| Forum | Topic | Date | Replies |
| Health & Support | Calcium, Potassium, and Iron, oh my! | Mar 24 2010 06:19 (UTC) |
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If you have a look at this link .. there is a list of vitamins and minerals down the right hand side. If you click the ones you're interested in you'll get information on natural foods that contain them. NB... to boost iron intake, at each meal team up iron-rich foods with vitamin C rich foods (such as kiwifruit) so that your body can absorb the iron more efficiently. |
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| Health & Support | No period for 3 months | Mar 19 2010 13:48 (UTC) |
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http://www.bcm.edu/cnrc/bodycomp/bmiz2.html Put your stats in this chart and read off the 'Daily Energy Requirement' for 'moderate' activity level so that you understand your calorie requirements. Keep the CC food log for a week so that you can see by how much you're undereating. You'll also be able to judge your BMI properly.... below 20 and you are statistically most likely to lose your periods. Many people with eating disorders decide to be vegetarian... it's a great way to hide food phobias and make not eating look 'legit'. Many people without eating disorders start with the best intentions but simply can't maintain good health as vegetarians and have to revert to an omnivorous diet. So consider that possibility if your health is struggling. If you really are afraid of fats then you should talk to your doctor about that when you go for the appointment about your loss of periods. Supplements do not compensate for lack of food |
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| Weight Loss | Herbal Detox's - what are your thoughts? | Mar 19 2010 13:41 (UTC) |
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They are a gimmick sold in health-food stores. Weight-loss isn't difficult. Anyone can lose weight temporarily if they replace food with liquid concotions. Every fad diet in existence can result in sudden weight-loss. Doesn't mean it's healthy or an intelligent thing to do.... doesn't mean the weight will stay gone. If you have digestion problems especially stay away from cleanses because they are mostly built around powerful laxatives mixed with big quantities of herbal stimulants. A healthy diet with plenty of fresh fruit, vegetables and water to drink is much safer. If you're overweight bring your weight down with portion or calorie-control combined with regular exercise.
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| Weight Loss | Help I binge at night | Mar 19 2010 13:36 (UTC) |
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Breakfast: oatmeal and apple with cup of coffee... try adding nuts and raisins to the oatmeal or having a banana afterwards. Make sure the bowl of oatmeal is a decent size. If your daily target is 1500 cals try to get 400 at breakfast time Lunch: a can of healthy request soup with no sodium, radishes (my favorite food), and a rice cake. How about a bread roll spread with peanut butter rather than a rice-cake? Again, follow up with a piece of fruit and maybe a pot of yoghurt so that you're getting some more protein. Again... 400 cals a lunchtime would be a good target Snack: usually triscuits or fruit. Try things like nuts and seeds as snacks, a little cottage cheese, slices of ham or peanut butter on some crispbreads or a slice of wholegrain toast... 200 cals in total At supper time aim to get a good mix of carbohydrates (potatoes, pasta, rice, noodles, bread), protein (meat, eggs, fish, nuts, tofu, quorn) and fats with your vegetables. Protein, fat and fibre provides the most filling combination - then pad out the meal with lots of vegetables... 500 cals to finish the day |
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| Weight Loss | Some advice please: nearing goal | Mar 19 2010 11:13 (UTC) |
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The CC calculator is aimed at people over 21 so, aged 19/20 the intake target would have been slightly understated for you. 'Completely sedentary' is quite difficult to achieve unless bedridden.... just normal daily activity such as walking around or doing housework usually takes people out of that zone and into 'light' as a better average. The reason it's important to say this is because yo-yo-ing is a lot more likely when someone has been undereating (even accidentally) Now that you have a more appropriate calculator to work with and now that you've decided to reduce the deficit, you should be OK going forward. |
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| Health & Support | No period for 3 months | Mar 19 2010 11:07 (UTC) |
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Between now and getting the appointment you can try to improve the situation ... If your BMI is below 20 then raise it by gaining weight. If your diet is poor or inadequate then increase the amount you eat and pay more attention to getting plenty of vitamin and mineral-rich foods. In particular increase your intake of iron by by eating more red meats, dark green vegetables and vitamin-c rich foods such as kiwifruit. Increase your intake of fats via full-fat dairy products, olive oils, nuts, seeds, avocados, oily fish.... and also increase your intake of nutritious carbohydrates.... wholegrain foods, starchy vegetables, dried fruit, fresh fruit. If you exercise a lot, cut it back. If you feel life is stressed, find ways to relax. But do see a doctor as soon as possible. |
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| Weight Loss | increasing calories without gaining | Mar 19 2010 10:34 (UTC) |
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What you should do is go with your full energy needs for several weeks and then see what the picture is. If you need to lose weight after this point then reduce your intake only by 500, make healthy food choices, eat regularly and take more exercise. Every 2 weeks have a day where you get your full energy needs again since this helps prevent the situation recurring. Avoid drastic drops in calorie-intake in future. More calories will = more weight in the short-term. Keep telling yourself that or you'll panic again next time you get on the scales and not get through the readjustment period. |
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| Health & Support | No period for 3 months | Mar 19 2010 10:29 (UTC) |
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There's a difference between being technically a healthy weight... and being healthy. If you're not getting a period then chances are you are not healthy in some way. Can be because you are too low a weight (not necessarily underweight), too low body-fat, a poor/inadequate diet, overexercising, suffering from stress or suffering from a medical condition. Because you can't diagnose yourself you should go to your doctor and let them assess you. BTW... a 'slight eating disorder' also needs checking out by the professionals. |
