34 pounds lost in a month, am I dieting correctly?
Therionx
Posts: 12 Member
Let me start off by saying I am a 33yo male, 6 foot even, current weight as of this morning is 202.4 (6am on an empty stomach)
I started my diet and daily walking on 9/15/16 at 236 pounds (this is in the morning on a empty stomach). I found it hard to keep track of what i was doing so on Oct 1st I Purchased a Garmin Vivioactive HR, Garmin Index Scale and a few days later started using MFP on a daily basis to track food intake.
According to MFP for maximum safe weight loss is put me at 1500 calories a day, which i was already limiting myself to as of the 15th of September. With the integration of Garmin connect i was astonished to find on a regular basis i was always being put 1000 calories or more under my calorie budget for the day every day while still eating 1500 calories or more.
I have read through and through about proper eating and some people say to eat back your exercise calories and some say dont. so i have been doing a combo of both and just eating when im hungry without going over 2000 calories max.
In the past month i have lost 34 pounds which is way over the 2 pounds a week MFP put me at.
All in all i feel great, im not tired, im not starving and i notice a significant difference in my over all fitness from when i first started, but i am concerned i am either going about this wrong or i am missing something in the process.
I should also add aside from the walking and jogging i also do several body weight exercises like push-ups, pull-ups, crunches, sit-ups, squats etc every day.
My diary should be public so anyone can look at it. i will say im horrible with my water tracking, but i drink a half gallon or more a day every day.
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/food/diary/Therionx
If someone could give me some insight on if everything looks ok it would be much appreciated. or if any more information is needed
I started my diet and daily walking on 9/15/16 at 236 pounds (this is in the morning on a empty stomach). I found it hard to keep track of what i was doing so on Oct 1st I Purchased a Garmin Vivioactive HR, Garmin Index Scale and a few days later started using MFP on a daily basis to track food intake.
According to MFP for maximum safe weight loss is put me at 1500 calories a day, which i was already limiting myself to as of the 15th of September. With the integration of Garmin connect i was astonished to find on a regular basis i was always being put 1000 calories or more under my calorie budget for the day every day while still eating 1500 calories or more.
I have read through and through about proper eating and some people say to eat back your exercise calories and some say dont. so i have been doing a combo of both and just eating when im hungry without going over 2000 calories max.
In the past month i have lost 34 pounds which is way over the 2 pounds a week MFP put me at.
All in all i feel great, im not tired, im not starving and i notice a significant difference in my over all fitness from when i first started, but i am concerned i am either going about this wrong or i am missing something in the process.
I should also add aside from the walking and jogging i also do several body weight exercises like push-ups, pull-ups, crunches, sit-ups, squats etc every day.
My diary should be public so anyone can look at it. i will say im horrible with my water tracking, but i drink a half gallon or more a day every day.
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/food/diary/Therionx
If someone could give me some insight on if everything looks ok it would be much appreciated. or if any more information is needed
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MFP uses the NEAT method, which means you have your weight loss goal built in before exercise. You should eat back at least some exercise calories. 1500 is also where MFP bottoms out for males, at 6' you should probably eat a bit more as a minimum to meet nutritional needs.
With all that said. It's month one. Your losses on the face of it do look a bit alarming given you're not 400lbs to begin with but there will be some water weight throwing the number off. I would think you can eat significantly more and still lose. This will also give you somewhere to go as the losses slow and your calorie needs naturally reduce.1 -
It's like the grocery store ad that reads "3 pounds for only $1.99!" Three pounds of what? You did not lose 34 pounds of fat. Almost certainly half or more is water weight. Don't panic. Move on. And congratulations!
17lbs or more water? Ooonononono
Remids me of Tom from Tom&Jerry.
Anyway, Therionx, you are supposed to eat your exercise calories. The deficit is already factored in.1 -
should i be looking at higher calorie foods to fill in the deficit?
I am finding hard to eat more than 2k calories a day especially on days i exercise. Unless i eat something small that is super high in calories (like stick of butter or block of cheese)
Right now it says i have 1932 calories left to eat (after my 1500) and i still have a 2.5 mile run/walk im about to do. I had a protein shake about 45 mins ago and feel full.
Im just not sure how to go about doing this, in short, unless the activity tracking is beyond off and im not burning near it says or i just stop exercising idk how to eat 4k plus calories a day without feeling like im going to explode.
To be honest my current diet isn't any different from what i was eating before. I just cut out all soda, candy and energy drinks, Then added a significant more amount of daily water intake and 60 minutes of cardio (walking/jogging) and body weight exercise 5 times a week.
