Diet question, is caloric intake roughly proportional to body weight? I've started a diet. Help me not quit on day 2.

It has been proposed that metabolic rate for mammals scales as bodymass^.75

"roughly proportional to weight" is probably close enough when dealing with relatively small differences in weight relative to the spectrum of mammals. for instance, a 120lb and 240lb person seem very different in size, but on the spectrum of mammals that ranges from about 2 grams (Etruscan Shrew) to 200,000,000 grams (Blue Whale) it's basically the same size.

when it comes to losing weight, if you don't want to overthink the process (counting calories initially ain't a bad idea to get a baseline of where you're actually at with consumption) all you really need to do is not gorge yourself and be ok with the fact that hunger pangs will usually pass after 10-15 minutes

losing weight sucks because it's exhausting and our brains tend not to work quite as well during that time. good luck.

Rojo, I am serious. 1200 calories per day is way too low. You could compromise your health with so little food. It is probably well below your base metabolic rate. Meaning you almost certainly burn more than 1200 cal per day if you did nothing but lay in bed.

Take the time to lose the weight properly, build into an exercise program. Cut calories, but make sure you get adequate varieties of vegetables, protein, and healthy fat. And that calorie number will be quite a ways above 1200 cal.

I just can’t imagine that losing weight as fast as possible in one month is a healthy diet strategy. I mean, by that logic, he could just not eat at all for a month. Seriously, that advice seems dangerous.

Are you trolling? In my view this is not the time to troll. I think Rojo is asking serious questions. We should give him good info. “Lose all the weight you can for a month” is terrible advice.

Yes. The more you weigh, the more you can eat while still creating a calorie deficit.

This is exactly how Weight Watchers point system works. Heavier people get more points because their BMR is higher.

[The two pounds you lost is mostly water weight unless you already created a 7000 calorie deficit which is the equivalent of running 70 miles.]

I haven't really read any of the responses, but here's some possibly useful info:

Less food coming in means less weight working through digestive tract. This is probably worth 1-2 pounds in the first few days.

Caloric restriction means your glycogen stores will rarely be full. Since the body stores something like 3-4g of water PER gram of glycogen, you can easily lose 1/2 lb glycogen + 2 lbs water in the first few days.

Lower salt content will also reduce water retention.

TL;DR: You can easily lose 5 or more pounds in the first week of a diet from your body carrying less water/food/glycogen. Your body composition hasn't changed very much in this time (1 pound of body composition change in the first week of a diet would be pretty standard).

for a relatively short period of time, losing as much weight as possible is actually a GOOD way to kick off a lifestyle change. For some people that's one week, others one month. My advice changes depending on the person. For Rojo, considering his history as a competitive athlete and his strict disciplined schedule as a working professional with a family, I THINK he could handle one month

my god as I am not trolling at all as I am a Fitness Rep. I KNOW Rojo is asking serious questions as I'm GIVING serious replies. Losing as much weight as possible for a short period of time has WORKED for TONS of my clients. For some clients that's a couple days. others a couple of weeks. For Rojo that MIGHT be one month as he has a hisory of being a competitive athlete and given the discipline it takes to raise a family while running his own company

Rojo, can you please provide us an update on your condition?

😄

What's the exercise component?

he can't say as it's special but I have an idea on what it is as I'm experienced in that arena

as couch workouts and TV remote clicking

tv workouts can be good as you don't have to choose and cook them yourselves

Rojo, I posted a reply to your question but I got Autobanned because it thought it was spam. Basically I made some suggestions on how to avoid food cravings. I'll try again here. Intermittent fasting from 7:00 p.m. in the evening until noon the next day. MCT oil blended into your morning coffee to avoid cravings and low blood sugar in the late morning. MCT oil is used similar to how carbohydrates are used by the body but they burn slower so you can postpone food cravings without eating. If you use a blender to mix it into your morning coffee it tastes like an unsweetened latte. I also make a lot of protein shakes in the evening to avoid Cravings before I go to bed. I use ice cubes, almond milk, a frozen banana, and my favorite protein powder. The protein shake at bedtime keeps me from getting hungry overnight and the MCT oil in the coffee helps hold me over until noon or 1:00 before my next meal. It'll be interesting to see if this goes through without triggering the automatic Banning.

Might it be an Arc trainer?

I have a ton of my clients use the Arc trainer as its non impact so is the elliptical as the arc trainer is better as the motion is more of an "arc" per se hence the name as the elliptical isn't

If you stop being an alcoholic, it helps both on short term and long term.

Much better than food restriction below the normal intake.