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| Weight Loss | increasing calories without gaining | Mar 19 2010 09:04 (UTC) |
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If you've only been maintaining your weight by severely undereating then you are going to gain some weight when you go back to a normal, healthy calorie intake. That's just how it goes, I'm afraid. Mostly due to a combination of a very slow metabolism (caused by undereating) and fluid retention. Someone your size and age and reasonably active (?) needs about 2000 cals a day to maintain and to be well-nourished.... so that's the place to get to. You can either go straight there starting now or in two short hops... 1200-1600 then 1600-2000... over a week or so. Stay off the scales during the week and only monitor your progress once a week... this gives any temporary gains and losses chance to even out. A little weight-gain is far preferable to chronic malnutrition. |
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| Weight Loss | Some advice please: nearing goal | Mar 19 2010 08:59 (UTC) |
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Given that you're only 20 and you're very active I think 1500 is, on balance, a little too low. It was certainly too low when you were 256lbs. Losing average 3lbs a week has been too rapid a loss... also indicative of crash-dieting. Bottom line is that I think you've been lucky so far not to have problems but it would make sense now to start increasing your intake a little. Have a few days this weekend, for example, where you get your full energy needs or your 'total burn' according to this young person's calculator http://www.bcm.edu/cnrc/bodycomp/bmiz2.html . See what maintaining looks like in real terms. Then resume weight-loss with just a 700 cal deficit. Many people make the mistake when they get to a healthy weight of carrying on with a weight-loss intake. Some are rather nervous about eating more and don't trust that their body can cope. Others think they will blow up like a lifejacket with the toggle pulled if they go to a normal amount of food. NB... people who have been crash-dieting will find this second scenario very likely. So if you reduce the deficit and deliberately start having days where you get your full energy needs you will find that weight-loss stays lively and you are better equipped for maintenance when you get there.
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| Weight Loss | Rawr! >.< | Mar 19 2010 07:44 (UTC) |
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Don't feel guilty because that doesn't achieve anything. Instead look at things more pragmatically. The biggest reason why someone would go for sugary snacks in the evening is usually that they are undereating the rest of the time and they've run out of energy. For a start... 113-118lbs is already a very low weight for someone 5'4". 1300 cals a day is therefore far too low for someone that's a) a low weight and b) doing so much exercise. Even the 1700 that you say 'ugh' about is too little food. You need to work out why you're so intent on getting thinner when you're already very thin. You also need to stop ignoring your hunger pangs with distraction & avoidance techniques... and compensating for eating normal amounts of food by punishing yourself with exercise is a very unhealthy behaviour. Because you're pretty active I would suggest that you start giving your body the energy it really needs to function bygoing for 'maintenance' i.e. about 2000 a day. (NB... your 'burn' is not 1600 cals a day unless you're bedridden) Nourish your body well rather than keeping food perpetually restricted in pursuit of an artificially too-low weight and you will feel happier physically and mentally. You told someone in an earlier post "Listen to your body, that's the best advice I've ever gotten. If its hungry, nourish it".... start taking that advice yourself. |
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| Weight Loss | Vitamins | Mar 19 2010 07:22 (UTC) |
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You can't currently add supplements. However, if you find your diet is low in vitamins try to improve the nutrition content of your diet through better food choices as far as you can. Quite often the simple addition of a few more servings of fruit and vegetables is all it take. |
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| Weight Loss | Help I binge at night | Mar 19 2010 07:03 (UTC) |
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Define 'good all day'... because the biggest cause of night-time snacking is not eating enough during the day. Skimping on breakfast or skipping meals = simple lack of energy. Make sure your calorie intake target is set appropriate to your age, size and level of activity. (If you are under 21, for example, the CC calculator is not calibrated correctly for you.) A 500-700 cal difference between your energy needs and your food intake is ideal. Aim to get 1/4 of your daily calorie needs at breakfast and work out from there. "chocolate pudding right after, the a cookie then another cookie, and finally finished it off with two peanut butter cups and two baby ruth bars (snack size)". Next thing to look at is where did all the above come from... If you're surrounded by junk food at home as well as at work then you are making life more difficult than it needs to be. Literally go through your cupboards, fridge and freezer and throw away anything that you don't want to find yourself eating in the future. If it's not there, you can't eat it. Instead, fill up the fruit bowl and stock up on a few low-fat fruit yoghurts. |
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| Weight Loss | Salt Water Flush?! | Mar 19 2010 06:56 (UTC) |
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Drinking salt water is a punishment, not a treatment. It won't clean out your intestines but it could make you retch. Do as the above people suggest and start getting a lot more fruit and vegetables into your diet. Three kiwifruit a day isn't a bad start because they are a natural laxative, contain huge amounts of vitamin c and help you absorb the iron better from your food. Choose wholegrains, nuts, seeds, pulses/legumes and other fibrous wholefoods so that your digestion has something to work on and process. Include plenty of oily foods in your diet... oils, oily fish, avocado... as oil is a digestive lubricant. Drink a lot more fluids.... 2 litres of plain (not salted) water a day... since dehydration is often why some people have 'horrible digestions'. And take light, regular exercise. The massaging motion of just a short walk after meals is enough to keep the digestion in good condition.
