Here's a lesson in managing calories for weight loss...oops.

[RonaldS]

A lot of you have probably seen me chime in here and there talking a bit about diet, weight loss, etc. One of my most persistent themes has been the following old as time formula:

 

Caloric intake > caloric expenditure = weight gain/no weight loss

Caloric intake = caloric expenditure = stasis

Caloric intake < caloric expenditure = weight loss/no weight gain

 

I stand by this. Particularly if you have a substantial amount of weight to lose....regardless of whatever fad diet you hear amazing results from, or this new study says this. If you have more than 10lbs/4.5kg to lose, you have to be taking in fewer calories than you burn. Basal metabolic rates, while not exact, at least give you a starting point. We can all do the math from there and calculate what we're taking in and how much we're using.

 

HOWEVER.....it can actually backfire if not managed properly, as I have found out.

 

I had trimmed down a couple years ago to what I considered my optimal weight, and stayed there for quite awhile. I've always been a big snacker/eater, but am also very active, so keeping weight off and down isn't hard for me to do. Once I got my weight where I wanted it, I continued to cut some calories. Can't hurt, right?

 

But over the last year, little by little, I put a little bit of fat on, all around my mid-section. And I slowly added about 10-12lbs, despite eating less and less and working out roughly the same.

 

Here's where the above formula gets a little goofy. You can get to a point where your caloric intake is substantially lower than what you burn, and in such a state, your body goes into survival mode. If you aren't giving it all of the calories and nutrients it needs, it stores what it gets ahold of. Your body stops trusting that you are going to give it what it needs. Metabolism slows down, and your body will store as much as it can as fat.

 

I finally broke down and did a caloric analysis. Here's where I'm at (shockingly):

- BMR = 2200 kcal/day

- heavy working out/basketball = 1000+ kcal/day

- heavy activity from work/general movement = 700-800kcal/day

= ~4000kcal/day

 

Even with liberal snacking, decent but small meals, etc.....I'm at about 2200 kcal/day. Whoa! Almost 2000kcal below where I need to be, and nowhere near enough protein. No wonder it's so hard for me to get out of bed in the morning. Crazy. Never took the time to actually calculate how many calories I was getting, or, more relevantly, NOT getting. Yikes.

 

This is a good example of how our bodies can override us and our intentions and goals. There is so much going on in us physiologically, and when we screw with it, out bodies will do what they need to do to stay in business, sometimes to our own detriment.

 

Please manage diet, exercise and rest appropriately.

Edited September 18, 2014 by RonaldS

[RonaldS]

Another caveat to this is that I did not realize how little protein I was getting. I feel like from a musculature perspective, I'm good with the mass that I have. Based on that, I guess I was assuming that I was getting ample protein.

 

Nope. Not getting anywhere near enough protein.

 

So, my plan moving forward is to initially add ~1000kcal/day, even though that still leaves me at something of a deficit. I should see some results/changes fairly quickly with an additional 1000kcal/day, and I don't want to go crazy and all of a sudden dump an additional 2000kcal/day into my body. So I will start at 1000 and see what happens.

 

Constituting those 1000 calories, I'm going to go fairly heavy with proteins. I've always had a high carb diet, but I don't feel I need to reduce my carb intake. Maybe replace a high carb snack with something that's got a bit of protein in it....but nothing radical. Carb consumption will remain roughly the same.

 

This makes me happy, because I like to eat.

[HermioneG]

Another caveat to this is that I did not realize how little protein I was getting. I feel like from a musculature perspective, I'm good with the mass that I have. Based on that, I guess I was assuming that I was getting ample protein.

 

Nope. Not getting anywhere near enough protein.

 

So, my plan moving forward is to initially add ~1000kcal/day, even though that still leaves me at something of a deficit. I should see some results/changes fairly quickly with an additional 1000kcal/day, and I don't want to go crazy and all of a sudden dump an additional 2000kcal/day into my body. So I will start at 1000 and see what happens.

 

Constituting those 1000 calories, I'm going to go fairly heavy with proteins. I've always had a high carb diet, but I don't feel I need to reduce my carb intake. Maybe replace a high carb snack with something that's got a bit of protein in it....but nothing radical. Carb consumption will remain roughly the same.

 

This makes me happy, because I like to eat.

 

 

Agree with all of this! I underate for years- but when I finally calculated my calories to my activity and specifics? I lost weight, and it stays off, and I feel so much better!! And it was not a small calorie add, either.

[RonaldS]

Agree with all of this! I underate for years- but when I finally calculated my calories to my activity and specifics? I lost weight, and it stays off, and I feel so much better!! And it was not a small calorie add, either.

 

I can say this much so far....I've added 1000kcal/day since I worked all this out a couple of weeks ago. I initially had a little bump upward, but since then I've lost a few pounds. But more than that, I just feel worlds better.

 

I'll probably stay where I'm at for a month or so and see why a happens, and then bump it up again by another 500kcal/day.

 

And I've added a lot more protein, which I was WAY short on. So far, so good.

