Registered Dietitian here. Happy to answer questions.

bigd65

I just read this post written by Banks, who was affiliated with MFP (maybe he still is?) on eating your fitness/exercise calories.
As an example, I ran for 2 hours today. MFP told me I had 2370 calories today. I was hesitant to eat that many. But evidently, I may not be getting the results by not eating all my excercise calories.
Just seeking a second opinion.
Thanks.
Brenda

I find that the calorie recommendations for exercise on here or often overestimated. I would just try to be consistent with your calories. I don't have any of my clients track exercise on this program for that reason.

this is fine but with that statement you should also say if your clients are eating at 20% below TDEE everyday so that they don't need to track exercise calories. This is where people get confused MFP tells them their BMR and they eat at that amount everyday and then exercise say 500 calories which is now Their BMR - exercise calories which gives them really low calorie counts everyday as opposed to eating at TDEE-20% everyday which would be higher calorie counts everyday

txteacher2

bump

BlueMacaroniArt

bump

chu88ss

Tony,

Thanks for your help. I'm a 50 year old female, 5'7 and 175 pounds, down from 310. I have been stuck at 175 for the last year, i did manage to get down to 157 by No exercising and around 1000 cals a day, needless to say it all came back on really fast plus more. I will never do that again. I would love to know exactly how many calories i should eat daily, if i walk about 4.5 pace for 45 minutes a day. I really enjoy speed walking, but like some on here i feel even with exercise the scale is not budging. HELP..... Thanks Becky ; )

texastango

I just read this post written by Banks, who was affiliated with MFP (maybe he still is?) on eating your fitness/exercise calories.
As an example, I ran for 2 hours today. MFP told me I had 2370 calories today. I was hesitant to eat that many. But evidently, I may not be getting the results by not eating all my excercise calories.
Just seeking a second opinion.
Thanks.
Brenda

I find that the calorie recommendations for exercise on here or often overestimated. I would just try to be consistent with your calories. I don't have any of my clients track exercise on this program for that reason.

completely agree. In addition, Tony, as you might be aware there is old evidence that is now well supported that reveals that dieters metabolic rates and REE (resting energy expenditures) slow as they diet and lose weight. Recent evidence suggests that even the calorie burn estimated for a non-dieter doing a given amount of exercise may be too high for the dieter whose caloric burn may actually be less than a non-dieter of same weight doing the same exercise at the same intensity.

Therefore, as you said, until a more accurate model/calculator can be determined....best to let your experience and body be your own judge. I never eat back my calories from exercise (all of them anyway) and if I did...I found that I gain weight. That's after losing approximately 80 lbs and now maintaining the loss for 8-9 months.

echosentwo

I was once told by a personal trainer to always start my day with a warm/hot glass of (fresh)lemon water before eating anything. i was told it get your metabolism going as well as detox your body is this correct?

Also what is the maximum amount of fruit you should eat daily if trying to lose weight? also what time of the day is best to eat fruit? I notice a weight gain sometimes when i have eaten more fruit than my usual 1 piece (nectarine, Pear) per day.

jess_1993

bump!

Musikelektronik

OK, here's a question you've probably never heard before: Do carbs make you fat?

JessieTangerine

Thanks for all the advice you've given thus far, I will enjoy reading your responses tomorrow. I do have a couple questions concerning iron intake. For awhile, I have had the sneaking suspicion that I am iron deficient. For most of the month I am alright but when its that TOM, I sleep around 10hrs a day and have huge cravings for hamburgers and I dont even like hamburgers.

According to mfp i get between 20 and 40mg of iron a day (usually closer to 20). My question is what is a good target number for a 24 year old, moderately active woman? Also what vegetables and grains are good sources of iron? Right now most of my iron is coming from quinoa and spinach.

*I eat a ton of food rich in vit c and anemia does not run in the family, so I do not believe this is a problem of absorption.

Again thanks for all the help you have given the community already and for taking the time to read our questions!

suziecue66

Hey y'all. My name is Tony. I'm a Registered Dietitian and Personal Trainer. I have all of my clients use MFP and I'm a big fan of this program.

I'm glad to offer and feedback or help for your nutrition or fitness questions.

Hiya Tony. I was curious what your thoughts were on intermittent fasting as well. Particularly in an Eat Stop Eat pattern, 3 days a week...or alternatively in a leangains type pattern, of 16hrs fasted, and 8hrs fed.

Thanks!

According to my research on the topic, it think its micromanaging. A simple calorie deficit will do the job. However, if it is your preference and helps you with long term dietary compliance, go for it!

Tony its less about micromanaging. With intermittent fasting its just an easy way to create the required caloric deficit for weight loss or staying weight stable during maintenance. Then there are the benefits of intermittent fasting and its easier to do to get the benefits rather than daily caloric restriction.

Looks like you've blogged or written an article about intermittent fasting on your website:
http://foodandfitnessonline.com/nutrition/fat-loss/intermittent-fasting/
Will take a read.
Your site looks good.

chickentunashake

OK, here's a question you've probably never heard before: Do carbs make you fat?

