Screw this!

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Replies

  • MarilynCurves
    MarilynCurves Posts: 25 Member
    kami3006 wrote: »
    MarilynCurves wrote: »
    I haven't been eating my exercise calories because I don't trust the counts I'm given, and that would go against the dietician's advice. He also told me not to lift weights because that's a trick the trainers use to keep the scale from moving so you'll pay them more

    I read the weight lifting part and my husband, sitting at his computer next to me, said "wow, that was the most interesting mix of expletives I've heard in a long time". I have no idea what was said.

    The idea that a dietitian would advocate not doing one of the most effective groups of exercise that help improve over all health, body composition, and that are quite empowering mentally just because it may lead the scale to hold onto a couple pounds of water weight is one of the most asinine and astounding things I've read on this forum! And boy there have been some doozies! I would understand if he was concerned about a person backsliding because of an over-reliance on the scale itself but given he called it a trainers trick is just appalling. Muscle, definition, better bone density, increased strength and mental empowerment vs. being two pounds lower...no contest. Shame on him.

    As far as eating back calories, if you're using the mfp numbers then you really should. As already stated, eat a portion back and adjust if you need to. It took me about 6 weeks to find my burns and I've been eating 100% back ever since with no issues. It really gave me the extra energy to improve my workouts.

    I'm really glad you're here and trying to find something sustainable. I wish you all the best.

    Thanks so much for your perspective! I actually cried when I left that appointment because he really threw me for a loop with what he said! The last thing I need is to be more confused about what is right for me.

