# How much weight will I lose if I give up ... **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 18, 2006, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-weight-will-i-lose-if-i-give-up/357196 "2006-05-18T00:07:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2006, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-weight-will-i-lose-if-i-give-up/357196/21 "2006-05-19T20:53:07Z")
> [@astro](#): > > [According to this fairly accurate metabolic calculator for your ht/wt/age/activity level](http://www.freedieting.com/tools/calorie_calculator.htm) Jeezum, according to that I am “allowed” 2480 calories per day for Fat Loss and Extreme Fat Loss. That sounds like a lot compared to typical diets. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2006, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-weight-will-i-lose-if-i-give-up/357196/22 "2006-05-19T20:55:56Z")
Oh my goodness, another chart on that site says 5’10" me should be between 150 and 154 pounds!! I feel very comfortable when I am at 180, thanks, and every other source I’ve ever read had the top limit at ~172. ---
**Author:** ![mrklutz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ebca7d/32.png) [@mrklutz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mrklutz)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2006, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-weight-will-i-lose-if-i-give-up/357196/23 "2006-05-19T20:57:47Z")
> [@ChipsNDip](#): > > And if you’re drinking root beer, you won’t even have to deal with caffeine withdrawels. Depends on the root beer. “Barq’s got sparks!” for instance. Found that out the hard way late at night (eons ago) after swilling several root beers. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2006, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-weight-will-i-lose-if-i-give-up/357196/24 "2006-05-19T21:36:51Z")
> [@gigi](#): > > Jeezum, according to that I am “allowed” 2480 calories per day for Fat Loss and Extreme Fat Loss. That sounds like a lot compared to typical diets. Unless you’re doing _very_ extensive and extended cardio exercise sets multiple times a day, every day there’s no way I can get the calculator to yeild that level of calorie reccommendation for your stated height and weight parameters. Assuming you exercise 3 times a week here are the recommended levels for a 30 year old. > [@](#): > > Maintenance: 2225 Calories/day > Fat Loss: 1780 Calories/day > Extreme Fat Loss: 1440 Calories/day ---
**Author:** ![ianzin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/ed655f/32.png) [@ianzin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ianzin)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2006, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-weight-will-i-lose-if-i-give-up/357196/25 "2006-05-19T21:38:49Z")
> [@tremorviolet](#): > > I had read that there hasn’t been a documented case of anyone dying of dehydration in a marathon but there have been deaths from nyponatremia. That’s probably the same article that **McNew** is thinking of. I think this question of too much / too little water, and which is the greater danger, needs to be put in context to mean anything. I’m sure that **Tremorviolet** is posting in good faith, but I think what s/he is saying applies more to specialist long-distance runners than it does to the population as a whole. I think that if you’re talking about the general population, the problem of people _not drinking enough_ fresh, clean water is far more prevalent than people drinking too much, and furthermore that you’d have to be really be drinking crazy amounts of water per day for it to be causing any significant problems (other than lots of visits to the smallest room). ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2006, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-weight-will-i-lose-if-i-give-up/357196/26 "2006-05-19T21:44:23Z")
> [@astro](#): > > Unless you’re doing _very_ extensive and extended cardio exercise sets multiple times a day, every day there’s no way I can get the calculator to yeild that level of calorie reccommendation for your stated height and weight parameters. > > Assuming you exercise 3 times a week here are the recommended levels for a 30 year old. 37 sedentary (no exercise) 5’ 10" 310# (I’m not always 180#!!) ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2006, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-weight-will-i-lose-if-i-give-up/357196/27 "2006-05-19T21:56:08Z")
