That 1200 or 1500 calorie number is not absolute -- you can change it.
While you can't control your BMR (driven by your age, height, weight -- for today), you are completely in control of your TDEE each day (based on how much you move.)
I'm short for a guy and older (54). Maintenance for my current stats is 1,911. I'm eating ~2000 calories per day and losing over 1 - 1.5 lbs per week. How am I able to do that ? I'm not sedentary. Want a bigger budget, move more.
Yes, a few years back at Thanksgiving a guest marveled at my skinny 81 year old mother's "metabolism" when she saw how much she was eating. Her size has nothing to do with her metabolism - she is super active, sometimes skips meals, and eats a lot of foods that are low calorie dense / high volume.
I'm notorious for gorging at family parties. Our parties are usually at least 6 hours long and I'm around food almost that whole time. I always get "how can you eat that much and still not have a fat belly?" I'll usually put away 4,000 to 5,000 cals that day. No matter how many times I repeat the answer, my family seems to think I eat that way all the time.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer IDEA Fitness member Kickboxing Certified Instructor Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
That 1200 or 1500 calorie number is not absolute -- you can change it.
While you can't control your BMR (driven by your age, height, weight -- for today), you are completely in control of your TDEE each day (based on how much you move.)
I'm short for a guy and older (54). Maintenance for my current stats is 1,911. I'm eating ~2000 calories per day and losing over 1 - 1.5 lbs per week. How am I able to do that ? I'm not sedentary. Want a bigger budget, move more.
Yes, a few years back at Thanksgiving a guest marveled at my skinny 81 year old mother's "metabolism" when she saw how much she was eating. Her size has nothing to do with her metabolism - she is super active, sometimes skips meals, and eats a lot of foods that are low calorie dense / high volume.
I'm notorious for gorging at family parties. Our parties are usually at least 6 hours long and I'm around food almost that whole time. I always get "how can you eat that much and still not have a fat belly?" I'll usually put away 4,000 to 5,000 cals that day. No matter how many times I repeat the answer, my family seems to think I eat that way all the time.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer IDEA Fitness member Kickboxing Certified Instructor Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
And this brings me back to my original comment that it's a marathon, not a sprint...
That 1200 or 1500 calorie number is not absolute -- you can change it.
While you can't control your BMR (driven by your age, height, weight -- for today), you are completely in control of your TDEE each day (based on how much you move.)
I'm short for a guy and older (54). Maintenance for my current stats is 1,911. I'm eating ~2000 calories per day and losing over 1 - 1.5 lbs per week. How am I able to do that ? I'm not sedentary. Want a bigger budget, move more.
Yes, a few years back at Thanksgiving a guest marveled at my skinny 81 year old mother's "metabolism" when she saw how much she was eating. Her size has nothing to do with her metabolism - she is super active, sometimes skips meals, and eats a lot of foods that are low calorie dense / high volume.
I'm notorious for gorging at family parties. Our parties are usually at least 6 hours long and I'm around food almost that whole time. I always get "how can you eat that much and still not have a fat belly?" I'll usually put away 4,000 to 5,000 cals that day. No matter how many times I repeat the answer, my family seems to think I eat that way all the time.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer IDEA Fitness member Kickboxing Certified Instructor Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
And this brings me back to my original comment that it's a marathon, not a sprint...
Yep. Takes time and diligence to complete but nowadays the instant gratification holds strong in just about everything we do. People lose their minds getting put on hold on the telephone. Heck even at restaurants I've seen so many times where people will pull up, go pull on the door and see the restaurant doesn't open for another 10 minutes and they leave. The impatience factor is so prevalent in today's society of "I want it now".
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer IDEA Fitness member Kickboxing Certified Instructor Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
Personally, I like the "Slim slow" plan myself. And it's free.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer IDEA Fitness member Kickboxing Certified Instructor Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
Personally, I like the "Slim slow" plan myself. And it's free.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer IDEA Fitness member Kickboxing Certified Instructor Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
Pixie, do what works for you. You are taking steps that you feel will help with your current state. I wish people would be more supportive and helpful rather than so opinionated and bashing. It sounds like you know yourself well and don’t have the energy to get started so I agree with you 100%. I believe this can give you a few days of less food, curving your appetite and Lose a few pounds of bloat and water weight. This will make you feel better and encourage you to keep going with a healthy and active lifestyle. Wishing you success and joy in all areas of your life.
My bold.
But what is the point of doing this??
losing water weight and bloat for a few days does nothing to help you lose fat in the long run
Just for mental motivation. You think "hey I can do this" rather than "I'm never gonna lose so whats the point".
That's how it is for me anyway. Seeing the scale go down a couple of pounds motivates me and reminds me that making better choices will work in the long run, helps me stick to plan, and then the "real weight" loss comes off.
So the opposite would demotivate you? Like when you go off plan and then gain a couple of pounds, get demotivated and continue to gain weight?
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer IDEA Fitness member Kickboxing Certified Instructor Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
For me personally seeing my weight go down regularly on morning weigh ins motivates me to eat better that day. It is easier to commit to continue that trend and not put it back on. So yes - "kick starting" that would be helpful to me.
