How should i control my calorie intake?

liv1980

I only joined MFP 11 days ago and i am finding it really good. However even though i am always under my calorie intake and i am working out 5 times a week i am not loosing the weight on the scales. I do feel lighter in my clothes though.
So, i was wondering if you guys can help me figure out something.
On your dialy calorie allowence you have your total calorie intake, your protein intake, your carb intake etc. Should i try and stick within my limit for the entire calorie intake (even though i go over on my protein and under on my carbs) or should i try and stay within my limite for everything? For example i am eating a lot of protein but not enough carbs.
I havent been paying attention on the protein and carbs totals etc but only looking at the calorie intake as a whole. Do you think that's where i am going wrong???

xx

WhiteStar2351

The numbers provided by MFP should only be considered a guideline - you need to play around with them until you find what works with your body. I roughly use a 40:30:30 rule with my macronutrients (40% Protein, 30% Carbs, 30% Fat) as I find that keeping Carbs very low (for me thats around 175g) helps lose body fat, but the high protein and fat ensure that the muscle mass I have is maintained. In very simple terms: Protein will rebuild/repair your body, Fats will regulate hormones (including those related to weight loss) and carbs provide energy for daily activities. Ensure that the carbs you eat reflect what you do during the day - if you spend 80% of your day sat down/standing at a desk then your carb requirements will be very low (and vice versa - active lifestyle requires more carbs).

Don't be too concerned about the number on the scales as you can have two people that weigh 200lbs, one very muscular, the other very fat - its body composition (fat percentage) that is important! The easiest way to measure that progress is the tightness of clothing )

liv1980

Hi whitestar

Thanks for that its very useful. I do find that my clothes are getting looser but the scales are say different. I understand the theory about eating carbs if i am exercising more, which i do 4-5 times a week but i cant get it in my head that i need to eat carbs to give me energy. i get scared that if i eat carbs it will store as fat. I will try and change the way i eat slightly and see if that helps.

WhiteStar2351

Think of your body as a car and carbs as petrol. You can't put 2 litres of petrol in your car and expect to drive from Edinburgh to London - yet that's what you're trying to do to your body if you starve it of carbs! My suggestion to help you get around it is to do what I do - eat low carb 6 days a week and then ramp them up on the 7th day to double what you'd usually eat (plus it gives you a chance to eat the things you've been craving all week). I try to keep around the 170-180g mark most of the week, and then one day of the weekend I will eat around 350g (pizza, ice cream, biscuits, etc). Make sure you keep your proteins and fats up though to account for the carb calorie deficit (my protein is around 250g and fat around 80-85g). Not only does this give you something to look forward to, but the carb spike knocks the body back out of its metabolic slow down phase, boosts leptin, and actually makes you more efficient at utilising carbs. As I say, this is the method I use to drop (healthy) weight quickly. I've lost 5KG (11lbs) since 4th January of which only 1/2lb has been muscle mass - the rest has been body fat (a lot of people lose around 50:50 fat:muscle).

It's essentially a simplistic form of carb cycling, a fast weight loss method that body builders have used since they left the primordial soup and started dragging their knuckles on land! :laugh:

liv1980

are u sure this is not a good way for men though and not for women? Mind you whenever i thought i was bad over the weekend i always end up loosing more when its my weigh in day so maybe what you are saying is true for me too. I will try that this week and see what happens.
ive been kicking myself as i was soooo good the whole of last week without cheating on food and working out 5-6 times a week and i only lost 0.5lbs
so u are saying if i eat carbs in moderation during the week and then double it on a sunday (for example) then my body will be able to burn fat quicker?

I will definately try it

flamenco

Hi WhiteStar,

Thank you very much for the information provided. It does answer some of my questions. I have been stuck at the same weight for about three months while exercising 5 to 6 days a week and my intake is 1200 - 1300 calories per day, which I understand is pretty low.
What I have not been doing is following your rule of 40%Protein, 30% Fat and 30% Carbs. I averaged my weekly intake and it's currently about 23%P, 17% F and 59% C. I think this is why I'm not loosing weight. Can you recommend a list of daily foods that allows you to keep that rule of thumb? things like a daily breakfast or daily snacks, etc. Most of my foods are freshly prepared (vegetables, fruits, fish, etc). I don't eat out much either.

