I have a question about calorie intake. I have like 200+ pounds to lose and I am trying to get a straight answer on how many calories I can eat and still lose weight. According to fitday.com I need like 4300 to just maintain my current weight and I have been eating like 2500 -3000 calories a day and weighed myself this week and gained 3 pounds. Also I have been lifting weights and walking. What is it I am doing wrong? Could I be retaining water or something? Take in even less calories? If I go under 2000 calories I am hungry all the time it seems. I am getting extremly frustrated with this. I am determined not to give up but if I don't lose anything I can see myself getting frustrated and giving up. Any advice would be great!
Dani
A lot of people (including me) have noticed that Fitday's estimates for calories burned seem to be pretty optimistic Also, did you add sleep as an activity? That will decrease your calories a bit, and it's something a lot of people forget to add. Some say Fitday automatically includes sleep, but how does it know if I sleep 3 hours or 12 hours tonight? In any case, I think it's BMR calculations are too high for many many people, so adding sleep helps to lower it some.
Also, calorie calculators are a general guide at best. The higher your weight, the more inaccurate they tend to be. I know when I was over 300 pounds, it told me I could eat over 3000 calories to maintain my weight--yeah, right! If I ate that much, I KNOW I would gain, so I never paid much attention to the Fitday calorie thing.
We are all completely different. No calculator can be right for everyone. You just have to play with your calories until you find an amount that works for you. I'd be willing to be money that you could still lose on 2000-2500 calories a day at a pretty good rate. Perhaps you've been eating more sodium lately without realizing it? It hides in a LOT of foods you might not suspect (including "diet" foods), so you have to check labels pretty carefully.
Also, depending on how hard you're working when you do strength training, your muscles retain more water after working out while they heal. Did you weigh after a workout? Oh, that's another thing, too--did you weigh under the SAME EXACT conditions both times? Same (or no!) clothing, same scale, same time of day, same amount of food/water in your stomach, etc.? I can weigh up to 3-4 pounds different just from the morning to the afternoon of the same day
In any case, no matter what that infernal scale says, you're doing GREAT things for your body. Did you ever keep track of how many calories you were eating a day before you changed your lifestyle? That's a step a lot of people (including me!) forget that can make it much easier to figure out how many calories you should be eating. Also, have you been carefully measuring your portion sizes (no estimating!)? They can creep up on you and add more calories than you give yourself credit for sometimes. Just something to be careful about
First, scales are evil, didn't you know that? Some of them want you to fail! If you've only been doing this for a week, give it more time! Scale fluctuations can be caused by so many things -- water, tom, sodium...
I agree that many calculators are inaccurate, but I would think that if you have that much to lose that 2500 calories might be reasonable.
How do you track the calories you're eating? And to repeat Jill's question, do you measure what you eat? Do you write down what you drink? (at least the drinks that have calories like soda and juice). Sometimes we are eating more than we think we are.
As Jill said, you ARE doing good things for yourself. Revel in that, eat well and exercise and the weight will come off. If you quit now, the scale is the only winner!
In the meantime, take some measurements... scary now, but sometimes we see the loss in the tape measure before the scale! Somehow, the tape measure is less evil!
When I started looking at my calories, I used two or three online calorie calculators to figure out how many calories were needed to keep my 310 pound body going. I am of the opinion that most calorie calculations are bunk once you get into the obese range -- bodies just don't scale that neatly. But it was a place to start.
Most said I needed about 3000 calories to maintain the weight. So I subtracted 500 from that (one pound of fat=3500 calorie so 500 fewer calories a week shoudl show a one pound loss) to get my first goal.
After a few weeks, when I had gotten into the habit of measuring and recording my calories, I realized I wasn't losing, so I lowered it more. I aimed for 1800-2200 calories. I did that for a few months, making slow lifestyle changes all along. More veggies, more fruit, less sugar, more whole grains. You know the drill. I lost a good 20 pounds doing that, at about .5 pound a week average.
Then I decided that I was still intaking too many calories, so I lowered my goal to 1500-1800 calories per day. That range works consistently for me to lose a pound a week, sometimes 2.
