Daily Calorie Deficit

I have read so much about starvation mode and calorie deficits. I've read that the body can take 31 calories per pound of fat for energy daily before it goes into starvation mode.

My question is, based on calculations done it seems that for a 5'5", 400 lb female, 3140 calories are burned per day with a sedentary activity level. Doing exercises to burn 500 calories per day and cutting calorie intake by 500, still leaves a 2140 per day calorie diet.

When someone is severly obese, is it ok to go past the 1000 calorie standard deficit per day?

Say a 2000 calorie diet and burning 1000 calories from exercise(cardio and strength).

[Skailark]

Here how this works-

The recommended weight loss per week  1 - 2  pounds

Average calorie deficit needed to lose 1 pound = 3500 cal

If you are to break 3500 by 7 , it is going to work out 500 calories a day.

So if you are on 500 calorie deficit perday you will lose 1 pound a week

1000 calories deficit will help you lose 2 pounds  a week.

If you are claiming your BMR is 3140, then if you want o creat a caloire deficit of 1000

then you can do this in 3 ways.


1.you can decrease your calorie intake by 1000 caloires which will leave you with 2120 cal.(this is assuming no exercsie)

2.you consume 312=40 caloreis but you burn off  1000 calories with exercsie.

3.most effective option at that you can decrease your calore intake and still do exercise.

But this will result in rapid weight loss which is not recommended at all.


So to asnwer your question - "Say a 2000 calorie diet and burning 1000 calories from exercise" will create a calorie deficit of more than 2http://www.medhelp.org/posts/show/661395#000 cals. which will result in 4 pounds a week of weight loss - NOT HEALTHY!

[Ranaesheart]

First, welcome to the Weight Loss & Dieting Community and thank you for posting your question.

In trying to check your calculations, I was unable to determine age or sex.  So, in order to work this had to make a few assumptions ... so chose an age of 30 and female.  A different age or sex would affect the calculations somewhat.

Based on those assumptions and 5 ft 5 inches, 400 lbs and a sedentary (inactive) lifestyle, the calories needed to maintain your weight would be 2,550.  

Any time a person goes to make a change, it is best to take baby steps.  For example, you may want to concentrate on losing 1 lb per week .. which would mean lowering your calories by 500 per day .. for an intake of 2,050.  In addition, some form of exercise is key to your success ... so walking is a good place to start.  Swimming or bicycling are also great.  The calories you burn with exercise will add to the calorie deficit .. and help you lose additional weight.

Remember, it didn't go on overnight an dit shouldn't come off that way either.  Slow and steady and YOU CAN DO THIS!  Just try focusing on setting a small goal, say 5 lbs, and then celebrate when you reach it.  Don't think of anything else or the amount of weight you want to lose totally as it can be overwhelming.  Once you achieve one small goal, then set another small goal.  This way you will have many, many celebrations along your journey and each celebration helps motivate us forward.

Hope you will consider joining us on a regular and active basis.  We host periodic challenges, not as a quick fix but as a motivational tool and knowledge exchange to keep us on track with friendship and support.  You may also want to implement the weight, mood and exercise trackers .. they are wonderful tools that aid in our support and help us to be accountable.

Best wishes .. here to help .. Ranae

[reddolphin]

Thank you both for your responses.

I am a 28 year old female. I thought that the BMR I calculated seemed too high. I used a calculator on another website to calculate that.

I understand that it took 28 years to gain this weight and while it won't take 28 to lose it, it will take time.

I think the most important is learning what my calorie intake should be, getting in a habit/routine of exercising and eating healthier.

I have found this website to be great and will be visiting more often.

[TrudieC]

Welcome!  I can't wait to help you celebrate your successes!

[Skailark]

Hi!

How are tyou getting on? Please let us know if you have any questions and we are more than happy to answer them and help you in your journey!

[Ranaesheart]

So very glad to hear you will be joining us.  The members here .. like the ones who've responded to you above, are caring and full of hugs, support and knowledge.  Please let us know how we can help .. and be sure to use your trackers .. they help us watch our progress and it's fun to watch the numbers decline ... kind of like a "star" on the "chore chart" when I was young!  

Big (((Hugs)))  ..