Again, thanks for your information.

WhiteStar2351

@liv1980 - Personally I'd say working out 4-5 times a week is probably too much - you're burning a LOT of calories and eating such low levels of calories that you're forcing your body to shed muscle mass rather then fat (less muscle = less calories required). I think you'll find that having a higher carb day will go some way towards making up for the ultra low calorie intake for the rest of the week. I train 4 times a week for an absolute maximum of 45 minutes, eat around 2300-2500 calories a day, have a body fat percentage in the mid-teens (very low for a male) and can still lose 2lbs a week. There's no secret to it or magic genetic gift - it's all about consistency and making sure I don't over train/I eat properly and I get plenty of rest! ) Most women will actually achieve the best weight loss results by eating around 1600-1800 calories a day but there's a twisted logic out there that suggests starving yourself is the only way to do it!

Also, with regards to the 'not a good way for men and not for women?' - it makes no difference. Our bodies all function identically, men have more testosterone which creates more muscle mass and is why they can eat a higher amount of calories - but they still use calories precisely the same way as women do (the process is identical for any mammal). If you ever read anything that says "this workout is specifically for women" or "this diet is specifically for women" then run a mile - the author either doesn't know what they're talking about, or they're deliberately misleading you to try and sell you a product!

[Apologies if any of my posts sound harsh - they're not meant that way, I just tend to be straight to the point! lol]

@Flamenco - Hi! You're eating too little and exercising too much! The 40:30:30 ratio probably won't work for you as you're not giving your body anywhere near enough energy to run off. You'd be better off with 40:40:20 (P:C:F). If you're eating too many carbs and not burning them off then you'll end up converting them to fat to store later. Your lack of protein means your body doesn't have the resources it requires to rebuild the damage you do to it with training. Your lack of fats affects the regulation of hormones in your body (including testosterone which is ultra important for women wanting to lose weight - don't worry, you don't produce enough to build Arnie muscles).

My recommendation to you is to stick to 5 days training a week MAXIMUM. Make sure you add in 2-3 short weight training sessions (training the entire body) 3 times a week (days 1,3,5). The weight training will build new muscle (which is how women achieve the 'toned' look) - more muscle = more calories burnt at rest. Again, don't worry about building bulky muscles - it's hard enough for men to build more then 1/2lb of muscle per week and our bodies are built to be muscular. If at any point you become unhappy with the amount of muscle you're building (I guarantee you'll never hit this point) - just stick with the weights you're on and it'll stop growing!

Up your calories very slowly over the next few weeks until you hit 1,600 calories a day (you may gain a tiny bit of weight but this is required as your body is in starvation currently). The weight training will help the inches come off - ignore the number on the scales, they mean nothing without a body compositional analysis (body fat %) and should never be used to gauge progress as you'll never get an accurate result! (Years ago I weighed 12 stone and had 31% body fat, I'm now 15st 7lbs and have 15% body fat - the scales would say I've gained 3.5stone but I know I've actually gained a lot of muscle and lost fat).

Feel free to have a look at my diary for food ideas - it tends to be quite repetitive (consistent!). I NEVER record the vegetables I eat (aside from starchy veg) as the calories are negotiable, but I will generally have 2-3 types of veg with lunch and dinner.

