Calories...
 

So, I had a doctor's appointment before I started dieting (I started dieting the 10th of this month). My doctor and I were discussing my weight and that sort of thing. He said I should eat 1200 calories a day! Well, I did that for a week, but I haven't lost anything since Saturday. Therefore, I guess I need to increase my calorie intake. I want to do the zig zag thing. So I have decided to eat 1800-2000 on my high days and 1400-1500 on my low days. The zig zag calculator stated that I needed to eat 2368 on my low days and 2664 on my high days, but I don't think I will need that many. I feel content with just 1200, which is weird. Anyway, do you think my adjusted zig zag calorie intake is too low since the calculator online says it should be higher? Any advice would be helpful.

The problem with doctors is that they are not nutritionists. Unless they have specialized in weight loss or diet management, they tend to generalize people. 1200 calories is an acceptable amount for a woman who is petite and has very low physical activity. I used to care for a geriatric patient who was wheelchair bound and she was placed on a 1200 calorie diet by our nutritionist. An able bodied, active woman is going to need more or she will starve her body. Even if you were able to maintain an intake that low and lose weight, you would most likely be malnourished.

I am very tall and started off at a pretty high weight, and I started losing by eating 1800 calories, then bumped it down to 1500. I lost weight, but then the loss came to a screeching halt for 4 months. It wasn't until the fine ladies here suggested I was starving myself and needed to increase my intake that I solved the puzzle. I started eating 2000 calories a day and have been steadily losing 2 pounds a week since then.

If you really want input from a professional, I would pass up the doctor and see a proper nutritionist to determine the right calories intake for you.

well I love my Dr's but many can be morons when it comes to diet and realistic dieting. Check out your BMR and see how many calories it takes for your body to do nothing but breath. This is a better place to start in figuring out how many calories you should be eating.

even if it seems like a high number it is most likely less than you have been eating in the past and may help you lose and not be starving and or having major carvings to throw you off plan.

Good Luck!

Why do BMR calculators vary so much?

Yep, you'd have to talk to a nutritionist if you want some real input.

If you don't want to do that, you'll have to play around with it for yourself. Some peope are okay at 1200 calorie diets, some of us need a little more, some of us need a lot more. I don't know about online calculators. I've tried several and they all tell me I need to be eating about 2000 per day to lose with my activity; experience tells me that if I eat over 1800 everyday I would gain like crazy. Trial and error has found me eating well and losing fine (most of the time, we all have our slow weeks) at 1500 (average, my appetite tends to make me zig zag even when I don't do it on purpose) calories. I had to figure that out for myself though. I would try what you have planned for a few weeks and see what that does for you; you can always adjust if it doesn't work.

not sure why they vary but for me I have found that it is not by that much, maybe 100 calories. Maybe it is more the more a person weighs.

I think the point is that you do have to play with what amt of calories will work for you, but being new to calorie counting and being original poster is close to 300 lbs, 1200 calories is really low AND if the BMR says 2000, eating 2000 calories will most likely be signifigantly less than what most likely the original poster is eating. Also when starting out if one begins with a BMR and "plays around with the calories to find a comfortable place to be able to lose, not starve and find a way to live, it is never a bad place to start.

Thank you guys so much. Yea, I am going to play around with it. I am kind of at a halt right now. So I guess I am in starvation mode, and I am not getting enough calories. Not to mention, I am exercising a lot lately. Today, I didn't really limit myself to eating a certain amount of calories to see how many I need to feel content. I was only able to eat 1400 calories, but that may be because I didn't have a snack between lunch and dinner (I am eating 6 small meals a day). I am a sweet tooth person. Most of my calories that got me here (at my size) was sweets (candy, cookies, etc), in all honesty. LOL! Since I don't eat sweets now (because it would just contribute to my downfall), I don't eat as much calories. I plan on trying to hit 1800 tomorrow (without overeating) and use 1400 as my low days. Maybe my problem with then be resolved! If it isn't I will bump it up to 2000 on my high days and 1600 on my low days. Then I will increase up to the zig zag numbers.

