I lost 50lbs since June and I eat a LOT! (calorie cycling)

My starting weight (June 2007): 319lbs
Current weight (Nov 2007): 269.4lbs
Goal weight: 150-ish lbs

I cycle my calories, high to low and back again, averaging 1829 calories a day over a 7 day period:

Sun: 1800 cal + exercise
Mon: 2000 cal + exercise
Tue: 1400 cal
Wed: 2800 cal + exercise
Thu: 1200 cal
Fri: 1500 cal
Sat: 2100 cal

Every 2 weeks I replace the 2800 cal day with a free day (cheat day as some day) and eat anything I want, without counting or planning. (I count in my head but I don't feel bad about it)

I see SO MANY people struggling with losing weight and I used to be one of them. I gave up trying to "diet" the wrong way. At first I started with 1500/cal a day by eating frozen meals and 100 calorie snack packs, then I realized it was all junk. This only lasted about 2 weeks.

Then I read about calorie cycling and I started eating REAL food, upped my calorie intake and have been losing steadily ever since. I plan my exercise (cardio/weight lifting) for 3 or 4 days a week -- I don't *always* get it all in. I'm losing steadily and do it when I want to. Sometimes I do it everyday, sometimes I don't do any for several days. I switch things up, keeps my body guessing.

I use my elliptical trainer on all different resistance levels, I go up and down stairs, I walk, stair stepper, heavy cleaning that breaks a sweat -- whatever I'm in the mood for.

Personally, I believe people should eat at their GOAL MAINTENANCE calories. Most people do NOT need to live on 1200 calories a day. That figure is thrown around WAY too often!! Starvation mode aka famine response, is also real. Your body's natural reaction to less fuel is to slow down it's metabolism. And the first thing in that is losing lean body mass (muscle) -- muscle helps you naturally burn more calories. Your body clings on to fat and loses muscle first, thus slowing down your weight loss/metabolism.

EXAMPLE from about.com's calories per day calculator (calorie-count.com is owned by about.com, by the way!)

http://walking.about.com/cs/calories/l/blcalc alc.htm

If a 5'5", 35 year old female, that weighs 135lbs, does cardio (exercise) 4 days a week for about 60 minutes each session and daily day to day living like running errands and household chores, cooking etc, she can:

Eat up to 2041 calories a day on average to maintain her weight for her current activity level, age, height, etc.

So if a 35 year old woman that weights 180lbs wants to get down to 135lbs, with the same activity level and other stats, she can also eat up to 2041 calories per day on average without gaining weight and will EVENTUALLY (think: slowly) get to her goal weight of 135lbs. This is a lifestyle, NOT a crash diet. It's important to keep exercising and watching what you eat after you get to your goal weight.

Now if this hypothetical 35 year old woman continues to stay active and continues weight lifting to avoid losing lean body mass (muscle) with age, she can keep up with this for many many years to come. It's really just simple math and a little dedication to making it work longterm, not short term.

When I get to a lower weight, I do NOT plan on lowering my calories! I will still eat 1829/day even when I weigh 160lbs, 150lbs -- I'll just increase my activity (daily cardio) and hopefully will have gained more lean body mass (muscle) by then that I lost along the way, so my burn rate will be higher than someone that weighs 150-ish lbs and lives a mainly sedentary lifestyle. I plan to keep MOVING! Not overdo it, but I will be exercising and moving the way humans were designed to.

Keep in mind, I'm not doing this in a hurry, I'm taking my time. I'm perfectly happy losing .5lb to 2lbs a week. I fully expect the rate at which I'm losing now to slow down as I get to lower weights. Whatever it is, it is. If it takes 5 years to get to my goal weight, that's fine!! I'm staying on my diet for life. I enjoy it! I eat everything that I love by working into my calories, making lighter versions of it, or by having it on my free days. This is a new lifestyle and life includes all sorts of foods and treats that I plan to have a part of. I can't imagine going without certain things for the rest of my life, it's totally unnecessary!

I don't feel bad or guilty when I overeat or have not-so-healthy food choices. I get right back on track the next day and my "free days" haven't slowed down my weight loss in the least. I'm satisified and really enjoy my diet and look forward to staying on it for the rest of my life, because it's not a temporary quick fix -- it's something I can keep up with, easily, forever.

I plan all my meals/snacks at least a week in advance so that I don't have to make any last minute decisions during the day or at the store. I avoid over-processed food and try to eat as close to nature as possible, but I'll admit, I do have some of the junky versions sometimes. And that's ok, because I make excellent choices the majority of the time.

