Drop calories or keep going?

Chilledbro · December 2018

Hi,

I've been on a diet plan for 2 weeks now.

I'm trying to lose 10kg / 22lbs of weight. Stats: Male - 92kg / 202lbs - 5ft 9.

I'm eating at 1600-1800 calories a day incorporating strength and HIIT training 3 days a week.

My question:

Eating 1600-1800 is showing little to no progress but when I drop my cals down to 1200, then I lose weight quickly, though I'm very hungry throughout the day.

Is this normal and should I resist the urge to drop calories?

Thanks.

quiksylver296 · December 2018

You shouldn't change anything after only two weeks of info. Give it 4-6 weeks, evaluate and adjust from there.

apullum · December 2018

Minimum recommended intake for men is 1500 calories not counting exercise. You shouldn’t go below that.

cwolfman13 · December 2018

Chilledbro wrote: »

Hi,

I've been on a diet plan for 2 weeks now.

I'm trying to lose 10kg / 22lbs of weight. Stats: Male - 92kg / 202lbs - 5ft 9.

I'm eating at 1600-1800 calories a day incorporating strength and HIIT training 3 days a week.

My question:

Eating 1600-1800 is showing little to no progress but when I drop my cals down to 1200, then I lose weight quickly, though I'm very hungry throughout the day.

Is this normal and should I resist the urge to drop calories?

Thanks.

A grown male has zero business eating 1200 calories unless under the care of a physician. Minimum for a sedentary male is 1500. At 1600-1800 you should be dropping weight just fine...you're likely eating more than you think you are.

I'm 5'9.5" and I easily lose about 1 Lb per week eating around 2300-2500 calories per day.

AmyC2288 · December 2018

Are you using a food scale to measure everything? I waited months before starting to use one and wish I would have sooner! It's very eye opening! Using tablespoons, teaspoons, and cups is not an accurate way to track calories. I bought a digital one off amazon for about $15 and haven't looked back!

quiksylver296 · December 2018

AmyC2288 wrote: »

Are you using a food scale to measure everything? I waited months before starting to use one and wish I would have sooner! It's very eye opening! Using tablespoons, teaspoons, and cups is not an accurate way to track calories. I bought a digital one of amazon for about $15 and haven't looked back!

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10634517/you-dont-use-a-food-scale/p1

Panini911 · December 2018

2 weeks is early days. what do you consider "little to no results"? is that 0 pds lost or is that 1-2lbs lost?

did you put your stats in MFP, and if so what did it recommend?

mmapags · December 2018

cwolfman13 wrote: »

Chilledbro wrote: »

Hi,

I've been on a diet plan for 2 weeks now.

I'm trying to lose 10kg / 22lbs of weight. Stats: Male - 92kg / 202lbs - 5ft 9.

I'm eating at 1600-1800 calories a day incorporating strength and HIIT training 3 days a week.

My question:

Eating 1600-1800 is showing little to no progress but when I drop my cals down to 1200, then I lose weight quickly, though I'm very hungry throughout the day.

Is this normal and should I resist the urge to drop calories?

Thanks.

A grown male has zero business eating 1200 calories unless under the care of a physician. Minimum for a sedentary male is 1500. At 1600-1800 you should be dropping weight just fine...you're likely eating more than you think you are.

I'm 5'9.5" and I easily lose about 1 Lb per week eating around 2300-2500 calories per day.

^^This. 2 weeks is far too soon to be dropping calories. A good dose of patience is needed here. You are already at fairly low calories. I am the same height and lost 40 lbs, from 217 to 177 on about 2000 per day. But it wasn't fast and there were stretches where not much happened.

lynn_glenmont · December 2018

Why would you want to lose weight quickly, especially when you're only trying to lose 10 kg? Do you also have a goal of unnecessarily sacrificing muscle mass?

jasondjulian · December 2018

It took years to get overweight... 2 weeks is but a drop in the bucket... a single grain of sand in the hourglass my friend.

If you're doing all of that physical activity, eat at 1800-2000 cals per day, weighting and measuring with a digital food scale and log it truthfully.. give it 4-6 weeks to see progress and re-evaluate about every month.

jemhh · December 2018

Panini911 wrote: »

2 weeks is early days. what do you consider "little to no results"? is that 0 pds lost or is that 1-2lbs lost?

did you put your stats in MFP, and if so what did it recommend?

This. Usually "little to no progress" means "good progress for people with realistic expectations." How much did you lose in 2 weeks?

Chilledbro · December 2018

Hi all,

Thanks for your replies and thank you for taking the time to help me reach my goal!

So far in 2 and a half weeks, I've lost 0.7 lbs. Stats: Male - 92kg / 202lbs - 5ft 9 - 32% body fat (approx).

I track almost every single thing I eat on a digital food scale (I don't track though the 1 or 2 extra almonds or handful of veggies). All of my meals are weighed or comes in a meal delivery service with detailed macros.

