Calorie deficit not the answer?

ljk3
ljk3 Posts: 9
in Health and Weight Loss
Although I don't count calories (I know many of you are going to say that I'm eating more than i think), i'm quite confident that I never exceed my daily maintenance number. I say this because I do not eat anything throughout the entire day and only drink diet coke. At dinner I eat varied meals with family from healthy to pizza and may have a beer or glass of wine. To the point, I believe my body has learned to compensate by slowing my metabolism, such that I don't gain or lose, despite being under calorie recommendations. I'm 6'1" and 230lbs and estimate eating 1500 calls per day... lifestyle is sitting behind a desk in home office.

Advice anyone? I would like to drop 30lbs before building muscle. Could it really be as simple as eating more often and cleaner calories in the 2500 per day range along with walking or jogging 3 days per week???
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Replies

  • BigT555
    BigT555 Posts: 2,067 Member
    some people dont need to count calories to lose weight, so if it works for you then thats cool, but you still need to eat less calories than you are expending.

    meal frequency has no impact on weight loss, some people just find it easier to eat smaller meals throughout the day, and some find it easy to just go with one big one.

    "clean" calories make no difference either. take a fast food burger thats 500 cals and a plate of broccoli thats 500 cals, each one would make you gain the same amount of weight. that being said, the broccoli is going to fill you up quite a bit more

    your range of calories should be 500 minus whatever your TDEE is

    exercise isnt necessary for weight loss, i hardly do cardio at all and have lost just under 70 lbs. i would advise lifting since your eventual goal is building muscle, you wont build muscle if your trying to lose weight but you'll help prevent muscle loss during the weight loss process.

    and for the record, youre probably eating more than you think :wink: count calories, it really makes weight loss easy because it takes all the guesswork out of it
  • jenmom2myboys
    jenmom2myboys Posts: 311 Member
    If you dont count you have no clue how many calories you re getting. And pizza and alcohol can have a lot of calories.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,974 Member
    So let's understand this. You don't count calories and you know you don't overeat, yet somehow you have 30lbs to lose? It has nothing to do with clean food or meal timing, although you MAY be lacking some micronutrients. Not sure since I really have no idea what you eat.
    So why are you overweight again?

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness industry for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
  • DanaDark
    DanaDark Posts: 2,187 Member
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  • janeytom
    janeytom Posts: 72 Member
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    ^^^^THIS^^^
    You know, when I first started here, I was horrified at the replies given to some seemingly innocent questions. Now, not so much....same old, same old, OMG how many times have I heard this!!!!

    If you're not counting calories and WEIGHING your food then why are you here?
  • BigGuy47
    BigGuy47 Posts: 1,768 Member
    Although I don't count calories ... i'm quite confident that I never exceed my daily maintenance number.
    How did you gain this confidence?
  • whitebalance
    whitebalance Posts: 1,654 Member
    What do you eat on Mondays?
    ... for science.
  • redversustheblue
    redversustheblue Posts: 1,216 Member
    What do you eat on Mondays?
    ... for science.

    :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:
  • LoupGarouTFTs
    LoupGarouTFTs Posts: 916 Member
    ". . . from healthy to pizza . . ."

    How do you define "healthy?"
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    If you aren't currently gaining or losing (how long have you been 230?), you ARE eating at maintenance. What you don't know is what maintenance is for you and whether it's truly at some absurdly low number due to a damaged metabolism or if you are eating more than you think (which, yes, seems more likely, although obviously I don't know what your dinners consist of). So what makes sense to me is to figure that out by logging for a while to see the calories you are eating. If you want to get started trying to lose, aim for a number that creates a deficit according to one of the TDEE calculators and log that and see what happens. Then you can adjust or if your metabolism is damaged, work on that.

    I don't think metabolism damage happens that easily, though.
  • muppet1501
    muppet1501 Posts: 46 Member
    Log everything that passes your lips from drinks, snacks to evening meals. It shows you exactly what your consuming and believe me when I first did it I was gobsmacked. Definitely the best thing to log everything then you know exactly what your eating and also keep under your calorie limit to help with the weight loss you want to achieve. You say you sit at a desk but could you walk around the office? do exercise when you get home or just up and down some stairs?
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  • GiveMeCoffee
    GiveMeCoffee Posts: 3,556 Member
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  • Ayh5xd
    Ayh5xd Posts: 6 Member
    Dump the diet soda. Just dump it.
  • GiveMeCoffee
    GiveMeCoffee Posts: 3,556 Member
    Dump the diet soda. Just dump it.

    Why? I'm having a diet soda now am I going to gain back all 111 lbs?
  • Lleldiranne
    Lleldiranne Posts: 5,516 Member
    It's going to take a calorie deficit to lose weight. You're maintaining right now because you're eating right around your daily usage (some days a bit over, some under, but it works out in the long run to average out ... that's what maintaining is).

    So my advice, if you want to lose 30 pounds, is to start with tracking everything you currently are eating. Do this for a good 2 weeks, so you get a decent idea. (You may find that you lose a few pounds doing this, because the very activity of tracking can cause some people to eat less as they become more aware). Take an average (add it all up and divide by the number of days) then focus on dropping 300-500 calories a day off that number. That should help you lose around 1 pound a week, give or take. As you get closer to your goal, drop it to 250-300; the closer you are to ideal weight, the slower you should be losing.

