I don't think its what you eat, its how much you eat.

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madxprofessor
madxprofessor Posts: 81 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I have lost 58 lbs In a year by not even trying. I still eat mcdonalds, I still eat pizza and cake and cookies and ice cream. I just don't eat as much of it, I'm 21 and have a high metabolism naturally i should be skinny but years of weight gain due to MASSIVE over eating made me fat. Now that Im almost 22, I have began a slow decline from my 338lbs former self into 280lbs now, and I didn't change anything other than my portion sizes, I don't even work out more than 2 or 3 days a week, if that. Anyone know what the heck happened? Im scared that if it keeps up i might get too thin, and then thinking about maintaining my weight freaks me out because I don't want to end up living my life counting calories in order to maintain my weight. Do you think when you lose the weight you will be able to just eat as a normal person would, without reading labels on every single thing you consume? Or will you be picky about staying thin?
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Replies

  • StaciMarie1974
    StaciMarie1974 Posts: 4,138 Member
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    As you lose weight, your body burns less calories to do the same activity. Which means if you eat at the same level you are now, you'll reach a point where you maintain. No gain, no loss.
  • I_Will_End_You
    I_Will_End_You Posts: 4,397 Member
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    Nothing is wrong with you, you just cut your calorie intake. That's how you lose weight. Read the title of your thread. Plus, as you get smaller, your body will require less calories, so I wouldn't worry too much about getting too thin. If you're happy with your weight, eat a little more. If you start gaining weight, eat a little less.
  • ninav1980
    ninav1980 Posts: 514 Member
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    after all the work and effort to take it off, I will most def still read labels and count calories.
  • BusyRaeNOTBusty
    BusyRaeNOTBusty Posts: 7,166 Member
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    Correct. It IS how much you eat, not what you eat.

    And many people can maintain long term without counting calories. But some cannot.
  • stealthq
    stealthq Posts: 4,298 Member
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    Mmmm, yeah, you reduced your calories. That's how you lost the weight. Congratulations, BTW..

    FYI, the number of calories you need to maintain decrease as you lose weight. You will eventually get to the point where you stop losing unless you keep eating less and less. So no, you won't get too thin accidentally.

    Personally, I am still tracking even after losing what I originally wanted to - I'm not satisfied with just dropping the weight, I want to improve my body composition too, so I'm tracking both calories and macros. Exercise, too. I expect to keep doing it forever. It's no big deal for me, takes me maybe 5 min a day. 10 min if I input a new recipe.
  • accelerashawn
    accelerashawn Posts: 470 Member
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    You're not counting now and you're losing right? So keep doing what you're doing and when you get to the size you want to be, eat more...if you start getting too big again, eat less. You don't have to read lables or count if you dont wanna.
  • richardheath
    richardheath Posts: 1,276 Member
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    I agree with the title for weight loss. Calories in vs calories out.

    As far as worrying about what to do when you hit maintenance... don't. Not yet, anyway! You've done great so far, but you obviously still have a ways to go. Just carry on carrying on for now.
  • 126siany
    126siany Posts: 1,386 Member
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    Especially when you have a large amount of weight to lose, yes, you can lose very steadily without changing your food choices but rather merely changing the portions.

    It really depends on whether you want to simply "lose weight" or whether you want to become healthier. When you get down closer to your goal weight, you'll probably find that portion control of mostly fast food is a very difficult way to go about things because those choices are so calorie-dense and nutritionally weak.

    You may be able to eat without tracking in maintenance. I have over a 25 year period ( I lost around 45 pounds at your age and kept it off for quite a long time). You still have to be conscious of what you're eating, but not obsessive. Now, and much older I should add, I find that when I didn't at least log occasionally to make sure my portions sizes weren't creeping up, I put weight back on. I also have found that if I don't exercise, maintenance is difficult, but again, I'm nearly 50 and most people my age find that even if they never had a weight problem previously.
  • williams969
    williams969 Posts: 2,528 Member
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    There's NOTHING wrong with you. Actually, you're doing it exactly right. Weight loss really is as easy as "eat less, move more," which is exactly what you're doing. Now, when your weight is in a place you like, it's up to you (everyone's different) what you choose to do to maintain the weight.

    Some of us (ME, for sure) will need and want to be lifelong calorie counters. Others manage very well with intuitive eating habits. Only you will know which will work for you. Also, once you get close to your goal, I believe you'll have a much better idea of what means will be comfortable for you. Don't stress about future details and minutia right now. You'll know when you get there.:flowerforyou:
  • levitateme
    levitateme Posts: 999 Member
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    As you lose weight, your body burns less calories to do the same activity. Which means if you eat at the same level you are now, you'll reach a point where you maintain. No gain, no loss.

    Depends on how you do it.

    I started out losing weight eating 1400-1600 and eating back exercise calories (only doing cardio) and dropped about 20 lbs. I have slowly upped my calories in stages, and am now eating 2500-3000 a day, maintaining my weight but losing fat (measured at the gym periodically) while weightlifting. "Dieting" doesn't have to mean eventually maintaining on a ridiculously low amount of calories.
  • deksgrl
    deksgrl Posts: 7,237 Member
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    TDEE = Total Daily Energy Expenditure. This is also called "maintenance calories". It is the amount of calories you need to maintain your weight, you would not gain or lose at this amount. If you eat less than this, you will lose weight. If you eat more than this, you will gain weight. TDEE is not an exact number, it fluctuates depending on how active you are on any given day, of course. But overall, if you consistently eat less than TDEE, this is what works. As someone else noted, as your weight goes down, so does your needed calories. Bigger people need more calories than smaller people.

