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CrimsonAnimus
New Member
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Posted: 5 May 2008 12:30 am |
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Hello, all! My name is Nick, and I'm new to the site. I have a few concerns that I hope some of you can assist me with. Here I go:
First of all, I'm a 25-year old guy (26 this week). I'm 5'11", and I weigh 319 pounds.
I started a weight-loss regimen last January, and have lost at least 40 pounds this year. The progress is a little fast, but overall, I'm satisfied with the loss. I'd like to lose it more slowly (1-2 per week), but my body doesn't seem to want to accept that. I either lose 3-5 per week or none at all.
To give you all an idea of what I was like before, I was quite sedentary. I work from home, and don't get out much. I also love to eat, and probably ate in the range of 3000-5000 calories per day or more.
Then, in January, I bought a treadmill. I started off too quickly on it. I walked for an hour a day. While that's not really much, it is for someone not used to physical activity. My legs hurt for hours afterward and I had less energy. I also made some diet changes, and decreased my calorie intake to about 2000-3000 per day.
Walking became boring (I've done that all my life), so I quit exercising for a few weeks. I still ate pretty well, though, and continued to lose weight. Then, I bought a stationary bike.
I LOVE the bike. I started out slowly, and have worked up to a pretty decent level. I currently do the bike about 6 days a week, for 45-60 minutes per day, with an average watts of 150-190.
Recently, I worked out for 8 days in a row, and biked over 130 miles. I did not, however, lose any weight, even with a calorie intake of about 2000-2500.
So...I'm down to the point now where I eat between 1500-1800, and my weight loss started back up.
My diet is pretty much as follows:
Breakfast: Kashi Go-Lean Crunch Cereal, Skim Milk, Fruit (either Orange or Banana)
Lunch (Post-Workout Meal): Turkey & Cheese Sandwich, Low-Sodium V-8, 2 Cups Grapes, Celery (on occasion)
Dinner: Salad (all veggies except a few croutons), Cottage Cheese, Salad Dressing Spray, Fruit (usually canteloupe), and either a small can of salmon or a chicken breast fried in Smart Balance oil with unsalted Matzo Meal, then baked.
If I eat a snack, it's usually a Kashi bar or Orville's 100 calorie popcorn.
I also drink at least 64 fluid ounces of water a day, usually 80.
While this is a diet I can probably stick with, I've read that a man is not supposed to eat under 1800 calories a day. This probably does not apply to men over 300 pounds.
If I go up even 500 calories, my weight loss stops altogether.
I had a blood test a couple of years ago, and I believe all the blood work was fine (including thyroid).
I might be retaining water, because I only urinate about once or twice per day. I do watch my sodium, though, and I believe it stays under 2400 MG per day.
According to the BMR formula with the Harris Benedict equation, I should be burning at least around 4000 calories per day. I burn in the 700-800 range on the bike in an hour (with my weight calculated in), or up to 1100 per hour according to my heart rate monitor (a Polar F6).
Even if I cut down my calorie intake to 3000, I should ideally still be losing 2 pounds per week, or at least one pound even. I really don't get it. :(
In any case, I'm just worried a bit about losing muscle. I do not do strength training, but plan to start this month. That should help.
Any comments/suggestions/advice is welcome. Thank you. :)
EDIT: I failed to mention that my weight can fluctuate up to 7 pounds in less than 24 hours time. Strange...LOL.
Last edited on 5 May 2008 04:55 pm by CrimsonAnimus
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Nir
Senior Administrator
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Posted: 5 May 2008 06:00 am |
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Hi Nick,
Actually that lower limit of 1800 calories applies especially to you. Your unadjusted RMR calculates as 2449 and 75% of that is 1837. This should be the lowest you eat without medical supervision. So if you want to continue to go low pick 1800 rather than 1500.
(And whilst not certain, consider the possibility your exercise is causing you to gain some muscle)
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Runner_Geek
New Member
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Posted: 5 May 2008 08:04 am |
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Wow. Firstly, Congradulations on your weight loss. You seem to be very motivated. I am very impressed. Are you hungry on 1800? That seems low. I think that if you continue with your exercise regimen and eat less than your bmr, you will continue to lose.
Good Luck, and don't get discouraged. 
xx amy xx
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CrimsonAnimus
New Member
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Posted: 5 May 2008 04:50 pm |
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Thanks for the responses and encouragement!
I have considered the possibility that I'm gaining muscle. Let me ask another question, since I'm not too familiar on this subject. I can definitely tell that I'm gaining muscle in my legs. Do you gain muscle elsewhere when you exercise, even if you don't use those muscles? How many pounds of muscle could the legs store, anyway? I know that muscle weighs more than fat, but it's still hard for me to gauge, I guess.
So...1837, eh? That shouldn't be hard, LOL. Thanks for the info.
One more thing - this website is great for calculating calorie burn! Tell me, though...for the stationary bike section, what exactly is considered "light", "moderate", "vigorous", etc.? Because my calorie burn according to my bike (which does accommodate my weight), appears to be "light" effort according to this site. I was under the assumption, though, that 150 watts was "moderate", and I average at least this on every workout. Thanks! :)
EDIT: Forgot to answer the other question, LOL. I'm not really good at reading my body signals that tell me when I'm hungry. Maybe it's because I used to eat all the time.
I eat a good deal of food - lots of fruits and veggies, and that means more eating to reach my calories for the day. I got a stomacheache last night. I came downstairs and ate a bit of mashed potatoes, mushrooms, and a peanut butter sandwich, and I was fine. :)
I still woke up today with a stomachache, though, like I have for the last few days. Whether that's hunger or not, I really don't know.
Most of my desire to eat is psychological. I've tended to eat when I'm bored, and that's VERY VERY BAD. I'm working on that. LOL
Last edited on 5 May 2008 05:00 pm by CrimsonAnimus
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Nir
Senior Administrator
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Posted: 5 May 2008 07:08 pm |
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I've had stomach ache that turned out to be constipation in disguise, so who knows.
I don't know how to convert between Watts (reported by your equipment) and Calories (reported by calculators on the website) so I don't know. As to which calculator option is appropriate I suggest you read (or re-read) the help pages associated with the calculators. Basically it is all a bit of a mystery.
For the muscle question, again I don't know how many pounds of muscle it is possible to have in your legs. A step in the right direction might be to measure your body fat percentage and therefore figuring out your lean body mass. You can then monitor whether over time it is increasing or decreasing.
If you don't work your shoulders you won't gain muscle in your shoulders (and so on). However not everyone is aware of what exercise uses which muscle. A press-up or push-up works the chest. But it also works the shoulders and the triceps.
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CrimsonAnimus
New Member
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Posted: 16 May 2008 10:22 pm |
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Well, here's an update:
I got really tired today, and had to cut my workout down to 45 minutes instead of an hour. I felt bad about it, and I probably could have pushed myself that extra 15 minutes, especially with tomorrow being my off day, but I just didn't.
2 days ago, I was also similarly tired. So...I think I'm going to start mixing up my routine after tomorrow. Last night, I walked a mile on the treadmill as well. I averaged 3.8 MPH overall, and most of my time was spent at 4.0 MPH. This keeps my heart rate about 80% MHR, which is still pretty high, especially since I can do 80% MHR on the bike and burn more calories, but eh.
The treadmill doesn't seem to tire me as quickly, either, so what I'll probably do is 30 minutes bike, 30 minutes treadmill. This is going to be less calorie burn, but I think it will decrease my risk of tiring so quickly. If I wear myself out to the point where I stop exercising, that certainly won't be beneficial.
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