How to lose weight according to my Naturopathic Dr.
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Krista_1
Posts: 50 Member
I am 46, 5'7", weigh 140 lbs with a goal of getting into the 132-135 lb. range.
I am on a 1200 per day calorie diet. I exercise every day, and burn about 400-600 calories a day. So, my daily calorie goal is 1600-1800 depending on how much I exercised that day.
I had an appointment with my Naturopath yesterday. Here is how she recommended changing things up for me.
-I am to eat 1400 calories, out of the 1600-1800. So, I will have a net calorie deficit of 200-400 calories per day.
-Eat more Protein then carbs. Eating mostly protein, with a lot of fruits and veg, with a very small portion of grains per meal would be ideal.
-Since I like to exercise a lot, she said do 5 Cardio/Weight lifting days, mixed with 2 yoga/stretch class days a week. The yoga days, allow my body to repair itself and avoid injuries. Exercising this much is not a requirement, it's just that I like to do it a lot.
-Eat 400 calories at breakfast, 500 at lunch and 500 at dinner .
-NO Snacks, except a little turkey or chicken before bed.
-But if you must have a snack, a Lara Bar is a great one.
-Specifically, she recommended upping the protein and reducing the grains. For example, cut out the granola, it has too much sugar. Another example, she suggested 5 crackers, not 10. Instead, eat more Shrimp, Cheese, or other proteins.
-She was not too crazy about my whole nut intake, as she said I wouldn't feel satisfied, because they take a long time to digest. Instead, she recommended nut butter (like natural Peanut or Almond Butter) because they are already partially digested. This will fill me up during the meal.
-Eat beans and lentils
-My sugar intake was a little high, but she said the sugar intake does not matter, as long as it is coming from healthy foods, such as fruits, and not refined sugar.
-agreed with the MFP target of 2500 mg of Sodium.
-upped the fiber from MFP recommended 13.8 g to 25 g.
She said doing this regimen, I will loose a lb. about every week and half, and it is very likely to stay off, once I get into maintenance mode. I hope some of these tips will help you. Do you have any thoughts about it?
I am on a 1200 per day calorie diet. I exercise every day, and burn about 400-600 calories a day. So, my daily calorie goal is 1600-1800 depending on how much I exercised that day.
I had an appointment with my Naturopath yesterday. Here is how she recommended changing things up for me.
-I am to eat 1400 calories, out of the 1600-1800. So, I will have a net calorie deficit of 200-400 calories per day.
-Eat more Protein then carbs. Eating mostly protein, with a lot of fruits and veg, with a very small portion of grains per meal would be ideal.
-Since I like to exercise a lot, she said do 5 Cardio/Weight lifting days, mixed with 2 yoga/stretch class days a week. The yoga days, allow my body to repair itself and avoid injuries. Exercising this much is not a requirement, it's just that I like to do it a lot.
-Eat 400 calories at breakfast, 500 at lunch and 500 at dinner .
-NO Snacks, except a little turkey or chicken before bed.
-But if you must have a snack, a Lara Bar is a great one.
-Specifically, she recommended upping the protein and reducing the grains. For example, cut out the granola, it has too much sugar. Another example, she suggested 5 crackers, not 10. Instead, eat more Shrimp, Cheese, or other proteins.
-She was not too crazy about my whole nut intake, as she said I wouldn't feel satisfied, because they take a long time to digest. Instead, she recommended nut butter (like natural Peanut or Almond Butter) because they are already partially digested. This will fill me up during the meal.
-Eat beans and lentils
-My sugar intake was a little high, but she said the sugar intake does not matter, as long as it is coming from healthy foods, such as fruits, and not refined sugar.
-agreed with the MFP target of 2500 mg of Sodium.
-upped the fiber from MFP recommended 13.8 g to 25 g.
She said doing this regimen, I will loose a lb. about every week and half, and it is very likely to stay off, once I get into maintenance mode. I hope some of these tips will help you. Do you have any thoughts about it?
