Starting over, 100+ lbs to lose

[ingmarbergman]

Hi all!

I am back on these forums. I've abandoned twice in the past but am trying to make sure that the third time is a charm!

I'm a 28 year old female in the Northeast (USA)

Currently weight 260 pounds and ideally would like to be 150 pounds! My biggest goal right now is to get to the under 200 mark. I haven't been under 200 pounds since before high school. It would be such a great feat.

I would love input and advice from anyone on a similar journey as me!

Right now I'm trying to figure out what calorie break down I should use. I've done it all. I've lost 30 pounds in the past using a very restrictive diet. 900 calories per day, but I put all the weight back on. Now I'm thinking about losing 2 pounds a week. What is the appropriate amount of calories to eat for someone that is 260 lbs, female, 5 ft 7? I have a bunch of different nutrition apps, some of them say 1,850 calories / day. Another that says 1,600 calories / day.

I also have questions about if I should alternate and eat 1,800 calories one day and 1,00 calories the next day. Is this a good way to start off? Or is that best to do after a few months of eating consistent amount of calories ? To avoid hitting a plateau? I might be getting a little bit ahead of myself but I'd like everyone's input.

Thank

 

[CharlotteSometimes]

I have no idea about how many calories is right for you, just thought I'd jump in and wish you luck!

 

[MrNiceGuy1]

I, on the other hand, do. Firstly, hello and welcome to the forum.

Regardless of current weight, your body requires a certain amount of calories to ensure that it remains sufficiently nourished (known as BMR).

Since you’ve provided your stats (age/weight/height), I’ve taken the liberty of calculating your BMR, using the Mifflin St. Jeor method, which comes in at 1718Kcal. As such, the figure represents how many daily calories you should consume, as a bare minimum, in order to ensure that your body doesn’t enter a state of starvation.

Having obtained BMR, you should ascertain how many calories are needed to satisfy your daily energy requirements (TDEE). Depending upon your level of activity, this will vary. However, working upon the assumption that you’re currently under-taking light to moderate exercise in conjunction with a healthy, balanced diet, I’ve multiplied your BMR by 1.375. As such, your TDEE equates to 2362Kcal.

The figure of 2362Kcal (TDEE) is the figure from which you introduce a daily calorie deficit. Given that there’s a 600Kcal difference between your current BMR and TDEE, by introducing a daily deficit of the roughly the same amount, you should begin to lose weight safely and sustainably, since the additional energy, required to meet your level of daily endeavour, will be utilised from existing levels of body fat.

Taking into consideration that a lb of fat contains roughly 3500Kcal, when running a daily deficit of 500-600Kcal, you could expect a weekly loss of at least a 1-2lbs. If you factor regular exercise into the equation, that level of loss could increase to 2-4lbs per week.

As such, there shouldn’t be any need to alternate your calorie intake from one day to the next, in order to achieve a satisfying level of loss.

In order to avoid the dreaded plateau, as the body weighs less it’ll require fewer calories. With each stone lost, you need to re-calculate both BMR and TDEE (upon the assumption activity level remains the same, your BMR will always be multiplied by 1.375 to ascertain TDEE).

Whilst figures knowing your figures is important, the quality of food consumed and level/intensity of exercise remain more so.

Consumption of lean protein should account for around 40% of your daily calorie intake, with complex carbohydrate and healthy fats each making up 30%.

You may also find it beneficial to consult macronutrient calculators, in order to gain an idea of how many calories should be consumed between the respective food groups, taking into consideration that protein and carbohydrate each contain 4Kcal per gram and that fat contains 9Kcal per gram.

Concerning cardio exercise, the higher its level of intensity, the greater the uptake of glucose and fat throughout, leading to an increase in units of energy burned (calories are simply units of energy), leading to reduced levels of body fat and improved body composition, thus, providing you with motivation to continue towards your goal weight.

 

[ingmarbergman]

I, on the other hand, do. Firstly, hello and welcome to the forum.

Regardless of current weight, your body requires a certain amount of calories to ensure that it remains sufficiently nourished (known as BMR).

Since you’ve provided your stats (age/weight/height), I’ve taken the liberty of calculating your BMR, using the Mifflin St. Jeor method, which comes in at 1718Kcal. As such, the figure represents how many daily calories you should consume, as a bare minimum, in order to ensure that your body doesn’t enter a state of starvation.

Having obtained BMR, you should ascertain how many calories are needed to satisfy your daily energy requirements (TDEE). Depending upon your level of activity, this will vary. However, working upon the assumption that you’re currently under-taking light to moderate exercise in conjunction with a healthy, balanced diet, I’ve multiplied your BMR by 1.375. As such, your TDEE equates to 2362Kcal.

The figure of 2362Kcal (TDEE) is the figure from which you introduce a daily calorie deficit. Given that there’s a 600Kcal difference between your current BMR and TDEE, by introducing a daily deficit of the roughly the same amount, you should begin to lose weight safely and sustainably, since the additional energy, required to meet your level of daily endeavour, will be utilised from existing levels of body fat.

Taking into consideration that a lb of fat contains roughly 3500Kcal, when running a daily deficit of 500-600Kcal, you could expect a weekly loss of at least a 1-2lbs. If you factor regular exercise into the equation, that level of loss could increase to 2-4lbs per week.

As such, there shouldn’t be any need to alternate your calorie intake from one day to the next, in order to achieve a satisfying level of loss.

In order to avoid the dreaded plateau, as the body weighs less it’ll require fewer calories. With each stone lost, you need to re-calculate both BMR and TDEE (upon the assumption activity level remains the same, your BMR will always be multiplied by 1.375 to ascertain TDEE).

Whilst figures knowing your figures is important, the quality of food consumed and level/intensity of exercise remain more so.

Consumption of lean protein should account for around 40% of your daily calorie intake, with complex carbohydrate and healthy fats each making up 30%.

You may also find it beneficial to consult macronutrient calculators, in order to gain an idea of how many calories should be consumed between the respective food groups, taking into consideration that protein and carbohydrate each contain 4Kcal per gram and that fat contains 9Kcal per gram.

Concerning cardio exercise, the higher its level of intensity, the greater the uptake of glucose and fat throughout, leading to an increase in units of energy burned (calories are simply units of energy), leading to reduced levels of body fat and improved body composition, thus, providing you with motivation to continue towards your goal weight.

Thank you so much for this informative post. I'm going to look into the resources that you referenced! You are indeed quite a nice fella.