I'd really appreciate some straight-talking advice on cals i
Replies
-
Here's my stats can you help me? I have been on a plateau and not sure why. I am 5ft 5 and weigh 150, I am 42 yr old female. I average 300 cal burned a day as exercise every day except on Tue and Thur I burn 1000 (2 classes each day). What could I possibly be doing wrong? I haven't lost in 3-4 weeks! I have been eating about 1300 cal a day, all healthy!
First of all... depending on your build and muscle mass there is a good chance you are getting pretty darn close to your "ideal" healthy weight...where your body is meant to be.
Second of all... are you measuring your progress by anything other than the scales? I understand your frustration as i am 5'7 and 161... stuck there for the last 2+ weeks. BUT i have drastically upped my fitness levels, my endurance is improving, my body looks noticeably stronger, and i've lost a bit "inches"-wise. If you are doing healthy things for your body (eating enough but not too much, eating the right things, strength and cardio training, getting sleep and water and enjoying your life) dont stop and dont stress about a number no one else can see but you!0 -
I agree with everything he has to say!! If I were you, I'd raise your calories and do strength training and just nix the cardio. You don't want to be a flabby underweight person, believe me it is not attractive.
AHHHH why would you say to eliminate cardio!!! i understand the importance of strength training but come on... long term health people!0 -
Ok this thread is covered in misconceptions and broscience so I will do my very best to clear this all up for you. If you want any further information, feel free to send me a message and I can advise you on diet and exercise to a greater extent.
I dont know why people on these forums advocate this 1200 calorie rule. There is no such thing. That said, one needs to eat at their TDEE (total daily energy expenditure) in order to keep their body running efficiently. If you give me your stats, I can work this out for you and then we can apply the required caloric deficit for you to lose weight. Furthermore, when you use your TDEE to work out caloric intake, you do not eat back exercise calories. I see too many people on here falling for this trap and then they complain when they arent losing weight.
Think of it this way, just say I bought a nice car but I ran it on regular unleaded petrol instead of premium unleaded. That car isnt going to be running on effective fuel and will lack in performance. The same thing applies to your body. It requires fuel to run efficiently and you also need energy to fuel your workouts. A bad workout means less fat burnt. Its better to eat a bit more and absolutely smash it in the gym.
Starvation mode is a myth. What happens is your body becomes more efficient at using energy the lighter you get. Thats why your caloric intake needs to be reduced the lighter you get. Furthermore, the lighter you are, the less energy is required to move your body weight around during exercise.
Weight loss is simple. Theres two rules. Calories in v calories out and macronutrient sufficiency. You need to eat adequate amounts of protein and dietary fat. Once again, I can help you with this if you send me your stats.
Meal timing and frequency is also a myth. You can eat whenever you want. Just make sure you are hitting your caloric goals.
Your pulled muscle is probably due to malnutrition. You will risk harming yourself if you arent eating a sufficient amount of food or nutrients. Another reason why you should eat more.
I have had "cheat meals" before. But I do not advocate them as a way of "kick starting" your metabolism. This is a load of crap once again. I use cheat meals when I have a birthday or new years eve or whatever. Its one day where I enjoy myself and the damage done isnt that severe.
Strength training is the best idea. I was losing consistent weight keeping in a caloric deficit and lifting weights. I did ZERO cardio. I should note that lifting weights during a caloric deficit will mean that you will maintain your muscle mass. You will not gain any extra muscle unless you are new to lifting weights.
Listen to what I have to say. So many people on here are full of nutritional misconceptions is drives me crazy. Send me a message, I am more than glad to help.0 -
You mention that people on these sites never site articles and aren't experts. Since you are making some suggestions contrary to most things I've read (and I've read a lot, not just what is said in forums like this), could you back it up with some sources for your information or your qualifications. I don't mean to be rude or ungrateful for any help that is offered on here, but taking health advice from strangers can be a risky business.0
-
He nailed it.Ok this thread is covered in misconceptions and broscience so I will do my very best to clear this all up for you. If you want any further information, feel free to send me a message and I can advise you on diet and exercise to a greater extent.
