Am I doing it right?

[willmfftt]

I'm a 6'0 male, 31 yo. I just started my weight loss journey on 7/14/2022 @ 355lbs, and my ultimate goal is to get down to about 15% BF (I couldn't tell you what weight that would be). As of today, I weigh 329.6lbs, so what I'm doing is working, but I just want some feedback to make sure I'm not making any mistakes.


Daily Calorie Intake: I consume roughly 2000 calories per day. I eat lots of fruits, vegetables, (mostly) lean protein, etc. But I do indulge on less healthy foods from time to time... without going over my calorie goal. I attempt to hit a 40% carb, 40% protein, 20% fat macro split every day but I'm not perfect with it (I get somewhat close). At 2000 calories per day, I feel like I have great energy throughout the day, and I don't feel hungry at all. I've tried less calories, but I felt like crap and actually started gaining weight. I think my body went into starvation mode and killed my metabolism.


Exercise: I follow a 5 day dumbbell workout split every week, and that targets all of the major muscle groups. I'm not necessarily trying to build a ton of muscle, just trying to make sure I don't lose any muscle mass (i.e. keeping up a good RMR). I have noticed a decent gain in muscle though, so that is good.

I also follow a 3 day cardio plan. It's basically just a virtual training for a hypothetical 5k. So 2 days of cadence drills, and a day of just running on the treadmill.

I average about 1000 active calories a day, and generally work out 7 days a week. Not super strict about that though as long as I'm following the workout plans.


Is there anything here that I'm doing wrong? Anything I could do better? Any additional information I should include?

[faithbrah]

no need for a macro split because it provides no additional benefit, just make sure to hit a minimum of 0.7g of protein & 0.4g of fat per pound of bodyweight (goal bodyweight in your case, like 180 lbs?) and fill the rest with whatever. not sure what you mean by retaining muscle and keeping up a good RMR, do you mean TDEE? RMR is literally just the amount of calories your body burns when you're resting, so not really a relevant number

you won't gain weight on less calories, it'll only be temporary if anything. it's physically impossible. also, what are "active calories"? do you mean that you're burning 1000 calories per day? if so, that's already factored into your TDEE

other than that, it seems pretty good. lift hard to maintain (or build) muscle, do cardio for health reasons and to burn a little extra calories, stay in a caloric deficit

[willmfftt]

no need for a macro split because it provides no additional benefit, just make sure to hit a minimum of 0.7g of protein & 0.4g of fat per pound of bodyweight (goal bodyweight in your case, like 180 lbs?) and fill the rest with whatever. not sure what you mean by retaining muscle and keeping up a good RMR, do you mean TDEE? RMR is literally just the amount of calories your body burns when you're resting, so not really a relevant number

you won't gain weight on less calories, it'll only be temporary if anything. it's physically impossible. also, what are "active calories"? do you mean that you're burning 1000 calories per day? if so, that's already factored into your TDEE

other than that, it seems pretty good. lift hard to maintain (or build) muscle, do cardio for health reasons and to burn a little extra calories, stay in a caloric deficit

Thanks for the feedback. I'd be glad to get rid the macro split, because it is pretty annoying trying to hit it. As for retaining muscle, from what I've read the more lean muscle you have the higher your metabolic rate (both at rest and in activity), and rapid weight loss causes you to lose muscle mass as well as fat. So at the moment I'm more interested in retaining the muscle I have than gaining muscle (though I'm not against gaining, just not exactly my priority right now).

You're right about "active calories", it is baked into my TDEE (which is like 3800 cal/day). So that's irrelevant.

Thanks again!

[Tommy W.]

Most people underestimate their calorie consumption. In 3 weeks you should be losing. The first week doesn’t count as it’s usually just water. In 3 weeks if no or little loss then you’ll need to drop calories

Your focus should be 110% on Fatloss and muscle retention. Gaining muscle should be off the radar until you lean out some.

[willmfftt]

Most people underestimate their calorie consumption. In 3 weeks you should be losing. The first week doesn’t count as it’s usually just water. In 3 weeks if no or little loss then you’ll need to drop calories

Your focus should be 110% on Fatloss and muscle retention. Gaining muscle should be off the radar until you lean out some.

