Worry, Obsession and perfection are your greatest threats.
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deathtaco
Posts: 237
I see a LOT of posts on here talking about minuscule amounts of calories, people worried about HITTING! their daily set values for calories, or people drastically undereating and STILL being afraid to hit those calories.
*PREFACE:
I understand that I may be in a different situation that many of you, but regardless of composition - the human body and nutrient reaction mechanisms are the same basic principle.
I just get so angry when I see people eating so little, thinking that they are helping themselves, but are just hurting themselves. When they don't lose weight, or even gain it - they get discouraged, sad and eat more. Some people may even become ill or suffer complications due to undereating or nutrient imbalance.
_____________________________________________
The key to a good diet: DO NOT OBSESS ABOUT IT!
So many people worry about 100 calories here, or 5g of sugar here. These are not what will sabotage your diet plans. Worrying about these amounts will.
Look at my log for example. I'm consistently over/under values I set, but the general breakdowns of macro nutrients is largely consistent to 2-3%. Why? I may take 1/8 cup of cheese, I may take that and a pinch. I may decide to have a little more protein and that may bump my calories up. Sometimes I want some more veggies, so I eat more.
Setting your goal:
Pick a calorie limit about 500 calories under your MAINTENANCE caloric level. This may be higher/lower depending on body weight, height, lean body mass, etc. But it's called MAINTENANCE for a reason! I promise, a lot of you could be losing more FAT if you just ate MORE.
DO NOT SHORT CHANGE YOUR PROTEIN! No one here should be eating less than 35% of their daily calories in protein...NO ONE!!!!! The body is very versatile. It breaks protein down to help muscle building, and *not exact* 20% or so of your protein intake is broken down into glycogen (body's energy source). So don't be afraid to up your protein!
Fats: FATS DO NOT MAKE YOU FAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Simplifying it, when the body has an excess of blood sugar, it uses insulin to combat the excess sugars, and the body uses that sugar as well to fuel itself. What happens to the fat you ate? Stores itself now. Get around 20% of your daily calories from fat. YUP. Oils are best (coconut, olive, walnut, etc). I don't like nuts - why? They don't fill you up, but are PACKED with calories. Better to snack on something with substance!
Carbs: On my most hardcore of lifting days, I'd reach upwards of 500g of carbs. On lesser days, I'd get 300g and that's still high! Are carbs bad? NO! Are processed carbs bad? Generally. All relates back to insulin levels and fat storage. Have REAL oatmeal, instant if you don't have time (or don't prepare/freeze it). Have berries, don't eat dried fruits, eat apples instead of oranges, eat lots of veggies. Aim for 35-40% of your calories from carbs.
EXERCISE:
Cardio: When people want to lose weight, they do cardio. Problem: Cardio is highly catabolic, it breaks down muscle after a certain time period. With the low amounts of protein generally consumed at MFP, you can guess the result. Muscle breakdown, weight loss but high BF%. Marathon runners are skinny...sure, but when you have 3% BF, and just enough muscle to keep your heart beating...well...no thank you.
Weight training: Gotta lift heavy right? Wrong. ANY weight training, that offers a reasonable amount of resistance will help build muscle. Lean body mass (LBM) requires more calories than fat, and when it burns those calories, produces more heat (thermogenesis) which in turn, also helps burn body fat for various reasons. Hormonally, it releases endorphins at a quicker rate than cardio...so you'll physically feel better as well. Testosterone is the main hormone in regards to muscle growth (that we'll be concerned with)...guess what helps with that? Saturated fats! Will this give you mustaches and deepen your voice? no..., but smoking will.
Worried about going to a gym and lifting light weights, worried about self image? DON'T BE! Believe me, no one cares that you're at the gym. Aside from some straight up *kitten* (1% of all gym goes or less), no one will say anything to you. Some people may even try to help. The funny thing is - everyone is at the gym, because they have self image problems. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise. So some guy deadlifting 500lbs will think he's never good enough, just as someone walking on a treadmill will think they aren't good enough. Self-image is relevant to one's self, and that's your biggest fear.
