turtlegirl
03-19-2006, 04:24 AM
Many people will say that the only thing to weight loss is to burn more calories than you consume. But it has to be more complicated because whenever I diet, I stall out after losing 15-20% of my total weight, and I'm still burning more than what I eat.
I'm not currently in a stall but it seems like every time I am changing my diet to lose weight, I stall out at that percent loss for many months.
So what about fat grams and fiber grams and sugar and all of that stuff, does that matter at all?
And how do you know how many calories is a good amount to aim for?
I'm not currently in a stall but it seems like every time I am changing my diet to lose weight, I stall out at that percent loss for many months.
So what about fat grams and fiber grams and sugar and all of that stuff, does that matter at all?
And how do you know how many calories is a good amount to aim for?
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bluejbirdie
03-19-2006, 09:59 AM
IT is 100% True that all you have to do is burn more then you eat. Nothing else mattters!
But there is a catch...what you eat, what you do, and to an extent when you eat does matter. It affects How much you are burning.
Your Metabolism is what will burn a Huge Chunk of your Calories each day.
You say you are still burning more then you eat...your not. This is because your metablosim has chnaged...it has slowed down and you are no longer burning as many calories as you used to.
By Eating the Right things and spreading it out through out the day you can help to maximize your metabolism. You also need to be doing some sort of Weight training to Build some Muscle.
The More muscle you have the higher your metabolism will be. When you eat less and Lose weight,it is inevitable thatyou will lose some muscle. With out exercise you will actually lose a fair bit of muscle, Adding Cardio will lessen the amount and adding weight training alon with the cardio will make it almost negligble.
Also your metabolism will just get used to the amount of calories coming in and naturally adjust to that over time.....this is why people plateau.
Some times Just eating more for a few days can kickstart you metabolism and get it to start burning more. Other times it can take much longer and you will have to concentrate on rebuilding the muscle that is lost.
One of the biggest problems when calculating calories for weight loss is that you never really know how many calories you are burning every day. Every way of calculating is only an estimate and most of those estimate seem to over estimate rather then underestimate.
But there is a catch...what you eat, what you do, and to an extent when you eat does matter. It affects How much you are burning.
Your Metabolism is what will burn a Huge Chunk of your Calories each day.
You say you are still burning more then you eat...your not. This is because your metablosim has chnaged...it has slowed down and you are no longer burning as many calories as you used to.
By Eating the Right things and spreading it out through out the day you can help to maximize your metabolism. You also need to be doing some sort of Weight training to Build some Muscle.
The More muscle you have the higher your metabolism will be. When you eat less and Lose weight,it is inevitable thatyou will lose some muscle. With out exercise you will actually lose a fair bit of muscle, Adding Cardio will lessen the amount and adding weight training alon with the cardio will make it almost negligble.
Also your metabolism will just get used to the amount of calories coming in and naturally adjust to that over time.....this is why people plateau.
Some times Just eating more for a few days can kickstart you metabolism and get it to start burning more. Other times it can take much longer and you will have to concentrate on rebuilding the muscle that is lost.
One of the biggest problems when calculating calories for weight loss is that you never really know how many calories you are burning every day. Every way of calculating is only an estimate and most of those estimate seem to over estimate rather then underestimate.
boicrazy3188
03-19-2006, 11:09 PM
Have you ever recalculated the amount of calories you eat when you lose weight? When people lose weight they need to consume less calories than before. Say your 180 pounds to start. Thats 2300(use a calorie calculator to calculate, this is just an example) to maintain your weight. 2300-500 is 1800. So you stick to that and when you reach 165 pounds you plateau. So, what you have to do, is recalculate what your taking in. Now, to maintain you need about 2100 calories. 2100-500 is 1600. 200 calories x 7 is 1400 less calories your getting which is almost a half a pound.
It guess it could be the same thing as eating more for a while. If you take in 200 more calories a week, your body will jump start and when you go back to eating less, you'll lose. Whatever it is, eating less is the key. Don't forget to exercise!
I hope this makes some sense...good luck
It guess it could be the same thing as eating more for a while. If you take in 200 more calories a week, your body will jump start and when you go back to eating less, you'll lose. Whatever it is, eating less is the key. Don't forget to exercise!
