In need of sound advice...
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schwenkler22
Posts: 61 Member
Feel free to look at my food diary, it is very accurate- I log everything that I eat. Which is the point, right? haha...so my question is...Am I eating enough, or not enough? I work 5 days a week as a Dental Assistant, therefore I'm on my feet, walking constantly. I've been tracking my daily steps and I average 15,000 and around 6.0 miles, and over 4,000 calories just being at work each day. I never eat calories that I earn by doing exercise. I do my best not to eat after 8, but sometimes I don't get around to eating dinner until 8 then fall asleep around 10. Anyways, I need advice on if what I'm doing will get me to where I want to be in the next 1 or year and a half. I'm 355 today, started at 380, goal is around 140, and have been on this site for 25 days. Thoughts, questions, advice!
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Can't see your diary. It's not currently open. At least not for me.0
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You've averaged a pound a day loss, which is pretty aggressive, even starting at 380 pounds. Of course, initially a lot of your loss could be water weight. Are you under medical supervision for this extremely fast loss? If not, and if you continue to lose this quickly, you should eat more--at least enough to slow your loss rate to 1% of your current weight per week.
ETA: Congrats on your success so far!0 -
Yes, I'm under medical supervision. I check in with my doctor every few weeks. And thank you...but i do understand that a pound a day isn't sustainable, much less a great way to lose seeing as i could lose muscle along the way.0
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Since you're trying to lose over 200 lbs, Where you're at to start isn't bad. Don't expect, however, to keep that this rapid of loss forever. Also, too quick of a loss can lead to more loose skin. If you're able to begin a strength program (even just resistance or body weight), do. It will help you maintain your muscle. Also - Congrats on your loss so far!0
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Thanks hun, great advice. I think that's the hardest part for me, wanting my loss to be a consistent 1lb a day type of thing, ya know? Which isn't realistic or healthy, but it's what I picture as success. I'm just eager, eager to have a more fulling and healthful life. I'm ready to live, like I've never lived before! So even though I know it will take many years, I'm dedicated fully in my soul to changing for good. I'm just done with not being in control of what goes in my body. I choose to live healthier!1
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I think you are off to a great start.
The only little thing I see is that your protein seems a bit low. If I were you I would take a shot at calculating your lean body mass then try to eat. .8 grams of protein per pound of lean body mass to preserve muscle.
Also many of your portions are less than exact, i.e. half a loaded potato. Chances are that won't be an issue for quite a while, but when you get closer to your goal weight you may need to use a food scale to get more exact information on your calories in.0 -
I think you are off to a great start.
The only little thing I see is that your protein seems a bit low. If I were you I would take a shot at calculating your lean body mass then try to eat. .8 grams of protein per pound of lean body mass to preserve muscle.
Also many of your portions are less than exact, i.e. half a loaded potato. Chances are that won't be an issue for quite a while, but when you get closer to your goal weight you may need to use a food scale to get more exact information on your calories in.
Thank you, I will definitely keep these thing in mind. Is there a calculator for finding your lean body mass?0 -
I looked at the last few days of your diary. You don't log your water but you should at least drink enough to not be thirsty. You're eating enough to survive. Your goal calories over 4000 are thus because of your body weight over 300. As you lose weight your goal calories will come down and it will be harder to lose weight. There's a lot of variety in your eating and that ok, but your weekend spiked up so that's something you'll have to trim as you continue making progress. No one can offer a guarantee that you'll reach 140 in 18 months, but the CICO formula of calories in, calories out, and 3500 calories equals 1 pound of fat does work always for everyone, eventually. So, a quickie calculation of your daily calorie goal of 4500 with a daily average of 2000 consumed gives a daily deficit of -2500 gives a weekly deficit of -17500 means you'll lose about 5 lb each week. Weight loss is not linear so I can't say that the next 200 pounds you want to lose will be gone in 40 weeks. Having myself once been as morbidly obese as you and myself having once lost the first 100 lb easily, I can assure you that at this stage, it is easy. Change a couple of bad habits and the weight starts falling off. The challenging part is when you develop the good habits and lose weight healthily and move toward maintenance. The old you ate enough to support a 385 body. The new you, the one you can learn to be by consistently using all the resources mfp offers, is still being formed.0
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schwenkler22 wrote: »Feel free to look at my food diary, it is very accurate- I log everything that I eat. Which is the point, right? haha...so my question is...Am I eating enough, or not enough? I work 5 days a week as a Dental Assistant, therefore I'm on my feet, walking constantly. I've been tracking my daily steps and I average 15,000 and around 6.0 miles, and over 4,000 calories just being at work each day. I never eat calories that I earn by doing exercise. I do my best not to eat after 8, but sometimes I don't get around to eating dinner until 8 then fall asleep around 10. Anyways, I need advice on if what I'm doing will get me to where I want to be in the next 1 or year and a half. I'm 355 today, started at 380, goal is around 140, and have been on this site for 25 days. Thoughts, questions, advice!
