I’m not happy about this. I gained 1.4 lbs this week. I’m trying. I really, really am – but while I’ve increased my intake of exercise – I’ve also increased my intake calories. A few observations – swimming makes me hungry. Running bleachers makes me hungry. But so does walking, talking and sleeping. So here we go again – this week’s goal is to increase my workouts to 90 minutes per day and keep my net calories to 1200 per day. Several of you mentioned that you think 1200 net calories per day is not enough. It is. Really. I just measured myself and I’m 62.25 inches tall (we’ll just round that up to 5’3” for fun) and I weigh 136.6 lbs. See that picture of me to screen left? I’m about 124 in that picture. My intermediate goal is 120 lbs. Maybe if 46% of my diet wasn’t fat I’d get there a little faster.
And while I belong to a legion of followers who would willing lick Dooce’s feet – Let’s just get one thing straight – I am the licker.
I’m always starving after I swim too. Not so much after running, but after swimming – man I feel like I could eat a horse!
I’m sure that running up and down those bleachers and swimming is adding plenty of lean muscle tissue, which we KNOW weighs more than fat. You should get a body fat analysis done at some point. And I agree that for the amount of exercise you are doing, 1200 seems low. Your body needs proteins to rebuild itself, but I’m no expert…
Muscle is leaner – but one pound of fat weighs exactly the same as one pound of muscle.
Is 1.4lbs of muscle a bad thing?
Women don’t gain muscle like men. I’d have to be on steroids to gain 1.4 lbs of muscle in a week. I must be on fatoids.
Susan,
Fat might not be necessary bad. It depends on what kind of fat you are ingesting. I stay away from Sat and Trans fat when i am in diet mode. But they taste good…probably not as good as Dooce’s feet 😀
Mmmmm, talk less, run more? (just kidding)
Thats the problem with increasing exercise and trying to cut weight. Your body needs the calories to repair. If all you want to do is lose weight just starve. Look at the TV show survivor. They lose weight but they have no energy and look like hell. Good luck.
i’ve always appreciated a good licker.
is 46.4% representative of an average day? what is contributing to that high fat content in your intake?
keep workin’ it. i’d like to start journalling my intake next week to answer the basal calories + exercise calories i need, and then how i’m doing on leaning out with proteins when i don’t need the exercise calories.
“…i am the licker…”
Good Lord. I thought the same exact thing when I read her (dooce) post.
SHE STOLE THAT TITLE FROM SUSAN!!!
You are incorrect about the 1200 calories being enough. If you only need to lose 4 pounds you should expect it to take you at least 4 months. That’s right, my friend – 4 months. That’s the way it goes when you are down to those last few pounds. If you want to do it faster you could quit eating all together and go on the Beyonce/Tom Hanks water and pepper diet but I don’t recommend it. Those people have a staff to do their bidding while they whither away. You are a mere mortal.
If you exercise 90 minutes a day that will probably burn 600 – 1200 calories depending on what you are doing. That means you need to EAT 1800 – 2400 calories to break even. Therefore, you should be eating at least 1500 calories.
What you need isn’t food deprivation – it is patience my dear. Patience. You didn’t gain 1.4 pounds of fat or muscle. It is just a blip. Keep a trend line on a graph that measures in quarters of a pound and watch it go down over 2 months. Then get back to me.
ps – I don’t even read Dooce and would most definitely not lick her. You, on the other hand – maybe.
the most success I’ve had with getting the right balance of carbs/proteins/fat is the 2 3 5 plan. 2 portions of fat 10g each, 3 portions of protein 30g each and 5 portions of carbs 50g each.
Downside … my diet was mostly tuna, chicken and egg whites everyday!
It’s been a bad week here too. 🙁 I thought you might want to know since misery loves company.
I’m not sure how accurate Calorie King is. I know that FitDay tends to overestimate how many calories are burned during exercise and my basal metabolic rate (I had to put that I was bed-bound, FFS!). But maybe the 1,200 net really isn’t 1,200? I dunno… just a thought.
I don’t think 1,200 is too little for a goal when trying to lose weight. When I’m really hitting my diet hard, I ideally would eat 1,500 net and that’s for a 150 pound man. *shrug* Good luck!
Running makes me hungry too and swimming is worse. Hell, breathing makes me hungry. I can relate…I’m following WW and the “points” system. I tend to lose about .5 lbs every week and I think it may have something to do with 1/2 of my daily points coming from either Starbucks or margarita’s. Hmmm…think that’s a problem?
To hell with the numbers. You still look great and you are funny. When’s the next Blogger profile photo shoot?
Licking and swimming, both guaranteed to take the sizzle from me fo shizzle.
