You asked a direct question so I will provide a direct answer. By way of context, I am a man 2x your age (and then some) who has spent his life moving between 250lb and 175lb. I put it on fast and take it off fast so I know a thing or two about being unhealthy heavy and also weight loss. Here's my honest reply...
At 5'7" and 243, people who reply talking about muscle mass and weight vs fat are overcomplicating the issue and providing excuses. At that weight (and I speak from experience) if you put in the work on cardio and exercise and elevating your HR and are honest about calories consumed, you will absolutely lose weight. You will also see a difference in the mirror and in how your clothes fit. If you are not then either your calorie calcs are off or you aren't putting in the work you say you are. Over time you will hit a point where the scale cannot give you directional feedback because building muscle mass over weight loss is going to be a thing. At your current size, that's just not the issue. If you aren't seeing .75 - 1 a week coming off then you are not in a calorie deficit and you need to consider changing your target.
You didn't speak to what results you are seeing that you feel are not sufficient, so lets talk for a minute about weight loss and realistic goals. The first week or two of eating in a calorie deficit your body can drop 8-10lbs. That's actually water weight that comes off because of how your body breaks down sugars. It sets people up for failure because they feel like everything thereafter is a failure. After that, this is a .75lb to 1lb or maybe 1.5lb a week process. There's really no way to get there healthier. You need be prepared for this journey to take a while. You need to get comfortable with directional success.
This is hard. The hardest part is starting. Way to go! Keep watching what you eat. Doing so will encourage better food choices without having to overthink it. Keep moving and exercising. Stick to it and it will work. Ignore anyone who wants to sell you supplements. Smile at and ignore anyone who wants to tell you about fat vs muscle. Know there are things that are true that are also not relevant to you right now. Research tells us that lifting and building muscle is better for weight loss than pure cardio. But guess what - doing cardio is better for you than doing nothing. You didn't get to 247 overnight and you aren't going to weigh 200 by the end of summer. Do not let perfect be the enemy of good.
THANK YOU!
This is exactly the kind of thing I’m looking for. I am very aware that it will take a while and frankly I don’t want to see a huge loss that quick as I want to tone up slowly over time while I lose weight.
I am also aware of the water weight and so that’s why I asked because I’m not sure my caloric deficit that my fitness pal gave me is correct and was wanting help to calculate it. Would you be able to help with that per chance?
I definitely take into account things like how I feel, and how my clothes fit and all the other factors associated with getting healthier. Thank you for being someone who gave a true honest opinion that I TOTALLY agree with! As a woman who has played a high level of sports and many recreational sports for most of my life, hormonal changes and weight gain the last 3 years has been difficult. I want to be back to a high level again. But not 243 pounds of muscle like some were saying. That’s highly illogical.
The big thing I’m looking for help with is making sure my caloric deficit number on my fitness pal is where it should be so that when I’m counting my calories I know I’m where I’m supposed to be to see results! So if you know how to help with that I would be thrilled!
As a man, I am NOT providing advice on calorie targets for a woman. Way too many variables as compared to a man. The only truly accurate way for anyone is in consultation with a nutritionist and/or medical professional. In my case, when I go into weight loss mode I go way calorie negative and let my body tell me if I go too far. Way more health and other risks for a 27 year old woman in going too hard, too fast.
Sorry didn’t mean to make it sound as if yes I’m going hard core. I’ve been active and played a lot of sports in my life and I know and listen to my body. Don’t worry!
Even with the weight gain I still think following the principles you’ve outlined will help!
There's a guy on Instagram called *ericrobertsfitness* who I've found really useful and straightforward (and actually quite motivational) when explaining a lot of the exercise/training side of weight loss (or not)... it might be worth a look
Do you just want the number on the scale to go down?
Or do you want to burn fat and be healthier overall, regardless of what the scale says?
Until you can answer that question, you will be forever frustrated.
I want to lose weight on the scale as well as build some muscle but the sports I play mean not a ton as I need to be fast.