I dont know why people on these forums advocate this 1200 calorie rule. There is no such thing. That said, one needs to eat at their TDEE (total daily energy expenditure) in order to keep their body running efficiently. If you give me your stats, I can work this out for you and then we can apply the required caloric deficit for you to lose weight. Furthermore, when you use your TDEE to work out caloric intake, you do not eat back exercise calories. I see too many people on here falling for this trap and then they complain when they arent losing weight.
Think of it this way, just say I bought a nice car but I ran it on regular unleaded petrol instead of premium unleaded. That car isnt going to be running on effective fuel and will lack in performance. The same thing applies to your body. It requires fuel to run efficiently and you also need energy to fuel your workouts. A bad workout means less fat burnt. Its better to eat a bit more and absolutely smash it in the gym.
Starvation mode is a myth. What happens is your body becomes more efficient at using energy the lighter you get. Thats why your caloric intake needs to be reduced the lighter you get. Furthermore, the lighter you are, the less energy is required to move your body weight around during exercise.
Weight loss is simple. Theres two rules. Calories in v calories out and macronutrient sufficiency. You need to eat adequate amounts of protein and dietary fat. Once again, I can help you with this if you send me your stats.
Meal timing and frequency is also a myth. You can eat whenever you want. Just make sure you are hitting your caloric goals.
Your pulled muscle is probably due to malnutrition. You will risk harming yourself if you arent eating a sufficient amount of food or nutrients. Another reason why you should eat more.
I have had "cheat meals" before. But I do not advocate them as a way of "kick starting" your metabolism. This is a load of crap once again. I use cheat meals when I have a birthday or new years eve or whatever. Its one day where I enjoy myself and the damage done isnt that severe.
Strength training is the best idea. I was losing consistent weight keeping in a caloric deficit and lifting weights. I did ZERO cardio. I should note that lifting weights during a caloric deficit will mean that you will maintain your muscle mass. You will not gain any extra muscle unless you are new to lifting weights.
Listen to what I have to say. So many people on here are full of nutritional misconceptions is drives me crazy. Send me a message, I am more than glad to help.0 -
Health benefits? Is this real life?
I agree with everything he has to say!! If I were you, I'd raise your calories and do strength training and just nix the cardio. You don't want to be a flabby underweight person, believe me it is not attractive.
AHHHH why would you say to eliminate cardio!!! i understand the importance of strength training but come on... long term health people!
99% of people here are doing cardio to lose weight (and failing). I get my cardio benefits from heavy and intense weight lifting and walking.0 -
u cant force yourself to eat but i find when i work out hardd i get hungrier. also drink a glass of milk after your workout, it helps the appetite -->so i hear lol but recognizing your weakness is huge and if you can take the proper steps, youll be fine!! best of luck to ya chickie, add me if you like!!! hugs :flowerforyou:0
-
Well, you wanted it straight. Thanks for giving it straight!
