I am all of a sudden totally confused, help pls!

So i have been doing really weell, have lost 5lbs, been working out most day...weights 3x a wk, kickboxing once, resistance 3 etc trying to run 3x a week in the morning. 

I have always been a savoury person, crisps, cheese, pasties, pizza's, sandwiches, toast etc now all of a sudden i am overboard on chocolate....i thought hmm ok new regime give it some time...been nrly 3 weeks and now its not just chocolate its anything sweet.  Cheesecake, banofee, profiteroles, ice cream, chocolate...any type of dessert which normally would not have interested me in the slightest.

Is there an explanation for this...im aware that when u crave something over a long enough period it usually points to a lack of something so what exactly am i lacking that is making me crave sugar so much.  At one point i was getting severe headaches every day....migraine for a whole weekend and when i ate something sweet it disappeared for an hr or so.

Any ideas?

Sorry for rambling.

I also have a query....think i may just be being greedy ive been consuming 1600ish kcal on average per day (all logged in food journal...ignore last 3 days  lol) well on phord and CC with my body fat % of 39 its saying i must consume 1400....this seems a little low, anyone else think that?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance guys   :0)

I don't know your stats, but I'm 5'3", 163 lbs and I've been losing weight steadily on 1600-1800 calories a day.  So if 1400 seems too low for you, it might be.

Sugar to your body represents instant quick-fix energy.  So if your energy levels are right down you're more than likely going to crave sugar to get them back up... this can happen if you're on too low a calorie target for too long.  Could be that you need more than 1600...   Sugar cravings will also happen if your blood-sugars drop a little too low.  This happens if you go too long between meals and snacks, for example.  And do have a look at your food choices.  If you're eating a lot of processed foods & refined carbohydrates and not so many wholefoods (the kind that need some preparation and cooking typically) then this can also lead to mini blood-sugar crashes.

So make sure you're getting plenty to eat for your 1600 cals, plenty of good wholesome foods, that you're spacing your food out evenly ... not skipping meals or skimping all day until supper.... and maybe treat yourself to a day this week where you get a good 2300 cals.  Sometimes you need to have an energy top-up (from good foods) to keep everything ticking along nicely.

GI now im more confused, if you look at my journal i hardly eat ANY processed food at all, also ieat quite regularly id say every 3-4hrs and ive dramatically ecreased my alcohol and caffeine intake.

im pretty much clean licing, have the odd day off as such at weekends, this weekend for example.  Im drinkin 3 litres of water, maybe more when i work out hard.

The only thing thats changed is that ive started taking the pill again....a month ago, my exercise has probably doubled and that really is it??

what foods keep your bloodsugars up? wander if im low on a particular food group, vitamin or mineral?

As for calorie intake should i stick at 1600 then n not go to 1400?

I am tryin to increase my protein intake but all round i thought i was doing good, except for the dramatic increase in sugar i suppose??

MICHACHU - 5ft 5, 182lbs and 22y/o female?

Then it sounds like what you're struggling with is a plain and simple energy shortage....  Which you'd kind of expect if you're on a reduced energy (reduced calorie) diet.  Especially if you've dramatically increased the exercise you get which would increase your energy needs.

I calculate that a 'very active' (averaging more than an hour a day of activity) 22 year old with those stats would need 2900 cals a day to maintain and could therefore lose weight on about 2200 per day.  A moderately active (averaging between half an hour and an hour of activity per day) woman with your stats maintains on 2600 and could expect to lose weight on 1900 or so.

If either of those definitions sound close to the truth it would mean that 1600 simply is 'not enough food'... 

What foods keep blood-sugars up?...  High-fibre, unrefined carbohydrates such as starchy vegetables, oats, grains, wholewheat foods, pulses etc.  Also proteins are very sustaining.... eggs, meat, fish, pulses, dairy products etc.  And finally fats.... so it's important to include moderate amounts of fats in your diet.

However, I can't help thinking that 'not enough food' is at the root of the problem.  Headaches, cravings for sugar... it's pretty classic.

WOW!! then how come the phord and CC aid to consume 1417?????

I would say im moderately active, i have two clear days off and on my on days i do 2 days half hour cardio and 3 days 1hr and half of weights and resistance/cardio.

Think i will defo not reduce further then, stick at 1700 dya think for now?  The exercise is a huge massive difference to my body, never been this active not even at school.

Are there any food i can eat that will increase my blood sugar levels? Protein....seeds, nuts? Bananas? i do allow myself 100-200 kcals for a treat a day, lil sweet fix or something but would prefer to get out of that being a daily habit and do eat proper foods as such that my body will benefit from?

am i right in thinkin foods high in iron help with blood sugars? or have i just dreamt that up?

Thanks, once again, GI....your knowledge is invaluable  :0)

You're 22.  You're not that far out of your teens and I think the calculator I use takes that more into account than CC.   When it comes to calculators however there's the 'text book answer' and then there's 'what's actually happening'.   If all the numbers say 1400 but the person is losing weight rapidly on 1600 (maybe 5lbs was a bit too rapid?) and is then getting sugar cravings and headaches on top  - you have to stand back, look at the situation as a whole and conclude 'this person needs more to eat'.