If you are losing an appropriate amount you are eating enough.
If you log 15k steps make sure your activity level is set to active here on MFP.
YOu should be eating back exercise calories if you are hungry in the least. MFP is designed for you to.
But your walking while at work is not exercise....it should be accounted for in your daily activity setting.
When you eat is irrelevant.
Remember that for every 5-10 lbs your calories will go down and at some point you will need to adjust your weekly weight loss goal down as well.
As you lose you need less calories to maintain hence the lowering of calories to lose.
The other thing as you lose you will need to get better at logging...using a food scale etc.0 -
schwenkler22 wrote: »I think you are off to a great start.
The only little thing I see is that your protein seems a bit low. If I were you I would take a shot at calculating your lean body mass then try to eat. .8 grams of protein per pound of lean body mass to preserve muscle.
Also many of your portions are less than exact, i.e. half a loaded potato. Chances are that won't be an issue for quite a while, but when you get closer to your goal weight you may need to use a food scale to get more exact information on your calories in.
Thank you, I will definitely keep these thing in mind. Is there a calculator for finding your lean body mass?
There are a few different formulas for calculating with a tape measure. I've been using this:
fitness.bizcalcs.com/Calculator.asp?Calc=Body-Fat-Navy
Here is a nice article from Nerd Fitness on body fat percentage and the various methods for estimating it.
https://nerdfitness.com/blog/2012/07/02/body-fat-percentage/0 -
I can only say "doing good", congratulations. Everybody has already told you what you need to know. Best of luck with your continued weight loss.0
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schwenkler22 wrote: »I think you are off to a great start.
The only little thing I see is that your protein seems a bit low. If I were you I would take a shot at calculating your lean body mass then try to eat. .8 grams of protein per pound of lean body mass to preserve muscle.
Also many of your portions are less than exact, i.e. half a loaded potato. Chances are that won't be an issue for quite a while, but when you get closer to your goal weight you may need to use a food scale to get more exact information on your calories in.
Thank you, I will definitely keep these thing in mind. Is there a calculator for finding your lean body mass?
There are a few different formulas for calculating with a tape measure. I've been using this:
fitness.bizcalcs.com/Calculator.asp?Calc=Body-Fat-Navy
Here is a nice article from Nerd Fitness on body fat percentage and the various methods for estimating it.
https://nerdfitness.com/blog/2012/07/02/body-fat-percentage/
@ilex70 & @schwenkler22 none of those will be accurate.
Just eat about 0.8 gram per lb of body weight...1 gram per lb of LBM is the actual rule of thumb.
and eating protein won't preserve muscle mass resistance training does that...use it or lose it.
The protein is to help heal the muscle after working it and helps keep you feeling fuller longer.0 -
schwenkler22 wrote: »I think you are off to a great start.
The only little thing I see is that your protein seems a bit low. If I were you I would take a shot at calculating your lean body mass then try to eat. .8 grams of protein per pound of lean body mass to preserve muscle.
Also many of your portions are less than exact, i.e. half a loaded potato. Chances are that won't be an issue for quite a while, but when you get closer to your goal weight you may need to use a food scale to get more exact information on your calories in.
Thank you, I will definitely keep these thing in mind. Is there a calculator for finding your lean body mass?
There are a few different formulas for calculating with a tape measure. I've been using this:
fitness.bizcalcs.com/Calculator.asp?Calc=Body-Fat-Navy
Here is a nice article from Nerd Fitness on body fat percentage and the various methods for estimating it.
https://nerdfitness.com/blog/2012/07/02/body-fat-percentage/
@ilex70 & @schwenkler22 none of those will be accurate.
Just eat about 0.8 gram per lb of body weight...1 gram per lb of LBM is the actual rule of thumb.
and eating protein won't preserve muscle mass resistance training does that...use it or lose it.
