Is it really just Calories In, Calories Out? What do you think?
Options
Replies
-
MostlyWater wrote: »Yes and no. It is, for the most part. But it's also your individual metabolism, how your muscles burn calories, etc.
^This^ I am currently on a diet break in an effort to get my metabolism on the right track. Working out 5 days a week (trainer, aqua classes, body pump) coupled with not eating enough (as in 1200-1400 cals) resulted in very little weight lost. I was eating below my BMR! Since I have been eating at my maintenance level, I sleep better, have the stamina for training and workouts, and am happier in general. I plan to begin a small deficit in August.0 -
Hormones messing with me too so I'm not expecting too much during this all. It's huge about allowing enough calories so that a person doesn't lose muscle, but yet burning a slow amount of fat so that it doesn't start to steal from the muscle. Trying to find that balance is tricky. It's so important to track the food...thanks, MFP, for making that easy. It's also important to keep track weekly and if something isn't working, change it. Exercise or calories out will help burn the fat faster but calories in is King.0
-
CICO works. The problem is figuring out the metabolism, age, hormones, medical issues, genetics all play a role. Once I got it thru my fat head, "no, you can't eat massive quantities of crap", I made progress. You can't exercise a bad diet. For me though, some exercise is a requirement. Yes, I would rather sit on my butt and eat chocolate, but that is not going to get or keep me healthy. Drastic measure don't work long term, the body doesn't like it. As others have said, you have to do what works for you or you will fail. Sugar is a trigger for me, but I love it. I just have to be a big girl and keep it within reason. I am not a gym rat and will never work out for hours 5-6 times a week. I have to do what is right for me. I have found that middle ground that lets me enjoy the foods I love, do exercise that I don't hate, (that's as good as it gets for me.) and maintain my weight. I could describe what I do, but it might or might not work for someone else.
BTW, I love that we can have an intelligent, mature discussion here w/o the snarky comments of the main forums. Some things do get better with age.0 -
I found that cico helped but wasn't the be all end all. Exercise for me (lifting) really made a huge difference. I'm sure my metabolism is higher now than it was in my 20's.
Being type 2 diabetic also had an effect. I have not only become aware of watching my carbs, but I found more importantly is when I have my carbs. Higher carbs and protein before a workout gave me the most energy and gains, but also helped me in losing weight at a better pace.
Sugar for me has never really been an issue. I rarely eat desserts, only 1diet soda per month (if even that). I do have the odd treat but always get the smallest available or I share with my wife.
For me the biggest thing was cutting back on red meats, cheese and peanut butter.
Once I cut those back, my weight really started to drop off. I still eat them, just not anywhere near what I used to.
Overall I think lifestyle is the answer for me. It is so routine now that I hardly have to look at labels.0 -
-
-
I too believe CICO is a big part, but of course metabolism, hormones etc., can also play a significant part. Finding activities that you love to do, can really help. I did not realize how much until my back screwed up and I cannot do some of my favourite activities. But I found I quickly starting using the back problem as an excuse to do nothing....when in fact I can still do some activities that get my heart rate up. So here I go again, have to hit the gym and use the reclining bike - gets the heart going and is easy on the old body
But tracking CICO is really important as we get older it's easy to forget how much is going in......! 0 -
Technically it can be reduced to CICO for weight loss. Health, fitness, and sustainable weight loss are other matters altogether. Maybe that's what makes this group different from MFP general.
Most of us have been there done that.0 -
I lost 90 calories in 10 months with CICO. I was doiing general logging, logging everything, but not being strict enough with my weighng apparently. Then I hit a 6 week plateau and I started tightening up my logging and I have lost another 6 pounds. I have been walking for the last 6 months or so, gradually buildng up my distance and speed. I think that has helped. I just started stretching and doing resistance bands, so hopefully that will help me tone a bit more, too.
I am sure that when another plateau hits, as I am sure it will, I will have to change it up as I agree that individual circumstances can really mess with you. I have been through chemo in the last 4 years (doing well now) and I have sever arthritis in my knee lmiting what kind of movement I can do.
Right now my focus is on weight loss, but I want to start firming and toning, not interested in becoming a weight lifter at this point. But, I believe it all plays a part.0 -
A calorie is just one property of a food substance. It does not address nutrient content, fiber, satiety, mineral content, glycemic index... So many other attributes to a piece of food.
To me CICO is an incomplete way of looking at food.
I treat my body like a chemistry set. It has been pretty amazing to see and experience the body transformation happen when taking more time to understand my nutritional options.
0 -
For losing weight CICO works. I lost over 60 lbs. following it. Yes, for a healthy bod, we need to pay attention to lots of other stuff. I still eat pizza and bacon, but I also eat lots of fruits and veggies. Everything in moderation and working toward a balance. Happy body0
-
I planned my quit when I gave up smoking. I started exercising daily, I changed my diet to everything healthy and cut down the portions (used MFP to track) - if CICO was the reason, I should never have put on 20 kgs - but I did. Even the doctor could only offer suggestions i.e. lower dopamine level due to quitting smoking, blood tests showing peri-menopause at the time etc BUT she did say my health was amazing despite the weight gain so she believed me on what I was doing (plus she'd seen me out walking etc a few times).
