Must I starve to lose?

I'm a man and currently weigh around 300 lbs and I'm eating 1800 - 2000 cals a day. I'm working out in the gym every weekday for 3 hours and burning ~ 1400 cals per session.

So to answer yes you can survive on 1700 cals a day without feeling hungry. One tip I can give you is to push your carbs to the morning and don't eat any in the evening. it will ensure you don't feel hungry during the day.

I don't feel hungry at all at the moment. I have more energy than before. I looked at your pic and you look pretty. I can imagine if you lose 50 pounds you're going to look pretty hot!

Well you do have to eat at a deficit in order to lose weight but you don't have to starve yourself in order to do so.

I don't really have an answer for you but I found this group to be very informative and helpful:

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/groups/home/3817-eat-more-to-weigh-less

I usually eat 1200-1500 a day. You learn to manipulate foods and meals. Feel free to fr me!

I'm doing around 1200 per day and I'm fine. Water helps but the whole thing has made me look at what sorts of food I was eating. For example, I cut butter and a slice of toast from my morning soft, dippy eggs with soldiers. I looked at what I drank. I looked at the ingredients I was using and thought about whether they (a) actually needed and (b) could they be substituted for something else. Another example, when I started making salads I was add some chopped nuts and maybe some blue cheese on. Maybe only 20-30 grams but then I discovered how much these cost in terms of calories so now I have one or the other.

At no point do I think I'm starving myself and I know that the 1200 is until I reach my goal weight. What I have learnt in the last five weeks is to look at what I'm eating. I now eat poached chicken almost every day with loads of salad; previously it would have been pan fried with butter and in a pitta or between two slices of crusty bread with some cheese and a sauce. Do I miss the latter, actually no because I've discovered salads are actually nicer and rather than high calorie sauces to enhance the flavour I'm doing the same thing with spices.

Soups are great and this forum has lots of great recipes.

If you continue to eat the same things you have always eaten then yes, you maybe hungry. If you look at eating as much as you can for your allowance then you'll be do great.

I find I stay reasonably full if I meet my fat and protein macros. Mine are set higher than the MFP default using the formula from this post:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/819055-setting-your-calorie-and-macro-targets

My advice would be to start at 2000 calories. Weigh everything on a food scale, be scrupulous and honest with your logging so you can establish whether that puts you in a deficit. You may want to look into doing the TDEE-20% method, you can google an online TDEE calculator to figure that out. If you use that method, you would set a daily goal to eat, and would not eat back your exercise calories.

Whatever method you choose, though, weigh your food and really pay attention to the numbers, and stick to it for at least 4 weeks so you can figure out your deficit.

Good luck!

I agree with this...I weigh quite a bit less than you, and I would be verrry grouchy and hungry eating 1600 calories a day. Why be miserable when you can eat more food, be happy, and still lose bodyfat? All these people who are eating 1200 calories a day...um, yeah, come talk to me in a year and tell me how that's workin' for ya. If people want to eat that low, that's their choice, but it's almost never necessary to eat that low to lose weight.

You need to find a sustainable calorie level that fuels your body and still allows you to steadily lose fat, not just "weight". You shouldn't be feeling sick and hungry all the time. Make sure your calories are coming from nutrient-dense foods...plenty of fiber, protein, and quality carbs will keep you fuller. Slow and steady is the only thing that works with weight loss long-term.

All the online tools tell me to eat between 1600-1700 cals to lose. Seriously, I cant even get through one day on that?

I weigh 200lbs, but also have a ton of lean muscle. Im quite thin at 150-160. I dont work out much, but I have a pretty active lifestyle.

I eat lots of lean protein and fresh produce and high fiber grains- I eat very clean and healthy & avoid sugar. I also only drink H20. But I still find that if I go below 2000 cals I feel really weak. Must I starve and feel awful to release fat?

Weight loss is tough on your body for sure. My current goal is about 1650ish, feel free to take a look at my diary if you want. Plenty of protein and fiber help me from feeling hungry, and distracting yourself with other activities. Eat more home-cooked meals, veggies and fruit because you can get a fair amount of those in for less calories.

Was expecting to see 1,200 calories ... sees 1,700 and is confused. Terribly confused.

Are you paying attention to your macros?

The only thing I can figure is you aren't eating enough nutrient dense foods -- either not getting enough veggie or lacking protein/fat/carbs.

Are you weighing your food?

How tall are you? If you are tall, 200 lbs and as muscular as you say you are, I can believe 1600 might be a shock to the system. When I began eating 1600 calories at 220 lbs, I do remember being fairly hungry all the time. 1600 was a big jump from what I had been eating before - and it may have been too low to start with, looking back.

A deficit of calories is obviously needed for weightloss but you shouldn't be left feeling miserable from hunger so.. I'd say listen to your body. If you are genuinely feeling very hungry on that deficit - lose weight slowly, starting around 1800-2000 with exercise, perhaps?

