Will it work?
TomWhalen88
Posts: 16 Member
Hey guys,
I’m 5 days into my commitment of losing weight. Curently I’m 103kg and about 6’0”. I did some research which led me to what I’m doing now. I just want to see if you guys will agree if it will work or recommend something else.
Currently each day I’m dojng 30 minutes of cycling on an excercise bike and a bit of strength training in the arms and legs.
The app recommended I eat about 2250 calories a day (which seems a lot for someone trying to lose weight?)
But I’ve been eating high protein meals and for dinner usually involved a bit of meat with some veggies or salad. And during the day keeping meals small about 500 calories max and rarely have had any snacks. If I do it’s 1 Atkins bar.
At the end of the day I have about 1100-1300 calories left for the day.
Is this a good plan to keep or should I change it up more?
Thanks
I’m 5 days into my commitment of losing weight. Curently I’m 103kg and about 6’0”. I did some research which led me to what I’m doing now. I just want to see if you guys will agree if it will work or recommend something else.
Currently each day I’m dojng 30 minutes of cycling on an excercise bike and a bit of strength training in the arms and legs.
The app recommended I eat about 2250 calories a day (which seems a lot for someone trying to lose weight?)
But I’ve been eating high protein meals and for dinner usually involved a bit of meat with some veggies or salad. And during the day keeping meals small about 500 calories max and rarely have had any snacks. If I do it’s 1 Atkins bar.
At the end of the day I have about 1100-1300 calories left for the day.
Is this a good plan to keep or should I change it up more?
Thanks
0
Replies
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You should use mfp and let that help calculate your calories, log any exercise separate and eat back those calories. For a male the minimum you should be eating is 1500 calories a day, and that's if you're sedentary.
So, what you're doing might work if you're okay with damaging your health?9 -
You are eating between 950 and 1150 calories a day and exercising on top of that? Why are you starving yourself?
Heck, I'm 5'4.5" and weigh 76kg and I'm eating 50% to 100% more than you AND still losing weight. I'm eating between 1600 (on sedentary days) and 2400 calories a day (on very active days)! Why on earth would you think 2250 is a lot?
High protein is good for helping to conserve muscle while losing weight, but no high protein diet will compensate for eating that little, it will be very bad for your muscle mass (including your heart!). Just make sure you have a reasonable amount of protein in your diet and eat whatever you like within the calories MFP gives you as a goal and you will lose weight. No need to ban snacks, they aren't evil.13 -
Still a bit of a beginner. I haven’t feel overly hungry over the days especially considering what I use to eat on the normal.
I guess just by doing the research it said I should limit to about 1300 calories? So I was doing a bit less than that in hopes it’d be even more effective.
So would you recommend aiming for the 2250 goal each day or every few days? But make sure it’s still healthy foods that meets the body’s needs?
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You should be eating all your calories every day. That is giving you a healthy deficit to lose weight.6
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Alright, appreciate the help. Apologies for giving ya’ll shocks lol
If there is anything else you can recommend im happy to hear.
Cheers1 -
TomWhalen88 wrote: »Still a bit of a beginner. I haven’t feel overly hungry over the days especially considering what I use to eat on the normal.
I guess just by doing the research it said I should limit to about 1300 calories? So I was doing a bit less than that in hopes it’d be even more effective.
So would you recommend aiming for the 2250 goal each day or every few days? But make sure it’s still healthy foods that meets the body’s needs?
Hunger isn't a good basis for choosing how much to eat, it can be too much or (in your case) too little depending on the types of food you eat.
I have no idea what research led you to 1300 calories, but it was clearly bad research
Losing too fast is bad for your body. 1kg per week MAX, and that's for people who have a lot of weight left to lose.
As for healthy foods that meet the body's needs: that would depend on your definition of healthy. We regularly see people here who use healthy as a synonym for 'clean eating' (banning snacks and treats, banning high carb foods etc). It's often those people who are undereating because they 'don't feel hungry', because they are eating in a way they aren't used to, eating foods with a lower calorie density.
A healthy diet is a varied diet with sufficient protein, sufficient (mostly healthy) fats and plenty of fruit and vegetables. It doesn't mean banning fat, high carb foods or treats.
