Should I Lower My Caloric Intake or Be More Patient?

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CMNVA
CMNVA Posts: 733 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi everyone, looking for a little advice.

Last year I did MFP and lost 16 lbs. I started at 1200 calories, no exercise, and after about 3 weeks took my calories up to 1450. Gradually shifted up to 1600. During the 1200-1400 phase, I lost 16 lbs in 3 months. I did also do C25K one month into the process so that helped. I totally lost it in the maintenance phase and over another 3-4 lbs, gained back 14 of the 16 lbs. Started back on MFP about a month ago but only put my calories down to 1650 because, honestly, I was *not* in the mood for that kind of deprivation. I am also super busy at work/home right now and have not managed to get my fitness routine back on track. So, VERY sedentary.

Started at about 154. I'm 5'7" and 53 years old.

The first week I started, I very quickly dropped down to 150/149 (water loss--it was so fast). The scale has not budged since then, so maybe 3-4 weeks of the same.

I am measuring everything I can. Where I'm unsure, I always overestimate (maybe too much). Oddly, at 1650 calories, I'm still pretty hungry.

I realize at this level, it will be a very slow loss, so do you think I'm being too impatient and just need to wait, or maybe drop down to 1500 calories (which is going to make me cry, I think!! :'( ). I know if I exercise that will help, but it also makes me pretty hungry when I do.

There were a few days I was over the 1600 but not by a lot and a couple of days I was under.

Christine

Replies

  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,565 Member
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    Measure or weigh?
  • CMNVA
    CMNVA Posts: 733 Member
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    malibu927 wrote: »
    Measure or weigh?

    Weigh whenever I can.
  • cosmonew
    cosmonew Posts: 513 Member
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    Have you taken any body measurements? If you are measuring or weighing food and are being accurate you should be having SOME changes. If you are truly hungry, I wouldn't lower your calories...perhaps it is the types of food you are eating? I love to eat real food like chicken breast, whole grains and lots of fruit and mostly veggies...There are high volume foods that will help you feel full....also do you drink water?

  • Slimpossible007
    Slimpossible007 Posts: 16,298 Member
    edited June 2017
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    firstly use a food scale and don't estimate ... make sure you are logging correctly .. estimations can be way off.

    I am 5 6 and losing on 1600 to 1800 cals a day .. I am eating the cals for the weight I wish to become (140lbs) .. I'm losing at around 0.5 lbs a week .. (I am happy with this slow loss) however I am exercising as well .. I walk every day

    If you are quite close to goal, the last pounds are harder to move. you may need to incorporate a little exercise to shift the last pounds.

    good luck :)

  • claudiawalsh1
    claudiawalsh1 Posts: 5 Member
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    around your age, your body begins changing, and in my case, the weight gain was extremely difficult to budge. I'd say it's time to start limiting your carbs to fruit & veggies, and saying b'bye to breads, pastas, and sugary pastries.
  • CMNVA
    CMNVA Posts: 733 Member
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    I haven't take measurements but I go how my clothes feel. I'm one of those people who always wear fitted clothes, especially my work wear (slim cut business attire, pencil skirts, etc). It's easy to tell in my clothes.

    I just eat general foods. At work, I stick with shredded wheat cereal for breakfast because that's about all I can do, but the other meals are leftovers from home which is always things like turkey/bean chili, chicken in various forms, squash, asparagus, brussel sprouts, broccoli. Those are my usuals.

    Lately I haven't been eating a lot of fruit because, despite it being June, the fruit here just sucks. I do have mangoes, apples, bananas, but truth be told, I feel like I'm having a hard time fitting them in as they can be calorie bombs on 1600, so I try to save my calories for my actual meals. I do have one treat at night which is some form of a Skinny Cow. If I don't eat that and satisfy the urge for some ice cream, I end up doing much worse, calorie wise, with popcorn, fruit, yogurts, etc.

    I drink water and tea throughout the day. Funny thing is, when I'm feeling a little bit hungry, I'll grab 8 ounces of water and then it REALLY kicks off my appetite.
  • CMNVA
    CMNVA Posts: 733 Member
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    VintageFeline wrote: »
    Carbs don't matter, calories do.

    But if your deficit is small, it really can take weeks to see any losses on the scale. When I have 0.5lbs losses per week it can take over a month to get my whoosh. The very fact you had a water weight loss would indicate you are losing but the natural bounce back of some of that water is disguising it. I'd stick it out for 8 weeks and see where you are.

    And you absolutely can continue to eat whatever you want, though you might want to play around with your macro split to see if anything impacts your appetite control.

    So, I probably will give it more time. I would like to feel less hungry on these 1650 calories. I do okay during the day but when I get to dinner and once I start eating it's kicking off something and I just don't want to stop. Very odd.

    I also had a bad week last week. Went to the grocery store and the vegetables and fruits looked so bad, there was just nothing to buy. Ended up eating a lot of frozen peas and stuff like that, which does nothing for my satiety factor. Hopefully, this week's picks will be better.
  • VintageFeline
    VintageFeline Posts: 6,771 Member
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    CMNVA wrote: »
    VintageFeline wrote: »
    Carbs don't matter, calories do.