Thanks, this is pretty much the mindset that I have at the moment. As for underestimating my calorie consumption, I measure pretty much everything out, so I'm fairly confident about my calorie intake MOST of the time. I need to consume 2850 cal/day to lose 2lbs a week, and I generally consume 2000 cal/day. So even if I do underestimate on some meals (which accounts for maybe 1 or 2 meals a week that I'm uncertain about - i.e. eating out) I have a decent margin to work with.

[Tommy W.]

Thanks, this is pretty much the mindset that I have at the moment. As for underestimating my calorie consumption, I measure pretty much everything out, so I'm fairly confident about my calorie intake MOST of the time. I need to consume 2850 cal/day to lose 2lbs a week, and I generally consume 2000 cal/day. So even if I do underestimate on some meals (which accounts for maybe 1 or 2 meals a week that I'm uncertain about - i.e. eating out) I have a decent margin to work with.

How do you know 2,850 will net 2 lb a week loss? From a calculator? That is most likely too high. A couple of cheat meals a week can wipe out a weekly deficit. My guess is that the way you're doing it fatloss will be minimal if at all.

You need to weigh food, not measure it.

[willmfftt]

How do you know 2,850 will net 2 lb a week loss? From a calculator? That is most likely too high. A couple of cheat meals a week can wipe out a weekly deficit. My guess is that the way you're doing it fatloss will be minimal if at all.

You need to weigh food, not measure it.

I think you might have skimmed past part of my initial post. I've lost 26 lbs in the past 26 days, so I've definitely been effective at tracking calorie intake and maintaining a good deficit. I weigh my food with a food scale, that's what I meant by measure (sorry for the confusion there). I don't really eat out that often, and when I do I avoid anything calorie dense, and I will eat some sort of lean protein grilled not fried, and my side is always some sort of vegetable, which also is not fried. That's the only time that I estimate, and something like grilled chicken breast isn't going to throw me off if I misjudge by a couple of ounces. Not sure what you have in mind when you say "cheat meals", but it likely isn't what I'm eating.

I drink at least a gallon of water a day, which is the only thing I drink besides coffee in the morning (with stevia and a tbsp of heavy cream). I haven't eaten any processed foods in the past 26 days either.

As for how I got 2850 cal/day to burn 2 lbs/week, I did use a calculator for that. Based on my current weight (329 lbs), height (6'0), and activity level (30-60 mins, 7 days a week) I get 2850 cal/day for 2 lbs/week. If I'm conservative at and drop the activity level down to moderate instead of active I get 2650 cal/day for 2 lbs/week. Either way, I'm only eating 2000 cal/day, except like I said on those days I take the family out to eat out where I might go over by a couple of hundred calories. Which still puts me under the 2 lbs/week deficit.

I'm just basing everything I'm doing off of my own research though, and I'm trying to see if there is any additional approvements I can make.

Also for anyone wondering how I got to my initial weight of 355 lbs, it was with binge eating and a sedentary lifestyle

[tadpole25]

At 330 lbs, you don't need to be perfect. Even if you ate like the average American, you'd still lose 100 lbs.

You're not at that weight because you ate 2400 calories instead of 2000. You're at that weight because you've had a lot of days where you binge-ate 4000-5000 calories. I'd be more concerned with consistency than perfection at this stage.

Your plan on paper sounds fine. It will work if you follow it. If it does not work, it would only be because you're inaccurately counting calories or you're having cheat days.

This will take time. It's not just about losing weight as fast as possible. But have a plan that you are willing to stick to long-term. Make sure you're eating foods that you genuinely enjoy eating. If you have a fitness routine, make it one you enjoy.

A lot of big dudes will go on a diet they dislike, because they want to lose the weight really fast. And yeah, maybe they do lose 100 lbs in 3 months or whatever. But then they go back to their old habits and gain it back. I'd much rather lose 8-12 lbs a month consistently, than to yo-yo-diet for years on end.

[SuffolkPunch]

Sounds fine to me, if anything there are things you can make simpler and just focus on the thing doing the work - the calorie deficit - which is achieved by whatever means necessary.

Eating low calorie dense foods is good - if most of them are minimally processed or wholefoods then all the better. You don't need to concern yourself with macros because you can get away with large deficits and shortages of protein and fat because you have reserves of fat on your body and at your current weight muscle loss is a non issue.

You don't even need to weight train at the moment but it would certainly help towards a longer term goal where you gain muscle and lose the fat.

You don't need to drink that much water, just drink to thirst. It has no special fat loss advantage and too much may even wash out certain minerals.

[Tommy W.]