It was honestly frustrating and depressing - this is where the confusion arises though - the only way I could get the weight to stop going on was to go to what is now the "dieting" calories - the only way I could get it OFF was to go to one of the VLCD (very low carb diets) which equated to 800 calories per day...THIS WORKED, but as we know and I learned - 3 months later & 15kg lower was about all a human can sustain and the minute i started eating normally again it rapidly went back on.
Even with MFP, I suspect my good buddy Menopause, pokes her head in now and then and it is necessary for me to do 2 days a week where I'm well under the recommended daily intake, despite the sirens and flashing lights the programme tells me about
Sounds like an excuse I guess, but I suspect I should've quit smoking well before Mother Menopause decided to mess with my mind
0 -
I read many share the challenges of menopause
I don't have to deal with it but certainly have a compassion for those that do0 -
I've been stuck at a plateau for about 3 months even though I'm walking 3 to 5+ miles a day and have started strength training in the last few weeks. Hope to break the plateau with the strength training. All I read seems to indicate that it does help your metabolism to build muscle tone. My thyroid has just been wreaking havoc with my metabolism and motivation. A couple of years ago I lost about 30 pounds using MFP, working out and then one day I quit logging in and got out of the habit of working out and gained 25 of it back in what seemed like 6 months. Perhaps it was a little longer but it scared the heck out of me. I really think I lost it too fast and my thyroid went wacko on me.0
-
sunshine77493 wrote: »I've been stuck at a plateau for about 3 months even though I'm walking 3 to 5+ miles a day and have started strength training in the last few weeks. Hope to break the plateau with the strength training. All I read seems to indicate that it does help your metabolism to build muscle tone. My thyroid has just been wreaking havoc with my metabolism and motivation. A couple of years ago I lost about 30 pounds using MFP, working out and then one day I quit logging in and got out of the habit of working out and gained 25 of it back in what seemed like 6 months. Perhaps it was a little longer but it scared the heck out of me. I really think I lost it too fast and my thyroid went wacko on me.
I have been in the horrors of a plateau for over a month now. I exercise and log and all that. I recently had a complete physical and my thyroid is fine. I am starting on the change of life journey, apparently, but cannot believe it can cause havoc so quickly. My sister and I are starting to alternate our walking with some of the T25 workouts. I hope that helps move things along. She just started MFP yesterday. I invited her to join our group but she says "I am 49 1/2. I am not going near anything for 50 year olds til that sad day comes.' We are dramatic in our family and are railing against middle age. I am just about halfway to goal. I want my body to get with the program and start acting so obstreperously.
0 -
Such a wealth of experience, knowledge and understanding of lifestyles in all the above posts. You humble me with all your determination to succeed despite numerous obstacles. I think that is what the young people on the main forum don't understand. They have healthy, fit bodies and are at the stage of life where energy should be in abundance. We on the other hand, have aching joints, crook backs and a history of goodness knows what types of past injuries and illnesses to incorporate into our exercise regime.
So yes, CICO is very important and so is exercise but I think most of us know that it is only a small part of the overall picture.
Unbelievable, a whole two pages on this subject without one snide, nasty remark. I haven't been around lately because of a busy time at work but is it my imagination but has the main forum changed a bit? It doesn't seem quite as nasty or did I just pop in on a good day???? 0 -
Unbelievable, a whole two pages on this subject without one snide, nasty remark. I haven't been around lately because of a busy time at work but is it my imagination but has the main forum changed a bit? It doesn't seem quite as nasty or did I just pop in on a good day????
Yes, it is wonderful to have such a great group of experienced & supportive members.
On the main forums, the powers to be came in last week and tried to put the hammer down on some of those few that ruin it for everyone else. They even closed a couple of the worst out of control discussions and lectured the participants. Hopefully it does some good. Maybe they can learn something from the example this group puts out. 0 -
There is a lot to be said for maturity.0
-
I was lifting hard two days a week and biking hard three days a week
The scale was bouncing up and down and I did see some tape measure changes.
But I took two light exercise days and watched my calorie intake to be lower carb those two days....
And then the couple pound whoosh happened. 3 weeks of essentially a plateau ended with 3 pounds and change drop.
It is easy to get discouraged. I was getting frustrated but hung in there.
Sometimes I think my body is just as stubborn as my mind! It does not like to change too much too soon!
0 -
It's nice to have this island of civility and maturity here. I occasionally look around the main forums, and it reminds me of a phrase we use at the fire department, 'Not my circus, not my monkeys'.
PS Congrats on the drop Pro. Do you find the high cardio load affects moving up the numbers with your lifting?0
