Weight-Loss Advice please - confused about calories

[enialadam]

Hello,

I really good do with some advice please. I really want to loose weight, but I’m a little confused about how to go about doing this. I would like to start off focusing on losing weight through eating less, however I do intend on exercising at some point as well as I know exercise is very important for overall health.

I am also aware that nutritian isn't just about calories, it's where those calories are coming from so whole grains, veg, fruit, protein etc. I am trying to look at both.

I have worked out the following:

* Age: 22
* Weight: 194lbs
* Height: 5’6”
* BMR (calories burned through doing nothing): 1705 per day
* Calories needed to maintain current weight: 2046 per day
* Calories needed to lose 1lb per week: 1546 per day


My question is that say if I eat 1546 calories per day losing 1lb per week...I'm eating under the amount that I actually should be eating if I'm not exercising right? So wouldn't I get hungry?

So if I want to lose weight would you suggest I start off gradually eating:

* My current BMR 1705 cals per day.
* Then gradually reduce to 1546 calories
* To finally 1466.45 cals per day


Also a couple of other questions:

* Why does the BMR change depending on weight?
* For example if I weigh a healthy 139lbs my BMR would be 1466.45 calories per day.

Obviously I am looking at this from the perspective of not doing any exercise.

I hope that makes sense. Thanks!

 

[Harold14370]

If you eat your BMR, you will lose weight, even without exercise, unless you lie in bed all day long. So if you want to weigh 139 lb, then after you get to 139 you will have to eat more than your BMR of 1466 calories to maintain that weight.

My advice to you is to quit confusing yourself with the math. It's just an approximation anyway. Try eating about 1500 to 1600 calories per day and see how much weight you lose. Try it for several weeks. Adjust your calories up or down as needed to achieve your desired rate of weight loss.

The reason your BMR decreases as you lose weight is because you require a certain number of calories to support each pound of weight. It takes less energy (i.e., calories) to move a light body than to move a heavy body the same amount. It's the reason a small car gets better fuel mileage than a big car.

 

[enialadam]

If you eat your BMR, you will lose weight, even without exercise, unless you lie in bed all day long. So if you want to weigh 139 lb, then after you get to 139 you will have to eat more than your BMR of 1466 calories to maintain that weight.

My advice to you is to quit confusing yourself with the math. It's just an approximation anyway. Try eating about 1500 to 1600 calories per day and see how much weight you lose. Try it for several weeks. Adjust your calories up or down as needed to achieve your desired rate of weight loss.

The reason your BMR decreases as you lose weight is because you require a certain number of calories to support each pound of weight. It takes less energy (i.e., calories) to move a light body than to move a heavy body the same amount. It's the reason a small car gets better fuel mileage than a big car.

Thank you so much for your reply. I'm a bit of a perfectionist so I tend to get caught up in all the details haha. Your advice is very much appreciated

 

[biggestloser105]

My question is that say if I eat 1546 calories per day losing 1lb per week...I'm eating under the amount that I actually should be eating if I'm not exercising right? So wouldn't I get hungry?

So if I want to lose weight would you suggest I start off gradually eating:

* My current BMR 1705 cals per day.
* Then gradually reduce to 1546 calories
* To finally 1466.45 cals per day

How hungry you are depends on what you eat not just how much. Aim to eat filling meals consisting of a lot of low calorie green veggies, and a lot of lean protein like fish and skinless chicken breast. Shrimp and similar sea food are also very low calorie for the quantity you can fit into yourself.

Avoid eating foods that aren't filling, big culprits are fruit juices and other drinks with calories. If you must drink something other than water, drink milk because it's fairly filling.

Also watch your carbohydrate portions, pasta is not very filling for the amount of calories it packs. Watch your fruits as well, some fruits are pretty high calorie and again not very filling. Really watch things like nuts, nuts are incredibly high calorie and a serving for example is 10 almonds. I would also avoid beef, pork, lamb, and other fat meats simply because they pack a lot of calories per a small size serving.

Having protein with every meal helps you to feel less hungry. Avoiding foods that put a lot of sugar into your blood helps with constant insulin levels and helps to manage hunger as well. Make sure to eat healthy fats like found in fish.

Also a couple of other questions:

* Why does the BMR change depending on weight?
* For example if I weigh a healthy 139lbs my BMR would be 1466.45 calories per day.

Like the other poster said larger bodies require more energy to maintain temperature, move around, replace cells.

Another issue with BMR is your muscle mass. The best way to increase your at rest metabolism is to build muscle since it burns considerably more calories than fat. So BMR is really just an approximation derived from averages. If you have less muscle mass than average, your BMR could be lower, if you have more it could be higher.

 

[Toddless]

I would like to start off focusing on losing weight through eating less, however I do intend on exercising at some point as well as I know exercise is very important for overall health.

Why wait? Because you don't want to do it, that's why. Because you're procrastinating. Start right now and don't look back. Getting an exercise routine going is just as important as your diet, and might help keep you motivated to stick with it.

 

[david_reynolds]

Losing weight (in a healthy manner) requires close to an hour a day of moderate exercise. Also cutting calories below 1,050-1,200 per day is counterproductive, because you need strong muscles to be able to exercise effectively. When you eat too few calories, you lose fat but also precious muscle, which is the worst thing you could do because it slows your metabolism and makes it more difficult to increase exercise intensity or duration. So it's important that you -
1. Eat vegetables to help you feel full.
2. Drink plenty of water.
3. Get tempting foods out of your home.
4. Stay busy -- you don't want to eat just because you're bored.
5. Eat only from a plate, while seated at a table. No grazing in front of the 'fridge.
6. Don't skip meals.

So by all means, attack your weight loss goal. Put it on the fast track. But please, do it right so you set yourself up for lasting success.