Don't Judge but 30/M going from 1200 to 1500 - Nervous
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I think you will also be fine at 1500 calories a day. I am a 5'4 female 155lbs and eat 1800 + per and lose. If you are scared about gaining just take it slow and realize that upping your calories will take about 6 weeks to show real results so I wouldn't get discourage and give up if you see an initial gain. Like previous posters said you are in control if you become uncomfortable you can lower it again. Also, kudos to you for being a stay at home dad. I don't think that affects your "man card" at all
good luck! 0 -
I'm 5'9 and 135 is my goal as a female. I feel like 135 is low for a male, extremely low, border line unhealthy low. I would reconsider your real reasons behind having a goal that low. You may even consider talking to a nutritionist. Please be aware that your body needs an adequate amount of fats and carbs for healthy brain function and performace. Sometimes people are so afraid of becoming overweight again that they obsess over calories and pounds, even deprving themselves out of fear long after they have acheived their goal weight. Please be healthy with your dieting. The goal should always be healthy first before skinny.0
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I think you will be fine at 1500 calories a day, after you finish around the house go for a 30min to hr jog, or borrow some insanity DVDs from a friend, take the kids for a walk at the park or throughout the neighborhood.
Insanity, 30 day shred, P90x, and all the other videos are pretty intimidating. That's not the reason for me not exercising though, I seriously don't have time to after all the responsibilities I'm responsible for. That and I have a spinal injury that I have to nurse in my Thoracic region, so sit ups and stuff is tough on my back right now until I lose the last of my weight. But thank you for the reassurance anyways, I need it.0 -
On side note.from one stay at home mom, maid, cook ect as well as real estate agent why can u not find time to workout. i have three sometimes i m hitting it at 11 pm.n simetimes 6 am. sometimes when my husband takes kids to park i think we can all find time if we really want to.
ps my hpuse not as spotless as i wish but im healthier
good job weigjtloss
n i also wonder.why u need to lose more i vote pictures
The down time I have I spend with the family doing family things. You might even say that I'm "altruistic" because I'd rather sacrifice my time with them than take care of myself. When I did work, I was guilted because of the 80 hours I was away from the home and now my conscious has a hold of me. Aren't all parents running from the "bad parent" label though?
Anyways, thank you for the idea. I hope that things get better, but if no one does their share around the house, I don't see it happening.0 -
Kudos to you for making your family come first. No advice here that will help you, but I'm sure you are getting good exercise with all the things you do in your home. Just keep yourself healthy for you and your family!0
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That goal weight...unless you are a seriously small framed guy....is extremely low. The lowest I have been is 157lbs and I am 5'9"(5'8.5" to be exact). That weight was too low for me...160lbs was good to be lean and now that I am lifting weights I am more so around 170lbs on average and still appear lean. Also, the lowest I ate to lose weight was 1650 calories...1200 is ridiculous for you, in my opinion. I do exercise myself, but otherwise I am quite sedentary...I am a software developer...not a lot of movement involved there. I guess take all this information for whatever it is worth to you.
I knew that the 1200 diet and the low goal would strike some criticism but I deserve it. I have spent most of my life a "bean pole" and it wasn't until I was on my own working 80 hour work weeks and only getting 4 hours of sleep that I started to pack the lbs. The high school graduate version of me weighed 130 lbs at 5'8"; I thought 141 would be a safe goal for me considering I've already had some bone loss in my spine and I haven't worked out since high school in a weight room.
My frame is actually borderline Small and Medium. My wrist measures out to Small but my elbow measures to Medium (barely). But I'm going to move up to 1500 since all the feedback has been supportive and see where it goes from there.0 -
I have to question your weight goal.... 135 or even 145 that I read in a later reply... that sounds awfully low. I am female in my 40's, 5'4",weigh 145 and a size 10. A man of your height and that weight seems like you should be fine where you are. I am all for being healthy not skinny.
Technically, I could stop where I am at and start weight training, but I want to be in the middle of the Body Mass Index scale of "healthy" instead of on the far side close to "overweight" so this is a personal choice of mine.
