Obese, large weekly deficit??

Options
2

Replies

  • Tacklewasher
    Tacklewasher Posts: 7,122 Member
    Options
    6brewers wrote: »
    To maintain weight almost 3,600 calories a day.

    How did you figure this out?
  • vikinglander
    vikinglander Posts: 1,547 Member
    Options
    @6brewers...I started at 298 last February. I have eaten 2000 calories a day and lost about a pound a week on average for most of the last year, except during a stretch where I also quit smoking. I started exercising in November. My advice to you is to not push too hard in the beginning. Just get your eating under control, which means finding the sweet spot between a low enough deficit to sustain a loss and a high enough intake to prevent hunger and cravings, and sustain a good energy level. You'll find it.

    Also, jumping full tilt, head first into an extensive exercise program can be a set up for injury, unless properly managed. Go slow. In the beginning, more is not necessarily better.

    Good luck!
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
    Options
    6brewers wrote: »
    I feel good, not tired or any other noticeable side effects at this point after 2 weeks. I'm still eating just better foods.

    But after eating this way for more than a year.....it's going to get really old.
  • 6brewers
    6brewers Posts: 11 Member
    Options
    I'm not drink any soda, no potatoes chips or French fries....but that's really the only things I took off the table. Have pasta and rice and even cookies occasionally.
  • OhMsDiva
    OhMsDiva Posts: 1,074 Member
    Options
    I started 2 years ago eating 1800ish calories and I have stayed at the same calories the entire time. I may be under some days but I try my best to stay within 1800 daily. I exercise daily,but I do not eat back exercise calories. If I feel I need to eat more I do. If I feel that I do not that many calories then I do not eat them. The lowest I eat on any given day is between 1560-1750.
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    Options
    TeaBea wrote: »
    6brewers wrote: »
    I feel good, not tired or any other noticeable side effects at this point after 2 weeks. I'm still eating just better foods.

    But after eating this way for more than a year.....it's going to get really old.

    Also, many of the negative effects of eating much less than you need are going to take longer than a week or two to manifest. It's not that much of a challenge to feel good in the short term.
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
    Options
    Tacklewasher wrote: »
    TeaBea wrote: »
    janejellyroll wrote: »
    6brewers wrote: »
    37 yrs old male...Jan 15 = 300lbs. I didn't figure out calorie deficit til started using app 2 weeks ago was at 297 then. Now at 286. My intake to maintain is almost 3600 calories...so I cut down to around 1600 total per day. I'm walking 30 min per day, gym for elliptical 25 min and weight training 25 min...4 times a week. I'm trying to maintain muscle while losing goal of 4 lbs per week.

    Is this unhealthy????

    The more aggressive your goal, the more of it is likely to be muscle loss. I would choose a more reasonable goal. Your current goal has you eating only 100 calories above the minimum recommended for a man.

    This^

    Another problem with an extreme cut in calories is you are likely leaving yourself little room for many of your usual foods. Because you are just 100 calories above the bare minimum you are most likely (can't see your diary) eating the most nutritious foods.....but nothing "fun." Learning portion control for ALL foods is going to be key for maintenance. You want establish lifestyle changes....right now you are just on a "diet."

    I'm starting to think we've got a bit of crossed up info here. I'm 6' and ~260. My MFP (to lose 2 lbs per week) is 1580. I'm running daily so I'm eating about 2000, but netting on track with what MFP and my tracker allow for me. If he is netting 1600, then it may not be as bad as I first thought.

    Could be......4 pounds a week just sounds crazy high. I don't know.
  • 6brewers
    6brewers Posts: 11 Member
    Options
    Also i have a big vacation coming up I may...thats what gave me the motivation to get this rev'd up. After that in plan to go as little slower.
  • Christi6604
    Christi6604 Posts: 245 Member
    edited February 2017
    Options
    I'm a 5'3 female. Lost 70 pounds originally and have put 50 back on. Finally saw a dietitian last week and had my metabolism tested. She upped me from 1200 calories to 1600. I've been dropping weight without hunger since. I think a visit to a dietitian might be in order. I wish I would have gone sooner. If I'm a 5'3 female eating 1600, I can't imagine that's enough for you. It will probably work for a while, but you'll be hungry and have strong cravings...if you're like me, anyway.

    Edited to say: MFP recommended my 1200 goal. That was in line with what I was eating on Weight Watchers also years ago...experts are good tools. Don't be afraid to use them. My insurance covered my dietitian visit. The metabolism test was $115 and took 10 minutes. Wish I would have done it years ago.
  • 6brewers
    6brewers Posts: 11 Member
    Options
    @VintageFeline you're right in the short term, I will. I gained 65 lbs after quiting smoking 3 yrs ago. I went cold turkey. I feel like I have to do the same with weight loss ...full tilt til I see results then I can slow down. I just want to make sure if i do this for 3-4 months I'm not doing any serious damage.
  • Tacklewasher
    Tacklewasher Posts: 7,122 Member
    Options
    Let's not get ahead of ourselves. Without knowing how he is coming to the 3600, this isn't making sense.

    Assuming 6', age 37, wt 286 and male, his BMR is ~2500 http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/

    To get to 3600, he is either including exercises or is very active. But if he is NETTING 1600, he isn't that far off.

    So, height, activity level excluding exercises and what he is actually eating gross are all missing.
  • Christi6604
    Christi6604 Posts: 245 Member
    Options
    6brewers wrote: »
    I feel good, not tired or any other noticeable side effects at this point after 2 weeks. I'm still eating just better foods.

