I'm confused, please tell me if I'm eating enough!
GimmieDatSalad
Posts: 44
So, I'm a 20 year old female, weighing 226 pounds at 5'6.
Some days I'm sedentary, other days lightly active doing shop and house work and the like. I go to the gym every week day and work myself damn hard.
Somehow I don't think 1250 (MFP recommendation!) is going to be enough, but I've been doing 1500 and only eating back until I get to that 1250.
No good? Good? I don't know.
One thing is I have some very strange thoughts/feelings/anxieties surrounding food so eating more than 1500 might be a struggle emotionally speaking. I've just got this number in my head and eating over that I feel like I've failed, but if I need to eat more then I will.
Some days I'm sedentary, other days lightly active doing shop and house work and the like. I go to the gym every week day and work myself damn hard.
Somehow I don't think 1250 (MFP recommendation!) is going to be enough, but I've been doing 1500 and only eating back until I get to that 1250.
No good? Good? I don't know.
One thing is I have some very strange thoughts/feelings/anxieties surrounding food so eating more than 1500 might be a struggle emotionally speaking. I've just got this number in my head and eating over that I feel like I've failed, but if I need to eat more then I will.
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Replies
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Go to this website and fill out the info. If you eat less than your bmr (the amount of calories needed to lay in bed all day and do nothing,) your body will go into starvation mode and you will not lose weight.
http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/0 -
I eat below my BMR every day and I have lost nearly 100 pounds total. There is very mixed opinion over this on the discussion boards here. I have been very successful with fat loss and have built muscle mass over my entire body while following this plan. I maintain between 1-1.5 pounds a week of weight loss, and when I went up to 1500 calories a day, my weight loss declined by half and I was not even losing a pound a week. I believe every body is different and people respond differently. I have also discussed it with my doctor, and she has no problem with my current plan, especially since I eat a really balanced diet.
How do you feel physically?0 -
1 - the sedentary setting here is really low, go with lightly active, especially since you say that you are some days.
2. your ticker says you have 20 lbs to lose, if you selected 2lbs a week, that is too high. You should be around 1 lb a week for a goal, that will give you more.
3. You didn't mention exercsie, but MFP expects you to log it and eat at least some of those calories back, so that would mean more than 1250.
But yes, 1250 does sound very low for you.0 -
I eat below my BMR every day and I have lost nearly 100 pounds total. There is very mixed opinion over this on the discussion boards here. I have been very successful with fat loss and have built muscle mass over my entire body while following this plan. I maintain between 1-1.5 pounds a week of weight loss, and when I went up to 1500 calories a day, my weight loss declined by half and I was not even losing a pound a week. I believe every body is different and people respond differently. I have also discussed it with my doctor, and she has no problem with my current plan, especially since I eat a really balanced diet.
How do you feel physically?
Congrats on you weight loss. I would like to point out that the more weight you have to lose, the more of a deficit you can handle.
How long did you stay at the 1500?0 -
That's telling me to eat 2100 calories a day! There's no way I can mentally eat that much. It's my understanding that one would have to literally eat nothing for 48 hours before any slowing of the metabolism happens, and that when one is very obese like me so called "starvation mode" isn't really relevant. But that's only having done an hour or so of research so I could well be mistaken. Cheers for the input though!0
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20 is just my interim goal. I have 100 pounds to lose.0
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That's telling me to eat 2100 calories a day! There's no way I can mentally eat that much. It's my understanding that one would have to literally eat nothing for 48 hours before any slowing of the metabolism happens, and that when one is very obese like me so called "starvation mode" isn't really relevant. But that's only having done an hour or so of research so I could well be mistaken. Cheers for the input though!
Forget starvation mode. It is misunderstood and a misused term.
Chronically undereating will slow your metabolism as well.
You don't have to start out at 2100 calories, you can choose a lower one and see how it goes. But maybe try eating more than you were. Also, you need to give it time, it can take a few weeks to see if it is really working.0 -
I eat below my BMR every day and I have lost nearly 100 pounds total. There is very mixed opinion over this on the discussion boards here. I have been very successful with fat loss and have built muscle mass over my entire body while following this plan. I maintain between 1-1.5 pounds a week of weight loss, and when I went up to 1500 calories a day, my weight loss declined by half and I was not even losing a pound a week. I believe every body is different and people respond differently. I have also discussed it with my doctor, and she has no problem with my current plan, especially since I eat a really balanced diet.
