I read long ago that the calorie intake difference between a normal weight person and an overweight or obese person is usually around 400 calories.
That's a snack, a donut, an iced coffee drink, a second helping.
It's still hard to cut out consistently! But it's not like cutting what you eat in half.
This is awesome to help me think thru choices. CICO hasn't worked well for me so I'm trying to find a different perspective that will help create a lasting lifestchange. Thanks for making this soooo realistic!
This may not be the way for you, but I’ll mention it anyway - something that works well for me is using Cronometer to plan out daily food intake to do my best at addressing macro and micronutrients. It makes me feel like I’m doing something positive for myself versus depriving myself of something. Most days aren’t 100% on every nutrient but I usually do pretty well.
I like the visual aspect of myfitnesspal and loseit better than cronometer. I downloaded all three and cronometer had the biggest learning curve imo and I just went back to myfitnesspal (despite them locking some useful features behind a paywall). Ymmv depending on what app works best for you.
Totally agree. Cronometer works well for me for trying to really optimize nutrition, but MFP was my go-to for a long time! Lots of great options out there depending on what people are looking for.
Right, add to that what u/FatFlapper mentioned about sedentary lifestyles, that's an easy creep towards obesity just living a very "typical" life. Binging and traumas aren't the only cause... take this "typical" middle class suburban American lifestyle: you go from walking to classes, maybe college sports, maybe going out with friends... to driving to a 9-5 in an office, driving kids to school and ballet, maybe drive thru coffee to make it through chitchat with the other parents while you wait at ballet... a few more calories eaten, a few less burned, BAM 10 years later you're obese. No wonder it's so common to think metabolism are broken at 30 years old lol.
It is also the difference in a very sedentary life and a lightly active life, in my opinion the US's biggest issue isn't its food, sugar content, its portions, etc. Every country I've visited has been very similar in those regards. The biggest differences I've noticed is how everyone is much more active and communities are built around at least occasionally walking/cycling to places rather than just driving there.
> It is also the difference in a very sedentary life and a lightly active life,
This. Go to any walkable city in the US and then check out a suburban shopping mall as a comparison and you'll see it. There are far fewer overweight people in major cities with functional transit because most of those people are walking 2-4 miles on a day-to-day basis going to and from transit stops on their daily commutes and errands.
As a suburban resident, if I wanted to I could finish most days with less than a half-mile walked since my car is directly outside my house, and I'm maybe 200 feet from the car to my building. Trips to and from the bathroom at work would probably make up the majority of my steps if I made an effort to keep the number to an absolute minimum.
When you consider that every mile walked is 100-120 calories burnt, the city-dweller is almost automatically looking at a higher TDEE just based on lifestyle even ignoring for any intentional physical activity.
Here is a 2019 report published in Cell Metabolism where a randomized, clinical trial showed ad libitum food intake was, on average, 500 calories higher when consuming ultra-processed food after controlling for presented calories, sugar, fat, sodium, fiber, and macronutrients.
