750-1000 calorie deficit?
Replies
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So are you less social if you eat less? Why not take small amounts of everything and enjoy yourself? Of course you could stuff yourself senseless, but do think if this really is what makes an evening or day out nice. This. or just being with friends and family?0
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So are you less social if you eat less? Why not take small amounts of everything and enjoy yourself? Of course you could stuff yourself senseless, but do think if this really is what makes an evening or day out nice. This. or just being with friends and family?
What a silly thing to say! Well do you think parties are laden with lower calorie healthy foods or with high calorie indulgent foods that are really really really easy to over eat on. One slice of cake can lead to another and then the calories double. Not everyone has the self control to resist. I don't know what it is about junk foods but I find them really addictive. That's why I avoid eating them...3 -
So are you less social if you eat less? Why not take small amounts of everything and enjoy yourself? Of course you could stuff yourself senseless, but do think if this really is what makes an evening or day out nice. This. or just being with friends and family?
What a silly thing to say! Well do you think parties are laden with lower calorie healthy foods or with high calorie indulgent foods that are really really really easy to over eat on. One slice of cake can lead to another and then the calories double. Not everyone has the self control to resist. I don't know what it is about junk foods but I find them really addictive. That's why I avoid eating them...
Look, you are only thinking in black and white: I might as well quit!", "I have to go visit my family now", "but there is a party". Try to think in possibilities not in things that are bound to go wrong just so you have another reason to give up. The cognitive behavioural link someone posted might be a good way to start. Or write a little note for yourself with what you want to achieve, by when (be very realistic) and how, and read this out consciously to yourself at least once every day. It reprogrammes your thinking towards being more positive and by this makes it possible to achieve what you want to.6 -
MegaMooseEsq wrote: »MegaMooseEsq wrote: »See how easy it is to go from "totally determined" to "quitting"? This is called "all or nothing thinking" and it is a common theme with people who chronically diet.
http://cogbtherapy.com/cbt-blog/cognitive-distortions-all-or-nothing-thinking
If you quit, you will be worse off. If you try and bull through a tough deficit with family watching, it's going to be nigh near impossible.
If you factor in a modest deficit, knowing ahead of time you will be taking a break over family weekend, you will still end up ahead.
Of course I'm not going to quit. I was just upset. I wrote I 'feel like quitting' not 'I am quitting'. Well try to lose weight when dinner parties after dinner parties keep piling up with all this food and I'm only 5' 4" so I can gain weight quickly. I'm just sick and tired of losing and gaining the same 10lbs for the past few months because of holidays, events and parties.
I'm 5'2" so I hear you there. My spouse and I love going out to eat, which was a big contributor to my weight gain in the first place. For a long time I felt like I couldn't lose weight because it would mean becoming a stay-at-home boring person and my husband would divorce me (mostly hyperbole...). It took a lot of trial and error to get to a point where I'm losing weight and still going out regularly - this is the first month since I started that I've lost a full pound a week, as a matter of fact, and I'm still going out to eat about twice a week. But it IS possible. Holidays, events and parties aren't things that happen to you, they're just part of life. It is possible to enjoy those things and lose weight, just not necessarily as fast as you want.
So is it possible to lose weight whilst still eating at all these events and parties? I would love to know how!
It's really just numbers. I average by week - some people call it "banking calories" - my diary's open if you want to take a look. I average 3000 calories on nights I go out, 1500 on nights I don't, and over the course of the month it averages out to 1900, which is currently losing me about a pound and a half a week. I set my average to reduce each month as my weight goes down so that I don't catch up to myself, but it keeps the cuts gradual and easy to live with. Plenty of people would have a hard time going between numbers that different, so you've got to figure out what works for you, but it IS possible.
Okay so I should eat less on the days I'm not being social, so around 1500 calories and then it would give me more room to eat at the parties? Hmm gonna give this a go.
