Be patient, I find numbers confusing but would like advice about trying to lose again?

Okay, brief bio- lifelong yo-yo dieter & recovered bulimic with hypothyroidism (stable). Existed for 20+yrs eating around 500cals (thanks to ed) but was always very overweight (debunking the myth that people with ed's are skinny-minnies!). Over the past 3mths or so I've gotten my calories up to 2000 a day to try and 'fix' my metabolism, and over the last 3wks or so it seems to have stabilised- so I'm figuring that it is now settled around that figure as 'maintenence'.

In another week or so I'd like to try to lose the weight properly this time. I'm 35, female, 5ft 2" and 172lbs. My BMR (according to most sites) is 1530, and I need 1836 to maintain (although I appear to be doing that at 2000?). My question is- Do I eat 1530cals a day and ignore CC's advice to eat 1200, or my Docs suggestion to take 200cals off that (i.e. eat 1330 cals) to 'compensate' for my dodgy metabolism? Or do I mix it up a bit and have a day off each week to keep my (hopefully) recovered metabolism reassured that I'm not going to starve it again?

 I'm sedentary (full-time office worker), and due to time/babysitter restrictions am not able to do much exercise apart from run around after 2 toddlers & endless housework! I do aim to try to do something to help me to lose soon (use 'stepper' machine or exercise dvd when kids are in bed?)- but my focus at the minute was to get my weight stable eating a set amount of cals so that I'd have a solid base to start from this time.

Any advice would be appreciated- I just want to know how best to go about this. I don't mind if the loss is 'only' 1lb a week- as long as it comes off and stays off!

I would suggest that you start at 1500 calories.  I say that because, if you are maintaining at 1900-2000, then 1500 should be enough to allow you to start losing weight slowly... 1 - 1.5lbs a week.  1500 is also quite a pleasant, satisfying amount of food, whereas 1200 starts to be a stretch... even if it's healthy stuff.    As you progress, if you start at 1500 you can always either a) trim a few calories off or b) do more exercise in order to keep going.  If you start at 1200-1350 you've got fewer options.   And someone that kept themselves alive on next to nothing needs no excuses to go back there    Also, if your metabolism is an issue, I'd suggest you have a day every 2 or 3 weeks where you go back to 2000 calories temporarily.   It's a good way to keep the metabolism lively.  Best of luck

I was hoping you'd see this and answer GI Jane! LOL! In my head thats what I figured I would do, I wanted a 2nd opinion though? I took peoples (including you) advice to up my cals in the first place from 8-900 to 1000 to 1200 to 1600 to 2000 and it worked. You're right about not wanting to go back too low- I was always overweight even when starving myself, and now I KNOW I can eat properly without blowing up like a balloon I'll never go back there? DO you think a day every 2-3wks at 2000cals would be enough to keep my metabolism alert? I thought maybe more regularly at first (once a week-10days)? Or am I looking an excuse to stay eating all this food! LOL! Thanks for answering.

Yes, I agree with GI Jane.  There's also a great post about leptin (though I can't find it right now).

I know it's tough to try to lose weight the right way.  I had been taking supplements and ephedra for years before I realized how ignorant I was to think that I could maintain my unhealthy eating habits but take a potentially dangerous supplement to counter my bad behavior.

You can do it!  Just be positive and love yourself the whole time you're trying.  It doesn't help to beat ourselves up over much.  Life is short, so enjoy!

Here's what I'm thinking.....  If you're on 1500 a day and you're losing weight nice and slowly you are unlikely to depress your metabolism by much.  So of course,  you could have a little extra at the weekends but I think all that would happen would be that you just don't lose weight quite as quickly.    If you're on a steady 1500 a day for a couple or three weeks and then have a 'more than normal' day less frequently, you'll be more likely to keep the metabolism lively and less likely to slow down the weight-loss.

 

I found it!!

 

Cheating On Your Diet To Increase Fat Loss.

Coach Dee PFT - Accepting Fitness and Wellness questions via CC e-mail coachdee
Jun 13 2006 15:16
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Quote  |  Reply Howdy folks.... no I have not lost my mind. I have come only bearing gifts! The gift of knowledge. Okay, that sounds totally corny, but this might have you smiling all the way back to the fridge.

So many people hit plateaus. The fat will not go anywhere, and your measurements and scale weight at the same.  My longest plateau was 7 weeks long. Depressing yes, but in my quest for the truth about fat loss, I discovered something..... Cheating once or twice a week, actually helped with moving beyond that plateau.

A fluke? Wishful thinking?  Nope... it is actually based in medical science. It has to do with Neuroendocrinology. Seriously!

We talk about insulin, we talk about testosterone, we talk about estrogen, but have we every talked about LEPTIN?

Leptin? What the, who the huh?

Yup Leptin, a hormone. There not just for sex anymore.

Named after leptos, the Greek term for "thin," leptin is a hormone released by your fat cells. Although it has a number of functions, one of leptin's main roles is to let your brain know how fat you are.  It actually controls your metabolism. Yes I am serious. Leptin is produced by fat tissue and is secreted into the bloodstream where it travels to the brain and other tissues. Leptin causes fat loss and decreased appetite. It also plays a very important role in calorie intake and calorie burning. Hmmm, that sounds pretty important to all this hubbub we are all going through doesn't it?

