I'm here to be a loser

MidGaGuy

MidGaGuy

New member
Hi,

My name is Paul, I'm 38 and I've been overweight for far too long. I've finally changed my eating habits as well as my non-existing exercise habits.(I am walking 2 miles a day right now) I want to keep motivated to stick with this and not lapse back into old bad habits. I've been at this about 2 weeks now and so far so good. I'd actually lost more weight than the 3 lbs I already am counting but since I did not have an accurate scale I'm not going to guesstimate on those. I can be precise now. Going to only weigh myself officially once a week though. Unless it's better to weigh more often ?
I have read some of the posts on this site but need to read alot more. I want to get my calorie intake to about 1,500 daily . from what I have read that seems to be a healthy number. Right now I'm actually finding it hard to eat enough. I've got to get a steady routine in place of what I can/should eat everyday . I'm eating alot of the lean cuisine meals and I fine them filling and I'm not hungry but yet I'm not getting enough calories through them and I don't want to put my body into "starvation mode" from lack of calories. Any suggestions will be welcomed from anyone. Especially on what amount of calories is considered proper for weight loss. My normal calorie intake to maintain current weight would be around 2,500( ugh I hate even admitting that)
Thanks !
 
Hi Paul,

1500 calories might be a good number, but how tall are you? What is your weight now? How much do you want to weigh?

Personally I think you should find out how many calories it would take to maintain your "ideal" weight (not what you weigh currently) and eat that amount now. I would guess that's North of 2000. To increase your calorie deficit, step up your walking (pun intended).

Eating too little may cause you to lose weight, but not necessarily all FAT. You don't want to lose lean muscle mass. Of course you do not want to go into starvation mode either.

Sounds like you're on your way!

David C
 
Hi David,

I'm 5'11" and currently 312 lbs . According to the calculator I used , BMR is 2,657 and RMR is 2,357 . I'm thinking 1,500 a day along with the walking (I'm going to up it to 3 miles saturday and gradually add more as the weeks go on) should achieve me some weightloss .
for now I'd like to get to 250 and then once I reach that point I'll adjust my goals.
 
hi MidGaGuy and welcome. in my opinion i dont think you are eating enough. the bmr calculates the number of calories you'd burn if you stayed in bed all day. which obviously you are not. if you subtract the amount of calories you burn on top of that walking, and any normal daily activities - cooking, cleaning, work, etc etc. you will find you are burning far more calories than that.i can lose at around 1500 cals and im now 142 lbs.
a couple of handy ways to calculate are either by using the harris benedict equation (do an online search) which takes into account an estimate of how active you are or for simplicity :-

"The "quick" method (based on total bodyweight)

A fast and easy method to determine calorie needs is to use total current body weight times a multiplier.
Fat loss = 12 - 13 calories per lb. of bodyweight
Maintenance (TDEE) = 15 - 16 calories per lb. of bodyweight
Weight gain: = 18 - 19 calories per lb. of bodyweight" (quoted from )
obviously you need to readjust as you lose. this method doesnt take into account activity levels etc.
hope this helps. slim
 
Hi Paul,

Sounds like you are starting about where I did.

One problem with real low calorie diets apart from starvation response and your body canabalizing lean muscle mass along with the fat is that they are just hard to be on for a long time (which is a good thing because they aren't very healthy).

That said, there's nothing wrong with giving it a try for a limited amount of time, two weeks or a month. Then readjust your calories to a level that supports your lean muscle mass while still providing you with enough of a deficit to allow fat loss.

You will likely lose a lot fast. But if you are losing more than 2 - 3 pounds a week you are likely losing more than fat.

Don't forget that as you increase your fitness and activity level your caloric intake needs increase too. So if you are determined to go down to 1500 calories, as you add more exercise you should increase that.

Ready, Set, GO!

David C
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top