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Old 09-28-2012, 10:46 PM   #1  
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Default Starting a Weight Loss Journey.. questions?

Hello everyone,

I won't get into all the details but a recent change in my life has kind of triggered me to start my weight loss journey. I have looked the other way, said I didn't care about weight, said I was fine how I was for long enough.. If I'm honest with myself, I'm sick of feeling bad about how I look, trying to hide things, not being about to buy clothes I want, worrying about stupid things, the list goes on and I'm sure most of you know what I mean because you have felt these things yourself. I have a few questions if anyone can answer them..

(Also, if this post is in the wrong section I apologize and please feel free to move it).

1. Does just simply counting calories and watching calorie intake make you lose weight if you restrict yourself on a certain amount of calories diet wise?

2. How little do you have to eat before your body goes into starvation mode and starts storing calories?

3. Does it really matter if I were to eat 3 meals a day or 1 meal a day as long as I'm staying to my calorie limit?

4. Assuming I'm counting the calories and stay to my limit, am I free to eat whatever kind of food I want, meaning chocolate/chicken nuggets/whatever?

If anyone could answer this stuff I'd really appreciate it

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Old 09-28-2012, 11:10 PM   #2  
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Quote:
Originally Posted by gamergirl13 View Post
1. Does just simply counting calories and watching calorie intake make you lose weight if you restrict yourself on a certain amount of calories diet wise?

2. How little do you have to eat before your body goes into starvation mode and starts storing calories?

3. Does it really matter if I were to eat 3 meals a day or 1 meal a day as long as I'm staying to my calorie limit?

4. Assuming I'm counting the calories and stay to my limit, am I free to eat whatever kind of food I want, meaning chocolate/chicken nuggets/whatever?
In the context of fat loss the answer to all your questions is
1)Eat fewer calories than you use and you will lose fat
2)The body doesn't work that way
3)No
4)Yes

In the context of making fat loss easier and achieving health the answers are different but for fat loss the only thing that matters is a caloric deficit.
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Old 09-28-2012, 11:25 PM   #3  
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Short answerssome of them)
1. Yes
2. Don't worry about "starvation mode". Not going to be an issue, especially at the beginning. The amount your metabolism slows is negligible, especially if exercising. If your body were to create or destroy energy, you would be defying some serious laws of physics, namely the Law of Conservation of Energy. People most certainly can (and do) starve to death (think extreme poverty and eating disorders.) If you could hold on to all of your energy, you would not be able to starve to death. Cellular respiration has to continue in order for you to live. Remember that metabolism refers to the sum of all processes in the body, both the building up (repair, growth), and the breaking down (hard exercise, damaged tissue, cell death, etc...). It's not just a term for fat burning! You use energy just being alive.
3. No. Some people prefer to eat a large meal(s). I do this quite often. It just depends on how I feel that day.
4. Broadly speaking, yes. But please don't choose these as your primary fuel. Your body needs all the nutrients it can get on a reduced calorie diet. You won't feel full on such calorie dense, nutrient void foods. Eat well!

Also- if you could post your height and starting weight, we could give you more information about your energy expenditure for your size and how much ideally you should be eating to create a deficit to see the scale move.

Please remember that the only thing you can do to fail is to quit. One bad meal is not failure, or a bad week, or whatever. If you keep your calories at a deficit, given enough time, you will see progress. The only thing is you have to be patient. You don't necessarily need motivation, just dedication. One bite at a time. You did not get heavy in one day, and it is unfair to expect to your body to eat up its fat stores in one day. If you have 50 lbs to lose, it would be like asking you to eat 175,000 calories at one time. See how unfair that is? That's almost 796 candy bars.

The overall thing is that it is not HEALTHY to be really overweight. It is bad for your joints, your heart, your blood vessels, kidneys, pancreas, and all of your other awesome parts. Do this for yourself. So you won't be on a first name basis with your doctor's office and pharmacy. So you will be able to fit into an airline seat. So you can outrun an attacker. So you can live a long, fun life. So you won't have to stab yourself with needles mutltiple times a day, go blind, lose your feet, get put on dialysis, and die an early death.

