Calorie intake

[starley1234]

So I've struggled for a very long time with disordered eating and I finally decided to sort myself out and get healthy. I'm currently very overweight (BMI 29) and used to eat a maximum of 1200 calories a day, often around 800. Obviously this is very unhealthy and if anything it was making me gain weight so I did research and found that you shouldn't actually eat less than your BMR which I worked out to be 1760.

I guess I'm just questioning whether eating MORE is going to make me lose weight and not really surely what the best thing to do is. Any tips for daily intake and deficits etc would be greatly appreciated 🙂 

[JohnRi]

Just a few questions, what is your age?  What is your weight?  What is your height? What a calorie deficit are you trying achieve?

1200-1300 calories is the minimum calories a woman should eat in most cases.  Obviously if you are 6'5" or 4'8" there would be different requirements.

My wife was very frustrated with her weight.  She was eating one time a day, around 800 calories, and gaining weight.  We got her a Fitbit, and found she was doing 20,000 steps doing yard work each day.  So now she eats around 1500-1800 calories a day, and she's lost 32 lbs.

So you are right eating too little is an issue.  As for eating below your BMR, I've been eating under mine for 9 months.  Only recently when my BMR fell below 2000, do I now eat more than my BMR. 

So I think if you did eat at most 1500 calores, and burned around 2000 a day, you would lose weight.  At 800 calories, you body burns muscle, and hots onto fat.  Leading to very high fat %, and very low lean body mass.  My wife's BMI is 26, but her fat % is over 40%.  So her BMI is almost normal, but her fat % is way too high.  So BMI isn't the greatest gauge to use.  Fat % is a better gauge.

You will need an Aria or similar scale to measure your fat %. 

Good luck and keep active.

[starley1234]

Thanks for the reply!

Ok so I'm 18, female, my weight is 203 lbs and height is 5'9". I'd like to achieve a 1000 cal deficit if possible.

I've worked out my body fat percentage to be 27%.

I've only had my fitbit 5 days but so far my average daily calorie burn is 2700.

Have you still been losing weight even though your intake is less than your BMR?

Thanks

[JohnRi]

When I started my BMR was 2500.  It's now 1950 ish.  I ate 1800 calories a day for about 5 months. 

I was 281 lbs when I started.  I'm 215 now.  I still have another 30+ to go.  My original BMI was 38.6.  It is now 29.3

At 5'9" I calculate your BMI is 30.  Right at the bottom of the obese range.  But drop a lbs or two and you will be in the overweight range.  I was morbidly obese at 281, although I didn't think it.  I was very happy when I 29.99, so you are just barely in the obese range. 

You BMR is 1769.  So I would think you can safely eat 1400-1500 as a minimum.  But keep in mind your BMR will fall as you lose weight.  At 180, your BMR will be 1673, and at 150 it will be 1538.    At 130, it will be down to 1452.    168 would put you at the top of the normal weight range.  150 would be right at the middle, 140 is toward the bottom of the normal range, and 130 would be at very bottom of the normal weight range.

So I'm not sure how much you plan to lose.  But as you lose weight, you might have to lower your calories to maintain the weight loss, but don't go too much.  Most people as they lose weight exercise more to make up the calories lost due to their BMR dropping.  It's what I do. 

A fat % of 27, I suspect is low.  25% is a very fit person.  And 20 and lower is athlettes.  So chances are your fat % is closer to 30-35%.  Which would match your BMI.

My own fat % was probably around 40% when I started.  It's down to 26 % now.  When I was at a 30.5 BMI my fat % was around 33%.  But men and women have different fat %.

If I was you, I would exercise and try burn between 2500-2700 calories each day, and eat around 1500. You have around 35 lbs minimum to lose to get into the normal weight range.  So a 1000 calorie deficit is ok.

Decide what your long term goal is, and once you get 20-40 or so from goal switch to a 750 deficit.  At 20 from goal switch to 500 calorie deficit, and at 10 lbs from your goal switch to 250.

If you keep a high 1000 calorie deficit all they way to your goal you will lose mostly muscle, and keep the fat.  I myself have having to eat more to avoid this issue.  I saw my lean mass dropping, and fat% going up.  So I've increased my caloires eaten to 2000, and inceased my exercise.  I'm still only burn 3000-3500 calories a day if I exercise, but on rare rest days, I burn like 2000 calories now.

Pull up my profile by clicking my name, and take a look some of my other posts. I've covered a lot about diet and exercise for people like you just starting out.  You can add me as a friend if you like, and feel free to contact me for advice.  There are some great people on here that will help you. 

So feel free to ask for advice.  Most of us were where you are today...  But the way I lost 67 lbs in 9 months.  Losing weight takes time.  A lot of time.  The 100+ I plan to lose, will take at least 12 to 18 months. 

If you stay commited, eat a balance diet, get plenty of exercise, you can do it!    And you have one HUGE advantage, at 18, you will lose quicker, and have a great chance for your skin to shrink back to normal.  One tip, try to not lose more than 2 lbs at first.  The more you lose, and the faster you lose it, you have a very high chance of loose skin.  The slower you lose it, the more time your skin has time to shrink. 

So slow and steady is the best way to do it!

Good luck and stay active!

[starley1234]

thankyou so much for all your help!

[Dominique]

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@JohnRi wrote:

you have one HUGE advantage, at 18, you will lose quicker, and have a great chance for your skin to shrink back to normal.  One tip, try to not lose more than 2 lbs at first.  The more you lose, and the faster you lose it, you have a very high chance of loose skin.  The slower you lose it, the more time your skin has time to shrink.

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Good point. Precision Nutrition recently posted the before & after photos of 28 men and 35 women who  took part in their 1-year coaching program (you can vote for the best body transformation). You can see the impact of age, gender and amount of weight loss on loose skin.

[dukette]

Hi all i am new at fitbit and have a few questions...i dont understand how i can burn 2000 calories a day it is ridiculous.. and my goal is to eat 1500 calories and lose approx 2 lbs a week.. am i correct in understanding that i will need to burn no less than 2000 calories a day to reach my goal

[JohnRi]

Two lose two lbs a week, in theory you would have to burn 1000 calories a day more than you eat. 

Eating 1500 calories, means you have to burn 2500 calories.

If you cannot burn 2500 calories a day, then you have to cut how much you eat.  But do not go lower than 1200-1300 calories.  So if you cannot burn 2300 calories, then you will have to cut your deficit.   And lose the weight slower.

500 calorie deficit is around 1 lbs a week.  750 is around 1.5 lbs.  And 250 is around 1/2 a lbs a week.

But your body is not a machine.  So for some to lose 2 lbs a week might require you to burn 3000 calories. 

The only way to know is log how much you eat and exercise and see how much you lose.

[Dominique]

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@dukette wrote:

i dont understand how i can burn 2000 calories a day it is ridiculous..

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In order to assess whether expending 2000 calories a day is realistic or not, we’d need to know: 1) your gender, 2) your age, 3) your weight, 4) your height, 5) your activity level (your current step count - as per your Fitbit - could act as a proxy).

Once you are confident your expenditure is reasonably accurate, you need to eat less than that. The size of your deficit (difference between your expenditure and your intake) will determine how fast you will be losing weight.  

[Pathfinder2010]

Wondering the same thing 😊? I too am new to this routine and want to lose 2 lbs per month. Help me

[JohnRi]

@Pathfinder2010 you would need a 250-500 calorie deficit. Somewhere between 250-500 will get you 1/2 a lbs a week.