I don't subsist on salad and chicken breast -- even though I eat them often. I eat a little of everything and you can too, if you get plenty of exercise and fuel your body the proper way. Don't forget we burn calories just existing. To breathe, digest food, think, walk to the bathroom, etc. -- all calories being burned round the clock, even while sleeping.

Don't stress over the holidays or special ocassions or a "bad day" -- just start right where you left off and everything will balance itself out.

Don't be in a hurry, you still have to maintain your weight after it you lose it. Commit to a plan you can stay on for life, because it's the only one that will work.

It makes me really sad to see people so stressed out over silly things like holidays or a birthday dinner, relax, it's just food! Remind yourself that it's not the last time you will encounter it or the last time you'll get to taste it and find a way to be at peace with it. Take your time to lose weight and make it enjoyable or you won't be able to keep up with it after you get to goal.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

-----

"Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." - Albert Einstein

-----

Way to go!!!  I totally agree with you!  I don't starve either--I usually eat 1800-2200 calories a day, and I've lost around 100 pounds, and I'm still trying to get rid of 25 more!!!  Hopefully more people will read this and actually "get it", you can eat well without going the "1200 cal" route!!!  Keep up the great work!!!!

And, I can't wait until Thanksgiving--I am not going to feel bad about eating a good meal!!!!!!!!!!!

Wow 100lbs and you eat plenty like me, that's awesome!!! Congrats!! I'm glad I'm not the only one doing it this way! Yay!

I look forward to the 100lb loss mark too, I know I'll get there. No rush though... I'm in the game for life. :)

And yeah, Thanksgiving... yum!!!!!

I'm not disciplined enough to calorie cycle like you (at least, not intentionally, although it does fluctuate a bit based on my hunger) but I have been aiming for my goal maintenance calories as well. I think it's a great idea if you don't have to lose the weight ASAP for health reasons. I like knowing that I won't have to make any big changes once I reach my goal weight. I'm actually really close now, so my weight loss is so slow that it is almost non-existent, but I don't worry about it. Congratulations on your loss!

Ok, I've got to try this one.   I constantly set myself at goals like 1300-1500 cals a day, and WHEN I go over that amount, I get so down on myself!  Hmmmm.......we shall see!  Thanks for the post!

j3nn_dot_net

You will get there!  I did, it took me about 16 months, but I'm there!  I'm now about 170 and if I would stay here, I'd be thrilled!!  I also am 5 feet 11 inches!!!!!!  Noone believed me when I said I was 270+lbs, because of the height!!!  I went from a size 20-22 to now 10-12!  Slow and steady wins the race, right?  Like you said, this is for life, not just to drop weight fast and then, boom, put it all back on.  I will NEVER gain that back, it is lost forever!!!  Thats why I said if I never got any smaller, I'd be ok with it, however, I would like to get down to around 155.  We'll see, if it's meant to be!!!

I love to eat, so yes, I did try the 1200 calories a day thing, back in the day---but I couldn't survive on that for long!  I think just the size of me needs the calories to live!!!  If I get to 155, I need 1900 calories to maintain---so why should I eat much less than that now, when I exercise anywhere from 700-1000 calories a day!!!

Good luck to you, you will succeed!!!!!  Keep us posted!!!!!

Enjoy your turkey!!!  I know I will!!! lol

Thanks lyssalou!!! I will :)

I really ned to give this a try...for the past few weeks I have been eaing 1200 exercising and the scale is not moving like it should. I will aim for 1500 to 1700 cals a day.

I have been eating higher calories like 1900 to 2100 calories and I was feeling really frustrated with seeing all the post about people that eat 1200 or 1400 calories , this is a really motivating post. I too , like you all have a long time to lose this weight , as long as my body needs because this weight will stay off! Thank you so much for this post, really motivational!

Congratulations on your great attitude and sane, healthy approach!!

As well as your success, of course. :)

Absolutely! I've lost 56 lbs so far and I eat over 1800 cals a day. Some days over 2000. I don't really keep track much anymore unless I stop losing then I start counting again.

I tried and failed so many times to lose weight but would give up out of hunger and the feeling of deprivation. I would try some stupid diet out of some magazine that was never right for someone who weighed 300 lbs.

I've gone from a size 28 pants to size 20 and they are getting baggy, yay!

Thank you for the post, it is good to know I'm not alone and yes it does work!

congrats on the losses fellow eaters!

Thanks everybody!! And a BIG congrats to everybody on their losses! GREAT JOB!

I'm so RELIEVED to see I'm not the only one that eats more than 1200 calories a day! LOL

Congratulations!  And I third or fourth or whatever it is about the calories!  I regularly eat between 1800-2000 and I went from a size 18 to a size 10.  In the beginning I was eating very little but it wasn't until I started exercising and upped my calories that my weight started really dropping quickly.

