ChrissyChickie wrote: »

tiffany80802017 wrote: »

Thanks for setting up this group and those that posted! I definitely found myself relating a lot to your comments.

I have been obese almost 20 years, about 13 years ago I lost 100 pounds and then gained it back plus about another 50. The first time, I lost 100 lbs quickly due to exercising multiple times a day, biking everywhere and eating a vegan diet with very little fat and only a small amount of protein (not intentionally eating low protein) ... that’s not feasible for me any more and I’m trying to do it in a healthier and realistic way. My kcal now have a healthy balance 45-50% carbs, 20-25% fat, and 25-30% protein. I need to around 50% carbs most days for metabolic reasons-so keto isn’t an option for me.

I’m trying to lose the 150 lbs and am down about 35, but feel like I’m plateauing. I’ve been the same weight for about 3 weeks even though about a month ago I increased my cardio to about 60-90 minutes versus 30-45 on average, and do weight lifting 1-2x per week with a trainer, and am still logging all kcal.

I did anticipate some slowness in weight loss due to weights, since it had been 20 years since I lifted, but am surprised it’s still so slow after about 6 months.

I definitely understand the concept someone else mentioned, kcal in/kcal out. But when I calculate my BMR, kcal, and exercise kcal it does not come close to the weight I’m losing (or not losing).

Has anyone had a similar experience or any suggestions you’d be willing to share?

Thanks much!

Hi Tiffany. How did you find out what was right for you due to 'metabolic reasons'? I'm trying to figure out what is right for me. I there a way to tell what you should be on? Is it a body type, or some kind of test? The reason I ask is because of reading so many different things that I would like to talk with a professional and have them say this is it for you. I also have 100lbs to lose. Thank you.

_inHisGrace wrote: »

conniewilkins56 wrote: »

Is that the maintenance for your goal weight or for your present weight?

Goal

bmeadows380 wrote: »

_inHisGrace wrote: »

I need advice or help understanding please.

I am 5’1 and pretty much no excercise yet
My MFP ap says to have 1470 for my weight loss goal. For kicks I checked out what my maintenance should be. It says 1370.

Shouldn’t I just eat at 1370 then?

you could, but it may well not be a safe rate of loss for you. Eating in a deficit is very stressful on the body - the less you eat the more stressful it is. You aren't just trying to lose weight; you are trying to encourage your body to use its fat stores while at the same time keep enough fuel to maintain adequate body functionality. Your body can only burn so much of the reserves it has a day, so if you under-eat by too much, it will start going for other fuel sources such as muscle - and remember that your heart is a muscle!

And as Connie says, your required intake a day is based upon your present body weight; it takes more calories to move a larger body and to pump blood through it, maintain its core temperature, etc. As you lose weight, your body will need fewer calories to keep you alive, which is why your maintenance calories at your present rate are higher than your maintenance calories at your goal weight.

Whether or not you can just eat at 1370 really depends on what kind of loss rate you have set. Studies have pointed to the idea that the maximum safe weight loss rate is 1% of your current body weight - but that's a general statistic and may not be healthy at all for you. And also note that an obese person can get by with a larger deficit in the short term than can a smaller person because we started with more reserves to pull from; a smaller person doesn't have those reserves so their margin of error is much tighter. This is why you'll see the recommendation that if you have 50 lbs + to lose, 2 lbs/wk may be sustainable, but that is not generally a sustainable or safe goal for most people. And a very obese person can even get by with more than that for a while, but that as you lose weight, you should be reducing that deficit for the sake of your health. After all, you are wanting to lose weight to be a healthier person at the end; starving yourself isn't going to make you healthier!

2 lbs/wk is roughly a 1,000 calorie daily deficit and is a truly aggressive deficit already. So your 1470 calories is already 1,000 calories less than your body needs to power you through an average day as a sedentary person.


But with all that said, in your case, 1370 is only 100 calories less, meaning its a deficit of 1100 calories a day and your current body weight is over 100 lbs over weight. 100 extra calories is within a margin of error, especially for a 2 lb/wk loss rate, meaning right now you have enough room to manage that extra deficit and should be fine should you chose to go that route. THe only thing that I don't know that could be a big factor in your case is your height and petite status; I'm nearly 5' 9" and a tall, big-boned person; your size may make you more vulnerable to the effects of a larger deficit than it would me.


The biggest thing with losing weight is shooting for sustainable, especially starting out at high weights with a lot to lose because this effort is going to take a lot of time; this is a marathon not a sprint and you need to make sure you have the reserves to see it all the way through. You need to put practices in place that you can live with easily so that when hard times comes and the will power falters, you can keep going. Trying to will power and white knuckle your way through months of dieting is going to statistically end in failure.

So my advice? 1370 shouldn't be a bad deficit for you based upon what limited information I have concerning your current statistics. It shouldn't hurt to try it if you want, but don't be afraid to back off if it gets too hard. If you find that you are hungry and having difficulty staying within deficit, by all means back it off to a limit you can sustain. If you just can't function on 1,000 calories less a day - you find yourself sluggish, irritable, and just plain hungry, than its actually advisable and wise to reduce that deficit down. Its not a failure to slow it down if that's what you can sustain. Whether you lose 2 lbs/wk or 1 lb/wk, you'll still reach your goal.


Now that I've said that, I'll leave it up to the truly knowledge pros and not this armchair quarterback who likes to sound all knowledgeable to give you really good, sage advice

@Novusdies and @PAV8888 will have much better advice I'm sure lol

_inHisGrace wrote: »

Thank you all so much. This is now broken down for me to understand thank you!!!

gewel321 wrote: »

_inHisGrace wrote: »

Someone please help me understand eating at a deficit.

My MFP ap tells me if I eat 1470 per day I will lose 2lb per week. Is this eating at a deficit or and I supposed to eat less than 1470 to eat at a deficit?

You eat the amount MFP gives you plus what is added for exercise. However some people only eat half of their exercise calories back since MFP tends to overestimate those. As long as you have your profile set up with your correct data then this will work for you. It may not be exactly 2 lbs every week as weight fluctuates but in the long run it will even out. If after you weigh EVERYTHING and input it in accurately and you are not loosing for at least a month then you should re-evaluate your calories. It’s a marathon not a sprint. Sometimes it take a while to figure out what works for you.