Straight from the nutritionists mouth
HilTri
Posts: 378 Member
I have tracked for a long time (years) and have been an avid exerciser for longer than that. I have only posted a couple times but wanted to share some things that were just revealed to me at my appointment with a nutritionist! I am a 48 year old female, 5'6" 136 lbs. I run and lift and am pretty active when I am not working out. Last summer I weighed 131. I was very happy with the way I looked but haven't been able to get back there without starving so I started to assume that there must be something I was overlooking so I went to a nutritionist. He looked at my diet and said he wouldn't hanger a thing unless he was being really picky and he would tell me to eat a bit more fruit. We figured out a proper number of calories for me to consume which was on par w MFP, 1500. I was perplexed! He said he was referring me to a a sports physiologist. I was really surprised but he said that he would imagine that the reason for my plateau ( and slow gain) could be due to the fact that I have been my same weight routine and running the same distance for too long and that I need to switch it all up. That appointment is in two weeks.
He said that I should not eat back my exercise burned calories. 1500 on off days and on days. I asked if I was drinking enough water (40-60 oz). He said that no formula was required to determine water intake but to simply make sure my urine was clear or just a bit yellow. I asked about a protein heavy diet and in fact he said not to eat too much (75-80 g). He said I could drink all the Diet Coke I wanted within reason ( a liter, at know, I know).
Finally after thinking that I accurately tracked my caloric intake, I decided to write down every single calorie that crossed my lips. I have been always been mindful of food, healthy at that, but I never bothered to track coffee. I figured that the little amount of milk I put in it was no biggie. Well I measured it....I drink 1 cup of milk with every cup of coffee! I drink 3 coffees per day, 3 cups of 1% milk per day at 100 calories that I was not accounting for!!! I guess I am never to old to learn or relearn! So....eating a firm 1500 cal per day and not blowing 300 on milk and I feel better already and I haven't even switched up my workouts yet.
The info I got from the nutritionist granted was geared towards me but I thought it was helpful so I wanted to share it. I think I want to go back to school for this, it is so amazing to me how what we put in our bodies effects us. I am marching my way off my plateau and although the solution is simple, it wasn't obvious to me.
He said that I should not eat back my exercise burned calories. 1500 on off days and on days. I asked if I was drinking enough water (40-60 oz). He said that no formula was required to determine water intake but to simply make sure my urine was clear or just a bit yellow. I asked about a protein heavy diet and in fact he said not to eat too much (75-80 g). He said I could drink all the Diet Coke I wanted within reason ( a liter, at know, I know).
Finally after thinking that I accurately tracked my caloric intake, I decided to write down every single calorie that crossed my lips. I have been always been mindful of food, healthy at that, but I never bothered to track coffee. I figured that the little amount of milk I put in it was no biggie. Well I measured it....I drink 1 cup of milk with every cup of coffee! I drink 3 coffees per day, 3 cups of 1% milk per day at 100 calories that I was not accounting for!!! I guess I am never to old to learn or relearn! So....eating a firm 1500 cal per day and not blowing 300 on milk and I feel better already and I haven't even switched up my workouts yet.
The info I got from the nutritionist granted was geared towards me but I thought it was helpful so I wanted to share it. I think I want to go back to school for this, it is so amazing to me how what we put in our bodies effects us. I am marching my way off my plateau and although the solution is simple, it wasn't obvious to me.
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Replies
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It sounds like you really got sound advice! Nice to see for a change
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Great post! Thanks for sharing. This makes me want to try seeing a nutritionist again! I could use some fresh insight.2
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Nutritionist or registered dietician? They are very different when it comes to their education.15
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Sounds a lot like how I felt when I went to a nutritionist. Simple and logical stuff, yet I didn't know any of it. I went several times and got such an education. I really need to go again. Still so much to learn.
Good luck in your efforts. Hope you achieve your goals and keep learning.1 -
1 cup of milk w/each cup of coffee?
You sound like my GF who likes to have a little coffee w/her cream. LOL!
I just take my coffee black 11 -
Ha! I switched to Coffee Mate and will have much less than milk. I strive to be like you and drink it straight!2
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My "nutritionist" is actually a registered dietician, certified in sports dietetics, and CDE? Not sure what the last certification is.6
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That’s good!2
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Yes, calories from things like that really add up. I have a weight scale for liquids, so I weigh every bit of milk that I put into my coffee. I use skim and can easily drink 200-300 Kcals a day with coffee alone. Lately, I've been frothing the milk and just making lattes and cappuccinos. That seems to lower the calories a bit as a lot less milk is required.
