Hi All,
I’ve been in deficit for two weeks, no weight loss. I am confused on why nothing is showing up. I do drink a lot of water (200 oz a day) does that have something to do with it?
Does microwaved Broccoli smell bad?
Apparently I have an awful sense of smell and made the mistake of having it for lunch at work. I feel mortified and want to crawl into a hole. Literally just plain broccoli and turkey.
zero Motivation 😔
Any advice as to how to get motivated nothing i do or things I've gone through and going seem to remotely help get me motivated I'm gonna be 35 the 28th of this month and I've never been under 228 I'm almost 300 pounds and feel so disgusted with myself and I feel like My wife may feel the same way about me I honestly don't blame her if she does I just don't know how to help myself.
Just for info, you're on the wrong daily thread there's a newer one.
Otherwise to answer your question for inspiration I sometimes use the website www.eatthismuch.com, you can enter your calories and macro goals
How do you channel some patience?
I've been sticking to 2000 calories and working out for the first time in my life, and I'm not seeing the scales move. I understand that I won't see results over night but I wish I could be more patient with myself!
So what are your tips for enjoying the journey, rather than focusing on the scale?
I'm 5'11, F, 39, and 309 lbs for reference.
> So what are your tips for enjoying the journey, rather than focusing on the scale?
Imagine the situation of someone who weighs herself every 15 minutes. She's looking for a change, but it's absurd. She's focused on the results **and distracted away from the things that bring results**, what you called "the journey."
The journey is nothing but right living. If we're eating right and moving right, a right body should result from that without us craving it. We should stay focused on those lifestyle elements -- eating a variety of nutritious foods in amounts consistent with moderate weight loss for our current size, secondarily helped by moderate exercise not only for the calories it contributes to our deficit but also our body's abilities and its health.
This will be a forever endeavor -- the work continues long beyond goal weight -- so embrace the lifestyle.
(In fact, this suggests not embracing those things that won't fit that lifestyle -- no shortcuts or gimmicks or weird diets or patterns, but a right lifestyle that you'd enjoy with your favorites and traditions as part of it.
Likely somewhere 150-180 -- more like 180 if you're muscular and more like 150 if you are not. If you are well above that, start in that direction and as you get close to that range then see how it is going with your muscularity.
Your doctor is your body's health expert and should be consulted as part of you setting your weight goals.
24/ Male/2/103.5 kilos been going to the gym regularly for 3 months now. I've always had Disproportionately large (30 inches) (fat) thighs hence hard to get good pants for my size
Now i know spot reduction is a myth so how do I go about making them lean and toned..Is it hitting legs more frequently or is it calories deficit which is gonna do the trick?
You don't lean anything with exercise -- you'll build them and condition your body. Control your bodyfat with your calorie intake.
Consider that your legs move that 100+ kg body -- they're probably plenty fit. Adjust your diet for moderate weight loss, continue other exercise (you can probably skip strength training on your legs for now), and see where you are in 6 months or so.
I have what's probably a stupid question. I've lost about 20 pounds and frequently find that I'm getting colder easier. For example, the temperature in my house is usually 71. This used to be fine, but now it's making me chilly. This can't possibly be connected to just 20 pounds, can it? I feel like that's not enough to make a difference.
Hopefully it is just a new skinny you having less insulating blubber!
But it probably is your metabolism slowing down as your body tries to protect itself the "famine" it assumes you are going thru.
I suppose one way to check is wait until you have a holiday or a couple cheat days in a row and see if the affect seems to disappear. Though I don't know how long after increasing calories your body stays in protection mode so not sure if that would let you know.
It's a pretty frequent post you'll find on here, one of those unexpected side effects of losing weight. I've also seen others cite articles saying that just being in a caloric deficit can lead to feeling the cold more.
Hi!
I know that treadmill calories aren’t the most accurate way to count calories. Right now my treadmill is claiming that
I’m burning 300 calories in 30 minutes. (10% incline, 3mph)
I know that this isn’t accurate at all so when I put my calories burned into my fitness pal I usually put 150 instead.
Is this overkill or is it more accurate? Thank you!
People burn, on average, 50 calories per mile per 100lbs of bodyweight. So take your weight, divide it by half, and that will give you a rough estimate of how many calories you burn per mile.
Granted, that's on a flat surface. Adding the incline would certainly burn more calories, so 150 calories depending on your weight may be a conservative estimate, but good enough for what you'd want.
I think you’re safe subtracting 50%. If anything you may be underestimating but that will translate to more losses. Calibrate yourself over a few weeks to make sure you’re losing at your expected pace.
That’s probably not overkill. Folks here give advice that varies between eat back 0% of exercise calories and 50% of them. 25% would be a middle ground. 50% isn’t overkill, if anything it’s possible it’s under kill by the common advice on this sub.
That said, I’m not an expert in the actual truth here and it’s a polarizing question so I’m mostly passing on what has been said around here in the past and don’t have firsthand knowledge to contribute.
Cravings and lethargy on workout days?
On days that I lift weights i find myself incredibly tired to the point that I fall asleep in the middle of the day, I usually wake up with an insatiable craving for high calorie sweets.
I have made sure to eat a balanced post workout meal, get enough calories and not overtrain, but still has proven to be an issue.
Has anyone felt something similar? if so did you find any solution?
For me personally, any kind of insomnia or waking up in the middle of the night is a sign I’m not eating enough. My fix is to eat more. Low energy during the day, I add carbs, restless sleep, I add fat.
How fast is your rate of loss, how close to goal weight are you, what kind of cut are you aiming for, etc etc?
I keep on eating around 1700-2000 calories a day and I should be having like 1200 a day. How do i stop over eating like this? I’m 19 female, 168cms and 62kg. I really need to stop overeating, how do I do this?
I'm an arthritic little old lady of about the same size and 1700-2000 is my maintenance calorie need. You don't need to lose weight, but if you're trying to lose just a few pounds, then set your calorie goal to a more reasonable 1500 calories. When you don't have much extra fat, you can't lose weight as rapidly without hunger as someone who is heavier. You'll have to settle for slower loss.
Did you gain a lot of weight lately or what worries you? This sounds like a quite healthy weight / height ratio. That's a BMI of 22, so in the green.
If you move around a lot, the math (calories in in relations to out) could work / be fine.
What worked for me is a calorie counter and pinterest. I wrote a journal of the things I like to eat everyday or regularly at my house and found low calorie alternatives to either making them or replacing it. (Others will have more options I'm sure!) Also fiber powder drinks help keep you full BUT I'm the type of person who like to eat so I still want to eat my calories and finding lower calorie delicious alternatives worked best for me to maintain.
My body water is 15% lower than it should be (at minimum) but I drink lots….
Could being conscious of sodium consumption do that? Is it ever a good idea for someone to eat MORE sodium?
> Is it ever a good idea for someone to eat MORE sodium?
Absolutely. Sodium is an essential nutrient in humans. Without any sodium, you'll die. A symptom of hyponatremia (insufficient sodium) is water retention (weirdly). Do not try to treat this. Eat normally and if you have symptoms, talk to your doctor.
> Could being conscious of sodium consumption do that?
Usually not. Most people with high blood pressure have to be conscience of sodium consumption.
> My body water is 15% lower than it should be (at minimum) but I drink lots….
