Caloric Deficit

[rlaurent]

I recently switched from using Weight Watchers to logging food with Fitbit. 

I'm just now realizing that I really need to stay in the zone in order to properly lose weight.  I tend to have a hard time staying in the zone (not eating enough calories), but am trying to do better with snacks throughout the day to make sure I stay there. 

My question is about the caloric deficit for the week.  If I am under budget for a day, should I make it up the following day and vice versa (over one day and eating less the next)?  Should I aim for hitting my goal zone for the week?  Or should I continue to do it day by day?  

I don't want to eat too few calories because I've read that eating too few will cause your metabolism to slow down and end up causing fat storage as a result.

[Daves_Not_Here]

@rlaurent - welcome - my opinion is that eating beyond your satiety to ingest a prescribed higher number of calories is counterproductive to weight loss.  If Fitbit tells you to eat more, and your body tells you to eat less, I'd listen to your body.  If you consistently have a calorie deficit, you will lose weight.

As to the notion that eating less will cause your metabolism to slow, leading to increased fat storage, I'm skeptical.  There's a lot of dogmatic chatter and conflicting anecdotal reports about this on the internet.  I think that as long as you have a calorie deficit, you'll not have increased fat storage.

[Dominique]

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@rlaurent wrote:

My question is about the caloric deficit for the week.  If I am under budget for a day, should I make it up the following day and vice versa (over one day and eating less the next)?  Should I aim for hitting my goal zone for the week?  Or should I continue to do it day by day?

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If you have a 3500 calorie deficit at the weekly level, it doesn’t matter whether it comes from the same deficit every single day of the week (500x7 = 3500), or from having a 800 deficit during 5 days of the week and a 250 surplus during the remaining two days (800x5 - 250x2 = 3500). The "calorie cycling" of the second approach may make it easier for you to adhere to your diet, for instance by letting you have some kind of social life during the weekends. Adherence to the diet is the most important success factor in weight loss.

I don't want to eat too few calories because I've read that eating too few will cause your metabolism to slow down and end up causing fat storage as a result.

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 In order to lose weight, you need to be in a caloric deficit, and being in a caloric deficit will cause your metabolism to slow down, there’s no way around it. You want to mitigate the effects on your metabolism, by 1) making sure your deficit isn’t overly aggressive and 2) not staying in a deficit for too long in one stretch. Numbers I’ve seen that make sense to me are: lose no more than 10 percent of your body weight in one stretch of no more than 3 months. For more details and the rationale behind that approach: Losing All Your Weight At Once, by Dr. Mike Israetel.

[Bogdel]

@rlaurent, Welcome to Fit-Bit! I agree with @Daves_Not_Here and @Dominique. You want the deficit, but you don't have to be mathematical about it. As long as you have the weekly deficit, you are fine. If the deficit is a bit bigger one day and you don't feel hungry, good for you!  The bigger the deficit, the better. You don't need to eat in order to make up for it. 

As far as slowing down your metabolism, Dr. Fuhrman says that that's the goal in weight loss. The slower the metabolism, the less we eat, and the healthier we become - of course, as long as we don't shut it up completely (which will lead to starvation). The goal is to eat healthy, so that we have all the nutrients, protein, and carbs necessary for a healthy body. 

My suggestion, from experience and from all my nutritional studies, is to avoid snacks. Try to eat only when you are hungry, but no more than three meals a day (I try to skip breakfast every day - intermittent fasting; that gives the liver has a chance to detox the body, and the metabolism gets a chance to burn some of the  the extra fat stored in there). If you feel like eating between meals, drink a glass-full of water, and the hunger will go away. In time, your body will adjust to the new lifestyle.

Also, if you make salad your main meal for lunch and dinner, and add 2-3 tablespoons of beans to it (any kind), it should last you to the next meal, because it gives you a lot of fito-nutrients, protein, and fiber. 

The secret to a healthy and successful weight loss is to maximize the consumption of leafy vegetables, and to minimize the use of starchy foods (anything made of white flour, white potatoes, and white rise). In other words, try to replace anything that is white in your diet (including dairy) with unprocessed, plant based foods. If you do eat animal products, used them as a condiment (to spice your soup or salad), rather than as an aliment. Try to replace all processed foods with fresh fruit and vegetables.

For more information, I highly recommend that you read Eat to Live, by Dr. Joel Fuhrman. I bought this book in audio format (as well as in hard copy), and I listened to it dozens of times (when I walk, when I sleep, and when I wake up). I referred to it as I would to a textbook and it has helped me immensely. It also gives you a lot of healthy recipes. 

There are a couple of groups here that you may want to check out and see if they are good for you. 

1. "Any Nutritarians Out There?" under "Eat Well"  category (this is sharing information and resources on healthy meals, and get to know other people who pursue a healthy lifestyle; I've learned a lot from the members in this group, and we also share healthy recipes).

2. "April Fools Day to Mother's Day Challenge!" - under "Manage Weight" (this will renew at the end of each challenge). 

I hope you find this helpful, and I pray that God will give you the strength to reach your optimal health and weight. 

[rlaurent]

I just want to thank all of you that have taken the time to respond to my post.  

I think my overall problem was interpreting one of the dashboard items on the Fitbit site; specifically the Calories in vs out display on the Log.  The one where it displays similar to a gas gauge with the Goal Zone in the middle.  

When I hover over the chart, it tells me that I can eat XXX more calories, and for some reason I was given the impression that I should try and stay in the goal zone throughout the day.  Which in theory is good, if I wanted to maintain my current weight (which I don't).   It was only through the several responses that I received where I learned that I in fact want an overall deficit for the week based on the intensity of my weight loss plan.  So if my plan was to cut out 1000 calories per day, then I should aim for a 7000 caloric deficit for the week.  More or less will affect the overall plan.

[emili]

@rlaurent hey there and so happy you got what you needed from the folks here. Just to add my two cents, weight loss is try, try and try again as far as the numbers go. If you eat to a certain deficit and you are losing weight- you found your sweet spot- carry on. If the numbers don't change or move in the wrong direction- you need to make adjustments. fat loss can only happen in a caloric deficit, but you don't want to go insane creating one. Good luck in your fitness journey and hope to see you around the boards..