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Weight Loss Forum / General Topics / March 2004calorie intake
Just how many calories should a person consume? I am eating about a third of what I am used to eating and it looks like it is between 1100-1300 per day. I exercise very little at this point. also, is fasting good for anything? > Just how many calories should a person consume? > I am eating about a third of what I am used to eating and it looks like it > is between 1100-1300 per day. > I exercise very little at this point. > also, > is fasting good for anything? Many in the group suggest 10 x current weight as the daily calorie intake for losing weight. This may vary a little for everyone due to several factors. Are you using anything to track your daily intake? Many in the group use www.fitday.com. It's free but you do need to register. It's great for keeping track of your food intake and determining the protein/carb/fat ratio. Adding exercise will help you retain as much muscle as possible during your weight loss period. Muscle burns more calories than fat and you want to hang on to as much of it as possible. Walking is a great exercise. You might consider adding a little weight lifting into your routine, too. The only time I fast is for medical tests. It does nothing for me except make me grouchy<g> Beverly > The only time I fast is for medical tests. It does nothing for me > except make me grouchy<g> That reminds me of one Sunday during the summer I was losing weight. I went for my walk early before breakfast, which was normal. I had eaten a piece of fruit about 8pm the previous evening. It was such a pretty morning I decided to add another road with a nice big hill to my "loop". I knew it was farther, but hadn't measured previously. By the time I got back home, it was past 9 and my husband started talking to me. I just stared at him - I was nearly *blind* with hunger. As I gulped a glass of water I told him "I can't hear you until I eat something - please stop talking!" Sanity returned with every spoonful of cereal and I was fine when I was done eating. I had set out to walk 5 miles that morning. When I measured the mileage for the route with the car later, it was 8.5 miles. It's not good for me to fast.  SignatureWalking on . . . Laurie in Maine 207/110 60 inches of attitude! Start: 2/02 Maintained since 2/03 >> The only time I fast is for medical tests. It does nothing for me >> except make me grouchy<g> [quoted text clipped - 14 lines] > > It's not good for me to fast. SnugBear, I understand that you were hungry. But, why do you think that something bad happened to you? i > SnugBear, I understand that you were hungry. But, why do you think > that something bad happened to you? I was truly unable to make any sense of what he was saying - and he's usually quite sensible. He might have been speaking French for all I knew. I'm happier when I can focus. <s> SignatureWalking on . . . Laurie in Maine 207/110 60 inches of attitude! Start: 2/02 Maintained since 2/03 >> SnugBear, I understand that you were hungry. But, why do you think >> that something bad happened to you? [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > > I'm happier when I can focus. <s> I am impressed. When I am hungry, I can also get kind of impatient, but never reach the point that you described. i > Just how many calories should a person consume? it depends on your sex, weight, how much you exercise etc. Wonen lose on calories equal to 10x their weight in pounds, men on 12. exercise helps a bit. > I am eating about a third of what I am used to eating and it looks like it > is between 1100-1300 per day. wow, eating 3x that much is a lot of food!!! Can you tell us what is your sex, age, height and weight. > I exercise very little at this point. a big mistake > also, > is fasting good for anything? I fast every thursday, meaning I eat nothing every thursday. It helps me control my weight. i I started my diet on march 1 I weighed about 360lbs I am 5'2" I am used to no exercise whatsoever so far, I walk a short distance daily and make an effort to go up and down the basement stairs a few times a week this may not sound like much, but during week one I hated this much activity and now I am not hurting as much to do it As the weather gets better around here, I will make a greater effort to walk/bike 10 X my weight in lbs is excessive no kidding, I have reduced my intake by 2/3 of what I am used to eating I use the fitday.com service and this is excellent at calculating my calories since my doctor dismissed me when I asked for his help with this diet, I just wanted to know how much I should be eating I see already a difference in inches, naturally and comfort > I started my diet on march 1 > I weighed about 360lbs [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > walk/bike > 10 X my weight in lbs is excessive makes sense, as fat uses less energy than muscle etc. > no kidding, I have reduced my intake by 2/3 of what I am used to eating that's