Calorie amount and exercise?
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Lillith32
Posts: 483 Member
Folks, I need some advice. I recently dropped my calories down to 1200 after a weight loss, as per the keto calculator. The problem is, I run a lot and often - 3 miles on low days, 7-10miles on long run days, 5-6 days a week, plus weight workouts three times a week. I had no problems on 1300-1400 calories, but on 1200 I feel like I am starving on the days when I work out less. I have about 20-30 lb to lose, should I increase calorie consumption, and if yes, then by how much, and whether the increase should be on light training or hard training days? I am usually not as hungry when my training volume is higher. Right now I eat at under 20 grams total carb, 25% protein (60-75 grams per day) and ~70% fat. I also drink a ton of water and supplement with magnesium and potassium. Please help me tweak my diet so I can continue losing while not impacting my running addiction.
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You already know the answer. Nobody likes to starve. Your body will fight you (and eventually win). 1200 is way too little for you, and that combined with your extreme carb restriction and running is probably pushing your cortisol levels way up there.
I would experiment in the other direction -- relaxing calories, relaxing carb restriction, and less exercise if you can.0 -
You're prolly gonna get varying pieces of advice. All are valid..and arguable. Here's mine, take it as you will:
I think if you remain low carb, you will eventually lose the weight, with little regard to the amount of calories consumed. How are you performing on your runs? If you see that you're performance has decreased, that is a good indicator that you need to increase your fuel source. The fact that you're hungry is another indicator, and unless you have hard time constraints for your weight loss goal, that alone would be enough for me to increase it.
To answer the "How much" question: I would go back to where you were most recently comfortable, the 1300-1400 calorie range. Then ask yourself the same questions. Are you performing optimally (if that is a goal)? Are you really hungry? 7-10 miles is a lot, IJS.0 -
I average about 1300 with no exercise at all.
I'm tryout by to start walking with some jogging too, but I can only handle 10 minutes of it. If I were going the distances you are and the frequency too, and with the weights... I couldn't imagine eating the same I'm eating now.
Stress will interfere with the results you're wanting. I wouldn't push it too far.0 -
My daily "goal" is 1660. I often go over anywhere from 100-300 calories, but am most often under 100g of carbs. I've been losing weight/inches slowly and that's fine with me. I think you should reconsider how much you're eating and how much your exercising. Just my opinion of course. I've been on the 1200 calories/day track and it was basically awful. So I vote increase the calories. I do not add in exercise calories, though, unless it's some crazy amount of exercise (Like a LOOOOONG run or bike ride).0
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Wait just a minute! @Lillith32 didn't you say you just got into a size 4 pant? Do I have the wrong person?
I know someone can still have fat to lose at a small size. I'm a size 6, but have quite a lot of belly fat still. I am aiming to lose 10 more pounds. But I honestly couldn't care less if the scale went up as long as this belly goes down! Unless I am confused about the size 4 thing, and that was a typo, you said you want to lose 20-30 lbs... I can't imagine you'd be that small and have that much excess body fat. Even if you have low muscle, like I likely do.
So, If I'm not mistaken, maybe it's the long distance running??? Can't you lose muscle under most circumstances? Maybe just adjust the type of exercise to gain muscle, not lose any and lose body fat.0 -
1200 calories is hard to keep up for a sedentary person let a lone a highly active one! If you are going to stick with 1200 I'd be eating just about all of those exercise calories back. A 10 mile run should give you near 1000 extra calories (according to my fitbit)0
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Oh and that keto calculator gives me crazy low calories0
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Christine_72 wrote: »Oh and that keto calculator gives me crazy low calories
same with me, I don't know why it always tells me lower than I think it should. I think they're calculation of lightly active is different from mfp's maybe. because I would think I'd get the same on both sites but mfp gives me 1700 and keto calculator was in the 1400 range0 -
Sunny_Bunny_ wrote: »I average about 1300 with no exercise at all.
