Good Calories

[Shannon_rain]

Hi all!

I hope that my issue comes across right. It's not an issue really, just something on my mind.

I tend to be a chatter and have trouble keeping things short and sweet. So apologies ahead of time!

So let me try and paint the picture and I'm going to be honest: 

I'm 30.

I'm way over weight. Obese.

5'6 , started at 285 now 279.
I have bad heart problems in my family.

I am so out of shape I'm out of breath just climbing staris.
I'm ready to do this.
I am brand new (2 weeks).

I'm trying to make a lifestyle change so I'm doing baby steps, making sure I understand things first and foremost.

So far I love my Fitbit Charge HR. I love seeing the data and I love inputting all my numbers. Its working. I've lost 5ish pounds.
This week I'm making another change, I'm going back to the gym.

In preperation for that I'm trying to look at my pervious data and see how I'm doing. I've been browsing the forums and have noticed a lot of conversation on something that's been bothering me as well.
Being under budget on my calories.

Now this isn't my exact fear, I think I get it.

However, what is adding to my fear is that I went to the gym for 3 months last year (ran out of money so I had to stop, but am doing much better financially so I'm going back! :)) and I rememeber that when I got on the ellypical for 30 minutes because I was SOOOO out of shape, my heart rate was high and I burned a lot of fat, fast. I know that will stop eventually, I'm okay with that. I just love going and being there.

Right now I just want to get healthy and take it as it comes. When my weight loss starts to change I will to, I will adapt.

But if I can't even get in the budget with my calories now, how am I going to when I start being active?

My BMR is 2037, I can usually eat around 1500 to 1900 with a few 2200 in there over the last few weeks. By that I mean I eat breakfast, lunch and dinner with a few snacks and am not starving or over stuffed. In actuallity I eat too much! I'm trying to work on portions and that is really hard!

If I'm being honest I'm just trying to get used to logging every day and not focused on the eating 100% healthy yet, so sometimes my food choices are not that great sometimes they are, baby steps. I honestly would have put money on the fact that I would be over budget but I haven't even come close to that. I'm getting used to logging food so next comes: eatting better as well as going to the gym.

So my question is not nessisarly how to hit that target but to eat the right kinds of calories. Because I supposed in reality the two go hand in hand.

Maybe a few suggestions on meal type foods or snacks?

I don't have a good understanding of nutrtion and I don't want to harm my body without meaning to but I also find it odd that I can't hit my "target" (and I use that very lightly because I understand its not perfect) even the way I eat (badly).

I hope this all made sense.

Any advice, insight, help is appreciated.

Shannon

[Gershon]

I suggest reading "The Starch Solution" by Dr. McDougall.

[glitzy]

Snacks - your best bet is veggies!  Carrots, celery, etc!  Sometimes I'll add a tablespoon of natural/organic peanut butter.  Otherwise I'll snack on some fruits like a banana or an apple. (Apples and carrots fill me up most.) Unsalted nuts, about 1/3 cup or 25 grams, are good too!

Replace ground beef with lean ground turkey!  Lot's of boneless skinless chicken breasts, too!  When seasoning just be careful with the salt you add to things.  I also eat a lot of canned tuna in water (light) I add mustard (tsp) instead of mayo.  Switch to whole grain bread, but you don't want to eat too much of this, anyways.

I'll use this example, my favorite so far, tacos!

I use lean ground turkey in place of beef.  I make my own seasoning:

1. 2 teaspoons chili powder
2. 1.5 teaspoons paprika
3. 1/5 teaspoons cumin
4. 1 teaspoon onion powder
5. 3/4 teaspoon garlic powder
6. 1/2 teaspoon sea salt

Instead of sour cream I use non-fat greek yogurt (tastes JUST LIKE SOUR CREAM), add 1/3 cup cheese, and some lettuce.  I skip the tortillas, but you could use whole grain/wheat or corn tortillas.

Just remember, it's about PORTIONS!  You could eat as healthy as you'd like, but if you eat too much, it won't do you much good! 🙂

[Annaed79]

If you have the time, check out High Carb Hannah on YouTube.  So much information and great recipes.

[emili]

I am so happy to hear that you are going back and making lifestyle changes- critical to long term success. I am wondering if you are weighing and measuring food. Because if you are not, then you are just guessing how far under budget you are. Right now it seems to be OK, but farther in, it will cause you to stop losing. Its not a plateau, you won't be starving yourself- you just aren't counting right so in vs out isn't adding up. If you are weighing and measuring then you are already way ahead of most.

