# If you are trying to lose weight, read this - trust me



## candiemerald (Jan 26, 2014)

Snakecharmer said:


> 1200 Calories | Sophieologie


Thanks for posting this. It's nice to see some common sense about what healthy really is (hint: not nutrient-lacking, low fat, low calorie "health foods").


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## Snakecharmer (Oct 26, 2010)

I feel really comfortable and satisfied with between 1200 - 1400 calories a day. It's hard for me to get more in unless I consume more fats (nuts, cheese). 

If I am physically hungry and need more, I listen to my body and go for it.


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## Promethea (Aug 24, 2009)

Snakecharmer said:


> I feel really comfortable and satisfied with between 1200 - 1400 calories a day. It's hard for me to get more in unless I consume more fats (nuts, cheese).
> 
> If I am physically hungry and need more, I listen to my body and go for it.


I see this debate a lot on fitness boards, where people say this (and I agree - 1400 is a lot of food to me). So, I have said it and I have seen many others say, why force ourselves to eat a few hundred more cals if we feel satisfied enough on this. There are some days I could eat very lite (900) if its not an exercise day, and I feel completely fine. 

I wonder if its about -what- you eat though. A lot of people are eating empty calories in bagels, cereal, pasta. That can add lots of calories but not lots of nutrition. What I eat is packed with nutrition (mostly meats and organic produce). If you strip away the filler, maybe you don't need 1700 cals a day to feel good?

I'll admit though, I'm still paranoid from all I have read about potentially losing muscle mass, so I try to aim for the high end of my caloric needs if I can force it down (and yeah, I end up adding cheese or bacon to eggs for example just to get enough calories it seems).

I wish there was some study on this to end the debate.


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## birdsintrees (Aug 20, 2012)

great blog post. I read another blog the other day about our attitude towards nourishment in general and it pointed to a book that blows up several myths on what we think is healthy eating. will have to look it up when on a computer. 

as someone in my fb feed said it best the other day: if people would only just stop counting calories and instead start counting chemicals, they would be a lot healthier. 

our health, wellbeing and self-image should not be defined by a number on the scales. that just shows our utter disconnection with our bodies and our lack of understanding of nutrition and exercise.


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## Snakecharmer (Oct 26, 2010)

Promethea said:


> I see this debate a lot on fitness boards, where people say this (and I agree - 1400 is a lot of food to me). So, I have said it and I have seen many others say, why force ourselves to eat a few hundred more cals if we feel satisfied enough on this. There are some days I could eat very lite (900) if its not an exercise day, and I feel completely fine.
> 
> I wonder if its about -what- you eat though. A lot of people are eating empty calories in bagels, cereal, pasta. That can add lots of calories but not lots of nutrition. What I eat is packed with nutrition (mostly meats and organic produce). If you strip away the filler, maybe you don't need 1700 cals a day to feel good?
> 
> ...


I think you are on to something there - I rarely eat anything processed and don't eat anything that contains gluten. Ever since I cleaned up my "diet", I'm not nearly has hungry.

I use MyFitnessPal to track my calories and macros and naturally come in around 1200-1400 (and occasionally higher) on most days.


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## zazara (Nov 28, 2013)

I never liked the idea of counting calories. Not for me. I used to be obsessed with how many calories that I ate that I couldn't even enjoy food anymore. Food is supposed to make you feel better after eating, not worse! Well.. I had an ED so my experience is obviously different. I kept cutting my daily calories from 1000 to 500 to nothing at all. It was horrible. I for one am never counting calories ever again. 

I'd rather just use common sense and proportion sizes if I want to lose weight. All this restriction just causes unhealthy perceptions of eating. Food is fuel; not an enemy. Don't beat yourself up for it.


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## viva (Aug 13, 2010)

I, too, have had to be careful with calorie counting. I successfully lost 25 pounds last year by eating 1200 calories a day and meticulously tracking everything - but it got to the point where I was a little bit too obsessive about it. I have some disordered eating tendencies (particularly binging, and just being obsessive about what I eat in general) so I don't think actively tracking what I eat is good for my mental health. Regardless, the 1200/day was ridiculously effective for me (although I was eating mostly healthy food, too, not junk)

I put some of the weight back on while dealing with some medical issues, and began trying to lose it this week. Instead of tracking, I've purchased a set variety of healthy foods that are all safely low-cal and I can eat breakfast, lunch, dinner and naturally fall in a good calorie zone for weight loss, as long as I am able to avoid binging and eat them in normal portions. We'll see how it goes.


