I have been a calorie counter for over 15 years. Sometimes maintaining, sometimes losing, but I'm always counting. I drive a semi truck part-time. I'm out for 4 to 6 weeks, then I am home for 4 to 6 weeks. When I'm out, I exercise when I can. When I'm home, I exercise about 2 hours a day and eat pretty clean. I'm closing in on my goal weight of 130. But I'm finding that I have to eat 900 to 1000 calories to lose. So I'm thinking maybe I should do something different when I get to goal. Something that might help heal my metabolism. I've been between Atkins, which I think maybe similar to how I eat now, or Keto. Any idea would be appreciated. Thanks.
If you're eating 900-1000 calories a day, and exercising 2 hours a day, then you're doing something wrong. You should be eating more than that. It might be a problem with what you're eating, rather than how much you're eating. If you want to post a list of foods that you eat, I might be able to give you suggestions on what to change.
What type of exercise do you do? If you're doing only cardio, that might be the problem. I'd suggest doing both cardio and weightlifting. Weightlifting will help you build muscle, and having more muscle will speed up your metabolism and make you burn fat faster.
I mainly do weight lifting. I do some cardio as a warm up.
Yesterday's meals:
*Protein shake made with water and no fruit.
*2 eggs and 1 cutie
* 6 oz chicken breast, 1 roman tomato,1 tbs. olive oil, peach
* Mozzarella cheese slice with a red bell pepper.
* 4 oz ground beef, 1 slice 40 calorie bread with about.3 tbs of butter.
* 160 calorie protein bar.
I had 80 Oz of water through the day.
Exercise: I walked 2 miles. Did 5 sets of 15 squats to depth at 115 lbs. Then I did 110 walking lunges forward, 110 lunges each side, and 4 sets of 15 step ups each leg. Finished up with some ab work and rower.
I would say this was a typical day when I'm home.
Though sometimes I do add some Pilates.
Last edited by PeachesGirl; 05-31-2017 at 10:12 PM.
What type of protein bar is it? Most protein bars are highly-processed and have added sugar, so if that's the case then you might want to cut down on those.
What's a tbs? Do you mean tbsp (tablespoon) or tsp (teaspoon)? And do you mean 3 or .3? (I've never seen someone say .3 tablespoons so I'm wondering if it's a typo) If you meant 3, then I think 3 tbsp butter is too much. You also might not be eating enough unsaturated fat. Some good sources of unsaturated fat are olive oil, nuts, avocado, and some types of fish.
What type of bread is it? Is it 100% whole grain, with no added sugar?
I'd also suggest eating more vegetables. Although you're already eating some, I think more would help. Do you like leafy vegetables?
If you're squatting that heavy then I guess muscle isn't the problem. How many days a week do you exercise? Do you do bench press (or something similar to bench press) on other days?
At this point I'm just a calorie counter, and wondering if maybe I should focus on other things like carbs and sugars. And if I do, should I head more towards Atkins or a Keto type diet. Oh, another thing, I am hypothyroid.
Yes, my Nutiwise protein bars have high fructose corn syrup.
Tbs stands for tablespoon and it should have been .5 not .3.
Bread is Nature's Own has both honey and sugar.
I do sometimes have more veggies that include leafy greens. I eat a lot of salads when I'm in the truck, so sort of burned out right now.
I workout with weights 3 times a week. I do a squat, a bench and a deadlift workout. Then I also do two Pilates classes a mat class and a reformer class.
Though like Lyle McDonald says about us low calorie people, I have blow out days. On May 12th I had about 1600 calories and May 31st I had about 1500. So I'm not always good.
I'm down to about 3 to 5 pounds from my goal. I've been not really too worried about any macros or anything besides calories up to this point. I am now wondering if I should change or stay just focused on calories.
Do you think you can have more calories if you count carbs and watch sugars? Or does it come down to just calories and carb counting is just another way to restrict calories?
Some people find it easier to lose weight on a low-carb diet, but personally I've never been on a low-carb diet. I eat a lot of carbs (whole grains and starchy vegetables), but I avoid sugar and refined carbs.
I don't know much about hyperthyroidism, but I googled "hyperthyroid diet" and found this article with some advice on what to eat and what to avoid: https://draxe.com/hypothyroidism-die...ral-treatment/
The article says that some people with hyperthyroidism are sensitive to gluten or have celiac disease, so you might want to ask your doctor about that.
The Nutriwise bars have 5-12g sugar (depending on the flavor), which is good for a protein bar, but not really good, so I'd suggest cutting down on them.
I think .5 tbsp butter is ok.
Nature's Own makes more than 1 bread. Check the ingredients. If the first ingredient says "whole wheat flour" then it's ok, but if it says "enriched flour" then avoid it. If it's the honey wheat, it's only a small amount of sugar, so it should be ok.
I think you should be eating at least 1500 calories per day, considering how much you exercise and how close you are to your goal.
I think a lot of people focus too much on cutting calories and not enough on eating healthy. I think eating healthy can speed up your metabolism, and cause your body to store less fat. Eating healthy can also make you less likely to overeat, because you'll feel more full (in particular, foods high in protein or fiber are more filling, and sweets are less filling).
From reading more on this site, it seems that low carbers often still have to count calories. And many of those have calorie intakes as low if not lower than mine. So no it's probably not going to help me much. I'll just keep plugging along.
I think most of the people who successfully lose weight eat at least 1200 calories a day, but you exercise more than most people, so I think it would make sense to eat more.
I eat significantly more than my friends, but they're fatter than me. When they ask me how it's possible, I tell them it's because I eat healthier and weightlift (I often see them eating sweets and refined carbs, and they don't weightlift).
I maintain on 1200 to 1400. To lose weight, even with my activity level, I need to eat around 1000. I once tried very clean eating and raised my calories to 1500. After gaining 10 pounds, I realized I can't get by with it.
I guess I was hoping that maybe I could raise calories if I lowered my carbs. But it seems like that won't really work either.
By keeping them low, I can whittle away about 1 to 2 pounds a month. It's not quick, but it works.
What did you eat when you were eating very clean? Or were you eating the same foods but just more? Have you ever tried a non-low-carb diet, and if so, how did that go?
Are you getting enough fiber? I'm not sure if I counted correctly, but I only counted about 9g fiber in the foods that you posted. Some good sources of fiber (other than vegetables and whole grains) are beans, avocado, raspberries, blackberries, flax seeds, and chia seeds.
That was years ago, I don't remember the details. Basically nothing out of a box or package,except Greek yogurt, flaxseed, and a few others.
So I quit trying to lose weight. It seems impossible to me. So I'm back eating normal.
Here is normal day for me.
I workout fasted,so I don't eat until around 11. I have lean protein with a salad with oil & balsamic vinegar. Then for dinner I have protein with some raw veggie and a starchy veggie like sweet potato or butternut squash with either butter or olive oil on them respectively, ect. Then for night time snack I'll have a fat/protein like nut butter or unsweetened yogurt, or some concoction I make like Chia seed pudding, and combine it with a fruit. Calories usually comes in around 1400. I can maintain on that.
Last edited by PeachesGirl; 06-18-2017 at 10:50 AM.
Advice as to which diet to follow