Choose a way of eating that you can imagine following the rest of your life.5 -
TomWhalen88 wrote: »Still a bit of a beginner. I haven’t feel overly hungry over the days especially considering what I use to eat on the normal.
I guess just by doing the research it said I should limit to about 1300 calories? So I was doing a bit less than that in hopes it’d be even more effective.
So would you recommend aiming for the 2250 goal each day or every few days? But make sure it’s still healthy foods that meets the body’s needs?
Hunger isn't a good basis for choosing how much to eat, it can be too much or (in your case) too little depending on the types of food you eat.
I have no idea what research led you to 1300 calories, but it was clearly bad research Losing too fast is bad for your body. 1kg per week MAX, and that's for people who have a lot of weight left to lose.
As for healthy foods that meet the body's needs: that would depend on your definition of healthy. We regularly see people here who use healthy as a synonym for 'clean eating' (banning snacks and treats, banning high carb foods etc). It's often those people who are undereating because they 'don't feel hungry', because they are eating in a way they aren't used to, eating foods with a lower calorie density.
A healthy diet is a varied diet with sufficient protein, sufficient (mostly healthy) fats and plenty of fruit and vegetables. It doesn't mean banning fat, high carb foods or treats.
Choose a way of eating that you can imagine following the rest of your life.
I will definitely have to take both your words into consideration. It does seem my research was bad. I always thought you had to burn more calories than what you ate. Obviously I wasn’t doing that anyway.
I just found an app called “Eat This Much” it will allow me to say how many calories a day I should eat and then it will give me a meal plan for that day. Have any of you used it or recommend trying it out?
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TomWhalen88 wrote: »TomWhalen88 wrote: »Still a bit of a beginner. I haven’t feel overly hungry over the days especially considering what I use to eat on the normal.
I guess just by doing the research it said I should limit to about 1300 calories? So I was doing a bit less than that in hopes it’d be even more effective.
So would you recommend aiming for the 2250 goal each day or every few days? But make sure it’s still healthy foods that meets the body’s needs?
Hunger isn't a good basis for choosing how much to eat, it can be too much or (in your case) too little depending on the types of food you eat.
I have no idea what research led you to 1300 calories, but it was clearly bad research Losing too fast is bad for your body. 1kg per week MAX, and that's for people who have a lot of weight left to lose.
As for healthy foods that meet the body's needs: that would depend on your definition of healthy. We regularly see people here who use healthy as a synonym for 'clean eating' (banning snacks and treats, banning high carb foods etc). It's often those people who are undereating because they 'don't feel hungry', because they are eating in a way they aren't used to, eating foods with a lower calorie density.
A healthy diet is a varied diet with sufficient protein, sufficient (mostly healthy) fats and plenty of fruit and vegetables. It doesn't mean banning fat, high carb foods or treats.
Choose a way of eating that you can imagine following the rest of your life.
I will definitely have to take both your words into consideration. It does seem my research was bad. I always thought you had to burn more calories than what you ate. Obviously I wasn’t doing that anyway.
I just found an app called “Eat This Much” it will allow me to say how many calories a day I should eat and then it will give me a meal plan for that day. Have any of you used it or recommend trying it out?
You do need to burn more than you consume. But not so much that your body starts burning muscle because it can't metabolize fat fast enough. I think you are underestimating how much your body burns.
I entered your stats into a calculator, it gave me around 2400 calories for maintenance, at a sedentary setting and not counting exercise. So it will be higher if you're more active.
To lose 0.25kg per week, you need to eat 275 kcal less per day than your maintenance calories.
To lose 0.5kg per week, 550 kcal less per day than maintenance, etc.
I don't know what info you gave MFP (weight loss rate and activity level) but MFP calculates how many calories you burn at maintenance (based on your activity level, which should NOT include exercise) and then detracts the deficit needed for the weight loss you chose to give you your calorie goal.
If you exercise, you log that exercise and eat back (a reasonable estimate) of the calories you burned during that exercise.
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TomWhalen88 wrote: »TomWhalen88 wrote: »Still a bit of a beginner. I haven’t feel overly hungry over the days especially considering what I use to eat on the normal.
I guess just by doing the research it said I should limit to about 1300 calories? So I was doing a bit less than that in hopes it’d be even more effective.
