Macronutrients

4legsRbetterthan2 wrote: »

Just some background in case you aren't familiar: calories = unit of energy in food. The calories come from the macro nutrients in food: protein= 4cal/g fat=9cal/g carbs=4cal/g. So it makes it very difficult to restrict 2 different macro nutrients and still eat enough calories; they have to come from somewhere. That leaves you with protein, and while protein is great for you, eating strait protein is very difficult (and boring!) unless you want to get into suppliment/powder additions.

I am not familiar with FODMAP, but from my 2 seconds of googling it seems like that is why you are trying to limit your carbs? Is there a reason you are trying to limit fat as well?

Doing low FODMAP is more about eliminating or limiting certain foods which cause digestive issues.... (Fermentable Oligo-, Di-, Mono-saccharides And Polyols). You can still eat plenty of carbs!

OP, with an already restricted diet, placing extra stress on yourself to add more restrictions probably won't help you, nor will it make your weight loss more successful. I'd try and get a dietician to work with to create a diet that will help you achieve your goals incorporating the foods out are able to eat. There is no "best" way of eating, just be in a calorie deficit - what's working or healthy for someone else, isn't necessarily what will work for you.

The key to weightloss is to do have an eating plan you can live with forever.

If you eat less calories than you expend, you will lose weight.

I personally think Ketogenic is a very good and healthy way to eat but I really can't stick to it. (Damn you bread!!!!)

Also, for the remainder of this rant/post do not confuse weightloss with healthy eating... I am just focussing on weightloss. Healthy eating requires you to focus on the type of fuel you put in your body not the amount. For me personally, that is the next stage of the journey. This stage is to understand the intake of energy vs the expenditure of energy.

Here is what I do and it works for me. Please note that most of the calculations below are rule of thumb and cannot be trusted to be absolutely accurate. you will get there with patience and tweaking

Find the amount of calories your body needs to maintain your existence Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) using this formula:

BMR Female = 655.1 + ( 4.35 × weight in pounds ) + ( 4.7 × height in inches ) - ( 4.7 × age in years )

Once you have that number you multiply it by the below number that best describes your lifestyle (Go for 1.2 if you want to be absolutely safe):

Sedentary.  Little to no regular exercise.  1.2

Mild activity level: Intensive exercise for at least 20 minutes 1 to 3 times per week. This may include such things as bicycling, jogging, basketball, swimming, skating, etc.  If you do not exercise regularly, but you maintain a busy life style that requires you to walk frequently for long periods, you meet the requirements of this level.  1.375

Moderate activity level: Intensive exercise for at least 30 to 60 minutes 3 to 4 times per week. Any of the activities listed above will qualify.  1.55

Heavy or (Labor-intensive) activity level: Intensive exercise for 60 minutes or greater 5 to 7 days per week (see sample activities above).  Labor-intensive occupations also qualify for this level.  Labor-intensive occupations include construction work (brick laying, carpentry, general labor, etc.). Also farming, landscape worker or similar occupations.   1.7

Extreme level: Exceedingly active and/or very demanding activities:  Examples include:  (1) athlete with an almost unstoppable training schedule with multiple training sessions throughout the day  (2) very demanding job, such as shoveling coal or working long hours on an assembly line. Generally, this level of activity is very difficult to achieve.  1.9

That will give you the amount of calories per day you need to maintain your current weight (remember this is a rule of thumb and is a very individual thing so may take a while of experimentation to nail it...Also the calculation changes as you get lighter)

Each pound of fat requires about a 3500 calorie deficit to remove (500 per day - This bit is contentious as there is no such thing as linear weightloss but assume this now and you can research more in time )

Sooooo. You need to decide how you get that deficit. Do you remove 1000 calories from your intake a day to lose 2lbs a week? (I sure as hell couldn't)

Do you aim for a 1lb a week (500 per day) and up your exercise to take care of the rest? (That's how I started).

For me personally, I exercise a lot more (because I now enjoy it) and I practise intermittent fasting (16:8 - LeanGains) because it works for me, I feel more satisfied and I don't even consider myself on a diet.

Do your homework. Research. Don't believe everything you read/hear (including this) because there are a lot of views out there and you need to find what works for you.

More importantly, have patience. Weight gain doesn't happen overnight and you won't fix it overnight but when you commit you will see results and as long as you settle on an eating plan that you can follow and the numbers stack up you WILL get there.

Enjoy the journey, find the plan that suits you, embrace the change

Good Luck!