Eating 1500 calories a day, exercising and still not losing

piggler65

many thanks

JayneWilson1963

Bump for later.

piggler65

agreed - will use 1 pound a week as my goal and eat more - sounds very counter intuitive in that I am getting used to eating around 1500 calories so to eat more will not be hard to do

meredith1123

since you are vegan you could try beans and such... you need protein for sure!!

toutmonpossible

Ok I am a vegan. I weigh now 197 pounds - I thought I my diet was healthy and balanced but I will consider your suggestions thanks

First overweight vegan I've encountered :-)

Go to http://www.myfitnesspal.com/account/change_goals_custom set your protein to 35%, fats to 30% and carbs to 35%. That's a lot more balanced then the 15 / 30 / 55 you are on now.

There's no need to eat more, that's not evidence based.

I would follow Yarwell's advice.

my8891

You eat a lot of white rice - have you considered switching to brown rice, or even to quinoa? More fiber than white rice, less refined sugar, better for you all over. And the added fiber will help you feel full for longer. Not to mention, delicious.

WendyTerry420

Ok - so with me wanting 2 lbs a week weight loss and therefore MFP setting my target at 1280 calories why are people suggesting I eat so much more was my question and what you alluded to in your last post.

I never realised that I was to eat my colories I exercised away - although i have always seemed to eat most of them anyway.

Two pounds a week for what? Three weeks? You are fine! At your size, you will want to look into body recomp. Don't worry about scale weight. Increase your protein and train like a beast. Lift heavy.

piggler65

white rice is a function of my finances at the moment but I do have brown rice too - I eat beans or lentils or pulse all the time - I always log them as 'curried chick peas' for ease. But every dinner meal contains a pulse, vegetables and a carb. Normally I would eat a lot more fruit and veg and raw with it.

I am personally have not been fussed over macro ratios as I subscribe to a ratio more similar to 80:10:10 which is for ideal carb, fat and proteins respectively. I understand some of you here have various other ratios and you have various reasons why you prefer them.

I would point out that I look and feel better but the scale is stuck!!! :happy:

I am very appreciative of all these comments and am very grateful and trying to utilise the advice within the framework of my own understanding thus far.

ironanimal

Eating more may be beneficial to energy levels though, to allow for longer workouts and increased NEAT through the day. 1500 does seem a rather small amount for a 6 foot guy

What are "energy levels" ?

Not sure longer workouts would help. If the guy is in caloric balance I cannot see a logical argument for eating more. In fact "longer workouts" is equivalent to "eating less".

To my mind we need to think about why he is not using fat from adipose tissue and my working hypothesis is that the high carbohydrate intake leads to chronic high insulin and hence low fat loss.

Disrupting the current homeostasis by altering the energy balance could be the push he needs. Perhaps he has a stronger cortisol reaction to the high deficit than most, perhaps eating a little more while exercising more will tip the stress response in a more positive direction.

I find that if I eat too little, I have strong feelings of lethargy even when I don't work out very hard and that shows up in me becoming generally lazier in day to day life. A moderate deficit with moderate to intense exercise, and I am fine, and see more progress more consistently.

I completely understand your side, and have no dispute for energy in, energy out, but the physio and psychological side of it are important too.

piggler65

when I say I look and feel better - I mean since I have decided to lose some pounds to reach an ideal target weight of 182 pounds.

I am eating within what I thought was a good weight loss target calorie limit for the day and I am so much more active on an daily basis than I have been.

However I have all your suggestions to contend with!!

ironanimal

when I say I look and feel better - I mean since I have decided to lose some pounds to reach an ideal target weight of 182 pounds.

I am eating within what I thought was a good weight loss target calorie limit for the day and I am so much more active on an daily basis than I have been.

However I have all your suggestions to contend with!!

Then energy is likely not a concern in your case and you can ignore me One less suggestion to contend with.

If you're looking and feeling better, the weightloss will come along with it.

007FatSlayer

Almost all of your foods are white starches. Add more color to your diet-- fruits, vegetables, etc. This will add fiber to your diet and most importantly, nutrients! Try switching from soy milk to almond milk; soy milk can cause a lot of bloating. Also, don't forget to lift weights. Add some variety to life (I say this b/c of your majority white-starch/carb based diet and you only mentioned cardio). A lot of other good advice has already been mentioned.

piggler65

thanks - regarding weights - I and do not want to lift heavy weight and change my shape as such but I do have them and lifted weights in the past.