So would you recommend aiming for the 2250 goal each day or every few days? But make sure it’s still healthy foods that meets the body’s needs?
Hunger isn't a good basis for choosing how much to eat, it can be too much or (in your case) too little depending on the types of food you eat.
I have no idea what research led you to 1300 calories, but it was clearly bad research Losing too fast is bad for your body. 1kg per week MAX, and that's for people who have a lot of weight left to lose.
As for healthy foods that meet the body's needs: that would depend on your definition of healthy. We regularly see people here who use healthy as a synonym for 'clean eating' (banning snacks and treats, banning high carb foods etc). It's often those people who are undereating because they 'don't feel hungry', because they are eating in a way they aren't used to, eating foods with a lower calorie density.
A healthy diet is a varied diet with sufficient protein, sufficient (mostly healthy) fats and plenty of fruit and vegetables. It doesn't mean banning fat, high carb foods or treats.
Choose a way of eating that you can imagine following the rest of your life.
I will definitely have to take both your words into consideration. It does seem my research was bad. I always thought you had to burn more calories than what you ate. Obviously I wasn’t doing that anyway.
I just found an app called “Eat This Much” it will allow me to say how many calories a day I should eat and then it will give me a meal plan for that day. Have any of you used it or recommend trying it out?
You do need to burn more than you consume. But not so much that your body starts burning muscle because it can't metabolize fat fast enough. I think you are underestimating how much your body burns.
I entered your stats into a calculator, it gave me around 2400 calories for maintenance, at a sedentary setting and not counting exercise. So it will be higher if you're more active.
To lose 0.25kg per week, you need to eat 275 kcal less per day than your maintenance calories.
To lose 0.5kg per week, 550 kcal less per day than maintenance, etc.
I don't know what info you gave MFP (weight loss rate and activity level) but MFP calculates how many calories you burn at maintenance (based on your activity level, which should NOT include exercise) and then detracts the deficit needed for the weight loss you chose to give you your calorie goal.
If you exercise, you log that exercise and eat back (a reasonable estimate) of the calories you burned during that exercise.
I work, so that involves lots of walking about 8000-11000 steps each day I work. I also either lift crates of produce and or push a heavy-ish trolley type thing.
I burn about 200 on the bike but can’t calculate how much I burn doing the strengths. The app tells me I burn about 290-350 for a work day(3-8hour shifts)
So going off what you told me, eating my 2250 calories and then minus my exercises should leave me about at 2000 calories a day? Which should hopefully have me losing 0.5kg a week?
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I would put your activity level on MFP at active and weight loss rate at .5kg per week. How many calories does that give you?
And then eat MORE calories on days you exercise, not less 3 -
I would put your activity level on MFP at active and weight loss rate at .5kg per week. How many calories does that give you?
And then eat MORE calories on days you exercise, not less
I had it as active already. But I changed it down from 1kg a week (sorry lol) to 0.5kg a week and now it says 2780 calories a day.
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Hey I’m 5’9 , was 180 LBS..
Started a low Calorie Diet and Small workouts daily focussing 1 or 2 mucles a day. ( 3 or 4 exercices 3 sets each ).
I ate an average of 1300 calories a day in the last 35 days and I am 163 LBS today. No I did not ‘starve’ myself because I chose low calorie quantity food. When I posted on MFP everyone told me I was crazy and starving myself but never got a headache or felt bad due to “ low calorie intake ‘. My protein is an average at 140G a day making me keep my muscle while burning fat. So far so good and it’s working.
If you really want good results i would say go with your low calories for a certain ammount of weeks. Make sure you lower sodium to loose your water weight and in a few weeks you should have a huge loss. From there Put in new objectives and calorie goals.
Good luck on your Journey, it is totally worth it, the feeling is great and keeps you going !!!!!
I suggest to take pictures of your progression ( at least weekly ) ; it’s really nice to scroll through them and see your change!1 -
TomWhalen88 wrote: »I would put your activity level on MFP at active and weight loss rate at .5kg per week. How many calories does that give you?
And then eat MORE calories on days you exercise, not less
I had it as active already. But I changed it down from 1kg a week (sorry lol) to 0.5kg a week and now it says 2780 calories a day.
