Consistently Under Budget. Do I need to be in range?

[SunsetRunner]

I found several posts about this topic but none answered the specific question I was looking for.

I have a lot of weight to lose, a little over 100lbs, but as I log food on my dashboard, im consistently showing under budget. I was under the impression that to lose weight I just needed to reduce my caloric intake and increase my excersize to burn more calories than im taking in per day, so my thought was to start around 2000 per day, but my fitbit is telling me my budget is 2800.

I dont want to trust myself to know completely whether im truely hungry or I just have cravings, I do better with a regimented; eat this many calories, burn this many calories... so my question is this... Is it true that my body will go into a "starvation mode" where I will stop losing weight because Im taking in too few calories or is this a complete myth?

Im fully aware im not going to starve to death, im just looking for confirmation that the whole theory of people not losing weight due to taking in too few calories in their diet is completely false or if there is any validity to it.

Ive been told before about "safe" weight loss ranges and that losing too much too fast is a bad thing, but as I understand, healthy people only take in 1500 - 1800 calories a day so why, if im able to maintain it, should I not drop to 2000 calories a day to start with and ignore the fitbit recommendation of 2800? If I get hungrier on certain days I can add some calories provided I dont go over the maximum fitbit recommends, so is there any harm in doing it that way?

Thanks!

[SunsetRunner]

Hi StillLearning79 

let me preface this by explaining i'm not a nutritionist but I have lost a good deal of weight myself and become fitter than I ever thought possible. 

From my understanding, starvation mode is a REAL possibility  but not at the levels you're assuming. Yes you can damage your metabolism but that's thought to happen (general consensus) when a person is consistently eating under 1000 calories a day for a period of time. 

If you were to aim for 2000 calories I'd say that's a solid area to start from (but that's without knowing your height, current weight and current activity levels). I'd urge you to be very aware of how you're feeling (faint/dizzy/tired) as realistically your 'cravings' should diminish after the first 4-7 days (aided by an increase in water - hydration is key!!). 

If you do happen to exercise a LOT then add in a post workout snack or small meal (around 300 cals) to 'up' your energy levels and recovery, without damaging your overall goal. 

Hope this helps!

[JohnRi]

When I started to lose weight I was 98 lbs overweight.  So about the same as you.  Back in those days my BMR was around 2500 calories a day.  I started with a 250 calorie deficit, and over a couple of months I increased that 2000.  I was always 100-200 calories under budget. 

In those days it was EASY to maintain a 1000 calorie deficit.  I was eating around 2400-2600 calories a day then.  But as time went on, I ate less and less.  Until I ate 1800 calories a day for about 4 months. 

I'm 30 lbs from my first goal at 183.  I've had to lower my deficit, and I'm eating around 2000 calories now.  My BMR is 1900.  So I burn 600 fewer calories a day.  I typically burn around 3000 calories most days. 

It's ok to be a little under.  Chances are your fitbit is slightly over estimating your calories burned, and you are slightly under estimating the calories you are eating.  Labels on products are just estimates, so there is no exact way to know how much you eat.  Only way to tell is based on how much you lose.

Now if you are hungry, I suggest eating a lot of veggies at all meals.  They fill you up, and have very few calories.  Drink tons of water.  It keeps you fuller. 

While you can go into Starvation mode, but for most men, you have to go below 1800 calories.  So as long as you eat that much, you should be ok.

Starvation mode does exist.  My wife was very active, but eating 800 calories, and she was gaining weight.  So eating too little is a problem.  She increased her diet to 1500-1800 calories, and lost 30 lbs.  1200-1300 is the minimum for women.

So keep your calories at 1800 or higher, and you should be ok.

When you weigh as much as you do, it is ok to have a higher calorie deficit, but only at first.  As you lose weight, you have to lower your deficit.
But there is a downside.  The faster you lose weight, the HIGHER you chance you will end up with loose skin.  I lost 68 lbs over 9 months.  And I have lose skin on my arms, thighs, and probably my stomach.

I'm going to be able to hide the loose skin on my arms by adding muscle mass with weight training.  Lots of ab work will help with my stomach.  Not sure about my thighs....

But if you lose weight slower, your skin will have time to shrink.  But if you have stretch marks now, nothing is going to help those areas. 

So my suggestion start slow.  That will give you body time to adjust to a calorie deficit.  Then drop it over a month or two to 1000.  If you just start at 1000, you will be hungry.  So work on your diet, and find ways to lower your calories.  Little things every week to drop 50 here, a 100 there...  And you will won't be so hungry.

I was never hungry much until recently. 

Another reason to lower your calorie deficit once you get closer to your goal, is if you tried to maintain a 1000 calorie deficit all the way until you lose 100 lbs, you will lose mostly muscle at the end, and very little fat.  So over 40 lbs, a 1000 calorie deficit.  20-40, 750 calorie deficit.  10-20, 500 deficit.  And under 10, is a 250 deficit.

I know you are LONG way from the end, but just something to keep in mind.

Losing weight takes time, 80% of losing weight is your diet.  Exercise helps, more at the end, than the beginging.  At the end you will exercise more and more, and higher intenisity to maintain a deficit.  Eventually you will not be able to maintain your deficit without daily exercise.

At the beginning, any exercise will burn a ton of calories. 

Also get into the habit of eating three meals a day, and three snacks between meals.  Snacks should be around 100 calories.  It helps a huge amount keeping you not feeling so hungry.

[divedragon]

@SunsetRunner is correct that with calorie restriction you can damage your metabolism.  Regarding your dashboard deficit, those numbers are averages and estimates.  I wouldn't put a lot of faith that following them exactly will achieve the results you seek.

The reduction in BMR as a result of calorie restriction is based on the level of blood glucose your body adapts too.  This can be at whatever level you set as daily caloric intake.  In the beginning, your body does oxidize fat to make up for the difference, but after some time, it will just throttle down the BMR to whatever level you intake and you will experience a plateau.

Consider fasting as an alternative.  In the absence of blood glucose, your body oxidizes stored fat and uses the ketones derrived from that oxidation for energy.  It takes less effort to use a ketone body to change ADP to ATP.  This, coupled with, in the short term, unlimited fat stores means your metabolism will actually increase.  If you exercise in the fasted state, all the better.   I'm posting a few links to get you started on your investigation.

https://intensivedietarymanagement.com/author/jfung/

http://www.pnas.org/content/100/10/6216.full

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24215592

[A_Lurker]

Here's the catch.  You have a lot to lose, and at some point you will have to drop your calories as your bodyweight decreases.  If you're using a fitbit with a heart rate monitor assume that it's off by say 5-10% and eat a little more.  On 4000+ calorie burn days I rarely eat 3000 calories, however, I usually eat 2500+.  I'm maintaining an ~2 lb/week loss (actually still a little more I think) and I usually am under a couple of hundred extra calories a day.  However, a while back I was solidly under by more than 500 calories a day and my weight loss almost stopped.  The next week I at a little more and I dropped the weight I hadn't the week before and three more.

Different things work for different people, but don't be in a hurry to eat less, that time will come.