Calorie Deficits

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cydonia1978
cydonia1978 Posts: 8 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I've heard time and time again that the first thing you need to do for weight loss is to figure out what your "maintenance calories" are and create a healthy deficit to create a 0.5-2 lbs loss per week.

According to some guidelines online my "maintenance calories" must be somewhere around 2470 cal/day. Ouch! I don't eat anywhere NEAR that daily, but regardless.. if I were to take that number and create a 20% deficit, that means I should be able to eat around 1976 cal/day and lose weight. I typically average around 1800-2000 cal/day and don't lose weight.

My daily routine is basically classified as "sedentary" (office worker during the day, toddler-wrangler at night). I'm female, 5'11 with a large frame, and currently weigh around 280 lbs. Not much has changed in lifestyle or eating habits over the past year, but I've gained weight, not lost it.

Does this sound possible? It appears I have a daily deficit ranging between around 500-700 cal/day (not counting days I actually get my walks and extra activity in) and don't lose any weight at all.

Just looking for some advice as most of the guides say "it's just that easy! create a calorie deficit and you WILL lose weight!" and that doesn't seem to be the case for me at all. :P

Replies

  • higgins8283801
    higgins8283801 Posts: 844 Member
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    Did you calculate your activity level correctly? If you don't have an office job where your butts in a chair and you do very little cleaning you are not sedetary. Make sure you calculated that right or your numbers won't be right.
  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,565 Member
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    Since your diary is closed, do you weigh/measure everything you take in? If not, you could be eating more than you think, negating your deficit.
  • cydonia1978
    cydonia1978 Posts: 8 Member
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    My day job is office work and my commute is about 30 mins each way, so around 9.5 hours per day are spent either at a desk or in a vehicle (not counting getting up and moving around the office). At home I do regular house work type stuff and have a 2.5 y/o. We try to get out for regular walks and such, but it's currently not as much as I'd like.

    I need to get back into tracking, but when I did I recorded everything and that's how I got the 1800-2000 cal/day estimate. On work days I eat way less than when I'm at home. It is possible I eat more than 2000 occasionally on weekends, but I really don't eat much differently now than I did when I was tracking, so I know going over 2200 would be really really rare. Birthday party type days or something. :)
  • carolineat111
    carolineat111 Posts: 97 Member
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    I find when I track I eat less even when I'm not trying. And then if I quit tracking I FEEL like I'm still eating the same but I'm not. Things like snacking off my kids' lunch leftovers etc. Those things add up. I'd make a commitment to track/measure/weigh absolutely EVERYTHING for a week or so and see if that has any effect. Good luck!

    For reference I'm 5'10" and weigh 161lbs (goal 145lbs).
    I work out for about 2-3 hours 6 or more days a week.
    I eat 1700cal/day.
  • ana3067
    ana3067 Posts: 5,623 Member
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    If you aren't logging consistently and accurately, that will contribute and is most likely what is happening. Unless you really miscalculated your TDEE.

    I suggest this website:
    http://www.exrx.net/Calculators/CalRequire.html

    This is a good low baseline to try, subtract 15% from it. If you lose weight, then keep at it.

    Otherwise, eat 2400 and see if you maintain your weight on it. If you do then try creating a 20% deficit of that and monitor. Log everything, measure/weigh everything, because you may be consuming more than you think you are. E.g. you log 1tsp of peanut butter, but could actually be eating 1tbsp.
    I find when I track I eat less even when I'm not trying. And then if I quit tracking I FEEL like I'm still eating the same but I'm not. Things like snacking off my kids' lunch leftovers etc. Those things add up. I'd make a commitment to track/measure/weigh absolutely EVERYTHING for a week or so and see if that has any effect. Good luck!

    For reference I'm 5'10" and weigh 161lbs (goal 145lbs).
    I work out for about 2-3 hours 6 or more days a week.
    I eat 1700cal/day.

    Sounds like you're not eating nearly enough. Like at least 500 too little if you are working out 12+ hours a week. Unless your idea of exercise is just going for a leisurely walk for 2 hours that doesn't result in any significant heart rate elevation. I'm 175lbs, goal of 160 (estimated lean body mass of 130, so at 160 my body fat % would ideally be around 18% which is low enough to get better muscular definition), 5'7, and work out only ~5 hours a week. I'm eating 2100 calories. If you were exercising the same intensity and amount as me, you'd also be able to eat about as much as me right now to lose 1lb a week (which is the healthy/ideal rate).
  • Kalikel
    Kalikel Posts: 9,626 Member
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    If you aren't going to weigh and measure everything, all the math is not needed. The only reason to come up with those calorie goals is to eat up or down to the number. If you aren't weighing and measuring, you can't eat up or down to it.