According to BMI I am overweight by 10lbs...do I appear this way to you?
I don't judge and wouldn't be able to over the internet. But I do understand that the BMI is inaccurate, but we all have our goals right?0 -
I have an honest question for you - how are your energy levels at 1200 calories a day? Are you able to remain awake and positive all day, or are you crashing into bed at night with absolutely nothing left?0
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I have to question your weight goal.... 135 or even 145 that I read in a later reply... that sounds awfully low. I am female in my 40's, 5'4",weigh 145 and a size 10. A man of your height and that weight seems like you should be fine where you are. I am all for being healthy not skinny.
Technically, I could stop where I am at and start weight training, but I want to be in the middle of the Body Mass Index scale of "healthy" instead of on the far side close to "overweight" so this is a personal choice of mine.
BMI is a load of crock for most people - even my GP say that...... You will know looking at your body what is right - when you get into the healthy range the scale and BMI charts are not always the best indicator.....
I also question if any stay at home parent is truly sedentary - my guess is not at all based on what I see in my friends and family caring for their little ones the whole day - just saying - it is hard work!
It is hard work, but not nearly as hard as lifting weights. My heart rate never elevates and my muscles never strain. So in a fitness sense, I don't feel I am really doing anything to benefit my body. Just releasing some elbow grease really...0 -
I have to question your weight goal.... 135 or even 145 that I read in a later reply... that sounds awfully low. I am female in my 40's, 5'4",weigh 145 and a size 10. A man of your height and that weight seems like you should be fine where you are. I am all for being healthy not skinny.
Technically, I could stop where I am at and start weight training, but I want to be in the middle of the Body Mass Index scale of "healthy" instead of on the far side close to "overweight" so this is a personal choice of mine.
According to BMI I am overweight by 10lbs...do I appear this way to you?
I don't judge and wouldn't be able to over the internet. But I do understand that the BMI is inaccurate, but we all have our goals right?
Sooo, you get it but you still don't care?0 -
I recommend this video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=24Iw1thBlLA
This lady changed her body dramatically and is a member here you can find her and see her before and after photos if you want. She gives a bunch of advice on diet and exercise.0 -
I have to question your weight goal.... 135 or even 145 that I read in a later reply... that sounds awfully low. I am female in my 40's, 5'4",weigh 145 and a size 10. A man of your height and that weight seems like you should be fine where you are. I am all for being healthy not skinny.
Technically, I could stop where I am at and start weight training, but I want to be in the middle of the Body Mass Index scale of "healthy" instead of on the far side close to "overweight" so this is a personal choice of mine.
According to BMI I am overweight by 10lbs...do I appear this way to you?
I don't judge and wouldn't be able to over the internet. But I do understand that the BMI is inaccurate, but we all have our goals right?
So you understand it is inaccurate...yet you still desire dropping down to the middle of it's healthy scale...why?0 -
I JUST STARTED INCREASING MY CALORIES FROM 1280 TO 1400 AND I LOST 2 POUNDS:) I WORK OUT 3X A WEEK AND SO FAR SO GOOD. I AM GOING TO INCREASE THEM ANOTHER 100 IN A WEEK OR SO. ILL LET YOU KNOW IF THIS WORKS. I WAS NERVOUS TOO. BUT REMEMBER YOUR BODY NEEDS THE ENERGY FROM THE FOOD TO KEEP YOUR METABOLISM GOING. I KEEP THAT IN MY HEAD AND IT HELPS. IT WILL WORK FOR YOU JUST BE PATIENT. ALSO I WOULDNT WORRY TOO MUCH ABOUT NOT BIENG BLE TO WORK OUT. YOU MEN ARE LUCKY YOUR BODY BURNS CALORIES MUCH QUICKER THAN WE DO:( SO I HAVE TO GO THE EXTRA MILE. GOOD LUCK
But you see, I don't work out. I can't. Even when summer vacation is over, I still have all this responsibility tying me to the house, so all I can do is do lunges and sit ups and squats while doing m day2day work. But thank you for your input anyways. I appreciate it.
