Calorie Confusion

R

rr78

Member
Ok - I am thoroughly confused on how many calories I should be eating. I have been "dieting" and "exercising" for six years now - I dropped a lot of weight and inches in the first 2 years, then got to a place of feeling very sick, cold, weak, fatigued and started to slowly gain weight back. Sometimes it happened so fast that I was able to wear a pair of jeans one week then the next I was busting the seams. I have tried to cut my calorie intake like I did in the beginning with absolutely NO RESULTS other than feeling horrible and gaining more cellulite, fat and inches. I do have Hypothyroidism of which I am on medication for.
I have had several personal trainers tell me that I need to only consume 1400 to 1600 calories a day (I am 5'8.5" and right now I weigh in at 140 and I am 36), I have found internet calorie counters tell me that I need to drop down to 1100 calories in order to lose weight. But most recently I ran across a website called GO KALEO, the writer here says that a person needs to be consuming a lot more calories than what is recommended by so called health gurus. According to the health calculater that she recommends, I should be taking in somewhere between 1600 to 2500 calories per day, depending on my activity level. website here: http://www.health-calc.com/diet/energy-expenditure-advanced. I have tried to eat more and noticed the scale continues to tip the wrong direction and my jeans continue to get tight or just plain unable to squeeze into them! So what gives!?
I strength train 3 days a week, alternating between legs and upper body, I do Hiit Cardio twice a week and kickbox once a week. I am a homeschooling mom, I try to stand and putter around as much as possible and walk my 10000 steps each day - some days are only 5000 steps in addition to my regular exercise.
What am I supposed to be eating!?!? nothing is working on my body any longer and there is so much conflicting information, plus not feeling well is a huge issue.
Appreciate feedback, but struggle with more diets. I just want to be healthy and not flabby! Is that possible??
 
Justinef said:
I don't have an answer, but I was sent this e-mail this morning:
https://pa136.infusionsoft.com/app/...f96673817938ee702613d02541c96892915b30deaa8aa

When I read your post, it rang a bell. I haven't followed any of Jade Teta's plans, but I do some of his quick metabolic workouts, and I've read his book, which seemed sensible. Hope it's of help, and good luck.
Click to expand...

Justine -
Thank you so much for your reply! I looked into the website and it looks like yet another diet book/program, except they charge a LOT of money. Thank you. Hopefully some other people will reply to my post..
 
rr78 - I do totally understand your frustration, and I don't have any solid advice to offer you on this matter, because at age 56, I am struggling with my own battle of the bulge, but I just wanted to tell you to not totally discount Jade Teta. He offers a lot of great suggestions and information, and he has numerous podcasts that you can listen to for free. You can also subscribe to his free newsletter which also contains helpful advice. He co-authored a couple of books that you could buy for a fair price as well. Perhaps you might want to locate a holistic health care practitioner in your area who may be able to help guide you toward reaching your goals? Good luck and best wishes.
 
Hey mama,
Wow, sounds like you have a lot on your plate! How many kids are you homeschooling?
This might be not the answer you're looking for, but... can you look at non-diet elements of your life? Are you sleeping little and running on caffeine and carbs? I know, I know it's like -- yeah, OK, I'll just get 8 uninterrupted hours of sleep -- let me just fill my kids in on plan and -- OK, poof! done! If only it were that easy...
But if your adrenals are overtaxed I think that can make it harder to lose weight.
Also, I don't know about your body composition, but I'm about your height and weight and feel like I really wouldn't want to lose any weight. (Are you mostly interested in toning up/changing body composition?) Also, I would die energetically on 1600 cals/day. I am still breastfeeding a couple times a day so I have extra calorie drains, but I eat at least 3k calories on most days. However, I realize this is super individual.
Are you lifting heavy? Could you just focus on lifting heavier and work on body composition (and not the number on the scale), maybe cut some cardio to take some stress off your adrenals, and just eat enough protein and healthy fats and avoid quick carbs that might make you more tired in the long run?
Feel free to administer a cyber smack if you've tried all this and I'm just not addressing your question!
You're awesome for taking on all that you have taken on! :D
xo
Roz
 