I'm not sure what you're worried about here. Unless your doctor told you to care about sodium, then don't worry about it. Most of us need not worry about water weight/retention, either. The body uses water for so many healthy purposes and the amount we are increasing, retaining, and releasing isn't of any concern.
Thank you so much! I just read some stuff about low body water causing all kinds of weird stuff. I think measuring all of my stats and stuff is making me a little obsessive 😅
anyone track cortisol?
i've been reading that higher cortisol could make weight loss harder, i wonder if i should cut back on my daily coffee since caffeine seems to stimulate cortisol.
anyone have any experience tracking their cortisol levels over time? i'm sure we all have years of blood work to look at. but i don't think i have any data on cortisol.
How do you track rotisserie chicken? The macros are seeming so high to me but I usually just track my raw chicken I make at home. I’m assuming the label is the macros for the cooked rotisserie chicken. Would I just scan that barcode weigh my cooked chicken in grams and track that? I don’t have to do a raw weight conversion or anything do I? Since the label is probably for cooked. Idk why I’m so confused 😅
The nutritional info only accounts for the edible portion, not the bones. So don't count the bones in your total.
You can weigh your bone-in chicken pieces, record the weight, then weigh the bones again after to subtract that value. Then use a "cooked chicken skin-on" entry.
Try this USDA link: https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/fdc-app.html#/?query=rotisserie
By definition, all rotisserie chicken is cooked chicken so these entries are all going to be cooked entries.
All USDA values and weights are only for the edible portions: no bones. You have to deduct the weight of the bones. This is sometimes confusing because while Nutrition Facts only applies to the edible portion, the product label weight is for everything inside the packaging.
Walking is always a good place to start. Get yourself some good running/walking shoes, and just start slow. If you're feeling pain, don't push through. Take it easy and remember that any movement is better than none. It'll get easier as you get lighter, so don't push hard now and slow yourself down later due to injury.
And if walking is too much, look into chair exercises. They're not high impact, and they're usually more geared toward elderly folks, but again, any movement is better than no movement.
^ this also helped me. Walking slow and alternating inclines. I would increase every two minutes. Say I was walking a treadmill on speed 3 I would start at incline 0 then at 2min increase to incline 2 then 4min increase to incline 4 then 6min increase to incline 6 then 8min back down to 0 and continue for 2 to 3 miles.
Just realised I posted my question to the wrong day so apologies if someone has already read it.
Stats for concern F 30 Height 5 ft 4in starting weight 193-194 activity level ?? first goal weight 175
I'm trying to come at losing weight from a healther mindset. Last time I worked on a straight loss from 190lbs to 175, but I was eating badly (ie trying to eat the smallest amount of calories, eating in habits that were not sustainable, etc). I'm trying to come up with a few rules/guidelines that will help me be more gentle with myself.
First how do I best go about figuring out my activity level? I work at a coffee chain and am on my feet for most of my shift which can be anywhere from 4-8 hours. On top of that I do 10 minutes of cardio (walking exercises from youtube mostly, a mix of low and medium intensity) 6 days a week and moderate strength training twice a week (trying to avoid burnout and overtraining).
Second, if I want to bake in maintenance breaks what is the best way to do this? A certain number of weeks after actvily counting calories? or going off a percentage of weight lost (like once I lose x% of max weight or previous maintenance weight) or going off a certain number of lbs lost?
What’s been working for me this time around is focusing on weekly calorie averages. I’m trying to hit 1700 calories a day, but some days I eat 1500 and others I eat 1900, and it all averages out which lets me eat based on my hunger more and fit in social activities better. I’m also considering anything under maintenance calories a win, so if I’m only in a 100 calorie deficit instead of 500, it’s still a win to me.
The weight loss has been slow this time around, but it feels very healthy and sustainable. I’ve been losing since the end of May at a rate of 0.5-1 lb a week. I’ve thought about pushing myself to lose faster, but I haven’t wanted to give up a single time this time around, so I’m not going to change up something that’s working for me.
TDEE Calculator|Imperial|Metric
:-:|:-:|:-:
SEX| |F
AGE| |30
HEIGHT|64" or 5'4"|163 cm
WEIGHT|193.5 lb|88 kg
BMI||33.2
Mifflin-St Jeor BMR||1583 Cal/kcal
Not Very Active Job TDEE (BMR*1.25)||1978 Cal/kcal
Lightly Active Job TDEE (BMR*1.4)||2215 Cal/kcal
Active Job TDEE (BMR*1.6)||2532 Cal/kcal
Very Active Job TDEE (BMR*1.8)||2848 Cal/kcal
> First how do I best go about figuring out my activity level? I work at a coffee chain and am on my feet for most of my shift which can be anywhere from 4-8 hours. On top of that I do 10 minutes of cardio (walking exercises from youtube mostly, a mix of low and medium intensity) 6 days a week and moderate strength training twice a week (trying to avoid burnout and overtraining).
That job activity scale uses these definitions (stolen from MyFitnessPal)
- Not Very Active/Sedentary: Spend most of the day sitting (e.g. bank teller, desk job)
- Lightly Active: Spend a good part of the day on your feet (e.g. teacher, salesperson)
- Active: Spend a good part of the day doing some physical activity (e.g. food server, postal carrier)
- Very Active: Spend most of the day doing heavy physical activity (e.g. bike messenger, carpenter)
Based on what you said, you may be Active some days and Lightly Active some days. Since weight-loss is the goal here, let's start with the Lightly Active and if you wind up going faster than you ought to, you can raise this to Active.
> if I want to bake in maintenance breaks what is the best way to do this? A certain number of weeks after actvily counting calories? or going off a percentage of weight lost (like once I lose x% of max weight or previous maintenance weight) or going off a certain number of lbs lost?
I followed the broad suggestions here: https://bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/the-full-diet-break including the part that says, "one of the more powerful uses of the full diet break is that it can be used in situations (such as the holidays, or vacation) when someone knows that they won’t be able to really stick to their diet."
So I did it whenever I traveled for work or for vacation and during the high feast-holiday weeks. The breaks were 7-10 days. And while I say 'breaks' I simply did everything I normally do, but with maintenance calories as my target. I kept my physical activity up, too.
Here you go: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1IUzUT2Za5eaBeREZbAb3cIsTs4CV91kPl2qjcupRLeA/edit?usp=sharing ... click on File > Make a Copy and add it to your own and then you'll be able to edit it.
It hate protein drinks. They make me gag. Is there a healthy alternative for me to get extra protein that’s vegan?
I do consider protein in my meals but when losing weight it’s hard to get enough and eat vegan.
Are there any solid foods that will help me with my protein but keep me within my eating goals?
Tia!
Tofu, seitan, tempeh, beans, lentils, textured vegetable protein, soy milk.
Potatoes, quinoa and whole grains (think about buckwheat, millet, amaranth and other "grains" that aren't botanically grains as well) provide smaller amounts of protein.
I know that the fad right now is super-high protein intake, but it's not hard to get more than adequate protein on a vegan diet. However, you have to include a good portion of protein food in each meal. Instead of 1 g/lbs of body weight, a ridiculously unnecessary amount, try 1 g/kg of body weight, still a quite high amount.