If you have 20 minutes you could do the 30 day shred by Jillian Michaels. 7 bucks at Target. I am a full time mom/HR Specialist/Grad Student and I teach yoga. Both of my kids are active in sports so we are gone at least 4 nights a week too.... if your kids are in school you can certainly find 20 minutes if I can.0 -
You might want to try upping the calories by 100 at a time. Add the next 100 after a few days at 1300 and so on.
I highly recommend checking out yard sales and craigslist for some inexpensive weights. Also, my friend keeps telling me about a website www.freecycle.com or something like that where people give stuff away. Another thing to consider, if there is a YMCA near you, you can get an income based membership for our entire family for very little money per month if you fall below a certain level. It would be great for you and the kids to get out of the house if that is a possibility for you! If not...the world is your playground. Look into bodyweight exercises, you can do pull ups on the monkey bars, etc.!
I hope you don't consider this to be too judgy, but I am 5'2 and weigh 135 right now. I think that if you started lifting you would lean out some more due to building muscle. I've only lost like 4 pounds since January, but I went down 3 sizes because of lifting!
I'll look into it. Thank you for your input. I would like to lift but I'm just not seeing where the time is going to come from. You see, my health is only MY concern; my wife is very passive about the whole thing. She doesn't care if I'm overweight or underweight, as long as I'm working or cleaning (Ideally working). She's not cold hearted or anything, she's just goal oriented on her goals.0 -
Pretty sure that doing housework, running around with kids, grocery shopping, etc. puts you at lightly active. No one, even people work at desk jobs, is really "sedentary" unless you literally sit around and watch TV all day!0
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I'll look into it. Thank you for your input. I would like to lift but I'm just not seeing where the time is going to come from. You see, my health is only MY concern; my wife is very passive about the whole thing. She doesn't care if I'm overweight or underweight, as long as I'm working or cleaning (Ideally working). She's not cold hearted or anything, she's just goal oriented on her goals.
As hard as it sounds, you will find a way to make time for it. Find a way to get your kids involved! My son loves to "lift" with me, he's 6 and lifts the 3 pound weights When I first joined MFP I was working 40 hours plus driving 10 hours a week to get to and from work. I was out 3 nights a week for other commitments. I only worked out 2 or 3 times per week and I managed to get pretty fit that way! Good luck! 0 -
I have an honest question for you - how are your energy levels at 1200 calories a day? Are you able to remain awake and positive all day, or are you crashing into bed at night with absolutely nothing left?
Believe it or not, my energy levels are fine! Carbs are the world's solution to energy. I feel my energy level dipping down? Carb and protein; 2:1 ratio. I wake up around 7 am to get the wife up and off to work then I go to bed about 1am after I put the kids to sleep (again don't judge, it's summer vacation). Sure, 6 hours of sleep sucks, but I make it work (without coffee).
The only problem I had maintaining at 1200 or below is weighing my food out so I can make sure I'm not getting too much of one macro.0 -
honestly, i'm trying to figure that one myself. i just reached my goal weight that i'm happy with. so i was taking 1200 in a day ( i workout 7 days a week and don't eat the exercise calories i burned ) but mfp says to maintain my weight i have to eat 1890! i had a hard enough time eating the 1200, and now i have to eat that much more? i don't want to stop working out or lighten it up because i've been doing it for so long, i just don't feel right if i don't. so in other words, i feel your pain.. i'm not in my 30's anymore or as tall as you (53yrs. 5'5"). good luck.0
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Maid, butler and cook? doesn't sound sedentary to me!!
Just an FYI... women can tell you.. nothing sexier than a man who can hold his own around the house! Its frustrating to work hard to keep a house clean a man comes in and 5 minutes later its messy again !!
So to any man who tries to give you grief about it... You're making your woman happy.. are they making theirs happy??
HA! Well I appreciate all that. Sad part is, she would rather be home and being the maid, butler, and cook; I just don't have a degree and I don't have people skills (due to the HSP) so she's just a better fit for working. As a matter of fact, I expect the "go back to work" nags to start soon; but I am such a bad-*kitten* homemaker, I can't believe she would give up this life for her and the kids. No one lifts a finger but me.
