Advice

Enter your stats in the goal set up (height, weight, age, etc.) Since you have little to lose, you should probably aim for .5 a week. The loss will be slow, but should be sustainable.

dicarterkk wrote: »

Hi. I’m 51 and have had some major medical setbacks. And due to the surgeries over the last couple years. As recent and January I have gained 15 pounds. How many calories do you think I need to lose that 15. Only walking at this point. Up until this past surgery I was jumping with 1/2 to 2lb ropes. Depressed and aggravated. Cervical surgery so again. Just walking. And that’s not easy at this point.

Hi! I'm 56. Had major open abdominal surgery in November. The first day 10 steps was exhausting and I've been working up since then. Sometime within the first few weeks my surgeon called to check in while my partner and I were walking our cat and I told her the cat was faster than me at the moment. (He averages 1 MPH.) Post surgery, I had to do a lot of work on pacing myself. I'd feel fine, fine, fine, than BAM! hit a wall in the middle of something.

I've had knee issues since 2009 and am hopefully finally getting somewhere with my latest physical therapist. I've reframed activity like food - I can eat almost anything I want, I just can't necessary eat as much as I'd like. So, while I'd like to be able to do trail maintenance for 90 minutes, because of my wrist issues, right now I'm limiting it to 20 minutes. I'd like to walk 4 miles, but since I am limping after two miles with hills, I'm scaling it back to two miles flat for now. Etc.

To get your calories to lose 15 pounds sustainably, go here: https://www.myfitnesspal.com/account/change-goals-guided and at the bottom pick a goal of a half pound per week.

dicarterkk wrote: »

Hi. I’m 51 and have had some major medical setbacks. And due to the surgeries over the last couple yrlears. As recent and January I have gained 15 pounds. How many calories do you think I need to lose that 15. Only walking at this point. Up until this past surgery I was jumping with 1/2 to 2lb ropes. Depressed and aggravated. Cervical surgery so again. Just walking. And that’s not easy at this point.

Hello! Just plug your numbers in guided setup and choose a reasonable goal for weekly loses. If, for example, your "maintain my current weight" calories are 2000, a reasonable goal would probably be something creating up to a 20% or 25% deficit... so either a half lb or one lb a week. For various reasons, in the above situation, I would start with one lb a week, log carefully, and review expected vs actual results (using a weight trend app or web site for my results) after a month that includes a complete monthly cycle if these are still in play.

There are many people who do not engage in exercise beyond a moderate level (and a 3mph sidewalk walk fully qualifies for that for most without even adding in hills or grass or mud!). And it hasn't stopped them from losing weight.

The BALANCE of calories in vs out determines your weight level. Not just your ability to increase the calories out! In fact, "you can't outrun your fork" is an old favorite... and it is reality as soon as injury or age catch up with us.

If my total weight to lose was15lbs and I was within the normal weight range, then, as soon as I established my caloric baselines (i.e. whether my logging and body have me tracking near the population averages or above or below), I would consider losing at a half lb a week instead of one.