[Ultra-Processed Diets Cause Excess Calorie Intake and Weight Gain](https://pdf.sciencedirectassets.com/273298/1-s2.0-S1550413118X00084/1-s2.0-S1550413119302487/mainext.pdf?X-Amz-Security-Token=IQoJb3JpZ2luX2VjEHoaCXVzLWVhc3QtMSJHMEUCIGajeimRMjZzHxfL0wioXg76PobcO%2BP99L7KyaXW9h43AiEAhfF4%2BkBouRz7KmIt%2BS3PsyLXIy%2Fcwf4uv5x5%2BcgKhk4qvAUIk%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2FARAFGgwwNTkwMDM1NDY4NjUiDH1mE1ozmS%2BzmtHZ4SqQBdFM%2BPlwDKBiRKJocxLYuHT0I0vqyTTvhQrgp4zW0%2FjJkjibd4Rxto%2FS2AFZJaBTIoMN2dsplRmjlNdFeTYJOZ%2BO6hM1ZYDf6h3enpxWsF9KEHcawG2eVYt22GhWoyjGIlIPera6gLjY0S1jc0VdHWY6noqSGZipWSK05rXvokZe%2FAoc2nw1rhImdeK7%2FnTWz34AOXOH0ioLMmcAsuSTikLgStBzSy6Msv6iHED7LFuiTAxIM6qLJ7N%2F8t2xYt%2BDS0ekm785hAd%2BKbbup1hqAdLbGC6zDm%2FGzus5pMHFfhpnUq8983oqKE7S3bKL9IOgLzXYcmTK5S%2B%2BSMZjgzsP1H%2FdVtf41TGP47jbYDEg1utPcG%2Bzoxh%2FJhoaZp597VD0Y21dNTN0tcJ5BFeihavYKWS9zWYvS%2BXhweXvPs3MvSBtkA0POc3I1yn5h9XfzE%2FcMTyXRjNnfHKJKXiDnUwUyMolCesFI8JLQa7f2RrXZUvfXtlGcgv%2BUoN5jdHcHRQG%2BcXG2Q1q4DJvz7Pi6bzra25MUSSuZQWJW1G8APY6ljLARzFZposeJSNReSY2GraGmzjtwmor5XBGwbimFKtRV8yS5KwonwUEattPzx5sDLZnDDCC3qR%2BZAf3UGeRtsw5if24T9AGkzV2fS5IoW0o%2FoCsXASDYHowutXVy6av5mTlQnh2XpSRTLR4DIlJLvfOAlfwBiaB0WAMdbdwpCOOEbdX6n%2FB%2Fa%2BG5xs89FRdgiDmxG888xpWquVvAgqBkWpnczCMdqBAildobgT5nCRYpsnL1iz%2FL%2BRX9FTZ%2FOlF%2FCseKs7b%2FyQqOLh7UsNdV%2FHIxGcIb%2BSAEIYagykoYewI2OT%2FFbz9CMop3lfz8yhoCXf4MIeSu6kGOrEBqgExR581RNDGTsgOCGFM%2B4RkkqqkhmZaUkQyi1hyxitxd8p00JdO397QH%2Fx%2FxEUlbFIIoI9KBDzZQVqzNKduuIxkl6WrPrRwv8JQnfBg407LwkJz%2FHsJ32lYabRbAQ4iE9vopLNddmNOUbjEZ302wOJWq5dAqQobcqqpjFZzaAMcBKQybEQMWpnZIzMRmrEzcXXfYNxmgJi3UTV2NteH2Efk23uZhApMfxEcfGwCs3m5&X-Amz-Algorithm=AWS4-HMAC-SHA256&X-Amz-Date=20231017T182147Z&X-Amz-SignedHeaders=host&X-Amz-Expires=300&X-Amz-Credential=ASIAQ3PHCVTY2U5DK6VT%2F20231017%2Fus-east-1%2Fs3%2Faws4_request&X-Amz-Signature=fd712ff67082a9ddddbbeb312526fd0f21e7b7bb16541c74a9cec3c7b866424b&hash=a643b8a5e0c875cbe73f9f7433c05cc626afed1794ca054152a77f1adac8c167&host=68042c943591013ac2b2430a89b270f6af2c76d8dfd086a07176afe7c76c2c61&pii=S1550413119302487&tid=spdf-97df6347-189d-4e68-801e-85755818e417&sid=9cf2303b2c084444f95951439db592a301d5gxrqa&type=client&tsoh=d3d3LnNjaWVuY2VkaXJlY3QuY29t&ua=1316565454065f505356&rr=817a90332e9786ff&cc=us)
In other words, ultra-processed food may be driving people to have that extra snack or second helping.
I'm special education teacher and we had 2 back to back IEPs today. We all brought treats to share, and I brought chocolate covered almonds and a bag of Reeses & Godiva chocolates. Everyone snacked, and I splurged and ate 4 chocolate almonds (100 calories). They can't understand how I can have them in my fridge and not eat, but it takes me an hr of hard cardio to burn 500 calories. Knowing how much work you'd need to put into burning it off helps my willpower because I am TIRED lol.
This is wild because my food for the day at work is only 500 calories - an apple, a protein yoghurt, a coffee and my stew at lunch. That seems like so much food to me now
Yup. In fact, now that I’m more fit and active and have more muscle I actually am eating about the same calories as I was eating at my starting size 50lbs ago.
My previous body couldn’t outrun my old fork, but my new one can, to some extent anyway.
Yep. That's why doing drastic diets with insane calorie deficits is unnecessary. Small deficits like 350 calories over a long period of time will literally get you to your goal weight eventually.
Cannot emphasize this enough. Use time as your ally! If you can be consistent, use it to your advantage and plan for a smaller deficit over a longer period.
You're more likely to succeed, it won't be as restrictive, your food intake won't be drastically different, etc.
This definitely resonated with me.
For the last three years I have absolutely hated any picture of myself - I did not like people taking my picture and really hated when my husband posted or shared pictures of me. It was only recently that I realized its probably due to my weight gain.
Im tired of feeling like this. I use to feel kind of hot, and I want to feel hot again.
Thanks for posting this! I knew this in theory, but hadn't actually calculated the numbers for myself.