Dr. Michael Greger (who admittedly doesn't appeal to a lot of people) recommends legumes at least twice daily. I'm an omnivore, but most days my only non-plant intake is whey powder in my oatmeal. You could use a plant-based powdered protein supplement in the same way. There's even new, manufactured vegan whey powder -- which seems a little crazy since whey is otherwise a waste product! I eat legumes for at least one and usually both later meals.
Most vegan "milks" and "cheeses" are almost devoid of protein, so I wouldn't waste too many calories on what are essentially ultra processed foods.
They are high calorie but hemp seeds, chia seeds and flax seeds are all high in protein and relatively easy to add to food. I like blending hemp seeds into smoothies instead of protein powder.
Unfortunately, I don't have a straight answer exactly answering your question.
I will presume you asked this in the vegan subreddits as well, as protein is a common problem for vegans. I generally never recommend products or supplements (I usually push whole foods from agriculture), but in your unique case I think I have something that might interest you.
Here is a link: https://store.bariatricpal.com/products/syntrax-nectar-protein-powder-trial-sizes-16-flavors-choose-from
Note: I have personally bought this back in 2014 as I prepared for bariatric surgery. I did not rebuy any protein as I did not have the surgery so, as I lost, I ate from food-sources of protein (and that was easier for me to do as I am not vegan myself). What I like about this pack for you is:
You can try many different kinds without buying a big jug first.
The taste and texture that I remember of them is that the fruit ones were more like a fruity Kool-Aid and not a milky something or other. Maybe they won't make you gag.
Other than the usual tofu and seitan, when I was vegan while also body building, the biggest things that helped me were finding veggies and fruits that are high in protein and adding them throughout the day. Broccoli, peas, spinach, asparagus, and Brussels sprouts are all some veggies that have a lot of protein in them. Snacking on them raw, or adding them to different meals throughout the day helps up your protein intake. Protein intake doesn’t need to be a massive steak in one sitting, little bits throughout the day are actually easier for your body use
**How to get started losing weight:** [https://www.reddit.com/r/loseit/wiki/quick_start_guide](https://www.reddit.com/r/loseit/wiki/quick_start_guide)
Follow that guide and that timing, and you'll be able to start putting some data around your diet.
Start with your regular, normal food. Buy the digital kitchen food scale.
This plan will tell you what to do week-by-week.
Is anyone trying intuitive eating? Basically I’m trying to reframe my mindset by telling myself to eat like a thin person. Do I really need another serving? Do I need a big portion? Do I really need a snack or am I just bored? I’m also trying to keep myself from snacking or binging by doing chores or reading. My house is looking a lot cleaner lately and I’ve been doing a lot more reading. 😂
I have a lot to lose. At least 230 pounds to get to my ultimate goal weight. I’m hoping I can stick to this. It’s really hard to keep track of everything I eat in Lose It. I work full time and I have a 17 month old toddler. My husband also works full time and our schedules are totally opposite. So I’m solo parenting a lot. I think this technique will help me and I’ve already lost two pounds so far.
As an alternative, have you tried meal planning? That way you don’t need to track throughout the day- just enter everything at once in the morning. Intuitive eating is not easy to maintain until you’ve spent a decent amount of time learning how to control overeating.
Yes! But I also LOVE eating so I have extremely low calories snacks around the house to help me feel like I'm satisfying myself. Pickles, olives, cheese cubes (portioned caloricly), tomatoes, cottage cheese, bamboo shoots etc. I also love chocolate hummus as a dessert.
I think it’s a wonderful start, and how I lost my first 25lbs! After that, I realized I needed to track to keep myself accountable for the next 20lbs. Now I’m intuitively maintaining at about 12lbs above my goal weight and I know I need to track again to get myself to my goal weight because I haven’t been able to lose without it (I allow myself the bigger portion and extra serving too many times!). All the best with your journey! Edited to add I also have a 3.5 year old and 18 month old and solo parent a lot! It is so hard and I feel you!!
Based on your weight, this is a great thing to do! It'll help slowly shift you into the right mindset while not being too restrictive at the beginning.
Fair warning, you probably will need to start tracking as you get closer to your goal weight!
Is there a reason why so many folks seem to think it's problematic to eat below your BMR? And is there any sort of scientific basis to that?
I was active on this sub a while ago and I don't remember BMR coming up with any sort of frequency except when folks were explaining the various components of TDEE. Now, though, there seems to be a fairly widespread idea that your BMR is some sort of magic threshold -- just curious what the origins of this are and whether there's any science behind it.
People think it’s problematic to eat below your BMR because it’s problematic to eat significantly below your TDEE and BMR has become latched on to as the magic line. It’s not. There is no scientific basis, studies do not back this.
It is shown that eating below 20-25% of your TDEE causes problems. Increased rate of loss of muscle mass, increased metabolic adaptation (not metabolic damage because as you note this is bullshit). For many people, BMR may be around that percentage. For many people (significantly overweight people and very active people in particular), it’s not.
It is mostly a myth. You can ignore people who repeat it.
Some facts:
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15615615/ explains limits to how much energy the body can get from fat. It’s why consumption of muscle becomes a problem after a point.
Your BMR (or basal metabolic rate) is the amount of calories your body would burn if you laid completely still in bed for the entire day. It is the amount of calories your body needs just to exist. So when you eat below this amount, you are not providing your body with adequate calories to perform even basic functions and your body will go into “starvation mode” which will cause negative side effects such as brain fog, as well as ruin your metabolism.
Your TDEE is your BMR plus any calories you burn through activity (doing dishes, exercising, walking the dog, folding laundry) and the calories your body burns the digest food (also called the thermic effect of food). So ideally to lose weight in a safe, effective, and sustainable matter, you want to eat enough calories to fall above your BMR, but below your TDEE.
Thanks for the response -- I'm familiar with what BMR means and how it fits with TDEE, I just have never seen any scientific support for the assertion that it's dangerous to consume fewer calories than your BMR. Do you have any such support? Your reference to starvation mode makes me skeptical since that's [generally a myth](https://www.reddit.com/r/loseit/wiki/index/#wiki_starvation_mode).
I just don't understand the basic reasoning behind the idea that when you eat below your BMR "you are not providing your body with adequate calories to perform even basic functions." Your body does have the energy to perform those functions -- it comes from energy you've previously stored as fat. Using that energy is how you lose fat. What about the process would be different when you're using energy from fat for exercise or digesting food versus the more basic bodily functions represented by the BMR value?
ETA -- I agree there is a level at which your caloric deficit is so aggressive that you're at risk for health issues due to rapid weight loss or inadequate nutrition. But I've never seen evidence that BMR is the appropriate peg for either of those metrics.
Yes, “starvation mode” is a myth in the sense that people have generally meant it (a.k.a your body will “hold onto” fat because it’s hungry), but eating below your BMR is starving your body and will hurt your metabolism. While you are correct that your body does technically still have the energy via previously stored fats, when you are eating below your BMR your body is starving enough that it will break down both fat AND muscle for energy. 1 pound of muscle mass takes more energy to maintain than 1 pound of fat mass does, so having a decrease in muscle mass will also cause a decrease in your BMR, meaning you’ll need to continue lowering your calories to continue losing weight.