When my old man starts that whole "Ishould go back to work" thing, I distract his as fast as I can!!! He spoils me rotten and I don't care who knows it. I worka 12 hour shift 7 out of 14 days. I come home at 5 in the morning and relax until I'm ready to go to bed. Then I get up and hang out. On my days off I get to lounge in the pool and be a lazy cow. I love it when he stays home!!! She probably does too!0 -
Pretty sure that doing housework, running around with kids, grocery shopping, etc. puts you at lightly active. No one, even people work at desk jobs, is really "sedentary" unless you literally sit around and watch TV all day!
Yeah, my shopping trips are like 2 hours long because all the health food is so damn spread out! I actually turn on my endomondo app and walk the store to see how many calories it thinks I've burned (I have no hrm at the moment).0 -
Something else to consider re exercise, if you're looking for ideas -- I borrowed a copy of the book, You Are Your Own Gym, by Mark Lauren, from the local library. It has a great collection of bodyweight-only exercises that you can do in your living room, at all levels of difficulty and for all muscle groups (so you can avoid stressing any area with an injury). The book also offers a couple ways of putting together a decent but very quick workout.
I wish I knew enough about nutrition and weight loss to offer you good advice on your calorie intake. I just have to second what everyone else has said. Take it slow, don't worry too much about the effect on your grocery budget (as others have said, there are very cheap ways of adding a few hundred healthy calories to your daily intake, such as peanut butter or eggs), and don't be too nervous -- you can always undo any adjustments you make.
Kudos on being a stay-at-home father. Wish I could do the same.0 -
Don't worry, you wont gain fat back while in a calorie deficit still Law of thermodynamics!
As for the grains, if you are gluten intolerant then don't eat them! Do you like peanut butter? 3 tablespoons of that and you are up 300 calories
This. Just make sure what you are adding back is good stuff.
Plus, there are some budget friendly ways to get in a few more calories that are healthy... I can find full fat greek yogurts on sale at buck a pop when I look.. that gets you half way.. add a TBS of a nut butter and your golden. Maybe a protein shake mix? They are expensive up front but a container of that lasts me FOREVER...
Eggs are 70 cals each and are pretty cheap... 3 hard boiled eggs as a snack gets you to 210. I also will wait for chicken to go on a great sale, cook it all off and then pack it up and freeze it, defrost and reheat... 3 oz of boneless skinless is about 150 cals.
If you're gluten intolerant, can you do brown rice or quinoa? That's easy to find in bulk for not too much. I can be cooked up and kept in the fridge.
Oh and stay at home parents of any gender rock... it's no picnic, male or female. Good on you.
I am both gluten and lactose intolerant but since LACTASE can be taken orally I can sometimes tolerate milk products. But I'll figure out ways to eat the calories, but I am not going to just fill them up. If you see my diary you'll see I eat only nutrious foods that are primarily raw (some processed for the sake of the children since they like burgers and stuff).
I had Quinoa two days ago, I had a gluten like response to it, but then and again it could have been the greek yogurt I had in the morning. Not sure. But I will try it again soon.
Thanks for your advice though, I appreciate it.0 -
I ate 1200 calories a day for 7 months. Dropped 140 lbs during that time. Then I started adjusting up a couple / few hundred calories at a time every 3-4 weeks. What will more than likely happen is you will immediately see a couple pound gain. I mean immediately, first week more than likely. Dont let that stop you, it will be all water. After another seek or so it will be gone and chances are more weight too.
You will probably find you're still loosing and you will have to adjust again. Maybe even a few more times. Just remember to give each adjustment at least 2 weeks and dont freak out over the initial gains. They are temporary I promise.
Im up ti 3350 ish a day and not gaining anything significant. I've also dropped cardio from 7 days to 3.
Good luck you'll be fine!
