Diet plateau question

~~Bison Willy~~ · 08-26-2005, 04:20 PM

My doctor wants me to be very aggressive with my diet. He is suggesting 3 pounds per week for at least 2 months. He has also put me on a 1500 calorie diet and from what I remember that is way to low on calories. I weigh 270 and I am afraid my body will shut down after a few weeks.

Should I tough it out and try to do what he says, or do what I think is best and kick it up to about 1800 or 2000 calories with more protein?

Other than being fat there are no medical problems that are currently forcing me to lose the weight so I can't see why he is being so aggressive.
Don't get me wrong I know I have to lose the weight but I can't see doing it wrong and coming out just as fat but with no muscle mass. Has anyone else ran into this problem and how did you get around it.

I think I have aleady answered my own question but I don't want to be wrong because I have left a base untouched.

joed · 08-26-2005, 06:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bison Willy

...I weigh 270 and I am afraid my body will shut down after a few weeks...Should I tough it out and try to do what he says, or do what I think is best...

Willy, I don't know you or your med history, but IMO your body won't "shut down" if you mean you'll get deathly sick. Why waste your money & his time and yours if you don't take his advice? Feeding yourself 300 cals/day less than you want isn't toughing it out. I don't mean to be sarcastic, but there must be reasons he wants you to be "aggresive" about losing weight; is he more concerned with your health than you are?

If you need some motivation, start a thread & we'll try to help you keep your spirits up during your positive changes.

RaSP · 08-26-2005, 07:12 PM

Willy,

Your doc knows your situation. As Joe said, 1500 cals/day won't kill you--especially for just 8 weeks. Do what the doc says and start a thread here so we can encourage you!

*R*

**Peaked_18** · 08-26-2005, 07:24 PM

Protein high
Carbs cut off after 6PM
Fats moderate

Eat around 2,500 or so calories and use cardio effectively for fat loss along with a fat burner for increased effect.

~~Bison Willy~~ · 08-26-2005, 08:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RaSP

Willy,

Your doc knows your situation. As Joe said, 1500 cals/day won't kill you--especially for just 8 weeks. Do what the doc says and start a thread here so we can encourage you!

*R*

Yeah, I know you guys are right. I guess it bothers me because I have seen so many men my size drop weight very fast, lose more muscle than fat and end up with skin hanging off their bodies.
I will bow to his wisdom and get the job done on his terms but I dont have to like it.

Let's do this thing..Tomorrow I start a journal and dedicate myself to a new life..I'll even take pictures

On the happy side, I have amazing skin and if anyone can lose a bunch of weight very fast and walk away looking good it is me.

**EME** · 08-26-2005, 09:00 PM

Under normal conditions, I would never put a 270 pound client on a 1500 calorie diet.

However, I don't know your medical history, or all the factors your doctor is figuring in.

The question I would raise is whether a 1500 calorie diet is going to result in a 3 lb per week weight loss.

In order to achieve a 3 pound per week loss, you need to be taking in 1500 fewer calories per day than you are burning.

At 270 lbs, your BMR is going to be pretty high on it's own, probably close to 2500 calories.

Adjusted for exercise, training approximately 5 days per week, your ABMR will be in the neighborhood of 3800 calories daily.

Subtracting 1500 from 3800 gives us a target range of about 2300 calories daily to result in a 3lb weight loss per week.

Based on these figures, a daily intake of 1500 calories daily should result in a loss of between 4-5 pounds per week.

These numbers are just estimates, since I don't have your actual stats or training schedule, but they are probably pretty close based on my experience with other similar clients.

I'm certainly not telling you to go against your doctors advice, but it would probably be worth your time to ask him how he arrived at the 1500 calorie figure.

My guess is that he didn't do any metabolic calculations for your particular situation, he probably is just following a protocol that he has read has worked for other patients.

- EME

~~Bison Willy~~ · 08-26-2005, 09:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by EME

Under normal conditions, I would never put a 270 pound client on a 1500 calorie diet.

However, I don't know your medical history, or all the factors your doctor is figuring in.

The question I would raise is whether a 1500 calorie diet is going to result in a 3 lb per week weight loss.

In order to achieve a 3 pound per week loss, you need to be taking in 1500 fewer calories per day than you are burning.

At 270 lbs, your BMR is going to be pretty high on it's own, probably close to 2500 calories.

Adjusted for exercise, training approximately 5 days per week, your ABMR will be in the neighborhood of 3800 calories daily.

Subtracting 1500 from 3800 gives us a target range of about 2300 calories daily to result in a 3lb weight loss per week.

Based on these figures, a daily intake of 1500 calories daily should result in a loss of between 4-5 pounds per week.