During times when my weight is increasing I might sometimes get discouraged and adopt the "*kitten* it I'll start tomorrow" mentality. And then tomorrow, and tomorrow, etc and it can become difficult to snap the cycle. Thus my large weight gain during the pandemic stress, and months long illness I just went through. I knew that I shouldn't be eating what I was but I couldn't find the mental motivation to shift my habits.
The mental aspect is big for me. I think it is pretty clear that we all technically know how to lose weight. The mental motivation may be more difficult for some of us, and the tools to work through that might not be the same for everyone.
This exactly what it is for me as well. I have to conquer the mind before I can make a move to do the rest. It seems near impossible when my mindset simply isn't there; it almost feels like a switch in the brain I can't quite reach to flip. It doesn't help when a person is an emotional eater, eating due to worry, stress, depression, what have you. Those emotions have been running rampart for a year, in some of us. So yes, sometimes it is a quick start that needs to happen so we can feel the encouragement that something is working. Then when we feel comfortable, we can fine tune our eating habits with substitutions that are more sustainable, hopefully creating habits that will stick with us.
About 5 weeks ago I said 'this is it.' I weighed myself on a Monday a.m. and realized I had regained 30# over the past year. I committed myself to weighing each Monday a.m. Thankfully every week I've logged in a loss but I know me; I know if the scale wasn't budging I'd be discouraged and fall back into that wth mindset. Might be ridiculous to some but it is who I am. So no judging please or telling me it doesn't work or whatever thoughts are going through because I already understand those things. I'm trying as hard as I'm able, with what I've got(physically and mentally)and where I am in life ATM.
Just wishing everyone good health and great luck in their quest for a healthier life!!
End of week 1. Lost 3lbs. Managed a couple of yoga and cardio workouts as well as a 50min walk most lunchtimes. Weather is improving and evenings are getting lighter so hoping to get out for longer walks after work soon. Spring is on it's way :-)
End of week 1. Lost 3lbs. Managed a couple of yoga and cardio workouts as well as a 50min walk most lunchtimes. Weather is improving and evenings are getting lighter so hoping to get out for longer walks after work soon. Spring is on it's way :-)
Yay...I think nearly everyone's ready for spring this year...time for some green and warm weather! I'm ready to get out and ride my bicycle!
Congrats on your week 1 loss, OP.
Yay...I think nearly everyone's ready for spring this year...time for some green and warm weather! I'm ready to get out and ride my bicycle!
Congrats on your week 1 loss, OP.
Thank you, it's a good start :-) hope you manage to get out on your bike soon!
How does using shakes eliminate the need to calorie count every meal?
I think logging your food is essential, at least until you have a good rhythm and are getting the results you expect.
A lot of people use protein or other shakes to hit their goals, I would suggest just not to overdo it. I like to keep some protein bars or shakes handy, they prevent me from doing fast food in a pinch when I have nothing else prepared.
How does using shakes eliminate the need to calorie count every meal?
I think logging your food is essential, at least until you have a good rhythm and are getting the results you expect.
A lot of people use protein or other shakes to hit their goals, I would suggest just not to overdo it. I like to keep some protein bars or shakes handy, they prevent me from doing fast food in a pinch when I have nothing else prepared.
To be fair calories count for weight loss but it's not essential for everyone to count calories. I could quite easily lose weight these days without calorie counting but I log to review satiety, macro ratios and to monitor for symptoms of reflux.
OP is not new to calorie counting so probably has a reasonable enough grasp of what her calorie intake by now.
I am using MFP to keep myself within my calorie goal. I'm enjoying the Vitality shakes and meal bars, also eating fruit or veg as my snacks. It saves me measuring out every meal. I'm also trying out some of the Slim Fast main meal recipies which is helping my motivation to cook properly - one of my lockdown ennui downfalls!
Replies
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
And this brings me back to my original comment that it's a marathon, not a sprint...
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
Good plan...we agree...
This exactly what it is for me as well. I have to conquer the mind before I can make a move to do the rest.
About 5 weeks ago I said 'this is it.' I weighed myself on a Monday a.m. and realized I had regained 30# over the past year. I committed myself to weighing each Monday a.m. Thankfully every week I've logged in a loss but I know me; I know if the scale wasn't budging I'd be discouraged and fall back into that wth mindset. Might be ridiculous to some but it is who I am. So no judging please or telling me it doesn't work or whatever thoughts are going through because I already understand those things.
Just wishing everyone good health and great luck in their quest for a healthier life!!
Yay...I think nearly everyone's ready for spring this year...time for some green and warm weather! I'm ready to get out and ride my bicycle!
Congrats on your week 1 loss, OP.
Thank you, it's a good start :-) hope you manage to get out on your bike soon!
I think logging your food is essential, at least until you have a good rhythm and are getting the results you expect.
A lot of people use protein or other shakes to hit their goals, I would suggest just not to overdo it. I like to keep some protein bars or shakes handy, they prevent me from doing fast food in a pinch when I have nothing else prepared.
To be fair calories count for weight loss but it's not essential for everyone to count calories. I could quite easily lose weight these days without calorie counting but I log to review satiety, macro ratios and to monitor for symptoms of reflux.
OP is not new to calorie counting so probably has a reasonable enough grasp of what her calorie intake by now.