Don't Judge but 30/M going from 1200 to 1500 - Nervous
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I will just say this. I had a 2 week diet break. I went from 1300 a day to 2200-2400 a day. I gained 4 lbs.
I returned to a deficit, and lost twice that in the first week.
You will gain a bit, quite simply, more food=more weight. But it's water and glycogen. It will balance out.
Edited to add: You'll likely lose faster at 1500.
Interesting that happened for you. I did read that people sometimes need a metabolism jump start. I'm still at a loss though eating at low caloric intake, but I am mathematically realizing that I am nearing my plateau and I want to be ready.
Thank you for the 1500 cal encouragement. I'm still at a defish, but I just want to make sure.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.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
Love Peanut Butter! Krema makes this awesome peanut only PB and I eat that on apples. But PB isn't a full protein so I'm trying to find a new carb to go with it that completes it (that isn't celery).
Thanks for the reassurance. I'm still weary about it though.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.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
Thank you. 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,
Rose0 -
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.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.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.0
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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 0 -
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
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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
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