Sounds like you are very aware of the stuff you are already doing. I tried to take a peek at your diary to see if i had any advice, but it's not public. #1 yes, i do believe you should be eating more calories per day. under 1200 is NOT enough, especially if you're working out. I increased mine to 1400+ and my workouts are better and i still lose the same, if not more a lot of weeks, as having 1200 and always being hungry. #2 drink lots of water, eat multiple meals a day, and work out 4-6 days a week and i promise your metabolism will get back on track--it's not one of those things you can permanently lose 
I am also a huge advocate for re-feeding days (cheat days). You can google it and read up. Your body just needs it sometimes! 0 -
i agree. its dangerous to eat that little long term. if i dont eat atleast 1,600 good nutrient rich food i feel soooo ill. i think a trip to your GPs in order. they will know if you really need to lose weight and how to do it healthy. i do think you can only get what you put in, so eating atleast an amount you need to function on then exercise. theirs no quick fix if you do it right. even if you aim for a 500- daily ( could be 250 food 250 exercise ) will see you lose 1lb each week. i am 700 under daily myself and i do that with lots of exercise because thats what works for me but my bmis higher. good luck if you go GP.Please go to the doctor and get medical advice - they are going to give it to you straight so that you can be healthy.0 -
Mutiple meals do nothing for the metabolism. The more she works out, the more her TEEE increases, that means she is going to have to eat even more. Re-Feeds are not cheat days. Re-feed are structured approach while cheat days are used for sanitiy. Neither does anything for the metabolism.Well, you wanted it straight. Thanks for giving it straight! Sounds like you are very aware of the stuff you are already doing. I tried to take a peek at your diary to see if i had any advice, but it's not public. #1 yes, i do believe you should be eating more calories per day. under 1200 is NOT enough, especially if you're working out. I increased mine to 1400+ and my workouts are better and i still lose the same, if not more a lot of weeks, as having 1200 and always being hungry. #2 drink lots of water, eat multiple meals a day, and work out 4-6 days a week and i promise your metabolism will get back on track--it's not one of those things you can permanently lose I am also a huge advocate for re-feeding days (cheat days). You can google it and read up. Your body just needs it sometimes!0 -
Have you considered doing metabolic testing? I haven't done it yet, but I've found a place that does resting and exercise metabolic testing. They can tell you what your true BMR is versus the calculated one on various sites. That could help you understand more accurately how much you can eat and exercise/eat.0
-
Here is some straight talk for you. You need to see a nutritionist and possibly work with a trainer. We can all give you our opinions based on what has worked for US, but everyone is different. You can't believe everything you read in these forums and take it as gospel. Weight loss may be "simple" math, but again everyone's body is different. Some are going to have to put in more effort than others, etc.
I will tell you what worked for ME. You can make of it what you will. I I lost 45 lbs in 3 months here. I would burn 700-1000 cals a day and regularly net 400-600 cals by bed time. I did not eat my exercise calories back. All the sudden I hit a 2 week plateau. I had changed nothing, yet the scale would not move. I did some research and decided to eat more. It gave me more energy for better workouts, less headaches... It was better all around. Once I began netting more calories per day after my workout, usually around 1k, the weight started coming off again. I have lost 52 lbs in 4 months.
There is no magic to this. You have to eat reasonably and get movement in. A nutritionist and trainer can help. To say starvation mode does not exist is irresponsible. It is flat out dangerous to workout while taking in so little.
I would not nix cardio, btw. Strength training is essential for long term health but cardio is also necessary. As someone mentioned, skinny flab is not attractive. Toning while doing cardio is killing 2 birds with one stone.0 -
bump!0
-
Please go to the doctor and get medical advice - they are going to give it to you straight so that you can be healthy.
^^^This please. You can do tons of research on here and just about anywhere, but you can always find a a lot of information to justify it all whether it's good or bad info. I can tell you everything that has and hasn't worked for me, but that's me, my body, my brain, my genetic make-up.
Most people on here (not all) are self proclaimed experts, not certified experts. Please see someone who is properly trained and certified, who can properly evaluate you physically and maybe even emotionally (this is based on how many times you keeps saying your scared)0 -
Here are my thoughts, for whatever you think they're worth. But I agree with others, it sounds like you should have a session or two with a professional dietitian, and maybe a counselor who works with eating disorders and the like. They might have some tips to get you over this hump and squarely into the healthy path.1) I don't eat enough calories. I'm scared to increase my calories. Are you SURE that if I increase to the recommended 1200 cals a day I'll eventually lose?
Sure that you'll eventually lose? Absolutely. But it might take you a while to see things turn around. It will take a little bit for your body to get out of "freak-out" mode and into a happy place where your metabolism starts burning hot again.2) My metabolism is shot to hell. I did stupid things to lose 100lbs very quickly. It was wrong, I had issues, I recognise that and I'm working on it (and doing well, I reckon). I'm used to 500 or less calories and that lost me the weight (and by weight, I mean the scales went down. I thought that was a victory and never thought about how I was losing water and ruining my muscles as well as whatever fat I burned off).
