Monday, July 12, 2010

Eating more, losing more??


Here we are starting week 4, the half-way point. I've lost 11 pound total now (7 first week, 2 the following two weeks).   I've been pretty good at keeping close to my calorie goal, and really good about getting to the gym. But last week, after returning from my weekend away (on Monday) I weighed myself and had lost 2 pounds since my Friday weigh-in. Then through the rest of the week I stayed at that weight.  Kind of strange!

One of my followers, Chrissy, has mentioned that she thinks some of the contestants calorie intakes are too low, so I started researching calorie intake.  When I started this contest, I looked up "how many calories to lose weight" and found the bottom limit for weight loss for women to be 1200. More accurately, women should not go below 1200 calories a day.  Since I am always trying to be the hare in the race of course I decided to do the 1200 calorie limit which has been pretty doable. But after Chrissy's concerned comments, a lot of research AND my weight loss stall of last week, I've decided to do something a little counter intuitive (to me!) and raise my calorie intake.  I tried a few different online calculators and have decided to go up to 2400 calories.  That is DOUBLE my previous intake.  Some of the calorie calculators recommended I go up to 2900 calories, but I'm not sure about that big of an increase. I'm not going to eat cupcakes and doritos to double my calories though...I'm going to try to add in more fruits and vegetables and protein.  We'll see how this week's weight loss goes.

That being said, I didn't do great today at doubling those calories. I mentioned that my sister and her family are in town so today we were out and about all day and I just didn't get all those calories in.  I'm somewhere around 1800 calories right now and not feeling super hungry (plus it is late!). Rats. Tomorrow is a new day, I will work harder on getting those calories in (man that sound weird!).

Here are my stats for the day. Wish me luck on this little experiment!

Oh, and I shaved 10 seconds off my 5K time today at the gym....47:00 even! Woohoo!

Eating: 
1800 calories

Exercise: 
51:33
529 calories
3.4 miles
3.96 mph
15:08 pace
141 heart rate.

8 comments:

  1. Well I hope this works out for you with the calories, I still believe in the theory that too many calories in and you gain and if you burn more then you take in then you lose...


    Have a good week

    Joyce

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  2. I love that you are open and then do your research! Good job and your continued losing.

    And yeah for cutting your time!!

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  3. While I agree that 1200 calories was on the low end, I am with sweetybird - it is all about energy balance - calories in/calories out. So while I believe it is a good thing you upped your caloric intake be sure to not exceed the amount of calories you are expending in a day. Good luck! You can do it!

    Maria

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  4. I too feel that 1200 is too low unless you weight about 120. I agree w/ others its all a balancing act. But you are doing it right-good foods to get your calories in. Too few of calories and your body will not respond well.

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  5. In my experience, everybody is different. Some people will do great on a low cal/low fat diet. Others will do better with low cal/low carb/high HEALTHY fat diet. In this endeavor, the best way to figure out what works is to experiment. I discovered that I do better (drop more pounds AND inches) if I concentrate on high protein rather than low fat. Also, if I bring my caloric intake too low, I stall out. My trainer has a "cheat". He says to take your goal weight (mine is 135-140) and add 0 to the end. This will give you a good idea of how many calories to eat a day (so for me, I stay between 1350 & 1400). More important, for ME at least, is the breakdown of the calories.
    I'm excited that you are exploring & researching for what will work best for you Steph! That is how you will really change your life! Keep up the great work!

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  6. Wow, I'm speechless. I hope you continue to find what works for you! :o) I knew I liked you for some reason!

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  7. I have problems getting enough calories in a day too. My metabolism is so low right now that I'm never hungry.

    I wanted to thank you for being such an inspiration to me. I have an award for you. http://ahippowithaheadband.blogspot.com/2010/07/i-am-honored.html

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  8. I was thinking 1200 was really low considering how much you're exercising. Good luck, I'm anxious for your weigh-in next week. 11 lbs. is awesome by the way!

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