I just went to my old blogspot and noticed that JackAssBush only has 902 days left to keep fucking up the country. Sigh.
i HATE HATE HATE counting…anything, reps, laps, miles, ESPECIALLY calories and the like.
but i feel your pain sister. as someone who is also 5’3″ every ounce counts.
crazy enough i find when i eat more, i lose more. go figure.
I’m no expert, but the breakdown of your Carbs, Protein and Fat look WAY. I try to be in the 55-60% Carbs, 20% Protein and 20-25% Fat ranges.
46% Fat. OUCH!
We should be weight loss buddies. I have been struggling too.
I agree with 21st centry mom Susan. Hang in there it takes time.
It does take time. Keep at it.
The more I do during the summer months, the more I want to eat. I can’t stop it. I lose the weight in the fall when I get back on schedule at my teaching job. But it sucks to work out a lot and gain weight, especially when you are trying to lose.
I am cursed with the appetite of a farm hand!
Dieting blows.
God has promised to make me thin in my next life. But she has warned me not to be surprised if it doesn’t make me as happy as I expect it to.
Btw, I stopped using Accelerade because I couldn’t justify the calories. I drink plain ole fashioned water and get my calories from a sensible nibble before my workout and protein within the first 30 minutes afterwards.
Yours in misery…
oh thanks!
been down about my own belly ass back for a while and thought i’d just pretend it’s not an issue and just make cookies. I took a break to read blogs as i was licking the beaters. now don’t i feel fatter and stoopitter!
and i’ll go and feel better after i lick the bowl. poor husband is going to come back to “i’m faaaaaaaattt waaaaaaaa” while i have dough on my face. no pride. at least you have pride and a strategy.
i’d watch the fat intake, but be careful. fat triggers a hormone that tells you you’re full. my hormones aren’t telling me i’m done with cookies yet.
good luck, i feel your pain, my brethren in the battle of the bulge.
I prefer 54% Fat Free!
But hey, aren’t we meant to be 99% water or something like that?
I’l go ask Numbers McPrimus Numero …. she’ll find some palindrome and make it all better.
I’m like you – everything makes me hungry. Even thinking about being hungry makes me hungry! Even when I’m really sick and can’t do anything I never lose my appetite!
DARK???? NO WAY????
1200 calories should be after exercise. So if you’re going out for a four mile run, that’s -400 calories. So you would need to take in 1600 calories that day. You won’t lose weight if you’re not getting the nutrients you need to sustain your exercise level.
agreed with everyone above for the most part.
your body does go into starvation mode and holds on to every single thing you put in there and dont burn off.
and i know all about the short thing. at not even 5’2, 5 lbs is a size up..sucks but its true.
i bet you look fab anyway!!!!!!!!!
Have you had your Thyroid tested recently? Might not hurt to have it checked out (simple blood draw).
My God if I weighed 136 pounds I would be so proud I would never wear clothes.
Ummmmm, if it helps, I’m heavier than you by almost 20 pounds.
That’s a great profile picture. Good luck with the weight loss; it gets harder the older we get, but not impossible. Just when you think you got it under control, your metabolism changes again.
Yeah, but I hear short girls have all the fun. (No offense to short people, I’m short, or I suppose I should say vertically challenged)
You don’t seem to be aware that the majority of women in the western world would sell their soul to get their weight back down to 136.6 lbs.
As for your diet, there is definitely room for improvement. 46% fat is WAAAAAAY too much.
Hey Susan…this is really interesting. Are you using some tool to calculate your nutrition intake? What are you using? This would be really interesting info to have. Thanks, Robin
definitely way too much fat, but I’d say the weight gain might be affected by the huge amount of sodium you’re taking in – can we say water retention? over 3000mg on average is about twice as much as you should be getting
the calorie ratio you’re at may not be healthy, but a calorie is a calorie – eat less than you use and you will lose weight – so either eat less or use more
Susan: 1,200 calories is WAY TOO LITTLE for daily caloric intake. You are running, swimming, and walking, and you need calories, girl, to have the energy and strength to do all of those things.
I’m 5’2″ and I easily eat 3,000 cals/day if not more. Probably way more. People like having me over for dinner because I just hoover up all the food so they don’t have to store leftovers. Some people may think 3,000 cals is too much, but since I started running 1 1/2 years ago, I’ve lost 10 pounds (I now weigh 107 lbs). So I need that energy!
Of course, there are other people who think I have a tapeworm ….
just from looking at your daily average, your carb-to-protein ratio is WAY OFF. that’s what my coach told me anyway. IMHO you’ve got way too much carbs in the diet. don’t worry so much about the caloric intake… you’re burning them with the exercise. just my thoughts.
I always knew you were the licker 😉 I think you look great! I am joining the lose weight wagon since my donut is trying to overtake me and my scale! But I cannot track my food, so I am just going to add more ab workouts and hope for the best 🙂
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