I do this with success. Every weekend of late has had a food-based event (or two!), so I dropped my weekday calories and have been enjoying my weekends. I'm still losing at my planned 0.5 pounds/week (I'm technically in maintenance, but I got to the high end of my range and am dropping to the low end before the holidays).
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I've been doing a 1000 calorie deficit for a few months now, I've not found it that hard tbh. I do go over at weekends sometimes because of doing things with friends and family but not by a lot. On the whole I can't say I'm often hungry.
Combined with going to the gym 5 or 6 days a week I have lost 2 stone in just over 2 months.1 -
dancoon7469 wrote: »I've been doing a 1000 calorie deficit for a few months now, I've not found it that hard tbh. I do go over at weekends sometimes because of doing things with friends and family but not by a lot. On the whole I can't say I'm often hungry.
Combined with going to the gym 5 or 6 days a week I have lost 2 stone in just over 2 months.
Whether you feel hungry or not with a 1000 calorie deficit is not relevant to whether that deficit is healthy for you. I would caution you about using your personal anecdote as evidence that it's okay for someone else - especially if you don't give any context.
If a 1000 calorie deficit is inappropriate for someone, and it is for many, then encouraging that would not be beneficial. There are many instances where excessive deficits result in undesired consequences because people are too big of a hurry.
A 1000 calorie deficit was fine for me for the first 3 months or so...now, not so much. The recommended percentage deficits out there are not pulled out of thin air. There's a reason TDEE minus a certain percentage is limited.
I'm sorry this post is a little blunt, but without context, people can take something that might be okay for you, but be unhealthy for them.5 -
dancoon7469 wrote: »I've been doing a 1000 calorie deficit for a few months now, I've not found it that hard tbh. I do go over at weekends sometimes because of doing things with friends and family but not by a lot. On the whole I can't say I'm often hungry.
Combined with going to the gym 5 or 6 days a week I have lost 2 stone in just over 2 months.
How much did you weigh to begin with? And how many calories did you eat?0 -
MegaMooseEsq wrote: »MegaMooseEsq wrote: »See how easy it is to go from "totally determined" to "quitting"? This is called "all or nothing thinking" and it is a common theme with people who chronically diet.
http://cogbtherapy.com/cbt-blog/cognitive-distortions-all-or-nothing-thinking
If you quit, you will be worse off. If you try and bull through a tough deficit with family watching, it's going to be nigh near impossible.
If you factor in a modest deficit, knowing ahead of time you will be taking a break over family weekend, you will still end up ahead.
Of course I'm not going to quit. I was just upset. I wrote I 'feel like quitting' not 'I am quitting'. Well try to lose weight when dinner parties after dinner parties keep piling up with all this food and I'm only 5' 4" so I can gain weight quickly. I'm just sick and tired of losing and gaining the same 10lbs for the past few months because of holidays, events and parties.
I'm 5'2" so I hear you there. My spouse and I love going out to eat, which was a big contributor to my weight gain in the first place. For a long time I felt like I couldn't lose weight because it would mean becoming a stay-at-home boring person and my husband would divorce me (mostly hyperbole...). It took a lot of trial and error to get to a point where I'm losing weight and still going out regularly - this is the first month since I started that I've lost a full pound a week, as a matter of fact, and I'm still going out to eat about twice a week. But it IS possible. Holidays, events and parties aren't things that happen to you, they're just part of life. It is possible to enjoy those things and lose weight, just not necessarily as fast as you want.
So is it possible to lose weight whilst still eating at all these events and parties? I would love to know how!
It's really just numbers. I average by week - some people call it "banking calories" - my diary's open if you want to take a look. I average 3000 calories on nights I go out, 1500 on nights I don't, and over the course of the month it averages out to 1900, which is currently losing me about a pound and a half a week. I set my average to reduce each month as my weight goes down so that I don't catch up to myself, but it keeps the cuts gradual and easy to live with. Plenty of people would have a hard time going between numbers that different, so you've got to figure out what works for you, but it IS possible.
Okay so I should eat less on the days I'm not being social, so around 1500 calories and then it would give me more room to eat at the parties? Hmm gonna give this a go.
