Obese, large weekly deficit??

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.

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.

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.

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

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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????

I would say..in the "long run" it will be unhealthy. For a period of time, you can get away with a very low calorie diet. That time depends on each individual. It could be 2-3 months..it could be a bit longer..

At some point, your body will tell you, it needs more fuel. Being very obese, you can get away with a "too low" calorie intake, as I said, for a brief time. You'll drop pounds quickly.

However, this is not sustainable, nor healthy past a few months (In my opinion)

Check with your Dr..let your Dr know what you're doing. I started at 308 pounds and 57 years old.

I put myself on a 1200-1300 calorie a day diet for perhaps 3 months and exercised as well. After that..I had to up my calorie intake. My Dr had told me..Your body will let you know..and it did..I could tell, I wasn't running on enough fuel..

I'd suggest..listen to your body closely, talk to your Dr, and if all goes well..maintain 1600 for a short time, but kick it up to perhaps 2000-2400 (with the exercise you're doing) if you feel your body telling you ..it needs some more fuel.

I wish you success!

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You are obese and likely have a very high bodyfat percentage therefore you can be more aggressive with your deficit than the average person. A deficit of 1000-1500cals per day will put you between 2-3lbs loss per week and assuming you are lifting weights, you shouldn't lose too much muscle.

Be aware that when you start approaching lower bodyweights/fats, your deficit will need to be reduced.