I've lost 51.8 pounds in 13 weeks eating about 1500 calories a day, with pretty minimal exercise (due to health limitations.)  Of course, it helps that my starting weight was extremely high (369 pounds).

1200 calories a day? Not for me.

And I haven't had a "cheat day" yet, either.... I am too anxious to get to a healthy weight and start fully living and enjoying my life!  Some days, though, I just can't eat as many veggies as I normally like to .... so I take mini "low veggie" days where I just eat 5-6 servings ... LOL!

WE CAN DO THIS!

=^..^= MOLLY

I shoot for 1500 but in practice I wind up "cycling" too. I have many maintenance days, plus about 2 splurge days a month, so that my real average is probably about 1700-1800. I don't exercise beyond usual daily mobility (public transport, hilly city, stairs at school, etc.)

I worry that setting one's calorie goals too low is what leads people to chuck it all once the results start waning (and eventually, they do). I know if I had not enjoyed my lifestyle, those long plateaus would have tortured me, made me chuck it all. But I kept going, because I can convince myself that the lifestyle isn't bad, I'm not living like a "freak", I get to have meals at restaurants with my friends...

My new challenge is patience. :)

I agree with trustwomen, if you start out too low, then you have nowhere to go once you get to a lower weight and/or hit a plateau and there's also no big surprise when you reach your goal weight, start eating more and start gaining again from your body not being used to it.

I started out weighing 319lbs and eating 1500 cals a day, it was not enough. That was nearly cutting my average calories in half. The more I read about metabolism, losing weight, starvation mode etc. the more I decied to just eat close to my target maintenance calories and said the heck with it.

Excellent post!  Today is day one for me and I stumbled across your message.

Lucky for me.. 

Congrats on your success. I hope to do as well.

Starting at 192lbs today on a 5'4" frame. Size 18 & up.

I'd like to be in the 135-140 by this time next year. This time

it is slow and steady. Any tips you all can give will be much appreciated.

 

Well, the first thing I'd suggest is don't give yourself a time limit -- it leads to stress, pressure to achieve it and disappointment if it isn't reached. Although, your goal weight by this time next year is reasonable and can be met but if it isn't don't worry! This is a lifetime commitment -- you still have to maintain it after you lose it.

Don't starve yourself or over-exercise. Eat enough and eat well -- whole foods: whole grains, proteins, good fats, skip the "diet food" like 100 cal packs and enjoy the real version instead. Have everything you like in moderation. Don't eliminate any food groups, like low carb etc. YUCK!

If you take a day off from calorie counting once in awhile (I take a day off every 2 weeks) don't feel guilty about it. Enjoy it and start again the next day right where you left off.

I suggest figuring out how many calories you need to eat per day to maintain the weight you want to be for your age, height, activity level etc. and eating close to or at that level and eventually you will get to where you want to be, especially if you exercise and lift weights. (Women don't bulk up from weight lifting like men do, don't worry)

And if you are hungry, EAT! Also, evaluate your menu, make sure it's balanced; something from every food group.

Plan your meals and calories in advance so you're not unsure what to have when the time comes to cook or shop.

Seems like a lot but you will get used to it! Just enjoy yourself and don't worry too much, it's a new way of treating food in your life. Food is great, it's not the enemy. Good luck! :)

Thank you for posting I have started and this is day two for me..

You're welcome! Happy Thanksgiving, everybody!!

Thats an amazing achievement well done. However im sorry i disagree with you. I eat about 1200cals a day and for the last couple of years i guess my usual would be 1800cals at which i weigh 140lbs and sometimes gain a little. Your starting weight was rather high and therefore your body naturally uses more calories than a lighter person just to function. Working on the basis that 10cal X lbs = BMR yours would have been 3190 at the start and mine only 1400, that means you have a 1500cals deficit even if you sit in a chair all day. When you are down at 160lbs your body will only need 1600cals BMR, and activites and excerise will burn about half the clories they do now. If i ate what you do at the moment even with going to the gym daily i would quickly gain weight.

Also youve stated that you intend on losing fat and building muscle, but i think you will find that you will already have a lot of muscle and it likely that you will lose some of this. It will have taken a lot of strenght to haul your 300lbs around every day and therefore you were actually getting a real work out, your body wont need anywhere near that much muscle when you reach 160 goal.

So whilst ill happily give you a pat on the back and say well done, please be aware that its not that easy for everyone to lose weight so quickly, and you will probably find that out when your lose starts to slow. But well done so far and keep up the good work.