Struggling to lose a pound a week

Out of curiosity what happens if you put to 1 pound a week? If you get the 1200/day goal it means that your deficit is probably not as big as you hope it would be.

You're losing on average ~1 pound a week, yes? Eating as you are, activity as it is, you'll likely continue to lose at this rate. If you think you can get enough nutrition and feel satisfied eating a little less (not eating all your walking calories back) then you can probably lose a little faster. On the other hand, if you feel you shouldn't eat below what you're eating now - nothing wrong with losing 1 per week. As you get closer to goal that likely will slow down more.

Well, you're bumping up against MFP's 1200 minimum, which kind of skews the analysis. If you're logging correctly and not losing the expected amount over a reasonable period of time -- probably at least a couple of months -- then you're moving less than you think or might have a medical issue. And the "logging correctly" will still be a big if.

I have two active children, housework, shopping, cooking, lifting three times a week, and about 15K steps a day and I probably wouldn't go past "lightly active."

StaciMarie1974 wrote: »

Perhaps you should have included my next sentence, where I suggested leaving an extra 100-200 calories on the table to account for any errors?

DeguelloTex wrote: »

StaciMarie1974 wrote: »

If you're earning extra calories from your iPhone app - your activity level is probably fine in my opinion.

If you eat them all back, though, the extra calories are a wash. They net to zero and an overstated activity level could still factor in to less loss than expected.

Perhaps you should have read the very first post in the thread in which I wrote that eating back of all the probably overestimated burns was likely to be a factor. That had already been covered.

Ok. Here's the math.

I put your stats into this calculator and put your exercise at "light" since all you do is walk. It calculates your TDEE (the total amount of calories your body burns everyday) at 1938.

For every 1lb per week you want to lose, you would subtract 500 calories a day.

So for losing 2lbs a week: 1938 - 1000 = 938 calories a day to eat. DO NOT DO THIS! (caps for emphasis because I want it to be clear that I'm not recommending this). MFP will not give someone less than 1200 calories a day because its unhealthy and not possible to get the appropriate nutrition.

To lose 1 lbs a week: 1938 - 500 = 1438 calories a day to eat. Keep in mind that with the TDEE method, you don't eat back exercise calories because it's already built into your calorie goal. If you are at 1200 calories plus eating back exercise calories (~200 or so a day per your post above), then you are eating 1400+ change a day. This is why you are losing a pound a week. It makes sense.

To lose 0.5 lbs a week: 1938 - 250 = 1688 calories a day to eat. You could eat more food and still lose weight.

@EmmaLevy2015:

You're doing great! One pound a week (or slightly less) is perfect for where you are right now. I would keep doing everything exactly the same way. In August or September, you'll likely slow to a half-pound a week or less. And that will likely be the right loss weight also.

Keep up the good work!

The less you have to lose, the more slowly it comes off. That's just the way the human body works. A healthy, sustainable loss is .5 lb. per week for every 25 lbs. you're overweight. Eating at an aggressive deficit will not get you to goal any more quickly.

According to your ticker, you have 24 lbs. to go. Set your goal to .5 lb. per week and be patient.

Fitbits calculate your TDEE, the number of calories necessary to maintain your current weight. Your default MFP calorie goal is activity level minus deficit. When you connect a Fitbit, MFP adjusts your daily calorie goal to your Fitbit burn minus your deficit. You can learn more in the Fitbit Users group: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/1290-fitbit-users