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Glad you figured out that you weren't accounting for 300 Cal of milk in your coffee and, by the sounds of it, another 20 Cal for the coffee itself
But where, exactly, did the nutritionist help with that?
Correctly accounting for your milk and coffee falls under "logging accurately and completely"...
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Some good advice and commonsense in there.
Accurately counting calories consumed is obviously the big one!
The use of TDEE versus MyFitnessPal method of accounting or exercise is personal preference. It still does account for exercise but just in a different way.
But this use of switch it all up sets off my woo alarm.....
I was really surprised but he said that he would imagine that the reason for my plateau ( and slow gain) could be due to the fact that I have been my same weight routine and running the same distance for too long and that I need to switch it all up.
Frankly that's twaddle for weight loss - the numbers of calories will decline for weight bearing exercise as you lose weight but there seems a pervasive myth that somehow a body can get used to exercise and not burn calories. I wish my car was like that and then I wouldn't have to put any fuel in it.
But as you gained weight since last year your calorie burns from your running would have gone up not down. The supposed efficiencies are very small - moving mass over distance is physics and getting used to an exercise doesn't change that you need energy to do that. In reality as people get fitter they gain the ability to exercise more intensely, or for longer duration, and burn more calories. As they get stronger they are able to lift more - again higher calorie burn.
If your weights routine doesn't give you progression then that's a poor routine and changing would be very sensible.
Switch up your exercise because it isn't challenging you anymore and therefore your fitness and strength isn't improving would be a very valid reason.16 -
I have identical stats, but would find gross 1500 cals very low and hard to stick to. How many miles do you run in a week?2
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My "nutritionist" is actually a registered dietician, certified in sports dietetics, and CDE? Not sure what the last certification is.
Then please call hime/her by their actual, hard-earned, licensing exam-passing title. Any doofus can pay $75 and get an online certificate that says they're a "nutritionist," which in the U.S. isn't a protected term and means nothing.20 -
Drink all the diet cola isn't sound advice, I've seen licensed dieticians before and they advocate water more than anything.27
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sexysizeme wrote: »Drink all the diet cola isn't sound advice, I've seen licensed dieticians before and they advocate water more than anything.
If you find it easier to stay hydrated by drinking diet soda, or crystal light, or Mio , then go for it. The key is just to drink in the first place. Diet soda is not the devil!
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Some good advice and commonsense in there.
Accurately counting calories consumed is obviously the big one!
The use of TDEE versus MyFitnessPal method of accounting or exercise is personal preference. It still does account for exercise but just in a different way.
But this use of switch it all up sets off my woo alarm.....
I was really surprised but he said that he would imagine that the reason for my plateau ( and slow gain) could be due to the fact that I have been my same weight routine and running the same distance for too long and that I need to switch it all up.
Frankly that's twaddle for weight loss - the numbers of calories will decline for weight bearing exercise as you lose weight but there seems a pervasive myth that somehow a body can get used to exercise and not burn calories. I wish my car was like that and then I wouldn't have to put any fuel in it.
But as you gained weight since last year your calorie burns from your running would have gone up not down. The supposed efficiencies are very small - moving mass over distance is physics and getting used to an exercise doesn't change that you need energy to do that. In reality as people get fitter they gain the ability to exercise more intensely, or for longer duration, and burn more calories. As they get stronger they are able to lift more - again higher calorie burn.
If your weights routine doesn't give you progression then that's a poor routine and changing would be very sensible.
Switch up your exercise because it isn't challenging you anymore and therefore your fitness and strength isn't improving would be a very valid reason.
I agree with this.4 -
TavistockToad wrote: »I have identical stats, but would find gross 1500 cals very low and hard to stick to. How many miles do you run in a week?
And this.3 -
I have to add that I'm a bit baffled also as to the advice to eat more fruit. Did you tell him perhaps that you're not keen on vegetables, so he went with fruit? Is there something that fruit would give you that he felt you were lacking? Vitamin C perhaps?
Btw OP, I need to say that you sound like you have your act together overall. I'm 5'6", 135lbs, and would love to be running (can't due to a long parade of strains and sprains). So you have my respect. Even still I maintain on 1700+, and I'm ten years older than you. Meaning that if I had to guess, I would guess that there is more than just milk in your coffee that has been taking you over 1500 calories/day. Maybe also that there have been some "treat days" over the last while with no compensatory "stricter days".
