649lbs and 3790 calories
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cmriverside wrote: »Why would you not listen to the doctors and the hospital?
2000-2500 is sufficient. Your weight is life-threatening. You have 500 pounds of body fat to use as fuel.
This site and any other online sites use an algorithm that is meant for the mean average of users. Someone who is an outlier really needs to listen to their medical team.
TOTALLY agree. Cannot think of a single reason to ignore the doctor. This isn't about vanity pounds here where you want to slowly ease from a size Large to a Medium without feeling too deprived; it's life or death.6 -
storyjorie wrote: »cmriverside wrote: »Why would you not listen to the doctors and the hospital?
2000-2500 is sufficient. Your weight is life-threatening. You have 500 pounds of body fat to use as fuel.
This site and any other online sites use an algorithm that is meant for the mean average of users. Someone who is an outlier really needs to listen to their medical team.
TOTALLY agree. Cannot think of a single reason to ignore the doctor. This isn't about vanity pounds here where you want to slowly ease from a size Large to a Medium without feeling too deprived; it's life or death.
I agree that it is life or death at this point and I 100% think that he should take the medical advice over the internet.
I also think that his medical team should be sensitive to whatever will keep OP engaged and on the right track. Yes, eating around 2500 is better than 3750. 3750 is better than trying to get to 2500 and giving up after a few days and going back to gaining weight.
All of this really needs to be discussed w/ a bariatric doctor. It doesn't sound like OP got customized advice from the hospital.11 -
OP - Go on mate, you are in the right place doing the right thing :-)1
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Tacklewasher wrote: »I guess my question is did the doctor give you a plan, and are they having you come in on a regular basis for follow up, or did they just off hand say 2000 or 2500? How engaged were they in the conversation?
Yes, if the doctor provided a whole plan and a dire warning I'd go with that. Doesn't sound like that's what happened however.2 -
Go with what the doctor told you. The MFP estimate is just an automatic mathematical calculation, not something a medical practitioner came up with after assessing your condition.2
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Whatever you do, OP, don't wait for the jury to agree on a verdict - start eating less NOW. Get under 3750, but not under 2000, every day.8
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I would start at the 3700 cals - keep protein up & eat veggies, fruits will help ease cravings for sweets - get what exercise that you can without stressing yourself. just get up and move around, you can increase it as you get stronger. Start gradually and sneak up on it. After a period of time you can increase your exercise & decrease your cal intake. make your changes gradually and stay is close touch with a Doc.
When you exercise monitor your heartrate - don't let it get high.
You can do this. It will take effort on your part. We had a patient who started at 640 lbs She got down to 500 & some change before she left our care & went to a different facility. Eastcoast Jim4 -
our patients were at a much lower cal intake - but they were in- patient at the 24 hr medical care. Some took it seriously - others smuggled in buckets of KFC or Mc D2
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As the Aussies say, "Good on you!!" It's intimidating to start but you WILL succeed. Over two 1/2 years I dropped 100 pounds, and you will likely take MUCH less time to do that! :-) I can't tell you how much better I feel!
Sounds like the hospital folks took a bad attitude with you and gave you very simplified advice. If you're able, I would talk to a nutritionist or a bariatric physician for more thorough information. Or if you're not able, go to a site like bodybuilding.com and search for "calorie calculators" to see what they suggest. When I plugged in your stats it said 3,243 calories a day. Like others have said, try the higher calorie level and see how it feels, and then experiment with a lower level to see what you like. You have to be able to enjoy this (or at least tolerate it) to be successful. It WILL be worth it!5 -
spagano8888 wrote: »Had went to a hospital they said 2000. Went to doctor I believe she said 2500 calories... but she didn't calculate anything.... mfp says 3790, of course I like the higher number. I just don't know what number to use! They all say different things.
Based on the numbers you've been given and on your current weight it is likely that your health providers are judging that the risks associated with rapid weight loss are less than the risk of remaining at an elevated weight for a longer time.
As such they are advocating a faster than 2lbs a week weight loss, which, to be honest, is perfectly understandable given that in your case the amounts of food they are suggesting would not result in a weight loss that exceeds 1% of body weight lost per week.
This will change in the future as you lose weight and you're able to move more. There may well be a time where the combination of your (still at that point high) weight together with an enhanced ability to move around will boost your current TDEE of about 4790 to well over 6000 at that time, enabling you to potentially increase your rate of loss beyond 1%.
In any case, your doctor's 2500 eating plan would put you at a deficit that would have you on track to lose about 4 to 5lbs in a week... which is absolutely fine given your current size.
Having said that.
2500 is a very nice number. I like it a lot for several reasons. One being that it is close to the number of calories an average male eats.
In fact, in 4 years or so when you are 150lbs, 2501 calories a day would be your predicted maintenance calories assuming you walk around for exercise an hour a day!
