Is it really as simple as CICO?

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  • pookey26
    pookey26 Posts: 42 Member
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    vingogly wrote: »

    You made something click , thanks , great advice
  • pookey26
    pookey26 Posts: 42 Member
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    Ooh not sure what I did there but Vingogly , great advice
  • jennifer_417
    jennifer_417 Posts: 12,344 Member
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    Yi5hedr3 wrote: »
    Keeping carbs below 100 grams/day will enable you to burn fat. :)

    Nope. All you have to do is consume fewer calories than you burn.
  • LazSommer
    LazSommer Posts: 1,851 Member
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    If you are working out 5-6 times a week and can run 10k, it's as simple as too many calories in.
  • pookey26
    pookey26 Posts: 42 Member
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    Yep your right too many are going in ....I guess I've been over compensating for workouts vs I workout a lot and should eat a bit more kinda mindset. There is just so much info out there that somewhere along the way I've picked up habits from all of these and am now in a mish mash of what I should and shouldn't be eating.

  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,811 Member
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    If you are overwhelmed just keep it simple and keep it sustainable:
    1. Track your food and exercise as best you can.
    2. Eat a bit less of a well rounded diet composed of foods you like.
    3. If you don't get the expected results over an extended period of time then adjust your calorie goal.

    Doesn't have to be, or need to be, any more complex than that.
  • peter56765
    peter56765 Posts: 352 Member
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    "If you bite it, write it." Like many others, once I started diligently logging everything, I was shocked to discover that I was eating way more calories than I thought. While CICO is the overriding rule, it's the CI side that most people need to concentrate on. You can't outrun a bad diet.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
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    vingogly wrote: »
    If you'd like another calculation of the calories you need to lose 1-2 pounds a week, try entering your stats on this site:

    http://www.calculator.net/calorie-calculator.html

    Putting in your stats, someone 5 feet 10 inches tall would need to cut down to 1500-1750 calories to lose 1.5 pounds a week depending on level of activity.

    Yes, you'll lose the weight with CICO. I've lost 69 pounds sticking to CICO. What a lot of people seem to miss or undervalue in these forums is the impact of one's psychology on one's ability to stick with your plan and then keep it off once you've reached your goal. There's a reason why so many people are back where they started in a couple of years, and CICO isn't going to help with that because the problem is between the ears. The body may be a metabolic machine, the mind isn't.

    Try Beck Diet Solution, Intuitive Eating, or Mindful Eating for help with the behavioral part.

    http://www.beckdietsolution.com
    http://www.intuitiveeating.org
    http://thecenterformindfuleating.org

    I personally found that eating at a deficit for a while made so I was less hungry automatically, no further intervention required.

    Same here.

    There are things to try IF hunger is an issue, but for many or most of us it's not, or we naturally adjust our diets without having to follow some complicated set of rules, so no need to overcomplicate and confuse OP now. It really is CICO.

    OP, yarwell's number looks like a good starting point, or put your info in MFP. If you do the latter it doesn't include exercise, so you'd log your exercise and eat back at least some of the calories (half the estimate is a good approach).

    I use the flat calories approach, and lost from around 160 to 125 at 5'3 eating 1600 and exercising.
  • pookey26
    pookey26 Posts: 42 Member
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    What do you mean by flat calories eating 1600 everyday ? Thdnkd
  • pookey26
    pookey26 Posts: 42 Member
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    Thanks *
  • WinoGelato
    WinoGelato Posts: 13,454 Member
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    pookey26 wrote: »
    I'm feeling overwhelmed with all the information out there on the best way to lose weight and I just need to get it nailed.

    My trouble with calories is I just don't know how many to eat , below is me in summary any tips greatly received

    Female
    5ft
    175lbs
    Work out 5 to 6 times a week mixture of British military fitness and running up to 10k

    I love working out and I know I'm at my fittest I've ever been so far but feel like I'm trapped in a fat suit!

    OP did you try putting your stats into MFP with a goal of 1 lb/week loss? What calorie goal did it provide you?

  • pookey26
    pookey26 Posts: 42 Member
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    Yep I've done it just now using lightly active I got 1460
  • sanfromny
    sanfromny Posts: 770 Member
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    pookey26 wrote: »
    Yep I've done it just now using lightly active I got 1460

    That sounds about right. I'm 5'2 156lbs currently and consuming about 1300 a day but I started at 220lbs. Stick with that number and be very diligent about weighing and measuring your food. Sometimes people say, well I'm eating healthy,look I had fish for dinner but if that's an 8oz piece of fried fish you may have just consumed 700-800cals easy. Been there, done it. You'll lose just fine.
  • Crisseyda
    Crisseyda Posts: 532 Member
    edited March 2016
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    Is it really as simple as CICO?

    Short answer, yes.
    Long answer, no.

    Macronutrients matter. Fat, protein, carbohydrates, fiber, etc.
    Micronutrients matter. Vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals, probiotics, etc.