    Yes, I'm talking about calorie counting and achieving a calorie deficit. Because, really, that's what it comes down to. Calorie deficit IS the answer ... a consistent, over time calorie deficit is how you lose weight. Meal timing is irrelevant (what you're doing is generally referred to as IF, there are many people who chose this lifestyle and use it to lose, maintain, gain, etc). The type of foods you eat don't matter, for loss - although you want to focus mostly on nutrient-dense foods for overall health. Exercise is good for your health, and can increase your daily deficit, but is not necessary simply for weight loss. It's just the deficit. But it's not that hard to do.


    EDIT: I just re-read OP, and realized that he wants to gain muscle after losing 30 pounds. I would suggest, in that case, to not delay in adding in the exercise. Really, start lifting NOW. Look up Starting Strength or Strong Lifts 5x5. Do a bit of research on proper form, or get a few sessions with a trainer, if you haven't lifted before. Because it's actually going to far easier to maintain the muscle you have now (while eating at a 250-500 calorie deficit) and then build from there when you decide to bulk, than to lose more of the muscle as you lose the weight by what I suggested above and then try to rebuild it. Other than that, I stick with EVERYTHING else I said.
  • SoLongAndThanksForAllTheFish
    SoLongAndThanksForAllTheFish Posts: 831 Member
    You want no counting advice that kind of works (as long as you don't have a calorie surplus), try cutting out as much as possible breads/carbs/sodas/sweets/juices/cheeses, try to reduce portion sizes, exercise longer and more often than you think above and don't deprive yourself of anything on the "cut out as much as possible" list (meaning try to fit it in if you crave it). That does work slowly for me when I do it (as long as you don't have a calorie surplus).

    Now maybe you are much much better than me, but I find when I track calories I am eating more than I think. Not only that, but days later I'll remember foods I forgot to log, EVEN WHILE STRICTLY counting calories. I have no reason to lie, nobody is looking over my shoulder, and I eat whatever I feel like, but it still happens to me. I bet it happens to you, because, it just does happen with easy readily available food.

    Also, if you put yourself as lightly active, you may actually be the lowest level of activity with your job, sedentary, and this could have the same result: no loss even though you have truely counted all calories accurately, your activity level is set too high.
  • tracydr
    tracydr Posts: 528 Member
    Not sure if eating more frequently will help your weight loss but it is easier on your bodies insulin/glucagon and adrenal hormones. It's harder to regulate blood sugar when you fast and then eat a huge meal everyday. I think it also raised cortisol which is death to weight loss, not to mention very bad for everything.
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  • GiveMeCoffee
    GiveMeCoffee Posts: 3,556 Member
    Not sure if eating more frequently will help your weight loss but it is easier on your bodies insulin/glucagon and adrenal hormones. It's harder to regulate blood sugar when you fast and then eat a huge meal everyday. I think it also raised cortisol which is death to weight loss, not to mention very bad for everything.

    Really can you tell me more? I'm always interested in a good story.. studies would be nice especially on the death to weight loss
  • _HeartsOnFire_
    _HeartsOnFire_ Posts: 5,304 Member
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    This is why I love you...
  • GiveMeCoffee
    GiveMeCoffee Posts: 3,556 Member
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    This is why I love you...

    I learned from the master :flowerforyou:
  • confetticupcake
    confetticupcake Posts: 30
    Yeah, only eating one meal a day and going the rest of the day on diet coke is pretty bad for you. No one really thinks about their organs until they start to give out....which is unfortunate since you need them to function properly in order to stay alive.

    Also starving all day and then eating one meal, it is very likely you are eating more than 1500 in one sitting. After not eating all day you will be ravenously hungry and when you start eat it'll be hard to stop eating.

    Start eating breakfast and lunch. Eat a smaller dinner. Your metabolism will be faster & you'll feel better.
  • GiveMeCoffee
    GiveMeCoffee Posts: 3,556 Member
    Yeah, only eating one meal a day and going the rest of the day on diet coke is pretty bad for you. No one really thinks about their organs until they start to give out....which is unfortunate since you need them to function properly in order to stay alive.

    Also starving all day and then eating one meal, it is very likely you are eating more than 1500 in one sitting. After not eating all day you will be ravenously hungry and when you start eat it'll be hard to stop eating.

    Start eating breakfast and lunch. Eat a smaller dinner. Your metabolism will be faster & you'll feel better.

    No. Let's see I just ate 2500 calories in 1 meal. Also you are not speeding up your metabolism because you are eating more, breakfast is not necessary. My organs haven't been better thanks.
  • lsorci919
    lsorci919 Posts: 772 Member
    diet coke is pretty bad for you. No one really thinks about their organs until they start to give out....

    And this is why I drink Diet Wild Cherry Pepsi. :drinker: Heh Heh

    But really OP, start logging your intake accurately. You can't know for sure what your calorie intake is unless you are weighing and logging everything.
  • jimgatewood
    jimgatewood Posts: 86 Member
    My advice is to do it correctly.
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  • GiveMeCoffee
    GiveMeCoffee Posts: 3,556 Member
    Yeah, only eating one meal a day and going the rest of the day on diet coke is pretty bad for you. No one really thinks about their organs until they start to give out....which is unfortunate since you need them to function properly in order to stay alive.

    Also starving all day and then eating one meal, it is very likely you are eating more than 1500 in one sitting. After not eating all day you will be ravenously hungry and when you start eat it'll be hard to stop eating.

    Start eating breakfast and lunch. Eat a smaller dinner. Your metabolism will be faster & you'll feel better.
    How exactly are you starving all day? Are you assuming that if you eat 2500 calories per 1 sitting the entire 2500 calories immediately digest and you don't get any nutrient uptake from that meal as the hours go by?



    FYI - I know plenty of people that eat 1 meal per day and are successful.

    I'm starving myself can I get an emergency delivery of Gelato please
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