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Replies
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Sounds like very sensible dietary advice, however with your stats your BMR is in the 1300rds and you are currently eating below that,with your deficit.
"Since I like to exercise a lot, she said do 5 Cardio/Weight lifting days, mixed with 2 yoga/stretch class days a week. The yoga days, allow my body to repair itself and avoid injuries. Exercising this much is not a requirement, it's just that I like to do it a lot."
You can afford to eat up to 1600 when you are exercising as you describe and still lose 0.5 lb a week.(not linear)
Have a look at:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/49690-the-banks-plan
http://scoobysworkshop.com/
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/680246-tdee-bmr-what-they-are-and-what-to-do-with-them
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/heybales?month=201207
I found theses topics very informative.
Best of luck on the journey.
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My only thought is that there are hours between meals where you may get hungry. Eating fewer calories at each meal and adding a couple of healthy snack between them could help. Was anything said about drinking water?0
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I think this is all sound advice. I have tried most of these approaches and they have all worked well for me. Specifically, reducing grains and upping protein made a big difference.
I am just an inch shorter and the same weight, and for about 4 months was following a similar diet to your current diet but had little progress. I ate about 1600 calories a day and burned about 400, but just wasn't getting results. I would typically eat some sort of grains (oatmeal, bread, pasta, etc.) once or twice a day. After making those adjustments like you said (5 crackers instead of 10) I finally broke that 4 month plateau and lost inches in all the right spots. A small amount of grains seems to be the right fit for me. If I cut them totally I start to binge, but if I have just a little I'm in more control.
I also agree with the snacking. For some people it works, but if I start snacking I can't stop. It's best just to stick to 2-3 bigger meals a day IMO.
Beans and lentils are great and really fill you up. A lentil salad is a great low calorie, high protein lunch. They are also a cheaper source of protein than meat, good for the budget.
Nuts are a good snack but only sometimes, 1-2 a week I think. I agree that you will process the nut butter faster, but be careful with that because nut butters have lots of other added ingredients, sugar being the biggest offender. Make sure you read the label.
I also do yoga/stretching on my off days. I have trouble sleeping and get really restless if I don't do SOMETHING, but I obviously can't run or lift everyday without it taking a toll. A yoga class is the perfect answer for that.
All in all, sounds like sound advice to me! Keep us posted on your progress, I'm curious to see if these tips work as well for you as they did for me.0 -
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@fizzy-thanks for all the links. It will take me a while to get through them all. I looked at the first one, which basically said eat back your calories burned during exercise. My Naturopath said I would get frustrated with that, as that would pretty much put me at a maintenance mode. Which I have to agree with based on my short experience dieting.
I started out the first week of July at 139, after a month I'd lost several inches, but weighed 142 1/2. (I put on some muscle and burned some fat, which was good, except after a month of consistently working out, and eating all the calories I burned with exercise, I was not making the progress I'd hoped for.) I'd be curious about your experience with weight loss. Please let me know how it is going for you.
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@swissmiss-She said water intake is dependent on several variables: Your height and weight, and how much you sweat each day. For me, she said drink 8-12 glasses of 8oz of water each day.0
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@kelseyhere-Thanks for you thoughtful notes. It must have been very frustrating being at a 4 month plateau. I have been frustrated, and it was only 6 weeks. Finally, now at the 8th week, I weigh 1 lb. less that I did when I started sincerely exercising and logging what I eat. I have lost a pound already since starting, and this is my 3rd day. So, it appears this type of plan might be what I needed to kick my weight loss into gear.
It's interesting you cut back on the grains, and that seemed to flip the switch into weight loss mode.0 -
Congrats on your progress so far! You are correct that cutting out the grains really seemed to ramp up my efforts. I have heard that many people are sensitive to wheat, even if they don'thave full blown Celiacs, and when you eat it it can cause inflammation. I also think it's really easy to go overboard on servings with grains. What most people normally eat when they have pasta is probably the equivalent of 3 servings. For those 2 reasons I think that's why people have more success when they cut them out completely.0