    Most people aren't really good at estimating how many calories they are really eating, which is why logging is good. However, if you are able to do it without logging, fine. There may come a point where what you are doing is no longer working at getting some actual data via logging might be a good idea.
  • JonMB
    JonMB Posts: 49 Member
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    What you eat does matter for your general health. If all you ever ate is 1400 calories of Snickers, you're gonna have a bad time! :)

    How much you eat matters more for your weight (which also affects your health, of course).
  • Icandoityayme
    Icandoityayme Posts: 312 Member
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    Yup this works for me. I do watch my counts on things but I don't cut things out.
  • MeganAnne89
    MeganAnne89 Posts: 271 Member
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    For me personally, I have some OCD tendencies so it's extremely important for me to not focus too much on everything that I'm putting into my mouth. If I weigh my food all the time or if I'm always thinking, "oh, I can't eat that because it's not healthy," I will literally go insane. I have to always be aware that I'm not going too hard when it comes to my nutrition or my exercise because it's not good for my future mental state.

    So I'm like you, OP, I will still eat McDonalds and I have also lost weight. I didn't even need to lose any in the first place. I'm just shy of 5'4'' and I weighed 126 lbs. My tracking my food even at what is essentially an estimation, I lost 6 lbs and I've maintained it for 5 months. I've still eaten whatever I've wanted, I've just been more in control of my portion sizes.
  • thavoice
    thavoice Posts: 1,326 Member
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    I have lost 58 lbs In a year by not even trying. I still eat mcdonalds, I still eat pizza and cake and cookies and ice cream. I just don't eat as much of it, I'm 21 and have a high metabolism naturally i should be skinny but years of weight gain due to MASSIVE over eating made me fat. Now that Im almost 22, I have began a slow decline from my 338lbs former self into 280lbs now, and I didn't change anything other than my portion sizes, I don't even work out more than 2 or 3 days a week, if that. Anyone know what the heck happened? Im scared that if it keeps up i might get too thin, and then thinking about maintaining my weight freaks me out because I don't want to end up living my life counting calories in order to maintain my weight. Do you think when you lose the weight you will be able to just eat as a normal person would, without reading labels on every single thing you consume? Or will you be picky about staying thin?
    Uh.
    Yeah.
    CICO.
  • knitapeace
    knitapeace Posts: 1,013 Member
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    That's one of the things I've enjoyed about the weight loss process, is how every turn in the road brings new information that helps me tweak my procedures. First it was, hey, this is a breeze! Then, hey, why am I stalled? Then, hmm, what are these macro things everyone's talking about? Then, gee, I wonder what would happen if I started picking up heavy things a few times a week along with my running? If I had tried to do it all from the beginning I would have gotten overwhelmed and given up. By starting simple and seeing results, it gave me the motivation to stick in there and try new things when the beginner process stopped working as well.

    Well done with your loss! Keep it up!
  • summer92008
    summer92008 Posts: 202
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    Well it doesn't matter what you eat as long as you are eating in a deficit. If you are consuming less calories than you are burning everyday (from exercising or the calories your body just naturally burns by doing nothing), you will lose weight. However, your body needs less calories the smaller and lighter you are, so if you eat now what you eat when you lose another 50 lbs, it won't come off as fast or maybe not even at all. So that's the only reason you're losing weight - you're eating at a deficit. However, if you are counting your calories and you are not eating at a deficit and somehow losing weight, I would go to a doctor because there could be something medically wrong with you to make you lose weight for no reason.
  • Deborah271
    Deborah271 Posts: 73 Member
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    Thanks for reminding me that it's not what you eat but the amount, the one thing I love the most about this program is that I can eat what ever I want as long as i'm within my calorie intake for the day. I've tried all the crazy diets for many years, don't eat this and don't eat that, low carb, high carb, low fat, high fat, gluten free, I'll never go back to that way of eating again. I do and try to make good choices everyday however if i'm in the mood for a big mac, I know it's there for my taking.
  • biscuit71
    biscuit71 Posts: 43 Member
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    I count calories in order to hold myself accountable and also to be aware of what I'm eating. If I don't, I tend to start eating more than I should thus gain weight. Whatever works for each individual.
  • my_chrystal82
    my_chrystal82 Posts: 46 Member
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    I think it depends on where you start out and what your habits were.



    I was living of about 400-600 calories a day, for years. My metabolism is in snail mode! Because I gave it so little, every calorie I consumed, my body grabbed onto it and turned it into fat, thinking I was starving. Without exercising, this led to a 10-30Ib weight gain annually.

    Now, I am struggling to eat 1000 calories a day, in 5-6 snacks. It is mostly protein, and forcing myself to eat breakfast within an hour of waking up. Oh, and adding exercise! I've lost 6.6 Ibs since I recommitted 1.5 weeks ago :D

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