I'm tryout by to start walking with some jogging too, but I can only handle 10 minutes of it. If I were going the distances you are and the frequency too, and with the weights... I couldn't imagine eating the same I'm eating now.
Stress will interfere with the results you're wanting. I wouldn't push it too far.
I am almost your calorie twin - I eat around 1,350 calories per day, but I walk around 1-2 miles per day (very leisurely), so I count it as around 1,300 calories per day. And this is a great way to slowly lose weight - I lose between 1-2 pounds per week, on average - and it's perfect for avoiding feelings of hunger and desires to binge eat
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Sunny_Bunny_ wrote: »Wait just a minute! @Lillith32 didn't you say you just got into a size 4 pant? Do I have the wrong person?
I know someone can still have fat to lose at a small size. I'm a size 6, but have quite a lot of belly fat still. I am aiming to lose 10 more pounds. But I honestly couldn't care less if the scale went up as long as this belly goes down! Unless I am confused about the size 4 thing, and that was a typo, you said you want to lose 20-30 lbs... I can't imagine you'd be that small and have that much excess body fat. Even if you have low muscle, like I likely do.
So, If I'm not mistaken, maybe it's the long distance running??? Can't you lose muscle under most circumstances? Maybe just adjust the type of exercise to gain muscle, not lose any and lose body fat.
I'm built funny. Size 4 pants, in Express and Limited sizes. Size L shirts. Wide shoulders, big boobs, large upper arms. I'm 5'5, 155-ish lb. I should be 135-125 lb. I also don't run for weight loss, I run for enjoyment and with my social group. So far my running is not impacted by my cut, I've been getting much better.0 -
So far my running is not impacted by my cut, I've been getting much better.
They say your body will slow down your metabolism if you restrict too much. Personally, I've never done it, so I don't know what that would feel like. But if you don't feel like running, that might be a sign. As long as you're still motivated to run and performance isn't suffering, then try the lower calorie level.
One sign of increased cortisol might be stubborn belly fat -- cortisol seems to direct fat from other areas to visceral fat.0 -
maaan, my arms turned twig like and no back fat to speak of, but my belly is still front and centre!0 -
@Christine_72 , I was reading somewhere that different spots on the body corresponds to different hormone issues. Stomach and thigh fat is cortisol, arm fat is, I believe, is estrogen. Don't know if it's true though.0
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@Christine_72 , I was reading somewhere that different spots on the body corresponds to different hormone issues. Stomach and thigh fat is cortisol, arm fat is, I believe, is estrogen. Don't know if it's true though.
Thanks, I'll look it up
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Dr Eric Berg says thigh and hip fat is estrogen and belly fat is usually adrenals; not sure about upper body.0
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I ignored the recommended calorie reduction when I was losing well. I figured it might slow my losses a bit but I was really happy with the calorie level I was eating (which was always above my goal anyways) so I left it. I found my weight loss didn't really slow at all.... It only slowed when I started eating a fair bit more.
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Yeah...estrogen is hips, thighs, and butt -- the areas needed for reproduction.
If you can, swap out a couple of those runs for strength training (I'm not sure I'd add them on top of the runs, but that is also an option). Odds are pretty good that it's not just fat that's an issue in that area, but muscle tone. Dips, push ups, and planks if you want the bodyweight route. Bench press, overhead press, and deadlift for the weight lifting route. As an added bonus, the extra core workout should further help your running.0 -
I've been doing planks for almost two months and have noticed a major change in my upper body especially my upper back and my belly fat is finally starting to dissipate. It takes time but thunk I get there. I think upping your calories will help too. I'm about your size and eat 1400-1700 and all I do is planks and some light walking0
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I do all that, I just don't log it on here. My morning routine involves at least 40 pushups. I'll be working more body weight stuff in about a month or so when is going to finally be light enough to start working out in the outdoor gym setups on the beach.
As an update, I just ran the fastest mile I ever ran, and then four more aerobic ones. I think I'll try to eat back 100-200 extra calories on the days I work out hard, see how it goes for me. Thank you all for your advice.0