    It took me three years before I really saw the negative affects of eating too little. No side effects doesn't necessarily mean you are getting optimum long term results. Also, great on you for seeking advice. I tend to forget that.
  • 6brewers
    6brewers Posts: 11 Member
    Options
    6 ft, was 300 lbs, working out 4 times a week, walking 2 miles every day, on top of gym days. calculator says just shy of 3600. I'm doing a 2000 calorie deficit daily...."on avg".
  • PAV8888
    PAV8888 Posts: 13,751 Member
    Options
    Copying and pasting from the other thread where I replied to the same question ;-)

    You do not list your height. 286 lbs means something different to a guy who is 6ft 7" as compared to a guy who is 5ft 7"

    While you're in the early stages of your loss where you may still be able to tolerate a faster rate of loss, your goal exceeds 25% of your TDEE (20% of your TDEE once you are no longer obese) and exceeds 1% of body weight per week, a widely accepted safe rate.

    Now I personally happen to believe that 1.5% is tolerable for someone who is morbidly obese and that 0.07% is better for someone who is overweight, or normal weight, so to me the 1% of body weight per week does have gradations to it.

    I also happen to believe that you have something much more important to do than take the weight off fast, and that is to learn about yourself and establish a new relationship with food and activities.

    And that losing fast not only has health implications (gallstones, excess lean mass lost); but it also denies you the time you need to get to know these things about yourself.

    To learn how your weight changes from day to day.
    Which items fill you up and which don't.
    Explore new things to eat and replace old stand-bys and favourites.
    To get sidetracked by old stand-bys and favourites and learn how to deal with them in the future.

    Short-circuiting all these learning processes does not put you ahead, in my opinion, because it increases the likelihood of regain at goal weight.

    So does getting there while eating less than the maximum you can while still achieving your goals.

    So, yeah, all I will say is that my rate of loss was similar to yours for a brief period of time before I realised that I would not be willing to eat a subway sub and a salad with no dressing every day for the rest of my life to maintain my weight.

    And then I found MFP and realised that I don't have to eat "diet food" in order to lose weight.

    And that was a light bulb moment and the first time I actually seriously started believing that I might be able to both lose weight and maintain the loss for an appreciable period of time.

    How? By no longer dieting but by learning to eat and move the way I intend to continue doing... for the long haul.

    Which led me to eventually calculate the lightly active calories for my target weight, and setting my eating calories very close to that amount for the majority of my time on MFP.

    Which incidentally was substantially more than what you're eating right now.
  • Tacklewasher
    Tacklewasher Posts: 7,122 Member
    edited February 2017
    Options
    6brewers wrote: »
    6 ft, was 300 lbs, working out 4 times a week, walking 2 miles every day, on top of gym days. calculator says just shy of 3600. I'm doing a 2000 calorie deficit daily...."on avg".

    Don't do 2000 calorie deficit. Max would be 1000 as otherwise you are going to hurt yourself.

    Also, what calculator are you using? 3600 is a lot.
  • Rusty740
    Rusty740 Posts: 749 Member
    Options

    6brewers wrote: »
    with weight training, am I not avoiding muscle loss?

    Yes and no. Weight training is necessary to keep some muscle, but you'll need to make sure to have enough protein for your muscles.

    Read this article for a detailed explanation of what might be best in your case for maintaining muscle while losing fat.

    http://m.ajcn.nutrition.org/content/early/2016/01/26/ajcn.115.119339

    Basically says approximately 2.4 grams of protein per kg of lean body mass is best(ish) for this goal. This is approx 1 gram per lb of body weight.

    A "high-normal" (20-35%) protein ratio will help both quicker losses of fat and maintenance of muscle.

    Like many other posters I also recommend you take it very slow. Reasearch is clear on two things. The longer it takes you to lose fat, the more likely you are to keep it off And the less muscle you will lose.

    Good luck, come back often for tips as you learn what your body is telling you.
  • try2again
    try2again Posts: 3,562 Member
    edited February 2017
    Options
    2 lbs/week is the maximum allowed by MFP because anything beyond that likely creates an unsafe deficit. It's also about the most body fat your body can burn in a week, so anything you lose beyond that comes from lean muscle mass, including your heart. I also would be fearful of the gallstone issues already mentioned. Could you get away with it for a few months? Maybe. Does that make it a good idea? Nope. You're getting spot-on advice from Tacklewasher- work with him :)
  • dbanks80
    dbanks80 Posts: 3,685 Member
    Options
    I am a 5'9" 174 lbs woman and i eat 1600 calorie deficit to lose weight.

    That is really low for a 286 lb man
  • _riddikulus_
    _riddikulus_ Posts: 59 Member
    Options
    OP is correctly calculating his physical activity as either lightly or moderately active when figuring in his TDEE. Given that he is not bedridden, even with a desk job, sedentary is not correctly indicative of his activity level especially combined with the exercise he is doing. 3600 is not unreasonable for a 300lb lightly or moderately active man.

    OP, given that you are obese you do not have as many concerns as far as eating too little as someone who is just in the "overweight" category. Eventually you will be able to gradually increase your calories to continue and maintain your loss in a more sustainable fashion. I would venture a guess that unless you are weighing and measuring all your foods to a high degree of precision you are most likely eating more than 1600 anyway. For now you have a wider margin for loss but do know that eventually you will need to fine tune your logging and TDEE calculation when that margin becomes smaller as you lose more.

    These threads were very helpful for me when I started out at 272lbs almost 4 years ago:

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1080242/a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants/p1


    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/819055/setting-your-calorie-and-macro-targets/p1


    Good luck OP!

Categories