Anyway, I realize this is a rant - somewhat unorganized and quite lengthy. But I needed to get it off my chest. Especially when I see some younger females on here trying to starve themselves or not eating enough cause they want to lose weight - and already look fine.
*PREFACE:
I understand that I may be in a different situation that many of you, but regardless of composition - the human body and nutrient reaction mechanisms are the same basic principle.
I just get so angry when I see people eating so little, thinking that they are helping themselves, but are just hurting themselves. When they don't lose weight, or even gain it - they get discouraged, sad and eat more. Some people may even become ill or suffer complications due to undereating or nutrient imbalance.
_____________________________________________
The key to a good diet: DO NOT OBSESS ABOUT IT!
So many people worry about 100 calories here, or 5g of sugar here. These are not what will sabotage your diet plans. Worrying about these amounts will.
Look at my log for example. I'm consistently over/under values I set, but the general breakdowns of macro nutrients is largely consistent to 2-3%. Why? I may take 1/8 cup of cheese, I may take that and a pinch. I may decide to have a little more protein and that may bump my calories up. Sometimes I want some more veggies, so I eat more.
Setting your goal:
Pick a calorie limit about 500 calories under your MAINTENANCE caloric level. This may be higher/lower depending on body weight, height, lean body mass, etc. But it's called MAINTENANCE for a reason! I promise, a lot of you could be losing more FAT if you just ate MORE.
DO NOT SHORT CHANGE YOUR PROTEIN! No one here should be eating less than 35% of their daily calories in protein...NO ONE!!!!! The body is very versatile. It breaks protein down to help muscle building, and *not exact* 20% or so of your protein intake is broken down into glycogen (body's energy source). So don't be afraid to up your protein!
Fats: FATS DO NOT MAKE YOU FAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Simplifying it, when the body has an excess of blood sugar, it uses insulin to combat the excess sugars, and the body uses that sugar as well to fuel itself. What happens to the fat you ate? Stores itself now. Get around 20% of your daily calories from fat. YUP. Oils are best (coconut, olive, walnut, etc). I don't like nuts - why? They don't fill you up, but are PACKED with calories. Better to snack on something with substance!
Carbs: On my most hardcore of lifting days, I'd reach upwards of 500g of carbs. On lesser days, I'd get 300g and that's still high! Are carbs bad? NO! Are processed carbs bad? Generally. All relates back to insulin levels and fat storage. Have REAL oatmeal, instant if you don't have time (or don't prepare/freeze it). Have berries, don't eat dried fruits, eat apples instead of oranges, eat lots of veggies. Aim for 35-40% of your calories from carbs.
EXERCISE:
Cardio: When people want to lose weight, they do cardio. Problem: Cardio is highly catabolic, it breaks down muscle after a certain time period. With the low amounts of protein generally consumed at MFP, you can guess the result. Muscle breakdown, weight loss but high BF%. Marathon runners are skinny...sure, but when you have 3% BF, and just enough muscle to keep your heart beating...well...no thank you.
Weight training: Gotta lift heavy right? Wrong. ANY weight training, that offers a reasonable amount of resistance will help build muscle. Lean body mass (LBM) requires more calories than fat, and when it burns those calories, produces more heat (thermogenesis) which in turn, also helps burn body fat for various reasons. Hormonally, it releases endorphins at a quicker rate than cardio...so you'll physically feel better as well. Testosterone is the main hormone in regards to muscle growth (that we'll be concerned with)...guess what helps with that? Saturated fats! Will this give you mustaches and deepen your voice? no..., but smoking will.
Worried about going to a gym and lifting light weights, worried about self image? DON'T BE! Believe me, no one cares that you're at the gym. Aside from some straight up *kitten* (1% of all gym goes or less), no one will say anything to you. Some people may even try to help. The funny thing is - everyone is at the gym, because they have self image problems. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise. So some guy deadlifting 500lbs will think he's never good enough, just as someone walking on a treadmill will think they aren't good enough. Self-image is relevant to one's self, and that's your biggest fear.
Anyway, I realize this is a rant - somewhat unorganized and quite lengthy. But I needed to get it off my chest. Especially when I see some younger females on here trying to starve themselves or not eating enough cause they want to lose weight - and already look fine.
