Two weeks in and a lot of progress, but concerned

It'll level off, don't worry too much.

What's your TDEE and your average net calories for the past 2 weeks?

TDEE?

Put your numbers in, and post what it says.

http://www.fitnessfrog.com/calculators/tdee-calculator.html


After a quick look at your diary, you're not eating back your exercise calories. When you thrash yourself running etc, then you should be eating much more calories that day.

Just glanced at your diary. I didn't "check" your foods because I believe to be successful you have to eat what you like (within reason). Just make sure you have a general idea of what your TDEE is and then eat at a deficit of that number. You always lose fast for the first couple of weeks. It will stabilize and losing about 1 to 1.5 pounds a week would be awesome.

My best advice? Make changes to improve your overall health (exercise that you will do & eating foods that are healthy with snacks & treats thrown in for good measure). People who deny themselves all the foods they love, never learn portion control and rarely keep the weight off for the long haul. If you choose health every day - then you won't ever have a "finish line" - you will just be living the life that will keep you at a healthy weight. Best of luck!

ETA: 1100 cals is awfully low for a man. A deficit of 15 - 20 % from your TDEE works for most people.

Ah. - got it. Thanks!

TDEE 4213
Avg net calories: 1123

So you're eating 26.6% of your TDEE.

That's not great. Ideally you should not drop below 70% of your TDEE.
Lots of people suggest TDEE-20%.

If you up your calories a bit you'll still lose. You have lots of room there compared with what you've been eating. The way I see it though, 17 lbs lost is very different for someone who is real big compared to someone who is average or small to start with (I'm assuming from your ticker you aren't a tiny thing ) When we started, my husband got sick and lost 17 lbs in a week (he started at 340) and we decided to keep that ball rolling. I would just say as long as you're being mindful and eating healthy it'll just come off. Just make sure you're doing something sustainable. He generally eats between 2500-3000 a day, no exercise and is down 52 now. Its not a race and btw your little girl is a cutie!

Holy mother of sodium!?! How do you.... No!

In the meantime, you want to get as close to your calories and macros as you can. Being over (or very over) on protein is grand. Being consistently over a little bit on your calories is fine. It just means you'll be losing slightly slower. Unless you consistently go over your TDEE, which is what got most of us here in the first place. Your goals are based on a deficit calculated by the site. Going seriously under means you're not getting the fuel your body needs to function. Your body needs all of the nutrients that come with the macros for digestion, repair work, and the like. Even the carbs and fats.

The heavier you are the faster you'll lose.
Men also lose much easier than women.
My father lost 14lb in two weeks by ONLY changing what he was eating.
Just make sure you meet your calorie requirements, meet your protein requirements, and just make healthy choices.

Men usually lose MORE than women and sometimes at faster paces. I wouldn't worry unless your BIDY tells you to slow down and believe me--IT WILL

A lot happens those first few weeks, your body is pretty confused! I think its pretty normal. It will slow down pretty soon, but keep up with being awesome! Good luck

I'd say be mindful of any weakness you may feel, physically or mentally, and go much closer to the recommended calories for weight loss provided by MFP. Men do lose weight very quickly a lot of times, but too sudden can be really dangerous. There are some medical concerns that aren't often mentioned...my best friend's husband (healthy, slightly overweight 37 yr old man) lost 26 lb in 1 month and developed problems with his body that required weekly trips to a urologist. His urologist and GP agreed that the weight loss was partly responsible.

Just be careful!

I read through the responses and agree with the TDEE and BMR advice. When execising, eat back at least enough calories to ALWAYS be above your BMR.

Also, check out the Fitness Pal (fp) group: eat more to weigh less. There are good videos on you tube and advice in fp.

Advice there will help you make a custom setting in fp to include your exercise calories...that's a good idea, then you only have to watch to be above your BMR. And your calorie goal will be consistent each day. I accept that all this helps protect our metabolism for health and continued weight loss.

fp is probably setting your calories too low and then you also have to play games with exercise calories. I just got started with the custom setting when I had a bunch of dental issues, so I have been off the whole program a while. Still, it sounds right to me and I know I have dieted with too big a calorie deficit many times in my life to the detriment of my metabolism.

I too find all the support here great... Go Community!

I love this thread. People give sensible advice, OP agrees and thanks them. IS THIS REAL LIFE?

Also, I agree, you should be operating on your TDEE-20% if possible. If you're sticking to TDEE-20% then you don't "eat back" exercise calories as they're already included in your calorie allowance.

Right there with you. This thread is a joy to read!

Thanks everyone for the posts. This site is one heck of a support group; I'm loving it. I will lurk no longer. Haha

Questions:

1. Looking back at my foods eaten I've noticed sodium is high where I thought it wouldn't be. Any suggestions of low sodium snacks and lunches? That's where I'm struggling with sodium.

You probably don't really need to worry too much about sodium, unless you have a medical condition. High sodium can cause waterweight, but it's a temporary issue.

2. Do I eat until my "calories remaining" is zero or do I each until I eat my "food calorie goal" for the day is met?

I have no problem eating more - that's what got me into this mess in the first place. The hardest habit to beat was end loading - eating a lot at the end of the day. I've shifted that pretty well to morning and lunch and haven't struggled so much there.

Thanks again for all of the help. Once I get this all down I will have a lot of paying it forward. I appreciate it! :-) What's even more awesome - advice provided both internationally and domestic, that's very cool.

Sometimes the calories burned amounts in the database are a bit high, I tend to shoot for eating around 75% of my exercise cals (I just change the number on the entry to 75% of what it says initially).

You don't have to worry too much about hitting the exact number every day, weight loss is more about averages.

What time of day doesn't effect weight loss, unless it's impacting your behavior in some way (leading to binges, feeling like crud so it impacts workouts, etc.).

I'm a major proponent of eating as much as you can while still losing, it'll help you later and it's much more sustainable.

I weigh and measure my food, it helps me make sure that I'm hitting my macros and that my portions aren't starting to get "optimistic". A food scale is best for dry foods, measuring cups can be a bit inaccurate.

Good for you for lifting! That, hitting your protein numbers (I think the goal is around 1 gram per lb of your LBM), and losing slowly is going to help you maintain LBM and make you much happier with the body you end up with at your goal weight.

Edited to add: I've done the TDEE - 20% method, it works well if your exercise is pretty consistent. MFP numbers (when you eat back your exercise cals, as it was designed) come out roughly the same for me. But, my summer is full of long hikes and other adventures, so my exercise cals are really inconsistent.