calorie questions

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lottieouroboros
lottieouroboros Posts: 15 Member
in Getting Started
I'm quite new to losing weight... I understand that in order to lose weight you need a calorie deficit and to be burning more calories than you consume, but is it possible to lose weight without being in a calorie deficit, by eating less food than before weight loss?

I have a target calorie count of 1,230 (which the site worked out for me) and I'm working on doing more exercise but I'm still struggling to get below 1,400 - typically I'm around 1,600-1,700 (with usually 200 calories cancelled out because of exercise). I've managed to seriously reduce my snacking but if I eat anything less than ~1,500 I find I'm really hungry to the point where I have to eat something resembling a meal or I get the temptation to snack on high calorie foods (obviously something to avoid).

I'm not sure what calories I was consuming before I started counting calories, but it was probably around 2200-2400 (a really rough estimate, though)

I guess I'm looking for ways to either reduce my appetite and/or for reassurance that I can still lose weight without a complete calorie deficit, because myfitnesspal will still tell me I'll lose a few pounds within five weeks even if I go 200 calories over. I don't care how long it takes me to lose weight, I'm more concerned with the weight loss being sustainable.

TL;DR - Am I doing the right thing by not forcing myself into a strict calorie deficit?

Replies

  • lynn_glenmont
    lynn_glenmont Posts: 9,986 Member
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    What weight loss goal did you tell MFP you wanted? If you said 2 lbs a week, and it gave you 1230, you should lose weight (albeit slowly) eating anything less than 2230, without exercising, assuming you gave MFP accurate information about your stats and activity level (which on MFP is supposed to be your activity level from normal everyday activities, e.g., your job). If you exercise, you can eat more.

    You could go back into your goals and choose a lower rate of loss (1 lb a week or a half pound a week) and see what it gives you.
  • makinemjellis
    makinemjellis Posts: 91 Member
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    Easing into the calorie deficit helped me. Also make sure you’re drinking enough water.
  • corinasue1143
    corinasue1143 Posts: 7,467 Member
    edited April 2018
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    If eating 2200 calories without exercise keeps you at the same weight, then eating 2100 calories is eating at a deficit, and you will lose weight.
    If eating 2200 calories without exercise keeps you at the same weight, and you are eating 1600 calories a day, as well as burning 200 calories a day by exercising, then your deficit is:
    2200 + 200 = 2400 calories needed to maintain weight
    2400 - 1600 = 800 calories per day deficit.
    If weight loss was exactly mathematically correct, that would mean a loss of about 6.67 pounds every 30 days.
  • sschauer513
    sschauer513 Posts: 313 Member
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    My advice because in calorie deficit you do tend to get the hunger pains especially is you've drastically cut from where you were to were MFP says you should be is to step it down slowly this is a marathon not a sprint. Log your food accurately at first and ignore the recommended numbers for a week that will give you a base to work with then cut 500 calories and hold that number for a week and repeat till close to the recommended.

    Other piece of advice drink a lot of water I mean a lot when you get hungry drink a full glass of water first wait 15 minutes if you are still hungry after that then eat something small 200 calories or less piece of fruit something simple. But when I started drinking water seemed so easy it is actually very difficult to the recommended amount dehydration and hungry feels the same to the body.
  • kimny72
    kimny72 Posts: 16,013 Member
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    What weekly goal did you choose? If you chose 2 lbs per week, that's really only appropriate if you have a lot of weight to lose. Regardless, you can change your weekly weight loss goal to a little slower and it will give you more calories.

    I can't go much lower than 1500 myself, and I didn't have much weight to lose, so I chose 0.5lbs per week and was patient :smile:

    If you can give more of your stats (height, current weight, goal weight) you'll get more targeted advice.
  • lottieouroboros
    lottieouroboros Posts: 15 Member
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    Thank you for everyone who's given me advice!
    kimny72 wrote: »
    What weekly goal did you choose? If you chose 2 lbs per week, that's really only appropriate if you have a lot of weight to lose. Regardless, you can change your weekly weight loss goal to a little slower and it will give you more calories.

    I set my goal of 1lb per week, I'm currently at 144lbs and I ideally want to get down to 120lbs (although I'll be happy with being anywhere within 120-129lb range). I put my activity at the lowest because I'm a student and I spend a lot of time sitting, but then I log all my activity walking around campus and into city centre when I do (because my activity varies quite a lot) - maybe this isn't the right way of doing it but it's how I've been using MFP so far.
  • kimny72
    kimny72 Posts: 16,013 Member
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    lottieouroboros wrote: »
    Thank you for everyone who's given me advice!
    kimny72 wrote: »
    What weekly goal did you choose? If you chose 2 lbs per week, that's really only appropriate if you have a lot of weight to lose. Regardless, you can change your weekly weight loss goal to a little slower and it will give you more calories.

    I set my goal of 1lb per week, I'm currently at 144lbs and I ideally want to get down to 120lbs (although I'll be happy with being anywhere within 120-129lb range). I put my activity at the lowest because I'm a student and I spend a lot of time sitting, but then I log all my activity walking around campus and into city centre when I do (because my activity varies quite a lot) - maybe this isn't the right way of doing it but it's how I've been using MFP so far.

    No, that's correct! With 20 lbs to lose, there's nothing wrong with going for only half a lb per week, if you can be that patient :smile: . Also take a look if you are hitting your protein, fat, and fiber goals. If you are short on any of them, it can affect satiety. Some people find skipping breakfast or stopping eating at a certain time at night is helpful (but that doesn't work for everyone). I found it was worth it to fit in some light cardio on most days to "buy" myself another 100 cals or so and keep my target at or above 1500. I started at 145lbs and got down to 125lbs, but I lost at a pace of around 1-2 lbs per month. sometimes it was frustrating to go that slow, but I just didn't feel right eating any less.

    Play around with your meal timing/frequency and your protein/fat/fiber balance if you can to see if you can find your sweet spot. Good luck!

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