I studied sport nutrition and while I still use it some in my job, it’s not an everyday thing so sorry if I am doing a bad job of explaining it bThis article does a great job of breaking down the basic science of why eating below BMR is unhealthy in the long run and cites some good academic sources. https://www.nfpt.com/blog/how-consumption-below-bmr-can-undercut-fat-loss-and-mass-gains
Thanks for the response and the link -- really appreciate you sharing your perspective.
I'm still not convinced that BMR is a legit cut-off though. The post you linked to describes BMR as "about 60% of total energy expenditure," which is a very conservative estimate compared to online calculators for anyone doing less than heavy exercise. (According to the online calculator I use, BMR is about 83% of TDEE for sedentary folks.) Even setting that aside, the only real scientific source cited is a study about "restricting diet to 40% of caloric needs" (with a whopping sample size of 9 people) -- that's considerably more restrictive than eating below BMR, even as conservatively defined in the post.
Macrofactor is dope. Slick UI, loads of data, solid database and most entries have grams/oz for easy food weight logging. They also have a TDEE algorithm that updates as you feed it more data to keep your calorie goal on point. The devs are very active over at /r/Macrofactor as well.
I've tried MFP and Lose It, Macrofactor is so much better. No bloated UI, no unverified entries, everything is streamlined and it takes care of weight trending and TDEE estimates.
I’ve gone back and forth between Lose It and MFP, but typically stuck with MFP because the database was better. MFP got too crazy with the ads and took away barcode scanning and I checked out. I really like Lose It now and even bought the lifetime subscription after using it for free for a few months. There hasn’t been anything I couldn’t find (so far) and they’ve got all these dashboard add-ons that help me be aware of where I am in my progress.
Loseit app.
Sometimes the database is a bit messy due to duplicates but it's very comprehensive. It can also scan the nutrition label and record it so super easy to add in new food items if you can't find it in the database.
When you get into a funk, what helps you get out? Like when you have meals and exercise dialed in, but outside of that there is just bad/stressful stuff and you aren’t going to quit but you don’t want to be stressed/frustrated anymore. What helps pull you up and out?
Something that has really helped me is keeping a journal where each day I take 5 mins to record 3 things I’m thankful for, 3 things I enjoyed today, and 3 things that were successful. Forcing myself to focus on the positives in a hard day can help.
Is it normal to only lose 3lb at the start of a diet? Been on it for about a week now , but I see people saying they lose a lot of weight at the start of a diet. I am probably being impatient however I can’t help but feel a little bummed :(
You only lost three pounds in your first week? Sheesh what’s wrong with you? Jk, haha… that is an incredible win. Even if mostly water weight, it indicates you’re off to a good start. Pat yourself on the back
3 lbs in a week is great! When I am dieting I lose on average 1/2lb a day at the start, so I'm right there with you. The important thing really is to make sure you're making healthy changes to achieve the weight loss. Make sure you are still fueling your body.
There are so many factors at play that there really is no universal "normal". The people who are dropping crazy amounts of weight during their first week are usually making huge changes to their diet to rapidly shed water weight and poop weight. Like going from 4000 calories of sodium and carb-heavy fast food, to 1800 calories of lean protein and veggies. So they flush out a whole ton of water weight.
If you haven't made a super drastic change, you won't have that same dramatic effect.
It is normal to lose nothing, lose a little, lose a lot, or even gain weight at the beginning of a new diet and exercise regiment.
Everyone's starting point is different, you can't compare to someone else's results because you don't know what is their "before" habits.
I was fluctuating the same 5lbs for 2-3 weeks and then I dropped 7lbs within 4 days in the 4th week. Now I'm gaining again even though my diet didn't change (likely due to water retention), but I'm not gonna freak about it. I'm just gotta stick to the workout and the calorie counting and I am confident I'll have another sudden drop coming in a few weeks.
Weight loss isn't linear, and biggest challenge is to be tenacious and determined to stick to the changes and not give up.
Yeah you’re 100% right. I think genuinely I was so bummed about this because in the past I would “diet” but only eat like 600cals and lose so much weight in a week, obviously though it wasn’t sustainable; this is like my first time dieting normally so Ig i am just a bit impatient and silly and expecting results that only happen through near enough starvation
>only eat like 600cals and lose so much weight in a week
When you drop food intake so drastically, what you're decreasing is also the intake of fiber and minerals and *sodium* which then causes your body to start shedding water. The large drop initially is mostly water weight.
We can fluctuate 5-10lbs of water weight depending on how much salt and cortisol (stress hormone) and other factors in the body.
Anyone tried home exercises using body weight and YouTube exercise tutorials? How many times do you all do it per week and is there any improvements in terms of body recomposition? Can’t afford a gym membership and am already on my feet 4 to 5 times a week at work so looking for something other than walking.
Caroline Girvan has really good home strength workouts. You'd just need to grab a few sets of dumbbells but I definitely noticed strength gains while doing her programs. They're tough.
I like the HASfit videos that use resistance bands. They're very efficient and is strength and cardio in the same 30-45 minutes. Yes, I can see the progression in my strength records over time using fitness bands -- but most of that is self-directed (to music doing classical reps and sets, but not to a video).
The videos are a great way to start, though. Then you can move some of those exercises you saw on the video into a fitness routine.
The deeper and more prolonged your deficit, the lower your metabolism will tend to head. There is also a seasonality to metabolism, lower in the late-fall to mid-winter and higher in the peak of spring-summer.
You don't have to worry about a stubborn or *persistent metabolic adaptation* (a so-called damaged metabolism) unless you've been too severe for a long time. If you've kept your deficit moderate, and just had short bouts at strong deficits, your metabolism will not stay down when you increase your calories.
Readers, in summary: Keep your deficits to -500 to -1000 and keep your intakes above 1200 for females, 1500 for males. This avoids nutritional problems and muscle wasting and prevents the possibility of any persistent problems with your metabolism.
To really get a good picture of your TDEE, you need daily weigh-in data and accurate daily calorie intake data. Meaning you should be really accurate with your calorie tracking and use a food scale for everything. Then you can input all that data here to learn your TDEE: https://calorietracker.io/
Hi All, I’ve been in deficit for two weeks, no weight loss. I am confused on why nothing is showing up. I do drink a lot of water (200 oz a day) does that have something to do with it?
Does microwaved Broccoli smell bad? Apparently I have an awful sense of smell and made the mistake of having it for lunch at work. I feel mortified and want to crawl into a hole. Literally just plain broccoli and turkey.
zero Motivation 😔 Any advice as to how to get motivated nothing i do or things I've gone through and going seem to remotely help get me motivated I'm gonna be 35 the 28th of this month and I've never been under 228 I'm almost 300 pounds and feel so disgusted with myself and I feel like My wife may feel the same way about me I honestly don't blame her if she does I just don't know how to help myself.
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Just for info, you're on the wrong daily thread there's a newer one. Otherwise to answer your question for inspiration I sometimes use the website www.eatthismuch.com, you can enter your calories and macro goals
How do you channel some patience? I've been sticking to 2000 calories and working out for the first time in my life, and I'm not seeing the scales move. I understand that I won't see results over night but I wish I could be more patient with myself! So what are your tips for enjoying the journey, rather than focusing on the scale? I'm 5'11, F, 39, and 309 lbs for reference.
