I've scoured the Internet and plugged in my current (287) and goal (170) weights into every weight-loss calculator on the planet. All of them tell me I can hit my goal by May 2011 if I eat between 1200 and 1400 calories a day. It has me losing an average of 2.2 pounds per week.
It seems like it's too easy. In theory, all I have to do is eat 1200 calories a day for the next year, and I'll lose about 100 pounds? I just feel like I have to do something much more drastic or I'll not lose on 1200.
Has anyone lost a large amount of weight by just staying at a calorie limit? Or is it much harder than that?
If you look in the Calorie Counters thread, you will find a lot of people who have lost a lot of weight with calorie restriction. I have lost 40 pounds since September by sticking to 1500-1600 calories a day, and got lots of tips by lurking around. (1600 near the beginning, lowering to 1500 about halfway through.) Would you consider that a lot? You may not even have to go as low as 1200, especially at the beginning.
But the "easy" part, ha ha ha ...
(sorrry, went a bit hysterical there for a minute.) Calorie restriction can be surprisingly difficult to adapt to, at least at first. For most of the first 2 months I really had to work at it so that I was not cranky/craving/ridiculously hungry by the end of the day. I had to learn to buy, prepare and have ready a lot of bulky vegetables to fill my stomach. (Steamed broccoli, spinach, roasted vegetables like asparagus, cabbage, beets, green beans etc.) I had to make sure I had a little lean protein like grilled chicken or beans or chickpeas for every meal. Only whole grains when I had bread or cereal, so the fiber helped fill me up. No tempting foods around the house for when I was weak. Drinking only water, not fruit juice, milk, alcohol or sodas. Now it has become much more of a habit.
If you can add some exercise here and there, that will burn off a little too, whatever is more than you are doing now, and not make it necessary to go so low in calories.
Last edited by bronzeager; 04-01-2010 at 02:54 AM.
yes its true.... when i was 15 I went from 240lbs - 170 lbs in about 4 months & i didn't lift a single weight! I went on an extremely strict diet & eating schedule & did not eat more then around 1100 cals a day. The reason why it works is your pretty much shocking your body into something its not used to. Because we are always snacking & picking at food, we are eating soooo many more calories then realize...We usually are putting so much more into our body then we truly know. So when we all of a sudden cut out all the extra snacking & extra calories & stick to eating a limited amount of calories a day, then your body has no other choice but to start slimming down! Hope I helped!
It does work, but I would also take a look at fat as well. For over the past year I have been eating 1200 calories a day and 20 grams of fat. I also have been exercising 4 to 5 times a week. 1200 is the minimum females should intake a day. I recently had to increase my calorie intake because I have gotten more in shape and I stopped loosing for a while because my body thought it needed to hold on to what it got. My doctor is the one who recommended my diet, so maybe ask your doctor based on where you are at now?
Ok. That's kind of what I thought, which means I'm definitely doing something wrong. I think I'm going to create a distress post (lol) in another section to get some help figuring out what my problem is.
Sounds great in Theory, but you need to take it slowly and know that realistically life isn't going to permit a 2.2 loss each week, some weeks you might lose none, some weeks you might gain, some weeks you might lose anywhere from 1-4lbs... and being a woman, there is so many things that flucuate our weight. I lost 90 lbs by watching what I ate and exercising regularly, now as I get closer to goal, because I am fitter and can exercise more intense, I can eat more food to lose or maintain.
One piece of advice I have, and it took me almost 3 years to figure it out, is that Life Happens - and you should let it happen! Slow and steady wins the race! Good luck! For calorie counting, you sort of have to play around, carb heavy doesn't do much for me, high protien does though, I stay within a healthy range of fat, about 30-40grams a day.
I'm just starting, though! Don't most people my size get those first few months of the weight just falling off when they cut calories this much? I mean, I used to be eating probably 3,000 or more calories a day to have gotten this large. So to go to 1100...I don't know. I guess I was too optimistic. But If I'm not losing every week at least in the beginning, it seems like a really miserable road ahead.
Congratulations on your loss, by the way!! You look great!
Are you tracking your calories now? If not, you could start by just doing that, to get into the habit, without trying to restrict them yet. It will help you find out how many calories you are currently eating -- are you maintaining now? or losing? To lose one pound a week, you need to eat 3500 calories less a week than your maintenance level -- that's 500 calories less a day.
After a week or so you could start reducing your daily allowance in stages by 100-200 calories until you reach a level you can comfortably work with. As others have said here, for women 1200 calories a day is generally considered the minimum for health. You don't want to endanger your bones or body for the future by not getting enough nutrients coming in, especially if you're looking at a longer term diet like a year. (Not all the nutrients you need can come from the fat you burn -- it doesn't have your basic vitamins and minerals!)
You may find you don't need to go as low as you think, and even averaging one or two pounds per week, if you can keep it up, really can produce very satisfying and motivating results. (As JennyG said, it never works out to exactly that pound a week, and sometimes it goes up; but once you find the calorie and nutrition sweet spot, over a month or so the points on the graph will generally be heading down.)
Last edited by bronzeager; 04-01-2010 at 11:47 AM.
bronzeager, I'm trying to lose (a LOT). I am counting calories VERY carefully. I measure everything and always round up by about 50-100 calories per meal, and I'm hitting 1100 or fewer calories a day. I'm not exercising right now (thinking about getting a stationary bike so I don't assault the public with the sight of me) but for now I'm pretty inactive, that's why I'm sticking to my calories.
I'm just starting, though! Don't most people my size get those first few months of the weight just falling off when they cut calories this much?
Forget everything you ever heard about "most people." In the first place, it's not at all true (people lose at a many different rates, and the "calculators" are often unreliable). Even if all the myths were true - you're stuck with your body, not anyone elses.