I echo the previous poster who talked about eating carbs in the morning and looking at your macronutrients to see how you can keep your blood sugar even the best. Regular eating in small portions might help, drinking ample water and concentrating calories to the morning and making it a mixture of complex carbs with some protein helped keep me filled up. I used to eat a large bowl of oatmeal with yoghurt/fruit/toppings or borlotti beans and olive oil on toast etc.

If you aren't losing weight on that amount after a month or so, re-assess and consider lowering them more?

I''m 5'10", -><- close to Onederland, and I aim for 1800 calories a day (I try to eat back about half of my exercise calories which can push me to 2100 on a big exercise day), some days I don't hit my goal/rarely do I go over it. I average right around 2 pounds a week and plan to readjust calories/exercise once I hit 199 to make sure I'm doing what's best for my body. For two weeks before I officially started MFP I wrote down what I was eating on a separate piece of paper and there were days I was eating between 2000 and 3000 (damn you Village Inn Lemon Supreme Pie). I thought I was eating right but just couldn't lose weight. I had no idea how many calories were really in a Chipotle Burrito-one of those with some chips & salsa is 1735. By eating small meals throughout the day I'm never "hungry" and I freely admit to a cookie after dinner if my net calories are below 1800 for the day. You may just need to figure out what foods make you hungry/increase cravings and what foods make you feel fuller longer to help with the "starving" feeling.

I think you should read the links that have been posted in this thread and find out how many calories your body requires to maintain itself and what you can eat to lose weight. 1700 calories may be a very reasonable amount for your body and your goals, but, depending on your activity level and other factors, you may be able to eat more and still lose. I agree with the others that 1700 calories is by no means starving, but if it's a drastic cut from what you're used to eating, it may be difficult to adjust to.

If you know how many calories you generally eat when you're not trying to lose weight, you can try eating that amount for awhile and gradually lowering it to a reasonable calorie deficit rather than dropping it suddenly and all at once. I can't see your food diary, so I don't know what you're logging on a daily basis, but the foods you list on your profile sound like they make up a pretty balanced diet. The key to comfortably and happily eating at a deficit is to eat smarter, not smaller. I eat all the foods I've always enjoyed, but I watch my macros and tend to beef up my meals with high-volume, low calorie veggies. It may just take a little bit of trial and error to make your normal eating habits fit a lower calorie goal.

I used to feel the same way but realized that the more you work out, you get added extra calories to eat for the day. I got a FIT BIT and it links up to this program. It automatically synchs with this program and just by everyday activity, on top of intentional excercise, you get added extra calories to help you through the day. That's the only thing that's saved me many days.

If by "starve" you mean feeling the sensation of hunger, then yes most likely you will feel hungry as you lose weight. It sounds as if you have been overweight for a while now. Your body has a set point determined by your lifestyle (and genes, but that's a topic for another day). Why not keep a food diary to determine how much you are eating, and calculate your current calorie intake? Once you figure that out you can determine how much to cut. You did not gain those 60 pounds overnight, so lose them in a way that is manageable and sustainable. If that means losing more slowly, and cutting down your calorie intake more slowly, then so be it.

Personally I don't think you should ever have to feel hunger or suffer to lose weight. If you feel bad during the process then where is your incentive to continue it as a lifestyle change? These calculators are a rough guide but clearly they don't take into account people with a lot of lean muscle; much like the BMI calculators that would put most athletes in the obese category.

I don't know how tall you are, but as a 6ft woman I started off eating 1800 calories and lost 1lb a week. I didn't feel hungry or deprived. After losing 44lbs my calorie limit went down to 1610. That was fine until I began doing harder workouts and strength training. As time went on I found I was eating over by 200 - 500 calories daily and still losing that 1lb every week. Currently I'm eating around the 2000 mark and I never feel hungry or have absolutely no energy as you mention. The weight is still coming off, slowly but surely.

Try eating at 2000 for a few weeks and see how you feel. If you still feel hungry up it a couple of hundred and see if the scale moves. Depending on your daily activity level, job and workouts you may be able to eat more and still lose weight. You definitely do not have to starve to lose weight!

Personally I don't think you should ever have to feel hunger or suffer to lose weight. If you feel bad during the process then where is your incentive to continue it as a lifestyle change? These calculators are a rough guide but clearly they don't take into account people with a lot of lean muscle; much like the BMI calculators that would put most athletes in the obese category.

I don't know how tall you are, but as a 6ft woman I started off eating 1800 calories and lost 1lb a week. I didn't feel hungry or deprived. After losing 44lbs my calorie limit went down to 1610. That was fine until I began doing harder workouts and strength training. As time went on I found I was eating over by 200 - 500 calories daily and still losing that 1lb every week. Currently I'm eating around the 2000 mark and I never feel hungry or have absolutely no energy as you mention. The weight is still coming off, slowly but surely.

Try eating at 2000 for a few weeks and see how you feel. If you still feel hungry up it a couple of hundred and see if the scale moves. Depending on your daily activity level, job and workouts you may be able to eat more and still lose weight. You definitely do not have to starve to lose weight!

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