Am I trying too hard? Or is there such a thing?

  Hey everyone, I'm new to these forums and this site and I'm just hoping for some words of wisdom.

 Just a little background on me. I'm a 22 year old male. 6'2" and 280 pounds, yet I'm told that I "carry it well". I'm classified as "Severely Overweight". I've never really had time for anything before. Full time employee (at a desk job) and full time college student. I rarely ate more than once every day (occasionally once every other day) just so I could get at least 6 hours of sleep before starting all over again. The weight just kept coming and coming and I didn't grasp the concept. When I did eat, It was convenience food (IE. McDonald's) and in large amounts. Example being, my typical meal was 2 Double Cheeseburgers, 1 Hot&Spicy, and 1 Large French Fries. All which would be eaten quickly and in one sitting. Now on to the current . . .

 I was at a grocery store the other day and I had an epiphany when I saw a very large woman on an electric cart. She was so large that she could not fit all the way on the cart. I almost broke down by how bad I felt for this poor woman. It was then I realized that I need to do something and I needed to do it now before it got worse.

 Currently, I'm on Day 3 of my new "Lifestyle change". My changes involve eating 4 meals per day of around 250-350 calories. I'm finding it hard to fit these tiny meals in to my daily routine, so I ended up buying fresh fruit/vegetables, Meal replacement bars if needed, and other things that don't require much preparation. Along with these "meal options", I also include a Whey Protein shake to supplement calories and protein when I'm on the run. I'm also using Hydroxycut, drinking about 2 liters of water per day, and doing consistent Tae-Bo regiments as per their work-out suggestions (Using my "rest days" for light weight training.)

 I'm having trouble actually eating this much throughout the day. I kind of have to force myself to eat during my breaks at work and between classes. I'm also debating on picking up a Sauna Suit and Waist Trimmer belt from Wal*Mart to incorporate in to my workouts. (Suit for additional water weight loss and Belt for back support and additional help throughout the day).

 I've got the Buddah belly going on, but other than that, my weight is fairly evenly distributed throughout my frame.

 I'm sorry for the wall of text from the Newbie here and I appreciate the time of anyone who actually made it this far through my rambling. If you have any advice about anything I'm doing wrong or need to incorporate in to this, PLEASE let me know and I'll love you forever. ^_^

 Thanks, Tyler (Maskim Xul)

I just gave the full starvation run down a second ago to someone else, so forgive me if this seems terse.

You burn AT LEAST 3000 a day being alive.

You are eating only 1000-1400 in your 4 meals. For an average sized, sedentary middle aged man the calorie minimum is 1500 calories, you need much more than this because you are bigger and younger than this base.

You are starving, this will cause you to have no appetite, but do not confuse this with your body not needing more calories.  Please use the tools on this sight to find a reasonable calorie goal.

Grats on your lifestyle change!  That first step/decision is hard so you should be proud of yourself.

First of all, while it is widely accepted that eating throughout the day does help keep your metabolism revved up, in the grand scheme of things, it doesn't really matter when you get your calories in.  So, if you really are having trouble eating during the day....don't.  If you have to "force" yourself, you're eventually going to just quit.  Everyone is different and you need to find what works for you.

However, you said you're eating 4 meals a day at 250-350 cals each.  That means you're eating 1000-1400 cals a day.....WAY WAY WAY too little for someone your size/weight/gender.  Your bmr (basal metabolic rate), which is the amount you burn while inactive, is just over 2300 cals/day.  Since that is the min fuel your body needs to function, that is the lowest amount you should be eating.  Eating lower then that will cause you to lose weight very quickly at the start, but once your body realizes that it's not getting enough nourishment to sustain itself, it will stop burning your fat stores and basically shut down your metabolism.

You can safely lose about 1% of your body weight a week, so in your case, 2.8 lbs a week, which means your deficit in calories can be about 1400 calories a day (1 lbs of body weight is equal to 3500 calories).  At sedentary, I calculated your daily burn to be about 2800 calories, so any extra activity should be max 900 extra calories.

Obviously you don't have to push yourself that hard if you don't want to, but you can safely lose that amount a week for now.  Those numbers will change as you lose weight.

I know that's a lot of info but I hope it helps.  Here's the website I used to calculate all that:  www.phord.com/cc  That's my fav website for figuring out what I need to eat/exercise. :)

Original Post by kukua:

 Your bmr (basal metabolic rate), which is the amount you burn while inactive, is just over 2300 cals/day. 

Not inactive, this number is what you need to run your major organs.  BMR does not take into account digestion, talking, sitting up....so unless you are in a coma, you burn around 3000 a day.

Edit:  And on that website you linked to, with thoes stats, 2300 was what they recommended to eat, not the burned calories (that were closer to....3000!)

