How much to eat and when

MissMollieK

I have found I plateaued in the last 3 weeks. Haven't moved at all on the scale. I wanted to know if anyone thinks it may help to do the following: I used to eat a fairly large bowl of oatmeal with a small amount of walnuts and brown sugar in the mornings and lots of water. I would then eat decent portioned lunch and dinner but my breakfast always contained the most calories.
Would it help if I ate a high protein breakfast with fewer calories: ex. a hardboiled egg and 1/2 banana. And have a larger lunch and stick with a moderate healthy dinner.
I am exercising a lot but always have been since beginning this journey, so I need to switch stuff up a bit. Can I get some people's thoughts? Or what do you do to get past a plateau? Just need a bit of input....Thanks!

Cathleenr

I have found I plateaued in the last 3 weeks. Haven't moved at all on the scale. I wanted to know if anyone thinks it may help to do the following: I used to eat a fairly large bowl of oatmeal with a small amount of walnuts and brown sugar in the mornings and lots of water. I would then eat decent portioned lunch and dinner but my breakfast always contained the most calories.
Would it help if I ate a high protein breakfast with fewer calories: ex. a hardboiled egg and 1/2 banana. And have a larger lunch and stick with a moderate healthy dinner.
I am exercising a lot but always have been since beginning this journey, so I need to switch stuff up a bit. Can I get some people's thoughts? Or what do you do to get past a plateau? Just need a bit of input....Thanks!

where is the protein in your breakfast? how big is "fairly large"? are you calculating portion size? walnuts are pretty high in fat...what are your macros?
lose the brown sugar. really.
you need more than 3 meals a day to keep your insulin and energy levels, level.
what is your exercise program?
the amount of calories eaten at one meal isn't the problem...it may be that you are eating too many for your activity level, or its too high in carbs or fat for what you are trying to accomplish. without more information, no opinion will be accurate.

taso42

Timing shouldn't really matter... How are do your overall calories and macros looking day after day? Can you open your diary?

MissMollieK

I will open my diary but only today- I hate having people see it- I guess I am quite shy about sharing my foods- I do snack mostly healthy snacks. I love oatmeal but it needs flavor- brown sugar seems to be just what I like and I only put a few teaspoons in it. Ok here goes...give me a few minutes and I will open the diary....the thought of someone reading my diary....

sethstein

Get fat tested! You may not need to "lose weight" anymore, if what you say is true, that your oatmeal meal is your biggest, it sounds like you are starving yourself! Include your total daily calorie amount if your descriptions. Not enough info in your statement. But definitely make health body fat levels your goal, not just mindless "how much do I weigh"!!

MissMollieK

oh believe me- I'm not starving myself. I get plenty of food, never feel full. I used to have hypoglycemia- that would trigger me to eat if I was in starvation mode. This never happens any longer because I changed to different types of food- healthier options. I actually feel fuller than I used to. The only reason breakfast was my largest meal was because the walnuts were the calories with the oatmeal. That added more protein as well. I also added flax seed often to give more benefits.

MissMollieK

Get fat tested! You may not need to "lose weight" anymore, if what you say is true, that your oatmeal meal is your biggest, it sounds like you are starving yourself! Include your total daily calorie amount if your descriptions. Not enough info in your statement. But definitely make health body fat levels your goal, not just mindless "how much do I weigh"!!

I definitely do need to lose as well. I weigh 175pounds and I am 5'7. That is considered obese. I am working on building up endurance with running- I know I am not in shape like I should be. But all of this is improving. I think it is really my eating patterns, just not sure though.

SarahofTwins

When I plateaued I changed my exercises but also my daily intake of calories. Have you tried zig zagging? Meaning one day you would have more calories than the next. Also eating enough is important because I know others may try to just keep it at 1200...not saying thats wrong but sometimes we need to fuel our bodies to burn more.

Meggles63

It looks like you aren't eating back your exercise calories. I know there are many differing opinions on this, but may I suggest that you try this and see if it breaks you out of your plateau? You're not losing now, so why not give it a shot? Good luck!

psuLemon

It looks like you aren't eating back your exercise calories. I know there are many differing opinions on this, but may I suggest that you try this and see if it breaks you out of your plateau? You're not losing now, so why not give it a shot? Good luck!