> [@Adoptamom\_II](#): > > I am replacing the root beer with water - sorry that wasn’t clear in my OP. > > I only eat 1 meal + a couple of snacks a day, but my one meal is usually whatever the heck I want and as much as I want of it. That usually falls around lunch time, and may be a Beefeater sandwich from Jason’s, or a couple of beef meximelts from Taco Bell, or a meal deal from McDonald’s. Snacks are usually high calorie also, like chips, nuts, etc. (horrible diet, I know, but I’ll work on that later). > > Does that help clarify my original question? Thanks for your responses! Well… it’s your lifestyle, but I’ve counted calories long enough that for someone to say they maintain a weight of 161 lbs with the following general metabolic parameters > [@](#): > > I am 44 years old, female, 5’7", 161 lbs,sedentary, on what is an intake level that appears to be well in excess of 3000 calories per day (ie 1700 sugar soda calories +large meal + snacks) is pretty darn remarkable. With that intake level and given your stated metabolic size, age, activity level parameters, even accounting for normal metabolic variances I’d expect you to be pushing at least 230 lbs or more if that is the diet and lifestyle you’ve had for several years. You’re saying, in essence, that your body is burning almost 19 daily calories per lb of body weight at a sedentary activity level (3000/161) whereas most people with similar parameters are burning around 12-13 per day. That’s pretty remarkable. ---
**Author:** ![Adoptamom\_II](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7ba0ec/32.png) [@Adoptamom\_II](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Adoptamom_II)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2006, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-weight-will-i-lose-if-i-give-up/357196/28 "2006-05-19T22:29:36Z")
I dunno how remarkable it is Astro, that’s just the plain, hard truth of my stats. I’m certainly not an expert in this area which is why I came to the boards to get informed opinions. Perhaps it helps that until I hit 30 or so I mainted a weight of 130ish without any effort and with the same eating/drinking habits. With the next decade and a few forays into some medications (that I haven’t taken for 2 years) I gained 30ish lbs. For what it’s worth, in the past week I’ve lost 8 lbs and definately feel a difference in the waistband of my pants. YEAH! Based on what y’all have shared previously in this thread, I’m assuming that the weight loss will slow dramatically in the coming weeks when my metabolism adjusts itself, but it’s a significant enough start to keep me enthusiastic about continuing to drink lots of water. I’m also going to look at eating more sensible/healthy meals. My goal is to get back to 130ish. ---
**Author:** ![uglybeech](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/82dd89/32.png) [@uglybeech](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/uglybeech)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2006, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-weight-will-i-lose-if-i-give-up/357196/29 "2006-05-20T00:13:24Z")
> [@Garfield226](#): > > (don’t pay any attention to the naysayers. Hundreds if not thousands of people lose weight every day, hundreds if not thousands have made long-term changes and experienced long-term effects. Despite their trying to make you fail for whatever reason, it is possible to lose weight, and it is possible to maintain a lower weight for significant amounts of time) Dispelling ignorance is not naysaying. The ignorance displayed in this thread is that weight loss is a simple arithmetic problem, where if you know calories in and calories out you can predict weight change. This is like saying propagation is a simple exponential problem, and that if you know that cats reproduce 10 times per year you can calculate that in 20 years the earth will be carpeted in cats. It’s obvious horsehockey, but in the case of energy metabolism almost everybody thinks it’s true. It’s not. You’re dealing with a biological system that compensates. It’s been observed to do this over and over again and the neuroendocrine mechanisms that cause this are reasonably well understood. Now, you think dispelling ignorance means I want her to fail. No, I dont care what she does, but I’m pretty damn sure that ignorance is going to guarantee adopt’s “failure” in particular – because she thinks she can still eat whatever she wants and the energy in/energy out equation will work for her. If she just avoids the root beers. Its a nice thought, but the primary means by which the hypothalamus regulates weight is through appetite, which means one would expect that she’s going to want to start eating a lot more at some point if she’s successful in her weight loss. If her plan is no drinks but at will eating, knowledge of how the body works should tend to argue against her success. I’m not saying it won’t happen, you never know - and you’re right there are “100s if not 1000s” of people who lose weight. Woohoo. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-weight-will-i-lose-if-i-give-up/357196.md?page=1)