Broken body?
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storminacoffeemug9 wrote: »When I set up MFP and said to lose 2lb it recommended 1200 so I just trusted it. However, I did look at another app which said 1324 was my target allowance so I really dont know.
5 foot 8", currently 17 stone 1lb (239lb). I would like to be somewhere between 10.5 to 11 stone.
Pretty much sedentary most of the time but started to go for daily walks at the beginning of the year mostly for mental health reasons to be honest rather than exercise as I get out of breath very fast.
I have a lower back and pelvis issue which limits movement. I have severe depression and anxiety too.
It is beneficial to have alcohol in the house, or go to places with it?
From your story it sounded like that probably made it easier to overdue the snacks which must have been the majority of those calories.
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You've been given a lot of great advice already, but I'll just add my 2 cents: I don't think your body is broken, but perhaps you are going about losing weight in an "all-or nothing" approach. So, it may not be your body that's "broken," but maybe your mindset about weight loss.
I used to have that kind of mindset about weight loss, that it was about going on a "diet" or "counting points" etc., without truly viewing it as a lifestyle change. Yes, I'd heard about weight loss being a "lifestyle change" and "not a diet," but I don't know if I fully accepted that mentality in the past. When that was the case, I'd do like you did--lose some (or a lot), then gain it back.
What changed for me, I think, was viewing this as a lifestyle change for my overall health and wellbeing, not just as a way to lose weight. Having that bigger (and to me, more important) goal kind of actually took the pressure off of doing it to look a certain way by a certain time. I also set a more modest weight-loss goal, which I'd advise for you, too. Perhaps look at a goal initially of 1-pound loss per week, then decrease to .5-lb per week once you get closer to your goal. Yes, it will take longer, but if you truly want to keep it off, it shouldn't matter in the long run.
Since you're attempting a lifestyle change and not just a quick fix, you'll want to think about tackling it in small steps. Right a few down that you think you'd be able to accomplish, then as you meet those goals, add a few more. It won't feel so overwhelming that way, and more sustainable. Maybe it's just committing to tracking what you eat, then after you've done that for a few weeks, see where you can make some changes. Maybe it's cutting down on the alcohol and/or drinking more water. ...whatever resonates with you. I know some people have given advice of what has worked for them, but also keep in mind that weight loss is individual. What works for some may not work for you!
Good luck, you can do this!2 -
What I would address is your depression and anxiety. Which likely is leading to your inconsistency with eating behavior. Therapist here would help to identify and help you get through it. Which then intern helps with self confidence and weight loss. It's a double win.
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MFP said 1200 because you chose the rate of loss of 2 # per week. This is common. That's what I chose too, for about half a daystorminacoffeemug9 wrote: »When I set up MFP and said to lose 2lb it recommended 1200 so I just trusted it. However, I did look at another app which said 1324 was my target allowance so I really dont know.
5 foot 8", currently 17 stone 1lb (239lb). I would like to be somewhere between 10.5 to 11 stone.
Pretty much sedentary most of the time but started to go for daily walks at the beginning of the year mostly for mental health reasons to be honest rather than exercise as I get out of breath very fast.
I have a lower back and pelvis issue which limits movement. I have severe depression and anxiety too.
Like others have said, do choose a less aggressive rate of loss.
The body can react to stress by holding on to water. Going from 3500-4000 calories to 1200 calories is stressful. You may have lost fat, but retained water, which would mask your actual fat loss.storminacoffeemug9 wrote: »snowflake954 wrote: »storminacoffeemug9 wrote: »Just set it to 1lb loss per week and it says 1750 calories. This seems very high
You need to try it for several weeks and see how it goes. You can always add or subtract calories then. However, for someone that eats 3500-4000 calories when "letting go", 1750 seems a lot less. As we're all saying--middle of the road, not extremes. You need to change your mindset.
Yes I understand.
I honestly never thought of it as going from one extreme to the other, I just thought going from a lot of calories to a little would equal a big weekly loss for the first few months.
Thank you.3 -
storminacoffeemug9 wrote: »Hi there! Your body isn't broken.
It's a lot to ask any system to run at 100% (3500 calories of low quality fuel) then immediately switch to running at 30% even with a premium fuel (1200 calories with better food choices)
This makes a lot of sense.
What do you mean by "titrating down your calories every other week"?
And what is TDEE?
The titration aspect seems to have been covered already: essentially, work your way down slowly to 1750. February would be a fun month to do so. Like, if we're me...