My expectation is to lose 1-2lbs a week by eating at 1600-1800 cals/day plus one cheat meal a week and strength/HIIT training 3 days a week.

I think I'm being impatient and will give it another month.

@jemhh - I lost 0.7 lbs
@Panini911 - MFP recommended me to eat 1500 cals/day to lose 0.8kg a week, but I think this is too little so I'm eating a bit more and training to burn the calories.
@cwolfman13 @mmapags - Thank you for the insight, how long did it take to lose the 40lbs?

cheryldumais · December 2018

I think your problem lies in the weekly cheat meal. How many calories are you consuming in that meal? At 1600 to 1800 you should be losing more than you are. I think the cheat meal is messing you up.

lpianta17 · December 2018

No cheat meals buddy.

cwolfman13 · December 2018

Chilledbro wrote: »

Hi all,

Thanks for your replies and thank you for taking the time to help me reach my goal!

So far in 2 and a half weeks, I've lost 0.7 lbs. Stats: Male - 92kg / 202lbs - 5ft 9 - 32% body fat (approx).

I track almost every single thing I eat on a digital food scale (I don't track though the 1 or 2 extra almonds or handful of veggies). All of my meals are weighed or comes in a meal delivery service with detailed macros.

My expectation is to lose 1-2lbs a week by eating at 1600-1800 cals/day plus one cheat meal a week and strength/HIIT training 3 days a week.

I think I'm being impatient and will give it another month.

@jemhh - I lost 0.7 lbs
@Panini911 - MFP recommended me to eat 1500 cals/day to lose 0.8kg a week, but I think this is too little so I'm eating a bit more and training to burn the calories.
@cwolfman13 @mmapags - Thank you for the insight, how long did it take to lose the 40lbs?

@Chilledbro it took me 7-8 months to lose 40 Lbs. Went from 220 to 180. I started out eating around 1900/2000 calories to lose about 1 Lb per week on average. That bumped up to 2300-2500 once I started really exercising most days (at the time running 5x per week and lifting 3x per week).

It's a slow process and I used that time to learn more about nutrition and what I would need to do to maintain my weight (going on 5.5 years of maintenance). I was pretty strict when I was losing and didn't really have cheat days and whatnot...the only days I really went over my calorie target was Thanksgiving and Christmas that year and oldest kid's and wife's birthdays.

shadow2soul · December 2018

Chilledbro wrote: »

Hi all,

Thanks for your replies and thank you for taking the time to help me reach my goal!

So far in 2 and a half weeks, I've lost 0.7 lbs. Stats: Male - 92kg / 202lbs - 5ft 9 - 32% body fat (approx).

I track almost every single thing I eat on a digital food scale (I don't track though the 1 or 2 extra almondsor handful of veggies). All of my meals are weighed or comes in a meal delivery service with detailed macros.

My expectation is to lose 1-2lbs a week by eating at 1600-1800 cals/day plus one cheat meal a week and strength/HIIT training 3 days a week.

I think I'm being impatient and will give it another month.

@jemhh - I lost 0.7 lbs
@Panini911 - MFP recommended me to eat 1500 cals/day to lose 0.8kg a week, but I think this is too little so I'm eating a bit more and training to burn the calories.
@cwolfman13 @mmapags - Thank you for the insight, how long did it take to lose the 40lbs?

So you are infact actually eating more than 1600-1800 calories a day?

You aren’t logging everything. That can lead to problems.

How big is that “cheat meal”? Does it fit within your calories for the day?

mmapags · December 2018

cwolfman13 wrote: »

Chilledbro wrote: »

Hi all,

Thanks for your replies and thank you for taking the time to help me reach my goal!

So far in 2 and a half weeks, I've lost 0.7 lbs. Stats: Male - 92kg / 202lbs - 5ft 9 - 32% body fat (approx).

I track almost every single thing I eat on a digital food scale (I don't track though the 1 or 2 extra almonds or handful of veggies). All of my meals are weighed or comes in a meal delivery service with detailed macros.

My expectation is to lose 1-2lbs a week by eating at 1600-1800 cals/day plus one cheat meal a week and strength/HIIT training 3 days a week.

I think I'm being impatient and will give it another month.

@jemhh - I lost 0.7 lbs
@Panini911 - MFP recommended me to eat 1500 cals/day to lose 0.8kg a week, but I think this is too little so I'm eating a bit more and training to burn the calories.
@cwolfman13 @mmapags - Thank you for the insight, how long did it take to lose the 40lbs?

@Chilledbro it took me 7-8 months to lose 40 Lbs. Went from 220 to 180. I started out eating around 1900/2000 calories to lose about 1 Lb per week on average. That bumped up to 2300-2500 once I started really exercising most days (at the time running 5x per week and lifting 3x per week).

