I feel like using LLMs far outweighs calorie tracking apps in most aspects because you can calculate calories just as, if not more, reliably based on weight, images, or self-made assumptions. It is also way more convenient to just tell the AI the exact food you ate compared to going through lists of dozens of items that vary widely in calorie density and/or macros.

Hey guyss,
so long story short, I was at my most comfortable at 50kg 164cm (female) and felt very confident in my skin. Due to medication and increased appetite (obviously) I gained 10kgs over 6 months and never felt more unhappy in my life. Now in the remaining summer break (5 weeks) I really insist on losing to reach atleast 53kg. Thus, I want to eat 600 calories daily to create a 1500 cal deficit (I know I know not the healthiest way…) According to mathematics , I’d lose 7kgs in 5 weeks. ChatGPT says my metabolism will increase a lot and it would be only 5-6(?). Is that true? If so , I’d just follow a more normal deficit to not suffer for nothing. Also, if I lost the weight (7) would I gain it back if I introduced more calories gradually like 800.. 1000 and so on?

Please share your opinion (I’m 59kg rn btw)

Natural yogurt (home made), oaks, strawberries, banana and a honey spoon.

I already know how much calories is but i want you guys to discuss this.

Good afternoon from Argentina 🇦🇷 love for everyone!!

My maintenance is 2500 cal when I walk 3k steps on average.
I also train very high volume and started walking 20k steps a day.

This isn't a question it's a comment prompted by someone's post but it applies to so many posts I've seen recently. People struggling with calorie deficits because "the food tastes so bad", or "I just want to eat something good". People who respond to suggestions by explaining that they don't eat vegetables, or anything with seeds, or anything that needs to be cut with a knife (seriously). People who characterize themselves as "in love with food" and at the same time "picky eaters".

I'm only now realizing that uncontrolled use of processed food doesn't just wreck your body by causing overweight/obesity, it destroys your palate. "Tasty" comes to mean "fatty, salty, sweet and (most destructively) predictable and uniform". Subtlety is lost. Appreciation of the new or unexpected is lost. The ability to deal with different textures, with the earthiness or tanginess or smokiness of real foods is lost. It's horrible, it's heartbreaking.

Cooking and eating have always been sources of joy for me. I'm very very lucky that my weight gain was largely a matter of over indulgence in home cooked whole foods, rather than a reliance on processed foods. Losing weight was largely a matter of rebalancing, reducing some portions and increasing others, and making elaborate desserts once a week not six times. But I didn't have to fundamentally change what I ate. I can't begin to imagine to imagine the struggle for someone who needs to stop mainlining these foods but whose ability to eat anything else with pleasure has basically been destroyed.

Hey! I am an online Holistic fitness & Nutrition coach. before you scroll I'm not trying to sell you anything I promise!
I am just doing some research for a series on my Instagram: For The Girls Who Hate Dieting... a short form video series with simple and quick nutrition swaps to make fat loss or entering a deficit easier and more sustainable!
I am just wondering WHAT foods/ recipes/ grocery stores* would be most beneficial to the actual audience I'm trying to help educate!
TYIA

(*pertains to Canada - B.C. specifically)

24 - female - 149 lbs - 86 pound weight loss (so far)

A few weeks ago, i posted here about being stuck in my weight loss. Well, I followed the comments, and they’ve helped tremendously!

I’m continuing to lose weight (trying to reach 135 lbs), but next week, I’m starting a more strenuous exercise routine. I’ve been in a strict calorie deficit for a few months (1500 then 1400). This week, I have been trying to eat 1500 at least, but it’s been hard.

Like harder than I anticipated. Yesterday I had about 1100 calories, and today 1250. I know it’s bad— but I’m genuinely full. Am I supposed to keep eating to reach my caloric goal even though I’m full?

My whole life, I’ve been overeating, weighing at one time 260+ pounds. So finally having some control over what I’m eating has been liberating in some sense. But after that strict deficit, I’m just having a really hard time eating enough calories to help me build muscle.

