Calories and workouts

[AnatW]

I have been on a dietician's supervised program that allows me to eat about 1200 calories a day. My goal, of course, is to lose 25 lbs. The problem is that I feel I have no energy for serious workouts and I cut my workout days to 3 days a week (I used to do 4) and the intensity decreased. I find that after 30 minutes I am pooped.
When I was eating more calories (1600-1700) and exercised 4 days for 45 minutes I had a hard time losing as well. With this current plan, I started to lose some weight (only 3 lbs/first 3 wks), but have no energy to exercise. My dietician claims that 1200 should be sufficient for someone who moderetly exercise for 3-4 days.

What do you think ? I am debating whether I should add more calories despite what she said ?

How am I going to see better results: eating less calories and exercising less as a result or increasing calories and have more energy to exercise ?

I desperately want to lose weight !!!

Thanks, Anat.

 

[JeanneMarie]

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Personally, 1200 calories a day doesn't sound like enough to maintain any sort of active lifestyle to me.

Having said that, I am just not an advocate of counting calories period. I've never counted a calorie in my life. I believe that if you eat healthy and in moderate portions, you'll get the calories you need, and still get enough food to fuel your workouts.

This is just me, and I honestly don't know what works for you, but I would concentrate on eating better and working out harder.

Good luck with your weight loss!

Jeanne

 

[tsut]

Anat -

How long have you been on this diet? If you are just starting out it may take a few days for your body to adjust. Unfortunately for me - I DO have to count calories to keep my weight in check. What kind of workouts are you doing?

 

[getnfit@38]

I agree with Jeanne that 1200 cal/day just seems like way too few calories.
I do count calories, but not fanatically, just to regulate and keep track of what I'm eating. I work out 7 days/week, and I easily take in 2000 cal/day and still lose 1-2lbs/week.
I use to feel pooped when I tried to strictly maintain 14-1500 cal/day and work out intensely, plus I stopped losing weight for a while, but when I gave in and allowed my body to tell me when it's hungry, and feed it accordingly, although I was mortified at first that I was scarfing down 2000 cal without a blink, I also had so much increased energy, it made my workouts better and more productive. No point working out if you can't get results!
So although I'm sure 1200 cal/day work for some people, maybe it's not for you. The only way to tell is to feed your body when it calls for food and see what happens. Besides, you want to find an eating plan that you can maintain for the long term, and a lifelong plan of 1200 cal/day just doesn't seem like something anyone could maintain for life!

Donna

 

[caricampbellcool]

Hi,

1200 calories seems very low. Try multiplying your weight times 11. That is probably the minimum calorie intake for someone trying to lose weight.
If you don't have enough energy then your body is definitely trying to tell you something. I wouldn't have any energy if I ate like that either! (I am looking to lose the last 5 pounds and I take in 1500-1800 calories a day.)
Good luck!

 

[Bobbi]

You are getting good advice. Tell your dietician what is going on and that you want to increase your caloric intake. You can
(and should) lose weight while eating enough to meet your energy needs and to feel good too.
I recently took a mini-vacation from working out, stopped weight work for a couple of weeks and cardio for the last week and I haven't gained any weight. By eating whole grains, lots of fruits and vegetables (7-9 servings a day) and lean protein, I am satisfied. I make sure I get lots of fiber too. Talk to your dietician. You have to have a diet that works for you. To lose twenty-five pounds should take about 6 months on a sensible diet with plenty of exercise.
Bobbi http://www.plaudersmilies.de/chicken.gif Chick's Rule!

 

[Kath]

I found that on 1200-1400 calories, I gradually couldn't do my workouts and found myself wanting naps all the time.

I lost weight (132 down to 120) on 1800 calories a day, and 6 days of exercise for about 45 minutes a shot. Anything lower in calories and my metabolism and energy would shut down.

I am maintaining at 120 pounds on about 2200 average calories per day. Some days it's 2000, some days it's 2500! You won't find that recommended in any diet book I don't think. Gotta love those weightlifting workouts and the stoked metabolism. But overall I'm not even keeping track of food eaten, just avoiding sugar, drinking water, eating what I'm hungry for and checking in one the scale once a week.

It might surprise you how much you can eat and still lose weight gradually.

Kath