These numbers are just estimates, since I don't have your actual stats or training schedule, but they are probably pretty close based on my experience with other similar clients.

I'm certainly not telling you to go against your doctors advice, but it would probably be worth your time to ask him how he arrived at the 1500 calorie figure.

My guess is that he didn't do any metabolic calculations for your particular situation, he probably is just following a protocol that he has read has worked for other patients.

- EME

- EME

Thanks for the reply EME and I can tell you exactly where he got the 1500 calorie number. He has two piles of diets. The women's is 1200 calories and the mens is 1500. Which brings me back to my original post. I think that it is to low and my body will go into an adaptation to starvation mode and refuse to lose weight after a few weeks.
If you remember the doctors in this country get about 3 hrs or one class period to learn about nutrition.
Thanks for your words of wisdom and as I said I am overweight but I am not stupid of the weight loss process and I am going to choose to up my calories and lose the weight at a normal rate.
Thanks, and as I said I will start a journal and I am going to dedicate myself to making everyone proud of me but it has to happen in a normal way and not under the auspices of some outdated medical knowledge.

**EME** · 08-26-2005, 09:34 PM

We'll be here to support you every step of the way!

- EME

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bison Willy

Thanks for the reply EME and I can tell you exactly where he got the 1500 calorie number. He has two piles of diets. The women's is 1200 calories and the mens is 1500. Which brings me back to my original post. I think that it is to low and my body will go into an adaptation to starvation mode and refuse to lose weight after a few weeks.
If you remember the doctors in this country get about 3 hrs or one class period to learn about nutrition.
Thanks for your words of wisdom and as I said I am overweight but I am not stupid of the weight loss process and I am going to choose to up my calories and lose the weight at a normal rate.
Thanks, and as I said I will start a journal and I am going to dedicate myself to making everyone proud of me but it has to happen in a normal way and not under the auspices of some outdated medical knowledge.

**A.FreeRadical** · 08-26-2005, 09:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bison Willy

Thanks, and as I said I will start a journal and I am going to dedicate myself to making everyone proud of me but it has to happen in a normal way and not under the auspices of some outdated medical knowledge.

I think instinctively you know your doctor is wrong and your biggest concern is. will you go into starvation mode and lose a lot of muscle and store fat if you take his advice, hence a weight loss plateau down the road. With that advice, I would be worried too.

You should determine the amount of calories that you are burning per day including all activities. 1000 calories per day deficit (calories burned-calories consumed) should result in a 2 lb per week drop in weight. If you do exercise along with that you should be able to keep most of your muscle. (See Peaked 18's advice on macros and exercise.) You might be able to go for 3 lbs but I would not recommend that you go below 2500 calories per day until you lose significant weight.

I am not a doctor. And yes, you are right, most doctors know very little about nutrition.

*

**johnsbod** · 08-26-2005, 09:59 PM

I'm not a doctor, but I will say that if your doctor has 2 different diets, 1 for men and 1 for women, then he probably isn't personalizing this for you. I would never recommend 1500 calories per day for a 270 lb man and even in the short term I think this might hurt your longterm progress. I would suggest you talk to your doctor about your concerns and see if they can refer to you a licensed nutritionalist that is a little more educated in this area.

EDIT: Of course we're here to help you and support you, but if you have medical issues and are already working with your doctor I don't feel comfortable recommending removing him from the equation.

GameDayDog · 08-27-2005, 04:22 PM

Yeah, I agree with the others.. I thynk 1500 cals is drastically low...

When I was assigned a nutritionist, she had me record everythyng I ate for a week... If you do the same, you could probably get a head start on your analysis... I highly suggest asking for one... (a nutritionist)...

By the way, we all know you're 270, but how tall are you...???

Peace..~G

**powerman2000** · 09-07-2005, 11:28 PM

Well, I can see there is no need for me to add my 2 cents.

08-26-2005, 04:20 PM	#1
~~Bison Willy~~ Banned Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: America Posts: 11 Recipes: 0 Rep Power: 0	Diet plateau question My doctor wants me to be very aggressive with my diet. He is suggesting 3 pounds per week for at least 2 months. He has also put me on a 1500 calorie diet and from what I remember that is way to low on calories. I weigh 270 and I am afraid my body will shut down after a few weeks. Should I tough it out and try to do what he says, or do what I think is best and kick it up to about 1800 or 2000 calories with more protein? Other than being fat there are no medical problems that are currently forcing me to lose the weight so I can't see why he is being so aggressive. Don't get me wrong I know I have to lose the weight but I can't see doing it wrong and coming out just as fat but with no muscle mass. Has anyone else ran into this problem and how did you get around it. I think I have aleady answered my own question but I don't want to be wrong because I have left a base untouched.