And doing it this way allowed me to work on some of my food issues without a lot of deprivation. I hear you about getting hungry. I've found that I HAVE to focus my meals and snacks around protein. It takes longer to digest, so it gives a longer feeling of satiety. I can eat a doughnut for breakfast, or a half cup of cottage cheese and a banana. Same calories. An hour after the doughnut I willl be thinking about the candy machine upstairs in our building. The cottage cheese, which is very high in protein, keeps me until lunch.
So start high, and find what works with your body.
Take baby steps as you eat healthier.
Find foods that satisfy you longer.
And keep on keeping on! You're doing really well already!
Excellent advice from Jill, Wyllenn & Synger! When I was starting out it took me a little while of playing around with numbers to find out what worked best for me, you may have to do the same thing as well. You are definately doing great things for your body and the scale will catch up!
Great advice so far. Sometimes it's hard to figure out exactly what you should be getting, because everyone is so different. Along with what everyone else said you could also get your BMR (basil Metabolic Rate) tested. That will pretty much tell you how many calories your body is using and with the results they tell you how many calories you should eat a day for a healthy loss (1-2 lbs) per week.
If you have over 200 lbs to lose, then going under 2000 calories might be too drastic for the moment. Although when I had nearly 200 lbs to lose, I was on a 2000 calorie/day diet and I was quite satisified. I'd repeat what others have said and make sure you are dilligent in your calorie counting for a while. Meaning count everything just to make sure you are where you think you are.
Also, I'd add to make sure you are eating filling type foods and avoiding empty calories. Not to say that you aren't doing this already but if you are having trouble eating 2000 calories or less, it may be the food itself that is causing you to be hungry. Vegetables are great low calorie foods when eaten raw, steamed or braised in water. Be careful of processed foods that have a lot of sugar and salt. Sugary foods can make you more hungry. Salt would make you retain water so you might want to cut back if you haven't already just so you can be sure you aren't retaining a lot of water? Protein, fiber and fat can help you feel fuller. I would recommend eating some lower fat proteins such as white meat poultry and fish. You can also eat some good fats such as a little olive oil added while cooking and avocados. Fiber can be found in such foods oatmeal and vegetables. Also I'd recommend fruit as opposed to fruit juice as fruit has fiber which fruit juice doesn't. Lastly, drink water as your body does need to be well hydrated and it helps you feel fuller.
I find that these calorie calculators don't work for me either. You have to remember that what burns calories the most is lean body mass. I don't have a lot of it. Fat is metabolically inactive. Yeah, carrying it around all day uses some calories, but not that much.
The calculators tell me that I burn 3000+ calories doing nothing (RMR). I've been using DietPower (which I highly recommend) and after 30 days of tracking my eating and weight, it puts my RMR at 2000-2200. Which means that in order to lose 2 lbs a week, I have to eat 1200 calories per day (plus any exercise calories). I usually eat about 1600-1700, and I have been losing 1.5 lbs per week.
I started at 353 and have lost 36 pounds so far eating approximately 2000 calories. Some days it is slightly more, some less. I haven't felt too hungry, but I know from several days when I went lower than 1700 it wasn't enough. After 3 1/2 months I am now trying to drop my calories a bit and to stay around 1850-1900. Definitely one of the things that has made this a success for me this time was not being hungry. By choosing nutrition dense foods and making sure to get enough protein I have only felt really hungry when I have failed to plan appropriately (like forgetting to bring a snack).
That is some awesome information there! I have to say that I am really good for keeping track of everything I do put in my body, right down to a handfull of nuts or whatever. I know that I am doing great things for my body so I will continue, the other thing maybe I was thinking was, maybe because I am over 400 pounds my scale doesn't give an accurate reading for my weight. Does anyone know of a scale that would work for me that I can have in the home? I know the dietician has one but she is hard to get into to see. Another question I have is, do ya'll know of a good website that I can learn about some good foods I can eat that will give me protein and stuff? Or can you just tell me? I really want to lose weight but I don't really feel that I know so much and it is confusing that so many people tell you different things like carbs are bad and sugars are bad and don't eat this with that blah blah blah! It is so frustrating! I figured if calories out beat calories in then I would be ok. Thanks for your help guys! And it so uplifting to see the success you are all having!