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Replies
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Not a rant at all, not to me anyway. Thank you for the perpective, especially regarding protein levels and cardio. I have my protein set at 35% and find that works very well for me. Working on upping my complex carbs, realize although I do whole grains,, definitely have to get more veggies into the mix.
Great post...0 -
Rant away. I, for one, appreciate the insight. Thanks!0
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Thanks for the info. I find that some days, i just get a little too caught up in it!0
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I consistently go over in my protein and fiber because I don't see anything wrong with it. I'm under in calories and carbs, 2 over on fat... so I think it should come of the way it needs to.0
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I absolutely love this. Thank you so much for writing it! I hate when I see people ending their day with 900 calories left. I just want to knock some sense into them! I know my diet isn't perfect, but i hardly ever go under my daily allowance of calories by more than 100. Whenever I do happen to go under, it is always from exercise calories I didn't have time to eat back. I wish people would understand that being healthy is more important than being skinny. It's very sad what some people will put themselves through to have the "perfect body".0
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What specific type of cardio are you talking about? I do cardio, but it has plyometrics and resistance training. Are you saying just running? I do several of Jillian Michael's workouts and also Bob Harper's Inside Out Method. I also do Hip Hop Abs which I know is purely cardio, but I do those when I'm feeling lazy and just want to burn some calories so I can have a snack :P I don't have a gym membership and can't really get one, because I am a stay at home mom and I refuse to leave my daughter in the gym daycare. I do however use small dumbbells and do the workout dvds which contain strength moves such as pushups and squats etc.. I guess I'm just curious as to what type of cardio eats the muscle and if what I'm doing is good enough to keep this from happening to my muscles?0
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Should've clarified: long sessions of cario. Honestly, no need to do more than 30 minutes. And that's pushing it.0
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Glad you ranted! A lot of us needed reminding. The last 2 days I went over a bit & was feeling disappointed but that's really crazy. The funny thing is had I not been logging it, I'd have no idea & no doubt eaten much more.0
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Guilty as charged.. I usually go anywhere between 45-60 min on the treadmill. But part of it, for me anyway, is that 1) I truly enjoy it and it relaxes me as odd as that may sound and 2) trying to up my time for my first 5K at the end of this month.0
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If you ARE a marathon runner - then by all means go train for it haha.0
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Actually, this is one of the most insightful post I've read since coming to MFP. But I think a lot of people here want to lose a ton of weight in a short period of time. It took me five months to lose 28 pounds and that was when I ate between 1300-1900 calories a day. But then again, you shouldn't associate with eating a tad more calories than normal with gaining weight, you just won’t lose it in a short amount of time. Actually, I think most people would benefit from drinking more water. Sometimes I see people drinking only 4, 8 ounces of water a day. I remember being almost 30 pounds heavier than I am now and drinking 100 ounces a day.0
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Interesting.0
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Well, most of my workout videos are at least 45 minutes long, but they are more like interval training not constant cardio. And my heart rate is changing from circuit to circuit/move to move.0
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When I mean cardio, I mean swimming/running/jogging/long distance biking (although that does work calves/legs well)0
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Great post. Thank you for the info.
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When I mean cardio, I mean swimming/running/jogging/long distance biking (although that does work calves/legs well)
Ok....thanks for the clarification. I sometimes worry that I don't get to use big weight machines and whatnot for my legs, but that's why I do all my workout videos. Thanks again.0 -
Amazing post! I share some of your same rants!0
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Thanks for the post!When you say "Pick a calorie limit about 500 calories under your MAINTENANCE caloric level" do you mean 500 under what it would take to maintain my current weight or 500 under what it would take to maintain my goal weight?0
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Awesome post Deathtaco! I'm glad someone is putting that info out there for everyone to read. Thanks for sharing all the info! 0
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Should've clarified: long sessions of cario. Honestly, no need to do more than 30 minutes. And that's pushing it.
Where is the research backing you up? Can you link us to studies that say this?
I understand and appreciate the insight, but what works for you is probably not going to work for me.
I do 45-60 min. of cardio 5-6 times a week, but I also have 140 pounds to lose.0
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