Don't be so impatient. It takes more than 5 days to lose weight. This is a LIFELONG journey. 5 days is .0000002 of your life. Give it anothe 7 - 10 days then come back and change things if you still haven't lost anything.

I weighed myself and I lost a 1lb, so I guess calorie intake was my problem.

@ Benchmarkman... I am not being impatient, but I know it should be moving every 2-3 days given my weight, age, diet, and exercise routine. At least until I lose about 20lbs or so and then it starts to slow down. That is generally how it works for me. I also know it takes longer than 5 days and that it is a life long journey. Your comments are really pretty rude, aren't encouraging, nor helpful. I guess you forgot what it is like in the beginning?

Yes you are being impatient. To see a reliable drop on a scale you need to wait at least 2 weeks.

benchmark that may be true but mommysince has a point, you should try and remember how difficult it is in the first few weeks, i think a dieter needs to be seeing some sort of change on the scale at that time or they will lose all motivation and self belief and go back to old habits. You are right that it takes a long time to lose weight everyone knows that but saying that to someone who is starting out on a diet can only lead to them seeing weight loss as a massive impossible challenge instead of looking at it as a series of short term goals i.e every 10 pounds, i think what you said has a point but the fact is your talking to someone in a fragile state of mind and maybe you should think about wording things differently.

Mommysince i think the other posters are right, play around with your calorie intake, im 3 weeks into my new regime and have been at 1200 calories, i feel the same as you as in i am content at that level but as im now seeing stalls too i think maybe the way to go is more healthy snacks and maybe slightly enlarging portions by 10 or 20 grams like tomorrow i will have 120grams of grilled chicken when i would usually have 100, i think slowly increasing is the way to go.

Hi there! It sounds like you are on the right track. I think I understand what benchmark was trying to say. Maybe she shouldn't have said it so harshly, but I think her point is valid. Give it a little more time before you change what you are doing again. Most people don't lose a pound every day or even every other day. I know that starting out, it is easier to shed the pounds quicker, but sometimes our bodies need more time. And I know from personal experience that each time I start a weight loss journey, my body reacts a little differently.

I know how it feels to stall and feel like you should be losing much faster. When I started a little less than 2 months ago, I plateaued really quickly and had to wait about a week to start losing again. It was super frustrating but it eventually started melting off again. I have had a couple more plateaus just like that. I don't really change anything about what I am doing I just work through the plateau. I have since found that I steadily lose at least a pound a day for about a week and then I have at least 4 or 5 days of no loss so that my body can adjust.

I am zig zagging between 1200 and 1600.(I wont allow myself more than 2000 or less than 1000). I have lost 42 lbs in around 7 weeks. If you stick with it, you will see a change and you will lose. It can be totally frustrating at times but is worth it. If you plateau for a few weeks, then I would try playing with the #s more.

Just remember that you have already got a great start under your belt. A 10 lb loss in a week is amazing. However, you will probably see another plateau pretty soon because your body can't sustain such quick loss for a long period of time. I know how hard it is starting at a high weight. I just want to plow through my weight loss and get it over with. However, to do it the safe, slower way truly is the way to go. My first week, I lost 10 lbs but as of today, my loss is averaging about 6 lbs. I anticipate that it will continue to slow to a more average weight loss rate as I get smaller. It is hard seeing it slow at all, but I am doing this to be healthy and it will be well worth the time!

Good luck!! You are going to do great!!

First off its "HE" not a "SHE". Second I'm sorry if you consider the truth harsh. I'm sorry but the truth is the truth. That is another one of my theroies is that people are too afraid to tell and hear the truth that they sugar coat things and reality is distorted. If the OP admits the truth that yes maybe I'm being too impatient they will accompish their goal. If you keep lying to them and telling them "oh its ok" truth will never sink in and they will contiune to make the same mistakes.

