We actually need SO little to survive

13

Replies

  • jwdieter
    jwdieter Posts: 2,582 Member
    Starting too low, overestimating burn, eating back over 100% of burn, and ending up with probably decent calorie intake. Shrugs.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,427 MFP Moderator
    BTW, if you are doing P90X, why don't you follow their nutrition plan to at least figure out your base caloric needs? If you are going to do the program, might as well follow it as designed or close. Below is their calculator to help.


    http://www.teambeachbody.com/eat-smart/nutrition-tools/caloric-needs
  • johnrossmckay
    johnrossmckay Posts: 66 Member
    Was really diligent yesterday and watched every calorie. Definitely underestimated contribution of olive oil. Also, the calories burned on my heart rate monitor include the calories I would burn anyway during the time I work out. The amount of salt in a can of baked beans or a "Healthy" Request Herbed chicken and rice soup is stupidly high as was the amount in my breakfast sandwich.

    So today, cooked my own eggs, chicken and veggies. No coffee. I'll drink green tea without sugar or milk.

    Was too busy being a parent to plan any farther than that but I'll see if I can find something healthy to eat for lunch and dinner. In the meantime I'll drink my water.
  • joolywooly33
    joolywooly33 Posts: 421 Member
    WTF - you are a man and you are starving yourself!
  • ZealousMissJJ
    ZealousMissJJ Posts: 454 Member
    Was really diligent yesterday and watched every calorie. Definitely underestimated contribution of olive oil. Also, the calories burned on my heart rate monitor include the calories I would burn anyway during the time I work out. The amount of salt in a can of baked beans or a "Healthy" Request Herbed chicken and rice soup is stupidly high as was the amount in my breakfast sandwich.

    So today, cooked my own eggs, chicken and veggies. No coffee. I'll drink green tea without sugar or milk.

    Was too busy being a parent to plan any farther than that but I'll see if I can find something healthy to eat for lunch and dinner. In the meantime I'll drink my water.

    Please, just read this post!! Do the math before you try all the other stuff. I'm trying to save you the dissapointment of not being able to lose weight because you don't know exactly what you're doing. Been there, done that..

    Please, just read it!

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/912920-in-place-of-a-road-map-3-2013

    Edit to add: You're doing a great job already in being conscious of what you eat and drink! You just need to knwo the basics of how this stuff works before you either overeat or undereat. Overeating will make you frustrated because you're not losing weight, and undereating will make you a cranky mess which will lead to you quitting because you can't stick to it. Good luck hun.
  • johnrossmckay
    johnrossmckay Posts: 66 Member
    Yeah you'd think so but I am plump and energetic so maybe I am not tracking something right. "Maybe" my body is in starvation mode and I'm extracting my calories from the air because I'm gaining weight bit by bit. Regardless, after a month of tracking calories, trying to cut out junk, and exercising like a maniac, I'm tempted to go back to what worked before which was to not give a ____ and just live with being an overweight middleaged bald guy. :smile:
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
    i eat a thousand calories for dinner...

    you obviously have an unhealthy relationship with food that should be re-examined...
  • ZealousMissJJ
    ZealousMissJJ Posts: 454 Member
    Yeah you'd think so but I am plump and energetic so maybe I am not tracking something right. "Maybe" my body is in starvation mode and I'm extracting my calories from the air because I'm gaining weight bit by bit. Regardless, after a month of tracking calories, trying to cut out junk, and exercising like a maniac, I'm tempted to go back to what worked before which was to not give a ____ and just live with being an overweight middleaged bald guy. :smile:

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/912920-in-place-of-a-road-map-3-2013

    READ IT! Don't give up, it just takes time to figure stuff out! Give yourself that goddamned second chance you deserve!
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
    Yeah you'd think so but I am plump and energetic so maybe I am not tracking something right. "Maybe" my body is in starvation mode and I'm extracting my calories from the air because I'm gaining weight bit by bit. Regardless, after a month of tracking calories, trying to cut out junk, and exercising like a maniac, I'm tempted to go back to what worked before which was to not give a ____ and just live with being an overweight middleaged bald guy. :smile:

    your not in starvation mode on a thousand calories a day..

    metabolic slowdown, perhaps...

    also, talk about extremes...you want to go from 1000 to not caring and just blow up ...why not find the middle ground between the two...
  • traceyrae21
    traceyrae21 Posts: 1 Member
    I have tried to reprogram my brain. I love to eat, but I have had to change my way of thinking from "living to eat" to "eating to live." I can look at some foods and gain weight, so being very conscious of what I actually put in my mouth, making sure it is only what I need has mad a big difference. Keep trying and don't give up on your bucket list!
    :happy:
  • tcunbeliever
    tcunbeliever Posts: 8,219 Member
    The majority of people would be in or nearing hypothermia after 20 minutes in 50 degree water.