Finally - avoid fruit! Yes the nutrients are healthy, but its loaded with sugar (and not a 'good' kind as most people believe). Limit yourself to 1 piece a day whilst trying to lose weight )

loushep

Commenting to keep this in my topics. Excellent advice Whitestar, all very informative and well explained ( i don't think your explanations sound harsh at all) i'm fairly new to mfp and i read the boards 'a lot' looking for advice and information. So glad i took a look at this topic, Thankyou :flowerforyou:

liv1980

Thanks whitestar
OMG i just done what Flamenco did with calculating all my carbs, protein and fat for the whole time i have been on MFP and it looks like i have been over eating carbs :sad:
How is that possible.
Whitestar can you calculate these figures as percentages for me please (my maths is bad lol)
Carbs: 2383
Fat: 673
Protein: 1253
Do u think this is why i am not loosing the weight quickly?
I have inceased my carbs intake on the days i am training. Your posts dont sound harsh at all. Very informative and helpful. I will look at your food dairies for ideas. I am so obsessed with what the scales say that i dont see anything else. I know i am toning as i can see it in the mirror and in my clothes but the scales are going down very very slow.

kwardklinck

At first, you're better off keeping track of inches. I didn't show any weight loss on the scale at first but I dropped a pant size in the first month. When you exercise, your body holds water. Even though you're losing fat, the scale may not show it for awhile. I just keep track of total calories. I usually go over on protein and under on carbs. That doesn't affect my weight loss so much. It's more likely to be affected by a hard workout, too much sodium, or not enough water.

WhiteStar2351

@loushep - Thanks! Glad to help!

@liv1980 - I think you've given me your total calories instead of carbs! If you update with the calories from carbs I'll break it down for you

Feel free to check out my diary but as I think I said, remember I don't list any of the veg I eat with meals (so last night my dinner shows as 30g peanut butter and 140g turkey breast - I actually also used 1/2 red pepper, 6 mushrooms, 4 florets of broccoli + salt, pepper and a few herbs)

The most important thing is not to get downhearted - it took me nearly 3 years continually tweaking my diet until I finally found what works for me and what doesn't! If you're not looking how you want to then try tweaking something small and give it a few weeks - if it works, keep it, if it doesn't - ignore it and try something new! Always make sure you only make one small change at a time though otherwise you won't know what works and what doesn't (the usual mentality is 'all or nothing' and usually goes along the lines of "I'm going to be healthy now and eat nothing but salads and run at least 3 miles every day" - when it doesn't work the person then gives up and continues eating junk! If they'd said 'i'll replace my unhealthy breakfast cereal with a bowl of porridge for a few weeks, and then I'll replace my processed dinner with fresh foods, and then i'll increase my water intake, etc' they would succeed in no time at all!)

madijo41

bump

liv1980

kwardklinck thanks for the advice
whitestar i gave you the total intake of carbs, protein and fat since i joined MFP which was on 18th january. From that u can see that i have been eating nearly double the amount of carbs to protein as a whole. Can you work out the avarage percentage from that? if not how shall i do it?
Also wanted to ask, if my dialy intake should be 1200 and i ate 1200 but then i workout and i burn 700 does that mean my diary goes back down to 500, should i then eat another 700 cals to go back up to 1200? i think that's whats happening with me, i am eating my diaryl allowance of 1200 and then i work out and i burn X amount of cals.
DOes that make sense lol

WhiteStar2351

Ahhh! I follow now - that confused me! lol.

I've taken your totals and divided them by 15 days to get a daily average:

Carbs - 2383/15 = 159g
Fat - 673/15 = 45g
Protein - 1253/15 = 84g

To work out calorie contents we multiply carbs and protein by 4 and fat by 9 (1g of carbs/protein has 4 calories, 1g fat has 9calories)

C:159x4 = 636 calories
F: 45x9 = 334 calories
P: 84x4 = 180 calories

Total calories (Avg): 1149 calories

To work out percentages, divide calories by total calories, and then multiply by 100:

C: (636 / 1149) x 100 = 55%
F: (334 / 1149) x 100 = 16%
P: (180 / 1149) x 100 = 29%

So! Your fats are a little low, your carbs are a little high, and your protein is also a little low.