[RonaldS]

Quick update:

 

Maybe this substantiates that I was heavily in storage mode. I added about 1000 'good' kcal/day over the last couple of weeks. Holy crap, I have porked out, haha! I'm up about 6 pounds, with a nice belly forming! Eeeek.

 

I've been working out even a bit more than I was previously, largely because I feel good and have the energy. Lesson learned.

 

Hopefully once my body realizes I'm going to keep feeding it, it will stop hoarding and I will drop this weight.

[Mrs Carter]

You lost a lot of muscle through your diet and didn't train right to gain back any. You lost more muscle than fat, hence your high body fat %

 

The way to get the body you want is not just by eating calories - you will only get fat as you noticed with your growing belly - but by training right, building muscle: ie lifting heavy.

 

If you do excessive cardio/mainly cardio and your body is in enforced calorie deficit, it does indeed go into survival mode and gets rid of the muscle as it's hard to maintain. this is why so many women are skinny fat in the gym, they do all the cardio, don't build muscle, don't eat properly and only retain fat.

 

Eat properly and train properly.

[RonaldS]

You lost a lot of muscle through your diet and didn't train right to gain back any. You lost more muscle than fat, hence your high body fat %

 

The way to get the body you want is not just by eating calories - you will only get fat as you noticed with your growing belly - but by training right, building muscle: ie lifting heavy.

 

If you do excessive cardio/mainly cardio and your body is in enforced calorie deficit, it does indeed go into survival mode and gets rid of the muscle as it's hard to maintain. this is why so many women are skinny fat in the gym, they do all the cardio, don't build muscle, don't eat properly and only retain fat.

 

Eat properly and train properly.

 

I think I have plenty of muscle. I'm not beefy, by any means, but I'm pretty well defined. Definitely more of a muscular tone than 90% of the guys I see at the gym. Although I agree that a calorie deficit will have your body robbing from it's own muscle mass for energy. I have noticed that my musculature has taken a little hit.

 

I stopped heavy lifting years ago. I didn't like the way I looked, and I felt stuff and clunky. It made me look a lot thicker than I wanted to look, and I wasn't as fast nor did I have the mobility I wanted.

 

Now, most stuff I do is body weight/lighter weights kinda stuff. When I do body weight exercises, I try to incorporate weight or resistance when I can. So, I do a lot of push-ups, sit-ups, pull-ups, planks, squats, kettle bell, etc. Any time I can bring weight into those things, I do.

 

I think my biggest problems were overall calorie deficit, and major protein deficit. It's probably going to take my body a couple weeks to figure out that it's getting what it needs and stop storing so much.

[Mrs Carter]

I stopped heavy lifting years ago. I didn't like the way I looked, and I felt stuff and clunky. It made me look a lot thicker than I wanted to look, and I wasn't as fast nor did I have the mobility I wanted.

You need to consider how you did your lifts, what weights, what your goals were. I keep up mobility in different ways, you can do other stuff as well, it doesn't have to be just lifting. However I think building muscle is essential for long term physical development. Especially for middle age and older. Your body will thank you for it. Chunkiness may have had something to do with how clean your diet was?

Now, most stuff I do is body weight/lighter weights kinda stuff. When I do body weight exercises, I try to incorporate weight or resistance when I can. So, I do a lot of push-ups, sit-ups, pull-ups, planks, squats, kettle bell, etc. Any time I can bring weight into those things, I do.

 

I think my biggest problems were overall calorie deficit, and major protein deficit. It's probably going to take my body a couple weeks to figure out that it's getting what it needs and stop storing so much.

If I need to lose, I cut down on carbs and increase protein intake simultaneously. However that protein will need to do something, if you are not stimulating your body enough to grow, it will be excess calories going to your belly.

[RonaldS]

You need to consider how you did your lifts, what weights, what your goals were. I keep up mobility in different ways, you can do other stuff as well, it doesn't have to be just lifting. However I think building muscle is essential for long term physical development. Especially for middle age and older. Your body will thank you for it. Chunkiness may have had something to do with how clean your diet was?

 

If I need to lose, I cut down on carbs and increase protein intake simultaneously. However that protein will need to do something, if you are not stimulating your body enough to grow, it will be excess calories going to your belly.

 

As I've gotten older, my goals have changed.

 

In college, I was 225lbs, but very little fat. I lifted big to get big. It was fine back then, but now that I'm 40, I enjoy being thinner, faster and more flexible. I feel like I have a good amount of musculature now....it feels right and looks right on me.

 

I've upped my caloric intake over the last several weeks, and after the initial bloat, I'm on my way back down. Definitely emphasizing getting more protein. I have a zillion times more energy, which is allowing me to get better workouts.

 

It pains me to post a pic here, but this is what I looked like last winter. I am essentially the same build, but I've gained a little fat around the mid-section. When I took this pic, my diet was good, but not great. I was guilty of eating cupcakes and cookies. My diet now is better, I think. I'm hoping this extra 10lbs I'm carrying drops back off quickly.

 

https://www.dropbox.com/s/zeabu2t4xfbrldy/2013-05-17%2011.23.25.jpg?dl=0

[PogoStick]

Nice tan

[RonaldS]

Nice tan

 

Hahaha, yep. Hard to believe I live a mile from the beach.