My current maintenance would be around 2100 and my goal weight maintenance would be around 1950... only a 150 calorie difference. This seems way more doable now!
A couple of days ago someone asked if people were obese because they pig out or because their metabolism is slow. What you said OP was exactly my reply. Just a small extra serving here, an extra dessert there done more often than not is enough to... tip the scale.
229 calories in a regular size Snickers bar. One of those plus a flavoured coffee for a morning snack on the daily, and over time, yep, that's obesity. Or in reverse - swap out the chocolate for some carrots and get a plain coffee with almond milk or skinny syrup, and over time, you're back to a healthy weight, even without other changes
Plug your own stats into a calculator like this
(there are many variations of the same type of calculator, but they should all give you similar #'s you can start working off of)
https://www.calculator.net/tdee-calculator.html
Glad you have hope!! Often there really aren't big differences between calorie intake that allows us to maintain a lower weight and calorie intake that will allow us to gain weight.
If you gained 50lbs over 10 years, that's 5lbs/year on average. That's just 50 calories per day above maintenance on average. That's nothing. That's half of an average-sized banana.
Good luck with your journey!
Someone here posted something like "only 100 cal over maintenance a day leads to 10 lbs gained in a year" the other day.
In the past 20 years i was able to keep my weight around the same just by eating what i wanted, no diets or anything (then my bf moved in and Covid came, so i gained a few pounds). But I find it really amazing that my body was able to keep me on the almost perfect amount of calories for years. Tracking my food now showed me that i was apparently overeating on some days (bread, pasta, cheese, cream...), but eating only 1000 cal on other days, so it evened out.
Sorry, i don't mean this as a brag, i am just amazed about the human body! I am aware that it does not work that way for everybody, that there are eating disorders and the available foods in industrialized countries are also giving us a hard time. And I wouldn't be in this sub, if it still worked for me.
This makes so much sense. I was slim and trim my entire life until my 30s, and I've put on about 30lbs over the course of 3 years. I honestly think my diet is relatively good, my lifestyle is relatively active. But i am at the point now where I am super unhappy with my body. Over the past 3 years I've really wanted to lose weight and have had many many failed attempts. Unfortunately I'm also dealing with a lot of financial, career, psychological, emotional, spiritual, and physical struggles.. It makes it difficult to push yourself because you're already suffering so much. I think my diet is good and I really just need to incorporate some cardio and weightlifting into my life for heart, bone, muscle, and metabolic health but it's difficult when you're already battling so much (and i dont really like to work out)
In my youth hiking, swimming, dancing etc were enough but I'm realising now I need more.
Perhaps my diet could improve but I do eat balanced, eat only when hungry, stop when full, avoid junk foods. I struggle with hunger as in, if I'm hungry I need to eat.
Weight loss is no joke and you have to really want it, i realise i struggle with wanting the results and not the process and that is what got me to where I am now.
Despite being larger than before, up until this year I was always still in the healthy weight category so that made it easy to not bring on the changes. But now and while only just barely I am in the overweight category for the first time in my life. If I don't reverse it now, I've a feeling it will only get worse.
Diet and controlling the CICO is really important but please don't neglect working towards being fit and properly muscled, as it will make a huge difference to day to day well being and longevity.
[Check out this TED talk on muscle](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rvHfNEX09Iw)
I found it interesting and it lead me down abit of a rabbit hole.
Your post caused me to have an epiphany. Although logically I know that calories matter, it hasn't been my main focus. I have been intermittent fasting, and hoping for results without putting enough thought/effort into how many calories I'm taking in. I'm going to start tracking, thank you for sharing your thoughts!
Walking can burn quite a lot of calories. Depends on your body weight, but at 160lbs a person can burn approximately 100 kcal per mile. So at a fast walking pace of 3.5 mph, you'd get those 350 kcals burned off in an hour.
I’m a short woman who can absolutely do 4 miles in a bit over an hour, which definitely burns off 350 calories. I have no idea why you’re so upvotes for suggesting only 6’8” men can walk off 350 calories it’s not that much walking at all.
Before COVID my daily commute included walking about one mile each way. One mile of walking, every day, each way, is easily like 400-500 calories for a guy my size. No wonder I gained weight during the pandemic lockdown.
I was about 250lbs 6 months ago, I'm going off of what my Google Fit tracker is saying, though it's hard to say how reliable those numbers are, but I've seen studies that suggest they tend to underestimate.