MomInVT said:
Hey mama,
Wow, sounds like you have a lot on your plate! How many kids are you homeschooling?
This might be not the answer you're looking for, but... can you look at non-diet elements of your life? Are you sleeping little and running on caffeine and carbs? I know, I know it's like -- yeah, OK, I'll just get 8 uninterrupted hours of sleep -- let me just fill my kids in on plan and -- OK, poof! done! If only it were that easy...
But if your adrenals are overtaxed I think that can make it harder to lose weight.
Also, I don't know about your body composition, but I'm about your height and weight and feel like I really wouldn't want to lose any weight. (Are you mostly interested in toning up/changing body composition?) Also, I would die energetically on 1600 cals/day. I am still breastfeeding a couple times a day so I have extra calorie drains, but I eat at least 3k calories on most days. However, I realize this is super individual.
Are you lifting heavy? Could you just focus on lifting heavier and work on body composition (and not the number on the scale), maybe cut some cardio to take some stress off your adrenals, and just eat enough protein and healthy fats and avoid quick carbs that might make you more tired in the long run?
Feel free to administer a cyber smack if you've tried all this and I'm just not addressing your question!
You're awesome for taking on all that you have taken on! :D
xo
Roz
Click to expand...
Hi Roz!!
Thank you for your input! I have 2 children a 16 year old and a 7 year old. I am a total PEAR body shape, thru and thru. Can I private message you?
Amber
 
rr78 said:
Ok - I am thoroughly confused on how many calories I should be eating. I have been "dieting" and "exercising" for six years now - I dropped a lot of weight and inches in the first 2 years, then got to a place of feeling very sick, cold, weak, fatigued and started to slowly gain weight back. Sometimes it happened so fast that I was able to wear a pair of jeans one week then the next I was busting the seams. I have tried to cut my calorie intake like I did in the beginning with absolutely NO RESULTS other than feeling horrible and gaining more cellulite, fat and inches. I do have Hypothyroidism of which I am on medication for.
I have had several personal trainers tell me that I need to only consume 1400 to 1600 calories a day (I am 5'8.5" and right now I weigh in at 140 and I am 36), I have found internet calorie counters tell me that I need to drop down to 1100 calories in order to lose weight. But most recently I ran across a website called GO KALEO, the writer here says that a person needs to be consuming a lot more calories than what is recommended by so called health gurus. According to the health calculater that she recommends, I should be taking in somewhere between 1600 to 2500 calories per day, depending on my activity level. website here: http://www.health-calc.com/diet/energy-expenditure-advanced. I have tried to eat more and noticed the scale continues to tip the wrong direction and my jeans continue to get tight or just plain unable to squeeze into them! So what gives!?
I strength train 3 days a week, alternating between legs and upper body, I do Hiit Cardio twice a week and kickbox once a week. I am a homeschooling mom, I try to stand and putter around as much as possible and walk my 10000 steps each day - some days are only 5000 steps in addition to my regular exercise.
What am I supposed to be eating!?!? nothing is working on my body any longer and there is so much conflicting information, plus not feeling well is a huge issue.
Appreciate feedback, but struggle with more diets. I just want to be healthy and not flabby! Is that possible??
Click to expand...

I completely and utterly relate to where you're coming from! I also lost a lot of weight after years (most of my life) of being extremely heavy, and did so initially by cutting way back on calories. I didn't count calories or anything else, but I'm guessing I probably went from eating 3,000 (easily) a day down to maybe 1200-1400 a day. I pretty much cut out sweets entirely, drastically shaved portion sizes down, drank nothing but a protein shake at breakfast, gave up all soda. I never did eat fast food, and always had a well-balanced diet without a ton of junk in it, but I simply ate too much...and I did have a real sweet tooth. My diet was carb-heavy, not a good thing for me in the least. It was a hardcore, although I was extremely determined because I had fibromyalgia pain and fatigue that was killing me. After eight months or so of doing that, I began exercising. I already know about combining weight-training and aerobics for the best results, and lost another eighty pounds with adding on workouts, beyond the eighty I'd already lost.

