Obese guy needs advice: BMR, TDEE and weight loss

[isatonmynuts]

Okay I've been trying to study up about this and seeing lots of differences of opinion and conjecture and wondering if anyone has some advice about how it all pertains to my particular situation of being morbidly obese and needing to rapidly lose some weight to help with a herniated disc.

My short term goal is to get down to 20% body fat and about 290 lbs. Ultimately, I'd like to lose more weight than this. My weight without fat would be about 210 lbs so I think at some point I'm probably going to have to think about how I would, or if I should, try to get below that too, but for now 290 seems like a pretty reasonable goal to hit and so that's why it's my focus.

My Current Stats:
377 lbs
6' tall
BMR of ~2600
TDEE of ~3800-4300
BFR of ~45%

My BMR and BFR I got from a smart scale I just bought, and the TDEE was calculated by the "FatSecret" app. I originally set it to "Low Active" which they describe as basically just doing minimal stuff like household chores, etc which was 3800. As I've started getting back into weight lifting I set it to "Active" and it said 4300. I'm getting back into lifting, but I'll be keeping things relatively light for now, and not sure how many rest days I'll need. I'm not trying to fight the pain and overdo it and hurt myself. So I'm thinking this range is probably a good estimate.

My goal for now is to lose 87 pounds, and I've been trying to restrict myself to 1000-1500 calories a day, and it hasn't really been leaving me feeling very hungry. I can even cheat a little and eat when I'm not hungry, like a snack or something, and keep it within 1500-2000 fairly easily. I've just been trying to avoid eating as some kind of entertainment or activity and only when I feel hungry because I have a bad tendency to start binge eating otherwise. Given that parameter, I feel like I'd actually be over-eating to hit 2600.

Here's where I'm most unsure how to proceed: I keep reading that it's not healthy to consume less than your BMR, so for me I shouldn't be eating less than 2600 calories a day. Meanwhile, I also keep reading that it's apparently ideal to lose 2 lbs maximum of fat a week, and so keep seeing sites recommend I shave off 500-1000 calories off my TDEE, which for me would mean 3300-3800 a day. However, even 2600 feels like overeating, so 3300-3800 just seems outlandish.

I'm not really sure what I should make out of all this. Frankly, 2 lbs a week doesn't sound like enough, because I'd rather not take 43 weeks to meet my short-term goal. The more weight I drop, the better my back feels; the faster I drop it, the faster it feels better. So the faster I can safely drop weight, the better. My instinct is telling me that since my TDEE is so much higher than my BMR, that I have some more wiggle room here than most. I doubt that most people can sustain a 1200-1700 deficit from their TDEE without going below their BMR, and so I'm guessing this guideline doesn't apply to someone obese like I am.

At my BMR I'd be at a 1200-1700 calorie a day deficit of my TDEE, depending on activity level. Supposedly, burning 3500 calories is equivalent to burning a pound of fat, which is why they suggest 2 lbs a week as the safest amount to lose, because it corresponds to a 500-1000 cal/day deficit. If I was burning 1200-1700 calories a day, then by that metric, I would be losing 2.4 - 3.4 pounds per week without going below my BMR. These figures seem a little dubious, but it does seem to match up with my results so far. I started trying to just keep it between 1000-2000 calories a day about 4 weeks ago and have lost 20 lbs since then.

So given all this information, I see three options...

A. Eat at my BMR even though it feels like too much food
B. Eat intuitively and only when I'm hungry, keeping it closer to 1500-2000 with some leeway, but not exceeding 2600
C. Drastically cut calories to try to shed weight rapidly and help my back quicker, and consume a strict 1000-1500

Option A. seems like it's the "safest" option because it doesn't go below my BMR and won't drag my metabolic rate down. I'd still be losing 2.4 - 3.4 pounds a week so could meet my goal in about 25 - 36 weeks (6-9 months) by that estimate above.