08-26-2005, 07:12 PM	#3
RaSP Pro Stature Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: 66.239.233.115:8080 Posts: 903 Recipes: 0 Rep Power: 28	Willy, Your doc knows your situation. As Joe said, 1500 cals/day won't kill you--especially for just 8 weeks. Do what the doc says and start a thread here so we can encourage you! R __________________ ~~~Dumb Animal~~~ I am Thee oMega.. GameDayDog is Thee Alpha.. But GameDayDog Hasn't been here for a year... 6'4" @ 214. Finally got back to 500lb deadlift.

08-26-2005, 09:00 PM	#6
EME Super Moderator Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 3,651 Recipes: 0 Rep Power: 55	Under normal conditions, I would never put a 270 pound client on a 1500 calorie diet. However, I don't know your medical history, or all the factors your doctor is figuring in. The question I would raise is whether a 1500 calorie diet is going to result in a 3 lb per week weight loss. In order to achieve a 3 pound per week loss, you need to be taking in 1500 fewer calories per day than you are burning. At 270 lbs, your BMR is going to be pretty high on it's own, probably close to 2500 calories. Adjusted for exercise, training approximately 5 days per week, your ABMR will be in the neighborhood of 3800 calories daily. Subtracting 1500 from 3800 gives us a target range of about 2300 calories daily to result in a 3lb weight loss per week. Based on these figures, a daily intake of 1500 calories daily should result in a loss of between 4-5 pounds per week. These numbers are just estimates, since I don't have your actual stats or training schedule, but they are probably pretty close based on my experience with other similar clients. I'm certainly not telling you to go against your doctors advice, but it would probably be worth your time to ask him how he arrived at the 1500 calorie figure. My guess is that he didn't do any metabolic calculations for your particular situation, he probably is just following a protocol that he has read has worked for other patients. - EME __________________ PhysiqueFXonline - Online Nutrition and Training with Michael and Kendra Elias: www.PhysiqueFXonline.com www.MichaelandKendra.com My wife, and IFBB Fitness Pro Kendra Elias' personal site: www.KendraElias.com Proud member of Team ALR: www.ALRIndustries.com Last edited by EME : 08-26-2005 at 09:35 PM.

08-26-2005, 09:59 PM	#10
johnsbod Member Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Vienna, Austria Posts: 2,965 Recipes: 0 Rep Power: 62	I'm not a doctor, but I will say that if your doctor has 2 different diets, 1 for men and 1 for women, then he probably isn't personalizing this for you. I would never recommend 1500 calories per day for a 270 lb man and even in the short term I think this might hurt your longterm progress. I would suggest you talk to your doctor about your concerns and see if they can refer to you a licensed nutritionalist that is a little more educated in this area. EDIT: Of course we're here to help you and support you, but if you have medical issues and are already working with your doctor I don't feel comfortable recommending removing him from the equation. __________________ Wenn Sie Deutsch sprechen können, posten Sie hier. Misc Perv #69

08-27-2005, 04:22 PM	#11
GameDayDog The Dawg Is Back!! Join Date: May 2005 Location: Doin Compound Movements 4 Scooby Snacks! Posts: 1,975 Recipes: 0 Rep Power: 32	Nutritionist.. Yeah, I agree with the others.. I thynk 1500 cals is drastically low... When I was assigned a nutritionist, she had me record everythyng I ate for a week... If you do the same, you could probably get a head start on your analysis... I highly suggest asking for one... (a nutritionist)... By the way, we all know you're 270, but how tall are you...??? Peace..~G __________________ I am Thee Alpha.. RaSP is Thee oMEGA.. Between the 2 of us - We have everythyng covered... I want to be bigger than all the humans!! "I'm sure I should be doing cardio too....but I don't run from anything...so why practice?" - 1stInDoor Goal - 200#'s 5/27/07 - 4/27/07 - 175# 3/27/07 - 167#

08-26-2005, 07:24 PM	#4
Peaked_18 a la commode Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 4,297 Recipes: 2 Rep Power: 96	Protein high Carbs cut off after 6PM Fats moderate Eat around 2,500 or so calories and use cardio effectively for fat loss along with a fat burner for increased effect.

09-07-2005, 11:28 PM	#12
powerman2000 The Old Moderator Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Colorado Posts: 4,281 Recipes: 0 Rep Power: 199	Well, I can see there is no need for me to add my 2 cents. __________________ Don't forget to periodize Best BP 507 lbs competitive Best Squat 705 lbs competitive Best DL 650 lbs competitive Guns don't kill people, men who come home early do. My workout log http://www.ironmass.com/forums/showthread.php?t=6247

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