a good approach. > I use the fitday.com service and this is excellent at calculating my > calories since my doctor dismissed me when I asked for his help with > this diet, I just wanted to know how much I should be eating I see > already a difference in inches, naturally and comfort Just remember a few things, one is that you did not get fat overnight and losing a couple hundred pounds will take some time. It may get boring. If it does, remember that being fat is also boring. Two, at some points you will be pretty hungry etc, a feeling that needs to be approached rationally and with an open mind. Congrats on your decision to lose weight! i > I started my diet on march 1 > I weighed about 360lbs [quoted text clipped - 13 lines] > just wanted to know how much I should be eating > I see already a difference in inches, naturally and comfort If your doctor is not helping with your weight loss, you should get a new doctor immediately. At your height and weight, your Body Mass Index is 65.8, which is clearly in the danger zone. You are to be congratulated for taking control of your weight and your health, but you should be under medical supervision. As for "how much to eat", the Harris-Benedict formula for a woman of your height and weight, (assuming a Sedentary lifestyle, and 40 years old), predicts that you need 2,723 calories per day to maintain your current weight. However, this formula tends to produce estimates that are too high for the obese, so you could probably reduce this to around 2,200 calories per day. If you're only eating 1200 calories per day, that would be a daily deficit of 1,000 calories per day, which should result in about 2 lbs per week of weight loss, which is a reasonable goal. Make sure you drink plenty of water, and if you're not taking a multi-vitamin, that would probably be wise. GG > I started my diet on march 1 > I weighed about 360lbs > I am 5'2"<< Greetings, Tala. I weighed 365 (I'm 5'8") when I started in October. If I can switch to a healthier WOE, anyone can. > so far, I walk a short distance daily and make an effort to go up and down > the basement stairs a few times a week > this may not sound like much, but during week one I hated this much activity > and now I am not hurting as much to do it<< Very good. Start slowly. At 365 pounds, I had to sit down and catch my breath after I brought a load of laundry or a cat carrier up from the basement. Now I'm walking more than a mile at a time. > I use the fitday.com service and this is excellent at calculating my > calories<< I could not have made the progress I have without fitday.com. > since my doctor dismissed me when I asked for his help with this diet,<< As has been said, you need to get another doc. If this one won't help you improve your health, which is what weight loss will do, what good is he? Kasey 365/285/??? >Wonen lose on calories equal to 10x their weight in pounds, men on >12. exercise helps a bit. This is a generalization. I started dieting at around 6.5x bodyweight, and am now more or less maintaining at around 8-9x bodyweight. I never in all that time lost at a rate of more than 1.5 lbs/week. And I exercise quite a bit. If I did not exercise at all I would certainly gain weight on 10x bodyweight calories. (By the way, I am not hungry at these levels. They are consistent with my metabolism.) Peoples' metabolic rates differ significantly, due a range of factors. One of these is age, another (for women) is the hormonal change associated with menopause, another is thyroid level. These are just the ones that affect me; I'm sure there are others. The only real answer to this question is to see what works for you. Decide on a calorie level to try, eat at that level for a few weeks, and see what happens. If it seems to be working, stay there. If you're losing too fast (more than 2 lbs. per week after the first week or two), eat more. If you're not losing, or the rate of loss is very slow, adjust downwards a bit. Chris 262/157/ (holding in 152-165 weight class) >>Wonen lose on calories equal to 10x their weight in pounds, men on >>12. exercise helps a bit. [quoted text clipped - 18 lines] > or two), eat more. If you're not losing, or the rate of loss is very > slow, adjust downwards a bit. Very good. I am curious Chris, you seem to be successfully practicing calorie restriction. I sometimes read your food and exercise threads. How does it make you feel. Are you cold when others are not? Do you notice that you do less fidgeting than you used to? i >Very good. I am curious Chris, you seem to be successfully practicing >calorie restriction. I sometimes read your food and exercise >threads. How does it make you feel. Are you cold when others are not? >Do you notice that you do less fidgeting than you used to? You asked me something like this before. As I tried to say then, I don't think my calorie levels are unusually low for a woman of my age and weight. Menopause decreases the metabolism; my maintenance level if I did not exercise would probably