Well, Ubergirl, if this is accurate, I should be eating between 1700 & 1800 per day to maintain. So, the idea of going down to 1300, is right in line with that, and should give me at least 1 lb off per week...Michelle, you are taller, younger, and are carrying more weight than I am, all factors that allow you to lose weight at higher calories...I am pretty sure that cutting back is the first thing I should try. Yes, Peanutsmom "just a starting point" I am going to give it a week at 1300, and see what happens. If it doesn't work, I will pop the calories up sporadicaly, and see if that helps.
Well, Ubergirl, if this is accurate, I should be eating between 1700 & 1800 per day to maintain.
I just want to say that that Mayo calculator does NOT seem correct. Every other calculator I've tied tells me my maintenance calories are between 700 and 1000 calories more than the Mayo one does. I'm not saying that doesn't mean that you should try to lower calorie intake, but don't base it on the Mayo calculator.
Well, Ubergirl, if this is accurate, I should be eating between 1700 & 1800 per day to maintain. So, the idea of going down to 1300, is right in line with that, and should give me at least 1 lb off per week...Michelle, you are taller, younger, and are carrying more weight than I am, all factors that allow you to lose weight at higher calories...I am pretty sure that cutting back is the first thing I should try. Yes, Peanutsmom "just a starting point" I am going to give it a week at 1300, and see what happens. If it doesn't work, I will pop the calories up sporadicaly, and see if that helps.
Yup. That's how it works for me. My "calorie allowance" is 1200 but I do stuff like splash milk in my coffee and not count it, so I figure than I consistently stay at 1300 or below. It takes a calorie deficit of 500 cals to lose a pound a week, and I just don't get more than that anymore no matter what (taking up running and weight training... measuring everything...) that I do.
It's comforting for me to know that it's simple math.
Michelle-- I'm not sure where you're getting the number 1900. I think you should try plugging in the numbers again. I'm not sure how old you are, but when I plugged in your height and weight I got a higher number....
Michelle-- I'm not sure where you're getting the number 1900. I think you should try plugging in the numbers again. I'm not sure how old you are, but when I plugged in your height and weight I got a higher number....
I had a physical recently and my 5ft9 (listed height here) has turned into 5 ft 7, so I used that. I just tried the Mayo calculator again using the 5ft9...When I put in my height 5 ft 9 inches, weight of 263, age of 42 and inactive lifestyle...I got 1950. Not an appreciable difference with the 2 inch differentiation.
Last edited by Michelle98272; 02-24-2010 at 04:32 PM.
I swear, when I stay on plan for about 10 days, and I mean ON POINT, no mistakes, and then I go to my grandmas house and eat lasagna, tea cookies, and sammiches, I lose 2 pounds by the next day. It's weird, and I don't know why that happens.
Try eating MORE. I swear. Eat more cal's and more fat. Not a ton extra, just a little something something.
Regarding those who think the MAYO calculator is too low, all I can say is that of course if you are losing then there is no problem.
The question comes up when you are doing everything you're supposed to do and not losing. Then, it's always should I go up or down.
A lot of people suggest going up, and that may be right for them, but when you are a perimenopausal or postmenopausal woman, your resting metabolic rate in most cases just isn't that high. I mean, that's just a fact.
I'd love to hear others weigh in, but during my time on 3FC, it seems to me that most of the big losers who are older keep their exercise pretty high and calories pretty low.
Wow! I used the Mayo calculator, and it said I would have to eat 2250 to maintain! And I have been beating myself over the head mentally because I haven't been able to get my calories under 2100 for over a week. Explains why even though yesterday was the first day I managed to stick to the 1800, I have still lost 11 lbs. It also explains why the binging in the middle of the night started when my doc told me to only eat 1600! I am glad he referred me to a nutritionist, so I can get real answers instead of some automated guess. Of course, I am 26 and get decent exercise, so that probably makes a load of difference. Since the 1800 seems manageable, I will stick to that unless the nutritionist tells me otherwise.