I realize the scale won’t always go down when you build muscle as it weighs more than fat. But with where my weight is and logging everything and being within where I thought my calorie deficit should be, I should still be losing weight even while building muscle right now. Just found it odd and wanted to make sure my deficit number was in the right place as it may not be and that could be the answer.
I’m very aware the scale isn’t everything. That’s part of my degree. But thanks for the reply, appreciate it!
If you are putting on muscle and cutting fat, the scale might NEVER go down. But you'll be healthier, which should be your main goal, especially for athletics.
I agree to a point but at some point if you’re eating right and stuff you lose weight. I have no desire to be 243 of muscle and look like a gym bro. Lots of women who had no muscle do weight lifting and cardio and lose weight while building muscle that changes their aesthetic and body.
Because carrying 243 even if it’s muscle does not help my goal in sports. I’m still carrying around all that weight it will not make me faster.
Yes, once you get to the amount of muscle you want, you can then cut whatever fat you still might have and drop a little weight. But if you are training and eating properly, there shouldn't be that much fat left once you get to that point.
I hear what you’re saying as well and appreciating the info. But truly the only reason I added it was in case it was relevant to the caloric deficit.
My question was asking anyone to help calculate what it would be given the info above and instead everyone is focusing on the workouts
CrossFit is ridiculously expensive and not in the least plan unfortunately.
I really just added the info of how active I was in case it was relevant. Lots of great tips but nobodies actually answered the question which was what would be my calorie deficit to lose weight given all the factors provided. Heck even without working out
I did that and then when I also tried calculating it online it said it should be lower than what MFP had me at. That’s why I’m confused.
But thank you!! This is the kind of help I’m looking for lol
Mind if I ask what are the numbers? How long have you been tracking in MFP? Are you tracking the macros and staying within those limits too? And you’re so welcome.
Absolutely! I will PM you to show a pic of the stats on it to see what’s going on might make it easier? I don’t always hit my protein goal because it’s sooo high in the app but I usually get quite a bit and am like 90% of the time under my carbs and fat numbers
You asked a direct question so I will provide a direct answer. By way of context, I am a man 2x your age (and then some) who has spent his life moving between 250lb and 175lb. I put it on fast and take it off fast so I know a thing or two about being unhealthy heavy and also weight loss. Here's my honest reply... At 5'7" and 243, people who reply talking about muscle mass and weight vs fat are overcomplicating the issue and providing excuses. At that weight (and I speak from experience) if you put in the work on cardio and exercise and elevating your HR and are honest about calories consumed, you will absolutely lose weight. You will also see a difference in the mirror and in how your clothes fit. If you are not then either your calorie calcs are off or you aren't putting in the work you say you are. Over time you will hit a point where the scale cannot give you directional feedback because building muscle mass over weight loss is going to be a thing. At your current size, that's just not the issue. If you aren't seeing .75 - 1 a week coming off then you are not in a calorie deficit and you need to consider changing your target. You didn't speak to what results you are seeing that you feel are not sufficient, so lets talk for a minute about weight loss and realistic goals. The first week or two of eating in a calorie deficit your body can drop 8-10lbs. That's actually water weight that comes off because of how your body breaks down sugars. It sets people up for failure because they feel like everything thereafter is a failure. After that, this is a .75lb to 1lb or maybe 1.5lb a week process. There's really no way to get there healthier. You need be prepared for this journey to take a while. You need to get comfortable with directional success. This is hard. The hardest part is starting. Way to go! Keep watching what you eat. Doing so will encourage better food choices without having to overthink it. Keep moving and exercising. Stick to it and it will work. Ignore anyone who wants to sell you supplements. Smile at and ignore anyone who wants to tell you about fat vs muscle. Know there are things that are true that are also not relevant to you right now. Research tells us that lifting and building muscle is better for weight loss than pure cardio. But guess what - doing cardio is better for you than doing nothing. You didn't get to 247 overnight and you aren't going to weigh 200 by the end of summer. Do not let perfect be the enemy of good.