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## Dragunov (Oct 2, 2013)

Promethea said:


> I see this debate a lot on fitness boards, where people say this (and I agree - 1400 is a lot of food to me). So, I have said it and I have seen many others say, why force ourselves to eat a few hundred more cals if we feel satisfied enough on this. There are some days I could eat very lite (900) if its not an exercise day, and I feel completely fine.
> 
> I wonder if its about -what- you eat though. A lot of people are eating empty calories in bagels, cereal, pasta. That can add lots of calories but not lots of nutrition. What I eat is packed with nutrition (mostly meats and organic produce). If you strip away the filler, maybe you don't need 1700 cals a day to feel good?
> 
> ...


I don't think empty calories exist, calories are calories and try peanut butter.


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## Haydn (Sep 20, 2012)

Snakecharmer said:


> I think you are on to something there - I rarely eat anything processed and don't eat anything that contains gluten. Ever since I cleaned up my "diet", I'm not nearly has hungry.
> 
> I use MyFitnessPal to track my calories and macros and naturally come in around 1200-1400 (and occasionally higher) on most days.


 @Promethea and @Snakecharmer about how many grams of carbs would you estimate that you eat daily?

I am not trying to lose weight right now but I want to cut back on calories for other reasons however, everything I cut back on the carbs and calories I feel pretty weak/lethargic. I am eating about 2200 calories a day now on average and that is with a lot of aerobics but I am not going to have the time shortly to do so much exercise so I figure some of the calories will have to go.


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## stiletto (Oct 26, 2013)

I don't calorie count. The last I checked I was in the low 20s of body fat percentage. 
I just live by the rules of, make healthy choices often, indulge occasionally, eat until your satisfied but not full/stuffed.


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## angularvelocity (Jun 15, 2009)

Haydn said:


> @_Promethea_ and @_Snakecharmer_ about how many grams of carbs would you estimate that you eat daily?
> 
> I am not trying to lose weight right now but I want to cut back on calories for other reasons however, everything I cut back on the carbs and calories I feel pretty weak/lethargic. I am eating about 2200 calories a day now on average and that is with a lot of aerobics but I am not going to have the time shortly to do so much exercise so I figure some of the calories will have to go.


If you've cut down on Carbohydrates and you've done it within the last 30 days, it means that your body has not adjusted to switching energy sources yet. Carbohydrates produce very quick energy for us. If you are cutting your carbohydrates (or severely reducing them), your body will have very low energy reserves for about a month. After one month your body will begin to use fat and proteins (much slower energy that takes time for your body to use as a primary fuel source) as its main energy source and energy levels should return back to normal. 



Promethea said:


> I see this debate a lot on fitness boards, where people say this (and I agree - 1400 is a lot of food to me). So, I have said it and I have seen many others say, why force ourselves to eat a few hundred more cals if we feel satisfied enough on this. There are some days I could eat very lite (900) if its not an exercise day, and I feel completely fine.
> 
> I wonder if its about -what- you eat though. A lot of people are eating empty calories in bagels, cereal, pasta. That can add lots of calories but not lots of nutrition. What I eat is packed with nutrition (mostly meats and organic produce). If you strip away the filler, maybe you don't need 1700 cals a day to feel good?
> 
> ...


The most likely thing to kill anyone right now is anything metabolic syndrome related (diabetes, obesity, and all of the cardiovascular complications that come with it). I will note - there is such a thing as cardiovascularly healthy obese individuals, so I'm not saying the external aesthetics are indicative of health. 

You make a real good point. A lot of Americans today are nutrient starved, not calorically starved. What is most important about diet is obtaining an optimal amount of good nutrients. The amount of calories consumed is important, but not as important as you would think. There are several empirical articles out there that show if people go below their caloric minimum, leptin (the fat regulating hormone) will ALWAYS spike to ensure that fat deposits are regulated to their equilibrium starting point. 

If you guys are really interested in learning the horrors of the American corporations, I'd suggest "Fat Chance" by Dr. Robert Lustig. This is a research based book that is very easy to read. He doesn't speak of American corporations, but after you read all of the endocrinology in this book, it will make you understand how the american corporations screw us over. He was also on Science Friday on NPR back in December, a very good 30 minute listen instead of reading. I switched over to 85% natural/organic and occasionally eat sweets and restaurant foods when I want and I feel incredibly better than when I ate only fast food and candy crap.

In regards to your muscle mass, if you are lifting properly, your body will automatically increase your food intake with the release of ghrelin. You shouldn't need to force yourself to eat. Your body will do it naturally. The body is very intelligent and will want to do everything on it's own. If you are placing mechanical stress on your body (lifting), your body will react and cause you to eat more so it can build more (muscle).



OrdinarinessIsAFWTD said:


> The importance of drinking cold water cannot be overemphasized. Among the myriad benefits mentioned elsewhere:
> 
> 1) When cold, it's the only true negative-calorie consumable.
> 2) It curbs your appetite + urges when your blood-glucose level starts slipping.
> ...


