Cal Question

LML79

Ok this has probably been answered a million times...

So I am stuck.. not gaining weight..not loosing weight....been stuck here for weeks! I know some people say to actually eat more calories to boost metabolism? But isn't this defeating the purpose of trying to lose weight not gain? I am on the recommended 1200 cal diet.. but recently decided to increase my calorie intake..eating between 1500-1700 and then walking it off at the end of the day so I am back to the 1200 range. ( I workout at night so all my calories and THEN burn em off later) Any other suggestions? Should I be doing this? Or should I stick to only eating 1200 like I've been doing before? I'm so confused!

LML79

Ok this has probably been answered a million times...

So I am stuck.. not gaining weight..not loosing weight....been stuck here for weeks! I know some people say to actually eat more calories to boost metabolism? But isn't this defeating the purpose of trying to lose weight not gain? I am on the recommended 1200 cal diet.. but recently decided to increase my calorie intake..eating between 1500-1700 and then walking it off at the end of the day so I am back to the 1200 range. ( I workout at night so all my calories and THEN burn em off later) Any other suggestions? Should I be doing this? Or should I stick to only eating 1200 like I've been doing before? I'm so confused!

shorerider

The idea of raising your calories is to NOT then exercise them away--so if you're aiming for 1500, then have 1500 net calories, meaning have 1500 calories eaten AFTER your exercise is subtracted.

The way you're doing it, you haven't increased your calories really since you're eating the extras.

LML79

Oh wow... so I'm not really doing much here than am I? haha!! I was so stressed out about eating more ( because I am hungrier now that I am exercising on a daily basis) and trying to burn off the extra calories that I ate... so what I should do is factor in how many calories I'd be burning on my treadmill beforehand... ( I don't have a hrm so go by what my treadmill says..not sure how accurate it is but it gives me an idea) and try to eat over what I burn? Every time I work out I burn between 400-500 calories... so I should eat an extra 400-500 calories above what I burned?

shorerider

You should try to get in you calorie limit--say it is 1500 per day--AFTER your exercise calories are taken away.

So, if you exercise and burn 500 calories, then eat a total of 2000 calories, which gives you 1500 net calories for the day.

2000 calories eaten
-500 calories burned through exercise

---

1500 net calories

Does that help?

LML79

For instance..when today is said and done..after dinner... I will have eaten 1,486 bringing me to a negative 286..which I then burn off on the treadmill and then some. My biggest fear is when I hit that button that says "If every day were like today... You'd weigh ......Blah blah blah ..in 5 weeks" And that weight is only like two or three pounds off from where I am now. So I know I am being neurotic about this but I was losing about 1 lb a week..and now not budging.. so when I see that "If every day were like today" button not really moving a whole heck of a lot in pounds....it makes me NOT want to go over my calories ..nevermind going over them and working them off..which is what I have been doing. I just want to make sure i am doing the right thing and not start gaining weight !

LML79

You should try to get in you calorie limit--say it is 1500 per day--AFTER your exercise calories are taken away.

So, if you exercise and burn 500 calories, then eat a total of 2000 calories, which gives you 1500 net calories for the day.

2000 calories eaten
-500 calories burned through exercise

---

1500 net calories

Does that help?

So how do I know what my calorie limit should be? When I first started mfp..I set my goals..and I went under the "recommended" part.....and that showed me to eat 1200 calories..with a 1.5 lb per week loss ( which right now isn't happening anymore)

Shannon023

Ok this has probably been answered a million times...

So I am stuck.. not gaining weight..not loosing weight....been stuck here for weeks! I know some people say to actually eat more calories to boost metabolism? But isn't this defeating the purpose of trying to lose weight not gain? I am on the recommended 1200 cal diet.. but recently decided to increase my calorie intake..eating between 1500-1700 and then walking it off at the end of the day so I am back to the 1200 range. ( I workout at night so all my calories and THEN burn em off later) Any other suggestions? Should I be doing this? Or should I stick to only eating 1200 like I've been doing before? I'm so confused!

You're not drinking enough wine. I'll be right over.

LML79

heck ...I can handle eating 2000 calories! Sounds like fun to me! I just want to make sure I don't start actually gaining weight because of the calorie increase

LML79

LOL I polished off a bottle of Chardonnay this weekend.. I have a fruity Strawberry White Zin and a white merlot..which do you want first? haha!