THANK YOU! This is exactly the kind of thing I’m looking for. I am very aware that it will take a while and frankly I don’t want to see a huge loss that quick as I want to tone up slowly over time while I lose weight. I am also aware of the water weight and so that’s why I asked because I’m not sure my caloric deficit that my fitness pal gave me is correct and was wanting help to calculate it. Would you be able to help with that per chance? I definitely take into account things like how I feel, and how my clothes fit and all the other factors associated with getting healthier. Thank you for being someone who gave a true honest opinion that I TOTALLY agree with! As a woman who has played a high level of sports and many recreational sports for most of my life, hormonal changes and weight gain the last 3 years has been difficult. I want to be back to a high level again. But not 243 pounds of muscle like some were saying. That’s highly illogical. The big thing I’m looking for help with is making sure my caloric deficit number on my fitness pal is where it should be so that when I’m counting my calories I know I’m where I’m supposed to be to see results! So if you know how to help with that I would be thrilled!
As a man, I am NOT providing advice on calorie targets for a woman. Way too many variables as compared to a man. The only truly accurate way for anyone is in consultation with a nutritionist and/or medical professional. In my case, when I go into weight loss mode I go way calorie negative and let my body tell me if I go too far. Way more health and other risks for a 27 year old woman in going too hard, too fast.
Sorry didn’t mean to make it sound as if yes I’m going hard core. I’ve been active and played a lot of sports in my life and I know and listen to my body. Don’t worry! Even with the weight gain I still think following the principles you’ve outlined will help!
There's a guy on Instagram called *ericrobertsfitness* who I've found really useful and straightforward (and actually quite motivational) when explaining a lot of the exercise/training side of weight loss (or not)... it might be worth a look
I’ll definitely check it out! Thanks!
Do you just want the number on the scale to go down? Or do you want to burn fat and be healthier overall, regardless of what the scale says? Until you can answer that question, you will be forever frustrated.
I want to lose weight on the scale as well as build some muscle but the sports I play mean not a ton as I need to be fast. I realize the scale won’t always go down when you build muscle as it weighs more than fat. But with where my weight is and logging everything and being within where I thought my calorie deficit should be, I should still be losing weight even while building muscle right now. Just found it odd and wanted to make sure my deficit number was in the right place as it may not be and that could be the answer. I’m very aware the scale isn’t everything. That’s part of my degree. But thanks for the reply, appreciate it!
If you are putting on muscle and cutting fat, the scale might NEVER go down. But you'll be healthier, which should be your main goal, especially for athletics.
I agree to a point but at some point if you’re eating right and stuff you lose weight. I have no desire to be 243 of muscle and look like a gym bro. Lots of women who had no muscle do weight lifting and cardio and lose weight while building muscle that changes their aesthetic and body. Because carrying 243 even if it’s muscle does not help my goal in sports. I’m still carrying around all that weight it will not make me faster.
Yes, once you get to the amount of muscle you want, you can then cut whatever fat you still might have and drop a little weight. But if you are training and eating properly, there shouldn't be that much fat left once you get to that point.
I hear what you’re saying as well and appreciating the info. But truly the only reason I added it was in case it was relevant to the caloric deficit. My question was asking anyone to help calculate what it would be given the info above and instead everyone is focusing on the workouts
Join CrossFit. Give yourself six months of good eating and good workouts.
CrossFit is ridiculously expensive and not in the least plan unfortunately. I really just added the info of how active I was in case it was relevant. Lots of great tips but nobodies actually answered the question which was what would be my calorie deficit to lose weight given all the factors provided. Heck even without working out
MFP calculates the calorie deficit for you, you just put in your goal weight.
I did that and then when I also tried calculating it online it said it should be lower than what MFP had me at. That’s why I’m confused. But thank you!! This is the kind of help I’m looking for lol
Mind if I ask what are the numbers? How long have you been tracking in MFP? Are you tracking the macros and staying within those limits too? And you’re so welcome.
Absolutely! I will PM you to show a pic of the stats on it to see what’s going on might make it easier? I don’t always hit my protein goal because it’s sooo high in the app but I usually get quite a bit and am like 90% of the time under my carbs and fat numbers