Keeping it off is much more of a challenge, particularly with the genetic capacity to get obese very easily. And I hit a point last autumn where I was so darn frustrated. I was making great strides when working out, but I was at an obnoxious plateau. I truly was not overeating, but was starting to lose my resolve a bit over diet. I also seemed hypersensitive to water retention. (Which I suspect may be part of your issue too, perhaps?) When one exercises almost daily at the intensity a Cathe workout provides, living on 1400 calories a day for long was just impossible. I knew I was in this for life, not a temporary period of time, so I needed to make this work. I realized that I could not rebuild my body after serious training on a low-calorie diet, and I doubt many people who exercise really intensely could live on so few calories forever and feel wonderful. I'm 5'7", well-built, an active college student, and fibromyalgia requires a lot of extra nutritional support for exercise recovery.

I still don't count calories, but I did follow what is called reverse dieting. I don't know how well someone could lose weight on it, but I definitely think it is the ticket for weight maintenance! It DOES make weight loss down the road easier by stopping the metabolism-killing effects of regular dieting dead in it's tracks. I DID gain a little before I lost a little, as my metabolism rebuilt itself, but that was maybe for like a month. Then I also continued to drop sizes and inches, even when the scale stayed the same. Naturally I would say that people need challenging, ever-changing, balanced exercise program no matter what strategy they follow.

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/reverse-dieting-4-reasons-your-best-diet-might-be-reverse-diet.html

This does work as a lifestyle for me, but I've found nothing that works all the time. There are still days when I feel like I'm "bulging". I'm sure many of us feel that way sometimes. I was traveling last week for family and college matters (one trip after the other), was not able to work out much, sitting around a lot visiting with family, under a lot of stress, was eating a lot of good country cooking. Came back feeling like a whale, and the scale was up a few pounds. I was irked, and feeling a little sorry for myself that I have to work so hard and never get to take a vacation from clean eating and hard workouts without consequences, for even a short period of time. But it was mostly water weight! When I went back to my cleaner eating, almost-daily exercise with plenty of weight-training and my normal busy life, the weight pretty much fell right off within the week. I was really surprised, thinking I'd definitely put on some fat again. Better yet, I've experienced my strongest workouts to date, undoubtedly because I'd given myself a week of rest and plenty of food! Don't let any temporary issues derail you, no matter what. Weight loss is not easy to pinpoint and has a cycle all it's own, one we can't entirely control no matter how disciplined we are. Most really reputable trainers acknowledge this; Bret Contreras is one I've read from extensively that says it, for example.

I can certainly understand the pear-shaped body type woes, too! I look like I have an hourglass figure because I have strong, well-developed shoulders and a broader upper back. I have a smaller waist, at least compared to everything else. But my lower body is definitely my "first hired, last fired" part. My thighs have always been truly atrocious. (I had cellulite when I was six or seven, with the photographs to prove it!) That weight is tough to budge! I think a combo of reverse dieting and serious amounts of cardio (with plyometrics), weight-training for the legs and LOTS of floorwork (bridge, table, leg lifts, etc.) is imperative for our body type. (I can always tell when I'm skipping the floorwork too much...) Starvation just does not support muscle-building or strength, both essential to complete the above work. The more muscle I put on my legs, the better they look, the smaller they get an the smoother my skin appears.
 