I'm sure carbs will not make you fat, but if you want muscle definition, you BF has to be low and the easiest way to accomplish that is with low carb high protein diet

swkittrell

Alll this infomation has been so helpful. Thank you for all the information.

texaricangirasol

what, if any, is the difference between a dietician and a nutritionist?

kingofcrunk

I did check with the Mayo Clinic on Water aerobics and MFP has it right on. The Mayo Clinic says an hour of Water Aerobics will burn anywhere from 400 to 600 calories depending on your weight range. Actually MFP has underestimated that at 379 calories for an hour. I feel comfortable with that number. Here is the Website: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/exercise/SM00109

The only problem I see with this is that MFP and the Mayo Clinic has no idea how hard you are trying during water aerobics.

cgafriday

Bump!

cathy1678

Hey Tony thats for ur help...i just started taking Safslim 2x a day..im exercising and eating healthy..do u think its a good supplement to take ..i want alil boost to help get rid of belly fat

suziecue66

Hey y'all. My name is Tony. I'm a Registered Dietitian and Personal Trainer. I have all of my clients use MFP and I'm a big fan of this program.

I'm glad to offer and feedback or help for your nutrition or fitness questions.

Hiya Tony. I was curious what your thoughts were on intermittent fasting as well. Particularly in an Eat Stop Eat pattern, 3 days a week...or alternatively in a leangains type pattern, of 16hrs fasted, and 8hrs fed.

Thanks!

According to my research on the topic, it think its micromanaging. A simple calorie deficit will do the job. However, if it is your preference and helps you with long term dietary compliance, go for it!

Tony its less about micromanaging. With intermittent fasting its just an easy way to create the required caloric deficit for weight loss or staying weight stable during maintenance. Then there are the benefits of intermittent fasting and its easier to do to get the benefits rather than daily caloric restriction.

Looks like you've blogged or written an article about intermittent fasting on your website:
http://foodandfitnessonline.com/nutrition/fat-loss/intermittent-fasting/
Will take a read.
Your site looks good.

You didn't really address the benefits of IF:
"fasting once in a while seems to offer many of the same benefits of calorie restriction – you know, stuff like increased longevity, neuroprotection, increased insulin sensitivity, stronger resistance to stress, some cool effects on endogenous hormone production, increased mental clarity, plus more - but without the active, agonizing restriction."

Read more: http://www.marksdailyapple.com/health-benefits-of-intermittent-fasting/#ixzz22dmhxyf4

and this:
http://www.precisionnutrition.com/intermittent-fasting/chapter-1
''Research in favour of IF looks compelling. So, shouldn’t you get started right away? Maybe, maybe not. Sometimes looks can be deceiving.

Before we get all gung-ho and skip meals or entire days of eating, I think it’s important to mention a few things you’re not going to read on most pro-IF web sites.''

http://www.precisionnutrition.com/intermittent-fasting/summary
"WHAT ARE THE BIG “TAKEAWAYS”?

I think there are four main takeaways that readers of this book should come away with.

Trial fasting is a great way to practice managing hunger. This is an essential skill for anyone who wants to get in shape and stay healthy and fit.

More regular fasting isn't objectively better for losing body fat. While my IF experiments worked quite well, the intermittent fasting approach (bigger meals, less frequently) didn't produce better fat loss than a more conventional diet approach (smaller meals, more frequently) might have.

More regular fasting did make it easier to maintain a lower body fat percentage. Intermittent fasting isn't easy. However, I did find that using this approach made it easier for me to maintain a low body weight and a very low body fat percentage vs. more conventional diets.

Intermittent fasting can work but it's not for everyone, nor does it need to be. In the end, IF is just one approach, among many effective ones, for improving health, performance, and body composition."
Dr John M. Beradi

FoodandFitness

Hi Tony,

I was just wondering if you had any tips for burning thigh fat. I am 4'11 & weigh 129 pounds currently. All of my fat goes to my thighs instead of belly & it is really hard for me to fit in shorts or jeans. Any exercises or foods to help?

Thanks,
Lyndsay

Fat distribution around the body is determined by genetics. There is no way to spot-reduce fat. Your thighs will slim down with everything else with a moderate calorie cut and exercise.

And as far as exercise goes, I recommend starting with a 3 day full body resistance training routine. But if you're unfamiliar to the weights, try a running program like couch 2 5k.

FoodandFitness

My tdee is 1908 and my mfp calories are set to 1200 although I regularly eat about 1500 by eating back the 100 to 300 exercise calories and having a plateau, the only thing I can think of is exercising more. How much should I really eat?

Also my bmr is 2153

If you have plateaud, it's time to create a larger calorie deficit. Try cutting back 10% on your current level and see how you do in 3 weeks. Also, be sure you are weighing and measuring your food to ensure accurate portion sizes.

Sidesteal

Random question just for lulz. Do you have a bb.com account and are you the dude who posted a head shot which then prompted me to post the Napoleon Dynamite pic comparison?

If not, disregard and nevermind

Srs question though.