Dietician Didn't Help
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FalvoPS
Posts: 25
After losing the battle of the bulge for several years, I decided to see a dietician. Unfortunately, I'm now more confused than before. First, she said I was not eating enough carbs. Second, she said I was not eating enough calories. And, lastly, she said I was eating too much protein. I'm 5'9, 251 lbs.; my BMI is over 30. I have a muscular looking physicque, but I have a gut that I want gone. I lift 5x per week in the morning for 60-75 minutes. I know I need to do more cardio, but I lack the energy and time to do it in the evenings.
Typically, I eat 1800 calories, 200g of protein, 150 g of carbs, and 50g of fat. Per her calculations, I should eat 2000 calories, 100 g of protein, 250g of carbs, and 70 g of fat. That's a 20%, 50%, 30% split of macros. Everything I have read has said use a 40% protein, 40% carbs, 20% fat split and reduced calories. Needless to say, my results have been poor, but I don't see how eating more carbs will reduce my body fat. Does anyone have any ideas?
Typically, I eat 1800 calories, 200g of protein, 150 g of carbs, and 50g of fat. Per her calculations, I should eat 2000 calories, 100 g of protein, 250g of carbs, and 70 g of fat. That's a 20%, 50%, 30% split of macros. Everything I have read has said use a 40% protein, 40% carbs, 20% fat split and reduced calories. Needless to say, my results have been poor, but I don't see how eating more carbs will reduce my body fat. Does anyone have any ideas?
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Replies
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Honestly, since the dietician has more knowledge of you, then there might be a reason for the increase in carbs/calories and drop in protein. So, I'd be hesitant in making a recommendation.
Was there a medical reason stated for this recommendation?0 -
Cant hurt to go with their suggestion based on the fact that you have not gotten the results so far.
Why not try it for 5 or so weeks and see how you feel?0 -
1,800 calories def doesn't seem like enough for your weight and height. My dietician told me to eat 1500-1800 and I'm 165. She also told me to eat more whole grains too.0
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I'd only do more carb if I was doing a lot of cardio. Personally I would say more fat and a little less protien. Even if you are doing a lot of lifting, you probably don't need that much.0
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Maybe the reason that you lack energy for cardio is because your carbs are too low. I've read accounts by runners who try going low-carb, and it just doesn't fuel them properly to run.0
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Some people lose weight when they eat more carbs than they do protein, for others it's the other way around.0
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Honestly, since the dietician has more knowledge of you, then there might be a reason for the increase in carbs/calories and drop in protein. So, I'd be hesitant in making a recommendation.
Was there a medical reason stated for this recommendation?
I don't have any medical conditions, I saw my family doctor because I was having issues losing weight. I have my cholesterol, and thyroid tested. I was also tested for diabetes. Everything came back normal. She said I didn't have energy due to lack of carbs and I would have issues with my kidneys if I continued to consume as much protein. However, my ketone levels were low.0 -
I'm in school for dietetics and even though I'm not registered, from what you'ver explained I agree with your dietician. Protein is good, but too much is both wasteful and harmful. I don't know how much she told you about that but our bodies have a harder time getting energy from protein than other foods because if its chemical composition. It requires extra work to digest it (meaning more calories burnt in digestion) BUT there is a limit to what your body can process per day and over-doing protein can really damage your liver and it becomes counter productive to your health and weight loss efforts. Our bodies can only tolerate 15-35% calories from protein per day on a long term plan.
In the same respect, carbohydrates are viewed as the "bad guys" but we need them for energy and normal function. Low carb intake can result in fatigue, impaired cognition, sleeplessness, and all sorts of other bad stuff. Feed your body and your brain with GOOD carbohydrates: whole grains fruits and vegetables. They will help stabilize your blood sugar and keep your body functioning at prime levels.
Last, there are not magic numbers or percentages. Everyone's goals will be different. 40% carbs, 30% protein and 30% fat is a good basic place to start if you're feeling the lower carb thing, but if you're working out a lot (especially if you want to do cardio) you're gonna need your carbs for energy. Good fats will also keep your nervous system functioning well and keep your skin, hair, and nails beautiful. Good fats usually mean any kind of unsaturated fats, like plant oils, nuts and avocados.
I don't know if that will help clear things up but I hope so. Good luck!0 -
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I really hope you don't plan to take the advice of the internet over the advice of a professional.0
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Seriously? You asked a dietician, who studied, who knows what she's doing, whose job it is to do what she does and you don't believe her??? You wouldn't even give it a try? Man....0
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20/50/30 has always worked well for me (sometimes I even go 15/55/30). I've not had a problem losing weight and becoming leaner with that ratio. I'm 5'9, 40 years old, female and currently 142 pounds. I eat about 2400 calories a day.
