How many daily calories?

[momsenergy]

Hello everyone! I have been doing cathe on and off for about 3 1/2 years now. I say on and off because in those 3 years i have had 2 babies one right after the other. I have 5 children total. This time I tied my tubes so I am excited to lose weight knowing that I will not get pregnant again. It has been 6 months since my last baby was born and I started working out again on 07/02/07. I have lost over 20 pounds since 07/2/07 but now I seem to be stuck at 155 lbs, I am 5' 1.5" and I want to lose another 20 lbs. I exercise about 4 or 5 times a week. I do mostly step (Low Max, Step Blast, Rythmic Step, Power Max, Low Impact Circuit). I cannot finish any of those mentioned but I go for about 45 minutes on the lowest height of my step. That is where my fitness level is right now. I am 36 years old and I was just wondering if anyone would have some advice as to how many calories I should consume daily to continue to lose weight but also have enough energy to work out. I usually have cereal for breakfast about 300 calories then a Lean Cuisine for lunch with a slice or two of wheat bread but when dinner comes around I cheat because I am so hungry. Also I am confused as to how many calories I should consume. Sometimes I'll last 2 days doing 1500 calories or so then I convince my self I should have way more since I get so hungry. What is considered realistic or am I right on with 1500 calories (Maybe thats the only way to lose weight - no pain no gain). Thanks in advance for any tips or tricks on dieting!

Hey's anyone besides me adding Cathe's new 4 day split on to Santa's list? I can't wait!!

Yolanda

 

[CollinsMom]

Hey Yolanda, I feel like I was in your position not very long ago at all, so I am excited to answer your question.

I am 5'1" and about 138 pounds. By some standards, that is overweight, but I am a perfect size 8 and I have plenty of muscle. I am also very curvy, so there is some weight in those areas as well (that I don't wanna lose ;-) ).

When I started with Cathe, I was about 150 or 152 pounds. Pretty quickly I dropped about 5 pounds, the other weight came off more slowly.

First of all, I would ask what you are doing in terms of strength training. Is building muscle one of your goals? If so, see if you can incorporate more of that into your routine.

I think the 4DS sounds like it might be just what you need to shake things up a bit and break the plateau. Maybe you could do those 4 days, then add a fifth workout (maybe step) to round out the week.

As far as the eating goes, that is what really and truly will get you results. You must keep in mind that you need to eat a balanced diet with plenty of the stuff that your body needs to keep up with your workouts. But you really can have a LOT of food for 1500 calories, you just have to pick the right foods!

I eat 3 small meals and 2 snacks a day. I eat at least one serving of fruit or vegetable at every meal. At every meal or snack, I always have carbs and protein, and LOTS of water through the day!

Hope this helps!

 

[dorothyrd]

1500 calories is probably about right, however, you need to split it differently. I have had success eating 5-6 times a day, making sure I am eating something at least every 3 hours. That way I don't get the "I am going to gnaw my arm off" hungries at night.

For example, I will have 1/4 egg beater, with ff yogurt, fruit and some kashi cereal for breakfast.

mid morning snack - fruit and protein bar

lunch - green salad with ff dressing, a fruit, and a form of protein, something like fish, or chicken

mid pm - a small amount of lowfat wheat thins, some green olives

supper - whole wheat pasta, some form of lean protein, 2 servings of some sort of veggie

After supper - protein bar if I am hungry later, this helps early am work-outs

I don't like to rely on frozen dinners too much, they contain too much salt, and speaking of salt, I use lite salt to reduce the amount of salt in my diet. I use all whole grain products, and I measure, measure, measure my food to make sure portions are correct. Make a fist, look at it, or your computer mouse, that is your protein servince.

Also, since you just had a baby(yest 6 months is just having a baby), your body is still not fully recovered. Watch your diet, keep exercising, and do the weights. Like the above poster, muscle does wonders. At age 46(my two kids are almost grown), I am 5-4, 138 and size 4-6, and I credit that to the 25 years of weight lifting I have done.

 

[LeanneM]

Hi Yolanda,

I just wanted to chime in to second (or should that be third?!) Katie's and dorothyrd's suggestions to add more weight training work to your weekly workouts and to eat more frequently. I'm 36 like you, and my weight had been stuck at the same place for several years. I was working out a lot every week, but just doing cardio, and I couldn't seem to lose weight, no matter what I did.

Starting this past summer, I decided to buy some of Cathe's weight routines, and I lost 10 pounds in about two months, while doing less cardio and eating the same as I had been (about 1900 calories a day, and I'm just under 5' 4" and now weigh 120 pounds). I started with the Gym Style series, and then moved into Slow and Heavy. The GS workouts might be a great place to start since I know that other people really love them, too! (The new 4DS workouts are also a lot of fun, but I've been noticing that the weeks I do those, I don't see much of a difference in my weight loss.)

Like Katie and dorothyrd mentioned, you should also try adding some healthy afternoon snacks into your meal plans. It sounds like you're letting yourself get too hungry between lunch and dinner. Most nutrition experts out there recommend eating 4-6 small meals a day so that you don't let yourself get too hungry.

Hope this helps!
Leanne

 

[AEHaight]

I'm 5'2" and about 150# right now - working toward 135#. I'm eating 1500-1700 calories right now and that seems to have jump started my weight loss - I was not getting enough calories.

Anyway, I also found that balance w/i those calories is really important. I needed to increase my protein and healthy fat consumption. I've also found that a high quality afternoon snack is key. I like a piece of fruit and 1T peanut butter or a string cheese. Laughing Cow light also helps w/ that extra boost of protein.

Anyway - good luck and WTG getting that exercise routine going!