I have a very similar story to this one. At my lowest intake, I was probably around 1250. Much like the OP, I was scared to add back in calories as I was scared to start gaining weight. When I was coming close to my final goal (176, as the ticker below says), I started adding in calories, a couple hundred at a time, every few weeks. What I found, however, was not an immediate gain, I would hold for a week then drop 2 pounds the second week. It's like my body was breathing a sigh of relief each time my calories went up. This cycle repeated until I'm at the calories I eat now -- 2278 per day, add in eating (most) of my exercise calories back, and I can eat a good chunk of food. I've been holding steady at 155-157 for a while now, so this seems to be working (I'm 5'10.5", so I'm right in the middle of my BMI healthy range). There are days now that I think I'd like to put back on 10 pounds or so, hopefully of just muscle, although the doctor says I could afford to pus a couple percentage points of fat back on (the bathroom scale [yeah, highly inaccurate, i know] bounces between 8.5% and 9.5%, which is at the very bottom of "healthy" and borderline "not healthy). And there are most days where I'm damned happy where I'm at and don't want to change things.
As you go through your transition, take it slow, wait for your body to let you know it's ready. If you're worried about adding grains or similar foods, you can always increase portion sizes of your proteins, which tend to be more calorie dense. Instead of the 4 ounce piece of chicken, up it to a 5 ounce piece, and so on. I went through all the fear you have now, mostly for naught. Just make sure you listen to your body, you'll be OK.
EDIT - Oh, and mad props for being a stay at home dad. My brother has that duty in his house. After having the kids alone for a couple days while my wife was travelling for work and listening to some of the stories my brother tells me, you get my respect. I know I could not do it. Or, in the very least, my learning curve would have been very steep and very long.0 -
Hi Dustin,
I will try to address your concerns (I am not a professional, just speaking from my own experience)
A) put on weight - like some of the other posters said, you are likely to gain some water weight in the first week, but that should stop and you should start losing after a couple of weeks.
Cost the family more money because of my increased strain on the family - 300 calories is 3 tablespoons of peanut butter. You can get a 40 oz jar of peanut butter for around $6. If you eat 300 calories worth of peanut butter a day from that jar, the jar will last you 35 days. So there are calorie rich cheap foods that you can eat for the extra 300 calories without putting financial strain on your family.
C) Be forced to eat grains to fill calories (I'm Gluten Intolerant) - nope, you can always eat nuts, nut butter, other types of healthy fat, protein to eat 300 extra calories.
D) Going to stop losing weight even though the deficiency is still there - as long as you are still on a deficit you should continue to lose weight. If you don't then you can always cut back to 1200 calories again.
Best of luck. If you have further questions, feel free to private message me or add me as a friend.
Thanks,
Rose
Thank you for addressing all my concerns. I've never been as health conscious as I am right now in my whole life. And I want to do this the right way so when my kids get older they can take a healthy diet regime with them when they finally move out (if they do that is).0 -
First, I have to say my gut instinct is not to reply at all because this sounds like a trap. Based on your responses, you understand that your goal is based on inaccurate information and yet you are pursuing it anyway...
Second, anyone in this day and age who thinks about criticizing you for being a SAHD is not worth your time and certainly gets not respect from me or most other people. So you can definitely ignore anyone like that.
Third, I'm not a doctor, but I think you're not thinking straight... You are at the perfect weight to start working out at home (yes, you can make the time; it's just a matter of priorities). You don't need any special equipment really other than possibly a couple of barbells you can purchase anywhere (including Wal-Mart and sometimes even Goodwill).
I understand about being poor, trust me. This is the first year my wife and I could even think about spending money on gym and personal trainer. My wife is a SAHM, so we are living on my income alone. Because our health was deteriorating (we are in our early 40's, and she was right at 300 lbs and I was over 200), we knew we needed to take action (literally!). So yes, we are spending the big bucks and it aint easy... but she has lost 70 lbs and I have lost over 30 lbs so far since the beginning of the year. My trainer said (in essence) I am at a good weight to start focusing on strength training now and less on weight loss. I am only 5'7" and weigh 176 -- so you can see where my concern for you comes from. I am not a large framed person. My current profile photo shows me at my heaviest (216 lbs). I look nothing like that now (except the hairline! :P).
