Weightloss Help

[SunsetRunner]

Hi everyone,

I have some questions I'm trying to gain answers to. I'm desperately in need of losing weight/fat (70-90lbs). In the last year, I've lost just over 20lbs, but I've recently gained almost all of it back(stress and anxiety are not so wonderful things). I lost the majority of my weight with using Beachbody programs and following their container system. I've attempted to get back into the swing of things with their programs and the containers, but I just can't seem to. I do good for a couple of days and then it all goes down the drain.

I walk on a daily basis (weather permitting), I have a very active dog and he likes to keep me accountable for going for walks. We usually walk anywhere from 30-60 minutes a day; I sneak in extra steps at work, and i'll still do the occasional Beachbody workout. My step goal is 12,000.

I've recently started seriously tracking all of my food on the Fitbit app and kind of tracking the containers at the same time. I've calculated my BMR as recommended by other posts on here and it tells me that I should be eating about 1709cals/day. Now come the questions:

• How do I adjust the deficit and what would you recommend the deficit be? I know that the calories burned being tracked through the Fitbit aren't always 100% accurate.
• If I set my own food goal on the app as the say, 1700cals, how would I go about figuring out what that deficit should be? Or should I just go by the deficit that it is showing?
• Should I still try and eat the 1700cals/day and follow a food goal that is preset in the app?

I know that this is a lot of questions, and maybe some guess work. But I appreciate any and all input! 🙂

[etvete]

There are a few ways you could go about doing it. I would recommend since you know that your BMR is around 1700 calories, putting that as a low end limit for your intake. That number is what you would burn if you slept for the entire day, so if you are hitting your 12,000 step goal and burning other calories and such, your deficit is going to be created by that movement. 

If you use your food plan and set it to 750 (or 1000 if you don't necessarily trust the calculations that it is making) for the deficit it will make all the calculations for you and let you know where you are at in the day. Though I would still encourage you to hit the 1700 number since it is what I consider "free calories". 

Just remember though as you get lighter, your BMR/RMR will get smaller, so keep recalculating it. Good Luck!

[Daves_Not_Here]

Welcome @SunsetRunner - great recommendations from @etvete   

Here are some tips and thoughts:

• To setup a 1,000 daily calorie deficif, select the "Extreme" food plan
• Suggesting you learn all the ways to reduce your appetite
• Suggesting you experiment with different ways of eating to find what works for you -- some people lose weight quickly when eating low-carb.  Others lose more quickly on a plant-based diet.
• Weight loss is 90% what you eat, 10% exercise - congrats on being willing to log your eating, a very effective action
• I wouldn't get hung up on the supposed inaccuracy of Fitbit technology.  If you have a large calorie deficit, you wipe out the errors and lose weight more quickly.  Kind of like a nuclear bomb -- it doesn't matter if you miss the target by 10 feet.
• Many smart people will advise you to go slow, don't lose weight too fast, slow down, be careful that you don't have too large a deficit, don't go too fast, it's not a sprint it's a marathon, it's not a marathon it's an ultra-marathon, it's not an ultra-marathon it's a glacial migration, watch out you might plateau, be careful or you might gain it all back, be careful you don't lose muscle mass, plan on taking 3 years to lose the weight, be a tortoise not a hare, etc.  -- I'm of the dumb reckless constituency that says lose the weight already.

[emili]

@SunsetRunner you have awesome advive already and Dave and I share the same point of view. what you want your deficit to be is manageable for you, achievable by you and low enough that you see results or you will start to lose faith and focus. What that actually is, is up to you. You will hear, 1200 as the magic number, you will hear 500 less as the magic number- there is no magic number without trial and error. That's also the reason for not worrying too much about accuracy of what fitbit says you burn. it won't matter because you are testing and calibrating as you go. When I was losing weight- that was the single most important thing in my life. It didn't matter where I ate, who I was with- I stayed in my food rules. I was relentless. I had a really low intake set for myself for the majority of the week to compensate for anything I may do extra during the weekend. I did not exercise or move beyond what was expected to get from point A to point B. I lost weight quickly, no plateaus or starvation or any of the other things people throw around when its hard to admit to ones self that you're eating too much. I have kept it off three years and counting. Figure out what is going to work for you and be relentless about it. magic will happen.

[SunsetRunner]

@etvete @Daves_Not_Here @emili 

You've all given me great advice! I've decided to stick between the 1700-1800cal range for my food and if I go a little over, it isn't going to be the end of the world (which is a big step for me, normally I would let one mess up derail me completely). My boyfriend even helped me clean some of the junk out of the house last night. I finally think I'm back in the right mindset to make this happen and see changes! Thank you ❤️

[Daves_Not_Here]

What @emili said!

"its hard to admit to ones self that you're eating too much"

I would also add that one huge, big fat benefit (see what I did there?) of admitting the painful truth is that weight loss then becomes nearly effortless because you focus your energy on the actual cause.

[Dominique]

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@Daves_Not_Here wrote:

go slow, don't lose weight too fast, slow down, be careful that you don't have too large a deficit, don't go too fast, it's not a sprint it's a marathon, it's not a marathon it's an ultra-marathon, it's not an ultra-marathon it's a glacial migration, watch out you might plateau, be careful or you might gain it all back, be careful you don't lose muscle mass, plan on taking 3 years to lose the weight, be a tortoise not a hare, etc.  -- I'm of the dumb reckless constituency that says lose the weight already.

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@Daves_Not_Here: we disagree on the subject, but you made my day with the above!

Though I’m not suggesting people with 100+ pounds to lose do it at a rate 0.5 lbs per week, but rather to intentionally "plateau" before shorter (3-4 months) periods of reasonably fast loss. My understanding is it’s an efficient way to reduce the all too common risk of rebounding back to the starting weight.

[Daves_Not_Here]

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@Dominique wrote:we disagree on the subject, but you made my day with the above!

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@Dominique - thanks!  But I forgot the "its not a glacial migration, its a continental drift"

Actually, you've gotten me thinking about rebound-avoidance given I am currently unbounding from a massive rebound.  I've come to the belief that rebounds occur because people hit their goal (or give up early) and then stop paying attention to their eating and weight.  They fail to make a lifelong habit out of eating mindfully and managing their weight.

One benefit I see of your recommendation to take intentional plateaus on the way down is it forces you to pay attention to your weight even when you aren't losing.  Each plateau is a dress rehearsal for when you eventually get to your ideal weight and endeavor to maintain it for the rest of your life.  I can make sense of that.

(What I can't make sense of is the idea that by taking plateaus, I will arrive at my target weight with a materially higher MBR that will enable me to eat "intuitively" and not gain, versus having to eat mindfully due to a MBR lowered by faster weight loss.  I believe I have to eat mindfully in either case, and that there is no evidence that people who quickly lose a lot of weight permanently lower their MBR more than those who lose it more slowly.  The Biggest Loser findings did not include a slower loss control group)

[JustMieka]

Hi @SunsetRunner,

Everyone has given you great advice regarding BMR, calories, deficits & activity. I'd like to add my two cents worth regarding mindset if I may.  I've found that this weight loss journey is mostly in my head. Once you set your focus on your goals while also giving yourself permission to be imperfect, make mistakes, etc., you'll be unstoppable. You also have to commit (to yourself) that you will do your very best...every...single...day. That may look different from day to day but it has to be your best in every area. I also can not stress enough that you must be kind to yourself. Eat whole foods that will nourish & fuel you; not just fill you up. Take rest when you need it and gear up & push through when you know that you're just not feeling motivated. 

I wish you all the best and look forward to celebrating your successes along the way!