Is it really as simple as CICO?

pookey26

I'm feeling overwhelmed with all the information out there on the best way to lose weight and I just need to get it nailed.

My trouble with calories is I just don't know how many to eat , below is me in summary any tips greatly received

Female
5ft
175lbs
Work out 5 to 6 times a week mixture of British military fitness and running up to 10k

I love working out and I know I'm at my fittest I've ever been so far but feel like I'm trapped in a fat suit!

yarwell

Try 1500 calories for a month. If you don't lose weight, cut 200 and repeat.

jandsstevenson887

I have been following MFP exactly and have lost 11lbs in 11 weeks. Yes, it works. Log everything, eat back most of the calories, change up your workouts, and enjoy life while you lose.

ARGriffy

Just pop all your info into here accurately, and the amount it gives you to eat will work, trust the system it has worked for countless people. And yes, it really is as simple as CICO, simple maths just eat less than you burn! And yes, that means you can put "naughty" things within your calories for the day and you will still loose! Good Luck!

issyferg

Due to the actions of hormones and hormonal responses to different food types, it's not always as simple as CICO. Specifically, insulin.
You don't want to be battling through your days in a chronic "hangry" state from not eating enough to sustain your training, and I'm sure you want to keep training in order to maintain this awesome level of fitness!
To feel satiated & prevent hanger, try making your meals (especially breakfast) high in protein & "slower" carbs such as legumes (black beans, chick peas).
Things to try and limit are the "white or could be white" carbs, which trigger insulin responses and therefore energy storage, eg bread (including wholegrain), rice (including brown), potato, SUGAR - throw in treat day once a week to increase success of this kinda diet plan.
So if you're having trouble, focus on the QUALITY of the food you're fueling your body with, rather than the QUANTITY of calories. Yes this requires a little extra prep, but with a bit of experimentation with paleo or slow carb diet cook books, you'll find meals that work really well for you and you'll be able to cycle through them efficiently and get results pronto. GOOD LUCK GIRL

Jams009

yarwell wrote: »

Try 1500 calories for a month. If you don't lose weight, cut 200 and repeat.

I second this. Aim for around -1lb per week on average, if you lose more put calories up and wait a few weeks to see what happens, if you lose less put them down. Repeat until you find a balance, re-evaluate every month or two as you go and the rest of the time keep your focus on logging accurately. It can be that simple.

CICO isn't absolutely everything there is to it, but it's probably about 90% of the equation. Which is plenty to get results.

Yi5hedr3

Keeping carbs below 100 grams/day will enable you to burn fat.

EvgeniZyntx

If you are feeling overwhelmed - focus on the majors first.
And the majors are CICO - see yarwell's post. Try that, stick to it and the rest of the information will come.

Keep learning.

EvgeniZyntx

issyferg wrote: »

Due to the actions of hormones and hormonal responses to different food types, it's not always as simple as CICO. Specifically, insulin.
You don't want to be battling through your days in a chronic "hangry" state from not eating enough to sustain your training, and I'm sure you want to keep training in order to maintain this awesome level of fitness!
To feel satiated & prevent hanger, try making your meals (especially breakfast) high in protein & "slower" carbs such as legumes (black beans, chick peas).
Things to try and limit are the "white or could be white" carbs, which trigger insulin responses and therefore energy storage, eg bread (including wholegrain), rice (including brown), potato, SUGAR - throw in treat day once a week to increase success of this kinda diet plan.
So if you're having trouble, focus on the QUALITY of the food you're fueling your body with, rather than the QUANTITY of calories. Yes this requires a little extra prep, but with a bit of experimentation with paleo or slow carb diet cook books, you'll find meals that work really well for you and you'll be able to cycle through them efficiently and get results pronto. GOOD LUCK GIRL

This is just misinformation and over complication. Stick to the majors first.

ReaderGirl3

issyferg wrote: »

Due to the actions of hormones and hormonal responses to different food types, it's not always as simple as CICO. Specifically, insulin.
You don't want to be battling through your days in a chronic "hangry" state from not eating enough to sustain your training, and I'm sure you want to keep training in order to maintain this awesome level of fitness!
To feel satiated & prevent hanger, try making your meals (especially breakfast) high in protein & "slower" carbs such as legumes (black beans, chick peas).
Things to try and limit are the "white or could be white" carbs, which trigger insulin responses and therefore energy storage, eg bread (including wholegrain), rice (including brown), potato, SUGAR - throw in treat day once a week to increase success of this kinda diet plan.
So if you're having trouble, focus on the QUALITY of the food you're fueling your body with, rather than the QUANTITY of calories. Yes this requires a little extra prep, but with a bit of experimentation with paleo or slow carb diet cook books, you'll find meals that work really well for you and you'll be able to cycle through them efficiently and get results pronto. GOOD LUCK GIRL

I've lost 50+ pounds and have been maintaining the loss for several years, while eating bread, rice, potatoes, SUGAR etc etc.