The protein is to help heal the muscle after working it and helps keep you feeling fuller longer.
Eating more protein won't hurt, but probably isn't necessary. You know opinions vary on this.
bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/protein-intake-while-dieting-qa.html/So basically we have an intake continuum ranging from about 1.5 g/kg (0.68 g/lb) as a minimum for the obese non-training individual up to a high of around 3.3 g/kg (1.5 g/lb) of protein per pound of lean body mass for very lean heavily training athletes or bodybuilders with middle ground values being found in between those two extremes. You’ll note that I didn’t put any of those values in terms of percentages for reasons discussed in Diet Percentages: Part 1 and Diet Percentages: Part 2.
iifym.com/start-iifym-today/To dial in IIFYM with more accuracy, follow these steps:
-Eat at least .8 gram of protein per pound of lean body weight (total body weight, less total fat weight)
As to needing resistance training, not really a big factor for the OP right now. Go read Lyle on Training the Obese Beginner. It is a long series, but I found it worth the time. Also, no resistance training here, though I do cardio with a resistance factor. If I have lost lean mass it isn't showing up anywhere that I can tell.
bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/training-the-obese-beginner.html0 -
schwenkler22 wrote: »I think you are off to a great start.
The only little thing I see is that your protein seems a bit low. If I were you I would take a shot at calculating your lean body mass then try to eat. .8 grams of protein per pound of lean body mass to preserve muscle.
Also many of your portions are less than exact, i.e. half a loaded potato. Chances are that won't be an issue for quite a while, but when you get closer to your goal weight you may need to use a food scale to get more exact information on your calories in.
Thank you, I will definitely keep these thing in mind. Is there a calculator for finding your lean body mass?
There are a few different formulas for calculating with a tape measure. I've been using this:
fitness.bizcalcs.com/Calculator.asp?Calc=Body-Fat-Navy
Here is a nice article from Nerd Fitness on body fat percentage and the various methods for estimating it.
https://nerdfitness.com/blog/2012/07/02/body-fat-percentage/
@ilex70 & @schwenkler22 none of those will be accurate.
Just eat about 0.8 gram per lb of body weight...1 gram per lb of LBM is the actual rule of thumb.
and eating protein won't preserve muscle mass resistance training does that...use it or lose it.
The protein is to help heal the muscle after working it and helps keep you feeling fuller longer.
Eating more protein won't hurt, but probably isn't necessary. You know opinions vary on this.
bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/protein-intake-while-dieting-qa.html/So basically we have an intake continuum ranging from about 1.5 g/kg (0.68 g/lb) as a minimum for the obese non-training individual up to a high of around 3.3 g/kg (1.5 g/lb) of protein per pound of lean body mass for very lean heavily training athletes or bodybuilders with middle ground values being found in between those two extremes. You’ll note that I didn’t put any of those values in terms of percentages for reasons discussed in Diet Percentages: Part 1 and Diet Percentages: Part 2.
iifym.com/start-iifym-today/To dial in IIFYM with more accuracy, follow these steps:
-Eat at least .8 gram of protein per pound of lean body weight (total body weight, less total fat weight)
As to needing resistance training, not really a big factor for the OP right now. Go read Lyle on Training the Obese Beginner. It is a long series, but I found it worth the time. Also, no resistance training here, though I do cardio with a resistance factor. If I have lost lean mass it isn't showing up anywhere that I can tell.
bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/training-the-obese-beginner.html
I agree the opinions vary on protein but a good mid range is 0.8 grams per body weight.
AS for resistance training I didn't say do it I said that was the way to keep as much muscle as possible...
but why not for OP...this is one of the few times she can gain muscle while in a deficit.0 -
I would just keep doing what you're doing now, as it seems to be working well for you if you're happy with the results and feel good. Just don't get discourage if your rate of loss slows some as you lose weight. You're losing quickly right now, but that's pretty normal when you have a lot to lose.1
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Okay, thanks everyone. Taking all the opinions into consideration!0
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I just wanted to say congratz and I'm very happy for you that you started this journey. You sound very enthusiastic and I'm sure you will succeed.
I'm around 155lbs now. At my weight it takes me a weak to lose 1lbs at the minimum healthy 1200cals/day. And it will get even slower now. I expect to lose about 30lbs by the end of the year. So to me your goal seems difficult to achieve within a year or even year and a half. But this should not put you off. You will eventually lose them and this is the only important thing.1
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