The bottomline is that by mastering Leptin hormone in your body you will be mastering your body weight. Why?

Leptin causes you to burn stored fat; most fad diets, or unrealistic dieting robs the body of both fat and muscle. When you diet, your body compensates for reduced calorie and fat intake by lowering your energy and metabolism. Leptin can actually enhance your energy and metabolism. What does this mean, well what it means is best diet and exercise plan in the world will not work unless the Leptin levels are correct. Something Nutrisystem does not share with it's customers I assure you.

Leptin levels are related to a number of things, including insulin, your caloric intake, and your current level of bodyfat. Think of it as one of the big ?fat-loss decision makers.? Generally speaking, the leaner you are, the lower your baseline levels of leptin are. Under normal conditions, though, leptin is plentiful. However, while your calorie intake is at sub-maintenance levels, and particularly if you're on a low-carb diet, which lowers your levels of circulating insulin, leptin levels drop.

Decreased leptin levels cause a number of other regulatory changes ? namely, decreased thyroid output and metabolic rate and increased catabolic hormone activity and appetite. In an attempt to become more efficient, your body will try to slow down to make that lowered caloric intake its new maintenance intake. That is, it'll try to do the same amount of work with less energy. And unfortunately, this usually means having to continuously lower calories to maintain your progress, which inevitably makes it very hard to hold on to all your hard-earned muscle. None of this sounds too good to me. However, periodic days of high calorie and carbohydrate intake may help with this.


Remember our bodies want to adapt. That is a good thing and a not-so-good thing when trying to lose body fat. So how do we increase levels of leptin enough to kick start the fat loss again. (exercise is still required here people)

Researchers have identified a system that 'senses' nutrient flux (flux = what's going in versus what's going out) through both fat and muscle cells.  This affects a lot of process. When dieting, more calories are leaving the fat cell than are going in (negative flux). This nutrient sensing system  'senses' this and affects many processes, one of which is leptin production (decreasing leptin production).  So leptin drops.  When overfeeding, more calories are entering the fat cells than are leaving (positive flux). The system 'senses' this and  affects many processes, one of which is leptin production (increasing leptin production).  So leptin increases.  Hence the need for cyclical dieting: when dieting, leptin drops and your body fights back. 

What is cyclical dieting... well to make a long story short. A cheat day. Now I do not mean go nuts with the KFC, I mean, eat more carbs, protein and fat, don't worry. Meaning try 4 days of dieting per week.  Meaning consume 500 -800 Calories less than your Maintainance Level, and then have 2 days at the maintainance level, and one day with maybe an extra 500 calories above your maintainance level.  Keep working out, drink plenty of water... try this for a couple of weeks, and see if this works, remember change it up each day.  mix it up.

Your plateau will start to vanish.  It did for me.

If you have dieted many times, you need to work on fixing your metabolism and not counting calories.  If you eat the proper diet (doing a low GI diet should fix your metabolism) then you will lose fat.  If you calorie restrict you will lose muscle, water and fat and you will do nothing to fix the way your body burns calories.   I can give you some food plan ideas and give you a better idea of what to eat if you are interested (my friend and I teach a weight loss and weight management class)

Tory :o)

Original Post by toryrose83:

 If you calorie restrict you will lose muscle, water and fat and you will do nothing to fix the way your body burns calories.   

But surely you have to restrict calories to lose weight? I've been working so hard to eat well and get to a stable weight eating "x" amount of calories so that my metabolism realises I'm not going to 'starve' it ever again. That was my game plan to try to fix my system after years of abuse.

I eat as well as I can- my usual diet is wheaten cereal/porridge with semi-skimmed milk (don't know US equiv.)for breakfast, homemade veg soup with a chicken/ham salad sandwich/wrap for lunch, Fresh fish/chicken with steamed veg- Veg stir-fry (dry fried) with prawns/chicken or mushroom omelette for dinner, with nuts,a cup of soup,  more cereal, or the occasional cookie for snacks. THis varies of course depending on what food I have in or where I'm eating, but theres no processed/fried foods, and as much veg as I can cram in. Plus plenty of water to help flush my system.

So when I start to cut back, I planned on reducing my portion sizes and cutting out the 'extra' snacks that I was having to bump my cals. I still planned on eating something every 4hrs or so to keep my metabolism running, as advised by my Doc because of my hypo.

Shorcut2k- thanks for that article, it was very interesting, and makes zig-zagging/cycling seem like a good way to go?

I think my plan of action will be to go for the 1500cals a day for 2-3wks and have maybe 1 cheat day and see how I get on?

Thanks everyone for your input- its much appreciated!

irishmum -- You're welcome.  It actually convinced me to try zig-zagging and I'm enjoying it [only my second day into it, but you have to start somewhere :)].

You sound very motivated and have a good plan.  I hope that everything works out for the best.  We're here if you need any motivation or support!!