| Author | Post |
|---|
ally-rp
New Member
| Joined: | 14 Jun 2011 |
| Location: | |
| Posts: | 3 |
|
Posted: 15 Jun 2011 04:45 am |
|
| Hi there, I'm 5"0ft tall - 18 years old and currently weigh 120, I have a really small body frame, so there's fat not needed on my thighs, arms and definitely stomach! I started eating right on may 2nd (I weighted 130), but didn't go to the gym as much. By may 27 I was at 118, and gained 2 pounds since last week, I have no idea what I've been doing wrong, since I am dieting and 2 weeks ago been going to the gym every single day for at least an hour. I mostly do cardio, and only lift weights for my legs. I eat 1,200cals a day, sometimes a little less, but never more than that. Any suggestions?! I need to loose 15 pounds in a month or less. PLEASE HELP! Last edited on 15 Jun 2011 04:51 am by ally-rp
|
Nir
Senior Administrator
|
Posted: 15 Jun 2011 12:14 pm |
|
You didn't give your age but your unadjusted RMR is 1200 (or higher if your age is less than 27) so you shouldn't be eating any less.
Losing 12lb in about 6 weeks isn't bad going (in fact probably faster than expected), just keep going.
Sometimes focusing on food choices can help - avoiding processed foods and focusing on whole foods like vegetables, beans and fruit.
|
ally-rp
New Member
| Joined: | 14 Jun 2011 |
| Location: | |
| Posts: | 3 |
|
Posted: 15 Jun 2011 02:55 pm |
|
| Haha I did in the beggining ! I'm 18, but two weeks ago I gained 2 pounds and I've been stuck on that while I keep dieting & going to the gym... So I don't really get it.
|
Nir
Senior Administrator
|
Posted: 15 Jun 2011 06:56 pm |
|
At a rough estimate lets say your daily caloric needs are 1495 plus whatever you burn through exercise - perhaps an average of 2000 a day?
If you eat at your unadjusted RMR (around 1250) that's a daily deficit of 750, consistent with losing 1.5lb per week.
Yet in the first 25 days you lost 12lb, that's an about 3.4lb per week.
Probably the majority of the loss came at the beginning, which would made it consistent with 'water weight' loss (glycogen, sodium etc.) - especially if you were not dieting before May 2nd.
Do you weigh yourself every day and are the same weight - no fluctuations at all?
I want to repeat the general caution against eating less than your unadjusted RMR (1246 calories), once or twice won't have been a problem but if your body gets used to low intake your metabolism will adjust - slow down - and losing weight will be (even more) difficult.
You know you were at a calorie deficit before, because you were losing (and faster than expected). Right now you're not losing. This may just be a temporary setback so keep at it.
However if things don't work out you may need to change something. This might be (counter intuitive:) to eat a little more or exercise a little less.
For example, to make the deficit only about 20%, you continue to burn 2000 a day but eat 1600
|
joem
New Member
| Joined: | 16 Jun 2011 |
| Location: | |
| Posts: | 2 |
|
Posted: 16 Jun 2011 05:01 pm |
|
Nir,
I've seen a few posts where you imply that one needs to consume at least their RMR - I would guess this would be in order keep the body from going into "survival mode" and lowering its metabolism rate. Is that basically right?
I've been essentially following the signs my body gives me: eating when I'm hungry (but not starving). My unadjusted RMR is around 1,750 (M/47yrs/5' 7.5"/200lbs), but I've been eating an average of around 1,450 cals/day while increasing my activity level to burn an average of ~3,300 cals/day.
I seem to be losing weight at a good rate (~2-3 lbs/week), but certainly nowhere near the pure 3500 cals/lb theoretical rate. I'd assumed that was because I was building muscle, which is more dense than the fat I was burning, but based on what you're saying, it's possible that my body's metabolism is actually slowing down, as well, because I am underfeeding it. Is that right? Would you recommend I try to match my RMR?