In my honest opinion, i would agree with this. If someone is only eating 1400 calories and burns 800 its like eating 600 calories.

I suspect you should be eating closer to 2000 calories a day. But before i can calculate then we need to know what your workout schedule is like. But essentially if you calculate your bmr (under tools on this website) and then use a total daily energy expediture multiplier you will get caloric needs.

Sedetary is a 1.2 multiplier
Lightly active (work out 1-3 times a week) 1.375 multiplier
moderately active (3-5 times a week) - 1.55
Very active (6+ times a week) - 1.725

These are according to the katch mcardle formula.

taso42

Yep that was an easy one. Eat more. It's incredible how this seems to usually be the answer.

MissMollieK

Seriously!!! Eat more- I think I eat on avg at least 1500 cal a day. Yikes! I am doing a couch 2 5k program: running/walking saturday, sunday, and then 2 more days out of the week. During those days I tend to also do another workout of a dvd video or class at my fitness center. The days that I am not running/walking I do workout videos of kickboxing, jillian michaels(aerobics/weights), tabata drills (this is on wed 1time a week-intense) or turbo jam videos. I like to mix it up on those days to keep from getting bored. I also work with special needs population for my job so I take people in the community to do activities- I go swimming about 2x / month or play basketball / raquetball, or bowling 1 time a month or more depending on what is happening. Basically I like to keep active or I will go back to being sedative. I also don't want to not do anything during a day because I struggle with depression and other issues and find that some activity helps keep my moods elevated. I do make sure I have breaks in the week but I still do some sort of activities...Hope this helps.

MissMollieK

Oh- forgot- what do you suggest to eat- more carbs, protein or a mix, ????

ctroxell2011

I just got past a plateau and I work with a personal trainer, who said the same thing, eat more. He suggested i do calorie spike days, meaning, have just a couple days where I eat more calories (I allow 1250 a day, he said I should try a couple days higher but keep it under 2000, don't go crazy) it totally worked.

Cathleenr

Oh- forgot- what do you suggest to eat- more carbs, protein or a mix, ????

Well, eat better.
No more chocolate squares
Sounds like you do a lot of aerobic activities....have you considered strength training? Adding in a 3 day split will start to add muscle and cause your body to burn calories at a higher rate for a longer period of time. 1500 calories is a good start, but you need more meals of fewer calories to keep up your insulin.energy levels.
Find your LBM and base your protein off that....I can't recall what you said you weighed..something like 177?, so if perhaps you have about 120 pounds of LBM you would want between 80 - 120 grams of protein a day IF you strength train. You may also find that you do better on lower carbs...I do. Although I wish I cold have more
And lol, oatmeal does NOT need sugar! (Try Truvia if you have to...its a good alternative to sugar and not chemical-y)

HMonsterX

My oatmeal is gross without sugar!

Nothing wrong with chocolate squares if you moderate yourself.

My first plateau was simply from not eating enough.

Second one i broke by doing new exercises, completely different.

ElizabethRoad

I weigh 175pounds and I am 5'7. That is considered obese.

That is overweight, not obese. You're right in the middle of the "overweight" range for BMI.

And yeah somehow I don't think the 53-calorie chocolate square is the problem here.

leeceymarie

With all the exercise you are doing, it could be that you are gaining muscle and muscle weighs more than fat. That could be why you are seeing a plateau. If you keep doing what you are doing, I think you will eventually see more weight loss occur.

Cathleenr

Nothing wrong with chocolate squares if you moderate yourself.

lol yes there is. If you "moderate" yourself with chocolate, you have less room for other foods and nutrients that will further your body's condition. It's all about the end result.
You can tell yourself all day long that you "deserve" Ghiradelli , or a cookie, or ice cream or whatever other calorie-dense, nutrition-thin food you want, but you will not progress.
Plus, it will be easier the next time you want something that is not in your nutrition plan to just chuck it cause "its in moderation" and eat it..Your mind is funny that way.

Cathleenr

With all the exercise you are doing, it could be that you are gaining muscle and muscle weighs more than fat. That could be why you are seeing a plateau. If you keep doing what you are doing, I think you will eventually see more weight loss occur.

and stop saying that.
no it doesn't.

geez i sound crabby. maybe i need some chocolate

psuLemon

Oh- forgot- what do you suggest to eat- more carbs, protein or a mix, ????

