Well I've had a bit more time to experiment with fine tuning my nutritional intake whilst on holidays.
I mentioned before that I have bought some new fancy scales that link with my Garmin fitness watch and the Garmin Connect website. This info has been facinating. Basically its telling me I don't eat enough.
I've been eating about 1500 cals/day for a while now, and not seeing much in the way of changes. So I need to change something. The dilemna is, do I eat more, or less (yes eating too little will actually slow your metabolism and decrease fat loss). (And I'm only recording all my food at the moment because I seem to have plateaued - and want to work out what needs changing). To lose "fat" and not "fat + muscle", you shouldn't create a calorie deficit of more than 300 - 500 cals/day. Every calculator I've used to date says that my maintenance calories (for age, weight, height) are 1800 - 2000. Hence the figure of 1500 that I''m aiming towards. However my new scales measure my statistics in a lot more detail - they give readings on bone mass, body fat, hydration, lean muscle mass, visceral (tummy) fat etc. AND they add that information together with the traditional height/weight/age info and estimate my maintenance calories = 2378! That of course is related to how much muscle I carry. So finally I have some guidance as to which way I need to swing the calories - 2300 -500=1800. It suggests I need to eat more.
So for two weeks I am aiming for 1800 calories and will see what happens to my body fat. If it goes up - then I'm wrong - along with the fancy scales!
I have also decided that this year I am going to lose 10% Body Fat - with a goal of 1% per month. Totally Doable.
BUT - eating so cleanly has meant that it is soooo hard to eat enough.I read somewhere that it is hard to overeat when you eat clean and laughed.
Yet - seriously, I eat all day and am yet to manage to fulfill my 1800 cal target. I keep having to scheme at ways to sneak in extra foods.
Must eat more...
Lastly I found a fabulous vegan no added sugar cake at the health food shop in the mall - it was full of wonderful fruit and took me all day to get through just one piece (i could only eat about a quarter at a time). Really enjoyed it and would highly recommend it.
5 comments:
This makes really interesting reading Lisa. I will be really interested in your journey over the next few weeks.
Not sure what your exercise component is on each day but i think that is too many calories for loss to occur, just saying. I actually think your body is the best guide eg is you have stopped losing BF/weight then it is simply input & output, you are eating too much for the exercise you are doing, actually calculating using a plan doesn't ever compare with what you body actually does...so I would suggest you try dropping calories per se or increasing activity...or chuck in a fast day by using intermittent fasting you can cause an immediate calories deficit. Lisa, your body tells you what to do, not the maths or the gadgets....
In years gone by, I certainly would have agreed with you Lisa. its definitely the traditional view - not losing weight - eat less and its one of the reasons I am very critical of programs such as weight watchers. Its definitely about calories in vs calories out - but how much the deficit is really depends on where your starting point is doesn't it? And there is plenty of evidence to say that if the deficit is too great it lowers you metabolism and burns more muscle, saving fat resources for a rainy day. So my question has always been - what is my real starting point, hence my question to eat more or less. I read a fabulous book a few years ago about sports nutrition which totally changed my thinking,and switched me from traditional weight loss theories to fuelling for energy. So the best info I have so far, based on my muscle mass suggests I should eat more. Time will tell how accurate it is!
I have to disagree here, muscle mass is only reduced when you fail to use those muscles or do not work them enough. the body will not catabolise them in search of energy if you are actively buidling them...it is just easier to use fat stores, the evidence for this is in a interesting study I read quite recently. So the premise is you can eat less or use intermittent fasting which will result in fat loss but only if you contiue to work your muscles well. In addtion this study also talks about the myth of metbolic slow down if you stop eating or drastically reduce your intake. Take a moment to think of prsioners that have been starved, they are not carrying any fat stores BUT they still have all the muscle tone the body can hang onto...now I'm not suggesting you actually starve yourself, but you can certainly live & maintain a muscle mass with very little caloric intake. so I tried some intermittent fasting, basically one day per week, it quite easy & surprisingly plenty of energy, in fact my brain felt fresh & inspired...and I didn't have to think about food all day. Bottom line, we live a priviledged life of abundance of food, to think for one second we might actually starve & waste away is impossible, your metabolism chuggs along at a predetermined rate which is barely effected by food intake, but absolutely responds to muscle mass....but I think you might want to read the study yourself, there are so many debunked "truths" that are fueled by diet/fitness "experts" which are really telling half a story, without good eveidence, and saying so loudly & so often it is believed to be a truth. I'll send you the info, it really is an eye opener.
Strongly disagree with just about every point here, but rather than an endless debate we may just have to agree to disagree!
Bu the way, i have the same goal as you this year, crack the teens in Body Fat, so we'll see. LOL
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