I just want to make sure im going about all this correctly so i can keep off the weight and maintain a healthy life, without another couple months from now finding out i messed up my body even more.0 -
Hm this doesn't sound right. Are you saying that you've burned through exercise 1932? Is it not 1932 overall instead? Like 1500 + 432 from exercise? Because otherwise there must be some mistake. Unless you are running marathons it is unlikely you are burning that much calories from exercise. An expected burn from a workout could be somewhere between 200 and 600 on average. Not much more though. 1900 is extremely unlikely. How did you get this number?
ETA: I burn around 200cal for 30 mins stationary biking. I'm in normal BMI but anyway to make some comparison.0 -
Out of curiosity did you lose most of that weight in the first week? You may have previously had a very high sodium diet that had you retaining a lot of water that you then lost when you changed your eating habits. 33 pounds of water is extreme but most of that weight pretty much has to be water weight.
So do you think your dietary changes meant you started in taking far less sodium?0 -
gebeziseva wrote: »Hm this doesn't sound right. Are you saying that you've burned through exercise 1932? Is it not 1932 overall instead? Like 1500 + 432 from exercise? Because otherwise there must be some mistake. Unless you are running marathons it is unlikely you are burning that much calories from exercise. An expected burn from a workout could be somewhere between 200 and 600 on average. Not much more though. 1900 is extremely unlikely. How did you get this number?
ETA: I burn around 200cal for 30 mins stationary biking. I'm in normal BMI but anyway to make some comparison.
According to garmin connect i burned 1765 calories in activities, thats between a 5.5 mile walk/jog, a 2 mile walk/jog and everything else i did though out the day. Garmin separates your BMR so that is strictly just from activities. so its more like 1500 plus 1765 and i already ate 1500 so i have the 1765 left.
I do about 10 miles a day walking/jogging 5 times a week and on my 2 off days i just do a brisk 4mph walk for a bout 5 miles0 -
gebeziseva wrote: »Hm this doesn't sound right. Are you saying that you've burned through exercise 1932? Is it not 1932 overall instead? Like 1500 + 432 from exercise? Because otherwise there must be some mistake. Unless you are running marathons it is unlikely you are burning that much calories from exercise. An expected burn from a workout could be somewhere between 200 and 600 on average. Not much more though. 1900 is extremely unlikely. How did you get this number?
ETA: I burn around 200cal for 30 mins stationary biking. I'm in normal BMI but anyway to make some comparison.
According to garmin connect i burned 1765 calories in activities, thats between a 5.5 mile walk/jog, a 2 mile walk/jog and everything else i did though out the day. Garmin separates your BMR so that is strictly just from activities. so its more like 1500 plus 1765 and i already ate 1500 so i have the 1765 left.
I do about 10 miles a day walking/jogging 5 times a week and on my 2 off days i just do a brisk 4mph walk for a bout 5 miles
Are you sure that all the settings are correct? I, too, am skeptical of your burn being that high.
If it is accurate, some ways to add calories are things like cooking oils, nuts, peanut butter, etc. Look for high calorie/lower quantity foods. A handful of nuts can easily be 170cals plus.
Losing too quickly can result in a loss of muscle mass at levels that are unnecessary. Given your rate, I would start looking into figuring something out. You may not be feeling effects now, but they will come.
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Aaron_K123 wrote: »Out of curiosity did you lose most of that weight in the first week? You may have previously had a very high sodium diet that had you retaining a lot of water that you then lost when you changed your eating habits. 33 pounds of water is extreme but most of that weight pretty much has to be water weight.
So do you think your dietary changes meant you started in taking far less sodium?
My diet is pretty much the same minus a ton of sugar. in over all food i only ate about 1500-2000 calories a day, my problem was i never drank straight water. all my fluid intake was from soda, juice, energy drinks, gatorade etc. thats probably added another 1500 calories or more on top of food intake. Id still say i take in more sodium than i should but not really anymore or any less, but yet again i wasnt really keeping track of anything prior so i could have been higher than i think.
I dint weight myself the first 2 weeks, i weighed myself at my friends house and once again at my girlfriends house just to see if it was accurate and they were identical at 238. it wasnt til Ooct 1st when i got the garmin stuff i weighed in again and i already dropped 10 pounds now over the course of the 1st of the month til today i lost another 24 pounds.
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These high burns seem too high for me. Why not try logging your runs/walks and other cardio in MFP manually in the exercise section and see how these compare? It might give you at least some reference.