I don't know if 1500 is the exact number for you, but it's one I find very doable, especially with a couple hundred exercise calories for flexibility. I weigh more than you right now (182) so I have more wiggle room, but it sounds like your events are less frequent than my nights out. Again, it took me trial and error to find the right balance, but if you want o keep going to these events and lose weight, I think you can find something that works.Christine_72 wrote: »Not to be a downer, but I'd find it very difficult. We go out to eat maybe once every 4-5mths at friends houses or restaurants (I'm a total homebody). Other than that, breakfast, lunch and dinner is at home.
I'm not trying to say this will work for everyone, but it does work for me, which says it might be possible for the OP. If you plan for your events ahead of time, and importantly, have a sense of around what level of calories you eat at those events, it is certainly possible to eat out and keep up a deficit for the week. I would be unhappy being a homebody, and I genuinely believe that losing weight should never be about making yourself miserable.
ETA: skimming over the thread again, I'm reminded that you don't have a lot to lose. Remember that no matter how you do it, it takes a lot longer to lose those last few pounds, so you do need to be patient. Maybe see what MFP says for .5 a week and see if you can work with that.1 -
So are you less social if you eat less? Why not take small amounts of everything and enjoy yourself? Of course you could stuff yourself senseless, but do think if this really is what makes an evening or day out nice. This. or just being with friends and family?
What a silly thing to say! Well do you think parties are laden with lower calorie healthy foods or with high calorie indulgent foods that are really really really easy to over eat on. One slice of cake can lead to another and then the calories double. Not everyone has the self control to resist. I don't know what it is about junk foods but I find them really addictive. That's why I avoid eating them...
So basically you are making excuses? Do you really think any of us want to avoid parties and fun foods? Nope so we figure out how to do both5 -
dancoon7469 wrote: »I've been doing a 1000 calorie deficit for a few months now, I've not found it that hard tbh. I do go over at weekends sometimes because of doing things with friends and family but not by a lot. On the whole I can't say I'm often hungry.
Combined with going to the gym 5 or 6 days a week I have lost 2 stone in just over 2 months.
How much did you weigh to begin with? And how many calories did you eat?
I weighed 14 stone in June and am now down to 12 stone. I'm eating around 1300 calories a day and about 1600 sometimes at weekends (I'm short as hell for a man at 5'5" which leaves me right on the border of being able to do a 1000 calorie deficit without going under 1200 the MFP recommends). It is working for me, I've never felt healthier, I can run further and faster, lift heavier and my mood has improved massively. I do think it won't be right for everyone but for me it's working well.0 -
dancoon7469 wrote: »dancoon7469 wrote: »I've been doing a 1000 calorie deficit for a few months now, I've not found it that hard tbh. I do go over at weekends sometimes because of doing things with friends and family but not by a lot. On the whole I can't say I'm often hungry.
Combined with going to the gym 5 or 6 days a week I have lost 2 stone in just over 2 months.
How much did you weigh to begin with? And how many calories did you eat?
I weighed 14 stone in June and am now down to 12 stone. I'm eating around 1300 calories a day and about 1600 sometimes at weekends (I'm short as hell for a man at 5'5" which leaves me right on the border of being able to do a 1000 calorie deficit without going under 1200 the MFP recommends). It is working for me, I've never felt healthier, I can run further and faster, lift heavier and my mood has improved massively. I do think it won't be right for everyone but for me it's working well.
If I do the arithmetic right - and I often don't
- that would be a loss of 28 pounds from around 196 pounds to 168 pounds in - what? - maybe 8-10 weeks, so over 2.5 pounds a week? If so, that's well more than a thousand calorie deficit, on average.
I wouldn't recommend that to someone as a conservative, low-risk strategy.