It really is not true that everyone loses fast in the beginning. And even for people who do lose fast, most don't realize they're losing fast. Almost everyone thinks they should be losing faster than they are - it's the way we're taught to look at weight loss.
How long have you been at this, because 13 lbs is absolutely super-awesome lightening FAST weight loss if you've been at it two months or less? It's a good rate even if you've been at this for 3 months, and if you've been at it for 4 months it's still nothing to sneeze at
When I was very young, I could lose weight rapidly (I was active and eating a lot more than 3000 calories a day). Now I can't, not even when I cut calories drastically (reducing carbohydrates, especially refined ones does seem to help me lose a bit faster than on a similar calorie level when I'm eating high-carb).
I firmly believe that most people give up weight loss, not because they're not succeeding, but because they think they're not succeeding. They imagine everyone else is doing better, losing faster, sticking better to their plan, and having an easier time of it..... but all those people are imaginary.
I didn't realize that until a while back I was complaining to my doctor about how bad I was feeling about losing so slowly, and he pointed out to me that even at my size - if a person lost 1/4 of a pound a week - one lousy pound a month, they would still be doing better than most people of all sizes (because most people give up).
You may not realize how extraordinary you are for having lost the 13 lbs you have. It means you're at the head of the pack in this race, not trailing far behind. I know it doesn't feel like you're in the lead, but you really, truly are.
Please please please do some more research on what a good calorie level for YOU would be. If you're rounding up 50-100 cals each meal (unececssary if you're measuring and weighing) and still only coming to 1100 cals you are absolutly not eating enough. While you may lose in the begining, your will not continue for long before your body goes to reserve mode because it's not getting enough food. Weight loss is not a race it's a marathon. You have to be patient. Not counting my pregnancy it's taken me over two years to lose 100 lbs and while I have not been counting my cals the entire time I've been doing some kind of low cal diet the entire time. In the begining I would guess my cals were between 1500-1800 and I was losing consistantly. Once I started counting my loss has been faster and even more consistant. I am now eating 1600-1700 cals a day because of my activity level (I run 5xs a week). I really like freedieting.com to determine your calorie level, but whatever method you chose is fine as long as it's realistic. The bad thing about going as low as 1200 for a year is that it will slow down your metabolism and you'll have no where to go when you plateau. No lifestyle change (and don't kid yourself it's not a diet it is a lifestyle change) is easy, but it is worth and over time it will become your lifestyle and something you WANT to do. Good luck!
I have said this to you a few times already but seriously, you are not eating enough.
Cutting as much calories as you can does not make you lose weight. Honest to god.
I thought the same as you and I starved myself for FIVE WEEKS and I didn't lose a pound, not even .1 one of a pound. I exercise for 2 hours a day and NOTHING happened.
I bumped my calories up to 1700 calories a day and the next week I lost 2 pounds. And 2 pounds almost every week there after. I lost 50 pounds in 10 months - so it worked out to be about 1.25 pounds a week. This is totally normal. You are not going to lost 2-3 pounds every week.
You do not need to starve to lose weight. You need to eat more.
It has been 4 years for me and I am still not at my goal weight. But guess what, I haven't gained it back either. Count your calories, sign up for a site like sparkpeople.com stay in their suggested calorie range - and it will work. Don't lie or cheat yourself, and don't starve yourself.
Sorry to sound like such a nag, but I can see how badly you want to lose weight and I think you are setting yourself up for disappointment.
I agree with everyone else losing weight in general really is a journey for me anyway at least. I've always been within my "normal" BMI range but I wanted to get rid of the jiggles and get more toned. I tried just about everything within reason to lose weight but it took me about 3 years to lose about 20lbs.
It sounds bad but for me it was a great experience. I've learned and am still learning so much about my body and about weight loss. Besides feeling great about myself, I have more energy, sleep better, I still have a bit to go but I feel better knowing in general what I need to do to achieve my goals without going to the extreme. Good luck in your journey.
Sorry to sound like such a nag, but I can see how badly you want to lose weight and I think you are setting yourself up for disappointment.
I know, and I'm not ignoring you. The first few days, I just did not want to believe that I didn't have to starve myself. Then I picked it up to 1200, and it's just not enough, I think. It's the only explanation (I hope). So today I had 1430. I just went to SparkPeople (cool site!) and it told me to eat between 1200 and 1550 per day. So I'm thinking I'll bounce back and forth between 1250 and 1450 every other day? I hear good things about zig-zagging.
I really appreciate all the advice. I hope I don't sound too much like a lazy, whiny brat! I really do want to do this, and I'm not giving up.
Last edited by ParadiseFalls; 04-02-2010 at 01:19 AM.
Reason: update
I know, and I'm not ignoring you. The first few days, I just did not want to believe that I didn't have to starve myself. Then I picked it up to 1200, and it's just not enough, I think. It's the only explanation (I hope). So today I had 1430. I just went to SparkPeople (cool site!) and it told me to eat between 1200 and 1550 per day. So I'm thinking I'll bounce back and forth between 1250 and 1450 every other day? I hear good things about zig-zagging.
I really appreciate all the advice. I hope I don't sound too much like a lazy, whiny brat! I really do want to do this, and I'm not giving up.
How well does sticking to a calorie limit work?
The reason why it works is your pretty much shocking your body into something its not used to. Because we are always snacking & picking at food, we are eating soooo many more calories then realize...We usually are putting so much more into our body then we truly know. So when we all of a sudden cut out all the extra snacking & extra calories & stick to eating a limited amount of calories a day, then your body has no other choice but to start slimming down! 
Hope I helped!
