reducing overall calories enough to lose weight?

imarie3
imarie3 Posts: 10 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I am eating between 1500-1800 calories per day. 1500 is my goal but it is a huge adjustment to eating that much less. Since I weigh 215 at 5'4 I must have been mindlessly consuming around 2400 a day! GEEz. I do NOT eat fast food and love veggies but its the sweet tooth ok ok..ice cream got me 3 times this week!:( My question is will I still lose weight if I keep between these ranges? I want to make this a lifestyle and not just a number game... TIA

Replies

  • SophieSmall95
    SophieSmall95 Posts: 233 Member
    It depends what your maintenance calories are (TDEE). But if you are eating under your maintenance calories, then yes you will lose weight. How much and how fast depends on how much under your maintenance calories you are eating.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    Nothing wrong with ice cream as long as you're still at a deficit.
  • MelaniaTrump
    MelaniaTrump Posts: 2,694 Member
    You're trying. That is a great first step. Eventually you'll get to that 1,500 a day. Give it time. Get a food scale if you don't have one. It makes this place pretty dang awesome.
  • VintageFeline
    VintageFeline Posts: 6,771 Member
    Don't buy ice cream. Or only buy single serves and stop at that one.

    You also don't need to go the whole hog straight away calorie cut wise. It is an adjustment and while you find your feet and what works to keep you full but also psychologically happy and not deprived then not being so hung up on hitting your number is no bad thing.

    If you eat under maintenance you will lose, how quickly depends on how much under maintenance and the accuracy of your logging. But you're here, you've started and that's a win already!
  • imarie3
    imarie3 Posts: 10 Member
    Thank all..some really great positive ideas here!!!! Thanks!!!
  • tay150
    tay150 Posts: 6 Member
    Hi! I am 5'5 and 218 lbs so I understand the struggle. I am eating no more than 1430cals a day and the weight seems to be falling off. I even have some calories left over sometimes. Watch your carb and sugar intake...
  • blndhrbrneyes
    blndhrbrneyes Posts: 3 Member
    edited July 2016
    Yes, if you eat less calories than your body needs a day you will loose weight. But the most important thing is to make sure your calories are coming from nutrient dense foods that you like and give you all essential nutrients. Without these,and enough water, your brain, metabolism, and all body functions will be moving slow. For me, learning what foods are good for my body(carrots for eyes, fruit and nuts for skin, etc) helps me to choose other foods over ice cream. I enjoy other foods more since they are good for me and how they make me feel(. Not bloated, dehydrated, lethargic etc.) if I'm feeling like I want something decadent my fav right now is a banana covered with a little peanut butter, melted dark chocolate, (high in antioxidants and has therapeutic qualities) with nuts and dried fruit. YUM OR froZen banana blended with skim milk, cocoa powder and peanut butter (frozen or milk shake style) tastesjust ice cream to me with less fat and sugar. You can try both with strawberries or any other fruit.
  • chucklemethis
    chucklemethis Posts: 14 Member
    Ive been under my cal limit for a month and a half, maintain macros well, bootcamp class 1hr every day and treadclimb 40 min mon/wed/fri and ive only lost 5 lbs. To me thats insane amount of work for 5lbs, but it is what it is and now I just stall smh yet its still a loss right.

    Maybe find out whats associated with ice cream and address that. For me it was stsrbucks. I noticed it was just a pure addiction. I dont do chains well, so dropped it. Maybe for you, its a nice memory of time spent with a love one. If its not negative, I wouldnt think you need to cut it off but maybe cut back or cut something else out to make room for it. Ice cream is gooood (;

    I dont see how you can have ice cream unless your not maintaining macros. When I cheat it tosses my macros out of wack.
  • FitnessGirl11mfp
    FitnessGirl11mfp Posts: 232 Member
    tay150 wrote: »
    Hi! I am 5'5 and 218 lbs so I understand the struggle. I am eating no more than 1430cals a day and the weight seems to be falling off. I even have some calories left over sometimes. Watch your carb and sugar intake...

    It is unecessary to limit carbs and sugar. To lose weight, you just need to be in a calorie deficit.