I'm also not sure about the advice not to eat any more than 75-80g of protein. I actually think that's good advice for maintenance in general, but for me the more protein I eat, the easier it is to lose weight.
I hope I'm not sounding like I'm quibbling. I have the same fascination for this stuff that you do. Just trying to explore it a bit.6 -
Thanks all! Yyyeeeesssssss! I wasn't accurately counting calories and I was ALWAYS eating back all of my exercise calories. I think that was the main issue. Ihave been sticking to the 1500 cal max and will for one week, to me it seems on the low end as well. I always drink my 40-60 oz h2o before I enjoy a Diet Coke. When I run, I go 6-10 miles two days a week.
Thanks for all of you insight and information.3 -
Thanks all! Yyyeeeesssssss! I wasn't accurately counting calories and I was ALWAYS eating back all of my exercise calories. I think that was the main issue. Ihave been sticking to the 1500 cal max and will for one week, to me it seems on the low end as well. I always drink my 40-60 oz h2o before I enjoy a Diet Coke. When I run, I go 6-10 miles two days a week.
Thanks for all of you insight and information.
I just want to clarify, for any lurkers, that MFP is designed to eat your exercise calories.
If you aren't tracking food correctly to begin with, then you may eating more than you think and it's not eating back exercise calories that's not working, but rather imprecise tracking of food. Additionally, some people miscalculate their exercise calories and, thus, end up eating more than they should, just like with imprecise tracking of food. Whether it's choosing a higher intensity than actually exerted, or simply that it's an exercise that has an inflated number, again, it's not the method in and of itself, it's the tracking. That's why many will recommend starting with a percentage of exercise calories and then adjusting after 4-6 weeks based on real like results.
Track all your food, log exercise as honestly as you can. Adjust calories after 4-6 weeks. That's all there is to it.16 -
250 calories per day=0.5 lb per week, so not counting that 300 from milk tells the whole story.
FYI 100 calories per day =1 lb per month =10-12 lbs per year. I know that's within a margin of estimated error when logging, but as someone who gained 5-10 lb per year for 20 years, it was a very sobering realization. Small changes can make a big difference. (Lost 150 on MFP and now maintaining for 1.5 years.)9 -
I just want to clarify, for any lurkers, that MFP is designed to eat your exercise calories.
If you aren't tracking food correctly to begin with, then you may eating more than you think and it's not eating back exercise calories that's not working, but rather imprecise tracking of food.
Additionally, some people miscalculate their exercise calories and, thus, end up eating more than they should, just like with [the] imprecise tracking of food.
Whether [you're inadvertently] choosing a higher intensity than [what you] actually exerted [at], or simply that it's an exercise that has an inflated number, again, it's not the method in and of itself, it's the tracking.
That's why many will recommend starting with a percentage of exercise calories and then adjusting after 4-6 weeks based on real [life] results.
Track all your food, log exercise as honestly as you can. Adjust calories after 4-6 weeks. That's all there is to it.
Couldn't have said it any better myself!
Which is why I remain confused as to what valuable insight, if any, the nutritionist/dietitian offered to the OP.
Sounds like a straight tracking issue (I have not been logging a cup of milk or two a day) that could have been easily resolved by logging the **kitten** coffee has now devolved to bad advice (I eat 1500 straight and ignore my exercise calories).4 -
Not sure how you can manage your runs on only 1500 so as much as I agreed with a lot of what your nutritionist told you, I do not agree with not eating back exercise calories. Fuel the body and it will run better
But yes, its amazing how little calories in drinks or condiments that we might not have thought of do add up, so now you know the score you'll soon get off that plateau.2 -
LivingtheLeanDream wrote: »Not sure how you can manage your runs on only 1500 so as much as I agreed with a lot of what your nutritionist told you, I do not agree with not eating back exercise calories. Fuel the body and it will run better
But yes, its amazing how little calories in drinks or condiments that we might not have thought of do add up, so now you know the score you'll soon get off that plateau.
I think veganbaum and PAV said it best. There were likely errors on each side of the equation. We (most of us) try to use an exact equation and weigh and measure down to the gram - based entirely on the assumption that we live at the median of the bell curve in terms of our energy expenditure. My NEAT (or TDEE) estimate could very well be 200 calories in either direction and I would probably still be within a standard deviation of the mean (and be considered normal).
That said, if the measurements were all correct AND our OP was at the middle of the curve, then 1500 would seem like not enough fuel to support the body activity.3
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