It's a slow process and I used that time to learn more about nutrition and what I would need to do to maintain my weight (going on 5.5 years of maintenance). I was pretty strict when I was losing and didn't really have cheat days and whatnot...the only days I really went over my calorie target was Thanksgiving and Christmas that year and oldest kid's and wife's birthdays.

Lol, well it took me about 6 months to get from 217 to about 205. Then I lost focus and bounced between 195 and 207 for about 3 years. 1.5 years ago I got refocused and dropped from 204 to 190 with tracking and reforming habits. Dropped from 190 to 177 without tracking but using weighins 3x per week to keep on track. I'd go back to tracking if I see a gain.

Also, one of the things that really helped me was to increase my NEAT. I walk lots of places I used to drive. I moved from the country into the city and that facilitated this. It's easier to walk lots of places. This is in addition to weight training which I was doing all the while.

AnnPT77 · December 2018

Weigh the almonds, log the veggies, and especially log the cheat meal. That's the only way to get the data you need after 4-6 weeks to re-evaluate and adjust. (Log the exercise, too, even if you don't eat it back . . . which, one way or another, you should.)

twatson4936 · December 2018

I am 188 and I try to eat 1870. I run 5 days a week and weight lift 2. I am losing 1 lb per week. I have also adjusted my calories down as I lost weight. Keep at it and it will kick in, Instead of the scale have you seen any differences how your pants fit? I noticed using a different notch in my belt before I saw any significant weight loss.

kshama2001 · December 2018

Chilledbro wrote: »

Hi all,

Thanks for your replies and thank you for taking the time to help me reach my goal!

So far in 2 and a half weeks, I've lost 0.7 lbs. Stats: Male - 92kg / 202lbs - 5ft 9 - 32% body fat (approx).

I track almost every single thing I eat on a digital food scale (I don't track though the 1 or 2 extra almonds or handful of veggies). All of my meals are weighed or comes in a meal delivery service with detailed macros.

My expectation is to lose 1-2lbs a week by eating at 1600-1800 cals/day plus one cheat meal a week and strength/HIIT training 3 days a week.

I think I'm being impatient and will give it another month.

@jemhh - I lost 0.7 lbs
@Panini911 - MFP recommended me to eat 1500 cals/day to lose 0.8kg a week, but I think this is too little so I'm eating a bit more and training to burn the calories.
@cwolfman13 @mmapags - Thank you for the insight, how long did it take to lose the 40lbs?

I'd weigh the meal delivery service meals too, just to make sure you are getting accurate portions.

Most importantly - log your cheat meal so you can have data for those calories. Do come back and update us on this.

If the exercise is new, you may be retaining water from that which is is masking fat loss. Either way, patience

mmapags · December 2018

When I read some responses sometimes, I can't help but wonder if that person read the rest of the thread...

AnnPT77 · December 2018

mmapags wrote: »

When I read some responses sometimes, I can't help but wonder if that person read the rest of the thread...

"What I have to say is much too important to be wasting time reading.

My post, then /thread."

Eternally_Hers · December 2018

Here is a tip for you. When you're having a cheat meal, aim for maintenance calories for the day, don't cheat to gain weight. This way you aren't going backwards from your goal, but you still get a treat. Do understand if you have a lot of sodium in a meal from a cheat that it'll still appear as if you gained weight. But the important thing to understand is that you didn't gain fat. Only water which can be lost the next day. =D

A man really shouldn't eat 1,200 calories a day ever. Im a 6 foot 2 man. I eat 1,800 calories and weight lift 5 days a week. I don't lose 2 pounds in a week but we are losing weight safely is the key.

Chilledbro · December 2018

@mmapags @cwolfman13 - Thank you for the reality check, this will help set my expectations right and congrats on the progress and your achievements!

@cheryldumais @shadow2soul @Eternally_Hers - I haven't eaten a cheat meal yet, but I'm thinking of logging it once a week during the Christmas holiday period to stay social, as I have weddings and birthdays coming up (including my own). I'm planning on the cheat meal to be under 1000 calories and to burn the excess calories through training. I know it's not perfect, but I hope it's a step in the right direction, what do you think?

@AnnPT77 - Thanks, I'll ensure to log the extra missed food. It's the details that count.

@kshama2001 - I'll reply to this post after a month to update on progress (hopefully better results).

@twatson4936 - I feel generally healthier and lighter in a way. My strength and cardio endurance have improved, I guess the scale just needs to catch up

Eternally_Hers · December 2018

Yeah, I'm pretty much doing the same thing. One cheat meal is for Christmas and one is for my two year anniversary with my girl friend. Since we are doing 500+ calorie deficits, a 1,000 calorie cheat meal isn't too bad because it's two days worth of dieting so we should still lose weight throughout the week. Just can't do it too regularly or we will be at a maintenance level rather then weight loss.

So far I'm 120 pounds down and got about another 20 to go till I can start doing some lean bulking.

Drop calories or keep going?

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