How many calories should I consume and burn daily?

[AlmOA]

i am trying to lose 20 pounds in 6 weeks to be ready for an operation. My current weight is 175 pounds. I walk 20000 steps/day and I couldn’t do more as I have arthritis 😞 I don’t know how many calories I should consume/day to achieve my target! Can someone suggest what should be my targets I term of calories burned vs consumed? I am lost and need guidance plz

Moderator edit: subject for clarity

[Glenda]

A simple answer is:  usually you can multiply anyones weight by 10 and figure the maintenance # of calories which for you is 1750 calories a day.  If you reduce that by 500 a day and eat 1250 calories saving 3500 a week you lose 1 pound a week or 6 pounds.   To lose 20 pounds it would be losing 3.3 pounds a week which is more than usually suggested.  The bigger the person is the easier to lose more weight . It gets more difficult as they get smaller.  Exercise is critical for good health but doesn't help you to lose weight.  Starting an exercise program to lose weight usually causes the person to eat more and not lose weight according to all the studies.

[Heybales · Accepted solution]

Since you have posted on a Fitbit forum - do you have a Fitbit?

It tells you what you burn by some estimates, things can be tweaked to improve those figures.

Rather than a math formula that has no idea about your level of activity.

Because 20K steps is well beyond very active in charts of daily activity level.

Over 3lb weekly of attempted fat loss would only be reasonable if you had over 100 lbs to lose, and only for the portion down to the 100 lbs left.

Then the rate would need to be slowed.

Since that is obviously not the case - you could do some real damage to your body attempting an extreme diet like that.

About a 1670 cal deficit daily would be extremely foolish.

You would lose a lot of muscle mass with fat - that will cause you huge issues sooner and later. The heart is a muscle and people have damaged theirs with extreme diets.

You would also likely stress out your body and heart such that the operation would likely be a no go anyway.

Check with your Dr as to what is actually required. If the weight loss was mentioned months ago but now it's rush time - reschedule the surgery.

While every study where calories is accounted for does cause fat loss, still not a good idea.

[AlmOA]

Thanks Glenda. It’s easier to figure it with this simple math. It looks like it’s not good idea to go extreme as Heybales suggested. Thanks again 

[AlmOA]

Yes I do have Fitbit but I never relied on it in terms of calories counting. I still have 55 pounds to lose and I lost around 40 pounds already and I just could not meet the target my doctor set for me in order to have a surgery in my knees. As u said, time is running out and I am desperate BUT I will take your advice and ask to postpone the surgery rather than doing it in the wrong way. 

Now my problem is I am not losing weight for the last 4 months or so although I am still doing the same thing. What can I do to re-start getting the benefits of my efforts? Can U suggest anything I should do? 

Thanks a lot for the help and advice. 

[Heybales]

Great effort so far, and keeping at it. Sadly the body isn't exactly like a bank account, where you could have a known amount going in, and a set amount being withdrawn, and know exactly where it'll go. It would be as if what you put in actually controlled how much was withdrawn.

How long did it take you to lose the 40 lbs, at least number of weeks if not days, like first weigh-in to the last where at least 1/2 lb a week was still consistent?

Don't count weeks of no loss near the end where then an odd 1 lb loss occurred.

The attempt is to find a decent rate of loss that occurred - that will spell out what the deficit must have been, no matter what the numbers on paper say.

May be easier to start with the 2nd week of the diet (1st week is always extra water weight), and then go 16 weeks later and how much was lost?

Then find the last 4 weeks among that 40 lbs, how much lost in the last 4 wks when still losing reliably?

If not Fitbit for calorie counting - somewhere else?

Because losing weight generally needs to be all about calorie counting - as Glenda mentioned, the effect when calories aren't accounted for either people compensate, or actually it happens often - stress the body by undereating too much and it adapts making it harder or unsafe.

Hence keeping a reasonable deficit is important, therefore you need a clear idea of what is being burned daily since all calories going out matters to figure out how much to put in.

2 people the same gender, age, size - 1 a mail carrier and 1 a desk jockey - would obviously burn different amounts daily and therefore need to eat different amounts.

I'm betting stress for you right now, perhaps accuracy too.

Do you weigh all foods you eat, and not eat take out that frequently?

Because calories is per gram, not cups, spoons, or "about 3 servings per package".

Start there to discern what happened. Besides seasons changing, what else changed in that last 4 months? Always been doing 20K steps daily?

How much distance does Fitbit say that is?

Ever walked a known distance and confirmed Fitbit was correct?