Week 1: 3,000 cal/per day (but try one 2,500 cal day)
Week 2: 2,500 cal/ per day (but try one 2,000 cal day)
Week 3: 2,000 cal/per day (but try one 1,750 cal day)
Week 4: 1,750 cal/per day (but consider one 2,000 - 2,500 cal day) and see if you can sustain this for next month. Then in April, recalculate your TDEE and try fewer 2,000-2,500 cal days
TDEE and BMR calculations are basically handled by MFP. That's how you got your new number for 1,750 calories/day.
I like using...
http://tdeecalculator.net
And ALL of the above is to be taken with a grain of salt because checking in with your healthcare team is always the better approach.2 -
No judgement..... but, sounds like you do the classic restrict and binge cycles. Until you find an eating pattern you like and can maintain in the long run, weight loss and maintenance is going to be hard.3
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storminacoffeemug9 wrote: »When I set up MFP and said to lose 2lb it recommended 1200 so I just trusted it. However, I did look at another app which said 1324 was my target allowance so I really dont know.
5 foot 8", currently 17 stone 1lb (239lb). I would like to be somewhere between 10.5 to 11 stone.
Pretty much sedentary most of the time but started to go for daily walks at the beginning of the year mostly for mental health reasons to be honest rather than exercise as I get out of breath very fast.
I have a lower back and pelvis issue which limits movement. I have severe depression and anxiety too.
Just a suggestion to think about.
If/when you have bad days or bad weeks when it all feels too hard have a plan ready for those times - a plan that has you maintaining weight to consolidate progress rather than throwing in the towel and regaining everything you have lost.
If you don't slip back you will get to your end goal, maybe later rather than sooner but that's far preferable to yo-yo'ing between boom and bust. You need to break that destructive cycle.
Best wishes.4 -
goal06082021 wrote: »storminacoffeemug9 wrote: »When I set up MFP and said to lose 2lb it recommended 1200 so I just trusted it. However, I did look at another app which said 1324 was my target allowance so I really dont know.
5 foot 8", currently 17 stone 1lb (239lb). I would like to be somewhere between 10.5 to 11 stone.
Pretty much sedentary most of the time but started to go for daily walks at the beginning of the year mostly for mental health reasons to be honest rather than exercise as I get out of breath very fast.
I have a lower back and pelvis issue which limits movement. I have severe depression and anxiety too.
OK, so 1200 and 2lb per week is way, way, way too aggressive for your height and the amount you have to lose. Set your loss rate at 1/2 lb per week, activity level Lightly Active. Walking is perfectly good exercise - you can build up to longer walks as your health allows. Commit to that for 6-8 weeks and see where you are.
I'm 5'3" (shorter than you), 244 (heavier than you), and I'm losing about a pound per week on double that calorie budget - I average about 2650 cal/day. I do exercise daily for about half an hour in the mornings, but I'm sure that doesn't get me more than about 250-300 additional calories burned over TDEE, and I have a desk job, so I'm basically on my *kitten* the rest of the time.
Someone like OP with a BMI in the severely obese range can afford to lose more than a half pound per week.3 -
lynn_glenmont wrote: »goal06082021 wrote: »storminacoffeemug9 wrote: »When I set up MFP and said to lose 2lb it recommended 1200 so I just trusted it. However, I did look at another app which said 1324 was my target allowance so I really dont know.
5 foot 8", currently 17 stone 1lb (239lb). I would like to be somewhere between 10.5 to 11 stone.
Pretty much sedentary most of the time but started to go for daily walks at the beginning of the year mostly for mental health reasons to be honest rather than exercise as I get out of breath very fast.
I have a lower back and pelvis issue which limits movement. I have severe depression and anxiety too.
OK, so 1200 and 2lb per week is way, way, way too aggressive for your height and the amount you have to lose. Set your loss rate at 1/2 lb per week, activity level Lightly Active. Walking is perfectly good exercise - you can build up to longer walks as your health allows. Commit to that for 6-8 weeks and see where you are.
I'm 5'3" (shorter than you), 244 (heavier than you), and I'm losing about a pound per week on double that calorie budget - I average about 2650 cal/day. I do exercise daily for about half an hour in the mornings, but I'm sure that doesn't get me more than about 250-300 additional calories burned over TDEE, and I have a desk job, so I'm basically on my *kitten* the rest of the time.
Someone like OP with a BMI in the severely obese range can afford to lose more than a half pound per week.
Sure, but clearly they tend to go too hard and burn out, so I'm suggesting they start smaller and ease into it. Just because they can doesn't mean they have to.3 -
lynn_glenmont wrote: »*snip*
Someone like OP with a BMI in the severely obese range can afford to lose more than a half pound per week.
Mathematically, sure. Clinically, perhaps. Mentally, probable.