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TurquoiseEyes said:
I completely and utterly relate to where you're coming from! I also lost a lot of weight after years (most of my life) of being extremely heavy, and did so initially by cutting way back on calories. I didn't count calories or anything else, but I'm guessing I probably went from eating 3,000 (easily) a day down to maybe 1200-1400 a day. I pretty much cut out sweets entirely, drastically shaved portion sizes down, drank nothing but a protein shake at breakfast, gave up all soda. I never did eat fast food, and always had a well-balanced diet without a ton of junk in it, but I simply ate too much...and I did have a real sweet tooth. My diet was carb-heavy, not a good thing for me in the least. It was a hardcore, although I was extremely determined because I had fibromyalgia pain and fatigue that was killing me. After eight months or so of doing that, I began exercising. I already know about combining weight-training and aerobics for the best results, and lost another eighty pounds with adding on workouts, beyond the eighty I'd already lost.

Keeping it off is much more of a challenge, particularly with the genetic capacity to get obese very easily. And I hit a point last autumn where I was so darn frustrated. I was making great strides when working out, but I was at an obnoxious plateau. I truly was not overeating, but was starting to lose my resolve a bit over diet. I also seemed hypersensitive to water retention. (Which I suspect may be part of your issue too, perhaps?) When one exercises almost daily at the intensity a Cathe workout provides, living on 1400 calories a day for long was just impossible. I knew I was in this for life, not a temporary period of time, so I needed to make this work. I realized that I could not rebuild my body after serious training on a low-calorie diet, and I doubt many people who exercise really intensely could live on so few calories forever and feel wonderful. I'm 5'7", well-built, an active college student, and fibromyalgia requires a lot of extra nutritional support for exercise recovery.

I still don't count calories, but I did follow what is called reverse dieting. I don't know how well someone could lose weight on it, but I definitely think it is the ticket for weight maintenance! It DOES make weight loss down the road easier by stopping the metabolism-killing effects of regular dieting dead in it's tracks. I DID gain a little before I lost a little, as my metabolism rebuilt itself, but that was maybe for like a month. Then I also continued to drop sizes and inches, even when the scale stayed the same. Naturally I would say that people need challenging, ever-changing, balanced exercise program no matter what strategy they follow.

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/reverse-dieting-4-reasons-your-best-diet-might-be-reverse-diet.html

This does work as a lifestyle for me, but I've found nothing that works all the time. There are still days when I feel like I'm "bulging". I'm sure many of us feel that way sometimes. I was traveling last week for family and college matters (one trip after the other), was not able to work out much, sitting around a lot visiting with family, under a lot of stress, was eating a lot of good country cooking. Came back feeling like a whale, and the scale was up a few pounds. I was irked, and feeling a little sorry for myself that I have to work so hard and never get to take a vacation from clean eating and hard workouts without consequences, for even a short period of time. But it was mostly water weight! When I went back to my cleaner eating, almost-daily exercise with plenty of weight-training and my normal busy life, the weight pretty much fell right off within the week. I was really surprised, thinking I'd definitely put on some fat again. Better yet, I've experienced my strongest workouts to date, undoubtedly because I'd given myself a week of rest and plenty of food! Don't let any temporary issues derail you, no matter what. Weight loss is not easy to pinpoint and has a cycle all it's own, one we can't entirely control no matter how disciplined we are. Most really reputable trainers acknowledge this; Bret Contreras is one I've read from extensively that says it, for example.
Click to expand...


I very much appreciate your comment!! It is so nice to know I am not the only one.
Since I posted this I found a website called Eat To Perform - I think it is a lot along of the same lines of what you are describing. Body Recomposition, feeding the body (who would have thought) Fuel for strength training and basic mindset change on what is HEALTHY!! I have been using the program since mid March and I am SOOOO much happier!! I actually eat about 2250 in calories now on a training day and I only do weight lifting and walking - NO MORE INTENSE CARDIO, it was a huge staller for me. It is difficult some days as I still feel I have to earn my calories in order to eat ALL those calories, but I feel so much better. My energy is thru the roof, I don't have the boughts of horrible fatigue any longer, I don't feel as depressed or hopeless and I am not starving myself or over eating a particular food group just to meet my calorie restrictions.
I would love to stay in contact with you if possible via private message?