Option B. is what I have been doing and I've lost 20 lbs so far, but I worry about stunting my metabolism. At 2000 calories a day and my TDEE range, I'd be at a 1800 - 2300 calorie a day deficit which means I could estimate losing 3.6 - 4.6 lbs a week and could potentially meet my goal at 18 - 24 weeks (4.5 - 6 months).

Option C. is the most drastic and I worry what it would do to my metabolism and muscle mass, but supposing I kept a 1500 calorie a day maximum, I would be at a 1500 - 2800 calorie a day deficit and could estimate losing 4.6 - 5.6 pounds a week and could potentially meet my goal at 18 - 15 weeks (4.5 - 3.75 months).

Of course none of these estimates take into account what I will be burning and gaining in muscle mass once I start lifting and how that will effect my metabolic rate. I'm also going to be focusing on a lot of core-exercises to try to take the load off my herniated disc, so as I get stronger I might feel more relief on this without having to lose as much weight as rapidly.

Given all that, it seems like Option A. is my safest best bet but... 2600 calories a day just still sounds like a lot. My intuition says Option C would be too drastic and might interfere with the gains I see from strength training. So it seems like Option B would be the best middle ground.

Anyway I realize I'm probably overthinking it and might be trying to put too much stock into numbers, but I figured this would be the place to type it all out and get some opinions.

[faithbrah]

i'd say forget option C, as it doesn't sound smart nor sustainable

maybe option B at 2000-2500 calories, NOT 1500. or, you know, option A would be the safest like you said

[loseit21]

Okay I've been trying to study up about this and seeing lots of differences of opinion and conjecture and wondering if anyone has some advice about how it all pertains to my particular situation of being morbidly obese and needing to rapidly lose some weight to help with a herniated disc.

My short term goal is to get down to 20% body fat and about 290 lbs. Ultimately, I'd like to lose more weight than this. My weight without fat would be about 210 lbs so I think at some point I'm probably going to have to think about how I would, or if I should, try to get below that too, but for now 290 seems like a pretty reasonable goal to hit and so that's why it's my focus.

My Current Stats:
377 lbs
6' tall
BMR of ~2600
TDEE of ~3800-4300
BFR of ~45%

My BMR and BFR I got from a smart scale I just bought, and the TDEE was calculated by the "FatSecret" app. I originally set it to "Low Active" which they describe as basically just doing minimal stuff like household chores, etc which was 3800. As I've started getting back into weight lifting I set it to "Active" and it said 4300. I'm getting back into lifting, but I'll be keeping things relatively light for now, and not sure how many rest days I'll need. I'm not trying to fight the pain and overdo it and hurt myself. So I'm thinking this range is probably a good estimate.

My goal for now is to lose 87 pounds, and I've been trying to restrict myself to 1000-1500 calories a day, and it hasn't really been leaving me feeling very hungry. I can even cheat a little and eat when I'm not hungry, like a snack or something, and keep it within 1500-2000 fairly easily. I've just been trying to avoid eating as some kind of entertainment or activity and only when I feel hungry because I have a bad tendency to start binge eating otherwise. Given that parameter, I feel like I'd actually be over-eating to hit 2600.

Here's where I'm most unsure how to proceed: I keep reading that it's not healthy to consume less than your BMR, so for me I shouldn't be eating less than 2600 calories a day. Meanwhile, I also keep reading that it's apparently ideal to lose 2 lbs maximum of fat a week, and so keep seeing sites recommend I shave off 500-1000 calories off my TDEE, which for me would mean 3300-3800 a day. However, even 2600 feels like overeating, so 3300-3800 just seems outlandish.

I'm not really sure what I should make out of all this. Frankly, 2 lbs a week doesn't sound like enough, because I'd rather not take 43 weeks to meet my short-term goal. The more weight I drop, the better my back feels; the faster I drop it, the faster it feels better. So the faster I can safely drop weight, the better. My instinct is telling me that since my TDEE is so much higher than my BMR, that I have some more wiggle room here than most. I doubt that most people can sustain a 1200-1700 deficit from their TDEE without going below their BMR, and so I'm guessing this guideline doesn't apply to someone obese like I am.