I think the mayo calculator is full of crap - most other net calculators vary, but are still within a few hundred up or down of 2400 calories a day to maintain.
I am 23, and 5'2"... Even extremely sedentary I can lose a pound a week at 1900 calories a day, and lose 1.5-2 pounds a week at 1450 a day. That is with NO exercise beyond walking around the house caring for children.
I would say that you shouldn't drop your calories below 1400 a day, but instead focus on the quality of your nutrition. Are you starting every meal with at least a serving EACH of a fruit and vegetable? Are you getting plenty of lean protein? Eating only whole grains and drinking mostly water?
If you are really counting accurately and are not suffering from a metabolic disorder like a thyroid imbalance or PCOS, there isn't a logical way that you wouldn't be creating at least some calorie deficit at those levels, with whole foods.
If you aren't already doing it - keep your calories where they are for a week, but weigh every single portion of food and journal every taste and lick. Do NOT stray off plan. If, after doing that, you still haven't lost a quarter or half a pound, then drop your calories by 250 each day for another week and see if that helps.
I am losing consistently on 1900 calories a day, with a slower general metabolic rate than I'd estimate you to have. The trick is vigorously watching my calories by journalling and accurately measuring healthy, nourishing foods.
I'm going to wade very, very gingerly into the starvation mode question and say that personally, I don't think there is such a thing, at least not for people in normal circumstances eating a normal amount of food (and I'd personally call anything above 1000 calories normal).
However, what I do believe is that the human body is designed for to adapt, and if you regularly do the same general level of activity and the eat the same general level of calories, your body will adapt to that and operate efficiently at that level of input and output.
I think Eliana's list of things to try is good because I personally don't think it's really so much an issue of lowering OR raising calories, it's changing one of the variables. So sure, a lot of the time, people will raise calories to break a plateau and then think that they weren't eating enough and that's why they lost weight when they ate more. But there are probably just as many people who break a plateau by eating less. I personally think it's the CHANGE, not the amount, that makes the difference. Getting your body to adapt to a new routine gives it a chance to reset, and I think the reset is what breaks the plateau.
So go ahead, and just change SOMETHING! lol! If nothing else, it helps to keep life interesting.
marigrace, I hate to ask you this, but never the less will - during this two month plateau, were you PERFECTLY on plan? Any splurge meals or days? Maybe even multiple ones? What about December - holiday parties, Xmas, New Years, Super Bowl parties, etc...? Are you writing down and counting EVERYthing you eat and drink? Is there any way that you're not measuring your foods correctly? Is there anyway that you're underestimating your calories?
As far as starvation mode and 1500 calories and weighing about 200 lbs? I would think it VERY unlikely. That's plenty of food provided it's nutritious and then there are fat stores to pick up any slack if need be.
And those calculators, well most of them are notoriously high and quite inaccurate.
I'd be curious to hear your answers to the above questions before I chime in. I pretty much read through all the responses, but if I missed it, I apologize. It's a tad late, so it's DEFINITELY possible.
I was uncertain about the calculators so I went to a nearby Hy-vee (a grocery store in the midwest) and had the nutritionist there perform a metabolic rate test. She took some information about me and then I had to breathe into a machine (with my nose clipped shut) for about 5 minutes after I had fasted for the night. The machine can assess your metabolic rate (I think through O2 CO2 stats) and found out exactly how many calories a day I was burning (with a small margin of error). I really reccomend doing this since its frustrating to have the online calculator be incorrect and comforting to know how many calories you actually burn.
Ah I just found what the device is called - a med gem. Here is what the website for hy-vee says:
Learn Your Resting Metabolic Rate
What if you could measure the exact rate at which your body burns calories and then determine your precise daily calorie budget? Your Hy-Vee dietitian can help with the FDA-approved Med Gem! You sit quietly for 10 minutes and breathe into a small device through a mouthpiece which then calculates your resting metabolic rate (RMR).
Maybe you can do a search and see if any local dieticians do this in your area?