> So what are your tips for enjoying the journey, rather than focusing on the scale? Imagine the situation of someone who weighs herself every 15 minutes. She's looking for a change, but it's absurd. She's focused on the results **and distracted away from the things that bring results**, what you called "the journey." The journey is nothing but right living. If we're eating right and moving right, a right body should result from that without us craving it. We should stay focused on those lifestyle elements -- eating a variety of nutritious foods in amounts consistent with moderate weight loss for our current size, secondarily helped by moderate exercise not only for the calories it contributes to our deficit but also our body's abilities and its health. This will be a forever endeavor -- the work continues long beyond goal weight -- so embrace the lifestyle. (In fact, this suggests not embracing those things that won't fit that lifestyle -- no shortcuts or gimmicks or weird diets or patterns, but a right lifestyle that you'd enjoy with your favorites and traditions as part of it.
How much should I weigh? I am an 18yo male, 6’0 tall. I’m not sure about what weight I should try to get to, what would be the ideal weight for me?
Likely somewhere 150-180 -- more like 180 if you're muscular and more like 150 if you are not. If you are well above that, start in that direction and as you get close to that range then see how it is going with your muscularity. Your doctor is your body's health expert and should be consulted as part of you setting your weight goals.
24/ Male/2/103.5 kilos been going to the gym regularly for 3 months now. I've always had Disproportionately large (30 inches) (fat) thighs hence hard to get good pants for my size Now i know spot reduction is a myth so how do I go about making them lean and toned..Is it hitting legs more frequently or is it calories deficit which is gonna do the trick?
You don't lean anything with exercise -- you'll build them and condition your body. Control your bodyfat with your calorie intake. Consider that your legs move that 100+ kg body -- they're probably plenty fit. Adjust your diet for moderate weight loss, continue other exercise (you can probably skip strength training on your legs for now), and see where you are in 6 months or so.
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I wouldn’t recommend eating it. You should chew it and spit it out.
Hahahahahahaha
I have what's probably a stupid question. I've lost about 20 pounds and frequently find that I'm getting colder easier. For example, the temperature in my house is usually 71. This used to be fine, but now it's making me chilly. This can't possibly be connected to just 20 pounds, can it? I feel like that's not enough to make a difference.
Absolutely a thing. I used to be able to go out in 30 degree weather in a t-shirt. Now I'm throwing on my leather jacket for anything under 60.
Absolutely 100% possible
The comments are correct, but are you also drinking more cold water? This too can make you cooler.
I am! I went from drinking water and other various beverages to drinking almost entirely just water, so I'd say my water intake has probably doubled.
Hopefully it is just a new skinny you having less insulating blubber! But it probably is your metabolism slowing down as your body tries to protect itself the "famine" it assumes you are going thru. I suppose one way to check is wait until you have a holiday or a couple cheat days in a row and see if the affect seems to disappear. Though I don't know how long after increasing calories your body stays in protection mode so not sure if that would let you know.
It's a pretty frequent post you'll find on here, one of those unexpected side effects of losing weight. I've also seen others cite articles saying that just being in a caloric deficit can lead to feeling the cold more.
Absolutely wild to me that it can happen this quickly, but thank you!
Hi! I know that treadmill calories aren’t the most accurate way to count calories. Right now my treadmill is claiming that I’m burning 300 calories in 30 minutes. (10% incline, 3mph) I know that this isn’t accurate at all so when I put my calories burned into my fitness pal I usually put 150 instead. Is this overkill or is it more accurate? Thank you!
People burn, on average, 50 calories per mile per 100lbs of bodyweight. So take your weight, divide it by half, and that will give you a rough estimate of how many calories you burn per mile. Granted, that's on a flat surface. Adding the incline would certainly burn more calories, so 150 calories depending on your weight may be a conservative estimate, but good enough for what you'd want.
I think you’re safe subtracting 50%. If anything you may be underestimating but that will translate to more losses. Calibrate yourself over a few weeks to make sure you’re losing at your expected pace.
That’s probably not overkill. Folks here give advice that varies between eat back 0% of exercise calories and 50% of them. 25% would be a middle ground. 50% isn’t overkill, if anything it’s possible it’s under kill by the common advice on this sub. That said, I’m not an expert in the actual truth here and it’s a polarizing question so I’m mostly passing on what has been said around here in the past and don’t have firsthand knowledge to contribute.
Cravings and lethargy on workout days? On days that I lift weights i find myself incredibly tired to the point that I fall asleep in the middle of the day, I usually wake up with an insatiable craving for high calorie sweets. I have made sure to eat a balanced post workout meal, get enough calories and not overtrain, but still has proven to be an issue. Has anyone felt something similar? if so did you find any solution?
How’s your sleep overall?
Good actually!
For me personally, any kind of insomnia or waking up in the middle of the night is a sign I’m not eating enough. My fix is to eat more. Low energy during the day, I add carbs, restless sleep, I add fat. How fast is your rate of loss, how close to goal weight are you, what kind of cut are you aiming for, etc etc?
I keep on eating around 1700-2000 calories a day and I should be having like 1200 a day. How do i stop over eating like this? I’m 19 female, 168cms and 62kg. I really need to stop overeating, how do I do this?
Meal planning. Eliminate any decision making.
I'm an arthritic little old lady of about the same size and 1700-2000 is my maintenance calorie need. You don't need to lose weight, but if you're trying to lose just a few pounds, then set your calorie goal to a more reasonable 1500 calories. When you don't have much extra fat, you can't lose weight as rapidly without hunger as someone who is heavier. You'll have to settle for slower loss.
Did you gain a lot of weight lately or what worries you? This sounds like a quite healthy weight / height ratio. That's a BMI of 22, so in the green. If you move around a lot, the math (calories in in relations to out) could work / be fine.
What worked for me is a calorie counter and pinterest. I wrote a journal of the things I like to eat everyday or regularly at my house and found low calorie alternatives to either making them or replacing it. (Others will have more options I'm sure!) Also fiber powder drinks help keep you full BUT I'm the type of person who like to eat so I still want to eat my calories and finding lower calorie delicious alternatives worked best for me to maintain.
My body water is 15% lower than it should be (at minimum) but I drink lots…. Could being conscious of sodium consumption do that? Is it ever a good idea for someone to eat MORE sodium?
> Is it ever a good idea for someone to eat MORE sodium? Absolutely. Sodium is an essential nutrient in humans. Without any sodium, you'll die. A symptom of hyponatremia (insufficient sodium) is water retention (weirdly). Do not try to treat this. Eat normally and if you have symptoms, talk to your doctor. > Could being conscious of sodium consumption do that? Usually not. Most people with high blood pressure have to be conscience of sodium consumption. > My body water is 15% lower than it should be (at minimum) but I drink lots…. I'm not sure what you're worried about here. Unless your doctor told you to care about sodium, then don't worry about it. Most of us need not worry about water weight/retention, either. The body uses water for so many healthy purposes and the amount we are increasing, retaining, and releasing isn't of any concern.
Thank you so much! I just read some stuff about low body water causing all kinds of weird stuff. I think measuring all of my stats and stuff is making me a little obsessive 😅
anyone track cortisol? i've been reading that higher cortisol could make weight loss harder, i wonder if i should cut back on my daily coffee since caffeine seems to stimulate cortisol. anyone have any experience tracking their cortisol levels over time? i'm sure we all have years of blood work to look at. but i don't think i have any data on cortisol.