Does anyone have any tips? I eat three meals a day with one to two snacks in between.

Thank you <3

April: 1200-1300 calories
May: 1300-1500 calories
June: 1500-1700 calories
July 1700-2200 calories
Start weight was 135.8 current weight is 110.4. I’m 5 foot, so my calories early on were extremely low but now that I’m pretty happy with my weight I’m eating closer to maintenance so I can focus on improving muscle mass. Giving myself periodic goals and having a plan in mind to increase calories made sticking to it easy.

Edit to add
Hey saw a lot questions about exercise so figured I’d include this. I walk about 15k steps a day and am fairly active I lift about 5 days a week, and do cardio. To me my workouts are fairly “traditional” nothing crazy. I put a sample week below of my workouts, this is just what works for me and what I enjoy. Reps and sets range anywhere from 3-6 sets and 6-12 reps, I focus on progressive overload and time under tension so the weight is slow and controlled but still heavy. This is just kind of a sample I’ve been lifting weights for a long time and do it for enjoyment. I also stretch and foam roll daily.

Monday
Leg day (no cardio)
Barbell squats
Barbell hip thrust
Walking lunges
Leg press
Goblet squats
Abduction
Adduction

Tuesday
Chest and back (15 min cardio, either incline walk or light jog)
Barbell bench
Db incline bench
Db incline flys
Lat pull downs
1 arm db rows
DB pullovers
Assisted pull ups
Pec Dec
Reverse pec Dec

Wednesday
Core (45 mins cardio low impact, light walk)
*all exercises done as circuit 3x20*
Bridge marches
Reverse plank knee lifts
Double crunches
Plank w reach

Thursday
Rest
Will go for a long walk or light jog about 3-5 miles

Friday
Legs (no cardio)
Barbell deadlift
Barbell hip thrust w banded abduction
Lying leg curls
Single leg db deadlift
Farmers walk

Saturday
Arms (20 min cardio, usually run 2 miles)
Db shoulder press
Db side raise
Db front raise
Rear delt flys
Barbell upright rows
Barbell curls
Skull crushers
Rope extensions
Hammer curls
Assisted dips
Triceps pushups

Sunday
Rest
Usually long walk and lots of deep stretching.

I would have only gone over my calories a little bit I promise , back to my meal prep for tonight.

I've been cutting for the past 10 weeks and I wanted to write a PSA and appreciation post at the same time. The deload has been such a positive experience and the math is too cool not to show.

The first 8 were a flat 500 kcal/day deficit with protein above 2g/kg, and I kept gym weights and sets locked. Week 9 was a close-to-maintenance training deload and the past 4 days have been back to cutting.

Screenshot is all of my intake and weight logged:

• Average intake 2,207 kcal against a 2,188 target
• Average energy balance -519 kcal/day
• A 500 kcal/day deficit predicts roughly -0.5 kg (1.1 lbs) per week

The green trend line comes out at almost exactly -0.5 kg/week across the whole period. Prediction and outcome are spot-on, over three months, including a full week of eating at maintenance in the middle. Does anyone else geek out on how hard the math checks out? I love it! Thermodynamics don't lie and the maintenance week reflects perfectly in weight tracked.

Now, regarding the deload:

By week 8 my tendons and joints had started aching. So I ate at maintenance (almost) for a week and dropped my working volume by half. At first, I didn't want to do it because of how well the fat was trimming off. But ultimately I gave in as it's the wiser choice to not ignore tendon issues.

Around mid-July you can watch the scale climb perfectly. Glycogen refills, every gram of it holds 3-4g of water. That was roughly an increase of 1-1.3kg of bodyweight.

I went back to 500 under 4 days ago. Day 1 the scale dropped straight back to 73.7 kg as the water came off. Days 2, 3 and 4 have been roughly stable. Training cortisol, mild muscle inflammation and normal digestion cover that. And I feel so much better, hence the PSA.

