Calories PROS please HELP

mkam1980
mkam1980 Posts: 142 Member
in Motivation and Support
Hi All.

I am 33 years old. I had breast cancer, diagnosed this past July and after multiple months of treatment, a bi-lateral mastectomy and such I have packed on 30+ pounds. Please HELP. I have been faithfully eating my allotted calories and I'm not dropping anything. Please feel free to take a look at my diary. I drink between a gallon and 2 gallons of water a day so I don't track my water. Im 5'8 and weigh 240.

Unfortunately, since I am 10 weeks post surgery I have not gained permission to work out. I am not allowed to lift more than 5 pounds and any movement is limited due to the doctors thoughts that my first grade teaching job is physically demanding on my body right now. I have to get the calorie intake in control first.

Thank you everyone,

Replies

  • echofm1
    echofm1 Posts: 471 Member
    First, don't worry about exercise. Weight loss can happen through diet alone; exercise just helps you eat more and has other health benefits.

    Second, how long have you been working on losing weight? It's possible it's just too soon to see the weight loss. If it's only been a week or two, you might not be seeing the loss just because of daily fluctuations.

    Third, do you weigh, measure, or eyeball your food? If it's been a significant amount of time and you're not losing, you're eating too much. This is most often caused by people eyeballing their portions, which is almost never accurate. You also need to be honest with yourself if you've been having "just a bite" here and there. Those can really add up.
  • hauhaut901
    hauhaut901 Posts: 66 Member
    Hey , I've looked thru your diary , your problem is that you are eating premade food and not cook it yourself also while a label might say "10 grams of protein" , on those pre-made products that protein can be of bad quality and have a low amino-acid profile...

    Try adjusting your diet to a 50% carb - 35 % protein - 15% fats , the ratio you are currently using is high in carbs , high in fats and low in protein =)


    EDIT : Btw , you might wanna try and reduce carb intake in the evening as much as possible :) That will really help
  • mkam1980
    mkam1980 Posts: 142 Member
    Thank you
  • mkam1980
    mkam1980 Posts: 142 Member
    I'm an old weight watcher and really ocd about using the scale to measure things. The only thing I'm eye balling are my apples. GREAT tips--- THANK YOU!
  • echofm1
    echofm1 Posts: 471 Member
    Hey , I've looked thru your diary , your problem is that you are eating premade food and not cook it yourself also while a label might say "10 grams of protein" , on those pre-made products that protein can be of bad quality and have a low amino-acid profile...

    Try adjusting your diet to a 50% carb - 35 % protein - 15% fats , the ratio you are currently using is high in carbs , high in fats and low in protein =)


    EDIT : Btw , you might wanna try and reduce carb intake in the evening as much as possible :) That will really help

    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19246357
    "CONCLUSIONS: Reduced-calorie diets result in clinically meaningful weight loss regardless of which macronutrients they emphasize." - While adjusting macronutrients can help with a feeling of fullness or aid in maintaining muscles (And yes, more protein will help you feel fuller longer), for weight loss it comes down to calories.
  • mkam1980
    mkam1980 Posts: 142 Member
    Do you think calories can be too low?
  • MoreBean13
    MoreBean13 Posts: 8,701 Member
    Before I offer weight loss advice, are you still healing from your surgery?

    The problem with weight loss and healing is that you really need to give your body adequate calories and nutrition to fully heal. Think about it this way, your body needs the building blocks to repair damaged tissue and fight potential infection- do you really want to create a deficit environment?

    My opinion is that if you're still healing, you should probably focus on good nutrition at maintenance-level calories, and worry about shedding the extra pounds once you're fully recovered.
  • mkam1980
    mkam1980 Posts: 142 Member
    With the exception of weight restriction...I'm healed for now. I continue with reconstruction in April and my plastic doc said "it would help if you got back to a normal weight prior" real ego booster.:wink:
  • hauhaut901
    hauhaut901 Posts: 66 Member
    Hey , I've looked thru your diary , your problem is that you are eating premade food and not cook it yourself also while a label might say "10 grams of protein" , on those pre-made products that protein can be of bad quality and have a low amino-acid profile...

    Try adjusting your diet to a 50% carb - 35 % protein - 15% fats , the ratio you are currently using is high in carbs , high in fats and low in protein =)


    EDIT : Btw , you might wanna try and reduce carb intake in the evening as much as possible :) That will really help

    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19246357
    "CONCLUSIONS: Reduced-calorie diets result in clinically meaningful weight loss regardless of which macronutrients they emphasize." - While adjusting macronutrients can help with a feeling of fullness or aid in maintaining muscles (And yes, more protein will help you feel fuller longer), for weight loss it comes down to calories.

    No. You will eventually succumb to serious health problems if you have bad macro ratios , a cheeseburger diet on a caloric deficit will not give you enough micro nutrients to sustain a healthy system , this isn't about "losing weight" , it's about losing weight AND being healthy.
  • hauhaut901
    hauhaut901 Posts: 66 Member
    With the exception of weight restriction...I'm healed for now. I continue with reconstruction in April and my plastic doc said "it would help if you got back to a normal weight prior" real ego booster.:wink:

    mkam , too harsh of a caloric deficit CAN cause your weight loss to stagnate :)
  • mkam1980
    mkam1980 Posts: 142 Member
    Thank you
  • MoreBean13
    MoreBean13 Posts: 8,701 Member
    I would set your calories to 1750, 30%protein, 30% fat, 40% carbs , and be sure to include a wide variety of fruits and vegetables to balance your micronutrient profile. You don't need to exercise, just do what you feel you can to keep active throughout the day without wearing yourself too hard.

    It looks like this would be a pretty big calorie jump for you, so I would halve the difference over 2 weeks. Stay off the scale for a while, your weight will fluctuate a little when you change your calories.
  • mkam1980
    mkam1980 Posts: 142 Member
    That's a big jump. I'm having a tough time getting my calories in now. I'll give it a shot---THANK YOU BUNCHES
  • MoreBean13
    MoreBean13 Posts: 8,701 Member
    That's a big jump. I'm having a tough time getting my calories in now. I'll give it a shot---THANK YOU BUNCHES

    I used this calculator with your settings to get to those numbers:
    http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/

    It's actually a shade over a 20% cut from your TDEE. I made some assumptions, so you might want to run the calculator yourself to double check, but a 20% cut is about where you want to be.
  • mkam1980
    mkam1980 Posts: 142 Member
    Super, super helpful. Thank you again

Categories