My BMR is huge...

[TheBBP]

I am very heavy (460ish lbs).  I have reduced my overall caloric intake to 2500 a day but my BMR is 3500+.  Am I doing OK?  Does that leave me room for error should I trip up?

 

Also, I understand that 2 pounds a week is healthy for weight loss, however, I tend to lose a lot more than that due to my obesity.  Am I OK there too?

 

Thanks.

[Waldo]

Yeah, at your size, over 2 lb a week is fine.

[MariahSnow]

A lot of your initial weight will be things like water and also you'll lose weight quickly because there is a lot to lose.

 

How did you calculate your BMR?

 

I guess the biggest reason for slow weight loss is to make sure it's sustainable. You can starve yourself and force your body to burn off extra weight, but that's not a long-term lifestyle change. Even drastic calorie cuts can be really hard, and sometimes it's easiest to take baby steps.

 

Like Waldo said, I wouldn't worry about it too much. But I guess it depends on how much you are losing. Are we talking 10lbs per week? 20lbs?

[TheBBP]

I have not measured loss, but when I did this before, I had lost 70ish pounds in about 3 months just by walking daily and moderating what I ate.  I have not yet gotten into a full-on healthy diet, I am just starting with limiting how much I normally eat with my normal foods just to keep me sane.  When I get comfortable with that I will take another step.  I just don't want to jump into a diet I can't deal with and end up quitting.

 

My mouth is hungry and wants to eat, but I am in no way starving.

[MariahSnow]

I have not measured loss, but when I did this before, I had lost 70ish pounds in about 3 months just by walking daily and moderating what I ate.  I have not yet gotten into a full-on healthy diet, I am just starting with limiting how much I normally eat with my normal foods just to keep me sane.  When I get comfortable with that I will take another step.  I just don't want to jump into a diet I can't deal with and end up quitting.

 

My mouth is hungry and wants to eat, but I am in no way starving.

 

Sounds to me like you are doing it right. Baby steps, changing what you can, starting slow. Awesome job so far with the 70 lbs!

 

I picked up some Bob Harper book in a Barnes and Noble once about dieting rules, and one of the rules was: "Go to bed hungry". I think this is really helpful because I hate being hungry, but if I'm asleep, I won't notice, and I like the feeling of being hungry when I wake up. It's also really helpful for night time snacking which is a big problem for me.

 

Anyway, keep up the good work! Enjoy the foods you love in moderation, and keep us posted on the progress!

[TheBBP]

Awesome job so far with the 70 lbs!

 

Just to be clear...  That weight loss was when I went at it a couple years ago.  My mom passed away and while I was not overtly depressed, I ended my journey and have since gained it all back.  I got down to 398 before that happened.

[guest439437484421]

calculating bmr is a tricky thing.  at one point i went through and found about 5-10 bmr calculators on the internet, almost every single one gave me a different number, ranging from 3k up to 5-6k (was 425lbs at the time).

[Gainsdalf the Whey]

More than 2 lb a week is fine at your size.  The number I've heard referenced is 1% of your bodyweight a week being near the limit of healthy, but for heavier people it can even be a bit higher.  We've seen them do it on biggest loser for weeks straight, but they have medical people making sure they're getting the nutients and they do a lot of it through exercise. The way you are saying you are doing it sounds fine though.

[guest439437484421]

More than 2 lb a week is fine at your size.  The number I've heard referenced is 1% of your bodyweight a week being near the limit of healthy, but for heavier people it can even be a bit higher.  We've seen them do it on biggest loser for weeks straight, but they have medical people making sure they're getting the nutients and they do a lot of it through exercise. The way you are saying you are doing it sounds fine though.

 

yeah, i don't understand how they don't drop like flies when losing up to 10 lbs a week.

[Gainsdalf the Whey]

Because they have Jillian screaming at them. And some do, they just get back up and adapt.

[Amazon Grimm]

Just FYI, there really isn't a scientific consensus that slow weight loss is better, especially in the extremely obese.

 

Is it prying to ask your height?  I'm 428 lbs, but at 6'3" that is deceptive.

[Burizado]

I was 415 back in 2010.  My BMR was 3385 from my calculations spreadsheet (using the calculation from one of Steve's earlier blogs).  I started just by limiting how much I was eating, not even exercising, and got down to 392 the beginning of 2012.  At that point I decided I needed to do something, so I started strength training and stationary biking.  I tried other activities along the way (pretty much anything Steve put up on NF as an intro to new things).  I lost 22 lbs. in the first month.  I am down to 290 today, a little over a year later.

 

My point is keep up the hard work and you will lose the weight.  I agree with the above people that more than 2 lbs. a week is OK when you are starting out as a bigger individual.

 

Also, to Grimm's point, I am 6'4" so I did not look 415, so it definitely is deceptive for taller guys.

[TheBBP]

Thanks for all of the encouragement folks.  It honestly helps.  I am not used to being this open about this issue and I appreciate the honest feedback.

 

Just FYI, there really isn't a scientific consensus that slow weight loss is better, especially in the extremely obese.

 

Is it prying to ask your height?  I'm 428 lbs, but at 6'3" that is deceptive.

 

I am 465ish @ 5'11".

[Pookie]

I think I lost something like 60 pounds doing pretty much how you started out before, eating less and being concious of sizes of food, and walking.

 

It was that success that spurred me onto looking deeper into nutrition and trying out different ways of eating. Making small changes and letting them become habit, then adding more little things all adds up into a sustainable life change.

[TheBBP]

I think I lost something like 60 pounds doing pretty much how you started out before, eating less and being concious of sizes of food, and walking.

 

It was that success that spurred me onto looking deeper into nutrition and trying out different ways of eating. Making small changes and letting them become habit, then adding more little things all adds up into a sustainable life change.

 

 

That is outstanding.  Great work.  I figure that I have to start this way.  I have jumped all-in on diets before and I end up binging the weight back.  I figured that if I started just by cutting back on what I eat now by a good margin, that I will kindle some success and make it easier for me to re-evaluate and make more changes later.