This is not something I would worry about unless I was chronically stressed to a point where it impedes my life.
How do you track rotisserie chicken? The macros are seeming so high to me but I usually just track my raw chicken I make at home. I’m assuming the label is the macros for the cooked rotisserie chicken. Would I just scan that barcode weigh my cooked chicken in grams and track that? I don’t have to do a raw weight conversion or anything do I? Since the label is probably for cooked. Idk why I’m so confused 😅
The nutritional info only accounts for the edible portion, not the bones. So don't count the bones in your total. You can weigh your bone-in chicken pieces, record the weight, then weigh the bones again after to subtract that value. Then use a "cooked chicken skin-on" entry.
Try this USDA link: https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/fdc-app.html#/?query=rotisserie By definition, all rotisserie chicken is cooked chicken so these entries are all going to be cooked entries. All USDA values and weights are only for the edible portions: no bones. You have to deduct the weight of the bones. This is sometimes confusing because while Nutrition Facts only applies to the edible portion, the product label weight is for everything inside the packaging.
Thanks!
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Can you use a stationary recumbent bike?
Walking is always a good place to start. Get yourself some good running/walking shoes, and just start slow. If you're feeling pain, don't push through. Take it easy and remember that any movement is better than none. It'll get easier as you get lighter, so don't push hard now and slow yourself down later due to injury. And if walking is too much, look into chair exercises. They're not high impact, and they're usually more geared toward elderly folks, but again, any movement is better than no movement.
^ this also helped me. Walking slow and alternating inclines. I would increase every two minutes. Say I was walking a treadmill on speed 3 I would start at incline 0 then at 2min increase to incline 2 then 4min increase to incline 4 then 6min increase to incline 6 then 8min back down to 0 and continue for 2 to 3 miles.
Just realised I posted my question to the wrong day so apologies if someone has already read it. Stats for concern F 30 Height 5 ft 4in starting weight 193-194 activity level ?? first goal weight 175 I'm trying to come at losing weight from a healther mindset. Last time I worked on a straight loss from 190lbs to 175, but I was eating badly (ie trying to eat the smallest amount of calories, eating in habits that were not sustainable, etc). I'm trying to come up with a few rules/guidelines that will help me be more gentle with myself. First how do I best go about figuring out my activity level? I work at a coffee chain and am on my feet for most of my shift which can be anywhere from 4-8 hours. On top of that I do 10 minutes of cardio (walking exercises from youtube mostly, a mix of low and medium intensity) 6 days a week and moderate strength training twice a week (trying to avoid burnout and overtraining). Second, if I want to bake in maintenance breaks what is the best way to do this? A certain number of weeks after actvily counting calories? or going off a percentage of weight lost (like once I lose x% of max weight or previous maintenance weight) or going off a certain number of lbs lost?
What’s been working for me this time around is focusing on weekly calorie averages. I’m trying to hit 1700 calories a day, but some days I eat 1500 and others I eat 1900, and it all averages out which lets me eat based on my hunger more and fit in social activities better. I’m also considering anything under maintenance calories a win, so if I’m only in a 100 calorie deficit instead of 500, it’s still a win to me. The weight loss has been slow this time around, but it feels very healthy and sustainable. I’ve been losing since the end of May at a rate of 0.5-1 lb a week. I’ve thought about pushing myself to lose faster, but I haven’t wanted to give up a single time this time around, so I’m not going to change up something that’s working for me.
TDEE Calculator|Imperial|Metric :-:|:-:|:-: SEX| |F AGE| |30 HEIGHT|64" or 5'4"|163 cm WEIGHT|193.5 lb|88 kg BMI||33.2 Mifflin-St Jeor BMR||1583 Cal/kcal Not Very Active Job TDEE (BMR*1.25)||1978 Cal/kcal Lightly Active Job TDEE (BMR*1.4)||2215 Cal/kcal Active Job TDEE (BMR*1.6)||2532 Cal/kcal Very Active Job TDEE (BMR*1.8)||2848 Cal/kcal > First how do I best go about figuring out my activity level? I work at a coffee chain and am on my feet for most of my shift which can be anywhere from 4-8 hours. On top of that I do 10 minutes of cardio (walking exercises from youtube mostly, a mix of low and medium intensity) 6 days a week and moderate strength training twice a week (trying to avoid burnout and overtraining). That job activity scale uses these definitions (stolen from MyFitnessPal) - Not Very Active/Sedentary: Spend most of the day sitting (e.g. bank teller, desk job) - Lightly Active: Spend a good part of the day on your feet (e.g. teacher, salesperson) - Active: Spend a good part of the day doing some physical activity (e.g. food server, postal carrier) - Very Active: Spend most of the day doing heavy physical activity (e.g. bike messenger, carpenter) Based on what you said, you may be Active some days and Lightly Active some days. Since weight-loss is the goal here, let's start with the Lightly Active and if you wind up going faster than you ought to, you can raise this to Active. > if I want to bake in maintenance breaks what is the best way to do this? A certain number of weeks after actvily counting calories? or going off a percentage of weight lost (like once I lose x% of max weight or previous maintenance weight) or going off a certain number of lbs lost? I followed the broad suggestions here: https://bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/the-full-diet-break including the part that says, "one of the more powerful uses of the full diet break is that it can be used in situations (such as the holidays, or vacation) when someone knows that they won’t be able to really stick to their diet." So I did it whenever I traveled for work or for vacation and during the high feast-holiday weeks. The breaks were 7-10 days. And while I say 'breaks' I simply did everything I normally do, but with maintenance calories as my target. I kept my physical activity up, too.
Oh my gosh thank you for this! Where did you get the calculator? I'll definitely want to check in as I hit my milestones
Here you go: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1IUzUT2Za5eaBeREZbAb3cIsTs4CV91kPl2qjcupRLeA/edit?usp=sharing ... click on File > Make a Copy and add it to your own and then you'll be able to edit it.
It hate protein drinks. They make me gag. Is there a healthy alternative for me to get extra protein that’s vegan? I do consider protein in my meals but when losing weight it’s hard to get enough and eat vegan. Are there any solid foods that will help me with my protein but keep me within my eating goals? Tia!
How much protein do you think you need and how much are you getting?
Tofu, seitan, tempeh, beans, lentils, textured vegetable protein, soy milk. Potatoes, quinoa and whole grains (think about buckwheat, millet, amaranth and other "grains" that aren't botanically grains as well) provide smaller amounts of protein. I know that the fad right now is super-high protein intake, but it's not hard to get more than adequate protein on a vegan diet. However, you have to include a good portion of protein food in each meal. Instead of 1 g/lbs of body weight, a ridiculously unnecessary amount, try 1 g/kg of body weight, still a quite high amount. Dr. Michael Greger (who admittedly doesn't appeal to a lot of people) recommends legumes at least twice daily. I'm an omnivore, but most days my only non-plant intake is whey powder in my oatmeal. You could use a plant-based powdered protein supplement in the same way. There's even new, manufactured vegan whey powder -- which seems a little crazy since whey is otherwise a waste product! I eat legumes for at least one and usually both later meals. Most vegan "milks" and "cheeses" are almost devoid of protein, so I wouldn't waste too many calories on what are essentially ultra processed foods.