I suggest you check out the discussion board right below this one called "what's cooking"- lots of ideas for meals, snacks, drinks, you name it.

I would also suggest you read up on nutrition. You can't have a lifestyle change without educating yourself about that lifestyle. I will be happy to give you a list of my snacks and those I recommend- but its more important for you to know the why and why not of each snack so the decisions you make are based on fact and not my opinion. Just type nutrition facts into your search engine and settle in. Good luck in your adventure- I wish you huge success!

[Shannon_rain]

Thank you so much to all who answered. I'm going to be checking out all the advice! Getting healthy is not easy huh? LOTS to learn.

I went to the library and checked out some books on nutrition:)  and I am mostly measuring my food. I'll get better as time goes on though I'm sure. 

I'm just glad that I understand the whole calorie budget thing now and that I'm not sharving myself without meaning to.
Went out and bought lots of different veggies and  threw in some snacking nuts.

Thanks again

[Ukase · Accepted solution]

Shannon, 

 You're going to get a number of well-meaning advice. Some will be good, others -- not so good. 

I will cover a few common points that I think everyone can agree on. 

1. You must eat fewer calories than what your body burns every day. 

  The fitbit is a good tool for telling you what that value is. (the calories burned). 

So - what to eat? First - we break the food down into macro-nutrients: Fats, proteins and carbs. 

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/macronutrients_calculator.htm

I encourage you to use the link, enter your information and see what your macronutrients should be. 

My guess is it would tell you to take in equal amounts of carbs and proteins, and 25% fats. 

To lose weight at a clip of 250 calories a day (about 1 pound every 2 weeks) you'd take in about 700 calories in carbs, 700 in protein, 350 in fat. 

This is a very slow weight loss - but statistically, the slower you lose weight, the longer you're able to keep it off. 

Now - that's the easy part. So, how do you calculate what micro-nutrients to make up those macro nutrients? Well, that's tough, but here's an example. 

Breakfast : 2 whole eggs, 2 slices wheat toast, 2 slices turkey bacon

Snack: 1 pouche of albacore tuna (you can use regular yellow mustard and dry seasonings to flavor)
1/4 cup steamed EXTRA LONG GRAIN WHITE RICE

Lunch: 6-8 oz grilled chicken breast
1/2 cup steamed broccoli
4- 6 oz sweet potato (cinnamon to taste)


Snack: 
1 1/2 scoops of whey isolate protein shake made with 8oz of water or quest bar (These guys used to be great - they changed the formula and now they're pretty bad, in my opinion.) 
1/2 grapefruit, you may use splenda or stevia (you can use the pre-peeled stuff, but they're expensive. 


Dinner: 2 fish fillets (you can use a dry seasoning on these)(any fish you like - or protein that's 3 oz) 
1cup Steamed/grilled asparagus (or broccoli, spaghetti squash, any veg you like) 

Before bed: oikos triple zero greek yogurt any flavor

That's an example. You can find a number of meal plans online with more flexibility that may be easier for you. The hard part is sticking to them. 

[Dominique]

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@Shannon_rain wrote:

I'm just glad that I understand the whole calorie budget thing now

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Even though you’ve figured it out, I would recommend you have a look at the Fitbit Food Plan Demystified series of posts by @SebringDon.

[Dominique]

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@Ukase wrote:

I will cover a few common points that I think everyone can agree on. 

1. You must eat fewer calories than what your body burns every day. 

---

Actually, it seems not everyone agrees on that: for instance, this post labels us as "'calories-in calories-out' crowd", implying that your intake and your expenditure do not matter for weight loss/gain. Evil carbs make you obese (not overeating), and manipulating your hormones will revert the process (not eating at a deficit).

[emili]

I am a very proud member of that crowd. I am also a proud member of the crowd that believes the scale is not the enemy. It's just showing you what you did. And please don't get me started on starvation and all that...

[SunsetRunner]

drink some water before eating

[bcalvanese]

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@Shannon_rain wrote:

Thank you so much to all who answered. I'm going to be checking out all the advice! Getting healthy is not easy huh? LOTS to learn.

I went to the library and checked out some books on nutrition:)  and I am mostly measuring my food. I'll get better as time goes on though I'm sure. 