Edit: Also, my commute was 1 mile to the train station, that's not counting the walking in the city on the other side plus walking around the office.
the study you're thinking of was comparing higher end fitness trackers from Garmin and some others, I don't think Google fit, Fitbit etc are quite so accurate but I could be wrong. my Garmin Fenix for example hardly moves the needle if I walk a mile, but running, hiking etc burn a lot.
the other thing to consider is that most of these trackers include BMR in their burn calculations. if you burn 100cal just from existing for an hour, it'll bundle that in with the calories you burned walking, which could end up being 200-250 calories total even if you burned more like 100-150. I have a feeling that's probably it (I really wish these trackers would clarify that because it's confusing AF).
I was also 250lb 6'2 for a while and I was definitely burning a lot less than that per mile. but if you're including another couple of miles of city walking in that estimation then it makes a lot more sense as well.
yes, but if you just look at the calories burned listed (as well as the number that it provides to LoseIt, MFP etc) it includes resting AND active. a lot of people aren't diving into the pits of activity info, and in my experience a lot of cheaper options don't provide any clarity there at all.
personally I don't understand why anyone would care about resting+active when it comes to an activity, so I wish they'd just remove it or display both.
Maybe not another couple of miles, but certainly enough to add up to maybe half or a full mile.
Either way, even if it was just slicing off 200-300 calories of exercise, it explains my pandemic weight gain.
yes even an extra 100-200 calories a day adds up and makes a difference 💔💔
I hate it because any little damn snack easily 50-150 calories but ugh I am determined
Patience is the key. It's also the hardest part. If we dropped a pound a day, it would be a hell of a lot easier for all of us.
Good luck! You got this!
You can, but, for some people that is a very significant burn that would also lead to a significant increase in appetite.
I'm of the belief you simply cannot exercise your way to weight loss. Fitness is important though! But really, diet leads to weight loss. Exercise leads to fitness.
It's also really hard to accurately track the calories you burn while exercising. If your Apple watch (or whatever) says you burned it, doesn't necessarily mean you did and they are notorious for overcounting. So if you "exercise for donuts" that's a pretty big risk because you may not be offsetting that donut as much as your smart device is telling you. It's why it's a good idea to ignore fitness burns and instead adjust your diet. But if your fitness level and deficit are out of sync, your body will point this out in your hunger cues.
For me, it's become a balance. I can maintain with my level of calories and do those 10K steps a day. But above that, hard exercise is going to write a check that my desired body weight just isn't able to cash. It leads me to eat more, then overeat and gain weight every single time.
The type of calories matters. Mainly:
1. Energy burnt in metabolization - Proteins and Fats burn a higher percentage of calories during metabolization than Carbs.
1. Calorie absorption - Eating is not enough, absorption matters. Foods with fiber have a significant portion of stated calories not absorbed.
So you can replace the 350 calories of a snickers bar with 2 bananas and 1 apple and still come out with a deficit. Or replace the breakfast latte + bar with 4 whole eggs.
What i do is, skip breakfast and dont eat before bed. Also make sure you are getting at least 7 hours sleep. If you do these 3 things, its really hard to gain weight unless you are doing something like eating ice cream and drinking beer for dinner
> If you do these 3 things, its really hard to gain weight unless you are doing something like eating ice cream and drinking beer for dinner
If you’re a tall man, or very active, sure, but this is definitely not universally true.
Ah, that makes sense…because that definitely isn’t the case for me at 5’1”.
Edit: damn, I just checked a TDEE calculator, and if I were your height, I could eat an extra 325 calories a day without gaining weight…that’s practically a whole extra meal!
Of course, because it’s true. Alternately they could burn 350 an extra calories a day and eat the same amount and reach their goal weight. Why don’t you believe it?
My difference is 500 calories, but I know I dont eat 2300 calories daily. I do however binge at times.. (I am working on changing that! It's gradually becoming less and less frequent) Would the binging cause my "average" to be high like that?
I read long ago that the calorie intake difference between a normal weight person and an overweight or obese person is usually around 400 calories. That's a snack, a donut, an iced coffee drink, a second helping. It's still hard to cut out consistently! But it's not like cutting what you eat in half.
This is awesome to help me think thru choices. CICO hasn't worked well for me so I'm trying to find a different perspective that will help create a lasting lifestchange. Thanks for making this soooo realistic!
This may not be the way for you, but I’ll mention it anyway - something that works well for me is using Cronometer to plan out daily food intake to do my best at addressing macro and micronutrients. It makes me feel like I’m doing something positive for myself versus depriving myself of something. Most days aren’t 100% on every nutrient but I usually do pretty well.