    If you aren't losing, eat less and exercise more. That's really what all the complicated systems come down to, anyway. Try adding more healthy items to your diet - fruits, veggies, lean white meat.

    See a doctor, too. Everyone should see a doctor when beginning their weight loss journey, You want to be certain nothing is wrong with you. He can tell you what kind of food you ought to be eating and advise on the kind of exercise to do as you begin.

    You can do it. You can even do it without all the math, if you want. :)
  • cydonia1978
    cydonia1978 Posts: 8 Member
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    Wow, that site says I need to eat around 2900 to maintain.. o.o Around 2500 would create weight loss. lol! Definitely eat less than 2500 on average.

    I was having this same issue when I was tracking. I was hovering around 270-275 when I was tracking, and I was eating what MyFitnessPal recommended for a 2 lbs/week weight loss (sometimes less because I didn't have the extra food to eat at work and didn't want to overeat at dinner once home). I lost absolutely nothing, but thankfully didn't really gain much. I gained around 10 lbs over the course of about a year since I stopped tracking, so I guess it was good to track so I wouldn't gain. But all the numbers said I should have lost back then and I didn't. :( The last time I actually lost weight was when I was breastfeeding after I gave birth to my daughter, and since I was only able to breastfeed a very short time, that was over fast (that left me at around 270).
    If you aren't logging consistently and accurately, that will contribute and is most likely what is happening. Unless you really miscalculated your TDEE.

    I suggest this website:
    http://www.exrx.net/Calculators/CalRequire.html

    This is a good low baseline to try, subtract 15% from it. If you lose weight, then keep at it.

    Otherwise, eat 2400 and see if you maintain your weight on it. If you do then try creating a 20% deficit of that and monitor. Log everything, measure/weigh everything, because you may be consuming more than you think you are. E.g. you log 1tsp of peanut butter, but could actually be eating 1tbsp.
  • shadow2soul
    shadow2soul Posts: 7,692 Member
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    Personally, I think it's highly possible you are eating way more than you think. It's actually not all that hard to do and even easier to do if your not tracking your intake.


    On a side note, have you been tested for hypothyroidism or PCOS? If not, then you should consider looking into that.
  • ana3067
    ana3067 Posts: 5,623 Member
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    Wow, that site says I need to eat around 2900 to maintain.. o.o Around 2500 would create weight loss. lol! Definitely eat less than 2500 on average.

    I was having this same issue when I was tracking. I was hovering around 270-275 when I was tracking, and I was eating what MyFitnessPal recommended for a 2 lbs/week weight loss (sometimes less because I didn't have the extra food to eat at work and didn't want to overeat at dinner once home). I lost absolutely nothing, but thankfully didn't really gain much. I gained around 10 lbs over the course of about a year since I stopped tracking, so I guess it was good to track so I wouldn't gain. But all the numbers said I should have lost back then and I didn't. :( The last time I actually lost weight was when I was breastfeeding after I gave birth to my daughter, and since I was only able to breastfeed a very short time, that was over fast (that left me at around 270).

    Since you're at a heavier weight, you will need more food to sustain your health. Just to make sure, did you average out a week's worth of activity? So if on average you did 30 minutes of light cardio 3x a week, you'd enter in about 13 minutes, or 0.21 hours, spent working out every day. The 2lbs a week goal is much more than 20% of a deficit, it's closer to 30+ percent. Which is really not beneficial in the long run and can negatively impact your metabolism, which could be why you wouldn't lose. But you also want to make sure you aren't signifcantly below your maximum calories for the same reason. For now, I would consider eating around 2500 calories a day if that calculation was correct, and measure or weigh everything! If you come in like 50-100 calories short every now and hten it's not a huge deal, but try to be as close as you can. And if after a month you've not lost anything, then lower it by 100, keep lowering until you start seeing consistent results.

    Also, did you make sure you selected female? I've sometimes forgotten to do that haha.

    But if eating at the estimated amount needed for loss based on your average activity and other stats does not result in loss, then you might want to go to your doctor just in case something else is going on like hypothyroidism or PCOS as mentioned. Those can affect how you lose weight, although I personally feel like most women significantly undereat which will affect their ability to lose weight.
  • cydonia1978
    cydonia1978 Posts: 8 Member
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    Thank you everyone for your feedback. I'll go back to tracking and see what happens. I'm also curious to see what my doc says as this has been going on for about 10-ish years now.

    I'll try to be extra-careful in my tracking and see what happens. :)

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