need some input on my diet please
yanick356
Posts: 39 Member
Im 44, yo , 5' 8", 160 lbs, from 190 a year ago. Yes I have lost weight but I still have a lot of belly fat, and lost about half of my muscle. Lean everywhere but my belly. 20% bodyfat is my guess. Here is what I have been doing:
1500 calories a day, 75 grams of carbs, 140 grams protein and 60 grams fat. Eggs/oatmeal breakfast, salad/protein lunch, protein/more veges dinner. Protein bars, cheese, and nuts in between. No sugar, no fruit, or refined starches. 10 glasses water/day.
30 minutes jog-on the slowish side- 6/days week, 9 sets of weights different body part 4 times/week. Weights have been a struggle; often feel winded/light-headed quickly. Slow recovery the next day too.
I do eat back about half my exercise cals. Myfitnesspal is advising me 1230 net calories now, which seem too low.
Am I just getting old? Any insights would be appreciate it.
1500 calories a day, 75 grams of carbs, 140 grams protein and 60 grams fat. Eggs/oatmeal breakfast, salad/protein lunch, protein/more veges dinner. Protein bars, cheese, and nuts in between. No sugar, no fruit, or refined starches. 10 glasses water/day.
30 minutes jog-on the slowish side- 6/days week, 9 sets of weights different body part 4 times/week. Weights have been a struggle; often feel winded/light-headed quickly. Slow recovery the next day too.
I do eat back about half my exercise cals. Myfitnesspal is advising me 1230 net calories now, which seem too low.
Am I just getting old? Any insights would be appreciate it.
0
Replies
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At 168 you must be fairly close to your weight goal. For MFP to say you should eat 1230 cals, you must have plugged in a weight loss goal per week of 1.5 or 2 lbs, which could be requiring much higher of a deficit than, say, .5 lb or 1 lb per week. If you're feeling light headed either way, 1500 calories may be too small for you and you should consider increasing by a couple hundred calories to start with , and see how you feel
What is your weight training like? How heavy / which program or routine do you follow?
This post is a sticky and should be very helpful: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1161603-so-you-want-a-nice-stomach0 -
What makes you think you've lost half your muscle?0
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You put in too extreme of a weight loss goal and/or a low activity level.
Change to .5 pounds and work more on lifting/building muscle.0 -
At 168 you must be fairly close to your weight goal. For MFP to say you should eat 1230 cals, you must have plugged in a weight loss goal per week of 1.5 or 2 lbs, which could be requiring much higher of a deficit than, say, .5 lb or 1 lb per week. If you're feeling light headed either way, 1500 calories may be too small for you and you should consider increasing by a couple hundred calories to start with , and see how you feel
What is your weight training like? How heavy / which program or routine do you follow?
This post is a sticky and should be very helpful: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1161603-so-you-want-a-nice-stomach
I have a small frame and at 160 but still have a lot of belly fat. 1230 calories quoted by this site is to lose 2 lbs a week. Too aggressive perhaps?
I just started back to weight training after a 4 month layoff. I did chest yesterday for example 3 sets flat bench 6-10 reps, same for incline and decline.
I will consider upping my cals. thanks.0 -
I look scrawny for one, and have lost some strength. My shirts are loose around my arms, shoulders, back, and legs, but not as much around the waist.0
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Im new around here. And I just started back on my journey... For the past week I been walking about 45 mins. A day and my question is do I have to log walking into my excercise or should I eat calories burned from walking etc...please help.0
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At 168 you must be fairly close to your weight goal. For MFP to say you should eat 1230 cals, you must have plugged in a weight loss goal per week of 1.5 or 2 lbs, which could be requiring much higher of a deficit than, say, .5 lb or 1 lb per week. If you're feeling light headed either way, 1500 calories may be too small for you and you should consider increasing by a couple hundred calories to start with , and see how you feel
What is your weight training like? How heavy / which program or routine do you follow?
This post is a sticky and should be very helpful: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1161603-so-you-want-a-nice-stomach
I have a small frame and at 160 but still have a lot of belly fat. 1230 calories quoted by this site is to lose 2 lbs a week. Too aggressive perhaps?
I just started back to weight training after a 4 month layoff. I did chest yesterday for example 3 sets flat bench 6-10 reps, same for incline and decline.
I will consider upping my cals. thanks.
I'm wondering how people will answer this. I am down to 148 now and still trying to lose 2 pounds a week. I don't really understand why people think this is too much.0 -
You put in too extreme of a weight loss goal and/or a low activity level.
Change to .5 pounds and work more on lifting/building muscle.
Ok . I chose "inactive," since I sit all day at work. I updated to .5 lbs loss per week giving me 1980 calories. I will consider it for sure. Should I double the weight lifting and do less cardio? I also forgot to mention I walk for 45 min/day too.
Im trying to stay under 120 grams of protein, so do I eat the extra calories in the form of carbs or fat?