The calories consumed by generating heat to warm up cold water is negligent. 
If your blood glucose levels are falling, ghrelin is released into your body to make you hungry. Water does not fit the criteria to meet satiety levels. And on top of that - if your blood glucose levels are dropping, you would want to raise that.. by consuming glucose. Otherwise it gets dangerous.

You are confusing the thirst and hunger mechanisms as the same thing in this post. The reason water typically staves off "hunger" is because the hypothalamus utilizes the same neural pathways to express hunger and thirst. Most people are thirsty rather than hungry but the feeling provided by the brain is the same. By drinking, you are satisfying your brains desire for water, not food.



skycloud86 said:


> 1200 calories is far too low for most men and women. Calorie intake needs to be based on how much you burn over the course of a day, and the average brain needs hundreds of calories alone.


Agreed. To be more specific, the brain needs a lot of glucose throughout the day, thus eating carbohydrates is best. If people are really serious about how many calories they need to consume, a non-invasive resting metabolic rate test can be performed that calculates an individual's caloric need.


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## Snakecharmer (Oct 26, 2010)

Haydn said:


> @Promethea and @Snakecharmer about how many grams of carbs would you estimate that you eat daily?
> 
> I am not trying to lose weight right now but I want to cut back on calories for other reasons however, everything I cut back on the carbs and calories I feel pretty weak/lethargic. I am eating about 2200 calories a day now on average and that is with a lot of aerobics but I am not going to have the time shortly to do so much exercise so I figure some of the calories will have to go.


I cycle my carbs, meaning that I have more on days when I work out (on weight-training days, I have around 100 gr of carbs), on cardio-only days, I have around 60 gr, and on rest days I keep them very low - around 30 gr.


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## Haydn (Sep 20, 2012)

Snakecharmer said:


> I cycle my carbs, meaning that I have more on days when I work out (on weight-training days, I have around 100 gr of carbs), on cardio-only days, I have around 60 gr, and on rest days I keep them very low - around 30 gr.


So I take it that you do not often go over 100 grams of carbs then?


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## Snakecharmer (Oct 26, 2010)

Haydn said:


> So I take it that you do not often go over 100 grams of carbs then?


I try not to, but I do have cheat meals. I had pizza today, for example - snowed in. Argh.


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## Swede (Apr 2, 2013)

angularvelocity said:


> If you guys are really interested in learning the horrors of the American corporations, I'd suggest "Fat Chance" by Dr. Robert Lustig. This is a research based book that is very easy to read. He doesn't speak of American corporations, but after you read all of the endocrinology in this book, it will make you understand how the american corporations screw us over. He was also on Science Friday on NPR back in December, a very good 30 minute listen instead of reading. I switched over to 85% natural/organic and occasionally eat sweets and restaurant foods when I want and I feel incredibly better than when I ate only fast food and candy crap.


Found a couple of *long!* movies on YouTube (haven't had time to watch yet yself, but I will!)
Thanks for the tip!


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## angularvelocity (Jun 15, 2009)

Swede said:


> Found a couple of *long!* movies on YouTube (haven't had time to watch yet yself, but I will!)
> Thanks for the tip!


Youre welcome! This guy is pretty amazing. I might have tried to find his office at UCSF Parnassians campus when I was there last month... :O
Let me know what you think after you watch this. His sugar and processed food arguments are very compelling and seem to be quite reasonable when discussing the outbreak of diabetes, obesity and cancer.


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## Entropic (Jun 15, 2012)

I think at least if you are working out and are active, that the best way to measure calorie intake is to listen to your body. Are you hungry? Eat. If you are starting to feel full/stuffed, stop. That's about it. 

For a severely overweight person with a habit of eating too much this is a different issue of course due to the stomach being too large because of the overeating and the primary goal for these people would try to cut down to regular meal sizes first I think, same of course applies to those seriously underweight, but otherwise the principle holds. The body tends to know what it needs.


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## Hypaspist (Feb 11, 2012)

Snakecharmer said:


> I try not to, but I do have cheat meals. I had pizza today, for example - snowed in. Argh.


Pizza? As in only a little?

A few of us in my wellness class on occasion have pizza as a cheat meal.... as in an entire pizza


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## Permeate (May 27, 2012)

I have to eat around 3700 calories to maintain my weight.... that's with 1 hour of heavy exercise and 1 hour of moderate exercise per day.
Last week I had conditioning to do and was getting somewhere in the neighborhood of 5000 :angry:


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## Snakecharmer (Oct 26, 2010)

Naukowiec said:


> Pizza? As in only a little?
> 
> A few of us in my wellness class on occasion have pizza as a cheat meal.... as in an entire pizza


LOL 

If it is a gluten-free pizza from Ledo's, I usually eat the whole thing (small individual pizzas). If it is normal pizza, 2 or 3 slices.


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