Danica
I bought the Tanita Large Capacity scale. http://www.scalesgalore.com/pbath.htm#hd351 It's a little pricey at $75.00, but it is hands down the very best scale I have ever owned. It stores the reading of your last weigh in and shows it. It will store readings for up to five people. I never get a different reading, at all. For me it was also important that it accuratley weigh over 300 lbs. It has a 440 capacity. At over 300 I really had a hard time finding and scale that would weigh me which allowed me to be in the dark alot.
I started out by modifying the South Beach Diet. It has a lot of good principles that can be followed. There are good carbs (oatmeal, brown rice, legumes, vegetables, berries) that don't induce cravings like "bad" carbs do such as sugar, white rice, white bread. For me having PCOS, monitoring my high glycemic index foods is key and that is something that I learned from South Beach Diet. Body For Life is another one but it is quite strict in its foods. You say you go to a dietician? Can they help you? You might want to mention the hunger and see if they have recommendations for low glycemic foods.
Well I don't regularly go to a dietician but I just went in today to get weighed and she told me I should be eating about 1800 calories to lose weight with I totally disagree with, I know I am not a professional but I know my body and if I get less then 2000-2200 calories I am like starving. I have decided that I am going to try and eat less calories then I have been and see where that gets me. Well I guess I will see.
Danica
Did the dietician tell you how to get the most bang for your caloric buck if you went down to 1800? I'd be a bit ticked if you didn't! You can get a lot of food for 1800 calories if you eat the right stuff. Plus you can use an average for the week--sometimes eat 1800, sometimes eat 1600, sometimes eat 2000, but make sure it averages out to 1800 per day.
Eating small meals frequently is a big help when it comes to staving off hunger as is eating high fiber foods like veggies, fruits and whole grains. I eat a cereal concoction of dry oatmeal, oat bran, and a whole grain cereal I get locally and add 16 raisins, and 6 pecans (chopped) and some Splenda for sweetness. When I eat that with a little non-fat milk (and I have some protein along with the cereal), it keeps me full for a long, long time. I am a volume eater so I do stuff like put Laughling Cow Light cheese in a big celery stalk and put a little tuna salad (homemade) in a rolled up romaine lettuce leaf. Lots of crunch and volume for very little caloric expenditure. Homemade vegetable soup is a great way to keep yourself from getting hungry and get in your vegetables.
Consider doing 1800 calories for a few days, using the right kind of food, eating frequently and see what you think! It might make a big difference in your weight loss and your outlook on that number of calories.
Thank you EVERYONE for all of the information you have listed on this thread. I too use an online calorie tracker, and all of this information is so interesting. When I started my plan two weeks ago, I had 107 pounds to lose when I weighed in. The tracker has had me eat every day between 1230-1560 calories, and that is up a little because of the 30 minutes six days a week of exercise I do. I have lost 9 pounds now, and I haven't felt hungry, so I'm hoping this range is correct for me. I have, for most days, been eating in the upper range of my calories. Thank you again for all the info!
caloric intake
Also, did you add sleep as an activity? That will decrease your calories a bit, and it's something a lot of people forget to add. Some say Fitday automatically includes sleep, but how does it know if I sleep 3 hours or 12 hours tonight? 
In any case, I think it's BMR calculations are too high for many many people, so adding sleep helps to lower it some.
Some of them want you to fail! If you've only been doing this for a week, give it more time! Scale fluctuations can be caused by so many things -- water, tom, sodium... 
Thank you EVERYONE for all of the information you have listed on this thread. I too use an online calorie tracker, and all of this information is so interesting. When I started my plan two weeks ago, I had 107 pounds to lose when I weighed in. The tracker has had me eat every day between 1230-1560 calories, and that is up a little because of the 30 minutes six days a week of exercise I do. I have lost 9 pounds now, and I haven't felt hungry, so I'm hoping this range is correct for me. I have, for most days, been eating in the upper range of my calories. Thank you again for all the info!