Benchmarkman, I am sorry I had your sex wrong... my mistake. I didn't notice the "man" on the end of your name until now. I agree that a lot of us tend to sugar coat things too much but I think it would be good if you remembered that this is a SUPPORT forum. You can give an honest opinion but not use accusatory language when doing it. Not everyone deals well with such a blunt approach. Contradictory to what you may think, that type of approach can be more harmful than helpful to some.

And, by the way, I really don't think I sugar coated anything to the OP. I just stated my experiences and the truth and gave encouragement.

Benchmarkman, I don't need sugar coating. I just wanted to know what other people's experiences were and if my doctor was wrong about the calorie intake since so many other sites suggest a higher amount. I wanted to know if people used the calculators online or how they decided to find their calorie intake. My thread ISN'T about LOSING weight, though I know I mentioned I am stalling. It is about getting answers about calories and if I am getting enough at my weight (based on everyone else's experience-if they were my size) since 1200 seems a little too low considering other sites. Hence, why the title of the thread is called calories, not losing weight. I think you must have misunderstood what my thread was intended to be, which was a concern about calories and whether or not it is affecting me losing weight, since my calorie intake was so low and I was eating 1200 calories. I was thinking that I could be starving myself, which is why I thought I was stalling. Just needed advice, not accusations that I need some sugar coating.

Hi MommySince21505. I started about your size, and I set my initial calorie levels by looking at a couple of online sites. And yeah, they were all different from one another. I settled on MyPlate because I'd used it before, and I swear it wasn't because it had one of the higher limits! I think my original level was about 2700/day, with moderate activity. I figured if that didn't work, I'd lower it after two weeks. But it worked. Since then, my number has gone down (calculated automatically by the site as I lost weight) and is now around 1800/day or so. It's been working for me, but talking to a nutritionist is always a good idea. Congrats on your great start and keep at it!

I aim for 1550 calories a day. I know I lose best if I stay in the 1300 to 1600 range. Because of my work schedule (graveyard) I too often only get in 900 to 1100 - sometimes I am just too exhausted to eat when I get home and just want sleep more than food. I lose more slowly when I do that. I've been part of the daily weighing threads up in the 100+ Club for three months now and it's been very educational (and supportive!). Day to day the scale fluctuates all over the place and is kinda meaningless but patterns emerge - TOM (of course!), water retention after a high sodium day, and stalls after repeated lo-cal overnights. But it takes months of daily weighing to see trends in the data so in that respect benchmarkman is right, you are being impatient - is this a trend or just a fluctuation? Who knows!

But, with that said, I think 1200 is too low for someone starting out at your size and you'll lose more slowly like I do when I've worked too many nights and stop eating. I think your plan makes a lot more sense!

Speaking from an impatient former daily weigher.....benchmark may very well be right but men give advice differently then women. When did sugar coating become a bad thing? As women, our emotions are tied to everything we do...that's neither good nor bad...it just IS. So, of course, our efforts at weight loss are also emotional. If we lose what we consider a good amount of weight in a week, we are happy and we feel good about ourselves and it shows outwardly. If we have not lost "enough" weight, we feel cheated, in a bad mood and bad about ourselves...and it shows by how we take care of ourselves. All this is not necessarily how men deal with weight loss. So your blunt truths sting a little. You saw a problem and went to fix it. And leave it to women to find a problem HOW it was done. LOL!!! But, I digress.....we do all have different ways of dealing with things and for impatient people, like myself, I must say, get off the scale. OP said that "in the past" what has worked for her. But this time is different. Your body has been on diets...it feels like it's ANOTHER diet. It's going to be sluggish and impish. The more we go on and off diets or healthy eating, the more damage we do to ourselves and the more it takes to recover. Once a week is plenty to weigh yourself. Take notes on calories, activities and weight. Make changes monthly (as I am learning to do from the lovely people here). Slow down. And I am trying to focus on other things in my life...like life. Again, I'm learning and I'm certain I will be impatient again but I am trying to learn to control it. It is exceptionally hard when I have such a long way to go.....but....one day at a time is the only way to get there. Good luck!!!