* Notes: I'm using the livestrong.com myplate to track calories as well as activities. I don't have an accurate scale at home, but rather use accurate ones when I find them and monitor my average loss over time that way. I also don't have a gram scale for food, but I think I'm being fairly accurate in my portion size estimates. I had tried to keep to Tom Venuto's 30-20-50 (protein-fat-carb) Macronutrient recommendation, but I find it usually turns out to be more like 23-22-55 - which is still not too bad, since most of the fat is the "good" kind, coming from things like fish, nuts and flaxseed.
|
Nir
Senior Administrator
|
Posted: 16 Jun 2011 06:46 pm |
|
hi joem,
Based on 3300 burn and 1450 intake the predicted rate of loss would be (3300-1450)/500=3.7lb/week and you're managing between 2 and 3. Call that 2.5lb so we're seeing a discrepancy of 1.2lb (600 calories).
How realistic is the 3300 figure? (do you - for example - spend 2 hours burning 685 calories per hour every day? that's what it would take to increase burn from sedentary 2100)
And yes, maybe muscle gain could account for some of the 'non-progress'.
I would not necessarily change what you're doing WHILST IT IS WORKING. It is all about how lean you are. The more fat you have to lose, the more agressive your deficit can be. The physiological limit for metabolisable fat per day has been calculated to be 31 x how many pounds of fat your body could lose (remembering that we all have some 'essential fat' we need to keep - we can't go down to 0% body fat)
The advice not to go below one's unadjusted RMR becomes particularly relevant to someone with a normal BMI (<25). Conversely someone with plenty to lose (BMI>30) could be safe whilst eating at 75% of their unadjusted RMR (that'll be 1312 with your figures above).
What is Tom's take? looking here http://www.articlesfactory.com/articles/health/3500-calories-a-pound-of-fat-or-six-pounds-of-muscle.html (though that article forgets to assign a name category to deficits between 41 and 49%)
Your deficit (3300-1450)/3300 = 56% is classified in that as "semi starvation/starvation (potentially dangerous and unhealthy)". It seems Tom favours capping even a radical deficit at 50% or perhaps 40% of maintenance calories.
Dr John Berardi ('G-flux' articles) suggests you eat more and predicts double transformation (lost fat and gained muscle) with an appropriate workout.
Dr Joel Fuhrman MD acknowledges a possible slow-down of metabolism but points at a link between slow metabolism and health and longevity - also emphasizing the importance of maximising nutrition (vitamins minerals pythochemicals) and fibre per calorie ("nutrient density")
|
joem
New Member
| Joined: | 16 Jun 2011 |
| Location: | |
| Posts: | 2 |
|
Posted: 17 Jun 2011 11:32 am |
|
Nir wroteHow realistic is the 3300 figure? (do you - for example - spend 2 hours burning 685 calories per hour every day? that's what it would take to increase burn from sedentary 2100)
As mentioned, I use the livestrong website to track my daily activities. I don't spend a full 2 hours burning at that high rate, but neither do I spend 22 hours in "sedentary mode". I try to incorporate more active activities in my day (including chores around the house, and walking up and down the stairs at work) in addition to my daily excercises (3x1min sets jumping rope in the morning, at least 1/2 hour brisk walking during the day, and 10-15 minutes of calisthenics in the evening). Again, it's an approximation - I'm usually around 90 minutes short of the 1440 minutes that would make up a 24 hour day, and around 3200 cals expended.
Thanks for the links and references. I have read some of Dr. Fuhrman's work, and I do try to eat highly nutritious foods (though I include lean meats and fish, where he promotes vegetarianism). However, I think I'll try to increase my daily calorie intake to around 1600 based on Tom's article. My goal has been to lose 2.5-3 lbs/week until I get below the "obese" threshold (>30BMI), then 1.5-2 lbs till I get to around 27.5BMI, then around 1lb/week till I reach my target of 160lbs. I know that I'll have to continuously adjust my intake/expenditure, and I was just curious about your comments about eating at least enough to maintain RMR and what that might mean to my metabolism.
|
Current time is 09:56 pm | |
|
|
|