However since CICO isn't just about the math and a person's medical history needs to be considered as well as their mindset to start (and then sustain) a long-term health improvement process, it's not for any of us to say.
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Thank you to all who posted advice yesterday. I am processing it and I'm not as stressed as when I usually go on a 'diet'. In fact, yesterdays eating just felt like different meal choices and not an actual diet.
Someone like OP with a BMI in the severely obese range can afford to lose more than a half pound per week.[/quote]
This seems to be just a comment to insult me and disagree with everyone. Do you have any advice on my situation or comments about my OP?1 -
L1zardQueen is correct in that weight loss takes time and you certainly may not be eating enough and enough of the right foods. I would also advise not weighing yourself regularly as the number on the scales is very inaccurate and just unhelpfully from a motivational point of view.0
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What I would address is your depression and anxiety. Which likely is leading to your inconsistency with eating behavior. Therapist here would help to identify and help you get through it. Which then intern helps with self confidence and weight loss. It's a double win.
I would 100% agree with this as someone who has depression and anxiety. It can impact your mindset when you are trying to lose weight. My anxiety around food due to weight loss got so bad that I was not allowed to count calories for a long time by my therapist. I would stand in the store crying because all I wanted was a bag of chips but that wasn't "healthy" or "good" for me. This would lead me to binge on what I did have available OR I would order a bunch of food to be delivered and eat it.0 -
This cycle is actually what I would expect when trying to make such a drastic change.... this is why most diets fail. 1200 is way too low. If you’re eating 3500-4000 first cut to 3000.... you won’t feel starved and deleted therefore you won’t feel the need to cheat. Never expect to lose more than 1 lb and be happy with as little as .1. The goal is to change these lifestyle habits and to do that slow and steady is best. It took me 1.5 years to lose my weight, I have friends who lost it in 6 months.... they all gained back quickly after and I’m 4 years later and more I love nutrition and fitness more than ever. You got this, just don’t be in such a rush❤️0
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storminacoffeemug9 wrote: »Thank you to all who posted advice yesterday. I am processing it and I'm not as stressed as when I usually go on a 'diet'. In fact, yesterdays eating just felt like different meal choices and not an actual diet.
Someone like OP with a BMI in the severely obese range can afford to lose more than a half pound per week.
This seems to be just a comment to insult me and disagree with everyone. Do you have any advice on my situation or comments about my OP?[/quote]
Wasn't my comment but no I don't think it was intended to insult.
You are mid point in the obese range from your stats and on a purely physical level more than half a pound a week would be entirely appropriate. Obese isn't an insult, it's just a description.
The more overweight and/or heavier you are the quicker someone can lose weight safely. My nephew is six foot seven so he can safely lose weight faster than someone five foot tall for example.
But I also agree that you should seek to prioritise making the process as easy / least unpleasant / least stressful as possible. The balance of rate of loss to be sustainable versus the motivational aspect of seeing progress is personal as well as situational.
I'm a bit weird in that I can lose weight as slow as 1lb/month and don't find normal weight fluctuations that mask that trend a problem but that's no guarantee it would work for someone else.
Find YOUR path to success.
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Update - I followed the advice given with 1750 daily and aimed for 1/2lb loss per week. I gained 3lb in the first two weeks. So I joined slimming world on the 15th. I'm not tracking calories anymore but I am sticking to the slimming world plan fully. I lost 6lb the first week and 3lb the second.
I will be sticking with slimming world since it seems to be working this time.0 -
Happy for you and hope it works too. I reread your OP. I think you should too. This 6 lb loss followed by a 3 lb loss has happened to you before. Fast losses and gains are water weight.2
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storminacoffeemug9 wrote: »Update - I followed the advice given with 1750 daily and aimed for 1/2lb loss per week. I gained 3lb in the first two weeks. So I joined slimming world on the 15th. I'm not tracking calories anymore but I am sticking to the slimming world plan fully. I lost 6lb the first week and 3lb the second.
I will be sticking with slimming world since it seems to be working this time.
Glad you found something that works but, if you gained actual fat eating 1750 you were not actually eating 1750.0 -
storminacoffeemug9 wrote: »Update - I followed the advice given with 1750 daily and aimed for 1/2lb loss per week. I gained 3lb in the first two weeks. So I joined slimming world on the 15th. I'm not tracking calories anymore but I am sticking to the slimming world plan fully. I lost 6lb the first week and 3lb the second.
I will be sticking with slimming world since it seems to be working this time.
And you have some knowledge now - I'd suggest keep this topic available for review because things change with any diet.
So when they do, you can review for some good info to review whatever the situation then is.3
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