    I know a guy who can do that like he just stepped out of a warm bath.

    There are differences in physiology.

    Get over it. Not everyone needs to eat according to the "norm".

    Oh, and 1000 calories of vegetables, fruits and fish is a far cry more nutritious than 1000 calories of pop-tarts.

    Oh, I think I love you!!!
  • pcastagner
    pcastagner Posts: 1,606 Member
    i eat a thousand calories for dinner...

    you obviously have an unhealthy relationship with food that should be re-examined...

    He's not eating only 1000 a day...
  • johnrossmckay
    johnrossmckay Posts: 66 Member
    Nah I'm just reacting to the other posts. I'm in for the long haul. I want to lose weight fast due to back and neck issues and then transition to maintenance. I'm not losing weight but I had one of the machinists here at work drill a new hole in my belt because my cell phone in my pocket was pulling my pants down. My biceps, lats and shoulders are visibly bigger so I suspect I am gaining muscle and losing fat.

    When you are quite out of shape, the initial results are dramatic.
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
    WTF - you are a man and you are starving yourself!

    He is not "starving" on 2000+ calories per day, no matter what his net is.
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
    Net is not more important than gross, because energy balance and nutrition are two separate issues.

    ???? OP's original post said he is netting 1000 cals a day....
  • Fullsterkur_woman
    Fullsterkur_woman Posts: 2,712 Member
    Net is not more important than gross, because energy balance and nutrition are two separate issues.

    ???? OP's original post said he is netting 1000 cals a day....
    And he was wrong. Very easy to do underestimating your intake and overestimating your exercise output.
  • HappyStack
    HappyStack Posts: 802 Member
    I don't get the confusion here. Unless I have this totally wrong, you have to net more than your BMR.

    Net = total calories (gross intake) - exercise calories.

    If your BMR is 1500kcal, and you're taking in 2000kcal, exercising off 1000 to net 1000 (however unlikely that is to be accurate), you are below your BMR. It's the same as if you hadn't exercised at all and ate 1000kcal all day.

    If that's right, I don't understand how people can say, "netting 1000kcal is fine"...?

    ETA: What I mean by that is it's misleading to others to say his net intake is fine if he believes it's 1000kcal, whether it is or isn't, that's the impression given.
  • Fullsterkur_woman
    Fullsterkur_woman Posts: 2,712 Member
    Well, for one thing, if you have a lot of weight to lose, and you're getting adequate protein, fruits, vegetables, vitamins and essential fats, a net of 1000 calories a day (due to lots of exercise) is not nearly as bad as sitting on your butt and eating 1000 calories. How do you think those guys on The Biggest Loser do it?

    However, it's not really a good idea to lose the weight so quickly. It's so much harder to keep it off. You're better off exercising more moderately, eating more moderately, and losing more moderately. That way when you transition to maintenance it's easier to adjust.

    Johnrossmckay, I don't know if you fully comprehend what happens when you lose so quickly. If you lose quickly, much of what you lose is likely to be muscle. When you get to your goal weight, you will not be able to eat as many calories to maintain as you would if you had lost more slowly and retained more muscle mass. Did you already know that?
  • HappyStack
    HappyStack Posts: 802 Member
    Well the guys on the Biggest Loser usually look awful by the end of it :tongue:

    I mean, slimmer, but just a smaller version of what they once were.

    And I know VLCDs are safe for the very obese for short periods of time, but I don't think the OP is very obese.
  • johnrossmckay
    johnrossmckay Posts: 66 Member
    I understand the theory. But I am not losing weight and I AM gaining size. Bigger biceps etc. I am simply surprised at how little my body seems to require to fuel the effort of living, exercising etc. I still think I need to pay more attention to calories eaten and burned if I want to model the whole thing properly. If I were starving, I'm not sure I could nail a P90X plyo workout and then go for a run with any level of enthusiasm. And last week I had an endorphin high on one of my runs where I felt like superman. That's why I am examining the energy balance more closely.

    I am a black and white person. It doesn't serve me well in many circumstances but it does feed in to an ability to keep the variability of the inputs to a minimum while I assess the outcome. I'm going to stick with it for a while and see if my workout gains start to drop off. It's been a month and so far so good.

    My hypothesis so far is that I eat more calories than I think I do and burn fewer than I'd like. Reality is I'm probably more sedentary than I'd like to admit and that my metabolism is slowing down. I AM 50 years old. I can either refine the monitoring system or put in a calorie fudge factor to make it more realistic.
  • Fullsterkur_woman
    Fullsterkur_woman Posts: 2,712 Member
    Well the guys on the Biggest Loser usually look awful by the end of it :tongue:

    I mean, slimmer, but just a smaller version of what they once were.