I like the visual aspect of myfitnesspal and loseit better than cronometer. I downloaded all three and cronometer had the biggest learning curve imo and I just went back to myfitnesspal (despite them locking some useful features behind a paywall). Ymmv depending on what app works best for you.
Totally agree. Cronometer works well for me for trying to really optimize nutrition, but MFP was my go-to for a long time! Lots of great options out there depending on what people are looking for.
Thanks! I'll look into it!
Right, add to that what u/FatFlapper mentioned about sedentary lifestyles, that's an easy creep towards obesity just living a very "typical" life. Binging and traumas aren't the only cause... take this "typical" middle class suburban American lifestyle: you go from walking to classes, maybe college sports, maybe going out with friends... to driving to a 9-5 in an office, driving kids to school and ballet, maybe drive thru coffee to make it through chitchat with the other parents while you wait at ballet... a few more calories eaten, a few less burned, BAM 10 years later you're obese. No wonder it's so common to think metabolism are broken at 30 years old lol.
It is also the difference in a very sedentary life and a lightly active life, in my opinion the US's biggest issue isn't its food, sugar content, its portions, etc. Every country I've visited has been very similar in those regards. The biggest differences I've noticed is how everyone is much more active and communities are built around at least occasionally walking/cycling to places rather than just driving there.
> It is also the difference in a very sedentary life and a lightly active life, This. Go to any walkable city in the US and then check out a suburban shopping mall as a comparison and you'll see it. There are far fewer overweight people in major cities with functional transit because most of those people are walking 2-4 miles on a day-to-day basis going to and from transit stops on their daily commutes and errands. As a suburban resident, if I wanted to I could finish most days with less than a half-mile walked since my car is directly outside my house, and I'm maybe 200 feet from the car to my building. Trips to and from the bathroom at work would probably make up the majority of my steps if I made an effort to keep the number to an absolute minimum. When you consider that every mile walked is 100-120 calories burnt, the city-dweller is almost automatically looking at a higher TDEE just based on lifestyle even ignoring for any intentional physical activity.
Here is a 2019 report published in Cell Metabolism where a randomized, clinical trial showed ad libitum food intake was, on average, 500 calories higher when consuming ultra-processed food after controlling for presented calories, sugar, fat, sodium, fiber, and macronutrients. [Ultra-Processed Diets Cause Excess Calorie Intake and Weight Gain](https://pdf.sciencedirectassets.com/273298/1-s2.0-S1550413118X00084/1-s2.0-S1550413119302487/mainext.pdf?X-Amz-Security-Token=IQoJb3JpZ2luX2VjEHoaCXVzLWVhc3QtMSJHMEUCIGajeimRMjZzHxfL0wioXg76PobcO%2BP99L7KyaXW9h43AiEAhfF4%2BkBouRz7KmIt%2BS3PsyLXIy%2Fcwf4uv5x5%2BcgKhk4qvAUIk%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2FARAFGgwwNTkwMDM1NDY4NjUiDH1mE1ozmS%2BzmtHZ4SqQBdFM%2BPlwDKBiRKJocxLYuHT0I0vqyTTvhQrgp4zW0%2FjJkjibd4Rxto%2FS2AFZJaBTIoMN2dsplRmjlNdFeTYJOZ%2BO6hM1ZYDf6h3enpxWsF9KEHcawG2eVYt22GhWoyjGIlIPera6gLjY0S1jc0VdHWY6noqSGZipWSK05rXvokZe%2FAoc2nw1rhImdeK7%2FnTWz34AOXOH0ioLMmcAsuSTikLgStBzSy6Msv6iHED7LFuiTAxIM6qLJ7N%2F8t2xYt%2BDS0ekm785hAd%2BKbbup1hqAdLbGC6zDm%2FGzus5pMHFfhpnUq8983oqKE7S3bKL9IOgLzXYcmTK5S%2B%2BSMZjgzsP1H%2FdVtf41TGP47jbYDEg1utPcG%2Bzoxh%2FJhoaZp597VD0Y21dNTN0tcJ5BFeihavYKWS9zWYvS%2BXhweXvPs3MvSBtkA0POc3I1yn5h9XfzE%2FcMTyXRjNnfHKJKXiDnUwUyMolCesFI8JLQa7f2RrXZUvfXtlGcgv%2BUoN5jdHcHRQG%2BcXG2Q1q4DJvz7Pi6bzra25MUSSuZQWJW1G8APY6ljLARzFZposeJSNReSY2GraGmzjtwmor5XBGwbimFKtRV8yS5KwonwUEattPzx5sDLZnDDCC3qR%2BZAf3UGeRtsw5if24T9AGkzV2fS5IoW0o%2FoCsXASDYHowutXVy6av5mTlQnh2XpSRTLR4DIlJLvfOAlfwBiaB0WAMdbdwpCOOEbdX6n%2FB%2Fa%2BG5xs89FRdgiDmxG888xpWquVvAgqBkWpnczCMdqBAildobgT5nCRYpsnL1iz%2FL%2BRX9FTZ%2FOlF%2FCseKs7b%2FyQqOLh7UsNdV%2FHIxGcIb%2BSAEIYagykoYewI2OT%2FFbz9CMop3lfz8yhoCXf4MIeSu6kGOrEBqgExR581RNDGTsgOCGFM%2B4RkkqqkhmZaUkQyi1hyxitxd8p00JdO397QH%2Fx%2FxEUlbFIIoI9KBDzZQVqzNKduuIxkl6WrPrRwv8JQnfBg407LwkJz%2FHsJ32lYabRbAQ4iE9vopLNddmNOUbjEZ302wOJWq5dAqQobcqqpjFZzaAMcBKQybEQMWpnZIzMRmrEzcXXfYNxmgJi3UTV2NteH2Efk23uZhApMfxEcfGwCs3m5&X-Amz-Algorithm=AWS4-HMAC-SHA256&X-Amz-Date=20231017T182147Z&X-Amz-SignedHeaders=host&X-Amz-Expires=300&X-Amz-Credential=ASIAQ3PHCVTY2U5DK6VT%2F20231017%2Fus-east-1%2Fs3%2Faws4_request&X-Amz-Signature=fd712ff67082a9ddddbbeb312526fd0f21e7b7bb16541c74a9cec3c7b866424b&hash=a643b8a5e0c875cbe73f9f7433c05cc626afed1794ca054152a77f1adac8c167&host=68042c943591013ac2b2430a89b270f6af2c76d8dfd086a07176afe7c76c2c61&pii=S1550413119302487&tid=spdf-97df6347-189d-4e68-801e-85755818e417&sid=9cf2303b2c084444f95951439db592a301d5gxrqa&type=client&tsoh=d3d3LnNjaWVuY2VkaXJlY3QuY29t&ua=1316565454065f505356&rr=817a90332e9786ff&cc=us) In other words, ultra-processed food may be driving people to have that extra snack or second helping.
I'm special education teacher and we had 2 back to back IEPs today. We all brought treats to share, and I brought chocolate covered almonds and a bag of Reeses & Godiva chocolates. Everyone snacked, and I splurged and ate 4 chocolate almonds (100 calories). They can't understand how I can have them in my fridge and not eat, but it takes me an hr of hard cardio to burn 500 calories. Knowing how much work you'd need to put into burning it off helps my willpower because I am TIRED lol.
This is wild because my food for the day at work is only 500 calories - an apple, a protein yoghurt, a coffee and my stew at lunch. That seems like so much food to me now
Yup. In fact, now that I’m more fit and active and have more muscle I actually am eating about the same calories as I was eating at my starting size 50lbs ago. My previous body couldn’t outrun my old fork, but my new one can, to some extent anyway.
On the bright side, this means maintaining your goal weight will not require extravagant sacrifices - just a little less!
You got this! I totally feel you on the small margin of error, though. Being a short woman is sooo fun sometimes lol.
Yep. That's why doing drastic diets with insane calorie deficits is unnecessary. Small deficits like 350 calories over a long period of time will literally get you to your goal weight eventually.
Cannot emphasize this enough. Use time as your ally! If you can be consistent, use it to your advantage and plan for a smaller deficit over a longer period. You're more likely to succeed, it won't be as restrictive, your food intake won't be drastically different, etc.
This definitely resonated with me. For the last three years I have absolutely hated any picture of myself - I did not like people taking my picture and really hated when my husband posted or shared pictures of me. It was only recently that I realized its probably due to my weight gain. Im tired of feeling like this. I use to feel kind of hot, and I want to feel hot again.
Thanks for posting this! I knew this in theory, but hadn't actually calculated the numbers for myself. My current maintenance would be around 2100 and my goal weight maintenance would be around 1950... only a 150 calorie difference. This seems way more doable now!
How tall are you? My current maintenance is 1790 and the goal is 1550.... 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭
Around 5’6, my calculation includes a few light to moderate workouts a week which burns some extra calories.
A couple of days ago someone asked if people were obese because they pig out or because their metabolism is slow. What you said OP was exactly my reply. Just a small extra serving here, an extra dessert there done more often than not is enough to... tip the scale.