Also, so you can buy really cute outfits to live your long, fun life in. Don't go on a diet. Change the way you eat forever. This site can help you. It has certainly helped me, and there are so many people here who have done it. You can too! I am stepping down from the podium now... Speech from a fellow "fatchick" officially over.
No but seriuosly, post your stats and someone can help you with the overall equation. And don't forget to take measurments and pics when you start so you can see how far you've come!
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Old 09-28-2012, 11:31 PM   #4  
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Thank you for your responses I will make sure to eat healthy foods and not put garbage into my body, I was mostly curious if the type of food matters when losing weight.

Updating my stats now, thank you again for your responses
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Old 09-28-2012, 11:40 PM   #5  
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Gamegirl, you're going to find that some things may work better for you than others. And you're going to see so many opinions here, so you just have to find the one that makes the most sense to you. And you may change your mind here and there and what makes sense and works this month may change several months down the road. The key is to just stick with it even when it feels like it's just not working.

For me, I find that I can't just restrict calories. I have to really watch my sugar. The reality is, if you burn more calories than you take in, you'll burn fat. Sadly, I've found that if I am more relaxed and have more desserts, even if I keep my calories under a certain number, I don't lose as well as when I hold off on the treats. In my mind, I need to allow myself the treats and learn moderation. In my reality, I have to restrict if I'm going to lose.

As for the one meal, multi-meals and the starvation mode thing. I think it's wise to eat more than once a day, but I don't think it matters in the end. Calories is calories. Some people find that eating several small meals a day keeps them focused and on track. Others need to feel full and eat fewer, larger meals. You have to find your happy medium. I like to eat fewer, larger meals, and I hate breakfast. I usually don't eat until I've been up for a couple of hours. I just have coffee. I tried breakfast, and I tried that whole "6 small meals a day" and I was just hungry and was less in control than if I just had 3 large, satisfying meals.

I'm a slow loser, so take my advice with a grain of salt. You'll find your happy place. Good luck!
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Old 09-29-2012, 02:28 AM   #6  
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Great questions Gamegirl! I have an additional question for the people have responded because I've been calorie counting for a few months now. I'm using the LoseIt! app and have usually been eating less than the allotted number of calories for me to lose a pound a week. I've been really faithful to the plan and exercising. Why is it that I don't always lose that pound a week? And then randomly wake up and have lost a pound and a half overnight? It's so frustrating....
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Old 09-29-2012, 02:58 AM   #7  
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1. Yes.

2. Not sure at 100%, but from what I know, you'd have to seriously screw up with that for months or even years for whatever close to happen.

3. In theory: no. In reality: it depends on you. I need to eat 3-4 times a day, but I never eat much in the same sitting. Other people do just as well with one larger meal a day. The one thing to keep in mind here is: eating once a day only holds more risks of you arriving starving at the dinner table, and thus overeating in turn (especially with "little things" like dressing, grazing on the side while cooking b/c you're hungry, etc). But if you don't go into such patterns, then it's OK.

4. Yes, but junk food will still be junk food. Also, you may feel more deprived/hungry/frustrated, since those foods are more calorie-dense, and you can't eat as much in terms of volume. I.e. 100 calories of green beans will fill your stomach (in volume) much more than 100 calories of chocolate. So you could decide to live on such foods, within your alloted calories limit, but 1) you'd feel hungry all the time, and 2) it wouldn't be healthy anyway.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Moving Forward View Post
Why is it that I don't always lose that pound a week? And then randomly wake up and have lost a pound and a half overnight? It's so frustrating....
After years of trying to understand, I've come to realize that there's nothing to understand here. I mean, the human body works in way more complex ways than simply "if you create a calorie deficit, you'll always lose straightforwardly". Hormone shifts, water weight, whatever—sometimes you'll even eat junk food and see a 1 lbs loss on your scale two days later. What matters most is that it works in the middle-to-long run. As long as you stick to your plan, and know you're sticking to it, I think there's no need to worry your head.
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Old 09-30-2012, 12:33 AM   #8  
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Thank you to you all for your replies I appreciate you taking the time to answer me!
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