You CAN undo this. :flowerforyou:1) Starting strength training to get my muscles in order. Nothing fancy, I got some exercises from a weight training website I think I can do (I just found them last night, and I'm waiting on a pulled muscle to heal itself). I gather that will boost my metabolism, and more importantly get my muscles a bit healthier.
Good move. Don't just go crazy doing fifty reps with a 3-lb weight, though. If you don't have a gym, you can see good results even just by doing lots of body-weight exercises and modifying the gym exercises to do at home with dumbbells or homemade weights.2) I'm eating my big meal earlier in the day. Problem is, I'm not used to eating more than one meal unless I'm binging. I've done really well not binging, and I'm scared that if I increase my cals I'll encourage it again.
I don't think time of day matters for weight loss, but it does help with your sleep patterns if you don't eat a heavy meal at night. If you are really unhappy eating a big meal, maybe you could try planning out your day ahead of time and splitting it up into 6 or 8 snacks spread through the day. My mom used to do that with her day's food - she'd prep it all and put it in containers, and just work her way through everything as the day/evening progressed.And it's not only a case of not being used to one meal a day, it's a case of not being hungry, Because I am not hungry. At all. I don't understand the logic of eating when you're not hungry (and I AM trying to understand, I am looking up stuff to educate myself).
What you need to recognize there is just that your hunger mechanism is shot. It will come back, but in the meantime you need to just make a plan and follow it, and re-learn your body's signals and how to trust them.3) Aside from this week (pulled muscle), I'm taking my cardio seriously. I don't (now) log "cleaning", "writing", or "cooking" as exercise. I log going on my cross trainer or stepper. If I went for a walk to exercise, I'd log that, but I wouldn't log wandering around the shops in town as exercise.
Good steps. I cut down on cardio a bit when I started doing strength training, because I've got limited gym time. But they're both good for you, just in different ways. My tip here is, just find something you enjoy! For me right now it's skating and hiking. My neighbor is all about lane swimming.4) A lot of people on here encourage "cheat meals". I did that on Valentine's Day, and it's done me no harm so I'm not scared of cheat meals any more so long as they're not more than once a week. Do people generally agree this is a good thing? They seem to.
I don't do it intentionally as part of a plan, but if I do have a day where I'm over, or get a last-minute invite to a party, I don't worry about it. There's no harm as long as you don't throw yourself completely off the wagon in the process.0 -
For all those that say see a doctor here is what i will say... most doctors have very little experience with nutrition and in fact are only are required to take one or two classes. My friends are doctors and know less than me. Now if you said dietician or certified nutritionist then you have a better chance of getting good advice.0
-
When I was younger, for my first few years of college, I struggled with an eating disorder. I applaud you for your honesty and for your reaching out. That's a big thing! And congrats on the weight loss! But it sounds like to me that you have developed an ED mentality, because of your fear of eating. I would agree and say that you are correct in saying that your metabolism has been negatively effected. After my ED, it took several YEARS for my metabolism to even out. This is what I recommend: You do need to increase your intake, or you will only further mess your metabolism up, and trust me, it takes years to repair! You can't lose weight at that low of an intake. But, don't do it suddenly. Start with 100 more cals a day for a week, and just slowly increase it gradually until you are eating AT LEAST your TDEE. And make your cals count, focusing on protein and good fats (omega-3s), lots veg, and complex low glycemic sources of carbohydrates. With your metabolism being in the state that its in, you can't just suddenly start eating 1400 cals a day with half of that coming from carbs, your body will hold on to it and want to store it. Increase things SLOWLY, but still INCREASE!! Your body will adjust and start functioning the way it should if you give it the transitional time that it needs to adjust and allow your metabolism the time it needs to repair and shift. Don't be scared, though I do understand and know that it is easier said than done. Love your body, you have a beautiful body! Take the time to "nurse" it; take the time you need not only physically but mentally and emotionally to transition to a healthier intake, one that will give you the optimal function that it needs to sustain your weight loss for life. This is all about a lifestyle change that can be sustained for the rest of your life, and if you continue to be in the "place" you're in right now, you're going to severely damage your body and you have a high probability that you will gain all the weight back. I wish you nothing but the best!! Stay strong, and remember, slow and steady The weight WILL start to come off again with slowwwly increasing your intake, and I can't emphasize enough.. get enough protein, and make the carbs you do consume count. When a metabolism is in need of repair, sugars should be kept at a minimum. Good luck! 0
-
For all those that say see a doctor here is what i will say... most doctors have very little experience with nutrition and in fact are only are required to take one or two classes. My friends are doctors and know less than me. Now if you said dietician or certified nutritionist then you have a better chance of getting good advice.