At any rate you should try to eat more. Like the above advice, eat more nuts, oils. I don't eat only healthy so I would just increase my chocolate but I'm not advising anyone, just thinking aloud 0 -
Weight loss in the first month of doing it aggressively without fail while being male is faster than the second month. So, don't be surprised if your second month shows much less weight loss. Congratulations on doing it aggressively without fail.0
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It wouldn't surprise me that you could lose just giving up soda and candy. I have a son close to your age who lost 35 lbs. once just kicking the soda habit (then put it back on when he went back to the stuff). At 450 calories for a 20 oz. soda, you could easily have been eating 1000 calories more than what you needed just in junk. It's not unusual for males to lose very quickly, especially larger younger males. I have another son who works out a lot and goes through bulking and cutting phases, where he drops 30+ lbs. in 6 weeks or so. And yes, he can easily eat 2500 calories or more and still lose.0
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gebeziseva wrote: »These high burns seem too high for me. Why not try logging your runs/walks and other cardio in MFP manually in the exercise section and see how these compare? It might give you at least some reference.
My tracker tracks via gps so i get a rundown of pace distance elevation incline decline etc, i actually did this a few days ago and logged pace distance and time and they matched within 2 calories of each other. i even bought an external HR monitor last week cause i though the HR tracking on the watch may be off but that too was within 2-3 beats of each other and gave me the same results.
not sure if everyone can view it but that should be my garmin dashboard for the day
https://connect.garmin.com/modern/dashboard/149708580 -
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gebeziseva wrote: »These high burns seem too high for me. Why not try logging your runs/walks and other cardio in MFP manually in the exercise section and see how these compare? It might give you at least some reference.
At any rate you should try to eat more. Like the above advice, eat more nuts, oils. I don't eat only healthy so I would just increase my chocolate but I'm not advising anyone, just thinking aloud
The man lost 34 pounds in a month and you are thinking his burns are high. For that weight loss it sounds about right. I don't know your stats, but a 6' tall 200 pound man can burn a lot more calories than the average woman.8 -
Wow OK that's a lot. I burn 300 calories for 9k steps according to my fitbit.
I'm not sure what to say. Except start eating more and reevaluate again in 3 weeks. If you still lose more than 2lbs/week, up your intake again etc.0 -
gebeziseva wrote: »Wow OK that's a lot. I burn 300 calories for 9k steps according to my fitbit.
I'm not sure what to say. Except start eating more and reevaluate again in 3 weeks. If you still lose more than 2lbs/week, up your intake again etc.
i found the steps in garmin only count non activity steps so that was pretty much 9k just from moving around and between the 2 activities its another 13k steps so its total step count for the day is currently 22,3180 -
Hi, your weightloss is a success, congratulations! I agree with the others, the amount you are losing in such a short period of time is alarming. It sounds like your body is handling it just fine right now but I'm glad you have realized something is not right. You could have problems down the road if you don't reel it back in.
If you don't feed your body when you aggressively burn calories it will take the calories from somewhere else, like muscle. I think you should eat back 50-75% of your workout calories every day until you find what works and manage a safe weightloss of 2 lbs. per week.
I only eat back 50% of my calories when I work out and that works great for me. You and I are about the same size. I'm eating 1500 calories per day and I ride my bike about 24-36 miles per week. I usually have to eat an additional 550 calories (half of what it says I burned) on my the days I ride to maintain a slower - 2 lb./wk weightloss.
My only other thought would be that you are over reporting your calories and not eating enough food to begin with.
One tip - on the days you work out, plan on eating more calories all day, starting with your breakfast. That way when you do work out you'll be on track to meet your caloric needs. You won't have to stuff yourself at night with tons of calories.0 -
No his burns are NOT implausible given his activity level. In fact his weight loss rate proves that they are real!!!!!
Yes he is losing too fast and possibly setting himself up for failure in the future (and in my personal opinion of course). And extra health problems. Hello gallbladder removal.
OP are you always going to be able to exercise 3+ hours a day?
Are you always going to be able to eat less than 2000 Cal a day?
Pick one of the two (or half of each); not both full tilt like you're doing now.
In other words exercise as much as you do now but eat more, much more... maybe like you would eat long term when at maintenance and not exercising as much (around 2500 to 2700 a day)
You would then lose based on your excess exercise ( which given your current exercise regime may still be too fast but still better than now)
Or eat as much as you do now (restricted eating) while not exercising like you are now. I.e. while being sedentary
Or a bit of both. Bridge your food to exercise ratio by at least 1000 calories a day if not 1500.
Potential sources of error ti your 33lb reported loss is using different scales, sodium and exercise water retention. Possibly weighing at just the "right time" (a local high and a local low)
Having said that from the 10lbs or so that would have been a fairly fast loss to the 33 reported we have enough of a gap that there is no question you're overdoing it.
