Hi all - just a quick question to get some input, please: I've lost a significant amount of weight now, and I have gradually dropped my calorie intake (I started at 2300, then 2100 for a couple of weeks, then 2000, 1800, and so on). So, I've been limiting myself to 1500 calories a day, averaging between 1400-1500 a day, for about 6 weeks now. I run 5K three or four times a week and do gentle-ish strength training two or three times a week. My weight loss is no longer predictably steady, and has slowed. I still have a LONG way to go...
My concern is that if I drop to 1300-1400 NOW, at 220 pounds, am I really leaving myself enough room to drop as my weight goes down later on?
Is there a chance I should be eating MORE than this? Have I dropped too far too soon? Or shall I just cut back another 150 calories and see how I get on?
The problem is there is no correct answer for everyone. If you loss has slowed way down you could try either. You intake does sound low-ish for your size with the amount of exercise you do, but since you sound like you usually do the same thing your body might have gotten more efficent and started to burn less doing the same activity (and you burn less as you lose weight) You can try cross training it might help.
I'd probably pop my numbers into one of those online calculators based on "normal" activity levels if I were you, and see what # it gives you to maintain. Compare that with what you'd like to lose per week. If you want to lose 2lb theoretically you would eat 1000 less then it suggests but not going too low because your exercising you need the calories.
You can try increasing calories but give it a few weeks to really gauge if its going to stall your loss at all. Sometimes people start losing again because they werent getting enough for their activity level, but its not always true. If adding calories didn't work then I'd start to lower them from whatever your doing now.
You'll get various opinions here though.
Also keep in mind that formerly obese peope seem to have a slightly less efficent metabolism then people at the same size who never lost great amoutns of weights so you maintenece calories might be lower then you think when all is said in done. Ive seen some of the maintainers say they only eat 1200 AND exercise on top of it.
Remember, you're losing may also slow down as your body adjusts. You may stall for a week or two. Also, you may need to change your physical activity to get your body burning again. (BTW: Your cals seem pretty low. I just moved from 1450 to 1300, so you may actually need more...just an idea) Good luck!
Way to go, not only on a big weight loss, but on an exercise regime I am envious of, and motivation to boot.
Please, do yourself a favor and consult an expert...not a doctor, unless he/she is an obesity specialist, but rather a nutritionist who knows her stuff....That calorie intake sounds WAAAAYYYYY low for your weight and activity...and there are lots of articles written about changing things up and increasing calories to get going again, but you need to consult with someone who knows ....Where is Dr. Oz when you need him?
There was a post similar to this awhile ago; I can't remember it's title though. What I read a lot of people doing (chime in if you know better than me please!) is varying their calories. Like Mon they'll have 1400, Tues 1500, Wed 1400, Thurs 1600, etc. They say it's good for breaking through a plateau.
I've also heard of upping your caloric intake for a little bit (I don't know how long) before dropping it back down to where you were previous.
I've not lost enough to hit a plateau yet so I'm not definite on the details, but I'd look into something similar to this to get your steady weightloss back.
Congratulations on your weightloss!!! You are doing just great.
You said your weightloss has slowed down, but not stalled. Just how slow is it? It sounds to me though as if you're still losing. Remember it IS going to slow down. At 221 lbs you're just not as heavy as you used to be and you don't burn calories the same way. There is no way on earth I personally would increase my calorie level if I were you - at all. I'm curious to know though just how slow your weightloss is. Depending on your answer I would either decrease my cals by 100 or add in another couple of days of some cardio exercise or both.
Also, what TYPES of food are you eating? Are you getting enough fiber? Protein? Eating too many carbs? Processed foods? Are you drinking plenty of water? Maybe your menu could use a bit of tweaking to get things moving again.
Of course the only way to know for sure what will work, is through trial and error. Keep up the good work, you're efforts are surely paying off - big time.
I am in agreement with robin here. You shouldn't drop your calories down when your weight loss SLOWS...but when it stops. If you started losing 3 pounds a week, and then it went to one pound a week, it isn't time to drop your calories yet!
It is very common when you first start your plan to lose faster-2-5 pounds a week in the beginning isn't really all that uncommon (depending on how much you have to lose). But, after the first 5, 10, or 20 pounds (once again, depending on how much you have to lose) it slows down to 1/2-2 pounds per week. This is NORMAL.
If you are still losing-even though it is slower-it isn't time to drop yet. You drop after a couple weeks of no weight loss at all. (Or, instead of dropping calories you can increase your exercise to accomplish the same thing-when I plateau sometimes I drop calories, and other times I increase exercise.)