IMO, feeling fine isn't a great guide to safe calorie level. I unintentionally ate too few calories for a while at first, because MFP substantially underestimates my NEAT. I felt fine for a time . . . until I didn't, and wasn't.5 -
dancoon7469 wrote: »dancoon7469 wrote: »I've been doing a 1000 calorie deficit for a few months now, I've not found it that hard tbh. I do go over at weekends sometimes because of doing things with friends and family but not by a lot. On the whole I can't say I'm often hungry.
Combined with going to the gym 5 or 6 days a week I have lost 2 stone in just over 2 months.
How much did you weigh to begin with? And how many calories did you eat?
I weighed 14 stone in June and am now down to 12 stone. I'm eating around 1300 calories a day and about 1600 sometimes at weekends (I'm short as hell for a man at 5'5" which leaves me right on the border of being able to do a 1000 calorie deficit without going under 1200 the MFP recommends). It is working for me, I've never felt healthier, I can run further and faster, lift heavier and my mood has improved massively. I do think it won't be right for everyone but for me it's working well.
If I do the arithmetic right - and I often don't - that would be a loss of 28 pounds from around 196 pounds to 168 pounds in - what? - maybe 8-10 weeks, so over 2.5 pounds a week? If so, that's well more than a thousand calorie deficit, on average.
I wouldn't recommend that to someone as a conservative, low-risk strategy.
IMO, feeling fine isn't a great guide to safe calorie level. I unintentionally ate too few calories for a while at first, because MFP substantially underestimates my NEAT. I felt fine for a time . . . until I didn't, and wasn't.
Maybe just a little under but I'm allowing for miscalculating as I sometimes eat with family and friends and don't know exactly what they put in it. It's more likely the cardio I do most days that drops the extra .5 pound and tbh it's never that consistent, one week I lost 4 pounds, the next nothing at all.
Out of interest what happened?0 -
dancoon7469 wrote: »dancoon7469 wrote: »dancoon7469 wrote: »I've been doing a 1000 calorie deficit for a few months now, I've not found it that hard tbh. I do go over at weekends sometimes because of doing things with friends and family but not by a lot. On the whole I can't say I'm often hungry.
Combined with going to the gym 5 or 6 days a week I have lost 2 stone in just over 2 months.
How much did you weigh to begin with? And how many calories did you eat?
I weighed 14 stone in June and am now down to 12 stone. I'm eating around 1300 calories a day and about 1600 sometimes at weekends (I'm short as hell for a man at 5'5" which leaves me right on the border of being able to do a 1000 calorie deficit without going under 1200 the MFP recommends). It is working for me, I've never felt healthier, I can run further and faster, lift heavier and my mood has improved massively. I do think it won't be right for everyone but for me it's working well.
If I do the arithmetic right - and I often don't - that would be a loss of 28 pounds from around 196 pounds to 168 pounds in - what? - maybe 8-10 weeks, so over 2.5 pounds a week? If so, that's well more than a thousand calorie deficit, on average.
I wouldn't recommend that to someone as a conservative, low-risk strategy.
IMO, feeling fine isn't a great guide to safe calorie level. I unintentionally ate too few calories for a while at first, because MFP substantially underestimates my NEAT. I felt fine for a time . . . until I didn't, and wasn't.
Maybe just a little under but I'm allowing for miscalculating as I sometimes eat with family and friends and don't know exactly what they put in it. It's more likely the cardio I do most days that drops the extra .5 pound and tbh it's never that consistent, one week I lost 4 pounds, the next nothing at all.
Out of interest what happened?
Eventually, I got noticeably weak and fatigued. By the time it caught up with me, I'd already observed that my actual loss rate was too fast, and had already adjusted to eat more. It still took sometime (small number of weeks, IIRC) to recover. I've had some problems with nails (paronychia) that I suspect may've started around then, too, but that takes months to show up, and I'm not certain.
Muscle gain is difficult and slow for anyone, and more so for women my age. It's better to keep what one already has, and a sensible, moderate loss rate is part of that. I never intended to lose that fast (just over 2 pounds a week when I weighed in the 150s), but as I mentioned, MFP substantially underestimated my NEAT, and I didn't have any way to know that until I saw the actual losses.
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