Lemme holler at my calorie deficit experts...

page8040
page8040 Posts: 50 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Ok so I am new and really trying to learn how losing weight actually works. My goal is to lose 1-1.5 lbs per week. I know that this is totally feasible and that they say 3,500 calories is equivalent to a pound (I know this is up for debate too). You do this by creating a 500 calorie deficit each day. Example: If your body runs on 2000 calories a day and you decrease your diet to 1500 calories per day for 7 days then, in theory, you should loose 1 pound. So my question is this, doesn't there come a point where your body is now used to the 1500 calorie per day diet? Do the levels change over time and how do you know when to readjust your figures? Is this why plateaus happen? How do you not just keep decreasing and decreasing calories.. Sorry if this is a dumb question, reply with love, please! :-)

Replies

  • 2014_willbmyyear
    2014_willbmyyear Posts: 14
    wonderin the same thing!
  • eazy_
    eazy_ Posts: 516 Member
    bump to learn how this works
  • MoreBean13
    MoreBean13 Posts: 8,701 Member
    Your targets change as you lose weight. You lose calories along the way. MFP updates your goals every 5 or 10 lbs....I can't remember specifically.

    Its rude when you are all happy and log a weight loss only to find out you lost calories, too!
  • franzhaydn
    franzhaydn Posts: 44
    I'm no expert, but it is true that one's metabolism will slow down if the fuel being put into it is reduced. Think of it like a car. If you switch to a smaller model it won't need as much fuel! You can help keep your metabolism going by fuelling it up the same but then burning that deficit off instead of just not consuming it in the first place.

    Restricting as it is called without exercise frustrates many people. People who aim to be extremely skinny especially continue to lower and lower their intake to keep losing weight. So you are right. To avoid plateaus exercise is key.
  • delicious_cocktail
    delicious_cocktail Posts: 5,797 Member
    Wow! You're off to a great start compared to the average. Extra points for 'feasible'.

    Plateaus eventually just happen. It's not necessarily a matter of failing to adjust for a lower TDEE. Sometimes, some combination of fluid retention and other mysterious magical biological something or others happen, and the needle gets stuck.

    Anyone who has been at this for awhile is familiar with that and equally familiar with the eventual "Woosh" of the body catching up, where suddenly pounds drop quickly.

    This of course assumes that the deficit is still valid, we're not lying to ourselves, and so forth.

    But the difference in metabolic rate between 200lbs and 30% body fat, and 180 pounds and 20% body fat, is not that pronounced. Fat is not very metabolically active compared to lean body mass. So the relationship isn't directly linear.


    Your body does also somewhat "get used to" or adapt to a lower caloric intake. The lower you go, the more easily you notice that you catch a chill; the more lethargic you feel - - the very restriction of calories has some metabolic ramifications.


    In the end it all becomes a rounding error.
  • PetulantOne
    PetulantOne Posts: 2,131 Member
    It takes less calories to fuel a smaller body, so the amount you can eat will decrease if you don't increase activity level.

    Prolonged dieting can cause your metabolism to slow down some. I took frequent diet breaks, which seemed to counteract that. No plateaus here. :happy:
  • bwogilvie
    bwogilvie Posts: 2,130 Member
    As others have said, you do need to adjust your goals as you lose weight. I'm told that MFP asks you to do so after you've lost 10 lbs. I have done it myself every 5 lbs. or so, so I've never seen a prompt.

    There are two reasons to do so:

    1. Smaller bodies need less fuel. You're hauling around less mass, so you need less energy to shlep it from here to there. How much less depends on your general activity level and the proportion of fat to muscle; other things being equal, muscle requires a little more energy to maintain.

    2. People who lose weight require fewer calories to maintain their body weight than those who have not. It's called "adaptive thermogenesis." This study demonstrated the effect: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23535105

    Whether you'll eventually stop losing weight if you don't change your goals, or just slow down, depends on the size of your initial deficit and the amount of weight you intend to lose. My goal is to lose 60 lbs., and with my BMR I probably would attaine that even if I had not reduced my calories, but it would have taken longer.
  • wild_wild_life
    wild_wild_life Posts: 1,334 Member
    In the end it all becomes a rounding error.

    You don't have to go and get all philosophical on us.
  • delicious_cocktail
    delicious_cocktail Posts: 5,797 Member
    In the end it all becomes a rounding error.

    You don't have to go and get all philosophical on us.

    Well we simply needn't overcomplicate things, is all I'm saying :-)
  • page8040
    page8040 Posts: 50 Member
    Thanks everyone!! I'll have to read these responses 3 times each to try to wrap my head around it haha but I appreciate it!!
  • twixlepennie
    twixlepennie Posts: 1,074 Member
    I adjusted my calories after every 5lbs lost.
  • My_Own_Worst_Enemy
    My_Own_Worst_Enemy Posts: 218 Member
    In the end it all becomes a rounding error.

    You don't have to go and get all philosophical on us.

    Well we simply needn't overcomplicate things, is all I'm saying :-)

    Why not? Doesnt creating drama burn 33% more calories exponentially?
  • mccindy72
    mccindy72 Posts: 7,001 Member
    Ok so I am new and really trying to learn how losing weight actually works. My goal is to lose 1-1.5 lbs per week. I know that this is totally feasible and that they say 3,500 calories is equivalent to a pound (I know this is up for debate too). You do this by creating a 500 calorie deficit each day. Example: If your body runs on 2000 calories a day and you decrease your diet to 1500 calories per day for 7 days then, in theory, you should loose 1 pound. So my question is this, doesn't there come a point where your body is now used to the 1500 calorie per day diet? Do the levels change over time and how do you know when to readjust your figures? Is this why plateaus happen? How do you not just keep decreasing and decreasing calories.. Sorry if this is a dumb question, reply with love, please! :-)

    As you lose weight, you will need to adjust your intake down to continue to have a deficit, as the less you weigh, the fewer calories you need. As long as you eat at a deficit, you will continue to lose weight, even when you are underweight. This is why, when you reach your goal weight, you need to adjust for that and increase your calorie intake to a maintenance level. Everyone's weight fluctuates based on water retention and if there are times when calorie calculation and burns are a bit inaccurate.
  • monty619
    monty619 Posts: 1,308 Member
    the body adapts very quickly especially if you do not have a lot of weight to lose it will resist getting leaner.. how I would go about it is cut roughly 100 calories a week at a time and see if I lose weight.. its tough to tell, but the slower you cut calories the more sustained weight loss you will have
  • mccindy72
    mccindy72 Posts: 7,001 Member
    In the end it all becomes a rounding error.

    You don't have to go and get all philosophical on us.

    Well we simply needn't overcomplicate things, is all I'm saying :-)

    Why not? Doesnt creating drama burn 33% more calories exponentially?

    According to the cortisol crew, the increase in stress from drama causes you to gain weight!

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