    Yes, I was feeling frustrated that the scale hadn't moved in a couple of months, but I was hoping for assurance that I was on the right track, not to be completely mixed up about the whole thing! Sheesh!
  • django_rheinhardt
    django_rheinhardt Posts: 7 Member
    While there are good and bad nutritionists (doctors, personal trainers, you have it), yours sounds absolutely terrible. I wouldn’t go back to that one, seriously. I’ve actually had good experiences with the nutritionist I went to. Based on your description, you probably need to go higher on your calories. Your symptoms are serious enough that mere walking, drinking water, or other distraction is not going to work and ignoring it over time can have even more serious effects.
    The ideal way to handle it is to take a metabolic rate test. There are various places that perform this test, but the cheapest option for me was to have it done by a nutritionist (preferable not the one you’re currently seeing). The downside is that it’s not cheap. I paid $100 for mine. But overall, I found that it was worth it. That test told me that my resting metabolic rate was 1500 calories. Meaning, if I didn’t work out, I could eat 1500 calories to maintain my weight. Based on that information, I could go as low as 1200 calories and still be fine. By the time I saw my nutritionist, I was logging in around 1100 calories, working out a crap ton, and actually eating way less than the portions I was logging in. Overall, I felt fine, but I wasn’t losing weight. Go figure. If you eat too few calories, there’s a good chance that your body shuts down other bodily functions to counteract the lack of calories that you’re putting in. Not eating enough can have short term effects such as what you’re feeling to some serious long term effects. So no, it’s not just calorie in, calorie out. Knowing this number is quite important. I found out about taking the test through a friend who was on a 1200 calorie diet, but she was starving all the time. Turns out, her metabolic rate is much higher than mine. Her absolute minimum was 1400 calories. So yes, given how much and how hard you work out, it’s entirely possible that 1500 calories is too low for you. Also, I tried some free internet calculator for my metabolic rate. It was over by 400 calories. I guess you get what you pay for.
    As for logging in your workouts. I think it’s worthwhile to do it. Unfortunately, I don’t know how accurate your Apple watch is. I’ve read in the news that Fitbits are not particularly reliable. Fitbits are pretty loose on your wrist anyway, so I could see how it wouldn’t be particularly accurate. Treadmills and other machines like that are so inaccurate, there’s no point in bothering with those. I use a heart rate monitor, which I still don’t know how accurate it is either. I think, and I’m definitely not sure, it’s more accurate in that the heart rate monitor is on your chest and not your wrist. But hey, I guess being slightly off is better than not knowing anything at all. I don’t recommend the MFP calorie counts for exercises because they’re completely off in comparison to what my heart rate monitor registers for my workout. Not to mention, there’s no way it could monitor my actual effort.
    Based on the comments from the people above, you could also try to eat healthier foods like more vegetables, probably more protein, and switch your carbs to quality carbs. Making those changes will make you feel fuller over longer periods of time than crappy food, not to mention, you still need nutrients that quality foods provide. Based on my nutritionist’s recommendations, my macros is 50% carbs, 30% protein, and 20% fat. There is an actual mathematical way to calculate how much carbs and protein you need to eat. www.girlsgonestrong.com has it somewhere on their website. I recommend looking into it (and generally that whole website) because your macros will probably be different than mine.
    As for your nutritionist’s recommendation on only doing cardio and no weight lifting… well, it works if you’re only concerned about losing weight as fast as you can, like some weight loss challenge. You really should incorporate weight lifting and not the light weight “toning” crap that some women do. As a general rule, women can’t naturally get bulky from weight lifting. They just don’t produce enough testosterone. Women who claimed to lifted weights and got bulky from it are probably one of 2 types: those who are eating too much and are overcompensating for their weight lifting or are those who think any hint of muscle is bulky.
    The thing about weight lifting (and I mean lifting heavy and especially with good form of course) is that muscles weigh more. 1 pound of fast is much bigger than 1 pound of muscle. If you have more muscle, you’ll end up being skinnier than you are at the same weight with no muscle. I’ve actually seen pictures of a girl who weighed the same, but one picture was based on strictly cardio and the other included weight lifting. The difference? While she weighed the same, she was noticeably skinnier and fitter with the weight lifting. Again, because muscle is more dense than fat. If you want to see the pictures yourself, you can find it on that same website I mentioned above.
    Here’s the deal about cardio versus weight lifting. In a cardio session, you will burn more calories during the time you’re working out than the time you spend lifting weights. However, the trick about weight lifting is that it increases your metabolism over the course of the day. So the more muscles you have, the more calories you burn even if you’re just sitting down doing nothing, whereas cardio only burns the calories while you’re doing it. Of course, you should always do both because they’re accomplishing 2 different things.
    It might be better to try to incorporate size rather than just weight as a means of accomplishing your goals. Actually, it may be possible to have your body fat percentage calculated at your gym for free. My gym offers it and it only takes a few seconds. The downside is that gyms use the electronic one and your body fat percentage will vary depending on the amount of water you have in your body. There is an accurate way of testing your real body fat, but it costs so much, I wouldn’t even suggest it.
    Weight is mostly your gravitational pull to the earth anyway. I knew a guy who was complaining about not losing weight, but his clothes were actually becoming looser, which told me that he was losing fat, but not weight. Also, I know a girl who is maybe 1 or 2 inches taller than me, weighs about the same/slightly more than me, and yet, she’s like half my width. (She can also lift considerably more than I do). There are lots of reasons why you don’t lose weight or that your weight fluctuates. The main thing is to focus on being healthy and happy.
    Most importantly, feeling confident about being healthy is way more important and easier on the body than trying to look a certain way. I’m sure it will give you less stress when you perform.
    Good luck!
  • crimsongrey
    crimsongrey Posts: 329 Member
    "screw this" was pretty close to what I am feeling today....I just used a different word to describe it ;)
    I'm right there with you. I've been weighing and logging all of my food and working out 5x/wk for the last month and I've gained a couple of pounds. I've been mixing cardio and weights, hoping that some of the weight gain is muscle. I've been setting my calorie goal at 1500/day and eating some back, but not all. I wake up hungry in the middle of the night. It is sooooo frustrating!! Wish I had advice, but I definitely commiserate :(
  • django_rheinhardt
    django_rheinhardt Posts: 7 Member
    crimsongrey wrote: »
    "screw this" was pretty close to what I am feeling today....I just used a different word to describe it ;)
    I'm right there with you. I've been weighing and logging all of my food and working out 5x/wk for the last month and I've gained a couple of pounds. I've been mixing cardio and weights, hoping that some of the weight gain is muscle. I've been setting my calorie goal at 1500/day and eating some back, but not all. I wake up hungry in the middle of the night. It is sooooo frustrating!! Wish I had advice, but I definitely commiserate :(

    Seriously. Eat more. There is no reason why you should be waking up in the middle of the night due to hunger.
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