Thanks for your advice.0 -
Belly fat is always the last to go give it time and keep up with the training0
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Welcome! If you set your MFP activity level as sedentary or lightly active then you should log your walking. General wisdom here suggests that MFP overestimates the calories from exercise so most people eat back about half the calories you burn from exercise. Well done on all the walking, keep up the good work.Im new around here. And I just started back on my journey... For the past week I been walking about 45 mins. A day and my question is do I have to log walking into my excercise or should I eat calories burned from walking etc...please help.0 -
At 168 you must be fairly close to your weight goal. For MFP to say you should eat 1230 cals, you must have plugged in a weight loss goal per week of 1.5 or 2 lbs, which could be requiring much higher of a deficit than, say, .5 lb or 1 lb per week. If you're feeling light headed either way, 1500 calories may be too small for you and you should consider increasing by a couple hundred calories to start with , and see how you feel
What is your weight training like? How heavy / which program or routine do you follow?
This post is a sticky and should be very helpful: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1161603-so-you-want-a-nice-stomach
I have a small frame and at 160 but still have a lot of belly fat. 1230 calories quoted by this site is to lose 2 lbs a week. Too aggressive perhaps?
I just started back to weight training after a 4 month layoff. I did chest yesterday for example 3 sets flat bench 6-10 reps, same for incline and decline.
I will consider upping my cals. thanks.
I'm wondering how people will answer this. I am down to 148 now and still trying to lose 2 pounds a week. I don't really understand why people think this is too much.
it's too much because it constricts your calorie goal to a point where you're no longer fueling all of your metabolic functions, and also making it harder to get the necessary nutrition that your body needs. can you do it for a week or two without lasting harm? sure. can you do it for 3-6 months? probably not.
if you've been on a large calorie restriction for a longer period of time than you probably should have been, you have to worry that your body will start catabolizing muscle to help meet its energy needs at a pace greater than you would probably like. this is essentially what happens when people go mad doing cardio and low calorie diets for a long time to lose weight, and then end up at their goal weight with a higher BF% than would normally be expected (i.e., skinny fat).0 -
Most people on this site eat their exercise calories I believe. Some don't and some eat back half.Im new around here. And I just started back on my journey... For the past week I been walking about 45 mins. A day and my question is do I have to log walking into my excercise or should I eat calories burned from walking etc...please help.0 -
Skinny fat is a good description of what is happening to me. My body refuses to burn fat...wants to eat muscle first..0
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Skinny fat is a good description of what is happening to me. My body refuses to burn fat...wants to eat muscle first..
it's burning fat and muscle.
the goal is to maximize the amount of fat burned and minimize the amount of muscle burned.
you can do this by:
1) not having an overly aggressive calorie deficit. nobody can really say what that is because it varies from person to person and situation to situation, but you'll know because your body will start prioritizing where it spends its calories and start neglecting unimportant functions such as hair health.
2) eat sufficient protein
3) lift weights 3-4 days a week to retain muscle mass
doing all 3 things gives you your best chance of retaining the most muscle.0 -
You put in too extreme of a weight loss goal and/or a low activity level.
Change to .5 pounds and work more on lifting/building muscle.
Ok . I chose "inactive," since I sit all day at work. I updated to .5 lbs loss per week giving me 1980 calories. I will consider it for sure. Should I double the weight lifting and do less cardio? I also forgot to mention I walk for 45 min/day too.
Im trying to stay under 120 grams of protein, so do I eat the extra calories in the form of carbs or fat?
Thanks for your advice.
I'm not a macro expert but why would you increase your total calories but adjust your protein down?
Also to get advise on what to do with your weight routine you may need to describe it with a bit more detail - which exercises and how heavy?. You could get advise ranging from keep doing what you're doing to change it up a bit, etc.0 -
You put in too extreme of a weight loss goal and/or a low activity level.
Change to .5 pounds and work more on lifting/building muscle.
Ok . I chose "inactive," since I sit all day at work. I updated to .5 lbs loss per week giving me 1980 calories. I will consider it for sure. Should I double the weight lifting and do less cardio? I also forgot to mention I walk for 45 min/day too.
Im trying to stay under 120 grams of protein, so do I eat the extra calories in the form of carbs or fat?
Thanks for your advice.
I'm not a macro expert but why would you increase your total calories but adjust your protein down?
Also to get advise on what to do with your weight routine you may need to describe it with a bit more detail - which exercises and how heavy?. You could get advise ranging from keep doing what you're doing to change it up a bit, etc.
she probably thinks that the protein macro is a maximum. :huh:
it's not. it's a minimum. it's ok to eat more that the daily goal. lots of people don't realize this and try to apply the same thinking to their macros that they do to their calorie goal, thinking they have to stay under.0 -
So a weight of 160 with 20% bodyfat requires about 130 or so grams of protein right? Is 40pro/ 30 fat/ 30 carb a good ratio?Skinny fat is a good description of what is happening to me. My body refuses to burn fat...wants to eat muscle first..
it's burning fat and muscle.
the goal is to maximize the amount of fat burned and minimize the amount of muscle burned.
you can do this by:
1) not having an overly aggressive calorie deficit. nobody can really say what that is because it varies from person to person and situation to situation, but you'll know because your body will start prioritizing where it spends its calories and start neglecting unimportant functions such as hair health.