OP-welcome! It's so easy to get overwhelmed by all the information (and woo, like above). Enter in your info into MFP and then work on tracking what you eat accurately-it really is as simple as that And I'd recommend getting a cheap food scale, which really helps with portion size accuracy.

pookey26

Thanks for all the replies. I guess I need to just crack on with a bit of trial and error and ultimately realise I need to eat less !!

vingogly

If you'd like another calculation of the calories you need to lose 1-2 pounds a week, try entering your stats on this site:

http://www.calculator.net/calorie-calculator.html

Putting in your stats, someone 5 feet 10 inches tall would need to cut down to 1500-1750 calories to lose 1.5 pounds a week depending on level of activity.

Yes, you'll lose the weight with CICO. I've lost 69 pounds sticking to CICO. What a lot of people seem to miss or undervalue in these forums is the impact of one's psychology on one's ability to stick with your plan and then keep it off once you've reached your goal. There's a reason why so many people are back where they started in a couple of years, and CICO isn't going to help with that because the problem is between the ears. The body may be a metabolic machine, the mind isn't.

Try Beck Diet Solution, Intuitive Eating, or Mindful Eating for help with the behavioral part.

http://www.beckdietsolution.com
http://www.intuitiveeating.org
http://thecenterformindfuleating.org

Jams009

vingogly wrote: »

The body may be a metabolic machine, the mind isn't.

Nice.

stevencloser

issyferg wrote: »

Due to the actions of hormones and hormonal responses to different food types, it's not always as simple as CICO. Specifically, insulin.
You don't want to be battling through your days in a chronic "hangry" state from not eating enough to sustain your training, and I'm sure you want to keep training in order to maintain this awesome level of fitness!
To feel satiated & prevent hanger, try making your meals (especially breakfast) high in protein & "slower" carbs such as legumes (black beans, chick peas).
Things to try and limit are the "white or could be white" carbs, which trigger insulin responses and therefore energy storage, eg bread (including wholegrain), rice (including brown), potato, SUGAR - throw in treat day once a week to increase success of this kinda diet plan.
So if you're having trouble, focus on the QUALITY of the food you're fueling your body with, rather than the QUANTITY of calories. Yes this requires a little extra prep, but with a bit of experimentation with paleo or slow carb diet cook books, you'll find meals that work really well for you and you'll be able to cycle through them efficiently and get results pronto. GOOD LUCK GIRL

CICO is the physical principle of conservation of energy as applied to the human body. Hormones do not overwrite that. It will always be about how much energy is entering and leaving your body.

ANY digestible carb as well as protein will trigger insulin responses. All of them. Not just "white or could be white" ones. And if you're in a deficit that is completely irrelevant anyway because you'll break down more fats than you're storing by definition. That's the whole point. If you're eating you're going to store some of what you digest away to keep your blood values at normal levels. That is the intended purpose and not something to be avoided.
Afterwards your body takes those stored away things back out to fuel you as needed. Energy needed > energy put away = weight loss.

You WILL gain weight if you're over your calories, even if you kept carbs to a minimum, you WILL lose weight if you're under them, even if you are a 80/10/10 fruitarian.

stevencloser

vingogly wrote: »

If you'd like another calculation of the calories you need to lose 1-2 pounds a week, try entering your stats on this site:

http://www.calculator.net/calorie-calculator.html

Putting in your stats, someone 5 feet 10 inches tall would need to cut down to 1500-1750 calories to lose 1.5 pounds a week depending on level of activity.

Yes, you'll lose the weight with CICO. I've lost 69 pounds sticking to CICO. What a lot of people seem to miss or undervalue in these forums is the impact of one's psychology on one's ability to stick with your plan and then keep it off once you've reached your goal. There's a reason why so many people are back where they started in a couple of years, and CICO isn't going to help with that because the problem is between the ears. The body may be a metabolic machine, the mind isn't.

Try Beck Diet Solution, Intuitive Eating, or Mindful Eating for help with the behavioral part.

http://www.beckdietsolution.com
http://www.intuitiveeating.org
http://thecenterformindfuleating.org

I personally found that eating at a deficit for a while made so I was less hungry automatically, no further intervention required.

psuLemon

There really is no one way of eating that is the best. There is only a way of eating that is best for you. Personally, I have found success when I concentrate on moderate protein, high fiber and starches (I generally reduce fat during a cut and increase when I maintain).

I will note, that when many people struggle on here, there are two common issues: 1. Inaccurate logging (I would suggest a food scale for accuracy) and 2. inconsistent logging (log every day). Human nature tends to lead us to under report calories in and over report calories out. Even professionals do it.