At my BMR I'd be at a 1200-1700 calorie a day deficit of my TDEE, depending on activity level. Supposedly, burning 3500 calories is equivalent to burning a pound of fat, which is why they suggest 2 lbs a week as the safest amount to lose, because it corresponds to a 500-1000 cal/day deficit. If I was burning 1200-1700 calories a day, then by that metric, I would be losing 2.4 - 3.4 pounds per week without going below my BMR. These figures seem a little dubious, but it does seem to match up with my results so far. I started trying to just keep it between 1000-2000 calories a day about 4 weeks ago and have lost 20 lbs since then.

So given all this information, I see three options...

A. Eat at my BMR even though it feels like too much food
B. Eat intuitively and only when I'm hungry, keeping it closer to 1500-2000 with some leeway, but not exceeding 2600
C. Drastically cut calories to try to shed weight rapidly and help my back quicker, and consume a strict 1000-1500

Option A. seems like it's the "safest" option because it doesn't go below my BMR and won't drag my metabolic rate down. I'd still be losing 2.4 - 3.4 pounds a week so could meet my goal in about 25 - 36 weeks (6-9 months) by that estimate above.

Option B. is what I have been doing and I've lost 20 lbs so far, but I worry about stunting my metabolism. At 2000 calories a day and my TDEE range, I'd be at a 1800 - 2300 calorie a day deficit which means I could estimate losing 3.6 - 4.6 lbs a week and could potentially meet my goal at 18 - 24 weeks (4.5 - 6 months).

Option C. is the most drastic and I worry what it would do to my metabolism and muscle mass, but supposing I kept a 1500 calorie a day maximum, I would be at a 1500 - 2800 calorie a day deficit and could estimate losing 4.6 - 5.6 pounds a week and could potentially meet my goal at 18 - 15 weeks (4.5 - 3.75 months).

Of course none of these estimates take into account what I will be burning and gaining in muscle mass once I start lifting and how that will effect my metabolic rate. I'm also going to be focusing on a lot of core-exercises to try to take the load off my herniated disc, so as I get stronger I might feel more relief on this without having to lose as much weight as rapidly.

Given all that, it seems like Option A. is my safest best bet but... 2600 calories a day just still sounds like a lot. My intuition says Option C would be too drastic and might interfere with the gains I see from strength training. So it seems like Option B would be the best middle ground.

Anyway I realize I'm probably overthinking it and might be trying to put too much stock into numbers, but I figured this would be the place to type it all out and get some opinions.

Ur off. If your 377 pounds u could easily lose weight on 2500 a day. 1k to 1500 is setting u up for failure. I was 235 when I started and averaged 2k a day.lost 1.5 a week on that. Stick to 2500 a day and see where u r in a week or two.

[Garage Rat]

You will loose more weight in the beginning in what ever program you choose.
A though here is maybe rotate these plans from month to month.
Your will not get use to a protocol like it would if you stuck to it for a long while.
IMO losing weight slower than fast will help preserve muscle mass which is what you want to do when losing weight.
Have a diet journal and record exactly what your doing and eating,calories and macros daily.
This will give you a reference to start and change up if need be and you'll be accurate.
A training journal would be a good idea also.
Set small goals on your way to the big one.
Good luck to you.

[Xavaneptus]

Remember that motivation is a fleeting thing: it's not about intensity, but persistence. Going for the long game, it's a bad idea to set unrealistic daily goals that will discourage you when you fail them. And even if you can keep up an extreme diet for a while, don't think you can tyrannize yourself without eventually rebelling. You can become more demanding after practicing your discipline for a couple of months. Cheat meals exist for a reason. During the first weeks, you'll be fighting your conditioned impulsivity, not your weight, so don't let temporary impulsive motivation sabotage your long term goals by being too extreme. This kills the efforts of most people who start.

I advice to have some humility and go for option A for now. You'll know when you're ready to take it a step further.