Welcome to any advise on meals

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alankirmit1704
alankirmit1704 Posts: 8 Member
edited November 2019 in Health and Weight Loss
I’ve just got started (again) on the road to a healthy and fit life. I’ve got a long road ahead as I’m currently 301lbs (5’ 11”). I set my goal to be 210 in roughly one year. According to this app I need to stay around 1800 calories to get there. I’d appreciate any input regarding this caloric level and any meal suggestions / tips. I’ve been hitting the gym starting with 1 mile on the elliptical then moving to lifting weights. Got past the DOMS and feeling much better.

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  • LyndaBSS
    LyndaBSS Posts: 6,964 Member
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    Welcome to the community! 🧡

    If you haven’t already, read the stickies at the top of the getting started forum. Very informative and educational.

    Buy a food scale. Weigh everything you eat and log into the food diary.

    Good luck with your journey!
  • wiigelec
    wiigelec Posts: 503 Member
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    I like Jim Wendler’s take to eat meat, vegetables and whole carbs like rice and oatmeal adjusting portions as necessary:

    https://jimwendler.com/blogs/jimwendler-com/101085062-2016-help-a-friend-get-stronger
  • NovusDies
    NovusDies Posts: 8,940 Member
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    alankirmit1704 wrote: »
    I’ve just got started (again) on the road to a healthy and fit life. I’ve got a long road ahead as I’m currently 301lbs (5’ 11”). I set my goal to be 210 in roughly one year. According to this app I need to stay around 1800 calories to get there. I’d appreciate any input regarding this caloric level and any meal suggestions / tips. I’ve been hitting the gym starting with 1 mile on the elliptical then moving to lifting weights. Got past the DOMS and feeling much better.

    Your calories will decline as you lose weight if you do not offset them with activity. This is because your BMR is the number of calories to maintain your current physical form. As you lose weight you need less energy to maintain it. For this reason you will not be able to nor should you try to maintain a 1000 calorie deficit as you get closer to your goal. It could lead to fatigue or worse.

    It is for this reason if you think it will take about a year it is more likely to take at least double that. I am not telling you that to discourage you but so that you can manage your expectations properly.

    I would not overthink eating right now. Eat whatever is it that is normal for you while staying inside your calorie goal. The first food adjustments should be to help you accomplish it while keeping your hunger and cravings under control. If you find yourself hungry too much of the time and you want specific suggestions to try and fix it come back and ask.

    Try not to think in major changes but in very small changes over time. That is the one advantage of having a lot of time to lose weight... you don't have to do anything drastic.
  • alankirmit1704
    alankirmit1704 Posts: 8 Member
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    Thank you for the insight. No worries regarding the duration. I have strong motivation support at home. I’m looking at this NOT as a short term goal but a TOTAL life change to be healthy and feel better.

    Thanks again!
  • xxzenabxx
    xxzenabxx Posts: 935 Member
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    1800 sounds too low. Im female, 5’ 4” and eating 1750 calories with just moderate amounts of activity. Maybe you should aim for a lower deficit? I don’t want you to crash and fatigue later on (that’s what happened to me last year!). Losing 50lbs in a year is still a really good idea.
  • Strudders67
    Strudders67 Posts: 984 Member
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    With regards to meal suggestions, stick to things you like eating but in smaller portions. Having read loads of advice from this forum when I first joined, I eat more protein and veg and have a smaller portion of rice / potatoes / pasta than I did previously, but I'm still eating the things I've always eaten. It makes it far easier to stick to the cals if you at least enjoy the food. Once you're comfortable with eating less, then you can play around with different food types to determine whether a higher level of protein vs carbs vs fat makes you feel fuller, within your calorie goal .

    Weighing your food / tracking everything you eat or drink is sometimes an eye-opener.

    Also, log your exercise and eat some of those calories back as well. This will become more important as you get closer to your goal but there's no harm forming the habit now.
  • alankirmit1704
    alankirmit1704 Posts: 8 Member
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    Thank you for the suggestions! Tracking everything I eat using this app has been an eye opener. Things like oiling a pan to cook up an egg or tilapia fillet or counting how many almonds I’m eating. Lol those two things for me were big eye openers considering I didn’t know how many calories almonds packed or a teaspoon of olive oil.

    I’m improving my diet with this knowledge. Thanks again

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