, which is the amount of calories you need just to sustain normal system functioning. TDEE Is your Total Daily Energy Expenditure, which is the number you need to eat under in order to lose weight.

    Eating 1,000 calories under, now that you have lost so much weight, is a bad choice in my opinion. You should shoot for a more reasonable loss of 1lb/week and a 500 calorie pay day deficit. The reason for this is that it is les stressful on your body and you are less likely to binge or give up. Also, you will be teaching yourself more sustainable eating habits, making it easier to transition to maintenance eating once you are at Goal Weight.

    One week simply is not long enough to call it a plateau.


    Are you eating back your exercise calories?


    Yeah, that's one of the reasons why I was hesitant to use that word. No, I'm not eating back my exercise calories generally. Once a while I might if it's a special occasion or something like that.

    You really should eat them back. Exercise for health, calorie deficit for weight loss.
  • manique45
    manique45 Posts: 99 Member
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    You are misunderstanding some things. BMR is your Basal Metabolic Rate, which is the amount of calories you need just to sustain normal system functioning. TDEE Is your Total Daily Energy Expenditure, which is the number you need to eat under in order to lose weight.

    Eating 1,000 calories under, now that you have lost so much weight, is a bad choice in my opinion. You should shoot for a more reasonable loss of 1lb/week and a 500 calorie pay day deficit. The reason for this is that it is les stressful on your body and you are less likely to binge or give up. Also, you will be teaching yourself more sustainable eating habits, making it easier to transition to maintenance eating once you are at Goal Weight.

    One week simply is not long enough to call it a plateau.


    Are you eating back your exercise calories?

    what this guy said!!! :o)
  • jacksonpt
    jacksonpt Posts: 10,413 Member
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    You are misunderstanding some things. BMR is your Basal Metabolic Rate, which is the amount of calories you need just to sustain normal system functioning. TDEE Is your Total Daily Energy Expenditure, which is the number you need to eat under in order to lose weight.

    Eating 1,000 calories under, now that you have lost so much weight, is a bad choice in my opinion. You should shoot for a more reasonable loss of 1lb/week and a 500 calorie pay day deficit. The reason for this is that it is les stressful on your body and you are less likely to binge or give up. Also, you will be teaching yourself more sustainable eating habits, making it easier to transition to maintenance eating once you are at Goal Weight.

    One week simply is not long enough to call it a plateau.


    Are you eating back your exercise calories?

    Yes, this.

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