Just Curious....Qhick Question - Weight Loss Message Board

ItailanRDer · 10-25-2003, 07:32 PM

Hey ALL!, I have been doing a 1400 calorie diet for 3 months now and have lost almost 8 lbs(i'm not overwight so I'm not loosing fast) But most of the time i only eat 500 calories during the day then when I come home I always make sure to eat atleast 1200 calories so that i don't go into starvation mode but I feel like I eat too much at night...will this make me gain weight? I always stay under 1400calories and eat a balanced diet....although I've been getting into the habbit of eating 1/2 cup of Lite sugar free/fat free icecream at night(still satying in my calorie range) Does any of this matter, or should I still be lossing the weight since I'm staying on low calories? Also does carbs matter on this kind of diet? Please respond! Thanks ya All!

Lindarella · 10-25-2003, 08:18 PM

It's my experience with counting calories that it never mattereed when I ate the calories. I'd guess I ate 80% of my calories after 5pm and still hit my goal. Even if you retain the nightime calories, you'll lose them when you have a deficit.

Since I've hit goal, I've noticed that daily calories don't matter so much in the span of a week. In other words, I can eat 1200 calories one day, 1600 another day, 1400 another day, 1200 another day. As long as I don't go over 9500 calories in a week, I don't gain. That's equals about 1350 calories a day averaged over a weekly span.

chipmunkis · 10-25-2003, 08:24 PM

I would say that for long term success, you are better off eating frequent small meals througout the day, becasue you are far less likely to cheat and far more likely to stick with it, when your body is getting a regular supply of nutrients. Good luck

ItailanRDer · 10-26-2003, 08:28 PM

Thanks you guys, just one more question does carbs matter at all on low calorie diets? on most days my carbs are about 65% of what i eat.

Lindarella · 10-26-2003, 09:00 PM

Nutrition-wise they matter. Calorie-wise, they don't matter as much. If you're shooting to eat a well-balanced diet, healthy carbs should be a significant part of your diet, things such as fruits and vegetables that provide nutrients as opposed to cookies and candy that don't.

If you're just looking at the thermodynamics of calories burned vs calories consumed and don't care about nutrition, where you get the calories from doesn't matter. Eating all your calories from cookies will keep you alive, but doesn't do much in the health department.

Most experts on diet say to consume 60% of your calories from healthy carbs, 25-30% from protein, and 10-15% from good fat.