Slow down and figure out how you're gonna maintain....
Yes, you have to lose weight first in order to buy a ticket to the main event.
But maintenance IS the main event and unless you plan to regain your weight or die soon you will probably not be in a great hurry for it to end.
PS: Holly **kittens*** are you ever killing it. Now try to kill it in a more sustainable way!
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It wouldn't surprise me that you could lose just giving up soda and candy. I have a son close to your age who lost 35 lbs. once just kicking the soda habit (then put it back on when he went back to the stuff). At 450 calories for a 20 oz. soda, you could easily have been eating 1000 calories more than what you needed just in junk. It's not unusual for males to lose very quickly, especially larger younger males. I have another son who works out a lot and goes through bulking and cutting phases, where he drops 30+ lbs. in 6 weeks or so. And yes, he can easily eat 2500 calories or more and still lose.
can I ask where a 20oz soda is 450 calories? most of any I have ever drank was 240 calories for a 20 oz soda2 -
Let me start off by saying I am a 33yo male, 6 foot even, current weight as of this morning is 202.4 (6am on an empty stomach)
I started my diet and daily walking on 9/15/16 at 236 pounds (this is in the morning on a empty stomach). I found it hard to keep track of what i was doing so on Oct 1st I Purchased a Garmin Vivioactive HR, Garmin Index Scale and a few days later started using MFP on a daily basis to track food intake.
According to MFP for maximum safe weight loss is put me at 1500 calories a day, which i was already limiting myself to as of the 15th of September. With the integration of Garmin connect i was astonished to find on a regular basis i was always being put 1000 calories or more under my calorie budget for the day every day while still eating 1500 calories or more.
I have read through and through about proper eating and some people say to eat back your exercise calories and some say dont. so i have been doing a combo of both and just eating when im hungry without going over 2000 calories max.
In the past month i have lost 34 pounds which is way over the 2 pounds a week MFP put me at.
All in all i feel great, im not tired, im not starving and i notice a significant difference in my over all fitness from when i first started, but i am concerned i am either going about this wrong or i am missing something in the process.
I should also add aside from the walking and jogging i also do several body weight exercises like push-ups, pull-ups, crunches, sit-ups, squats etc every day.
My diary should be public so anyone can look at it. i will say im horrible with my water tracking, but i drink a half gallon or more a day every day.
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/food/diary/Therionx
If someone could give me some insight on if everything looks ok it would be much appreciated. or if any more information is needed
Scanning your diary, it appears that you are running some nutritional deficiencies that might be harmful over the long term. These include appropriate levels of protein for a man your age/height, and micronutrients (minerals and vitamins). I don't think it's wise to stress your body this way indefinitely.0 -
Totally unscientific response here and I only read a few of the other posts and I didn't look at your diary. Caveats aside, I'm a 5'4" female and unlike a lot of people, I know if I stick with 2,000 calories EVERY DAY (like if that is my average in a week), I will lose 2-3 lbs. I never stick to that, I always go over (on average) and so my weight loss has been more like 1lb a week over the past 6 months. So the point is, I can see how a man of your size could lose a ton of weight doing what you're doing--and fast. Sounds like you're at a pretty good weight now (not that I should choose your goal weight). I agree with others that you probably don't want to sustain this high rate of loss because it's not good for your body. I bet you could add some good proteins and fats and continue to do well at 2500 per day, easy. And that would be more sustainable to live with in the long term. Heck - you probably will need more to maintain and not keep losing once you've met your goal weight. Way to go, by the way!
Oh and I know everyone's metabolism is unique but some are just more active than others. I get 16000 steps on my FitBit in a day, easy and that's on days I don't even work out. So if you're one of those people who's always moving, that makes a difference too!0 -
I went from 265 to 200lbs in 7 months. In my best 4 week period i lost 25lbs. I was always full of energy and healthy during this process and have maintained a solid fitness level since then (3 years ago). My thought process when losing weight was i ate when i was hungry, i worked hard and I ate fruits/vegetables/lean proteins, 'healthy food'. Any weight loss i lost I thought of as great and gave no care how fast it came off. I probably ate around 1800-2000 calories and i didn't eat back any calories. I ate when I was hungry.0
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So in short i'm saying you're doing much in the way i did. I lifted 7x a week and did HIIT cardio and here is my progress i made that year doing very similar to you. You can see at no point did i start to look unhealthy , merely my fitness increased over time just as you describe. and i've most certainly maintained this level for the past almost 3 years so this certainly lead to me maintaining a much healthier lifestyle. I did make sure to get plenty of protein though.