Well then, I would just use that number to start with and then monitor your weight for the next 2 to 4 weeks. If you're losing at the selected weight loss rate, then great. If it's faster, you can eat a bit more, or if it's slower, you can eat a bit less.
Side note: on the "calories in" side, I would recommend weighing all your foods (if you aren't already) and making sure you select correct food database entries (there are many entries containing errors) to make sure you're accurately calculating how much you are eating.
Side note 2: this is for later, but as you lose weight, it's good to go through the goal set-up occasionally. As you lose weight, you need fewer calories and by going through the goal set-up MFP will upate your calorie goal to your lower weight.3 -
How are you tracking your intake? Are you using a food scale?
Asking because a lot of people underestimate the amount they actually consume, very easy to do. This would actually be a good thing in this case2 -
NeverGiveUp3120 wrote: »Hey I’m 5’9 , was 180 LBS..
Started a low Calorie Diet and Small workouts daily focussing 1 or 2 mucles a day. ( 3 or 4 exercices 3 sets each ).
I ate an average of 1300 calories a day in the last 35 days and I am 163 LBS today. No I did not ‘starve’ myself because I chose low calorie quantity food. When I posted on MFP everyone told me I was crazy and starving myself but never got a headache or felt bad due to “ low calorie intake ‘. My protein is an average at 140G a day making me keep my muscle while burning fat. So far so good and it’s working.
If you really want good results i would say go with your low calories for a certain ammount of weeks. Make sure you lower sodium to loose your water weight and in a few weeks you should have a huge loss. From there Put in new objectives and calorie goals.
I would assume that people who want to lose weight want to lose fat. Losing water weight gives you a nicer number on the scale, sure, but it's not doing anything for fat loss.
And 1300kcal is a ridiculously low amount for an active average height overweight man. You might feel great, until you don't.11 -
TomWhalen88 wrote: »I would put your activity level on MFP at active and weight loss rate at .5kg per week. How many calories does that give you?
And then eat MORE calories on days you exercise, not less
I had it as active already. But I changed it down from 1kg a week (sorry lol) to 0.5kg a week and now it says 2780 calories a day.
Well then, I would just use that number to start with and then monitor your weight for the next 2 to 4 weeks. If you're losing at the selected weight loss rate, then great. If it's faster, you can eat a bit more, or if it's slower, you can eat a bit less.
Side note: on the "calories in" side, I would recommend weighing all your foods (if you aren't already) and making sure you select correct food database entries (there are many entries containing errors) to make sure you're accurately calculating how much you are eating.
Side note 2: this is for later, but as you lose weight, it's good to go through the goal set-up occasionally. As you lose weight, you need fewer calories and by going through the goal set-up MFP will upate your calorie goal to your lower weight.
Alright I’ll try it out man. Eventually is it a good idea to raise it to say 0.8kg a week?
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TomWhalen88 wrote: »TomWhalen88 wrote: »I would put your activity level on MFP at active and weight loss rate at .5kg per week. How many calories does that give you?
And then eat MORE calories on days you exercise, not less
I had it as active already. But I changed it down from 1kg a week (sorry lol) to 0.5kg a week and now it says 2780 calories a day.
Well then, I would just use that number to start with and then monitor your weight for the next 2 to 4 weeks. If you're losing at the selected weight loss rate, then great. If it's faster, you can eat a bit more, or if it's slower, you can eat a bit less.
Side note: on the "calories in" side, I would recommend weighing all your foods (if you aren't already) and making sure you select correct food database entries (there are many entries containing errors) to make sure you're accurately calculating how much you are eating.
Side note 2: this is for later, but as you lose weight, it's good to go through the goal set-up occasionally. As you lose weight, you need fewer calories and by going through the goal set-up MFP will upate your calorie goal to your lower weight.
Alright I’ll try it out man. Eventually is it a good idea to raise it to say 0.8kg a week?
Woman actually, lol.
The less weight/fat you have to lose, the slower your weight loss should be. So if you want to go a bit faster than 0.5kg, I would do it now, and then lower it to 0.5kg per week and eventually 0.25kg per week when you're getting closer to your goal.5 -
Apologies aha, but I’ll do that!
