Confused about Caloric Levels and Looking for Advice
Hi Everyone,
I'm looking for a little advice. Some people already know this about me, but for those who don't: a couple years ago I lost 40 lbs and got down to 118. But, I didn't look good. And I didn't feel good either. My Dr. told me I was overtraining and not eating enough calories (60-90 minutes of cardio every day, and I was eating about 1,400-1,600 calories). I got very flabby and funny looking toward the end of my journey, and I decided to put back on just a little weight and try to maintain.
It's been two years, and I have done okay, but I started getting close to the 135 line, and that was too far for me, so I decided too try to lose weight again- hence why I came back here. During maintenance I had started with continuing my calorie counting with good intentions, but over time I got lazy and I just tried to eat "healthy" and work out consistently, but then that eventually turned to only working out when I felt like it and trying not to eat too much junk food. LOL, needless to say this wasn't very effective and that's why I am back here.
This time, I am trying to lose weight a better way- the right way. I have been working out 45 mins - 1 hr and I have been usually doing a mix of circuit training with weights (which I almost ignored the last time) and heavy cardio. I am back to calorie counting and I have been shooting for between 1,400-1,600 calories with the hopes of losing a lb a week.
However, that isn't happening. The scale is just inching along (as in, I have dropped a lb in the last MONTH). My clothes are fitting better, and I am trying not to worry about the scale since it may just be muscle gain. However, here is where I am at:
I am SO. HUNGRY. ALL. THE. TIME. Like, hungry to the point that it distracts me at work and I can't concentrate. Hungry to the point that I become a cranky person around my husband. It isn't water because I drink so much water and unsweetened tea each day that I pee every 10 minutes, all day. I don't know if these hunger signals are accurate since I have probably messed them up from a lifetime of overeating and comfort eating.
Today I played around with a couple calorie counters and they told me that to maintain I should be eating between 2250-2350 calories. Since I want to lose weight fairly slowly, to lose a lb a week they are saying I could eat 1,800 calories at my current fitness level.
Isn't that a lot for someone my height and weight? Do you think I should try it? Has anyone else here had success at losing weight at calorie levels like that, around my height? What are your thoughts? Is it normal to be so hungry? I am scared to try eating so many calories, but I feel like I have to do something before my poor body revolts.
Your doc was probably right. That is low calories for the amount of activity you said you were getting back in the day. 1400-1600 is lowered to begin with but add 90 minutes a day and it's gets really low.
I am thinking the reason you started looking flabby at a low weight was that you were not able to build and maintain muscle at that low calorie level. It's particularly important to get enough protein if you are doing a low calorie diet b/c you need to support your muscle mass.
Have you only tried one online calculator? I have had good results using the calcs at freedieting.com. You might try that one. Sometimes it does seem higher than you'd think but then again when we are eating a lot of junk we'd be surprised if someone told us how many calories we were consuming...
Considering that I'm very active, 117lbs and lost weight (unintentionally I might add!) eating an average of 1800 calories a day, I think it's a safe bet that someone who is 11lbs heavier than me and also very active could lose weight eating that much
You're training with weights, so that's good. You're going to hold on to muscle and when you do that you need to fuel those muscles!
What are you eating? Are you eating lots of veggies and lean proteins? These will keep you full for very little calories. However I find that by spacing out my meals and snacks that I am often not very hungry. Instead of having a larger breakfast, I would have a smaller one and then a mid morning snack for example. I also have a mid afternoon snack to hold me over until dinner
I actually followed a similar method to what you did earlier by eating around 1600 calories a day and trying burn off 300-400 calories with a combination of weights and cardio. At my top weight I could burn off 300 calories in less than 20 minutes, now it takes 50% more time. I think the weights matter a lot because muscle will fill in the flab. I have neglected my abs but arms, legs, and glutes got plenty of attention. As of now the only part of my body I think looks flabby is the abdominal section so I have work to do there. Just make sure the calories you burn off don't force the net balance to drop too low and get enough of the right nutrients to supply the muscle building. If you like that much cardio, vary the intensity so you aren't doing 6 days a week at uber high intensity, like a stroll in the park one day. Good luck!
What are you eating? Are you eating lots of veggies and lean proteins? These will keep you full for very little calories. However I find that by spacing out my meals and snacks that I am often not very hungry. Instead of having a larger breakfast, I would have a smaller one and then a mid morning snack for example. I also have a mid afternoon snack to hold me over until dinner
I agree with this. Maybe you're not getting enough caloric "bang for your buck" and could add in more low calorie foods to give you volume. I also space out my meals so that I'm eating more often.
Thanks everyone. I used three different calorie counters, and got a maintenance level of anywhere from 2,170 to 2,310. With a 500 calorie a day deficit for a lb of weightloss a week, that puts me at an average of 1,750 (or so) calories a day. And yes, I was being honest about my activity level. I do 45 minutes to an hour of super intense exercise 6 days a week, and I am pretty active at home. My workouts are usually 50% circuit training and 50% cardio (or sometimes I do pilates instead of cardio). We also do exercise breaks at work.
I do eat a lot of veggies, fruit and lean protein. Most of my grains are whole grains, so I get some fiber to fill me up. I do splurge about 100-200 calories a day, on average, on little sweet things, but it's usually like a single piece of chocolate at night and an italian ice pop at lunch.
sontaikle- I am so glad to hear that you were able to get down to 117 lbs eating 1,800 calories. I really think that would be a more attainable calorie level for me. I am going to try it for a couple weeks, and see what happens. If I gain or don't lose... maybe I will drop them again. But if I do lose, then I'll know that my body was hanging onto fat because I wasn't eating enough calories to make up for the calories I am burning.
Balanced, what I would like to suggest is that you get a full blood panel performed by your doctor just to make sure that everything is ok...that you don't have diabetes 1 or 2, or hypoglycemia or insulin issue or thyroid problems. The crankiness, constant hunger and the chronic peeing should be considered and told to your physician -- if a person has diabetes those are possible signs. The weight loss stall for your consumption/activity I don't know, but I'm averaging 1400 daily now, taller, weigh 170 and maintaining -- but I have diabetes2, hypothyroid and fatty liver, and don't work out. Not to make this about me, I'm just putting that out there as comparison with having health issues that lean towards making weight loss harder.
If you have a friend or family member who is diabetic, I recommend using their meter and a fresh lancet (small finger pricker) to check your glucose when you wake up in the morning, and a couple times during the day--that would be a quick easy way to get a base number. 92 is normal.
Confused about Caloric Levels and Looking for Advice