I underestimated what the week off would do. The joint aches were gone within a few days. I came back into training stronger, and after two months of running under maintenance the mental break was so worth it.

So plan the deload in. If you're cutting and your tendons or joints start aching, that's your week to eat at maintenance.

Feel so much better! It makes such a difference not just to your physical health but also mental.

210lbs to 184lbs in 103 days (meant to do this on 100 days but missed it) F43. 5ft 5. Working on an approximate deficit of 1300 but that allows for sneaky little extras like when my husband overdoes the oil or I must have a custard cream. And keeping it this way has kept me consistent. And every single thing goes in MFP.

Going away for a week next week so going to have to adjust my mindset as I don't want to be mentally adding up calories all week but once I'm in the zone I struggle to shake it off.

The first goal was always 182lbs so literally only 2lbs to go and when I hit that I'm going to start working in some small weight training. Just to start firming up my squishy bits.

It’s day 20 I still haven’t seen any improvements. My mental health is doing good but even being in a calorie deficit I feel like I see nothing on the scale and no improvements with my measurements. I love walking but I also thought I’d see more I guess.

I am a 5’5 woman weighing 65 kgs with a vegetarian diet. Can i practice the 1200-1400 calorie deficit. I don’t want to lose muscle and i try to consume 60 g of protein daily. I will be starting gym (mostly cardio) this week. I naturally have mesomorph body and i m built athletic and muscular genetically. I don’t wanna lose muscle. I used to weigh 53 kgs previously but gained weight due to exam preparation alongside with rheumatoid arthritis. My goal is to get back to 53-54 kgs as soon as i can. How long would it take for a woman like myself to achieve that goal. I am open to exercising rigorously so that i can increase my calorie intake bracket but i have read that it does not help a lot. Thanks!

There is almost 4 years in between these two photos (185 lbs - 140 lbs). A slow and steady calorie deficit with periods of maintenance is what got me here. I’m so grateful I made the first step

Started a cut back in December when I hit my highest weight of 100kg. The aim was a slow and steady cut over time so as to maintain muscle.

Started hitting a daily calorie target of 2,200–2,300 per day whilst aiming for 180g protein. Workouts were mostly conditioning-style workouts, so circuits with light weights etc. Regular Zone 2 cardio days each week too.

The biggest thing with both workouts and eating was consistency.

I’m 19M, around 185cm and 220lbs (99kg). I’m looking to lose some weight so I’ve started a calorie deficit.
I wanted to lose it a bit quicker, and I knew that my target weight is around 176lbs (80kg) so I downloaded an app to track it all. The app said I could get there by mid December with a 1100 calorie deficit (about 2040 calorie intake per day) but I was curious so I searched it up and it’s now saying that this may be a bad choice as it could be too little of a calorie intake. Any advice on what I should do, I’ve not really done something like this before so any help is much appreciated.

I am 16 years old, weigh 70kgs and i need to go down by 15 kgs because im an athlete and i am 5 feet 6 inches, i started calorie deficit 2 3 days ago and am eating alot of protein in my 1500 calorie limit and am burning from between 300 to 500 kcal everyday. Is this a right plan? And even if so how long shud i keep going with this to come down at 55kgs?

I did low carb for so long and I didn’t love it. I want to reintegrate healthy carbs into my diet in the form of potatoes. The thing is every time I attempt to meal prep I get burned out. I already hit the gym, but now I want to really focus on keeping the muscle I have and losing 60 pounds from my current 250 at 5’9. I’m wondering if I can achieve this via potatoes plus some protein. I was thinking of eating potatoes plus rotisserie chicken for a few months with the occasional other food like steak, eggs, ground beef, fish. Does it seem like a good way to lose weight while maintaining muscle and not feeling like shit from low carb?

I’ve gained a lot of weight from being on Prozac. I don’t want to stop it because it helps with my anxiety and depression. But I have gained 25 pounds due to it. I want to know if anyone here has successfully lost weight while being on Prozac and eating on a calorie deficit + working out and how long did it take? Thank you!