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Originally Posted by levite
I am actually in the middle of trying to lose some weight prior to getting surgery, and what seems to help so far is cutting carbs from here to hell and back, adding more protein, way more fresh veggies, and drinking more water than you would ever believe possible. Haven't lost a lot, but I am losing something, and for me, that is a minor miracle.
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This. Carbs are at least as important as calories. Carbs govern insulin levels, and insulin levels govern fat gain/loss. Keep doing what you're doing. Don't let the naysayers sidetrack you.
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Originally Posted by cadre
I can tell you what probably happened here, you cut your calories way back and increased your body's need for energy so your metabolism slowed down.
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That's the way it usually works, isn't it? If your reduce energy input, the body will slow energy use to compensate. You can mitigate that effect through exercise, but during the other 22+ hours, your body will use energy (burn calories) at a lower rate than before. We should not assume that calories in and calories expended are independent variables. If you change one, the other will most likely also change, whether you want it to or not.
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Originally Posted by cadre
....I use 30% protein, 50% carbs and 20% fats. You do not need to eat excessive amount of protein to gain muscle and doing so can exasperate many health problems.
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Mine for the last few months has been 42% protein, 12% carbs, 46% fat.
I know, it sounds horrible! But I've followed the low carb eating style -not without slips, granted- for a little over five years. According to conventional wisdom, I should be dead or a pudgeball.
Yet my cholesterol is 177, triglycerides 122, and I weighed 109 pounds this morning.
Quote:
Originally Posted by cadre
Next, find a program like FatSecret to help you track your calories. You don't have to do this forever but doing it for at least a week will give you a good idea of where you're at and what changes to make as far as your food goes. I do this for at least three days when I'm cutting and I've been studying this for a long time. Some people have no idea how much they actually eat and you'll see better results if you are more accurate to begin with.
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I am kind of a numbers nerd, so this comes naturally to me. I keep a food diary in a little 3x5 top spiral note pad that I carry in my purse. On most days, I write down everything that I eat and later transfer the data to an Excel spreadsheet that I set up. I track calories, and grams of fat, carbs, and protein. I use info from
Nutrition facts, calories in food, labels, nutritional information and analysis – NutritionData.com and corporate sites like Applebees, McDonalds, etc. I tend to eat the same 2 or 3 dozen things most of the time, so tracking is easier than it sounds.
Quote:
Originally Posted by cadre
Then yeah exercise, cardio will help burn more calories and weight training will help to maintain muscle. Keep in mind that muscle is much more dense than fat but it also burns more calories so it is great to build up lean mass....
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It takes about 6 calories per day to maintain a pound of muscle versus 2 calories to maintain a pound of fat. If you replace 5 pounds of fat with 5 pounds of muscle (your total weight remains the same) you will burn an additional 20 calories per day. It's not much, but over a years time that could be a couple of pounds lost.
Lindy