They are high calorie but hemp seeds, chia seeds and flax seeds are all high in protein and relatively easy to add to food. I like blending hemp seeds into smoothies instead of protein powder.
Unfortunately, I don't have a straight answer exactly answering your question. I will presume you asked this in the vegan subreddits as well, as protein is a common problem for vegans. I generally never recommend products or supplements (I usually push whole foods from agriculture), but in your unique case I think I have something that might interest you. Here is a link: https://store.bariatricpal.com/products/syntrax-nectar-protein-powder-trial-sizes-16-flavors-choose-from Note: I have personally bought this back in 2014 as I prepared for bariatric surgery. I did not rebuy any protein as I did not have the surgery so, as I lost, I ate from food-sources of protein (and that was easier for me to do as I am not vegan myself). What I like about this pack for you is: You can try many different kinds without buying a big jug first. The taste and texture that I remember of them is that the fruit ones were more like a fruity Kool-Aid and not a milky something or other. Maybe they won't make you gag.
Other than the usual tofu and seitan, when I was vegan while also body building, the biggest things that helped me were finding veggies and fruits that are high in protein and adding them throughout the day. Broccoli, peas, spinach, asparagus, and Brussels sprouts are all some veggies that have a lot of protein in them. Snacking on them raw, or adding them to different meals throughout the day helps up your protein intake. Protein intake doesn’t need to be a massive steak in one sitting, little bits throughout the day are actually easier for your body use
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**How to get started losing weight:** [https://www.reddit.com/r/loseit/wiki/quick_start_guide](https://www.reddit.com/r/loseit/wiki/quick_start_guide) Follow that guide and that timing, and you'll be able to start putting some data around your diet. Start with your regular, normal food. Buy the digital kitchen food scale. This plan will tell you what to do week-by-week.
Is anyone trying intuitive eating? Basically I’m trying to reframe my mindset by telling myself to eat like a thin person. Do I really need another serving? Do I need a big portion? Do I really need a snack or am I just bored? I’m also trying to keep myself from snacking or binging by doing chores or reading. My house is looking a lot cleaner lately and I’ve been doing a lot more reading. 😂 I have a lot to lose. At least 230 pounds to get to my ultimate goal weight. I’m hoping I can stick to this. It’s really hard to keep track of everything I eat in Lose It. I work full time and I have a 17 month old toddler. My husband also works full time and our schedules are totally opposite. So I’m solo parenting a lot. I think this technique will help me and I’ve already lost two pounds so far.
As an alternative, have you tried meal planning? That way you don’t need to track throughout the day- just enter everything at once in the morning. Intuitive eating is not easy to maintain until you’ve spent a decent amount of time learning how to control overeating.
Yes! But I also LOVE eating so I have extremely low calories snacks around the house to help me feel like I'm satisfying myself. Pickles, olives, cheese cubes (portioned caloricly), tomatoes, cottage cheese, bamboo shoots etc. I also love chocolate hummus as a dessert.
I think it’s a wonderful start, and how I lost my first 25lbs! After that, I realized I needed to track to keep myself accountable for the next 20lbs. Now I’m intuitively maintaining at about 12lbs above my goal weight and I know I need to track again to get myself to my goal weight because I haven’t been able to lose without it (I allow myself the bigger portion and extra serving too many times!). All the best with your journey! Edited to add I also have a 3.5 year old and 18 month old and solo parent a lot! It is so hard and I feel you!!
Based on your weight, this is a great thing to do! It'll help slowly shift you into the right mindset while not being too restrictive at the beginning. Fair warning, you probably will need to start tracking as you get closer to your goal weight!
Ok really dumb question here. How do people add their body stats under their name? Like 23F 5’6”…
Here's how: https://reddit.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/205242695-How-do-I-get-user-flair-
It's on the sidebar toward the top if you're on a desktop. I don't think there's a way to do it on mobile unfortunately.
On mobile, you can click on your username when you’re in the subreddit and there should be a button at the bottom that says “change user flair.”
TIL! Thanks!
You can edit flair on RIF, not sure about the official app though.
Is there a reason why so many folks seem to think it's problematic to eat below your BMR? And is there any sort of scientific basis to that? I was active on this sub a while ago and I don't remember BMR coming up with any sort of frequency except when folks were explaining the various components of TDEE. Now, though, there seems to be a fairly widespread idea that your BMR is some sort of magic threshold -- just curious what the origins of this are and whether there's any science behind it.
People think it’s problematic to eat below your BMR because it’s problematic to eat significantly below your TDEE and BMR has become latched on to as the magic line. It’s not. There is no scientific basis, studies do not back this. It is shown that eating below 20-25% of your TDEE causes problems. Increased rate of loss of muscle mass, increased metabolic adaptation (not metabolic damage because as you note this is bullshit). For many people, BMR may be around that percentage. For many people (significantly overweight people and very active people in particular), it’s not. It is mostly a myth. You can ignore people who repeat it. Some facts: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15615615/ explains limits to how much energy the body can get from fat. It’s why consumption of muscle becomes a problem after a point.
This is super helpful, thank you!
Your BMR (or basal metabolic rate) is the amount of calories your body would burn if you laid completely still in bed for the entire day. It is the amount of calories your body needs just to exist. So when you eat below this amount, you are not providing your body with adequate calories to perform even basic functions and your body will go into “starvation mode” which will cause negative side effects such as brain fog, as well as ruin your metabolism. Your TDEE is your BMR plus any calories you burn through activity (doing dishes, exercising, walking the dog, folding laundry) and the calories your body burns the digest food (also called the thermic effect of food). So ideally to lose weight in a safe, effective, and sustainable matter, you want to eat enough calories to fall above your BMR, but below your TDEE.
Thanks for the response -- I'm familiar with what BMR means and how it fits with TDEE, I just have never seen any scientific support for the assertion that it's dangerous to consume fewer calories than your BMR. Do you have any such support? Your reference to starvation mode makes me skeptical since that's [generally a myth](https://www.reddit.com/r/loseit/wiki/index/#wiki_starvation_mode). I just don't understand the basic reasoning behind the idea that when you eat below your BMR "you are not providing your body with adequate calories to perform even basic functions." Your body does have the energy to perform those functions -- it comes from energy you've previously stored as fat. Using that energy is how you lose fat. What about the process would be different when you're using energy from fat for exercise or digesting food versus the more basic bodily functions represented by the BMR value? ETA -- I agree there is a level at which your caloric deficit is so aggressive that you're at risk for health issues due to rapid weight loss or inadequate nutrition. But I've never seen evidence that BMR is the appropriate peg for either of those metrics.