So figuring out how to eat that magical number of calories for the long long haul... is an excellent plan!
And.... having said that...
A smaller step forward is better than not moving forward at all!
If 2500 Cal a day is overwhelming today and leaves you unwilling to commit but 3790 feels do-able... start by eating at 3790, or whatever other number that you feel you can consistently achieve!
Meet with some success and then you can reduce a little bit more as you move forward!15 -
Here's some math: 679 lb. of which 1% per week is 6.79 lb lost.
3790 calories, MFP's limit recommendation of -1000 calorie deficit per day for 2 lb per week loss.
4790 calories, your maintenance level of calories. Eat this and you won't lose weight.
6.8*500=3400, or expressed as a calorie deficit -3400. That's the calorie deficit to lose 1% of your body weight fat in a week.
4790 (maintenance) - 3400 (1% loss target) = 1390. Funny, that's the calorie goal I was eating at when I started trying to lose weight last year. It was too few calories for me and it's probably too few calories for you.
My point is that the myfitnesspal algorithm will never let you ask to lose more than 2 lb per week, but you in particular can. It is also true that the myfitnesspal algorithm will never recommend a man eat less than 1500 calories., and you just like the rest of us should not.
There is a ton of flexibility between 2000 and 3790. Find your happy place in there. After you've lost 20 or so lb, we'll explain how to adjust your starting weight in your user profile to get a new, lower, calorie target from MFP.
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spagano8888 wrote: »Had went to a hospital they said 2000. Went to doctor I believe she said 2500 calories... but she didn't calculate anything.... mfp says 3790, of course I like the higher number. I just don't know what number to use! They all say different things.
If you think that you are more likely to succeed at 3790 than at 2500 or 2000 calories, then it sounds to me like you should stick with 3790. Your perception counts. If you dread the idea of 2500, then you are more likely to not get started at all, or not restart after a bad day (and we all have them).
Good for you for taking control of your eating and your health. I agree with others that suggest that MFP is the right place to be.2 -
Just read a few more of the comments, specifically those advising you to follow doctors orders rather than internet advice. I see the wisdom in that. Doctors have decided that it's wise for you to lose some of your weight quickly, so there may be some health risk in losing it slowly. And losing weight under a doctor's care (or other voice of authority) has been shown to have one of the higher success rates, I can see how advising you to ignore your doctor's advice can be viewed as doing you a disservice.
Unless it is the case that you have been advised something similar for a while now but haven't been able to follow it for any length of time. Which I guess I was inferring, but perhaps inappropriately. If it is the case though, I stick with my advice to lose weight the same way I do, and the same way I advise others here to all the time: lose the weight slowly, making the process as enjoyable as you can.0 -
Can you get a referral to a registered dietitian? Working with your Dr.'s health assessment and dietary suggestions, they would be in the best position to tell you how much you should eat for weight loss, and what you should eat for health. I don't think trying to reconcile conflicting inputs from various sources will be effective for you in the long run.1
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In any case, your doctor's 2500 eating plan would put you at a deficit that would have you on track to lose about 4 to 5lbs in a week...
No, it would not.
Setting bad expectations is not helpful. At OP's size, sedentary TDEE is only about 2500 calories a day, because he's at around 70% body fat.
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I've tried the 2000 from the hospital. I was losing 3-5 a day and after 5 days I got so clammy at the store I felt the 2000 wasn't enough. So I stopped.
Bariatric dr mentioned 2500 but no calculations behind it. She told me to follow up with a nutritionist and unfortunately I had to reschedule with them because I didn't have the money for it.
Mfp, I'm 4 days on it and I've lost 9 so far. I think
I'm going to start with the 3790 and work my way down like suggested. The way I look at it it's better then not tracking / watching what I eat at all.38 -
Good plan. I for one would love it if you would continue to post in this thread and let us know how it's going.
Please know that we are all cheering you on from our keyboards. Well done logging your food. I think that 's the most important thing.13 -
The most important thing in all of it is consistency. Log the good the bad and the ugly. None of us are perfect, we have all had our moments of going off the rails for a day or a week or a month. The important thing is to just keep going.
I actually find logging grounding in the overall context of day to day life and I've seen others say the same.
Good luck and we're here for all of those moments if you need us.4 -
In any case, your doctor's 2500 eating plan would put you at a deficit that would have you on track to lose about 4 to 5lbs in a week...
No, it would not.
Setting bad expectations is not helpful. At OP's size, sedentary TDEE is only about 2500 calories a day, because he's at around 70% body fat.
Umm? I'm not so sure. 2500 calories to maintain 600lbs? That's what I needed to maintain 220lbs and outside of 45 minutes 3-6 times a week I'm sedentary. Now it's more like 2000. A 160lb female.7
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