Running into trouble

[Saint_Jo]

I think im gonna start to have problems with my diet pretty soon.

Im trying to get down to 125lbs, maybe more once i get there, and in order to do that i need to be eating around 1400 cals a day (I worked out my BMR with the benedict formula and it was 1464). I've read in loads of places that you shouldn't go below your BMR so this is where i think im goin to have trouble. How can i continue to lose weight without going below my bmr?

Im a 20yr old female whose 5'5" and weigh 128lbs. I drink tons of water, eat healthily and do some form of exercise everyday. For instance, i go to the gym twice a week, do weights and other conditioning exercises about 6 times a week and dance around the house on weekdays (Im stuck in the house during the day) to try and increase my metabolism that extra bit.

I have recently started zigzaging my calories too.
Am i doing enough exercise?
Am i going to have problem shifting these last few pounds?
Anyone got any advice on how to improve on what im doing?

Thanks

[Gopherhead]

Originally Posted by Devil_Saint_Jo

Im trying to get down to 125lbs, maybe more once i get there, and in order to do that i need to be eating around 1400 cals a day (I worked out my BMR with the benedict formula and it was 1464). I've read in loads of places that you shouldn't go below your BMR so this is where i think im goin to have trouble. How can i continue to lose weight without going below my bmr?

Hi there, Jo. First things first, congrats on getting so close to your goal! Well done.

Secondly, those last few pounds are the toughest to lose, so don't feel like you're alone in this.

As for losing those last 3 lbs, I think eating 1400 calories is far too few; that BMR number is, IMHO, the absolute rock bottom you should never go below, if you want to keep your metabolism from slowing down. The formulas for figuring out BMR include activity factors that take into account your lifestyle and the exercise you do on a daily basis. Even if you sat behind a computer all day and did little organized exercise you'd be burning quite a few more calories than 1464. Stop thinking in terms of BMR and think in terms of total daily energy expenditure (TDEE).

Cutting calories to lose more and more fat is viscious circle; you cut them, you lose, you slow your metabolism and end up having to cut them further to lose more... and it begins again. This is how you end up yo-yo dieting and wrecking your metabolism for good.

The best way to lean out and to keep your metabolism going strong is to eat as much as possible while still creating a small deficit and increasing activity. You eat small, frequent meals that are well balanced and provide enough calories to sustain your body - at least 5 meals a day. This helps raise metabolism instead of slowing it. You increase cardiovascular activity as this also increases metabolism. Caloric deficit caused by exercise does not lower metabolism, unlike that created by eating less food.

As you get leaner and leaner it becomes more of a struggle to lose fat because you're battling your hormones and your body's natural defence system. As you lose fat a hormone called Leptin, which is controled by your fat cells, falls, signalling hunger. As you get leaner a hormone called Ghrelin rises in your stomach, also signalling hunger to your brain. Losing 17% of your body weight signals an increase of almost 25% more ghrelin. It's a tough battle to win. Zigzagging calories can help; but the key as you get leaner and leaner is to keep the deficit smaller and to use your higher days at levels at or above your maintenance calories.

If you try a google search for Leptin and for an author by the name of Lyle McDonald you'll get a lot of good advice on this subject. Tom Venuto, a personal trainer, also has good input on using the zigzag method of tricking your body into shedding fat.

Cheers,
Nat

[Phaint]

I've been lost 30 pounds in the last 2 months and I've done it different. My BMR is 1600 and I eat about 1000 Calories a day. From what I've read the BMR is the amount of calories you will burn in a day if you would just chill watching tv all day doing nothing. Therefore if I only consume 1000, those 600 extra will have to be taken from my fat stores.

So far that has been working very well for me in terms of weight loss.

[Gopherhead]

Originally Posted by Phaint

From what I've read the BMR is the amount of calories you will burn in a day if you would just chill watching tv all day doing nothing. Therefore if I only consume 1000, those 600 extra will have to be taken from my fat stores.

Exactly. So do you lay around all day in bed?

If you're really only eating 1000 calories with a BRM of 1600 expect that your "600 extra calories" are not coming from stored fat, but rather lean tissue - it's far easier for your body to do this than burn fat. It also makes sense; lean tissue is metabolically active and requires a higher metabolism (i.e. more calories to maintain it) than fat does. Your body will hold onto fat because that is what fat is, stored energy, and it will burn tissue that requires more of the energy it isn't getting.

You might try a little more reading on BMR and what it really is. The National Institute of Health (NIH) has oodles of information on metabolism. Two months may not have been so long that you've damaged your system irreperably, especially if you're young and you've never done this before.

Nat

[attheendofmyrope]

I have seen a lot of misconceptions about the BMR on weight loss sites. The BMR is JUST the amount of calories it takes to keep your body going IF YOU LIE IN BED ALL DAY. What you need to figure is your ACTIVE metabolic rate. Mine, for example is 2,700 (I'm 5' 6" and 28 years old) and I exercise 5-6 days a week. I subtract 500 calories from that number and add 500 calories in exercise so I can eat 2,200 calories and still lose weight (as long as I'm exercising). On days, I dont exercise, or only exercise lightly, I eat 1700 calories a day. I am losing exactly two pounds a week using this plan and it's real easy to do.