So like others suggested, since all the calculations are estimates, pick a number and try it for 4-6 weeks. If after that point, it doesn't work, adjust it a bit.

TinyTexn59

Really good advice Vingogly!

floridagirl7264

issyferg wrote: »

Due to the actions of hormones and hormonal responses to different food types, it's not always as simple as CICO. Specifically, insulin.
You don't want to be battling through your days in a chronic "hangry" state from not eating enough to sustain your training, and I'm sure you want to keep training in order to maintain this awesome level of fitness!
To feel satiated & prevent hanger, try making your meals (especially breakfast) high in protein & "slower" carbs such as legumes (black beans, chick peas).
Things to try and limit are the "white or could be white" carbs, which trigger insulin responses and therefore energy storage, eg bread (including wholegrain), rice (including brown), potato, SUGAR - throw in treat day once a week to increase success of this kinda diet plan.
So if you're having trouble, focus on the QUALITY of the food you're fueling your body with, rather than the QUANTITY of calories. Yes this requires a little extra prep, but with a bit of experimentation with paleo or slow carb diet cook books, you'll find meals that work really well for you and you'll be able to cycle through them efficiently and get results pronto. GOOD LUCK GIRL

Actually this is correct if you want to focus on muscle definition. However, if you just want to get the darn weight off, definitely go CICO. Personally I eat whatever I want and stay within my calories. Once the weight is off, I will focus on muscle definition.

psuLemon

floridagirl7264 wrote: »

issyferg wrote: »

Due to the actions of hormones and hormonal responses to different food types, it's not always as simple as CICO. Specifically, insulin.
You don't want to be battling through your days in a chronic "hangry" state from not eating enough to sustain your training, and I'm sure you want to keep training in order to maintain this awesome level of fitness!
To feel satiated & prevent hanger, try making your meals (especially breakfast) high in protein & "slower" carbs such as legumes (black beans, chick peas).
Things to try and limit are the "white or could be white" carbs, which trigger insulin responses and therefore energy storage, eg bread (including wholegrain), rice (including brown), potato, SUGAR - throw in treat day once a week to increase success of this kinda diet plan.
So if you're having trouble, focus on the QUALITY of the food you're fueling your body with, rather than the QUANTITY of calories. Yes this requires a little extra prep, but with a bit of experimentation with paleo or slow carb diet cook books, you'll find meals that work really well for you and you'll be able to cycle through them efficiently and get results pronto. GOOD LUCK GIRL

Actually this is correct if you want to focus on muscle definition. However, if you just want to get the darn weight off, definitely go CICO. Personally I eat whatever I want and stay within my calories. Once the weight is off, I will focus on muscle definition.

Its not correct. I have a lot of muscle definition (175 lbs at 16% body fat) and I violate almost every single one of those suggestions. I eat bread daily, potatoes several times a week (and to point out, they have of the highest satiety ratings and are nutrient dense), I eat whole grain bread every day and a serving of candy daily. Muscle definition comes from low body fat, adequate body composition and resistance/weight training.

And I won't even touch how wrong the insulin insinuation is. Insulin is not a hormone to be feared.

emdeesea

I use the Scooby Workshop calculator and have for more than 3 years and it's worked well for me. It figures in my activity and then I figure what my weekly calorie intake would need to be.

I do this because I go out with friends once a week and have to figure in that meal. I may be dieting but I'm not going to stop living.

It's worked well so far I'm down more than 55 pounds.

EvgeniZyntx

floridagirl7264 wrote: »

issyferg wrote: »

Due to the actions of hormones and hormonal responses to different food types, it's not always as simple as CICO. Specifically, insulin.
You don't want to be battling through your days in a chronic "hangry" state from not eating enough to sustain your training, and I'm sure you want to keep training in order to maintain this awesome level of fitness!
To feel satiated & prevent hanger, try making your meals (especially breakfast) high in protein & "slower" carbs such as legumes (black beans, chick peas).
Things to try and limit are the "white or could be white" carbs, which trigger insulin responses and therefore energy storage, eg bread (including wholegrain), rice (including brown), potato, SUGAR - throw in treat day once a week to increase success of this kinda diet plan.
So if you're having trouble, focus on the QUALITY of the food you're fueling your body with, rather than the QUANTITY of calories. Yes this requires a little extra prep, but with a bit of experimentation with paleo or slow carb diet cook books, you'll find meals that work really well for you and you'll be able to cycle through them efficiently and get results pronto. GOOD LUCK GIRL

Actually this is correct if you want to focus on muscle definition. However, if you just want to get the darn weight off, definitely go CICO. Personally I eat whatever I want and stay within my calories. Once the weight is off, I will focus on muscle definition.

Nope. Not eating white things will not suddenly improve muscle definition. This is now getting ridiculous. Nor does it help the OP in any way at this point (feeling overwhelmed and trying to get calories in order).