I think you might have skimmed past part of my initial post. I've lost 26 lbs in the past 26 days, so I've definitely been effective at tracking calorie intake and maintaining a good deficit. I weigh my food with a food scale, that's what I meant by measure (sorry for the confusion there). I don't really eat out that often, and when I do I avoid anything calorie dense, and I will eat some sort of lean protein grilled not fried, and my side is always some sort of vegetable, which also is not fried. That's the only time that I estimate, and something like grilled chicken breast isn't going to throw me off if I misjudge by a couple of ounces. Not sure what you have in mind when you say "cheat meals", but it likely isn't what I'm eating.

I drink at least a gallon of water a day, which is the only thing I drink besides coffee in the morning (with stevia and a tbsp of heavy cream). I haven't eaten any processed foods in the past 26 days either.

As for how I got 2850 cal/day to burn 2 lbs/week, I did use a calculator for that. Based on my current weight (329 lbs), height (6'0), and activity level (30-60 mins, 7 days a week) I get 2850 cal/day for 2 lbs/week. If I'm conservative at and drop the activity level down to moderate instead of active I get 2650 cal/day for 2 lbs/week. Either way, I'm only eating 2000 cal/day, except like I said on those days I take the family out to eat out where I might go over by a couple of hundred calories. Which still puts me under the 2 lbs/week deficit.

I'm just basing everything I'm doing off of my own research though, and I'm trying to see if there is any additional approvements I can make.

Also for anyone wondering how I got to my initial weight of 355 lbs, it was with binge eating and a sedentary lifestyle

Lol, you’re right I missed that part.

[willmfftt]

At 330 lbs, you don't need to be perfect. Even if you ate like the average American, you'd still lose 100 lbs.

You're not at that weight because you ate 2400 calories instead of 2000. You're at that weight because you've had a lot of days where you binge-ate 4000-5000 calories. I'd be more concerned with consistency than perfection at this stage.

Your plan on paper sounds fine. It will work if you follow it. If it does not work, it would only be because you're inaccurately counting calories or you're having cheat days.

This will take time. It's not just about losing weight as fast as possible. But have a plan that you are willing to stick to long-term. Make sure you're eating foods that you genuinely enjoy eating. If you have a fitness routine, make it one you enjoy.

A lot of big dudes will go on a diet they dislike, because they want to lose the weight really fast. And yeah, maybe they do lose 100 lbs in 3 months or whatever. But then they go back to their old habits and gain it back. I'd much rather lose 8-12 lbs a month consistently, than to yo-yo-diet for years on end.

It was probably more than 4000-5000 calories lol. I don't even call what I'm doing a diet, I'm trying to get in the mindset that this is my normal everyday life. I'm just eating the foods that I enjoy, prioritizing healthy foods that I enjoy, and when I'm really craving something I'll calculate it out and work it in to meet my calorie goal. Like I had a 1000 cal burrito from Chipotle yesterday, made my breakfast and lunch lighter, and still hit my goal of 2000 cal for the day.

Thanks for the feedback

[willmfftt]

Sounds fine to me, if anything there are things you can make simpler and just focus on the thing doing the work - the calorie deficit - which is achieved by whatever means necessary.

Eating low calorie dense foods is good - if most of them are minimally processed or wholefoods then all the better. You don't need to concern yourself with macros because you can get away with large deficits and shortages of protein and fat because you have reserves of fat on your body and at your current weight muscle loss is a non issue.

You don't even need to weight train at the moment but it would certainly help towards a longer term goal where you gain muscle and lose the fat.

You don't need to drink that much water, just drink to thirst. It has no special fat loss advantage and too much may even wash out certain minerals.

My thirst receptors are f***ed, I can go an entire day with just drinking a single cup of coffee and wont feel thirsty. As for why I drink that much water, I've seen research that suggests drinking half your body weight in ounces per day. There was a study done (Water-Induced Thermogenesis) that showed that an increase in water intake can raise your metabolic rate by 30%. I add electrolytes to my water as well for the exact reason you stated.

As for weight training, increased muscle mass raises your BMR. On the flip side of that, rapid weight loss results in both a loss of fat, and a loss of muscle mass. So while my BMR is going to naturally decrease with weight loss, I can limit how much it decreases by maintaining/building muscle mass. This means I'll be able to get the most out of my calorie deficit and exercises.

Sounds like the only thing I might need to change is focusing on macros. Which honestly I'm happy to, it's pretty annoying.