Are you eating enough?

[Kibbles314]

When I first found these forums, I made a post about the weight loss competition between my partner and I. I was frustrated because of a plateau I was stuck at, while he continued to shed the pounds. My partner has been so focused on winning that he has been eating an average of 500 calories a day (which I'm sure you realize is insane) to drop the weight as quickly as possible. I wanted to keep losing as well, though I wanted a healthier way that wouldn't end with my gaining it all right back later. Heybales pointed out to me that against this mindset, I wouldn't "win". Wanting to be healthy and wanting to win were conflicting goals, even if I didn't see it that way. I started the contest gungho with only eating 800 calories a day myself, and soon felt so miserable, worn down and exhausted that I knew I couldn't continue. So I slowly increased my intake, by about 200 calories more a day per week (I'm at 1400 per day now) and wouldn't you know, I began losing again. I'm still exercising every day, but since I'm eating more I can put more effort in, don't feel as fatigued, and am generally happier. I'm actually starting to match my partners progress again (though he had about 60-80 pounds to lose total when we started, and I only had 15-20, so we have a 3:1 ratio respectively), which shows how important it is to get enough of the right fuel. I wanted to say thank you to those who replied to me before with advice and encouragement, and remind others that staving isn't the right way to lose weight. Focus first on your health and happiness instead of the numbers. 🙂

[josephz2va]

My suggestion is to speak with a nutritionist on the food choices for eating clean to lose weight and the correct amount of calories. The biggest mistake anyone does is eat what they want up to a calorie goal with not knowing what foods to eat.

A nutritionist can suggest food alterations, provide a meal planner, groups of foods to combine if they are on the go kind of people, and monitor your fat composition to drop fat and build lean muscle the correct way.

[Kibbles314]

I'm not sure how best to find a nutritionist, if I should look for someone to speak with online or to try and find one in person. I've been eating clean lately, (I believe my food is public if you're curious) with the worst thing daily being the creamer in my coffee. It would be nice to have guidance though.

[Stephen1227]

Have you tried getting a referral for a nutritionist through your general doctor?  Some doctor's offices even employ a nutritionist on site. 

[cookie50]

I see a nutritionist and she tells me all the time I need to eat more to lose more it's all about what you eat putting proteins with the carbs. small amounts mre often.  You go!!!

[Kibbles314]

Thanks. No I haven't, I've moved to Pa from Ny, in October, do I have been separated from my general doctor and support groups for some time.

[Heybales]

Glad to see you followed the advice, and may yet give them a run for their money - or coupon.

Sounds like it's all working great now. Better workouts, means better recovery, and better repair calorie burn too.

You might think of it as you can really get the max weight loss out of a healthy body. Sadly eating too little makes it unhealthy and can stop that max amount from happening.

As others mention about "clean" eating - whatever that means to whoever is saying it - definitions go all over the place. But a body with better nutrition is always going to be healthier if the available calories is given to good foods, not junk foods. Then again, if getting in all you need, there may be room for what you enjoy too.

Probably the biggest thing is not stressing the body eating something your body is sensitive to. If you haven't found anything yet - great news, great job eating.

But if something always gurgles your stomach and causes some interesting effects, it might be stressing your body even more than that.

Most reasonable people wouldn't eat something they are allergic too, that's the far range of sensitive.

[Kibbles314]

Indeed. I've been lactose intolerant from birth and discovered last year I was gluten intolerant. Initially after cutting out gluten, I lost 35 lbs (though that was paired with a lot of exercise and general insanity) and felt a lot better for it. I've been enjoying using my nutribullet to make lots of fruit/veggie shakes to help up my calories. It's amazing how **ahem** many veggies it takes to increase your calories. Earlier this week my fridge was full of fresh produce, and I was sure it would go bad before I could get to it. Note it's almost empty again and I have to go shopping tonight. So far my definition of "clean" eating is to spend about 99% of my time in the produce section, then the rest to get meat or bulk nuts. I still have some rice and stuff let in the house, but I can save that for a rainy day.

As for my partner, he still insists on starving himself. He drove here yesterday after work, and didn't bother to tell me he ate literally nothing until we were getting in bed. I'll be sure to stuff some food (and hopefully sense) into him this weekend.

[SunsetRunner]

Finding a nutritionist you can work with is similar to finding a doctor you are comfortable with - some are better than others and some have approaches that are in line with what you feel is best for you while others do not.  For example, my SIL was recently diagnosed with Type II diabetes.  When she visited a nutritionists she heard (since I was not present I do not know what was really said) that what she was eating was just fine but she should not eat as much of it.  Well, what she was eating had lead to her diabetes so if that was really what was said I would strongly question that advice.  If you have read many of the success stories on Fitbit, MyFitnessPal, Weight Watchers... you will have seen that some approaches (vegan, LCHF, Atkins, whatever) have worked great for some people and failed miserably for others.  I lost weight and felt fairly good on a low carb/high fat approach early this year but it was not something that I felt I could do forever so I started looking at other suggestions.  For me, the best seems to be to follow the recommendation of Michael Pollan "Eat (real) food. Not too much. Mostly plants."  The more unpronouncable/not recognized at a glance ingredients the less "real" the food is so I try to limit boxed stuff and make from fresh when possible.  Not too much means eat when hungry but not until I'm stuffed and keep it varied.  Mostly plants is harder to follow so I've been cutting down on portion size when having meat and trying to up the salad/veggi/fruit things to do the work of filling me up.  This is largely a Mediterranean type of approach but not entirely.  I agree with Heybales in that you need to eat enough.  If 1400K is enough for you, great.  But if you are exercising much I expect that you are burning through that quickly.  1400 plus eating back at least some of your exercise calories might be a better long-term approach although you'll probably lose the contest.  BTW, I did a similar contest with my brother a year ago.  He needed to lose much more weight than I did and I felt going in he would win but that being in competition with me would be a good incentive for him.  He did win and it was a good incentive however once the contest was over he was only able to stay OP for 3-4 months before sliding back and has started to regain what he lost while I have stayed largely OP and am doing fine.

[Kibbles314]

Yeah, I would love to find a good nutritionist around here, but none of my contacts back in NY know any here, and google says there's like, 40 in the area, but doesn't give me much usable info. I'm not sure how to search for one I like without spending a fortune, or how to go about finding if my insurance would cover something like that.

So far 1400 a day has felt like enough, though I am hungry often at work, that is mainly because we have designated times we're allowed to eat, and my stomach has a mind of its own and refuses to fall in line with that schedule. I've been eating a lot of fruit and veggies, and have noticed my tastes have begun to change a little to truly enjoy it. Though there are some times where I feel like I could kill for some chocolate. >.>

I've realized I may not win the overall contest, but I've suggested that after we end in October, we set a range around our goal weight (say 5 lbs either way) that we have to stay within, and if at the end of the month one of us has gained past it, we have to make the other a new coupon. Sort of like maintenance motivation. Personally I've found I can't lose weight at will when I put my mind to it, but keeping it off is much harder.

[Kibbles314]

*I can lose weight at will. Man it's my favorite thing when my phone auto completes a word to mean the exact opposite of what I want.