If you're doing resistance training, follow a 40:40:20 ratio (40% Protein, 40% Carbs, 20% Fat)
If you're doing more cardio training, follow a 30:50:20 ratio (30% Protein, 40% Carbs, 20% Fat)

If MFP says you should be on 1200 a day (far too low in my opinion!) then this would work out as:

Carbs: 150g (600cals)
Protein: 90g (360cals)
Fat: 27g (240cals)

I would STRONGLY recommend bumping your calories up by a couple of hundred calories each day (do it gradually though or you'll gain weight) as you're using FAR too few at the moment!

If you do 700 calories of exercise you MUST eat an additional 700 calories - if you don't you'll drop right in to your Basal Metabolic Rate requirements and your body will shut down all fat burning and start wasting muscle instead (its easier to burn, slows overall calorie expenditure AND it means the body can hold on to fat in case things get really bad - remember, your body likes being fat, it means it has plenty of energy to spare!)

liv1980

WOW, WOW and WOW.
That was an eye opener. Blimey i didnt realise i was doing so much wrong.
OK i will try and force myself to eat more and replace my cals when i am training and see if that works for me.
I took a closer look at what consists of carbs and protein in my diaires and i was surprised with some of them. Banana has carbs? Veg have carbs? i am so clueless when it comes to foods lol

Thanks again for everything whitestar, you are indeed a STAR :flowerforyou:

WhiteStar2351

Lol - you're very welcome. As a quick guide:

Protein Sources:
Lean meats (Chicken, turkey,etc), red meats (occasional), fish, eggs, dairy, powders

Carb Sources:
BROWN pasta/rice/bread, vegetables, fruits (limit of 1 per day when losing weight), oats

Fat Sources:
Oily fish, Olive Oil, nuts, peanut butter (yum )

The list isn't by any means definitive but you can make an incredible number of meals out of those few things!

Also just bare in mind simple rules:

- Eat regularly throughout the day (5 or more small meals)
- Eat some protein and simple carbs (piece of fruit?) straight after your workout - the protein aides repair and the carbs aid the protein!
- Try to average out your carb/protein/fats across the day so rather then 50g of carbs at breakfast, 3g mid-morning, 12g lunch, 25g mid-afternoon, etc aim for 30g per meal (for a total of 150g for example). This number doesn't have to be accurate so don't lose any sleep over it
- When trying to lose weight eat a maximum of 1 piece of fruit per day - its loaded with sugar, the nutrients may be beneficial but sugar is still sugar and sugar is bad!
- Ignore all the people making unfounded comments about sodium intake - try to stick below 2300mg a day and you're doing fine. IF you think you're experiencing water retention (pinch the skin on the back of your hand, if it doesn't fall straight back in to place you may have retention - this is incredibly rare though and is usually in peoples minds) then simply increase the amount of water you're drinking. Aim for a minimum of 1ml per 1calorie eaten (1200 cals = 1.2 litres) - if you do an hour of exercise, drink an extra 1 litre - simples! Fat was public enemy No.1 in the 90s, Carbs in the 00's and this decade people are preaching the evils of sodium - simply put, too little sodium (<500mg) = painful death! Not a good choice!

Theres lots of other little tips, etc, but these are the major ones!

Right! Back to work! (

MrsSassyPants

Good info. Thx

liv1980

great stuff. So brown pasta and brown rice for me from now on then
Oh and can i knick one of ur quotes? "Some people call me obsessed. I think 'obsessed' is just a word lazy people use for 'committed'." i like it :happy:

freerange

Great info Whitestar, one of the best threads I've seen on here, if you don't mind me asking what do you do, I would guess something in the nutrition field? Also if you don't mind I'm going to send you a friend request so I can pick your mind from time to time.

liv1980

i think he's a personal trainer freerange. I kinda guessed that from his quotes at the end of his msgs. very knowledgable

flamenco

WhiteStar,

I can't thank you enough for your information. It really makes senses and for some reason it's hard to find information as clear and helpful as what you have provided here in a few chat entries.

I have started to make the changes you recommended. Just by increasing my protein and fat, in one day I have felt quite a difference in my energy level. DUH!! Seems like "common senses" but sometimes, like Live1980 says, we get caught up on what the scale says and then "common sense" is no longer "common".

Many Thanks!!!