Higher protein, lower carb diets make me feel icky.
So, in short... I don't think her recommendations are way out of line!0 -
Cant hurt to go with their suggestion based on the fact that you have not gotten the results so far.
Why not try it for 5 or so weeks and see how you feel?
^^^ This. A second opinion, if you want one, should come from another dietician. But what little knowledge I have of nutrition, which can be reached through the simple formula of adding diddly to squat, tells me this nutritionist is making sense. An overabundance of unnecessary protein is not helping you and might hurt you in the same way as an overabundance of carbs is not good. All things in moderation.
A little math might help put this in perspective. The dietician is asking you to up your carb percentage and add 200 calories to your diet. There are 3500 calories in a pound. If you do this for 5 weeks, you will be eating an extra 7,000 calories TOTAL over 5 weeks. That's a potential gain of 2 pounds.
I'd try this for a month or 5 weeks and see what happens.0 -
Well shop around...there's good and bad doctors, chiropractors and dieticians etc.....maybe seek out a sports medicine professional0
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150g of carbs seems really low to me. Carbs and water are necessary to metabolize proteins. If you are going to insist on eating over 200% of the daily recommended protein for your body, you're going to have to get more carbs in.
Lifting alone doesn't make a person lose. It builds muslce, sure, but the amount of calorie burn that goes into lifting is not the same. Also, the increase to metabolism that muscle mass brings is nominal compared to cardio work outs. Without taking rest days, you aren't allowing your body to build up any muscle.
Cardio is what burns fat. I would suggest going lift, cardio, lift, cardio, lift for your workouts throughout the week. I don't know where you are reading, but all my resources say, 50% carbs, 30% protein, 20% fat, though suggests you fluctuate down on fat before decreasing the others.
You can eat all the protein you want, but if you don't give your body a good balance, you'll end up damaging your kidneys and never feeling like you've got energy.0 -
I'm in school for dietetics and even though I'm not registered, from what you'ver explained I agree with your dietician. Protein is good, but too much is both wasteful and harmful. I don't know how much she told you about that but our bodies have a harder time getting energy from protein than other foods because if its chemical composition. It requires extra work to digest it (meaning more calories burnt in digestion) BUT there is a limit to what your body can process per day and over-doing protein can really damage your liver and it becomes counter productive to your health and weight loss efforts. Our bodies can only tolerate 15-35% calories from protein per day on a long term plan.
I was going to question you and make you realize half of the stuff you said was in correct, but to avoid multiple's post back and forth I will just get to the point.
Most of the thing you said are incorrect. How is protein harmful and wasteful? You talking about kidney issues ad things of that sort? That's mostly due to the fact that protein acts as diuretic, and people who suffer from high protein issues have a history of medical conditions. The liver, you talking about acidosis? That's more of a diabetic issue. You recommended more carbs, what if this poster is insulin resistant? you know. I can easily say "carbs are harmful." Protein doesn't go to waste, it sits there in the tract until it's absorbed. So that 15-30% or whatever you said is also invalid.
Our bodies have a harder time getting energy from protein, sounds like you're talking about gluconeogenesis. The body converts .48g of glucose from 1g of protein. Dietary carbohydrate sources aren't needed. Think about this, if it's "harder" for our body to convert protein in to glucose, and if we can only absorb 15-35% that would imply that we would use more energy processing protein and we would also not absorb 85 - 65% of protein meaning this would cause a greater calorie deficit and more rapid weight loss, is this true? No.
Just so we're clear, i have nothing against you, don't feel i am attacking you. My issue is what you're being taught.
Repeated scientific studies on the intake of protein do in fact confirm that even with a healthy person, excessive protein intake can cause damage to the kidneys. It's not a diuretic issue, it's because the protein doesn't break down and has to be filtered out. The body absorbs what it needs, and then dumps the rest. It doesn't just put it in pockets and wait till it needs more. If that were true, we'd have protein deposits in our bodies aside from the muscle mass. WE DO NOT. It's obvious to me from your picture that you're a meat head in the sense that you have your goals set on being, what some might call, unhealthily muscled. I would be hesitant to take nutrition advice from someone so enamored with bodybuilding, because that type of nutrition is not going to provide sustainable weightloss, which is the OP's concern... Losing fat, not gaining muscle.0 -
I'm in school for dietetics and even though I'm not registered, from what you'ver explained I agree with your dietician. Protein is good, but too much is both wasteful and harmful. I don't know how much she told you about that but our bodies have a harder time getting energy from protein than other foods because if its chemical composition. It requires extra work to digest it (meaning more calories burnt in digestion) BUT there is a limit to what your body can process per day and over-doing protein can really damage your liver and it becomes counter productive to your health and weight loss efforts. Our bodies can only tolerate 15-35% calories from protein per day on a long term plan.