    OP, there is nothing wrong with fast food or ice cream when trying to lose weight. I eat ice cream everyday. Just eat it in moderation and you will be fine. You are right about making it a lifestyle change. It needs to be sustainable for life. I wouldn't be able to live without foods like ice cream, chocolate, pizza, etc.
  • gonetothedogs19
    gonetothedogs19 Posts: 325 Member
    FitnessGirl11mfp wrote: »
    tay150 wrote: »
    Hi! I am 5'5 and 218 lbs so I understand the struggle. I am eating no more than 1430cals a day and the weight seems to be falling off. I even have some calories left over sometimes. Watch your carb and sugar intake...

    It is unecessary to limit carbs and sugar. To lose weight, you just need to be in a calorie deficit.

    Easier said that done. You have to find food that provides satiety. For me and many others, it is high-fat, low-carb (but lots of green vegetables, which have carbs) lifestyle. There is a HFLC group on this site with thousands of members.

    But maybe it won't work for you.

    If 1,500 calories is your goal, eating 500 calories of ice cream (or a 500-calorie Starbucks drink) is going to make your goal very difficult to achieve.
  • jimshine
    jimshine Posts: 199 Member
    Reducing calories alone will do the trick. One issue though is the program is very generic. Each person and their persona level of basic activity a day makes their number somewhat unique. It can take some work to find out exactly what your body will need. First, log everything and be super detailed. Every gram, every ounce must be accounted for. Use the preset settings and see how the loss is over a few weeks and tweak. If you are not losing what the program is aiming at, remove some calories a day..if you are losing too much, add a few. Eventually you will figure out what you need to eat to lose, then you can estimate and figure out what it will take to maintain.
  • gonetothedogs19
    gonetothedogs19 Posts: 325 Member
    jimshine wrote: »
    Reducing calories alone will do the trick. One issue though is the program is very generic. First, log everything and be super detailed. Every gram, every ounce must be accounted for. Use the preset settings and see how the loss is over a few weeks and tweak. If you are not losing what the program is aiming at, remove some calories a day..if you are losing too much, add a few.

    And this why most people trying to lose weight (either successfully or unsuccessfully) don't try to count calories or give up counting calories. More power to you if you want to go through all this. Not recommended for the average person.

  • FitnessGirl11mfp
    FitnessGirl11mfp Posts: 232 Member
    gonetothedogs19 wrote: »
    FitnessGirl11mfp wrote: »
    tay150 wrote: »
    Hi! I am 5'5 and 218 lbs so I understand the struggle. I am eating no more than 1430cals a day and the weight seems to be falling off. I even have some calories left over sometimes. Watch your carb and sugar intake...

    It is unecessary to limit carbs and sugar. To lose weight, you just need to be in a calorie deficit.

    Easier said that done. You have to find food that provides satiety. For me and many others, it is high-fat, low-carb (but lots of green vegetables, which have carbs) lifestyle. There is a HFLC group on this site with thousands of members.

    But maybe it won't work for you.

    If 1,500 calories is your goal, eating 500 calories of ice cream (or a 500-calorie Starbucks drink) is going to make your goal very difficult to achieve.

    It all depends on the person. Foods that provide satiety for me may be different for you. Those that are eating low carb are still in a deficit, they just don't count calories. Again, it is unecessary to limit carbs for weightloss. Why make this process more complicated when it doesn't have to be?
    There is nothing wrong with eating 500 calories of ice cream or any other foods if it fits in one's calorie allotment. I, myself, eat anywhere between 100-300 calories of ice cream a day and have had no issues losing weight.
  • pliler
    pliler Posts: 45 Member
    What about Intermittent Fasting 16/8? if you shorten your eating window to only 8 hours you would have less time in the day to eat and might be able to fit in lower cals easier. It's what I and I eat ice creme every night as long as I still have calories left.
  • Zedeff
    Zedeff Posts: 651 Member
    pliler wrote: »
    What about Intermittent Fasting 16/8? if you shorten your eating window to only 8 hours you would have less time in the day to eat and might be able to fit in lower cals easier. It's what I and I eat ice creme every night as long as I still have calories left.