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The general consensus is to eat more and that is what i will try and do. Unfortunately i do as the above poster said and pretty much just eat when hungry and i don't feel hungry very often. so even on my days where i do have a higher apatite and eat more, it still falls within the 2000 - 2100 range for the day.
I do not want to give up the exercise because it makes me generally feel all around better mentally and physically.
As a little back story to my life i used to play AAU JO Baseball and played AAA for the New Haven Ravens. I also used to run track and still to this day hold the fastest mile ever ran for my highschool. I used to be in top shape until all the medical crap happened and got lazy. So call it muscle memory or whatever I can tell you all i am far from over exerting myself or over training.
This is just the first time in my life im giving it a go at loosing weight and want more experienced individuals to critique where im at so far so i have a safe journy on my way.
All the information so far has been a great help and when i get a few extra dollars i may enlist the help of a dietitian / personal trainer.0 -
Had to follow this for the amazing 34 pound loss congrats!!! OP things like almonds, cheese can add to your calories, and protein them also. I find these give energy. Good luck, let us know how your next month goes.0
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So in short i'm saying you're doing much in the way i did. I lifted 7x a week and did HIIT cardio and here is my progress i made that year doing very similar to you. You can see at no point did i start to look unhealthy , merely my fitness increased over time just as you describe. and i've most certainly maintained this level for the past almost 3 years so this certainly lead to me maintaining a much healthier lifestyle. I did make sure to get plenty of protein though.
Thanks for these pictures and great work on your loss. I was beginning to think mfp was full of women. This is good. More eye candy
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Your Garmin calories seem really high. Mine actually seems on the low side (115 pound 5'3 female, age 45). Though I do not have the HR and only wear the chest strap when exercising. I only get about 250 extra calories for 22,500 steps in a day (none from exercise). Though with the extreme weight loss, there might be something to them. If I read your post correctly, you've gone down 34 pounds in one month which is about a pound per day. Not all of it has been fat, but that rate of loss is concerning, as it may be more lean mass than you'd like.
Try some calorie dense foods like, full fat cheese, nuts/nut butter, avocados, a big serving of quinoa. Full fat ice cream. Pizza ...
Be careful about combining the registered dietician and personal trainer. Most personal trainers have little training in nutrition. And be sure to see an RD, anyone can call themselves a "nutritionist."
Are you sure your profile settings in Garmin and MFP are correct?0 -
Your Garmin calories seem really high. Mine actually seems on the low side (115 pound 5'3 female, age 45). Though I do not have the HR and only wear the chest strap when exercising. I only get about 250 extra calories for 22,500 steps in a day (none from exercise). Though with the extreme weight loss, there might be something to them. If I read your post correctly, you've gone down 34 pounds in one month which is about a pound per day. Not all of it has been fat, but that rate of loss is concerning, as it may be more lean mass than you'd like.
Try some calorie dense foods like, full fat cheese, nuts/nut butter, avocados, a big serving of quinoa. Full fat ice cream. Pizza ...
Be careful about combining the registered dietician and personal trainer. Most personal trainers have little training in nutrition. And be sure to see an RD, anyone can call themselves a "nutritionist."
Are you sure your profile settings in Garmin and MFP are correct?
Its been currently 46 days since i started this venture so about a .7 of a pound a day it seems to be averaging. but this morning when i weighed myself i was a half pound heavier than yesterday
My HR has always been rather high throughout the day so after researching a bit and contacting garmin a few times the calories burned for my HR and activities looks to be on point for my perimeters. My resting HR is 58 but within the first 45 minutes or so of being awake it stays around 115-120 and and between 160-185 during my daily walk jog routine that consists of 3 sets of 3.5 mile steady 5mph walking jogging. its also a 3700 foot elavation drop and then 3700 foot incline from start to finish (Gotta love living in the mountains)
I have also manually entered the run data into MFP and it comes out to be only a few calories different so my best bet seems to be its just due to my weight height and pace i keep along with HR data that seems to make me burn more.
Im more interested in a personal trainer so i can get my strength training regiment down due to the fact i know very little about it.
As far as i see all the settings should be spot on the only settings i could really play around with that would make a true difference would be my HR zones, but with my current state of loss everything seems to be as accurate as you can get
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I agree with whoever said your burns seems spot on when we look at your losses vs consumption. I also use Garmin device, have since I started. I eat pretty much all my calories and lose as expected. When I started and didn't eat them all back I lost a little faster. So I tend to be pretty confident in the Garmin numbers.1
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