Wayward Frodo Seeks Fitness Gandalf

TheWanderingLemon
TheWanderingLemon Posts: 12 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Just finished an LOTR Marathon. The title seemed appropriate.

Brace thyself, oh fearless one, for the inscription is somewhat lengthy.

I am a 5'6" female currently weighing in somewhere around 155-160 lbs (I do not know this for sure because I am a Peace Corps Volunteer in a foreign country and--while I do have internet! Woot!--I have not been able to get my hands on a scale that won't completely destroy my meager budget. Also not sure I want one, because meh). Anyway, I would like to get down to 140 and have been pretty much gone mostly Paleo/Primal. It fits my lifestyle well because I have access to a daily fruit/veggie farmer's market and and I generally like it.

Onward my Fellowship. I have been reading on the forums that some people are eating the maintenance of their goal weight in order to get down to said number. So if I eat the maintenance for 140, within time I will become 140.

Allow me to borrow this from another poster, who said it better: "Basically, you eat at what the maintenance calories would be at your goal weight (along with exercise of course!), and eventually your weight will stabilize there."

The following is my inner Sméagol/Gollum conflict:

My current calorie goal (1lb lost per week, lightly active, and I do an Insanity program every morning) is set at 1520 per day. I do not usually count my exercise calories because sometimes I don't really put my heart into it I feel like I would be cheating if I declared that I incinerated 500ish calories when really I didn't.

So yes, my current calorie goal is 1520. Yet the maintenance for 140 is 1900. I was baffled when I saw this. Does this mean that if I were to eat at 1900, plus eating back exercise calories, I would eventually make it down to 140? I mean, not much has happened body-wise at 1520. My clothes seem to fit a tad looser--but that might be just because I have to line dry all my robes and vestments instead of having them shrink a bit in the dryer. Or it might have been due to the unwilling fasting I undertook when I got food poisoning at my host family's.

Has eating at maintenance worked for people and is it a method I should try? Upping my calories by 380 would be rather interesting. Weird for me, but not impossible; so should I? I would really like to see my body change more than it already has and wonder if this is the way to do it. I mean, I'm fairly muscular. My quads could handle any trek through Middle Earth and I've heard that the closer you get to your goal the more you should eat. I'm really at a loss and could use any advice you lovely people could part with. Should I go ahead and send those calories up? Or should I stay where I am and wait it out?

Thank you so much to anyone who has the time/patience/willpower/fortitude/knowledge to answer. I know individualized posts like these sometimes fall to the wayside so I truly appreciate the appearance any Samwise Gamgee who will brave Shelob's tunnel and come to my aid.

Replies

  • susannamarie
    susannamarie Posts: 2,148 Member
    It will be slow. For example, if you are eating at a 10 calorie deficit, it will take you almost a year to lose one pound (plus, hah, who can calculate that accurately? everything is an estimate). And since the maintenance calories are also an estimate, you might stabilize a bit lower or a bit higher than 140.
  • TheWanderingLemon
    TheWanderingLemon Posts: 12 Member
    Gah, I hate doing this, but I'm bumping myself. I'd really like some more help if possible.

    Le bump.
  • AlexThreeClaw
    AlexThreeClaw Posts: 73 Member
    How long have you been eating at 1520 a day? If it was working before and you've only recently stopped seeing results, you may have just hit a plateau. You could try changing up your routine a little bit.

    It's also possible you're underestimating how much you workout and as you don't count your workout calories, you can't eat them back either. You may find your body is desperately clinging to whatever you consume. Give it a try, up your calories a little and stick with it for a month. See if it works for you. You may find you gain a little at first and then start losing.

    The closer you are to your goal, the trickier it is to find the exact balance that is right for you. There's a little experimentation involved 'cause we're all a little different.
    This link may help a little.
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/10589-for-those-confused-or-questioning-eating-your-exercise-calo

    Good luck! :-)

Categories