I was thinking of lower weights but higher reps - what do you do when you say lift weights?

ncmedic201

I increased my calories for a few days and then brought them back down and it broke my plateau. It is definitely more difficult to lose 2 lbs a week once you get closer to your goal.

ironanimal

thanks - regarding weights - I and do not want to lift heavy weight and change my shape as such but I do have them and lifted weights in the past.

I was thinking of lower weights but higher reps - what do you do when you say lift weights?

Lifting heavy in of itself won't dramatically change your shape. Low reps, high weight - i.e. <5 reps mainly causes a stronger neuromuscular response over time, causing you to get stronger without gaining any size or anything.

Mid rep ranges, 6-12, with a suitable weight create a stronger hypertrophy response if conditions are right; anabolic environment, calorie surplus etc.

High rep ranges, with lower weight, 12+ reps, doesn't really do much of anything except improve muscular endurance.

deksgrl

Ok - so with me wanting 2 lbs a week weight loss and therefore MFP setting my target at 1280 calories why are people suggesting I eat so much more was my question and what you alluded to in your last post.

I never realised that I was to eat my colories I exercised away - although i have always seemed to eat most of them anyway.

MFP bases your calorie needs on the amount your body needs that you expend in everyday life NOT counting exercise. So just what you need for moving around, going to work or school or whatever it is you do all day. It figures out your calorie needs for that, but then when you choose "i want to lose x amount per week", it subtracts a flat amount from that calorie need. So if you choose 2 pounds a week, it will deduct 1,000 calories per day from your projected calorie needs. And remember that DOES NOT include exercise. They call this a NEAT method calculator. Non-exercise activity thermogenesis (NEAT) is the energy expended for everything we do that is not sleeping, eating or sports-like exercise.

People who do not have a lot of pounds to lose should not choose 2 pounds a week, because subtracting 1,000 calories a day is too much of a cut. When you then also do not eat additional calories to fuel your exercise, you are eating way too low.

So, for example, MFP calculates that your calorie needs not including exercise is 2200 per day. You say "I want to lose 2 pounds per week". It says okay, 2200 minus 1000 is 1200. Eat 1200 a day. Then you do some intense cardio for an hour and burn off say 500 calories of that. 1200 minus 500 is 700 calories. You are expecting your body to run all of its processes on 700 net calories per day. That is way too low for most people, especially a man of your size.

This is why you have to add calories for exercise with the MFP method, the person in this example should eat 1200 PLUS 500. (Assuming that losing 2 pounds per week is appropriate, but in your case, it is not).

piggler65

thanks for that info - i was going to consider high rep low weight but think the 5 rep heavy weight might be better! How often ? I would to train every day - not for a long time though.

At the moment I am training to press 100 press ups in one go - just for the hell of it! Thats all the resistance training I am doing at the moment

lithezebra

You might be slowing down your daily activity to compensate for that drastic calorie deficit, walking less, sitting more. Maybe eating a little more, like 1800 calories, doing some strength training, and making sure that you don't exhaust yourself with cardio, would help. Also, it looks like you eat pretty well when it comes to carbs, so if you do choose to eat more, you might consider adding more protein, and meeting your minimum for fat.

piggler65

Gotcha - understand could do with eating much more!

007FatSlayer

Whichever you prefer
•1-5 Reps Per Set = Mostly Strength
•5-8 Reps Per Set = Strength AND Muscle Equally
•8-10 Reps Per Set = Muscle With Some Strength
•10-12 Reps Per Set = Muscle With Some Endurance
•12-15 Reps Per Set = Endurance With Some Muscle
•15-20 Reps Per Set = Mostly Endurance


Just make sure to challenge yourself. Working out should never be "easy," unless you're injured or ill at the time. There's a lot of stuff on the internet that you can search for; if you look online, make sure get your sources of information from more than one site (so the information isn't biased).

Good Luck Piggler, dedication and hard work will always pay off-- even if you're having a temporary set back.