How do you feel physically?
Congrats on you weight loss. I would like to point out that the more weight you have to lose, the more of a deficit you can handle.
How long did you stay at the 1500?
I stayed at the 1500 calorie level for about six weeks. I wanted to give it a fair try, but after six weeks of barely a pound a week, I had to adjust. Certainly when I was at my highest weight, I lost several pounds a week pretty easily, and now that I am down to 25, I have slowed to between 1 and 1.5 pounds. I am expecting that soon it will be just a pound, but for now, everything looks good.0 -
That's telling me to eat 2100 calories a day! There's no way I can mentally eat that much. It's my understanding that one would have to literally eat nothing for 48 hours before any slowing of the metabolism happens, and that when one is very obese like me so called "starvation mode" isn't really relevant. But that's only having done an hour or so of research so I could well be mistaken. Cheers for the input though!
When I was around your weight, a year ago, I ate about 1700 calories a day and definitely lost weight. This was with a running regimen that burned about 300 calories a day. Forget starvation mode and think about long term. You want to teach yourself to eat like a healthy, fit person. It takes time to learn how to do that. While you transition, eating a few more calories could be beneficial as it keeps you from feeling deprived and desperate. Don't be afraid to eat enough to stay sane.0 -
Check this post http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12 It explains a lot in a way thats easy to understand. I upped my cals from 1200 to 1750 and while I haven't lost much (due to lack of exercise mainly), I haven't gained from where I was when I was on 1200.
I'm currently at 165-170 and am 5'6, 26 yo.
ETA:I DO NOT eat back my exercise calories and I calculated mine at approx TDEE - 20% to get to the 1750. Right now I am working out on and off anywhere from 3-6 days a week and am trying to find a routine that works for me.
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That's telling me to eat 2100 calories a day! There's no way I can mentally eat that much. It's my understanding that one would have to literally eat nothing for 48 hours before any slowing of the metabolism happens, and that when one is very obese like me so called "starvation mode" isn't really relevant. But that's only having done an hour or so of research so I could well be mistaken. Cheers for the input though!
Forget starvation mode. It is misunderstood and a misused term.
Chronically undereating will slow your metabolism as well.
You don't have to start out at 2100 calories, you can choose a lower one and see how it goes. But maybe try eating more than you were. Also, you need to give it time, it can take a few weeks to see if it is really working.
What if I stuck to 1500 but ate back say 80% of my excersise calories? Using a HRM (which I know isn't fool proof) I see a burn of about 400 - 600 calories. Forgive my ignorance but it's important to me to get this right ya know?0 -
Check this post http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12 It explains a lot in a way thats easy to understand. I upped my cals from 1200 to 1750 and while I haven't lost much (due to lack of exercise mainly), I haven't gained from where I was when I was on 1200.
I'm currently at 165-170 and am 5'6, 26 yo.
ETA:I DO NOT eat back my exercise calories and I calculated mine at approx TDEE - 20% to get to the 1750. Right now I am working out on and off anywhere from 3-6 days a week and am trying to find a routine that works for me.
With TDEE, your exercise calories are already calculated. You technically eat them back, they are just included in your goal already.0 -
That's telling me to eat 2100 calories a day! There's no way I can mentally eat that much. It's my understanding that one would have to literally eat nothing for 48 hours before any slowing of the metabolism happens, and that when one is very obese like me so called "starvation mode" isn't really relevant. But that's only having done an hour or so of research so I could well be mistaken. Cheers for the input though!
Forget starvation mode. It is misunderstood and a misused term.
Chronically undereating will slow your metabolism as well.
You don't have to start out at 2100 calories, you can choose a lower one and see how it goes. But maybe try eating more than you were. Also, you need to give it time, it can take a few weeks to see if it is really working.
What if I stuck to 1500 but ate back say 80% of my excersise calories? Using a HRM (which I know isn't fool proof) I see a burn of about 400 - 600 calories. Forgive my ignorance but it's important to me to get this right ya know?
You could try that. That would put you at about 1800-2100.0 -
Right, official plan is 1500 and eat back 50-80% of my heard earned exercise calories. Thanks guys.0
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