Blessings
Amber
 
rr78 said:
I very much appreciate your comment!! It is so nice to know I am not the only one.
Since I posted this I found a website called Eat To Perform - I think it is a lot along of the same lines of what you are describing. Body Recomposition, feeding the body (who would have thought) Fuel for strength training and basic mindset change on what is HEALTHY!! I have been using the program since mid March and I am SOOOO much happier!! I actually eat about 2250 in calories now on a training day and I only do weight lifting and walking - NO MORE INTENSE CARDIO, it was a huge staller for me. It is difficult some days as I still feel I have to earn my calories in order to eat ALL those calories, but I feel so much better. My energy is thru the roof, I don't have the boughts of horrible fatigue any longer, I don't feel as depressed or hopeless and I am not starving myself or over eating a particular food group just to meet my calorie restrictions.
I would love to stay in contact with you if possible via private message?

Blessings
Amber
Click to expand...

I love cardio and do need a fair amount of it simply because there's a lot of cardiac problems in my family history, but when I hear of women doing intense cardio six times a week...I don't know, to each their own. It is just too hard on my body, personally, and it cuts into my muscle/strength gains too much. Intense cardio is hard on the joints and ligaments, for one thing. Cardio is generally harder on the legs, and you're absolutely right- rest is so essential! I will not do cardio more than three times a week. One of the best pieces of advice I ever got on these boards is that long workouts are not necessarily better workouts. I now only allot one day to an hour-long cardio session to maintain my endurance levels. The other two cardio workouts are 30 to 45 minutes in length. I generally don't do a long, tough step workouts the day before or day after serious leg training anymore, although I could get away with it occasionally. I do rotate cardio activity a lot (including within workouts)...plyos, four-limb, classic hi-lo, kickboxing, high step, and low step. I think that rotating helps prevent burnout and overuse injuries to a great extent. I do enjoy plyos because they work fast-twitch muscles well, and with my big 'ol lower half, they're essential! Ultimately, I think we need variety- and to enjoy our workouts. Without the joy in it, what's the point?

What was a little crazy to me is that I started having BETTER performance when I began letting myself eat more freely again. I was so anti-sugar for awhile, LOL. I wouldn't even drink a glass of orange juice. You always hear about eating lean and clean, and that is true to an extent...but intense workouts take so much out of us! Sometimes we just need to let loose a bit. With reverse dieting and upping the weight-training, I did not continue losing lots of actual pounds on the scale, but that was okay with me by that point. I continued losing inches and got much firmer, probably because I did lose fat, but gained muscle. My weight hasn't changed much, but my body shape and fitness level sure have. My thighs started firming up for the first time ever in my life. Even when I had lost weight in the past, my lower body wouldn't change. This time every body part changed, and they just continue to evolve.

And yes, was I ever grouchy, depressed, and anxious when eating low-calorie. Some of that was due to major stress in my life but looking back, I know I wasn't eating enough on many days. I didn't have much appetite due to the stress, so I didn't really care and I honestly never felt like I was starving or anything. However, I was not looking all that great (other than getting thinner). My eyebrows got sparse, a lot of my hair fell out, I had my first grey hairs ever, and I bruised super easily. All of which has thankfully ended. On the bright side, I did learn to control portions better and broke my lifelong "I must have dessert!" habit. That had been over the top, no doubt. :)

More importantly perhaps, I recover more quickly from exercise than ever before, and can work out far more intensely with very little pain. I would say most days that I actually forget I have fibromyalgia...a pretty darn big improvement! :)

And I'd love it if you sent me a PM. It's great to find new friends on the forums, and exchange info about getting healthier along the way.

Blessings to you, too!
Liz
 
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The first thing that comes to mind for me is water retention and bowel regularity.
I've developed an issue lately with stomach acid, lack of fiber, and a wheat sensitivity (out of nowhere). And I can tell you that if I eat something with a lot of sodium, and I haven't "gone" for a couple of days, that that can add 5lbs to the scale for me easily. At the risk of TMI, I have literally pooped 2 lbs off over the course of a day...

You've gotten lots of good diet advice here too. This is one more thing I would take into consideration.
 
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