I hope this makes some sense...good luck
Melting2fast
03-20-2006, 09:44 AM
Stall?
Is that the same as plateau?
It happens to me about every two months. Most recently I went three weeks without losing one single pound, same diet, same workout routine.
Then on the first day of the fourth week I was down by three pounds in three days and the weight just started coming off again. I dunno why it happened that way, just did.
Don't get down on yourself when you hit a plateau, just keep pushing through.
Is that the same as plateau?
It happens to me about every two months. Most recently I went three weeks without losing one single pound, same diet, same workout routine.
Then on the first day of the fourth week I was down by three pounds in three days and the weight just started coming off again. I dunno why it happened that way, just did.
Don't get down on yourself when you hit a plateau, just keep pushing through.
shelliam
03-21-2006, 08:26 AM
When it happens to me my whole body seems to adjust itself. My weight will shift in to other areas and such.After a plateau I may lose a few pounds the week after depending how long the stall was. I talked with my dr about this and he says to take plateau time to adjust things in your diet or exersize routines.
JerseyGirl36
03-21-2006, 08:33 AM
Sounds like your metabolism has flatlined. There's a lot of research out there that the way to improve your metabolism is to eat MORE. Dieting kills a metabolism because it feeds off your own muscle. So, start a strength training routine, lift heavy, do moderate cardio, and try increasing your intake by 10% until you reach the number the calculators say you should be losing weight on or approximately 12x your bodyweight. Be patient, because healing a depressed metabolism takes time and means you have to go the opposite direction first. Also eat more protein, more healthy fats, and tons of vegetables, limited fruit, and go low carb during this period. You might see a weight gain of a few pounds, but pretty soon it will go in the opposite direction.
(Dang, I wish this board allowed me to post links so I could help you research this)
(Dang, I wish this board allowed me to post links so I could help you research this)
turtlegirl
03-26-2006, 12:34 AM
Thank you all so much! I asked on a different forum and they said to eat less. I said, what! I'll try to add in some fruit & small good foods and some exercise. I should probably do more cardio & muscle-building exercises, because I don't do ANY right now. I just walk/jog. I'm working on the 10,000 steps a day routine.
In 2003 I was stalled (plateau) at 25% weight loss after losing all the 25% in 3 months. My doctor said that it would pass and I'd start losing weight within a month or two, but I waited something like 6 months without any kind of movement, so my doctor said basically, "Some people just aren't born to be thin." That's funny cuz I was thin my whole life until a car accident! :rolleyes:
Anyway I digress.... I will add in some muscle-gaining activity and some cardio.. I am looking into some kind of routine that is easy & cheap to start out with.
(Hey JerseyGirl if you want to send me a message with the links I wouldn't mind, or tell me what to look for with google maybe? :) )
Oh, and a question about the calculations biocrazy: I found some calculator somewhere, and it said I burn 3860 calories a day for my weight/gender/age/activity level.
So, what's SAFE to cut out? Should I just take out some arbitrary number of calories a day? I've seen articles that say "take out 250" or "eat 500 calories less" but those are usually talking about people who burn 2000 calories a day or less and I don't know if it still applies.
In 2003 I was stalled (plateau) at 25% weight loss after losing all the 25% in 3 months. My doctor said that it would pass and I'd start losing weight within a month or two, but I waited something like 6 months without any kind of movement, so my doctor said basically, "Some people just aren't born to be thin." That's funny cuz I was thin my whole life until a car accident! :rolleyes:
Anyway I digress.... I will add in some muscle-gaining activity and some cardio.. I am looking into some kind of routine that is easy & cheap to start out with.
(Hey JerseyGirl if you want to send me a message with the links I wouldn't mind, or tell me what to look for with google maybe? :) )
Oh, and a question about the calculations biocrazy: I found some calculator somewhere, and it said I burn 3860 calories a day for my weight/gender/age/activity level.
So, what's SAFE to cut out? Should I just take out some arbitrary number of calories a day? I've seen articles that say "take out 250" or "eat 500 calories less" but those are usually talking about people who burn 2000 calories a day or less and I don't know if it still applies.
bluejbirdie
03-26-2006, 11:24 AM
The Calculators will over estimate.....They dont take into acccount your body fat% they higher your % the more they will over estimate. best way to use those calculaters is to enter what your ideal weight is an go by that number.