I don't have too much direct experience of my own - i.e., you've already lost more weight than I have - so feel free to take my ideas with a grain of salt. But my three thoughts are:
1) could you increase the intensity of your exercise, i.e., through interval training, rather than or as well as exercising more often or incorporating different exercise?
2) what is your body telling you? Do you feel hungry now at your current calorie level? If you were to try making a mid-day snack a little smaller, would you find yourself getting really hungry too soon before your next meal?
3) what's your personality like? As idealmuse predicted, you're getting lots of different opinions, and what you choose might depend bit on what kinds of approaches generally work for you. For example, I'd be more likely to end up with fewer calories overall if I tried a zig-zaggy listen to my body approach than if I tried to impose a possibly-too-low rigid limit. But I also could tolerate, and have been tolerating, a plateau, or a little gain, a fast, slow, fast, stop, slow, fast pattern to the weight loss, and someone else might find anything other than steady, constant loss incredibly frustrating. I also tend to rely on expert advice, so I'd second the others' suggestions to check with a reputable on-line calculator or meet with a nutritionist.
Thank SO much for all your replies - they are MUCH appreciated!!
I feel sort of silly now - I never even THOUGHT of tweaking my daily food intake - dropping a few carbs and upping my protein, for example. You are all absolutely right - I have not really 'stopped' losing weight, so Aphil, thanks for the advice to not drop (or exercise more) until it's been a couple of weeks not moving at all. I wondered about that. (I was, obviously, losing a LOT at the start, and then dropped to a nice 2lbs/week, then 1 to 1.5 lbs a week - the past six weeks I've only lost 2 pounds total, which seemed to suddenly be very slow, considering I am still a BIG girl... maybe not It's so tempting, Robin, to compare with your weight loss - which was phenomenal: I want to do whatever YOU did/are doing! )
The idea to see a nutritionist is a great one - thanks, I'll look into this!
I appreciate the time you've all taken to offer insight - it's funny, I thought I knew 'how' to lose weight, but all I've done is learn, learn, learn since I started!
You still are losing and that's great. Me personally, I would increase the exercise a bit and I'd take it down 100 calories. I didn't wait for the weightloss to stop dead. I did it when it slowed down. I know that's not for everyone. But 2 lbs in 6 weeks could mean that shortly you will be hitting that stalled point and I wanted to AVOID it (when I set my mind to something I'm not a very patient person). That certainly does not mean that you have to feel that way.
Are you satisfied with the amount of calories you are eating? Can you easily find 100 cals to cut back on? Is there any way that you can comfortably add in healthier foods? These are all things to consider.
This whole thing was a very eye-opening learning experience for me as well.
Heather~another vote for keeping the status quo for at least a few more weeks. With the amount of exercise you're doing, your calories sound like they're right on target. I'd be willing to bet you can stay at this calorie level for several more months before changing it.
Evaluating the kinds of foods you're eating is more in order. I bet there are a lot of us here that could take a look at your menu and "tweak" it for you if you can't get in to see a nutritionist soon.
I hate to disagree with Robin, but I'd hold back on dropping the calories for the moment and focus on adjusting my nutrition and perhaps increasing the intensity of my weight training. You could add in another form of exercise--something gentle, like walking or yoga, on the days you don't hit your treadmill--just to keep your body moving.
Also, high intensity interval training can be pretty great. It evidently keeps your body burning more calories throughout the entire day, and for me, it stops me from getting bored with the basic 5K run.
I wanted to clarify, after Robin's comment, the main reason that I suggested waiting a few weeks to see if weight loss actually stops. Often, many of us don't lose weight EVERY week. It is very common for many of us to lose 1/2-2 pounds a week in a non-steady way-as in, nothing this week and 2 pounds the next-averaging out to a pound a week.
This is very common for me-so if I dropped my calories every time I went a week without a loss, I'd be eating 200-300 a day.
Please, please don't ever feel badly about disagreeing with me. We are all entitled to our opinions. There is definitely more then one "correct" way to do things.
Heather did mention though that she would like to know what I did in fact do. So, I told her. And believe me I know it's not for everyone, which I mentioned. I personally was TERRIFIED of a plateau (silly enough). The weekly weight losses were VERY motivating to me and I didn't want to go a week without one. Again, it's not for everyone - I tried pre-emptive strikes. Being only 5 feet tall, my body just doesn't require as many calories as a taller person. I knew that for me in order to keep losing I would have to keep on going down. I was resigned to it and OKAY with it. Of course there came a point when I couldn't possibly go down any lower and it was apparently the right number, because I kept on losing steadily.
We all really need to find what works for ourselves and that is definitely going to vary from person to person. If only there was ONE correct way to do this it would be that much easier.
When Should I Drop My Calories?
I still have a LONG way to go...
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