    But if your deficit is small, it really can take weeks to see any losses on the scale. When I have 0.5lbs losses per week it can take over a month to get my whoosh. The very fact you had a water weight loss would indicate you are losing but the natural bounce back of some of that water is disguising it. I'd stick it out for 8 weeks and see where you are.

    And you absolutely can continue to eat whatever you want, though you might want to play around with your macro split to see if anything impacts your appetite control.

    So, I probably will give it more time. I would like to feel less hungry on these 1650 calories. I do okay during the day but when I get to dinner and once I start eating it's kicking off something and I just don't want to stop. Very odd.

    I also had a bad week last week. Went to the grocery store and the vegetables and fruits looked so bad, there was just nothing to buy. Ended up eating a lot of frozen peas and stuff like that, which does nothing for my satiety factor. Hopefully, this week's picks will be better.

    Have you tried intermittent fasting? On my workout and hiking days I will absolutely eat breakfast but today for example is a rest day and I only just ate something, it's nearly 1pm. Obviously if this makes you want to chew your own arm off then it's not for you but may be worth experimenting with. 1650 is plenty for me not to feel deprived as long as I do my best to get in all three macros, including even a small serving of a starchy carb, with every meal.

    Of course these things may not work at all for you but all things to maybe play around with.
  • jellybelly803
    jellybelly803 Posts: 5 Member
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    This is totally anecdotal from my own experience, so take it for what it is. When I tried setting a higher calorie goal, I felt like I was hungry all the time and was still not losing. But when I finally bit the bullet and said, "Okay, time to really do this," I lowered my calorie goal and got really really persnickety about logging every little thing (even vegetables, which I had previously not logged). I was definitely hungry for the first few days, but oddly I am now *less* hungry than I was on the higher calorie level, and I'm losing at a reasonable rate (about a pound per week). Don't ask me why I'm less hungry - it makes no sense. But it's true.
  • size102b
    size102b Posts: 1,370 Member
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    Age will slow weightloss down 100%

    Aged 43 I was in 1400 calories and did massive amount exercise and lost 71lbs in 11 months
    20 years ago I'd lose 71lbs in 6-7 months. I started at 224lbs.

    You need to eat more protein skip low cal dairy eat full fat natural yoghurt nuts eggs chicken green leafy veg you won't feel so hungry.
    I find when I eat processed foods etc I'm more hungry
  • macgurlnet
    macgurlnet Posts: 1,946 Member
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    Do you track sodium? If not, with a small deficit, keeping an eye on that might be helpful. There's nothing wrong with too much sodium (barring medical conditions, etc), but a high day can easily mask fat loss. Same with going higher on carbs.

    I'll agree with @VintageFeline - give it a full 8 weeks at 1650 and see if there's a change.

    ~Lyssa
  • VintageFeline
    VintageFeline Posts: 6,771 Member
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    size102b wrote: »
    Age will slow weightloss down 100%

    Aged 43 I was in 1400 calories and did massive amount exercise and lost 71lbs in 11 months
    20 years ago I'd lose 71lbs in 6-7 months. I started at 224lbs.

    You need to eat more protein skip low cal dairy eat full fat natural yoghurt nuts eggs chicken green leafy veg you won't feel so hungry.
    I find when I eat processed foods etc I'm more hungry

    She lost weight fine last year, it's nothing to do with her age. And not everyone finds the same thing stops the hunger, that's entirely personal which is why I recommended playing around with macros.
    macgurlnet wrote: »
    Do you track sodium? If not, with a small deficit, keeping an eye on that might be helpful. There's nothing wrong with too much sodium (barring medical conditions, etc), but a high day can easily mask fat loss. Same with going higher on carbs.

    I'll agree with @VintageFeline - give it a full 8 weeks at 1650 and see if there's a change.

    ~Lyssa

    And yes, good point I missed about sloppy days/cheat days being enough to wipe out a small deficit.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,996 Member
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    Sounds like you want to lose 10 pounds? The last 20 or so pounds are indeed very slow. Do set your weekly weight loss goal for a half pound per week and be aware that the weight may come off in sporadic whooshes, especially if you still have a menstrual cycle - if so, look for the whoosh after your period.

    I have found that moderate exercise like walking does not increase my appetite but in fact suppresses it a bit. When I get some exercise at lunchtime I am more productive in the afternoons, don't have the munchies, and am more energetic at night as well.
  • CMNVA
    CMNVA Posts: 733 Member
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    Yes, I did manage to lose weight pretty well just 8 months ago. No more periods here and I find that to be a good thing. I retain much less water than I used.

    I'd like to get down to about 140-145 so, yeah, it's those last few pounds.

    I'm just going to stick with it for another few weeks and try to be a little better with my food.

    I did have a bad week last week between Father's Day and just horrible meals that I made. The good thing is that I didn't GAIN anything.

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