How many calories are you on and how much protein?

[blacklabradorsandchilledrose]

Although it’s a massive stuggle some days, I'm
making sure I’m eating around 1700 per day, including 90 grams of protein.

This is around a 4-500 calorie deficit per day.

I wanted to make sure I’m not losing weight too fast and not losing muscle, as my longer term health is more important than a quick weight loss (which would be easy given level of suppression I’ve been having even on low doses).

I do worry seeing the very low calories that some people are managing on each day is not enough to maintain a healthy body composition..but I definitely seem to be in the minority?!

I'm probably having around the same as you BUT that's too much really for me to lose weight at anything other than a snail's pace. To lose 1 lb/week I need to go lower with the calories - 1350-1500 kcals and up the protein. Aim for 40% protein, 30% carbs, 30% fat. I am warming myself up for more effort...soon.

I'm 52 and late perimenopausal and fairly inactive (do walk a bit with job/20-30 min walk a day/maybe 10 mins of weights but that is it). How old are you @blacklabradorsandchilledrose ?

I’m mid-40s and have a sedentary job, though I do dog walk and try to do proper exercise in addition when I can - though it’s fairly sporadic at the moment due to life commitments!

I am losing weight steadily (started off quickly first two weeks), is still generally a pound or two per week.

I only lost weight at a steady 1-2 lbs a week for the first five months. It has been slower than that for the last 7 months - less than 1 lb/week (last four week block averaged at 0.7 lbs/wk and the one before that was 0.2 lbs/wk!).

I know I need to monitor more closely, and up the exercise - it really is too slow now! I did a couple of days on 1350 kcals at the start of the week and that got things moving (or it was a coincidence) I'm back up to 1700 today though, maybe more.

I’m on 5mg Mounjaro and 1420kcals with 130g protein. I’m losing 1.5lbs every week and I’m not hungry. I’m 58 btw.

I’ve lost 29kg, of which my scales say 4.5kg were muscle. So that’s a pretty minimal proportion.

I’ve eaten about 1300 cal a day (though I don’t count properly) and so lost 1kg a week, with high protein and exercise. Aimed for 1.5g of protein per kg of me, though only vaguely counted.

Now 1kg from my stretch goal and being a bit more relaxed about what I eat to try to tail off the loss rate. Going to try adding even more protein and exercise in next phase.

5mg and 1200 cals a day - that’s a deficit of 500 cals from my TDEE. According to my tracking app, at my current weight I should have 95g of protein a day and as I now base all my meals around protein I seem to be doing it.

Prior to MJ, I was following WW and losing around 1-2lbs a week on the same calories but then I’d do follow it all week and then stuff it up at weekends and so never really lose anything. With MJ, I no longer self sabotage at weekends.

@threeeggsontoast and @FlatErica I'm on similar calories to you, and finding it tough to make the 100g of protein a day....how do you both do it? In awe of yours @FlatErica

TDEE is a great starting point but only a rough guesstimate as everyone's metabolisms will be different. If you are losing 1-2lb a week, and the theory is it takes a 3,500 calorie deficit to lose 1lb, it suggests you might be in a 500-1000 calorie deficit a week - which again is just an estimate.

Many people lose a lot in the first few weeks if they response quickly to the medication and struggle to eat, which is not too much of a worry short term. I lost a lot in the first few weeks, a lot of water weight - swelling reduced dramatically in first few weeks, plus I was morbidly obese so higher loses in lbs (probably similar in % to someone "just" obese) are to be expected. But after the first couple of pens it settled down to something more sustainable so nothing to be concerned about.

I now base how much I eat now on how much I am losing (I haven't tracked calories for months now and couldn't tell you what I am on) and it varies day to day and week to week. I aim for protein at every meal and have one clear protein drink a day - when I was tracking it was around 100g a day. I am currently losing on average around 1.2lb a week (based on previous 6 weeks) which suits me.

I don't think you are in a minority. Do you think you are perhaps seeing a lot of posts on the board are from those early in their journeys, asking questions and looking for support, so perhaps in the early higher loss stage and they will settle down into something more sustainable soon. Once posters settle into their treatment they tend to post less.

I aim for about 1100 kcal which in theory should mean I lose 1.5lbs per week, but in reality it’s slower than that now. I’d love to lose weight on 1700 kcal per day!

Since I got some fancy scales last summer (a few weeks after starting MJ) I’ve lost 65lbs and my body fat % has gone from 43 to 33, so I think the body recomposition is going ok. I have lost around 80lbs in total in a year, so not particularly fast but sustainable, average is 1.5lbs per week.

Im on about 1200 calories and 90-100g protein a day.

I prioritise foods that are i
high protein for the calories. Full fat Greek yogurt, chia seeds, chicken, fish, cottage cheese, green veg. I have the odd protein shake where I need to.

I have MFP set at 1200 but don’t kick myself as long as I stay under 1400. 46 lbs off in 23 weeks, still got a long way to go but am happy with the steady loss.

@loveyouradvice

A typical day looks something like this:

Breakfast: 3 scrambled eggs (with a bit of butter)
Lunch: Tin of tuna with light mayo and salad in a low carb wrap.
Dinner: Chicken breast or breaded fish with lots of veggies or another salad (I chuck in some prawns or bits of chicken too)

I also drink my water and include collagen powder which has lots of protein too. If I need to boost it, I’ll have some fat free cottage cheese or a protein yoghurt.

So when I plan my meals, I start with my protein first and then build around it. I track it all in my WW app so I can see how I’m
doing. The picture is today’s intake so I’m pretty much on target.

@loveyouradviceit’s not difficult :-) here’s my My Fitness Pal log for today. I’ve still got 103 kcals to add some fruit or something.

ETA: Meal 1 was black coffee with sweetener and I also drink zero calorie drinks like Coke Zero or diet 7up freely.

Collagen shouldn’t count towards your protein target because it’s an incomplete protein (it doesn’t contain all of the 9 essential amino acids)

I don’t count calories so I just eat when I’m hungry and make healthy choices, trying to prioritise protein, veg and fibre. I am not interested in analysing every bite of food I put in my mouth as that leads to food obsession and disordered eating patterns for me.

I know what you mean! I’m a recovering bulimic (about 30 years of daily abuse) and eating a satiating diet with enough calories so I don’t feel hungry, and logging what I eat, is how I control it.

I'm have around 1700 calories and supposed to have 180g protein a day but never manage that. I started in the last week of January and have lost 16kg so far. I have a PT and do strength training twice a week and circuit training also twice a week. I'm 61 and 5'10". I don't really have a set goal but would like to be size12-14.

I don’t count, I eat a salad lunch with protein and then a small portion of dinner. That’s pretty much it. If I feel hungry I’ll have something at about 4/5.
I don’t count because I don’t make my own dinners, that’s Dh’s job! And I try and have leftovers for lunch. Sometimes though ill
get an M&S salad, I guess about 400ish calories, I don’t add all the dressing.

For me it’s about ensuring I have ENOUGH food and protein, rather than too much, as the MJ has completely destroyed any appetite

Yes, I do get concerned sometimes that I’m not getting enough calories or protein on low appetite days so I understand why people track. I just know that counting calories often leads to an unhealthy obsession for me and I’m trying really hard to do this differently to the dieting I’ve done in the past. I’m curious how you ‘force’ yourself to eat enough on days when you just don’t want it? Have certain foods become your go-to for those times?