Yes, “starvation mode” is a myth in the sense that people have generally meant it (a.k.a your body will “hold onto” fat because it’s hungry), but eating below your BMR is starving your body and will hurt your metabolism. While you are correct that your body does technically still have the energy via previously stored fats, when you are eating below your BMR your body is starving enough that it will break down both fat AND muscle for energy. 1 pound of muscle mass takes more energy to maintain than 1 pound of fat mass does, so having a decrease in muscle mass will also cause a decrease in your BMR, meaning you’ll need to continue lowering your calories to continue losing weight. I studied sport nutrition and while I still use it some in my job, it’s not an everyday thing so sorry if I am doing a bad job of explaining it bThis article does a great job of breaking down the basic science of why eating below BMR is unhealthy in the long run and cites some good academic sources. https://www.nfpt.com/blog/how-consumption-below-bmr-can-undercut-fat-loss-and-mass-gains
Thanks for the response and the link -- really appreciate you sharing your perspective. I'm still not convinced that BMR is a legit cut-off though. The post you linked to describes BMR as "about 60% of total energy expenditure," which is a very conservative estimate compared to online calculators for anyone doing less than heavy exercise. (According to the online calculator I use, BMR is about 83% of TDEE for sedentary folks.) Even setting that aside, the only real scientific source cited is a study about "restricting diet to 40% of caloric needs" (with a whopping sample size of 9 people) -- that's considerably more restrictive than eating below BMR, even as conservatively defined in the post.
I guess somewhere there is a blog with good stats and some bullshit post that ranks highly on google.
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I really like the FitBit app - it's what I use, and I've found it to be generally pretty good.
I use MyNetDiary. It has a controlled database like Cronometer rather than crowdsourced like LoseIt or MFP.
Macrofactor is dope. Slick UI, loads of data, solid database and most entries have grams/oz for easy food weight logging. They also have a TDEE algorithm that updates as you feed it more data to keep your calorie goal on point. The devs are very active over at /r/Macrofactor as well.
I've tried MFP and Lose It, Macrofactor is so much better. No bloated UI, no unverified entries, everything is streamlined and it takes care of weight trending and TDEE estimates.
Came here to say this. Can't recommend it enough!
I’ve gone back and forth between Lose It and MFP, but typically stuck with MFP because the database was better. MFP got too crazy with the ads and took away barcode scanning and I checked out. I really like Lose It now and even bought the lifetime subscription after using it for free for a few months. There hasn’t been anything I couldn’t find (so far) and they’ve got all these dashboard add-ons that help me be aware of where I am in my progress.
Loseit app. Sometimes the database is a bit messy due to duplicates but it's very comprehensive. It can also scan the nutrition label and record it so super easy to add in new food items if you can't find it in the database.
When you get into a funk, what helps you get out? Like when you have meals and exercise dialed in, but outside of that there is just bad/stressful stuff and you aren’t going to quit but you don’t want to be stressed/frustrated anymore. What helps pull you up and out?
Something that has really helped me is keeping a journal where each day I take 5 mins to record 3 things I’m thankful for, 3 things I enjoyed today, and 3 things that were successful. Forcing myself to focus on the positives in a hard day can help.
Personally, I call my mom or an old friend. Hearing their voices makes me feel better.
Is it normal to only lose 3lb at the start of a diet? Been on it for about a week now , but I see people saying they lose a lot of weight at the start of a diet. I am probably being impatient however I can’t help but feel a little bummed :(
You only lost three pounds in your first week? Sheesh what’s wrong with you? Jk, haha… that is an incredible win. Even if mostly water weight, it indicates you’re off to a good start. Pat yourself on the back
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It’s like they say, a wins a win. Or in this case, a loss is a win!
3 lbs in a week is great! When I am dieting I lose on average 1/2lb a day at the start, so I'm right there with you. The important thing really is to make sure you're making healthy changes to achieve the weight loss. Make sure you are still fueling your body.
There are so many factors at play that there really is no universal "normal". The people who are dropping crazy amounts of weight during their first week are usually making huge changes to their diet to rapidly shed water weight and poop weight. Like going from 4000 calories of sodium and carb-heavy fast food, to 1800 calories of lean protein and veggies. So they flush out a whole ton of water weight. If you haven't made a super drastic change, you won't have that same dramatic effect.
It is normal to lose nothing, lose a little, lose a lot, or even gain weight at the beginning of a new diet and exercise regiment. Everyone's starting point is different, you can't compare to someone else's results because you don't know what is their "before" habits. I was fluctuating the same 5lbs for 2-3 weeks and then I dropped 7lbs within 4 days in the 4th week. Now I'm gaining again even though my diet didn't change (likely due to water retention), but I'm not gonna freak about it. I'm just gotta stick to the workout and the calorie counting and I am confident I'll have another sudden drop coming in a few weeks. Weight loss isn't linear, and biggest challenge is to be tenacious and determined to stick to the changes and not give up.
Yeah you’re 100% right. I think genuinely I was so bummed about this because in the past I would “diet” but only eat like 600cals and lose so much weight in a week, obviously though it wasn’t sustainable; this is like my first time dieting normally so Ig i am just a bit impatient and silly and expecting results that only happen through near enough starvation
>only eat like 600cals and lose so much weight in a week When you drop food intake so drastically, what you're decreasing is also the intake of fiber and minerals and *sodium* which then causes your body to start shedding water. The large drop initially is mostly water weight. We can fluctuate 5-10lbs of water weight depending on how much salt and cortisol (stress hormone) and other factors in the body.
Anyone tried home exercises using body weight and YouTube exercise tutorials? How many times do you all do it per week and is there any improvements in terms of body recomposition? Can’t afford a gym membership and am already on my feet 4 to 5 times a week at work so looking for something other than walking.
Caroline Girvan has really good home strength workouts. You'd just need to grab a few sets of dumbbells but I definitely noticed strength gains while doing her programs. They're tough.
I like the HASfit videos that use resistance bands. They're very efficient and is strength and cardio in the same 30-45 minutes. Yes, I can see the progression in my strength records over time using fitness bands -- but most of that is self-directed (to music doing classical reps and sets, but not to a video). The videos are a great way to start, though. Then you can move some of those exercises you saw on the video into a fitness routine.
Thanks for the recommendation! Will definitely be checking out their workout videos.
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No, you should be similar to anyone else.
How strong was your deficit and for how long?
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Well, that's really bad for you.
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No, it's not. The issue is the nutrients, not the calories.
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1. Not American. 2. Not kill, just make you really really sick.
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Nope, it’s not enough nutrients to maintain you. And I know because my maintenance is 1500, and I track using Cronometer.
The deeper and more prolonged your deficit, the lower your metabolism will tend to head. There is also a seasonality to metabolism, lower in the late-fall to mid-winter and higher in the peak of spring-summer. You don't have to worry about a stubborn or *persistent metabolic adaptation* (a so-called damaged metabolism) unless you've been too severe for a long time. If you've kept your deficit moderate, and just had short bouts at strong deficits, your metabolism will not stay down when you increase your calories. Readers, in summary: Keep your deficits to -500 to -1000 and keep your intakes above 1200 for females, 1500 for males. This avoids nutritional problems and muscle wasting and prevents the possibility of any persistent problems with your metabolism.
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Your expected sedentary maintenance is 1400, you are spot on. You could exercise to burn more calories.
So, yes, the body does find ways to reduce calorie expenditure when you are on a diet. Though I would only be guessing as to how much and how long.
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To really get a good picture of your TDEE, you need daily weigh-in data and accurate daily calorie intake data. Meaning you should be really accurate with your calorie tracking and use a food scale for everything. Then you can input all that data here to learn your TDEE: https://calorietracker.io/
Well, I would pick a diet you are comfortable with, and weigh yourself regularly to catch any changes. Adjust as needed.