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| Health & Support | Food has taken Over My life | Mar 19 2010 06:48 (UTC) |
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A healthy adult (over 21) woman typically needs 2000 cals a day. Someone who is doing intense cardio and weightlifting every day for over an hour needs well over that amount.... 2500-3000 a day. Someone under 21 could easily add 200 cals to all those numbers. So the reason you feel "tired and irritable" is because you are not eating enough. And the reason you 'cheat' is that you are lacking in energy and your body sends you out to look for it. Quite normal when someone is malnourished and restricting their food intake. Disordered behaviour takes many forms and excessive exercise is unfortunately one of them.... but maybe you're not there yet. Start by increasing your intake to a regular 2500+ a day, deliberately take two days off exercise every week, and then try to go forward without counting calories.
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| Foods | Multivitamins? | Mar 19 2010 06:41 (UTC) |
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I'm not a fan of synthetic vitamins and prefer, by and large, to get them from my food where they interact with other compounds. If you get a good diet with a wide range of different foods you won't be short of vitamins. And, if your diet is poor, a pill doesn't really make up for that. |
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| Foods | Need ideas for very special homecoming meal :) | Mar 19 2010 06:39 (UTC) |
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I'm not a man but I do travel a lot and stay in hotels frequently where everything tends to be either reheated and nasty or very 'frou-frou' fancy. So what I like when I come home is something that is totally non-fancy - simple but nicely cooked. A simple casserole, pasta dish, vegetable dahl or an apple pie with custard is my idea of perfect. |
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| Young Calorie Counters | Confused if I should gain, maintain, etc... | Mar 18 2010 22:17 (UTC) |
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If you've skipped three periods in a row then see your doctor. They'll be able to advise you on what to do to get it back. Top reasons for period loss are .... poor/inadequate diet (which is what you're getting), being too low a weight (not necessarily underweight), having too low body-fat % and over-exercising Beyond the loss of period I think there is potentially a bigger problem i.e. your unhappiness with your body and your obsession with body-weight, food and calories. The fact that you're not hungry should worry you - not normal in healthy 15 year-olds and loss of appetite usually signals ill-health. Your profile says that you are 'pretty scared' of gaining weight... but at 15 you're still growing, your body is developing from a child into an adult woman and it would be abnormal if you were to stay the same weight. You mention that you have low self-esteem... which isn't fixed by being thin. So do talk to the people close to you about why you're so unhappy about yourself. Start getting a more normal amount to eat for a girl your age.... 2000-2300 cals a day. And see your doctor as soon as possible about the loss of periods.
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| Weight Gain | Affect of weather on weight gain | Mar 18 2010 22:07 (UTC) |
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Your body does use a little more energy when it is cold but if you wrap up warmly when you go outside for 10 minutes then it is going to make no material difference to the outcome.
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| Weight Gain | How many extra calories do I need? | Mar 18 2010 22:04 (UTC) |
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Start with 2500 cals a day... If you don't gain or if you only gain 1/2lb move up to 3000 cals... then 3500.... or whatever it needs to be until you start to gain a steady 1lb-2lbs a week. Don't go backwards by reducing calories at any stage... only ever increase. As your weight increases.... and remember it's got to get up past 112lbs.... then your energy needs could well increase and then you'll need to keep adding. Eat 'little and often' so that you have a steady stream of energy all day long. Start early with the good-size breakfast (typically 25% of your day's calories) and take it from there. Make sure you get a good mix of as many different types of foods as possible.... in particular those rich in B vitamins, iron and C vitamins as they help the body repair and will boost your weakened immune system. Kiwifruit, for example, are a very good natural source of vitamin C. At the same time (not in place of) take a daily multivitamin with iron or any supplements prescribed to you by the doctors.
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