    Agreed. I prefer to eat a 1000 kcal dinner. This basically requires me to do IF. It's far easier to abstain from eating breakfast than it is to start eating and force moderation to save calories for later.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,289 Member
    gonetothedogs19 wrote: »
    jimshine wrote: »
    Reducing calories alone will do the trick. One issue though is the program is very generic. First, log everything and be super detailed. Every gram, every ounce must be accounted for. Use the preset settings and see how the loss is over a few weeks and tweak. If you are not losing what the program is aiming at, remove some calories a day..if you are losing too much, add a few.

    And this why most people trying to lose weight (either successfully or unsuccessfully) don't try to count calories or give up counting calories. More power to you if you want to go through all this. Not recommended for the average person.

    Virtually everyone on MFP who is successful counts calories. Personally, I've found it pretty easy - just a fun science-fair experiment for grown-ups, with massive benefits. It sure seems like it works for at least some average people . . . quite a few of them, in fact. I've recommended it to my average friends . . . and the ones who've tried it are becoming successful, too.

    OP, if you're eating a standard serving of ice cream (1/2C), you can probably fit that in 3 times in a week, if not more, even while maintaining good overall nutrition (important!). The single-serve container (> 1/2C) of vanilla ice cream I ate recently 'cost" 160 calories, and gave me 5g protein, plus 10% RDA of calcium. Sure, it's not the most calorie-efficient nutrition on the planet, but it's a reasonable treat. (I added 2T of PB2 chocolate peanut butter powder and 7g of dried coconut, for 91 extra calories, 4g extra protein, and some extra yum factor.)

    You should be able to lose weight at 1500-1800. You may find you need to be closer to that 1500 as you get lighter, as your lighter self will burn fewer calories for the same activity levels, but it's fine to adjust gradually as your weight decreases.

    Keeping your protein, healthy fats, and fruits/veggies on the higher side will likely help with satiation. Experimenting with the number and timing of meals/snacks will help you find the routine that's most filling and satisfying for you.

    Also, I found that increasing my whole fruit consumption to 3 servings a day helped me reduce cravings for other, less nutrition-dense sweets. Your experience may vary, but it's worth a try.
  • kschramm7
    kschramm7 Posts: 72 Member
    Breyers and Turkey Hill both have fat free sugar free ice creams that run under 100 calories for 1/2 cup. Halo Top, usually carried by upscale grocery stores, is 240 calories for an entire pint (some flavors are slightly more). I have ice cream every day...I just have one of the fat free/sugar free varieties and measure it out. I log my food the night before or first thing in the morning, and plan for my ice cream. That way I never run out of calories for it.

    Good luck on your journey!
  • nowine4me
    nowine4me Posts: 3,985 Member
    OP- might wanna try Yasso frozen yogurt bars. Delicious, satisfying and 100 calories. I haven't tried Halo Top yet, but it gets rave reviews too.
  • Christine_72
    Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
    I buy a no sugar added ice cream, it tastes the same as regular but far less calories, so i can have a decent amount instead of a piddly 1/2 a cup.
    I save my icecream, chocolate topping and sliced banana dessert for the days i don't have many calories left, like tonight (Monday).
  • typeitdaily
    typeitdaily Posts: 3,322 Member
    I eat low-fat frozen yogurt most nights, 110 calories per serving.
  • terrinicolefit
    terrinicolefit Posts: 99 Member
    I just started buying heathy Greek yogurts (macros are usually around the 40/40/20 range) and freezing them. Then when it's time to eat it, I microwave it for a few seconds and mush it up. Looks like icecream. Tastes really good. Not like icecream but pretty close. I get different flavors to change it up and my icecream cravings have finally went away! And it fees like a treat even though it's actually healthy and fits in my macros and calories. I have a HUGE sweet tooth... Especially when it comes to icecream.
  • shadowconn
    shadowconn Posts: 141 Member
    Yes, you will still lose weight even if you eat over your set allottment - providing you are not eating more calories than your body needs. It's just going to be a lot slower and there's nothing wrong with slower. I'm losing about a pound or 2 a month at this point. But I'm also eating around 2000 a day.

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