Just curious - if you count calories, how many do you have a day? For me, I found SO MUCH conflicting information online...telling me to eat anywhere from 1400 to 2300 a day (I exercise a lot). I finally went to a nutritionist, who told me that 1400 - 1600 is fine for weight loss but not to dip below 1400. She said that the weight loss margin is RAZOR THIN...eat a bit too much, you'll maintain or gain. Eat too little, your body will resist losing. It was so hard to find that 'sweet spot' for loss, which for me is around 1550 calories a day. I wanted to see where other people have been successful, too!
I can only lose if I stay between 1500 and 1600 calories a day. I maintained a year on 1900 a day. I don't care what people say about weight loss being nothing more than math (enery in < energy out), it's so much more complex than that when you bring hormones and other things into the mixture.
It's frustrating. I read that most of those weight-loss shows have people on 1200 cal diets. But everything I read put me at about 2000 cals a day. Wasn't losing. Went down to 1800, which was where I'd be if on WW, and I lost maybe .5 pound a week, if anything. I've gotten used to my new range and the loss seems to be consistent.
Having this mental conflict currently. Myfitnesspal has me at 1280. I will confess that I tend to think less is more with weight loss so I purposefully don't hit my calorie limits. But I've stalled. So I'm working on this 1600 cal a day thing for the next 2 weeks to see how I do. I'm literally terrified of eating too much and not losing. It's totally a mental thing with me.
Oh it is def. more than just calories in vs calories out. The type of food you eat plays a role which is why the focus now is on protein and high fibre foods (body uses more cals to break them down, compared to something like glucose). So a calorie is not just a calorie, you need to consider other factors too.
Its amazing too when you watch the cals how easy it is to get it wrong. 50cal extra not so bad, until you realise you've been doing it for a week argh.
Frances123 , 10-07-2013 02:43 PM
jitterfish , 10-08-2013 06:09 AM
