Being a 300+ gal, I was wondering how many calories you
all allow yourself per day. Is 1200 too low? If I eat more,
would I still lose weight? I'm feeling really tired lately (totally drained) and
I'm thinking it's because I'm eating too little but I'm worried
that if I up it, I won't lose weight. Any ideas? Do share!
Hi Kristy,
There are a few calculators out there that will work out what someone should be eating calorie-wise to maintain, and to lose weight. Your BMR (Basal metabolic rate - the amount of calories you burn by just living all day) is given by the formula:
655 + (4.3 x weight in lbs.) + (4.7 x height in inches) - (4.7 x age in years)
Then you have to add more if you have a fairly physical job, or expend a lot of energy by exercise each day. Then subtract 500 calories to give you a number that will result in you losing weight.
SO for example, if I was 300 lbs exactly, 5'9" and 41 yrs old then
BMR = 655 + (4.3 x 300) + (4.7 x 69) - (4.7 x 41) = 2076 cals
I don't have a very physical job so I wouldn't add any calories for that, so if I wanted to lose, I would subtract 500 from 2076, and so I should be eating 1576 cals per day.
I would say that 1200 cals is way too little for you, and the tiredness you are experiencing is your body adjusting for "starvation conditions" and lowering your BMR, so you can survive on those calories. Unfortunately lowering calories very low will mostly mean that we stop losing weight, because our body has gone into coping-with-starvation-mode and will lower the BMR and start using energy very efficiently!
For the record, I was losing about 2 lbs a week regularly last summer, on an average of 1800 cals/day and exercise 5 times a week.
Don't forget that above the BMR, you burn calories doing every little thing.
Over a week, I try to average about 1900 cals/day... when I started at about 300 I lost on 2000/day. Kristy, at 3000 cals, you might lose (though those formulas are not that accurate, they can be a guideline), esp if you're exercising, though it might be quite a slow loss. Right now my husband is losing at about 2300/day... It depends on a lot of factors.
Subtracting 500 theoretically results in a loss of 1 pound/week (500 cals x 7 days = 3500 calorie "deficit" for the week).
EIther way, I personally think 1200 calories is WAY to low at that weight. If 1200 is the LOWEST generally recommended by docs then doesn't that imply that is for the SMALLEST people???
Why not try 2000 calories per day for a while and see what happens. You can always adjust from there. Do you log what you eat? I use nutridiary (which also does have some of these calculations and they have worked for me, though many find them unreliable). Others use fitday.
Kristy, you might be surprised. I've been averaging somewhere between 2000 and 2200 calories/day since the beginning of September. There have been a few real "binge" days (e.g. today) and a few days where I have been around 1200-1500. Overall, though, I try to stay around 2200.
I have done something called "BodyGem" which tests your resting metabolic rate and extrapolates your calories/day from that. It says I burn 2580 calories/day just living (which is a little higher than the BMR calculators on the web have said). I was shocked when my trainer said I should eat > 2000 calories/day -- I thought she was nuts. But, she said that if I eat too few calories, my metabolism slows.
The main reason I feel like I can get down to a normal body composition is that I'm not starving hungry and weak all the time like I have been before when I tried to lose weight. I could never imagine how people managed to stay slim if they were that hungry all the time -- now I realize I was eating too few calories or the wrong kind of food. I've only come 30 pounds, but I've never lost weight before without feeling like I was starving.
Hi Kristy ... I think the problem was that you started with 2101.5 not 655
The formula is
BMR = 655 + (4.3 x weight in lbs) + (4.7 x height in inches) - (4.7 x age)
So your BMR would be
655 + (4.3 x 291) + (4.7 x 67.4) - (4.7 x 28) which is
655 + 1251.3 + 316.78 - 131.6 = 2091 cals (to the nearest calorie)
So to lose, you should be aiming at about 1600 cals/day, if you aren't doing any exercise at all, and if you are fairly sedentary. If you are moving around a lot, or doing exercise, you add to that.
