Morbidly obese... Do I need to eat more? LoL

Talk to your doctor. A bunch of strangers on the internet can't possibly have all of the relevant information that your medical professional does. Generally speaking we all have anecdata. I told my doctor about my efforts, showed her my mfp stats, settings, and recommendations and she gave me a bit of additional guidance. (Not much, unfortunately just a whole lot of "keep up what you're doing and come see me in 3 months" but I think it is important to not neglect the importance of medical guidance when undertaking major changes to your life and body).

Just a thought.

She did. Her doctor recommended a 500 calorie a day diet.

Talk to your doctor. A bunch of strangers on the internet can't possibly have all of the relevant information that your medical professional does. Generally speaking we all have anecdata. I told my doctor about my efforts, showed her my mfp stats, settings, and recommendations and she gave me a bit of additional guidance. (Not much, unfortunately just a whole lot of "keep up what you're doing and come see me in 3 months" but I think it is important to not neglect the importance of medical guidance when undertaking major changes to your life and body).

Just a thought.

*shrug*

Given that some of these strangers have PhDs and more experience researching and reading scientific papers than any practicing MD, I have to disagree. Of course, you'd have to find out who these people are to know whose posts should carry more weight. As a hint, these are the people who post references to sites like PubMed when they reference a study. And they expect that you will go there and verify the info posted for yourself.

Just as an aside, personal experience has taught me to never take what any doctor tells me at face value. They make mistakes like anyone else, and I've caught some making some real doozies. Remember, every doctor did not make an A in every class, and every doctor is not necessarily educated in whatever you're specifically asking. Don't assume yours is. Always double check. It never hurts, and sometimes it helps. A lot.

And screw all the doom and gloom about 4 out of 5 people failing... Because all I hear is

SO YOU'RE TELLING ME THERE'S A CHANCE! YEAH!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KX5jNnDMfxA (sorry, I don't know how to insert pics/videos)

PS 1 out of 5 people succeeds... 20% of us will reach our goal and keep it. That's a hell of a lot better odds than winning the lottery.

OK, rephrasing...talk to a GOOD doctor that will give you advice that their respected/respectable peers and medical studies support. I do feel that it is worthwhile to get bloodwork done and educate yourself as much as possible about nutrition. It's also true that nobody is perfect and that some folks on here have the qualifications, education, and experience to give quite sound advise. I think it will be difficult to get a consensus on TDEE vs. 1200 vs. doing exactly as MFP assigns but I will say that if you find a reasonable, healthy, sustainable method and stick to it you'll see great results. I wish you the best, it IS doable.

First of all, I am just going to echo how important it is to be eating the *right* foods. I was EXACTLY where you are right now. As soon as I had made my mind up that I wasn't going to keep hurting myself and really watched what I was putting into my body, it started melting off. I've really noticed that when I have a week where I eat closer to my recommended caloric intake, it's a lot slower coming off. If I cut it back a bit, it makes a huge difference. That said, I can only suggest actually eating more. LOL By that I mean smaller portions and more often. And have a cut off time. I don't know how many people I've heard/read/seen saying that "it doesn't matter - your body isn't on a clock" and I wanna smack them. As much as possible, I make sure I'm eating dinner no later than 7 pm, and really try not to be snacking after 8. When I stick to it, I really see results.

Well then I guess you will have to smack me, lol cause I personally took a snack to bed every night and lost a few pounds in the process, OP I am in the camp of meal frequency will have no bearing whatsoever on weight loss as long as you are eating in a calorie deficit and hitting your macro's. On the original question I do not agree with running a large deficit just because you are obese. Faster isn't always better, I was off the charts at 560 lbs. and never once did we sit my weight loss goals any faster then losing 1 to 2 lbs. a week... I lost the vast majority of my weight eating over 3000 calories a day so I read stuff like these severe low calorie diets and just shake my head, if you make this a lifestyle change and just commit to it then what difference does it make if it takes you a little longer to get to your goal.? Atleast by taking it slow and steady by the time you reach your goals you will have established a plan that is sustainable for the long term and there would be no reason to worry about any relaspes in my opinion...... Best of Luck to you..........

Ed, you have had some phenomenal weight loss and are respected by all on here, including myself. But I must point out that you lost 60 pounds in the first 3 months on here. That is 20 pounds per month, much more than 1-2 lbs per week. Of course you then slowed down to a more reasonable rate after then, but I think it just shows that those who have a lot to lose, can lose more quickly in the first few months, and that is certainly ok for them to do.

Calorie levels are different for different people, based on how many calories they were eating beforehand.