Shannon023

LOL I polished off a bottle of Chardonnay this weekend.. I have a fruity Strawberry White Zin and a white merlot..which do you want first? haha!

You keep those sweet wines, darlin, I'll bring some reds! :drinker:

shorerider

You're not going to lose weight now as fast as at first for many reasons

---you didn't have a whole lot to lose to begin with, so it will be harder for you to lose

--weight loss is usually fast at first and that is due to a lot of it being water weight. We carry as much as 15 extra pounds of fluids and [ahem] "matter" in our intestines. That goes first usually, and quickly, when we begin to change our eating habits. Weight loss will slow after this initial burst

---as we get closer to our goal, it will be harder to lose.

As you get closer to your goal, you will have to aim for a lesser weight loss-per-week total.

You should probably be looking at losing maybe 1 pound a week or even 1/2 pound per week. That is because the calories needed to maintain your weight gets less as you lose, and you shouldn't have too large a deficit each day in your calories or you will sabotage your weight loss. Your body risks going into survival mode if the deficit is too great.

shorerider

So how do I know what my calorie limit should be? When I first started mfp..I set my goals..and I went under the "recommended" part.....and that showed me to eat 1200 calories..with a 1.5 lb per week loss ( which right now isn't happening anymore)

You might want to go in and update your info and see if anything changes. Also, make sure you are being as close as possible to reality on there about your activity level.

LML79

So like...for my goals...this is what it says....


Your Fitness Goals

Nutritional Goals Target

Net Calories Consumed* / Day 1,200 calories/day
Carbs / Day 165 g
Fat / Day 40 g
Protein / Day 45 g

Fitness Goals Target

Calories Burned / Week 960 calories/week
Workouts / Week 6 workouts
Minutes / Workout 30 minutes

Your Diet Profile Target

Calories Burned
From Normal Daily Activity 1,800 calories/day
Net Calories Consumed*
Your Daily Goal 1,200 calories/day
Daily Calorie Deficit 600 calories
Projected Weight Loss 1.2 lbs/week



soooo..since my 1.2 lbs per week is no longer happening..should I change it to 1/2 lb per week so that it gives me more calories to eat? Yeah I did see the weight come off superfast in the begining..now ..even though I am noticing little changes in the way my body looks... the scale isn't budging. I never did the whole measuring inches thing..now I am kicking myself for that one!

LML79

LOL I polished off a bottle of Chardonnay this weekend.. I have a fruity Strawberry White Zin and a white merlot..which do you want first? haha!

You keep those sweet wines, darlin, I'll bring some reds! :drinker:

Ok...I got that , Budlight ( eck....not a beer drinker) and winecoolers in my fridge..that's about it. For some reason Red Wine triggers my migraines so I only have that if we go out to eat..which since MFP has been few and far between!

LML79

So how do I know what my calorie limit should be? When I first started mfp..I set my goals..and I went under the "recommended" part.....and that showed me to eat 1200 calories..with a 1.5 lb per week loss ( which right now isn't happening anymore)

You might want to go in and update your info and see if anything changes. Also, make sure you are being as close as possible to reality on there about your activity level.

yeah I am still at Light activity.... maybe I should lower that? I am home all day..but caring for a 10 yr old, 6 yr old and 10 month old... so I am constantly running up and down stairs, cleaning, making bottles.. don't really get a lot of sit down time till after three pm. Sooo..I'm stuck on that one

shorerider

Several people on here have had success by upping their calories by a couple hundred. You might want to try for 1400 a day instead of 1200 and see if that helps.

Also, I'm sure you know this but alcohol will slow your metabolism down and sabotage your efforts. Not to mention the empty calories......


Here's what I found and posted the other day in regards to someone's asking about drinking.
___________________________________________________________________________


http://www.thefactsaboutfitness.com/research/alcohol.htm

Why alcohol calories are more important than you think...

Successful weight loss is all about oxidizing (or burning), more calories than you eat. When they go on a diet, many people choose low-calorie alcoholic drinks, mainly because they contain fewer alcohol calories than their regular counterparts.

However, drinking too much has a far more damaging effect than you can predict simply by looking at the number of alcohol calories in a drink. Not only does it reduce the number of fat calories you burn, alcohol can increase your appetite and lower your testosterone levels for up to 24 hours after you finish drinking.
Alcohol calories

According to conventional wisdom, the infamous "beer belly" is caused by excess alcohol calories being stored as fat. Yet, less than five percent of the alcohol calories you drink are turned into fat. Rather, the main effect of alcohol is to reduce the amount of fat your body burns for energy.