 Thank you all for your information and your quick replies. I appreciate every single sentence.

 So, I need around an average of 2300 Calories per day just to maintain weight loss without going in to a "starvation mode" that I've been stuck in for years. My Tan'Tui training (martial arts), Tae-bo, and light weight training should be burning around 800-1000 calories per day on top of this Hydroxycut (I'm not even sure if this stuff works, lmao). Is that healthy to maintain?

2300 is a much more reasonable number to eat, especially with what you are burning.  If you find that you are consistantly losing more than 1% of your body weight in a week, then you should up the intake a bit.  Over 1% is quite hard on your body to maintain and is an indication that you are undereating.

Good Luck!

Original Post by thermal:

Original Post by kukua:

 Your bmr (basal metabolic rate), which is the amount you burn while inactive, is just over 2300 cals/day. 

Not inactive, this number is what you need to run your major organs.  BMR does not take into account digestion, talking, sitting up....so unless you are in a coma, you burn around 3000 a day.

Edit:  And on that website you linked to, with thoes stats, 2300 was what they recommended to eat, not the burned calories (that were closer to....3000!)

 BMR does not mean what he burns in a day, it means the min amount his body burns JUST to run his organs.  It means inactive, and with an empty stomach (as in, after fasting for about 12 hours).  At sedentary, he burns about 2800 cals a day, which I also mentioned in my post.  The reason phord recommends he eats that is becuase it it the lowest amount he can eat safely, because it is the lowest amt of calories his body requires to sustain itself.  I didn't say that's what he burned.  That is what phord recommends he eats BECAUSE it is his BMR.

At your current weight of 280, for the 1% lost per week, as thermal mentioned, you can safely lose 2.8 lbs a week. The slower you lose it the more likely it is to stay off!! I've lost a total of 48 lbs so far... I've hit a plateau the last month or so, but its better than gaining right?

Here are a few meals that I really enjoy that you can eat to help you get in those 2300 calories per day:

breakfast:
instant oatmeal (my fav is maple and brown sugar) 157
8 oz glass of 2 % milk 122
med. banana  105
Total cal = 384

lunch:  
1 can of tuna  118
2 slices whole wheat bread 128
2 tsp mayo (hellman's reg.)  180
small salad with 2 tbsp. dressing  150
Total cal =  576

Dinner: 
steamed chicken breast  386
1 cup long grain white rice 205
Total cal = 591

Those three meals alone add up to 1551 calories, then you can just add some snacks and of course fruits and veggies in too!!

I hope that helps you realize there are easy ways to get in the calories that you need!

BTW you can get those steam bags and just do your chicken, porkchops and veggies in the microwave! and they only take like 5-7 minutes depending on whether the food is fresh or frozen!! 

Original Post by need2losebabyweight:

At your current weight of 280, for the 1% lost per week, as thermal mentioned, you can safely lose 2.8 lbs a week.

 Thermal didn't mention that, I did.  But I'm nit-picking. :P

lol oops sorry!!! my mistake!

Congrats on your lifestyle change.  No big recommendations besides what is already mentioned.   Its a big commitment but we don't want to be like that lady in the electric cart either!!!  What a drag that would be.

I started out with Taebo too.  Its a great workout.  I soon moved on to serious weight lifting but still to taebo here and there to switch up my cardio.  Have fun with it.

Tyler,

Please read something that I just posted in the Weight Loss forum titled "A "MUST READ" for anyone trying to lose FAT (not weight)".

I know your struggles...I've been there (several times).  I'm trying to do it right this time and the results are amazing.  You can't starve yourself...you're just setting yourself up to fail!

2 pounds a week buddy!  I know that it sucks to think about how long it will take to see your goal but if you lose 50 lbs in two months now, in a year you'll be right back up to 280+.  Please beleive what I say... and read it.

Bear

I don't have time to read all of the posts.  I am sure you have already been given good advice.

But I have one thing to say - YOU WILL REGAIN YOUR APPETITE.

It might take a week or two, but one day you will wake up ravenous.

But you have to keep feeding your body.  EVERY DAY, several times a day!!

Hey,

Make sure you're eating your minimum 2300. You burn  A  LOT in a day and you don't want to crash.

Exercise, watching what you eat and how much of it is a sure way to drop the weight and it's healthy.

I don't think anyone should go on diet pills. It's only temparary and soooo unnatrual. Weightloss takes time. As long as you're being healthy the benefits will be easier to see overtime. 

I agree with mperic - be careful with Hydroxycut.  I've read reports that have linked it to heart attacks, etc.  It does work for some people, but imo, the risks just aren't worth it.