So don't worry about 1500 calories. I would even bump it up to 1600 or maybe more, try to get your heart rate up to around 140 or so for 30 minutes a day and do some core exercises and you will be a knockout in no time. You can find exercises all over the place on the internet now (including Men's Health online; they have some great stuff!).
Good luck, and be healthy. 0 -
One thing to remember - you are in control.... If you start gaining weight, you can always drop down your calories again.....So don't be scared :-)
Do this bit by bit - maybe up 150 calories for a couple of weeks - and then up 150 calories again....
You might pick up a bit of weight when you first increase your calories, so please do not knee jerk - you need
to give this 3 to 4 weeks to see how your body responds....
The easiest way to increase your calories is to increase your fat intake - in a healthy way off course ..... Start adding some olive oil, nuts, nut butters like peanut butter.....if the budget allows some olives, salmon, avocado is good options..... Eggs, Full fat diary instead of low fat is also good options....
Good luck - and remember - you are in control, but also give your body time to adjust
Nuts is a good idea. Those little packets from Trader Joes with nuts and cranberry's (at least the variety I have) are 190 and it's just a little handful.
Nuts are good with something. Never have protein without a carb. Balance is key. But thank you for the suggestion. I think what to do with the calories isn't as much of a concern, it's really the weight loss and the fear of putting some back on.0 -
I have an honest question for you - how are your energy levels at 1200 calories a day? Are you able to remain awake and positive all day, or are you crashing into bed at night with absolutely nothing left?
Believe it or not, my energy levels are fine! Carbs are the world's solution to energy. I feel my energy level dipping down? Carb and protein; 2:1 ratio. I wake up around 7 am to get the wife up and off to work then I go to bed about 1am after I put the kids to sleep (again don't judge, it's summer vacation). Sure, 6 hours of sleep sucks, but I make it work (without coffee).
The only problem I had maintaining at 1200 or below is weighing my food out so I can make sure I'm not getting too much of one macro.
Right on - we're all built differently, I suppose.
I try to stay as close to 1600 as possible, which puts me at about a 30% deficit based on my BMR, and you appear to be more active than me during a typical day (I work a desk job). Even at 1600, I feel a little weak at times, and we have a very similar body type. It just surprises me, is all.0 -
There is a reason for which you are recomended to eat 1,500 calories to loose weight, and its because be eating so little you are definetively putting yourself into "starvation mode". Your body thinks that there is some type of shortage of food and it reacts by slowing its metabolism and consuming far less calories to work than normal.
Another serious issue is that under such a low calorie intake, you put your hormones into catabolic state and start consuming muscle instead of just body fat. This, in the long run, has its consequences including kidney disease.
Go ahead and increase your caloric intake. You've got to eat to get leaner... Not in excess of course.
What I really do recomend is to pay a visit to a nutritionist, and to do at least some excersice. Not just for loosing weight, but for health reasons.
I myself, am a man and I doo the cooking and washing at home, and above that I work 8 hours a day. And I have three kids. I'ts just 30 minutes every day (or at least every other day) and it will change your life.
Lets face it... If you have time to upload everything you eat here, and dedicate time to write this post, then you are already spending at least half an hour daily. It's really just a matter of choices, isnt it? You will get much better results by working out gentley just a little bit...
(written from my I Pas as I do 20 minutes of indoor bike at home)0 -
I am impressed...often I find that people looking for advice here wind up getting a bunch of crappy advice backed by nothing. You have been given really good advice here. Yes, BMI is a horrible indication of healthy weight.
Yeah, I'm grateful that people have been so sensitive to this topic. It's been very difficult talking to people about my fears/concerns because I run into egomaniacs more than I run into honest, decent human beings. Being a man and expected to act manly is a huge inferiority complex of mine; I am proud to be a HSP but I realize I am a minority and I will be treated like such in most cases.0 -
I have absolutely no advice, just wanted to throw out a giant thumbs up for being a stay at home dad! It's an amazing gift to give your kid(s) =D
^^THIS
Again Thank you 0
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