Unhealthy start, can I recover?

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ItsJordanNicole
ItsJordanNicole Posts: 110 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
So, I started seriously tracking back in March and was set up at 1200 calories. I ate all of my caories each day, however never ate back my exercise calories. I faired well and lost about 30lbs. I still have 40-50lbs to go, however I've realized that I cannot live forever on 1200 calories. So I've raised my calorie goal to 1400 and eat back some workout calories but not all. My weight loss has slowed a lot, so I'm wondering, have I ruined my diet by starting out too aggressively? Should I go back to 1200 calories? Or will my body recover from the overly aggressive start and start losing again? I'm not sure where to go from here...

Replies

  • editorgrrl
    editorgrrl Posts: 7,060 Member
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    Set your goal no higher than 1 lb. per week, and be patient.

    Read the Sexypants post: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-Sexypants
  • ItsJordanNicole
    ItsJordanNicole Posts: 110 Member
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    1lb a week with 50lbs to lose? That seems pretty slow...
  • Cerakoala
    Cerakoala Posts: 2,547 Member
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    No you didn't. I agree read the sexypants post. Also, your body may just take some time to catch up from the change in calories. It will get there, just have a little patience and keep making the right choices :) Your body will catch up :) As far as exercise calories you should eat them back as MFP already has you at a deficit. However, I am always unsure if my HRM is correct etc so I leave a few left over to be on the safe side :)
  • missomgitsica
    missomgitsica Posts: 496 Member
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    1lb a week with 50lbs to lose? That seems pretty slow...

    Well, you can do it slowly and healthily and keep the weight off, or you can do it super fast and gain it all back and then some.
  • Iwishyouwell
    Iwishyouwell Posts: 1,888 Member
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    1lb a week with 50lbs to lose? That seems pretty slow...

    Well, you can do it slowly and healthily and keep the weight off, or you can do it super fast and gain it all back and then some.

    Please don't lie to this woman.

    There are no statistics or studies that support the popular, though erroneous, assumption that slower weight loss leads to better maintenance. It's a pretty little myth that dieters want to believe but all available evidence shows that most people regain their weight, regardless of what rate they lost it.
  • chargraves
    chargraves Posts: 65 Member
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    1lb a week with 50lbs to lose? That seems pretty slow...

    Respectfully...what do you think that you will be doing once you reach goal that you are not doing now? My point is that a diet is something that you do temporarily to cut weight. A true lifestyle change means that you develop habits and a way of eating that is sustainable over the long haul. For you is that more achievable at 1200 or would a smaller deficit help you stick with it over a longer period? It is not always an easy decision between quick results and taking the slower path.
  • ItsJordanNicole
    ItsJordanNicole Posts: 110 Member
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    I know that 1200 is unrealistic in the long run, which is why I have raised my calorie intake. Also, when eating at maintenance I will probably be able to eat more, and eat back my workout calories, so that's what will be different from now.
  • chargraves
    chargraves Posts: 65 Member
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    ... It's a pretty little myth that dieters want to believe but all available evidence shows that most people regain their weight, regardless of what rate they lost it.



    That's true which is why I am trying to stack the odds as much as possible in my favor. My personal experience was that the lower the calorie intake the shorter the time I would stick to the food plan. Increasing my odds also means maintaining a positive "can do" attitude. Probably no studies for that either. :laugh:
  • Annie_01
    Annie_01 Posts: 3,096 Member
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    1lb a week with 50lbs to lose? That seems pretty slow...

    Well, you can do it slowly and healthily and keep the weight off, or you can do it super fast and gain it all back and then some.

    IMO...whether one maintains their weight loss or gains it back primarily has to do with what you do once reaching goal weight.

    No matter how fast or how slow that we lose weight if we "over eat" in maintenance..we will gain the weight back. If we stop moving we will gain the weight back.

    What do you call super fast???

    I have been at this for 11 months and have lost a total of 78lbs...just over a 7lb average per month. For the last several months I have only averaged 5lbs a month. No...I am not on a VLCD...I am set for 1lb a month at active which gives me 1650 calories a day.

    With 50lbs left to go the OP could certainly set her goal at 1.5lbs...eat back some of her exercise calories...and still have the same probability of keeping her weight off that you or I have.

    My opinion only...
  • MB_Positif
    MB_Positif Posts: 8,897 Member
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    I don't feel like quoting posts so I'll just say I personally lost 50 pounds in a year and have been able to maintain the loss for 2 1/2 years so far. By losing at a slower pace I was able to make sustainable changes that have allowed maintenance to feel easy for me.
  • pipertargaryen
    pipertargaryen Posts: 303 Member
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    I lost 50lbs in my first six months. I started at 1200 and never ate back exercise calorie either (as I didn't exercise much). I'm now extremely active and eat 1450 a day and don't eat back those calories. I'm still losing at about 1.92lbs per week (some weeks I'll lose nothing. Other weeks 3lbs will drop off. I'm just trusting the process). Some people take a year to lose what I lost. Others take less time. It works out differently per person. If you're really and truly hungry, eat more. If this slows down your weight loss, so be it. If it halts entirely, that could be an issue. But if it's just a bit slower - remember that slow weight loss is often sustainable weight loss. Now that I'm more than 2/3 to my goal, I expect my loss to slow down. That's totally normal. I'm thirding (or 4th-ing?) the sexypants post.
  • PetulantOne
    PetulantOne Posts: 2,131 Member
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    1lb a week with 50lbs to lose? That seems pretty slow...

    I don't think so. It took me a year and a half to lose just over 50 pounds.

    I focused on creating new habits, and tried not to do anything I didn't think I couldn't sustain. I was also trying to hold onto as much muscle mass as possible.

    The sexypants thread is a good place to start.
  • Sie_Con
    Sie_Con Posts: 101 Member
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    I think 1400 per day is a good goal. Or just set it to 1 lb per week and let them MFP tell you what to eat. Maybe 1.5 for the first month if you don't want to get discouraged at slowing down. As long as you are accurate and honest about your logging.

    As far as eating back calories, I would be extra careful to be accurate about your burn. MFP gives out way too many calories in exercises. You should get a HRM, or just do what I do, which is reduce the MFP calories burned by half. This way you don't eat too much back thinking you burned more than you did.

    Weight loss is slow, it's ok!
    Congrats on your progress so far.
  • peacefrog08109
    peacefrog08109 Posts: 44 Member
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    bump
  • Iwishyouwell
    Iwishyouwell Posts: 1,888 Member
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    Increasing my odds also means maintaining a positive "can do" attitude. Probably no studies for that either. :laugh:

    Well I'm all for that, studies be damned!

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