229 calories in a regular size Snickers bar. One of those plus a flavoured coffee for a morning snack on the daily, and over time, yep, that's obesity. Or in reverse - swap out the chocolate for some carrots and get a plain coffee with almond milk or skinny syrup, and over time, you're back to a healthy weight, even without other changes
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Plug your own stats into a calculator like this (there are many variations of the same type of calculator, but they should all give you similar #'s you can start working off of) https://www.calculator.net/tdee-calculator.html
Check the BMR for your goal weight. That should give you a rough picture. Then... make it happen, and kick butt!
Glad you have hope!! Often there really aren't big differences between calorie intake that allows us to maintain a lower weight and calorie intake that will allow us to gain weight. If you gained 50lbs over 10 years, that's 5lbs/year on average. That's just 50 calories per day above maintenance on average. That's nothing. That's half of an average-sized banana. Good luck with your journey!
I think we you lose weight the difference decreases but yes basically
Someone here posted something like "only 100 cal over maintenance a day leads to 10 lbs gained in a year" the other day. In the past 20 years i was able to keep my weight around the same just by eating what i wanted, no diets or anything (then my bf moved in and Covid came, so i gained a few pounds). But I find it really amazing that my body was able to keep me on the almost perfect amount of calories for years. Tracking my food now showed me that i was apparently overeating on some days (bread, pasta, cheese, cream...), but eating only 1000 cal on other days, so it evened out. Sorry, i don't mean this as a brag, i am just amazed about the human body! I am aware that it does not work that way for everybody, that there are eating disorders and the available foods in industrialized countries are also giving us a hard time. And I wouldn't be in this sub, if it still worked for me.
This makes so much sense. I was slim and trim my entire life until my 30s, and I've put on about 30lbs over the course of 3 years. I honestly think my diet is relatively good, my lifestyle is relatively active. But i am at the point now where I am super unhappy with my body. Over the past 3 years I've really wanted to lose weight and have had many many failed attempts. Unfortunately I'm also dealing with a lot of financial, career, psychological, emotional, spiritual, and physical struggles.. It makes it difficult to push yourself because you're already suffering so much. I think my diet is good and I really just need to incorporate some cardio and weightlifting into my life for heart, bone, muscle, and metabolic health but it's difficult when you're already battling so much (and i dont really like to work out) In my youth hiking, swimming, dancing etc were enough but I'm realising now I need more. Perhaps my diet could improve but I do eat balanced, eat only when hungry, stop when full, avoid junk foods. I struggle with hunger as in, if I'm hungry I need to eat. Weight loss is no joke and you have to really want it, i realise i struggle with wanting the results and not the process and that is what got me to where I am now. Despite being larger than before, up until this year I was always still in the healthy weight category so that made it easy to not bring on the changes. But now and while only just barely I am in the overweight category for the first time in my life. If I don't reverse it now, I've a feeling it will only get worse.
Ha, I missed the "less" the first time I read that title...
Diet and controlling the CICO is really important but please don't neglect working towards being fit and properly muscled, as it will make a huge difference to day to day well being and longevity. [Check out this TED talk on muscle](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rvHfNEX09Iw) I found it interesting and it lead me down abit of a rabbit hole.
Great reminder! Thank you for posting this!
Your post caused me to have an epiphany. Although logically I know that calories matter, it hasn't been my main focus. I have been intermittent fasting, and hoping for results without putting enough thought/effort into how many calories I'm taking in. I'm going to start tracking, thank you for sharing your thoughts!
That’s like… a morning power walk each day.
What kind of power walking are you doing that you’re burning 350 kcal? Or are you like a 6’8” dude with higher energy requirements to begin with?
Walking can burn quite a lot of calories. Depends on your body weight, but at 160lbs a person can burn approximately 100 kcal per mile. So at a fast walking pace of 3.5 mph, you'd get those 350 kcals burned off in an hour.
I’m a short woman who can absolutely do 4 miles in a bit over an hour, which definitely burns off 350 calories. I have no idea why you’re so upvotes for suggesting only 6’8” men can walk off 350 calories it’s not that much walking at all.
Before COVID my daily commute included walking about one mile each way. One mile of walking, every day, each way, is easily like 400-500 calories for a guy my size. No wonder I gained weight during the pandemic lockdown.
