Calorie update

[christina353 1]

I am still at a plateau. I tried to increase my calories to 1200. Not working. I actually gained a few ounces. Drinking Water to the point I think I will float. Is it possible that my body wants me at 800 calories? Should I go over 1200. For background, I am 39 have lost half my goal weight. I am 5'3". Current weight 174. Goal according to dr is 140. I wear size 12/14 I am a fairly active person. Exercise 3 times a week and chase after 2 little boys. I cried this morning because I feel like I am failing. I have not lost anything in 1 month. I actually gained 2 pounds.

[christina353 1]

Bump. Help!!!!

[honk 780]

My Nut says to be at 1200 calories so I dont' think you should go lower. While I understand looking after children is tiring unless you are actually standing all the time and I would'nt really call it excercise. I think you may need to increase your days of excercise per week. In addition to increasing the days of exercise you may want to do different cardio machines, or try swimming, or go to classes.

You may also want to take a frank look at your eating habits. Are you as viligent today regarding types of foods you are eating (calorie, fat counts, amounts of Protein, avoiding food that lead to mindless eating) today as you were the first months after surgery?

[christina353 1]

Bit Breakfast I eat 2 eggs and veggie sausage

lunch I have sardines or tuna

dinner is a piece of baked chicken

I have 1protein shake per day (230 calories)

1 snack of cheese and whole wheat crackers.

Some times I eat 1/2 bananna. I don't get any other fruit. No bread. No Pasta. No rice. What should I change

[vlp1968 83]

I agree with the above post- try to workout 5 days a week- it should help. Also, varying your caloric intake may help. Try doing 1000 one day, 1200 the next, 900 after that (just examples). It is suppossed to keep your body guessing so it burns fat. I hope this helps! Best wishes.

[ElfiePoo 109]

Christina,

I went and looked up some information in my fitness and nutrition books (classes I took) and according to them, even though you're chasing after 3 little kids and exercising an hour or two 3x a week, it's considered 'light' activity. Moderate activity would be 2 hours per day 5 days a week. It's based on actual studies but too detailed to go into here.

So, based on your age, height and activity level, you only need 1900 calories to maintain your current weight of 174. To maintain a weight of 130, you need 1700 calories. To lose 1 lb per week, you need to have a calorie deficit (whether it's through reduction of calories or increasing expenditure) of 500 calories per day. To muddy the waters further, if you have a slow metabolism, you may need even fewer calories than similar people of the same age, height and weight.

And in order to lose even that 1 lb...you need to do it *consistently*. Some times we think we're consistent, but just a few off days will make the difference in lowing vs a plateau.

As others said, maybe shake up what you're eating. 1000 calories one day...1200 another...800 another.

Are you tracking what you eat in something like fitday.com? Try keeping your carbs under 60gm. If they already are, try for under 30gm...consistently.

Just keep trying. Don't give up. Be patient.

.

[honk 780]

Are you at restriction? Does your doctor advicate Snacks or having larger meals and not eating in between? My doctor prefers that I not snack. Butttt my Nut says it's okay to have small snack before going to the gym if there will be a large gap between lunch and dinner.

Based on the above philosphy I would consider larger meals and try to cut out the Snacks (eating more veggies will be less calories and fat then cheese and crackers). For Protein shake I would recommend Premier Ready to drink 160 cal for 30 g Protein. That would be 100 cal savings. For fruit depending on the season I like grapes or cherries becuase you can eat 2-3 and it's not like commiting to a whole apple. I also like Clemintines because they are so small.

[Melissannde 41]

An even more calorie economical drink would be Syntrax nectar. 90 calories, 0 carbs, and 23 grams of Protein. Anything above 25 grams is probably a waste of Protein as our bodies cannot process more at one time. Syntrax can be ordered through netrition.com or their site, si03.com. If you've never tried Syntrax before, they used to have an awesome deal on sample packs.. you got 14 different flavors for 14$. But you must write to Syntrax and ask about samples. Don't recall the email addie, I got it from somewhere on their site.

The sample menu is not bad, but I notice it says things like "tuna or sardines", "piece of chicken".. those are vague amounts. Are you weighing or measuring your food? For best results I suggest doing so. You don't have to be fancy, I use an old scale I bought years ago to help me estimate postage costs when I was selling things on eBay. It's not the most accurate in the world, but does the job just fine.

If your doctor didn't specify how much to eat, you might want to call and ask or ask the nutritionist. My doctor says 3oz of protein and 1/2 cup veggies. We are allowed more veggies (provided no butter or other high calorie sauce) if still hungry. If you can't weigh/measure for some reason.. protein should be about the size of a deck of cards, veggies about the size of a tennis ball.

If the funds are available, consider purchasing a HR Monitor or something like a fitbit or bodymedia or bodybugg. Consumer reports just recently did a very short article/evaluation of Heart Rate Monitors. I have a Polar FT-7 that works pretty well for me. I can now tell if I've been active enough during the day or if I need to "kick it up a notch".

One last point.. the scale is not the end all and be all of our weight loss. Sometimes what the BMI tables say we should weigh is just not realistic. The BMI is not adjusted for sex, age or level of fitness. If I was going by the BMI, I should weigh a maximum of 149 .. I would look SICK at that weight. I am 53, and am 5' 5". My primary goal is to be near where you are now.. in the 170's. Once I reach there, then I will consider setting a lower one.

That bring to mind another tool or way to approach this: set very small, very attainable goals. Work on losing 3, 4 or 5lbs (whatever seems attainable). When you get there, have a non-food celebration (manicure? movie without kids? buy yourself something pretty?) and then set your next mini-goal. I have a weekly goal set up at stickk.com. Cute site where you can make a wager with yourself, it can be monetary or not as you please.

I was talking to a trainer yesterday about scales and numbers and he was telling me that it's not so much weight that matters, but inches. He said when he starts training someone, that he tells them to go and buy an item of clothing 2 sizes too small. At the end of training, the item should fit. May I suggest you take your measurements today (before exercising.. activity makes our bodies swell some) and take notes of time of day, weight and what you are wearing. In a month repeat the process. I'll bet you will have lost inches even if you haven't lost weight.

Also view this blog. She's not a bandster, but look at what changes she's made.. and her weight is still the same (or just about):

http://www.sparkpeop...blog_id=3926473

The 2 lbs you say you have gained may be anything from too much sodium, the scale in a different place, your cycle, different clothing.. any number of variables. 2 lbs is not to worry about. If you were to see my weight loss plotted on a graph, it looks like rick-rack.. a downward sloping rick-rack, but rick-rack none the less.

Hang in there!! Hope this helps,