I was going to question you and make you realize half of the stuff you said was in correct, but to avoid multiple's post back and forth I will just get to the point.
Most of the thing you said are incorrect. How is protein harmful and wasteful? You talking about kidney issues ad things of that sort? That's mostly due to the fact that protein acts as diuretic, and people who suffer from high protein issues have a history of medical conditions. The liver, you talking about acidosis? That's more of a diabetic issue. You recommended more carbs, what if this poster is insulin resistant? you know. I can easily say "carbs are harmful." Protein doesn't go to waste, it sits there in the tract until it's absorbed. So that 15-30% or whatever you said is also invalid.
Our bodies have a harder time getting energy from protein, sounds like you're talking about gluconeogenesis. The body converts .48g of glucose from 1g of protein. Dietary carbohydrate sources aren't needed. Think about this, if it's "harder" for our body to convert protein in to glucose, and if we can only absorb 15-35% that would imply that we would use more energy processing protein and we would also not absorb 85 - 65% of protein meaning this would cause a greater calorie deficit and more rapid weight loss, is this true? No.
Just so we're clear, i have nothing against you, don't feel i am attacking you. My issue is what you're being taught.
If you read the post, she said "too much protein is wasteful and harmful" and that is correct. Too much protein can damage kidneys and cause other damage. How can protein just lie in wait until it is absorbed as you suggessted? We don't need to get into a heated and rude debate, I just felt that despite your statement of not trying to attack the poster, that is precisely what you did.0 -
Seriously? You asked a dietician, who studied, who knows what she's doing, whose job it is to do what she does and you don't believe her??? You wouldn't even give it a try? Man....
I saw a dietician who specializes in the morbidly obese. I was referred to her, because my goal was to reduce body fat. I'm the farthest thing from morbidly obese. I have a friend who is an exercise physiologist who disagrees with everything she said. I show no signs of hypolipodemia or anything that indicates I have issues with diabetes or cholesterol. This dietician is insisting I suffer from diabetes. The tests show otherwise.0 -
I'm a 5' 8" and 130 lb female. I ate 1800 cals, 250 carbs, and 75 protein and lost 1.5 lbs/week. To maintain I eat 2000-2500 cals per/day with roughly the same amounts of the others. The dietician's numbers seem a little more realistic than yours. Maybe give it a try? Worth a shot! Good luck!!0
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I'm in school for dietetics and even though I'm not registered, from what you'ver explained I agree with your dietician. Protein is good, but too much is both wasteful and harmful. I don't know how much she told you about that but our bodies have a harder time getting energy from protein than other foods because if its chemical composition. It requires extra work to digest it (meaning more calories burnt in digestion) BUT there is a limit to what your body can process per day and over-doing protein can really damage your liver and it becomes counter productive to your health and weight loss efforts. Our bodies can only tolerate 15-35% calories from protein per day on a long term plan.
In the same respect, carbohydrates are viewed as the "bad guys" but we need them for energy and normal function. Low carb intake can result in fatigue, impaired cognition, sleeplessness, and all sorts of other bad stuff. Feed your body and your brain with GOOD carbohydrates: whole grains fruits and vegetables. They will help stabilize your blood sugar and keep your body functioning at prime levels.
Last, there are not magic numbers or percentages. Everyone's goals will be different. 40% carbs, 30% protein and 30% fat is a good basic place to start if you're feeling the lower carb thing, but if you're working out a lot (especially if you want to do cardio) you're gonna need your carbs for energy. Good fats will also keep your nervous system functioning well and keep your skin, hair, and nails beautiful. Good fats usually mean any kind of unsaturated fats, like plant oils, nuts and avocados.
I don't know if that will help clear things up but I hope so. Good luck!
Thank you! I was looking for some sound reasoning on the matter. She did a poor job of explaining the drastic carbohydrate increase. As you can see by some of the posts from folks on here, we're programmed to believe that carbs are the enemy. I suffer from fatigue, and sleeplessness. I'm just concerned about gaining bad weight, when my goal is to shed body fat. My back can't handle any additional weight. Thanks again for the helpful post. I appreciate it.0
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