I actually tried it once - I took one pill and my heart rate was so fast the rest of the day it completely freaked me out and I never took it again.

Plus, you'll feel so much more of a sense of accomplishment if you do it safely and in a healthy way. :)

Let me start by saying, GOOD FOR YOU!!!  Normally when I see a long post I normally don't read it, but there was something about yours.  I applaud you in realizing the need to make things better for yourself before you're the one that barely fits in the chair.  But it is in those realizations that we are able to find our true selves and turn us into the person we know that we are. 

I read a quote once from someone who was able to conquer the weight thing, and I think about it every time I feel like giving in - "There will come a day when I can no longer run, today is not that day".  I have three kids, and I don't want to be the mom sitting on the sideline, I want to be the mom running, and laughing, and playing with my kids, so while I can still run, I’m running!

Good luck with your journey.

Original Post by kukua:

Original Post by thermal:

Original Post by kukua:

 Your bmr (basal metabolic rate), which is the amount you burn while inactive, is just over 2300 cals/day. 

Not inactive, this number is what you need to run your major organs.  BMR does not take into account digestion, talking, sitting up....so unless you are in a coma, you burn around 3000 a day.

Edit:  And on that website you linked to, with thoes stats, 2300 was what they recommended to eat, not the burned calories (that were closer to....3000!)

 BMR does not mean what he burns in a day, it means the min amount his body burns JUST to run his organs.  It means inactive, and with an empty stomach (as in, after fasting for about 12 hours).  At sedentary, he burns about 2800 cals a day, which I also mentioned in my post.  The reason phord recommends he eats that is becuase it it the lowest amount he can eat safely, because it is the lowest amt of calories his body requires to sustain itself.  I didn't say that's what he burned.  That is what phord recommends he eats BECAUSE it is his BMR.

 I'm aware, I was just pointing out that BMR is not what you burn while inactive. You made it sound like that was what he burns sedentary and I was clarifying.  I was saying that what he burns inactive is higher than this and what he burns in his daily goings about is much higer.  I also did mention that one can safely lose 1% of one's body weight, as did you.

 Thank you all so much for all of this information. I can tell this is going to be quite the experience in both losing the weight, keeping it off, and also joining this community. Thank you all for your words of wisdom and good luck to all of you in your own personal endeavors.

I remember taking a diet pill when I was younger meta...something (the diet pill fad back then).  I stopped after one time also bc it gave me AWFUL jitters.  It really freaked me out too.

Original Post by thermal:

Original Post by kukua:

Original Post by thermal:

Original Post by kukua:

 Your bmr (basal metabolic rate), which is the amount you burn while inactive, is just over 2300 cals/day. 

Not inactive, this number is what you need to run your major organs.  BMR does not take into account digestion, talking, sitting up....so unless you are in a coma, you burn around 3000 a day.

Edit:  And on that website you linked to, with thoes stats, 2300 was what they recommended to eat, not the burned calories (that were closer to....3000!)

 BMR does not mean what he burns in a day, it means the min amount his body burns JUST to run his organs.  It means inactive, and with an empty stomach (as in, after fasting for about 12 hours).  At sedentary, he burns about 2800 cals a day, which I also mentioned in my post.  The reason phord recommends he eats that is becuase it it the lowest amount he can eat safely, because it is the lowest amt of calories his body requires to sustain itself.  I didn't say that's what he burned.  That is what phord recommends he eats BECAUSE it is his BMR.

 I'm aware, I was just pointing out that BMR is not what you burn while inactive. You made it sound like that was what he burns sedentary and I was clarifying.  I was saying that what he burns inactive is higher than this and what he burns in his daily goings about is much higer.  I also did mention that one can safely lose 1% of one's body weight, as did you.

 Your bmr IS what you burn when you are inactive.  Inactive is NOT the same as sedentary.  Although I can see where that would be was confusing, as many people use them interchangably.  Inactive means completely still, but not asleep, with an empty stomach (after fasting for 12 hours), so that the only thing that is being burned is your basic bodily functions (ie. brain and organs).  This is actually how they test your bmr - you fast for 12 hours and they monitor your breathing in a closed room.

But I do apologize for the confusion - maybe inactive wasn't the right word to use.

Congratulations on starting this journey! In addition to all the wonderful input you've received so far, I'd just like to say that what has really helped me is consistantly logging in what I eat on Calorie Count. Alduous Huxley, the author of "Brave New World" also wrote a book called "The Island." On the island myna birds in the trees kept calling out, "Attention, attention!" This helped the island's people focus on the here and now. The residents of the island also chewed the first bite of food of each meal 100 times as a religious devotion. Just learning to pay attention to your eating and your body's needs forms a major part of your transformation to improved health. All the best to you!