You definitely shouldn't go lower than that. I had the same experience as Elmay - I thought my dietician was nuts when she told me to eat more, but I actually lost weight when I ate more, and stopped when I starved myself ... got to love your body and how efficient it is!
1200 is too few. I also started at 2000/day when I was 330 and have lost 1-2 pounds a week. I eat about 1400-1600 now. Also, about the energy, there was an article in the November edition of Health that said if you are just beginning a workout routine and are getting tired instead of energized, you may not be getting enough iron (especially around the girl time). I don't know if this is true or not, but I remember many days of being drained when I should have felt energized.
I don't know where that 1200 calorie a day thing came from, but I followed it religiously in the beginning. I had a 5 month plateau where I lost nothing even though I didn't cheat, and was walking for the first time in a decade. I didn't start losing weight until I increased to 1700-1800 calories a day. I've had a few days in the last couple of weeks where I've been over 2000. When you are over 300 pounds, you just burn so many more calories than skinny women do. When I was almost 600 pounds I imagine I burned more calories with a good fart than most 100 pound women would running a marathon. I have to eat at least 500 calories for breakfast to make it through 2 hours of water aerobics, and then I have to have an apple waiting in my locker to have the energy to safely drive home. We've never listened to our bodies well over the years, so now is as good a time as any to learn. Lack of energy is something you have to listen to. Shoot for healthy eating first. If you are eating healthy, you shouldn't be so tired. The one thing that became very clear to me when I really started measuring my food and keeping track of calories, is that I must have been eating 6000 calories a day sometimes.
When I was almost 600 pounds I imagine I burned more calories with a good fart than most 100 pound women would running a marathon.
*chuckle* Catherine -- thanks for the good laugh! You said it better than I ever could have!
I think a lot of people hear 1200 is the "magic" number and think less calories is better, but I think that's dangerous for people our size... it may not permanently hurt you, but it certainly may cause lack of energy, and when you're losing weight, you need energy! For me, one of the best things that's happened as I changed my diet is that I have MORE energy late in the afternoon, when I used to want to nap everyday...
Eat healthy, try for 2000 calories, and see what happens. You can always adjust down from there.
I never replied to your post to me about us starting at the exact same weight and having lost the same! We are doing this as ya ya sisters! Yayyyyyyyy!
I totally agree with the other ladies - several years ago I tried the Optifast plan (the one Oprah lost 60+ pounds on) and didn't eat a thing for 7 days - just their shakes - I only lost three pounds. I was devastated! Once I started eating normally (healthy), I lost 5-6 pounds in as many days -
Since I joined LAWL in September, I've been really eating healthy and am never hungry - I just wasn't eating enough when I tried to lose on my own.
Now if I could just figure out why I ended up in the hospital on Friday, we'll be alright! They said my potassium was wayyyyyyyyy low - I don't think this diet is low on it, but who knows?
I agree with the others that 1200 is way too low. Were do you go from there as you lose weight or hit a plateau? I started with WW several years ago and someone gave me a conversion of the points to estimated daily calories- its about 50 calories per point plus about 250 calories for the no point vegetables & higher fiber foods. At your current weight, you would be at 29-34 points per day or about 1700-2000 calories per day. For every 25 pounds you lose, the range drops 2 points or 75-100 calories; which is a pretty reasonable way to adjust as our bodies change...you don't have to follow WW plan but you can use their framework as a guide.
Christine -- Thanks for the WW info. Even though I'm not following their plan, I've always thought they used a really reasonable approach to weight loss.
Well ladies, I took your advice, I raised the calories a bit -
I added little snacks in between meals. I'll let you know if
it makes a difference - I weigh myself on Mondays!
Hey Christine, I'm gonna use your dragonfly thingy in
your siggy - it's too cute!
How many calories do you gals allow yourself?