Some evidence for this comes from research carried in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition [4]. Eight men were given two drinks of vodka and sugar-free lemonade separated by 30 minutes. Each drink contained just under 90 calories. Fat metabolism was measured before and after consumption of the drink. For several hours after drinking the vodka, whole body lipid oxidation (a measure of how much fat your body is burning) dropped by a massive 73%.

Rather than getting stored as fat, the main fate of alcohol is conversion into a substance called acetate. In fact, blood levels of acetate after drinking the vodka were 2.5 times higher than normal. And it appears this sharp rise in acetate puts the brakes on fat loss.

A car engine typically uses only one source of fuel. Your body, on the other hand, draws from a number of different energy sources, such as carbohydrate, fat, and protein. To a certain extent, the source of fuel your body uses is dictated by its availability.

In other words, your body tends to use whatever you feed it. Consequently, when acetate levels rise, your body simply burns more acetate, and less fat. In essence, acetate pushes fat to the back of the queue.

So, to summarize and review, here's what happens to fat metabolism after the odd drink or two.

. A small portion of the alcohol is converted into fat.

. Your liver then converts most of the alcohol into acetate.

. The acetate is then released into your bloodstream, and replaces fat as a source of fuel.

The way your body responds to alcohol is very similar to the way it deals with excess carbohydrate. Although carbohydrate can be converted directly into fat, one of the main effects of overfeeding with carbohydrate is that it simply replaces fat as a source of energy. That's why any type of diet, whether it's high-fat, high-protein, or high-carbohydrate, can lead to a gain in weight.
Appetite

The combination of alcohol and a high-calorie meal is especially fattening, mainly because alcohol acts as a potent appetizer. A Canadian study shows that an aperitif (an alcoholic drink taken before a meal to increase the appetite) increased calorie intake to a greater extent than a carbohydrate-based drink [5].

Researchers from Denmark's Royal Veterinary and Agricultural University report similar results [8]. When a group of men was given a meal and allowed to eat as much as they wanted, they ate more when the meal was served with beer or wine rather than a soft drink.

Not only does too much alcohol put the brakes on fat loss, it's also one of the most effective ways to slash your testosterone levels. Just a single bout of heavy drinking raises levels of the muscle-wasting hormone cortisol and increases the breakdown of testosterone for up to 24 hours [6]. The damaging effects of alcohol on testosterone are made even worse when you exercise before drinking [1].

The effect of alcohol on testosterone could be one reason that people who drink a lot carry less muscle. In fact, a 1993 study shows that alcoholic men have bigger waists and smaller muscles than teetotalers [2].

shorerider

yeah I am still at Light activity.... maybe I should lower that? I am home all day..but caring for a 10 yr old, 6 yr old and 10 month old... so I am constantly running up and down stairs, cleaning, making bottles.. don't really get a lot of sit down time till after three pm. Sooo..I'm stuck on that one

I meant in the other direction--most people underestimate their daily activities I think. AND, anyone with children should never consider their day to be anything less than "light activities"!

LML79

Yeah I'm not a big drinker. i have a glass of wine once a week....but maybe I should cut it out all together now..maybe that is what is hindering my weight loss!!!

LML79

yeah I am still at Light activity.... maybe I should lower that? I am home all day..but caring for a 10 yr old, 6 yr old and 10 month old... so I am constantly running up and down stairs, cleaning, making bottles.. don't really get a lot of sit down time till after three pm. Sooo..I'm stuck on that one

I meant in the other direction--most people underestimate their daily activities I think. AND, anyone with children should never consider their day to be anything less than "light activities"!

Ohhhh..ok...so you think maybe I should up it and see what happens? I could try that for awhile..( no way I am on my feet as long as a nurse..but I can see where you are going with that) I'm up for trying anything at this point..anything that will show a change and get me out of this slump I am in right now.

shorerider

As long as you stay under your maintenance calories, you will not gain weight. Just keep that in mind if you start to worry about eating too much.

LML79

thanks! And thanks for all the helpful tips too. Much appreciated

shorerider

Hope it helps.

I've hit a week-long plateau myself and am considering upping my calories because of the heavy exercise I'm doing. I'm concerned I'm simply not giving my body enough fuel either.