I'm just glad that I understand the whole calorie budget thing now and that I'm not sharving myself without meaning to.
Went out and bought lots of different veggies and  threw in some snacking nuts.

Thanks again

---

I was in a similar boat a little over a year ago, and lost 57 lbs. in a year.

Here is what I reommend...

Take it slow.

Don't try to change everything too fast, and don't get too scientific with it.

Set your fitbit to lose 1 lb. per week, and find some kind of steady state cardio that you can do for at least 30 minutes non stop per day.

Slowly work up to doing an hour of steady state cardio per day.

Take a day off from cardio if you feel you need to.

Slowly cut down on the junk food and replace with healthier food.

Eat a variety of foods (don't try to cut out whole food groups).

Slowly cut down on the soda & chips & unhealthy snacks.

The reason i specify steady state cardio is because it's the best thing to increase your fitness level and keep your heart and lungs healthy. If you do it, you will notice your resting heart rate will start to decrease which means that your fitness level is increasing. Dont worry about muscular exercise until you start getting close to your goal weight, but you can do it once or twice a week to maintain your current muscle.

A fit body is much better at processing calories than an unfit body, and many people lose weight with diet alone, but could still be unhealthy.

Doing it slowly over a year or two allows enough time to replace the bad habits with good habits.

I chose power walking as my steady state cardio. When I first started I felt like I was going to die after walking just 1 mile at a slow pace. Now I can walk over 8 miles at over a 4 mph pace with no problem. And I eat more now than I did before I started all this. I just eat smarter and healthier because I turned bad habits into good habits over the past year.

There is nothing wrong with having a treat here and there (infact I'm having an ice cream soda tonight) as long as you maintain a good fitness level and eat smart.

Good luck and feel free to friend me for motivation if you like.

[Jennifer_Atown]

I suggest track everything you are eating. It is a pain, but you get used to it. You can just scan the bar codes. Be honest. Then after about a week, it becomes a habit and you can look at what you really are eating. I count my fruits and veggies &  aim for 4 servings a day, and then try to keep my carbs down to 9 servings total. If I aim for that, somehow my Proteins, fats and total calories seem to line up okay.

You have to be honest.  I even have tracked that one tootsie roll you get at the Bank. 🙂

[tamado]

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@Dominique wrote:

---

@Ukase wrote:

I will cover a few common points that I think everyone can agree on. 

1. You must eat fewer calories than what your body burns every day. 

---

Actually, it seems not everyone agrees on that: for instance, this post labels us as "'calories-in calories-out' crowd", implying that your intake and your expenditure do not matter for weight loss/gain. Evil carbs make you obese (not overeating), and manipulating your hormones will revert the process (not eating at a deficit).

---

I'd weigh in as a hybrid.  I think calories in/out totally matter but a calorie is not a calorie.  If you are going to eat in deficit, make every calorie count.  Fat is not the enemy and even carbs are not the total enemy if eaten as whole grains and from fruit/vegetables.  My opinion...

[AndyDandyPandy]

This is all in your mind. If you can control the mind, everything else is easy. I'm sure every overweight, obesed, morbidly obesed people know what to do to lose weight. I'm sure you already know that eating healthy, not over eating, and exercising is the best remedy. Something that people don't know is that this is going to take time. Possibly a year to see a life changing difference and maintaining a healthy lifestyle. When making this journey expect it to be a life time.

Only you can make this change, not a single people from fitbit can make you succeed but yourself. You can take everyone's advice as a guide/motivation to help you on your journey. You are not alone. 

There's always two voice that's in your mind. One tells you to be healthy and the other tells you to try a bit of everything at a feast. The healthy voice is probably a speckle of dust at the moment. When you can make that one bigger than the eat everything voice then you will succeed.

Losing weight is easy. Being consistent is hard. We all will fail. I've failed many times. People will shame you for failing. Don't listen to them. Never give up. Keep on giving it a try. I don't know how fired up you are about making a change in your life but when I started my journey I had a spark in me that I can not explain sort of like an epiphany. Find that spark in you and you will succeed. 

I'm not going to tell you what to do or what to eat to lose weight because I know you already know what to do. It is the mind. Listen to yourself and make the best decision for yourself. Everyone is different. Everyone will lose weight and succeed differently. Choose your own path.

Do something that works for you!