    I think we all know this, but for some strange reason this often becomes an issue of contention. Short, easy answers are just that: short and easy. If you want to stick with simple, stick with CICO. If you want to go a little deeper and start learning about how food interacts with and nourishes your body, it's a long journey but a worthy one to begin, in my opinion.
  • stevencloser
    stevencloser Posts: 8,911 Member
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    Is it really as simple as CICO?

    Short answer, yes.
    Long answer, no.

    Macronutrients matter. Fat, protein, carbohydrates, fiber, etc.
    Micronutrients matter. Vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals, probiotics, etc.

    I think we all know this, but for some strange reason this often becomes an issue of contention. Short, easy answers are just that: short and easy. If you want to stick with simple, stick with CICO. If you want to go a little deeper and start learning about how food interacts with and nourishes your body, it's a long journey but a worthy one to begin, in my opinion.

    Long answer is still yes since no nutrient breakdown of your diet is going to cancel out CICO. Nutrients are important additionally to CICO, but CICO is what powers any and all weightloss.
  • I_Will_End_You
    I_Will_End_You Posts: 4,397 Member
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    pookey26 wrote: »
    Yep I've done it just now using lightly active I got 1460

    This sounds like an appropriate number. If you log exercise, beware of the calorie burns MFP gives you. It tends to give a very large, unrealistic number. If you choose to eat them back, cut them in half.
  • Crisseyda
    Crisseyda Posts: 532 Member
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    Is it really as simple as CICO?

    Short answer, yes.
    Long answer, no.

    Macronutrients matter. Fat, protein, carbohydrates, fiber, etc.
    Micronutrients matter. Vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals, probiotics, etc.

    I think we all know this, but for some strange reason this often becomes an issue of contention. Short, easy answers are just that: short and easy. If you want to stick with simple, stick with CICO. If you want to go a little deeper and start learning about how food interacts with and nourishes your body, it's a long journey but a worthy one to begin, in my opinion.

    Long answer is still yes since no nutrient breakdown of your diet is going to cancel out CICO. Nutrients are important additionally to CICO, but CICO is what powers any and all weightloss.

    Steven, I have to disagree with the bolded. When we are talking weight loss, we are also talking sustainability. Weight loss is worthless if you can't keep it off.

    Long-term health and sustainability is where macro- and micronutrients would come into serious play.
  • benzieboxx
    benzieboxx Posts: 253 Member
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    It can be exremely overwhelming when you first start. What worked for me was filling out my profile on MFP, looking at my calorie goal and comparing it to what my normal days/weeks of eating look like. Then I just started logging. That's it. I wasn't going to focus on the scale, "good foods" or "bad foods" (which I don't believe in anyway), I wasn't going to try and hit too many goals at once. Just log. I've already lost ~10lbs so far. Just take it day by day!
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,669 Member
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    issyferg wrote: »
    Due to the actions of hormones and hormonal responses to different food types, it's not always as simple as CICO. Specifically, insulin.
    You don't want to be battling through your days in a chronic "hangry" state from not eating enough to sustain your training, and I'm sure you want to keep training in order to maintain this awesome level of fitness!
    To feel satiated & prevent hanger, try making your meals (especially breakfast) high in protein & "slower" carbs such as legumes (black beans, chick peas).
    Things to try and limit are the "white or could be white" carbs, which trigger insulin responses and therefore energy storage, eg bread (including wholegrain), rice (including brown), potato, SUGAR - throw in treat day once a week to increase success of this kinda diet plan.
    So if you're having trouble, focus on the QUALITY of the food you're fueling your body with, rather than the QUANTITY of calories. Yes this requires a little extra prep, but with a bit of experimentation with paleo or slow carb diet cook books, you'll find meals that work really well for you and you'll be able to cycle through them efficiently and get results pronto. GOOD LUCK GIRL
    Protein is insulingenic. Much of this is broscience and doesn't have much to do with CICO. You'll rarely find any cases where if someone who eats less than they burn, will not result in weight loss regardless of the food they consume.



    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

    9285851.png

  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,669 Member
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    issyferg wrote: »
    Due to the actions of hormones and hormonal responses to different food types, it's not always as simple as CICO. Specifically, insulin.
    You don't want to be battling through your days in a chronic "hangry" state from not eating enough to sustain your training, and I'm sure you want to keep training in order to maintain this awesome level of fitness!
    To feel satiated & prevent hanger, try making your meals (especially breakfast) high in protein & "slower" carbs such as legumes (black beans, chick peas).
    Things to try and limit are the "white or could be white" carbs, which trigger insulin responses and therefore energy storage, eg bread (including wholegrain), rice (including brown), potato, SUGAR - throw in treat day once a week to increase success of this kinda diet plan.
    So if you're having trouble, focus on the QUALITY of the food you're fueling your body with, rather than the QUANTITY of calories. Yes this requires a little extra prep, but with a bit of experimentation with paleo or slow carb diet cook books, you'll find meals that work really well for you and you'll be able to cycle through them efficiently and get results pronto. GOOD LUCK GIRL

    Actually this is correct if you want to focus on muscle definition.
    Well maybe if you're trying to get to single digit numbers.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

    9285851.png