I’m aiming for 80kg as an end goal. I’d still be stoked with 90kg even. I feel like going for 70kg may leave me with too much extra skin. But also not 100% sure how that all works.
I plan on playing ice hockey starting July. So sorta wanted to do my best to at least lose something, cause the sport will definitely help if I stick to my eating habits.
Also do you give yourself a cheat meal? Seen a lot saying you should, but never really been sure. Or even don’t be scared to have a cookie (etc) here or there.0 -
You will find varying opinions on cheat meals, and varying forms of cheat meals also.
Personally I don't like the moral connotation of the word 'cheat'. My 'rules' for weight loss are pretty simple:
- to log everything I eat as accurately as possible, try to reach a reasonable amount of protein (and (healthy) fats, but that's not a problem I have) and respect my calorie goal on most days.
- while I aim for a healthy varied diet overall, I don't label my food choices as good or bad or 'cheat meals', no moral judgment.
- I don't believe in being overly restrictive, I eat in a way that I can imagine myself eating for the rest of my life. I have 'treats' every day, which can vary from a cookie or two to a small bag of chips or even half a tub of Ben & Jerry's, depending on how active I've been and how many calories I have left. As long as the rest of my food is healthy and balanced, it's fine.
- sometimes unexpected stuff happens. A new recipe might have more calories than anticipated, for example. Or I might be having a really bad day and indulge in an extra snack. Even if I go over my calories, I enjoy what I eat, I log it, I don't allow myself to feel guilty and the next day is a new day. At the worst, it has delayed my weight loss by a few days, no problem.
I've lost 40 lbs that way so far, so seems to work for me
Some people 'bank' calories for special occasions or a 'cheat meal': they eat a bit less than their calorie goal during the week and then use those leftover calories to enjoy a restaurant meal or dinner party, for example. I use that approach myself when I know in advance I will have a higher calorie day.
Other people do cheat meals (or even days) by indulging and not logging what they eat. I'm not a fan personally of this approach, since it's easy to destroy the calorie deficit built up during the week when you're not logging what you eat.3 -
Very good way to look at it. Once I’ve found a steady plan I too will try and follow that.
I am ever so worried now after all the stuff you taught me cause now that I’m on a 2500 calorie day. I still have 1900 calories left too eat and I’ve already had breakfast and lunch.
Think it’ll be something to focus on tomorrow.
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Now you know what you're aiming for, have a think about what your options might be for increasing the total calorie intake.
For example as you are so active at work it might work well to have more at breakfast and lunch.
If I have an early start and a busy day ahead I'll often have two breakfasts and a snack for lunch
Things like nut butter, full fat dairy, olives, avocado, can be easy additions to meals and really increase the calories.7 -
littlegreenparrot1 wrote: »Now you know what you're aiming for, have a think about what your options might be for increasing the total calorie intake.
For example as you are so active at work it might work well to have more at breakfast and lunch.
If I have an early start and a busy day ahead I'll often have two breakfasts and a snack for lunch
Things like nut butter, full fat dairy, olives, avocado, can be easy additions to meals and really increase the calories.
Yep I usually have a few early shifts which usually leave me having a delayed breakfast.
Been looking at an app that suggests meals that meet my recommended calorie intake. Full on suggesting banana and Peanut butter sandwiches and stuff? Sounds interesting but it’s designed for weight loss so aha.
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TomWhalen88 wrote: »Yep I usually have a few early shifts which usually leave me having a delayed breakfast.
Been looking at an app that suggests meals that meet my recommended calorie intake. Full on suggesting banana and Peanut butter sandwiches and stuff? Sounds interesting but it’s designed for weight loss so aha.
Reminds me of a top hiking breakfast. Used to scoff it when I was helping lead groups of youngsters, so had plenty of time to whip them into shape.
Take a tortilla wrap, peanut butter on one half, chocolate spread on the other, wrap round banana in the middle. Yum 😋4 -
I try to log in advance, at least roughly, so that I can see how the day will pan out. I may drizzle oil on my salad or cook with oil or butter, rather than grill, if I need more calories.
If I end my day under my calories, for whatever reason, I have a handful of nuts (usually almonds) or a mini babybel to boost my calories. It doesn't take many almonds to up the numbers a lot!5
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