I said see a doctor because in most cases they will send you to a dietician. Cheaper that way because if you have insurance thats the only way they will pay for it. I agree, most doctors dont know anything about nutrition. My BF parents, his sister and best friend ar all doctors NEVER have any answers about nutrition. They tell me to to go to my doctor and they will refer me and my insurance will pay for it :-)0 -
I can only tell you what has worked for me - I am no expert and would never pretend to be - though I do have a dream of becoming a personal fitness trainer and nutritionist some day...
I eat anywhere from 4-6 meals a day... includes 3 meals and 2-3 snacks. A lot of people will say that as long as you eat your calories it doesn't matter whether you eat them in small meal increments or all at once. I believe in keeping my body fueled on a constant. This gives me more energy, keeps me alert, and I don't binge ever - the days I have high caloric intake are by choice not because I have binged... my diary is viewable and sometimes I joke saying I eat like a MAN really. I do my best to keep my sodium intake within its limits and a good balance between my carbs and protein - I love seeing my protein intake thru the day to hit 100g
I work out 6 days a week... a very nice combination of cardio and weight training - found a nice workout plan "fat loss" @ bodybuilding.com and made a hybrid to increase a bit the cardio - though I keep my cardio at 30 mins and only 20 on the days I weight train...
When I joined MFP and entered my goals, I was given a caloric intake recommendation of 1200 - I didn't think it to be enough because of the way I eat so I increased it to 1500, I was still loosing weight and feeling healthy and good with my energy levels... Last week I made a decision to decrease to the recommended 1200 and log all the exercise I do (not cleaning or things like that) the change has proven to be a good one - I eat most of my calories burn back - so essentially I am eating about 1500 calories a day still... and still seeing results
You have to experiment and find out what works for you... we are all different. Your body needs fuel for it to perform adequately and of course it needs exercise so it can function to its capabilities... but it is imperative for there to be a healthy balance within the two.0 -
lisaduke45 - I've read a lot about starvation mode being a myth, and I think that if it was true, no one would ever go underweight. I'm not disagreeing with you, please don't get me wrong. I just don't understand it but I really am trying to understand it. I sometimes think that maybe my BMR and stuff is worked out wrong, and maybe for some reason my BMR is a lot lower than most people's. Reckon that's crap? Tell me if you do.
Starvation mode is not a myth. If you intake too few calories your body will start breaking down your muscle instead of your fat, because your muscle has more "energy". You may lose weight but you your eating at your muscle mass compared to fat, doing damage to your body. Also your metabolism will slow down trying to mantain at the lower calorie intake that you are subjecting yourself too. I am a recovered anorexic. I struggle with weight also and maintaining a healthy weight and healthy body image. I am also terrified to eat up on my calories. I try to ignore the calories and eat healthy foods.0
Categories
- All Categories
- 1.4M Health, Wellness and Goals
- 392.9K Introduce Yourself
- 43.7K Getting Started
- 260.1K Health and Weight Loss
- 175.8K Food and Nutrition
- 47.4K Recipes
- 232.5K Fitness and Exercise
- 415 Sleep, Mindfulness and Overall Wellness
- 6.5K Goal: Maintaining Weight
- 8.5K Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
- 152.9K Motivation and Support
- 8K Challenges
- 1.3K Debate Club
- 96.3K Chit-Chat
- 2.5K Fun and Games
- 3.6K MyFitnessPal Information
- 23 News and Announcements
- 1.1K Feature Suggestions and Ideas
- 2.5K MyFitnessPal Tech Support Questions