2) eat sufficient protein
3) lift weights 3-4 days a week to retain muscle mass
doing all 3 things gives you your best chance of retaining the most muscle.0 -
I try to eat a gram per pound of lean body mass, as any amount not needed converts to sugar. Is this right?You put in too extreme of a weight loss goal and/or a low activity level.
Change to .5 pounds and work more on lifting/building muscle.
Ok . I chose "inactive," since I sit all day at work. I updated to .5 lbs loss per week giving me 1980 calories. I will consider it for sure. Should I double the weight lifting and do less cardio? I also forgot to mention I walk for 45 min/day too.
Im trying to stay under 120 grams of protein, so do I eat the extra calories in the form of carbs or fat?
Thanks for your advice.
I'm not a macro expert but why would you increase your total calories but adjust your protein down?
Also to get advise on what to do with your weight routine you may need to describe it with a bit more detail - which exercises and how heavy?. You could get advise ranging from keep doing what you're doing to change it up a bit, etc.
she probably thinks that the protein macro is a maximum. :huh:
it's not. it's a minimum. it's ok to eat more that the daily goal. lots of people don't realize this and try to apply the same thinking to their macros that they do to their calorie goal, thinking they have to stay under.0 -
So a weight of 160 with 20% bodyfat requires about 130 or so grams of protein right? Is 40pro/ 30 fat/ 30 carb a good ratio?Skinny fat is a good description of what is happening to me. My body refuses to burn fat...wants to eat muscle first..
it's burning fat and muscle.
the goal is to maximize the amount of fat burned and minimize the amount of muscle burned.
you can do this by:
1) not having an overly aggressive calorie deficit. nobody can really say what that is because it varies from person to person and situation to situation, but you'll know because your body will start prioritizing where it spends its calories and start neglecting unimportant functions such as hair health.
2) eat sufficient protein
3) lift weights 3-4 days a week to retain muscle mass
doing all 3 things gives you your best chance of retaining the most muscle.
protein (minimum) in grams = R x (lean body mass in lbs)
R is a number between 0.8 and 1.0 depending on your calorie deficit, muscle mass, and goals. most people choose 1.0 to be safe. morbidly obese people who are not strength training can probably get by with 0.8 for quite a while at the beginning. bodybuilders and power lifters usually choose a number above 1.0.
lean body mass = (100% - BF%) x bodyweight in lbs.
so in your case,
protein = 1.0 x (100% - 20%) x 160 = 128g
i actually wrote a short blog post explaining how to convert FIXED goals into ratios for MFP use.
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/BrainyBurro/view/setting-your-mfp-macros-a-quick-easy-example-6639140 -
Appreciate it!0
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If our bodies wanted to eat muscle first, why don't we store excess calories as muscle instead of fat? Why don't we see people who've lost a lot of weight that are jiggly piles of fat and bone in a heap on the floor? What competitive advantage would a species that burned up its muscle before its fat stores have in the evolutionary jungle?Skinny fat is a good description of what is happening to me. My body refuses to burn fat...wants to eat muscle first..0 -
Im 44, yo , 5' 8", 160 lbs, from 190 a year ago. Yes I have lost weight but I still have a lot of belly fat, and lost about half of my muscle. Lean everywhere but my belly. 20% bodyfat is my guess. Here is what I have been doing:
1500 calories a day, 75 grams of carbs, 140 grams protein and 60 grams fat. Eggs/oatmeal breakfast, salad/protein lunch, protein/more veges dinner. Protein bars, cheese, and nuts in between. No sugar, no fruit, or refined starches. 10 glasses water/day.
30 minutes jog-on the slowish side- 6/days week, 9 sets of weights different body part 4 times/week. Weights have been a struggle; often feel winded/light-headed quickly. Slow recovery the next day too.
I do eat back about half my exercise cals. Myfitnesspal is advising me 1230 net calories now, which seem too low.
Am I just getting old? Any insights would be appreciate it.
Any reason why your carbs are so low? Especially when you are doing weights and jogging. At your activity level I would reccomend atleast 100 carbs a day. You need the energy! It would be different if you were sedentary, or had an allergy/intolerance/disease, but as far as I can tell, your body is craving the immediate energy (hence the winded/lightheaded feelings). Don't be afraid of the healthy carbs! Fruits, veggies, whole wheat/grains, and sprouted breads etc!0 -
I may get some static, but reassess your workout routine. Also look at the role of cortisol in weight loss. You are trying to do much with too little intake. Running six days per week and working out four? Your body will make decisions based on your activities. One of the decisions it makes is "how do I fuel the energy needs of this activity" and " what tissue can I get rid of to make running easier." Both can lead the body to increase the loss of lean mass. Sometimes "less is more".0
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Great point/advice people. I am going to increase calories and carbs too.
Cortisol? I wonder if my diet has something to do with the stress/anxiety I have been feeling too?0
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