Calorie Counters

I am back to tracking my calories because I keep getting stuck within the same 5 pound weight range... one day at the bottom of that 5, the next day at the top of that 5 and never being able to get lower than the weight I am now.

I stopped working out entirely since having DD. I used to run 5k at least 3x a week. Plus pilates and yoga and jillian michaels dvd and toning dvd. so working out 5-6 days a week. I still cant find a way to get the exercise in yet so I figured id start with calorie counting again.

But without activity to lose any weight (about a quarter pound a week) i would need to eat only 1200 calories a day.

im realizing now that this is fairly impossible for me. i have a big appetite. i ate a whole wheat raspberry bar for breakfast (bad choice but dd didnt sleep at all last night and i had no energy to get out of bed) and i already know i will have one serving of chicken tortilla soup for dinner (it came from a fitness magazine and is essentially canned tomatoes, chicken broth, shredded chicken, corn and black beans) and yet just those 2 small things alone leave me with only 450 calories for lunch and snacks. I just feel trapped and was looking for advice from other calorie counters.

Re: Calorie Counters

First off, how did you come up with 1200 calories?

This is what I use (from the documentation that came with the Insanity DVD set)

BMR = 655 + ( 4.35 x weight in pounds ) + ( 4.7 x height in inches ) - ( 4.7 x age in years )

When I was 166, that would mean 1837.7 calories per day. Then do an exercise factor:

Exercise Factor - multiply this number by these:
1.2 - no exercise
1.375 - 1 to 3 days per week
1.55 - 3 to 5 days per week
1.7 - 6 to 7 days per week

1837.7 x 1.375 = 2526.83
1837.7 x 1.2 = 2205.24

Subtract 500 calories, that's the # to lose weight

2026.83 (exercise 1-3 days a week)
1705.24 (no exercise)

............

But I also track carbs, fat, and protein as well:

100-150 grams of carbs per day to lose weight

Recommended fat grams
1600 Cals - 44 to 62
1800 Cals - 50 to 70
2000 Cals - 56 to 78

Recommended Protein
170 pounds - not active: 62 grams. Active: 100 grams.

Re: Calorie Counters

I created an Excel spreadsheet and check all my stuff against myfitnesspal. If it's homemade and I can't get an exact number, I estimate.

I got a little crazy doing this and was giving myself a 800 or 1000 calorie deficit per day, and I plateau'd. It's just not a good idea!

Other than that, I keep my food as natural as possible, no corn syrup or other such crap, keep the sodium low so I don't retain water, drink green tea to boost metabolism and flush excess water, don't starve myself, and always have healthy choices on hand for grab-and-go.

If you want, I can post or email the cheat sheet I have with the foods I typically eat, broken out by meal and then cal / fat / carbs / protein.

Message edited 8/2/2013 10:29:17 AM.

Re: Calorie Counters

Re: Calorie Counters

Message edited 8/2/2013 11:06:51 AM.

Re: Calorie Counters

Re: Calorie Counters

I'm afraid I know nothing about altering those stats for breastfeeding! But yes, if you have too much of a deficit you will not lose. And if you have too much carbs (sugar) you will also even if it is from natural sources. I like "watery" fruits - watermelon, honeydew, canteloupe. But I also eat apples which aren't as good as some others. Still, 1000 calories sounds really low to me!

Before I made changes, I was routinely eating 200 to 300 carbs a day, no sweat. Not even blatant stuff like pasta, it was granola and crackers, bread, sugar from fruit.

It's tempting to concentrate on one thing at a time... low cals or low carbs or low fat... but I find that you need to find the balance between all of them to get a nice healthy weight.

I tried posting the info but the formatting is all wrong. I'll see what format I can FM to you.

Message edited 8/2/2013 11:14:55 AM.

Re: Calorie Counters

I set my daily myfitnesspal counter to 1200 but almost always exceed it. I usually hover between 1300-1500 and I even find that challenging. However I have been very successful by keeping a few filling, lowcal items as the crux of my diet - eggwhites, mushrooms, watermelon (extremely filling plus a diuretic), greek yogurt, steamed broccoli with Parmesan sprinkled on top, mashed cauliflower, tilapia, flounder, sashimi...if you cut out refined carbohydrates and limit yourself to protein, veggies and low sugar fruits you would be amazed how far you can get with your allotted calorie amount, and even splurge occasionally without gaining.