If I were you I would have a day this weekend where you get a good 2500 cals.  The rest of the time aim for 1700-1800 as your standard intake.

Understand blood-sugars a little more clearly.  Sugary, sweet and very refined processed carbohydrates tend to raise blood-sugars very quickly.  They will then come down equally quickly and this can generate hunger-pangs and sugar cravings.  The objective is to keep blood-sugars more stable - staying level rather than going up or down so sharply or so rapidly.  Good foods to help you do this are the ones I mentioned earlier and yes, nuts, seeds, bananas and other natural foods are ideal.  Iron rich foods... red meat, dark green vegetables, wholemeal bread, beans... also fall into the category of good, natural foods.

GI Jane:

You said "the calculator that I use."  What calculator is that?

Sounds like not eating enough--but in addition to that, you might want to change your Pill if you're getting migraines.  Some of the pills on the market are known to cause them.

There are lots of calculators available to use.  CC has one under the tools which is good for those over 21.  Phord.com/cc has one that gives info on why you don't want too high of a deficit for fat loss instead of just weight loss.  There's one for the under 21 crowd at kidsnutrition.org.  Whatever calculator you use, don't put in a goal date as that will schew the results into the lowest probably safe calorie intake regardless of what is healthier.

Your stats are close enough to mine (I'm 10+ years older and an inch+ taller) that I can tell you that 1400 is too low, 1600 is probably too low as well.  1800 is the minimum intake I need when I'm very active, particularly in energy intensive activities like martial arts.  Depending on the day and my activity level I can burn up to 3,000 calories and need to take in enough that the deficit is never over 1,000.  500 is a better deficit for me.

gi-jane makes some great comments so i would read those again carefully.

If you choose not to increase your calories, another option is modifying when/how you eat. Eat more frequently for example.

For example, if I normally eat 1800 calories in a day at 600 calories per meal x 3 meals, but then I start to do biking, jogging, etc, I might change it to 400 calories per meal, but eat 200 calorie snacks at each exercise event in order to keep the blood sugar stable.

It's not an exact science, but play around with some of these concepts.

Best of luck.

Original Post by shp0206:

GI Jane:

You said "the calculator that I use."  What calculator is that?

 If you google 'i village health calculator' that's the one I like to use for over 21s

thank you all!

i have no objections in upping my kcals with natural wholesome foods.  I need to go shopping i think.

This is all learning for me and one think i have learned is that we dont have hardly any proteins in the house as an 'everday cupboard' item as such.  cheese and maybe tinned tuna and sometimes eggs is bout it.

I would like to buy more spinach, 0% greek yoghurt, chicken, salmon, nut and seeds etc.

I need to be more adventurous and get back into cooking i think....since ive moved ive cooked once (my mom cooks everything)...how bad is that?

I also think i may benefit from consuming 1800 on an active day say 1600 on a day 'off' as such or shall i just stick with 1800?

Im more than willing to change and swap and discover, there's so much i need to work on but it will become a lifestyle...i thin it already kind of is, i get itchy feet if i dont exercise and i cant imagine eating all the crap i used to....i look at food now n think...what's that goin to do for my body?  If im having a takeaway as such i know have a tiny minimal portion just so i dnt feel like im missin out and you know i never ever do!

Thanks again, especially GI, for all the help.  No doubt il need to call on you again.  il try the 1800 as of today and will try the 2500 of GOOD food on saturday...weekends are my fall down where if im goin to eat lesser good foods i seem to do it at weekends.

Hmm lots to work on  xx

Try this easy recipe for a 'Spinach Frittata'.... You can use defrosted frozen spinach rather than fresh spinach and the eggs in it means it contains plenty of protein.  I often cook it as a weekend breakfast... gives you plenty of energy to start the day and is very long-lasting.  If you live with someone else just double up the quantities and serve it up in wedges....  it's even nice cold on a salad.

A range of a regular 1600-1800 calories would probably be fine for you.

Original Post by gi-jane:

Try this easy recipe for a 'Spinach Frittata'.... You can use defrosted frozen spinach rather than fresh spinach and the eggs in it means it contains plenty of protein. 

 GI Jane recommended her spinach frittata to me too and I was amazed, it was such a huge amount of food! It's more than I eat for Christmas dinner, usually. And only 440 calories (mine was more like 600 because I used full fat cheese and more cooking oil). A light snack that will hold you for 5 or 6 hours. It made a good supper for me:)

Being a dyed-in-the-wool old greedy-guts my specialism is 'huge amounts of food for relatively low calorie' meals...    Glad you liked it.  The other one that defeats grown men for a measly 427 calories is this 'Mexican Stuffed Peppers'...  Anyone that finishes it all (plus the salad) gets a free dessert!