More of what? Protein?

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Replies

  • If you're losing body fat - why do you care about your weight?

    Hmm, um probably the same reason that anybody on here is. I don't want to weigh what I do being only 5 feet tall.
  • Does anyone else get skeptical when they read how someone is losing fat but not losing weight? Muscles do not build nearly as fast as we lose fat.

    You can lose 2 pounds a fat in a week EASY.

    You can gain 2 to 4 ounces of muscle in a week, MAYBE, if you do it perfect and bust your *kitten*. as a women, even slower

    Something else is at play. If you drink more water, you will register as higher lean tissue on the electronic body fat scale. There are other things.

    I guess my point is, if you are not losing weight, do not assume it is muscle. As well, it is nearly impossible to build muscle while simultaneously losing a lot of weight. This is the holy grail of body building, and they have really yet to discover it.

    So you're skeptical? Maybe you should elaborate more on that. Do you think I'm lying? I went in to bootcamp on August 31. The scale read 117.4. I held the little body fat tester thingy that I had never seen before and the guy said, you are at 33% body fat. I went in again on Sept 8 (after a full week of bootcamp) that same scale said 117.6. I held the same little machine thing and it said 30% body fat. So in actuality I guess I gained .2, so if you want to say that so as to not make you so skeptical, then I can edit it to reflect that... The trainer did say something along the lines of fat being burned and water going into where those fat pockets were, but I didn't really understand what he was saying. I am not body building. I don't care about muscles. I just want to lose weight.
  • Are your calories really set at 1200 per day? This doesn’t seem to be enough, and it doesn’t look like you eat back the calories you burn, leaving your net calories far too low. The hard work you put in when you exercise is pretty much wasted when you don’t eat enough.

    Yes, when I set it up automatically, it says
    Nutritional goals Target
    Net Calories Consumed* / Day 1,200 Calories / Day
    Carbs / Day 165 g
    Fat / Day 40 g
    Protein / Day 45 g

    *Net calories consumed = total calories consumed - exercise calories burned. So the more you exercise, the more you can eat!
    Fitness goals Target
    Calories Burned / Week 620 Calories / Week
    Workouts / Weekends 5 workouts
    Minutes / Workout 30 minutes

    If you follow this plan...

    Your projected weigh loss is: 0.5 lbs/week

    You should lose 2.5 lbs. by October 19
  • _GlaDOS_
    _GlaDOS_ Posts: 1,520 Member
    Are your calories really set at 1200 per day? This doesn’t seem to be enough, and it doesn’t look like you eat back the calories you burn, leaving your net calories far too low. The hard work you put in when you exercise is pretty much wasted when you don’t eat enough.

    Yes, when I set it up automatically, it says
    Nutritional goals Target
    Net Calories Consumed* / Day 1,200 Calories / Day
    Carbs / Day 165 g
    Fat / Day 40 g
    Protein / Day 45 g

    *Net calories consumed = total calories consumed - exercise calories burned. So the more you exercise, the more you can eat!
    Fitness goals Target
    Calories Burned / Week 620 Calories / Week
    Workouts / Weekends 5 workouts
    Minutes / Workout 30 minutes

    If you follow this plan...

    Your projected weigh loss is: 0.5 lbs/week

    You should lose 2.5 lbs. by October 19

    Still doesn't sound like enough to me, even at 5'0" tall, and especially if you're not eating back the calories you burn from exercise.

    http://www.health-calc.com/diet/energy-expenditure-advanced
  • I'm not sure what that is, but I put in the numbers for a normal bootcamp day, and these are the numbers it gave me.

    1265kcalbmr
    2178kcaltotalenergyexpenditure

    for a non bootcamp day, the bottom number changes to 1849.

    What does this mean exactly?

    And when eating healthy, how do you find enough healthy calories to eat? Cause I am stuffed right now, and I added a piece of chicken to my salad for lunch which I normally do not. But trying to get more protein & calories in.
  • _GlaDOS_
    _GlaDOS_ Posts: 1,520 Member
    I'm not sure what that is, but I put in the numbers for a normal bootcamp day, and these are the numbers it gave me.

    1265kcalbmr
    2178kcaltotalenergyexpenditure

    for a non bootcamp day, the bottom number changes to 1849.

    What does this mean exactly?

    And when eating healthy, how do you find enough healthy calories to eat? Cause I am stuffed right now, and I added a piece of chicken to my salad for lunch which I normally do not. But trying to get more protein & calories in.


    Your BMR (basal metabolic rate—the first, lower number there) is what your body basically needs to do absolutely nothing. And, since everyone (hopefully) does more than absolutely nothing, like get out bed everyday, walk around a bit, sit on there butts at work, exercise like crazy, etc., the number of calories you are actually burning is more than your BMR. This is your TEE (total energy expenditure—the higher number there). This is the amount of calories your body uses/burns doing whatever activities you specified below. Although this is an online calculator, it’s not entirely accurate, but in general, it would be best to set your net calories to somewhere in between these two numbers, and not lower than your BMR, and eat back the calories you burn during exercise to maintain your deficit. Too much of a deficit is not a good thing.

    As far as increasing the amount you eat, it’s best to do it gradually. I started MFP on 1200 net calories per day. As someone who is 5’10”, this was terrible for my body. I gradually increased to 1350, then 1650, then 1750. I plan on increasing even more as I do more strength training. Start eating a little more and maybe even a little more often (every 2-3 hours) and eventually you’ll probably start feeling hungrier anyway.
  • Several things stick out at me here:

    1. Carbs - when trying to loose weight I have always been a firm believer that all carbs should be consumed with your breakfast and lunch but never after 2 PM.
    2. You are cutting bodyfat and not loosing weight, it may be that your body is recomping and that is not a bad thing. As fat is lost and you gain/replace that with muscle mass you will become thinner and more toned.
    3. Many times with new exercise programs the weight loss begins after the program has and nutrition program has had time to work. (I generally will start loosing after week 3) each of our bodies respond differently but your situation is not uncommon.
    4. Higher protein is always beneficial to weight loss and toning, eating low Glycemic Index foods for carbs such as Oatmeal or sweet potato are good Carb choices.
    5. After lunch get your carb sources from green leafy vegetable like green beans, spinach, broccoli.
    6. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, do not skip this. Protein, Carbs, healthy fats, and fiber are essential.
    7. Don't undereat. 6 small meals divided throughout the day are the best option to keep your metabolism working and your body burning fat.
  • Troll
    Troll Posts: 922 Member
    first of all, losing 3percent body fat is no small feat! If your weight is the same it means you lost the gooey layer and added muscle, which means you're right on. Now, i dont know where the low 60g protein mess is coming from. I have always been told to get 1-1.5 g per pound of bodyweight, and if you do a lot of cardio do carbs the same way. When i hit a plateau i cut carbs by 10g and up my protein (i try to get 2g per pound anyway) by about 15 g for a few days. This always works for me. But really, the weight follows BF percentage so be happy you are on your way to tight and toned!
  • Thank you all, above, for your information and your advice! I really appreciate it.
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