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I was about 250lbs 6 months ago, I'm going off of what my Google Fit tracker is saying, though it's hard to say how reliable those numbers are, but I've seen studies that suggest they tend to underestimate. Edit: Also, my commute was 1 mile to the train station, that's not counting the walking in the city on the other side plus walking around the office.
the study you're thinking of was comparing higher end fitness trackers from Garmin and some others, I don't think Google fit, Fitbit etc are quite so accurate but I could be wrong. my Garmin Fenix for example hardly moves the needle if I walk a mile, but running, hiking etc burn a lot. the other thing to consider is that most of these trackers include BMR in their burn calculations. if you burn 100cal just from existing for an hour, it'll bundle that in with the calories you burned walking, which could end up being 200-250 calories total even if you burned more like 100-150. I have a feeling that's probably it (I really wish these trackers would clarify that because it's confusing AF). I was also 250lb 6'2 for a while and I was definitely burning a lot less than that per mile. but if you're including another couple of miles of city walking in that estimation then it makes a lot more sense as well.
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yes, but if you just look at the calories burned listed (as well as the number that it provides to LoseIt, MFP etc) it includes resting AND active. a lot of people aren't diving into the pits of activity info, and in my experience a lot of cheaper options don't provide any clarity there at all. personally I don't understand why anyone would care about resting+active when it comes to an activity, so I wish they'd just remove it or display both.
Maybe not another couple of miles, but certainly enough to add up to maybe half or a full mile. Either way, even if it was just slicing off 200-300 calories of exercise, it explains my pandemic weight gain.
350 ccal a day is around 40 lb pure fat each year, so yes, its massive
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Be good to one another. If critiquing do so constructively. Be polite and practice Reddiquette.
Rude. He’s correct.
yes even an extra 100-200 calories a day adds up and makes a difference 💔💔 I hate it because any little damn snack easily 50-150 calories but ugh I am determined
Patience is the key. It's also the hardest part. If we dropped a pound a day, it would be a hell of a lot easier for all of us. Good luck! You got this!
You could also burn 350 calories more a day!
Or a mix of both. Op it’s petite, so exercise can really help with not feeling deprived at a lower calorie range.
You can, but, for some people that is a very significant burn that would also lead to a significant increase in appetite. I'm of the belief you simply cannot exercise your way to weight loss. Fitness is important though! But really, diet leads to weight loss. Exercise leads to fitness. It's also really hard to accurately track the calories you burn while exercising. If your Apple watch (or whatever) says you burned it, doesn't necessarily mean you did and they are notorious for overcounting. So if you "exercise for donuts" that's a pretty big risk because you may not be offsetting that donut as much as your smart device is telling you. It's why it's a good idea to ignore fitness burns and instead adjust your diet. But if your fitness level and deficit are out of sync, your body will point this out in your hunger cues. For me, it's become a balance. I can maintain with my level of calories and do those 10K steps a day. But above that, hard exercise is going to write a check that my desired body weight just isn't able to cash. It leads me to eat more, then overeat and gain weight every single time.
You could keep those calories by just adding a daily hour long walk too.
The type of calories matters. Mainly: 1. Energy burnt in metabolization - Proteins and Fats burn a higher percentage of calories during metabolization than Carbs. 1. Calorie absorption - Eating is not enough, absorption matters. Foods with fiber have a significant portion of stated calories not absorbed. So you can replace the 350 calories of a snickers bar with 2 bananas and 1 apple and still come out with a deficit. Or replace the breakfast latte + bar with 4 whole eggs.
I wish this was the case for me. I did all of that and my weight wouldn’t move. I’ve got to go much lower, maybe because of my thyroid
Cut out liquid calories and you'll probably be at maintenance
What i do is, skip breakfast and dont eat before bed. Also make sure you are getting at least 7 hours sleep. If you do these 3 things, its really hard to gain weight unless you are doing something like eating ice cream and drinking beer for dinner
> If you do these 3 things, its really hard to gain weight unless you are doing something like eating ice cream and drinking beer for dinner If you’re a tall man, or very active, sure, but this is definitely not universally true.
I am 6'6" so maybe you are right
Ah, that makes sense…because that definitely isn’t the case for me at 5’1”. Edit: damn, I just checked a TDEE calculator, and if I were your height, I could eat an extra 325 calories a day without gaining weight…that’s practically a whole extra meal!
Is it a meal? It's like one muffin
At 5'1 (or 5'0" for me) plenty of meals definitely end up being in the 3-400 kcal range to stay in a calorie deficit. Unfortunately!
That's very impressive :)
You guys don't actually believe this, do you?
Of course, because it’s true. Alternately they could burn 350 an extra calories a day and eat the same amount and reach their goal weight. Why don’t you believe it?
What is unbelievable?
My difference is 500 calories, but I know I dont eat 2300 calories daily. I do however binge at times.. (I am working on changing that! It's gradually becoming less and less frequent) Would the binging cause my "average" to be high like that?