    And I know VLCDs are safe for the very obese for short periods of time, but I don't think the OP is very obese.
    You'll get no argument from me on any of those points! :drinker:
    I am a black and white person. It doesn't serve me well in many circumstances
    And it probably won't serve you well on this journey either. You've been logging your food for scarcely a month now. I've been logging everything every day since the end of June and I am only just now seeing the scale start to shift an appreciable amount. If you keep logging everything faithfully and weighing yourself for another month, evaluate again and we'll be able to tell how many calories it is that you need. It's a constant refining process.
  • johnrossmckay
    johnrossmckay Posts: 66 Member
    I find it amazing that the weight on the scale can change so much overnight. Reasonable day with food, lower sodium (water weight?) and a P90x Rest day and this morning I am down 2.5 lbs.

    I now have a "2 pack" - 2 upper abs. Lower gut still holding on to fat around the belly-button. I seem to carry all my fat around my waist and lower back but my legs in particular are incredibly skinny - I can barely pinch skin...weird. I'm a torso-fat accumulator (and I imagine a lot of adipose because my gut gets round as I gain.
  • johnrossmckay
    johnrossmckay Posts: 66 Member
    AND...results of my MRI are in - degenerative disc disease in c3-c4-c5-c6-c7, two impinged nerves, one herniated disk, stenosis (narrowing of the nerve passage) and flattening of the cord. It explains the extreme pain. Fortunately the doc and the physio guy say that because I now have very low pain levels after all the traction and all the shock-wave treatment that the prognosis is not too dire and I am cleared to get back on the jiu jitsu mats provided I avoid straining my neck up and to the right. They want me to continue to crosstrain to keep my neck and shoulder area strong.

    NOTHING I have ever done burns calories as fast at Jits.
  • deksgrl
    deksgrl Posts: 7,237 Member
    Dude, eat more.

    /thread
  • deksgrl
    deksgrl Posts: 7,237 Member
    Reality is I'm probably more sedentary than I'd like to admit and that my metabolism is slowing down. I AM 50 years old. I can either refine the monitoring system or put in a calorie fudge factor to make it more realistic.

    Look, I'm a 50 year old female. Than means there are wonky hormonal things going on that effects metabolism. You don't have that. There is no way in hell that I will eat only 1,000 cals net. When I came here I tried eating 1,200. Constant headache, weakness, shakiness. Basically, it was not even enough food to operate my brain. Men need more calories than women. It is incredibly stupid to starve yourself for no reason.
  • johnrossmckay
    johnrossmckay Posts: 66 Member
    Hmmm. No headaches. No weakness. No shakiness. Feeling pretty sharp actually. Really enjoying my workouts at the moment. Deadlifts up to 325 which is almost double my body weight (280 a month ago). Can do 16 pullups. Must not be reporting calories consumed or expended correctly.

    Biggest reason for weight loss (which is not really happening yet) is to drop a couple of weight classes in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu so that I am competing in a lighter weight class. As a senior the probability is always that you get bumped to a younger bracket due to lack of competitors. I need to compete in a low weight class to protect this old broken body when I am facing ballistic testosteroned 18 year olds. I am strong but old (for BJJ). Optimum is to be very strong, very lean, and right at the top of a light weight class. Then if you are matched for skill, you have a huge advantage because you are stronger.

    Either that or quit Jits and that would definitely be a drop in my quality and enjoyment of life.
  • johnrossmckay
    johnrossmckay Posts: 66 Member
    Family reunion, playing guitar took me from 8600 to 16000 steps on the fitbit. DO NOT PLAT GUITAR while wearing a fitbit flex.
  • snazzyjazzy21
    snazzyjazzy21 Posts: 1,298 Member
    You can survive locked in a basement for 20 years too, doesn't mean you should.
  • laurelobrien
    laurelobrien Posts: 156 Member
    unless you have heart problems, don't worry about 1200mg of sodium in beans. sodium isn't bad for you unless it specifically exacerbates a health problem you have. most people who cook all their own food from scratch could actually stand to consume more sodium.

    and yes, it's true if we need to humans can survive on very little food. it'll affect your health, longevity, mood, etc though. Doesn't sound worth it.
  • johnrossmckay
    johnrossmckay Posts: 66 Member
    Guideline for men over 50 is 1500mg or less of sodium per day.

    2.4 lbs lost overnight again. That's 4.9 in two days. The only thing I changed was less sodium. Best yogaX workout ever last night. I hate it and love it (mostly when it's over). Flexibility is different side to side but definitely improving. Still no issues with hunger or energy.

    Saturday traditional family breakfast coming up...coffee, fruit, mediterranean omelette, red river toast and potatoes with my boys at the local bakery.

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