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landborne
New Member
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Posted: 27 March 2008 02:23 pm |
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Hello,
I'm new to the boards and am looking for some input.
To start, I'm a 5'11" 24-year-old male with an office job.
In late-April 2007, I weighed 265.5 lbs. and decided that it was time for a change. It started with Nutrisystem (which was horrible) and evolved into just calorie counting (which I cut down to 1400-1900/day). I also quit drinking sugary beverages (for the most part, allowing myself a lemonade once in a while). Unfortunately, though, that was all I did. With work, a wife, a toddler, college classes, and a trying to start a business, I had quite a bit on my plate and ignored the exercise component, which I now acknowledge was a bad idea. By October, I was down to 225.5 lbs. Then, my wife and I bought a house and quit smoking ... both of which are quite stressful ... and I fell back into some of my old habits. While I kept a lot of the healthier eating, I was not keeping track of my calories. As such, by Feb. 1, I was back to 235 lbs., meaning I had gained 9.5 lbs back in just a few months, which I was very upset with, as my new, smaller clothes were starting to feel tight.
So, at that point I decided things were going to change again, but this time on a bigger scale and longer-lasting scope. I cut my calories again--this time to 1650/day. I also started keeping track of grams of fat, carbs, and protein, using the 40-30-30 method (55, 165, and 125 grams/day, respectively). About two weeks later, I had lost the 9.5 lbs. I regained and I started an exercise regimen. This is where things started going a little wonky.
I kept to my eating plan very strictly, drinking as much water as I can. I also began working out at least 4 hours a week, but it varies, going up to as much as 8 or so. The thing is, now it is almost another 6 weeks later and I'm down to 214.5 (an additional 11 lbs. lost, for a total of 51), but the loss has definitely slowed, even though I'm working out harder than ever.
So, I did some more research and was concerned that maybe I was eating too few calories, hitting a plateau, etc. So, in response, I've slightly increased my daily intake, varying the number every day: one day, 1650 calories; the next day, 1950; back to 1650; then to 1850; etc. Also, rather than just eating the three meals a day, I've added a snack between breakfast and lunch and one between lunch and dinner, trying to not go longer than 3 hours between eating. I also no longer eat after 7 p.m. and started taking a daily multivitamin.
I am very determined to make my goal of 175 lbs. (which means another 39.5 lbs. to lose) and would like to do it in the next 17 weeks; I also have a mid-goal of making it to 195 lbs. in the next 7 weeks (19.5 lbs to go).
So basically, after all of that, my question is whether what I'm doing is OK, reasonable, etc. Seeing that I've done things incorrectly in the past, I really don't want to keep making the wrong decisions.
Any advice will be greatly appreciated.
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Tratra
Distinguished Member
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Posted: 27 March 2008 05:41 pm |
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According to your stats, the lowest you should go on calories is 1,983. Go lower, and you risk losing muscle rather than fat, and you will slow your metabolism....which is why your weight loss has slowed. You have to eat to lose!
BMR & RMR Results:
The results of your calculations are: BMR 2,140 RMR 1,983 (calories)
1.2
Sedentary
Little or no exercise and desk job
BMR: 2,568
RMR: 2,380
1.375
Lightly Active
Light exercise or sports 1-3 days
BMR: 2,943
RMR: 2,727
1.55
Moderately Active
Moderate exercise or sports 3-5 days
BMR: 3,317
RMR: 3,074
1.725
Very Active
Hard exercise or sports 6-7 days
3,692
3,421
Last edited on 27 March 2008 05:43 pm by Tratra
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healthy_drinkr
New Member
| Joined: | 30 March 2008 |
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| Posts: | 2 |
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Posted: 30 March 2008 02:25 pm |
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Landborne,
Personally, I'm not a believer of calorie counting. Why? Because it does NOT consider the RATE at which calories are absorbed by your body.
For example, 1 calorie of donut DOES NOT EQUAL 1 calorie of oatmeal.
The donut will spike up your blood sugar, and if that level goes beyond your insulin capacity per min, then that extra sugar converts to body fat.
Oatmeal, on the other hand, is a slow burning carb. Typically, your insulin production is able to keep up with the rate of glucose delivery into your bloodstream.
Of course, every body is different, so you need to measure how YOU, specifically, react to certain types and brands of food.
Ask your doctor to help you select, buy and use a blood sugar meter.
You've done well by adjusting your snacking habits. By eating regularly every couple of hours, you are actually stabilizng your blood sugar THROUGHOUT the day.
That's fantastic!
The only adjusment you should make is to shift your focus from pounds to blood sugar concentration, and how it relates to the specific foods that you eat.
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