be no more than around 1400-1500 calories. I eat around that and lose slowly because I do exercise a fair bit. I do not allow myself to get uncomfortably hungry. I don't think I'm cold more than average. As far as fidgeting, I don't notice a difference there either. If anything, I'm perhaps more fidgety. (Both of these can also be symptoms related to thyroid level. Since I'm very hypothyroid and on synthroid, I would be more inclined to blame a shift in coldness/hotness or fidgetiness/lack thereof on out-of-whack thyroid levels.) Repeating myself, I think my calorie intake is pretty consistent with the average female my age who is trying to lose weight. So I doubt I would make a very interesting research project in calorie restriction :-). Sometime soon here I may officially declare myself in maintenance. (I'm kind of maintaining now on purpose for a few weeks, but am not sure what I'll decide to do after the April 2 meet. We shall see.) At that point, I will figure out what a maintenance calorie level is for me. Chris 262/157/ (holding in 152-165 weight class until the Masters Nationals on April 2) Thanks for your thorough answer. I am also on Armour, a natural thyroid hormone derived from pigs. It works better than Synthroid, for me. Some detractors may say that that is so because I am a pig also. With Synthroid, I felt as though I was not taking anything, somehow it did not work. i >>Very good. I am curious Chris, you seem to be successfully practicing >>calorie restriction. I sometimes read your food and exercise [quoted text clipped - 30 lines] > 262/157/ (holding in 152-165 weight class until the Masters Nationals > on April 2) >Thanks for your thorough answer. I am also on Armour, a natural >thyroid hormone derived from pigs. It works better than Synthroid, for >me. Some detractors may say that that is so because I am a pig >also. With Synthroid, I felt as though I was not taking anything, >somehow it did not work. I gather some people don't respond to Synthroid, but it seems to work for me. My endo is not opposed to Armour and prescribes it for those who don't get results with Synthroid. Chris >>Wonen lose on calories equal to 10x their weight in pounds, men on >>12. exercise helps a bit. > This is a generalization. I started dieting at around 6.5x > bodyweight, and am now more or less maintaining at around 8-9x [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > I am not hungry at these levels. They are consistent with my > metabolism.) I'm the same way--I maintain at 8x or 9x my bodyweight while running 8 miles a day. If I consumed 10x my bodyweight with little exercise, I'd gain too. > Peoples' metabolic rates differ significantly, due a range of factors. > One of these is age, another (for women) is the hormonal change > associated with menopause, another is thyroid level. These are just > the ones that affect me; I'm sure there are others. I actually just had a chat with my primary care physician about this very topic during a followup (I gained a bunch of weight awhile ago on some nasty meds and haven't been able to do much about it). She said that heredity, including but not just with respect to thyroid, is a factor, as well as what you eat and when. She reiterated the idea that the bulk of eating should be done in the morning, or around your "active" time, and that meals before bed should be avoided generally. She also talked about eating too little and going into starvation mode, and eating substantial ("quality") foods before periods of exercise. It's all stuff we've talked about here, but it really does affect metabolism. I still thought that I was having to do a lot to just maintain my weight, so I asked what was going on with that (my thyroid test came back perfectly normal so it's not that), and if my diet/exercise was acceptable. She said that as long as I felt OK, it was fine--that I, along with many people, just have naturally slow metabolisms for no particular reason (and that we'd be better off than the rest if faced by famine since we'd last longer, joy oh joy). Some of us really just don't need a lot of food. > The only real answer to this question is to see what works for you. > Decide on a calorie level to try, eat at that level for a few weeks, > and see what happens. If it seems to be working, stay there. If > you're losing too fast (more than 2 lbs. per week after the first week > or two), eat more. If you're not losing, or the rate of loss is very > slow, adjust downwards a bit. Good advice. It's what I had to do after my expansion (kind of a pain to have to drop from 1700 calories to 1100 and exercise MORE) but you just have to figure out what your body needs, and experimenting is key. It's good to keep in touch with your doctor too, especially if you experience any odd changes or true difficulties with your weight. -Alison (not sure if I'm liking being one of the most efficient human beings on the planet with respect to sustenance) |
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