Well, eat better.
No more chocolate squares
Sounds like you do a lot of aerobic activities....have you considered strength training? Adding in a 3 day split will start to add muscle and cause your body to burn calories at a higher rate for a longer period of time. 1500 calories is a good start, but you need more meals of fewer calories to keep up your insulin.energy levels.
Find your LBM and base your protein off that....I can't recall what you said you weighed..something like 177?, so if perhaps you have about 120 pounds of LBM you would want between 80 - 120 grams of protein a day IF you strength train. You may also find that you do better on lower carbs...I do. Although I wish I cold have more
And lol, oatmeal does NOT need sugar! (Try Truvia if you have to...its a good alternative to sugar and not chemical-y)

1500 calories wont do it. Based on her height, age & weight, her bmr is around 1541 calories. And considering she is extremely active, she burns on average 2600 calories. Back off 500 for 1 lb per week, 2100 calories is more up her alley.

I would agree we need more strength training.

ElizabethRoad

Nothing wrong with chocolate squares if you moderate yourself.

lol yes there is. If you "moderate" yourself with chocolate, you have less room for other foods and nutrients that will further your body's condition. It's all about the end result.

She's eating a 53-calorie piece of chocolate. Get a grip.

ElizabethRoad

With all the exercise you are doing, it could be that you are gaining muscle and muscle weighs more than fat. That could be why you are seeing a plateau. If you keep doing what you are doing, I think you will eventually see more weight loss occur.

and stop saying that.
no it doesn't.

Yes, it really does. Any given volume of muscle weighs more than an equivalent volume of fat. Haven't you ever seen a steak? Cut off a cube of the fat. Now cut off a same-size cube of the meat. Which is heavier?

MissMollieK

the only reason I eat the chocolate is because I used to find that my biggest weakness- I stopped chocolate altogether and then decided that I would reward myself-dark is supposed to be healthy in moderation. So I figured if I ate well, stayed active I would eat 1, sometimes 2 small dark ch. squares. I didn't see this as a big deal- better than an entire bag of m&m's like I could have done a year ago. Just my little sin for the day-some days I find I don't even want have it. Guess I can try to back off even more to maybe 1/week?

MissMollieK

With all the exercise you are doing, it could be that you are gaining muscle and muscle weighs more than fat. That could be why you are seeing a plateau. If you keep doing what you are doing, I think you will eventually see more weight loss occur.

and stop saying that.
no it doesn't.

geez i sound crabby. maybe i need some chocolate

Hey- just to let you know, I do use weights in some of my exercising- I do some dvd's that add weight training and if I am at the gym I go free weight exercises - I don't ever do it as a single exercise though- always doing it with cardio, etc.

Wynterbourne

Nothing wrong with chocolate squares if you moderate yourself.

lol yes there is. If you "moderate" yourself with chocolate, you have less room for other foods and nutrients that will further your body's condition. It's all about the end result.
You can tell yourself all day long that you "deserve" Ghiradelli , or a cookie, or ice cream or whatever other calorie-dense, nutrition-thin food you want, but you will not progress.
Plus, it will be easier the next time you want something that is not in your nutrition plan to just chuck it cause "its in moderation" and eat it..Your mind is funny that way.

Wow. I've lost 39.6 lbs in 9 weeks and I've had a few brownies, I've had ice cream, Chinese buffet, alcohol and a number of other "calorie-dense" foods. I would call 39.6 lbs in 9 weeks progress. I just have them very rarely and in "moderation". No, some people don't have the willpower to do this, but you can't make a blanket statement for everyone. It does work for plenty of people. You just have to learn for yourself. I don't cut anything out, if I want it, I work it in. There is *nothing* wrong with that for people like me who can do it.

it_be_asin

One or two teaspoons of sugar in porridge of the morning is not that bad. To put that in perspective, lots of people have that amount of sugar in one coffee. And then they drink multiple coffees per day. If someone told me not to put sugar in my porridge, I wouldn't eat it, and I would miss out on the filling nutrition of the oats. Also, oats made with hot water with one teaspoon honey (like I have) has less sugar than any breakfast cereal combo that you can think of.

MissMollieK

awww thanks everyone- I feel so much better about my food choices:) I am going to try upping my caloric intake though. A bit more protein and healthy snacks....