If someone was eating 3000 cals a day before, then dropped it to 1500 in the beginning, losing 3 lbs per week, then why would it be any different than someone who was eating 4500 cals before and dropped it to 3000 cals to lose 3 lbs per week? Or even 6000 cals to 3000 cals for a comparable 50% reduction, which would give them 6 pounds per week loss?

I am not saying someone should be eating 500 cals a day to lose, but 1500 for the average person is not an extreme diet, unless they are doing massive exercise along with it. If they are getting their nutrients in, and are not feeling hungry or weak, why would it be dangerous?

Surely it is all relative, right? How many calories do you think your were eating to sustain your heaviest weight?

ETA- OP, read your last comment, and definitely agree that you do NOT need to cut to 500 calories. Please don't think I am condoning that.

When I first started this journey I went from consuming over 10,000 calorie a day to a dietician regulated 2500 calories a day and the first week I lost 11 lbs. and the second week another 7 lbs. I was going every Friday for the first 3 months for weigh ins and calorie adjustments it took a good 12 weeks to get my calories up and my weigh loss slowed.. I went from sitting in a recliner for 2 years and sliding myself from the recliner to the bathroom and kitchen on a computer chair to going to the YMCA through the hospital and using water displacement to allow me to stand long enough to exercise... The first session I couldn't even do 5 minutes and they had to use the hoist chair to get me out of the water the first few weeks because I couldn't take back on the weight getting out on my own.. within that first 12 weeks we adjusted my caloric intake from 2500 to 3000 (adding 100 calories to my daily intake every 2 weeks roughly until my weigh loss slowed). There was lots of weeks where on paper from my logging, to what I was seeing on the scale made no sense.. I would be down 3 and the next week up 1 or down 2 and then no change the next, then another week down 5 or 6... I was weighing everything by the scale and measuring and logging and still do today 14 months into maintenance.

I have read the statistic and people that push 600 lbs. have less than a 5% chance of ever regaining control of their live but the one thing I always said was I will never be a statistic, I will be my own success story because I own the fact of what I did to myself and I knew the path back was my journey to take and mine alone, and I would decide whether I regained control of my life or died trying... No one was going to chuck me into a group and say the odds are against you from the get go, just wasn't happening.... My whole entire point was, in my own experience I just don't see the need for massively restrictive calorie diets to lose weight fast. When I started I felt deprived on 2500 calories the first few weeks it was huge adjustment coming from 10,000+ calories so I just could not see even under doctors supervision eating 600-800 calories a day and being able to sustain that for even a few days without failing... I personally do not see a problem with cutting your calories down to lose at a 2 lbs. a week weight lose but I do take issue to any suggestion of 600-800 calories a day unless you had bypass surgery and that is what your doctor has put you on.... Just my opinion...

First of all, I am just going to echo how important it is to be eating the *right* foods. I was EXACTLY where you are right now. As soon as I had made my mind up that I wasn't going to keep hurting myself and really watched what I was putting into my body, it started melting off. I've really noticed that when I have a week where I eat closer to my recommended caloric intake, it's a lot slower coming off. If I cut it back a bit, it makes a huge difference. That said, I can only suggest actually eating more. LOL By that I mean smaller portions and more often. And have a cut off time. I don't know how many people I've heard/read/seen saying that "it doesn't matter - your body isn't on a clock" and I wanna smack them. As much as possible, I make sure I'm eating dinner no later than 7 pm, and really try not to be snacking after 8. When I stick to it, I really see results.

Well then I guess you will have to smack me, lol cause I personally took a snack to bed every night and lost a few pounds in the process, OP I am in the camp of meal frequency will have no bearing whatsoever on weight loss as long as you are eating in a calorie deficit and hitting your macro's. On the original question I do not agree with running a large deficit just because you are obese. Faster isn't always better, I was off the charts at 560 lbs. and never once did we sit my weight loss goals any faster then losing 1 to 2 lbs. a week... I lost the vast majority of my weight eating over 3000 calories a day so I read stuff like these severe low calorie diets and just shake my head, if you make this a lifestyle change and just commit to it then what difference does it make if it takes you a little longer to get to your goal.? Atleast by taking it slow and steady by the time you reach your goals you will have established a plan that is sustainable for the long term and there would be no reason to worry about any relaspes in my opinion...... Best of Luck to you..........

I don't believe it matters on the least when you eat. I work 12 hours graveyard shifts. Half of my week I eat the my meals during the day, and the other half I eat my meals between five PM and four AM. It has never negatively effected my weight loss.