Ok so i am 5 ft 9, 289 pounds last week. I know, very heavy. I started using choosemyplate.gov which suggested 2800 calories a day to lose weight. The problem is i haven't been able to consume that much! Just the simple action of cutting out the junk food has me averaging around 1800 calories per day while getting ALL of my essential Food Groups. Other then the site recommending much less protein and more whole grains then i'm used to, i haven't had a problem adjusting. In one week i have lost about 8 pounds which i'm sure plenty is water weight. My question is does this sound appropriate? Should i try to consume more calories? Its just alarming to me that i'm so far below my recommended intake. I have lost 75 pds in the past so losing weight is not incredibly new to me, but i also have never gotten as high as 287 on the scale either. Any suggestions are very much appreciated!!! Thank you!
Not Enough??? Looking for some advice.
- Thread starter Nolan82
- Start date
1800 calories is perfectly fine. That website is probably, for some reason, assuming that you're current calorie intake was much higher.
I wouldn't cut back too much on protein. People trying to lose weight should still be receiving ample amounts of protein (about 2g/kg of body weight/day) to maintain muscle mass. Plus, protein will help to keep you feeling full.
Don't up the carbs TOO much either, even if it's from whole grains. Keep your carb intake around the same level it was already, or maybe just a little bit lower. As for exercise, try to do it in a fasted state (preferably in the morning, before breakfast) as this will ensure that your body is utilizing its fat stores instead of food energy. After exercise, go to town with your meals.
I wouldn't cut back too much on protein. People trying to lose weight should still be receiving ample amounts of protein (about 2g/kg of body weight/day) to maintain muscle mass. Plus, protein will help to keep you feeling full.
Don't up the carbs TOO much either, even if it's from whole grains. Keep your carb intake around the same level it was already, or maybe just a little bit lower. As for exercise, try to do it in a fasted state (preferably in the morning, before breakfast) as this will ensure that your body is utilizing its fat stores instead of food energy. After exercise, go to town with your meals.
Um Hi! 
I'm seventeen years old, and I'm 5 feet 6 inches and I weigh 56 kgs! I dont think I'm overweight, but my fat percentage is really high, to my muscle and bone. I also have zero will power, so I'm not very good with sticking to plans. Maybe that's because I'm not really sure what I'm supposed to do! I want to tone my body! And I'm not sure of how to do it, mostly because of all the vague information that's published all around! And I was hoping this forum would help me out! Advice could range from exercise to diets! Maybe a few tips on how to enforce the plan! Yup, that's about it! Thanks a lot!
I'm seventeen years old, and I'm 5 feet 6 inches and I weigh 56 kgs! I dont think I'm overweight, but my fat percentage is really high, to my muscle and bone. I also have zero will power, so I'm not very good with sticking to plans. Maybe that's because I'm not really sure what I'm supposed to do! I want to tone my body! And I'm not sure of how to do it, mostly because of all the vague information that's published all around! And I was hoping this forum would help me out! Advice could range from exercise to diets! Maybe a few tips on how to enforce the plan! Yup, that's about it!
Thanks a lot!I agree with everything here except for the fasted training business. Light training in a fasted state might provide the above stated benefit, but intense training (which is what will preserve lean body mass, and is thus far more important than light training) on an empty stomach will more likely yield a hypoglycaemic episode. This can manifest in anything as minor as performing at a sub-par level and getting less out of training, through to full-blown dizzy spells, nausea, black-outs, unconsciousness, and potentially worse in extreme circumstances (and I speak from first-hand experience). Besides, at the end of the day, for fat loss purposes it doesn't really matter where the energy is coming from for exercise. If it comes from fat, great. If it doesn't come from fat, great -- the burnt calories will now never become body fat. The body is constantly building up and breaking down fat stores, so taking energy and using it before it becomes fat has the same end result as taking fat and breaking it down for energy.
I believe that, the term “weight loss” has dominated the diet industry. The end result of any weight loss program is decreasing body weight. But is it really “weight loss” what overweight people need?
Fact is, losing weight is not necessarily healthy. Losing fat is healthy. Weight loss can be the result of water loss, or muscle loss. Either one is unhealthy. Muscle needs to be preserved at all cost when dieting. Successful diets (i.e Weight Watchers, Nutrisystem, etc) are designed to keep the muscle and burn the fat. Fad diets, crash diets, and very low-calorie diets “eat” your muscles.
The whole point when dieting to “lose weight” is to lose the fat and only that.
Fact is, losing weight is not necessarily healthy. Losing fat is healthy. Weight loss can be the result of water loss, or muscle loss. Either one is unhealthy. Muscle needs to be preserved at all cost when dieting. Successful diets (i.e Weight Watchers, Nutrisystem, etc) are designed to keep the muscle and burn the fat. Fad diets, crash diets, and very low-calorie diets “eat” your muscles.
The whole point when dieting to “lose weight” is to lose the fat and only that.