Trainer is giving me different advice than cc

hi guys, im new and loving this site. Problem is my trainer doesn't agree with the recommended 1350 cal s per day. My trainer says i should be eating 1800-2000. I am 200lbs. pretty tall.  I feel like that would be too much. Ive been eating about 1500 and have been losing slowly but now haven't lost anything for two weeks.  Any advice for me?

I would think that your trainer is factoring in the exercise s/he is going to have you doing?

Hmmm... I don't know your exact stats but 1350 does seem to low. I'm supposed to consume at least 1400 a day and I am 5'4" and 122 lbs.! That's also with light activity.

This is over our heads.  You can either listen to your paid trainer or the bunch of freebies on here who've been there and done that.

My best advice is some more information.  What was your starting weight?  What's your goal weight?  What's your real height, and not just "pretty tall" ?  How long have you been trying to lose weight, and what's your lifestyle like?

thanks guys

pretty tall is 5 '8. Ive been trying for about 6 weeks, ive lost ten pounds. Goal weight is 160 (ish) I agree its probably better to listen to a trainer i pay 60/hr for! he has a degree in nutrition , lifestyle though is sedentary. I see him twice a week for weight training.

I'm just curious, what goal date does the cc tool show you with that 1350 advice?

March 29th 

Why pay a trainer if you're going to question their tactics/ training?

Go elsewhere.

Or be your own trainer.

Or listen to the professional you're paying to do their job.

I guess I shouldn't assume, but are you a man?  From the George in your name I would guess so.   Also, how old are you?

One of the calculators I saw stated a 30-year-old man of your height and weight, sedentary to light activity, needs over 2000 calories, so yeah, I could see that 1800 would be a way to start slowly losing weight.

Rarely do you see any advices to go below 1200 cals/day, even for women ... therefore, 1350 seems low to me, but I am not a medical or fitness professional.  I'm 38, 5'5" and eating 1500/day is resulting in weight loss for me.

Go with what your personal trainer says?  Consider that your body will adapt to whatever amount of calories you are eating.  If you consistently eat 1350 calories a day and exercise on top of that, your body will adjust your metabolism to use those calories the best way...which is to say that it will decrease your metabolism!  It seems to me that if you want to condition your body to be a mad calorie-burner, you have to eat some calories.  Not more than you need, that will make you gain weight, but if you're hungry and/or tired all the time then you're not eating enough for sure.   

Exercise is the key to motivating your body to burn those calories, that and simply don't gorge yourself on junk food.

I don't understand about the calorie counter anyway...it says I use more than 2300 calories a day before exercise and then suggests I eat no more than 1750 calories a day for a healthy loss.  Whatever!  Not even an option.  CC doesn't take changing metabolism into consideration.     

On this very site, there was another thread earlier from a woman whose personal trainer told her that 3000 cals = one pound.  Granted, it may have just been a slip, but still ...

Sometimes you have to check quite a few sources and try to use good common sense to figure it out.  That, and just see what works for your body.-

 

I just put in your stats using the allowance tool and it said

You should consume about 2015 calories a day to reach your goal weight of 160 lbs by March 29, 2008.


so that's right in line with your trainer

but you may want to contact support@calorie-count.com to let them know about the wacky reading (1350 cals) it gave you

Have you played around with all the tools and figured out how to use them?

:)

Yes im not sure i know how to use the tools properly!!

By the way, yes my  name is George, but i am female. My female cat is named George.  I think i will up my cals, my trainer is really good, i thought i would lose faster by doing this but i think you're right about the metabolism stuff.

I figured up your BMR on the website I choose to use.. your BMR for your body 25 yrs old, female, 200 lbs 5 foot 8" was 1800 cal... at sedetary 2010 cal.. SO that is where you are to be..... I would eat your BMR  in calories at 1800 for weight loss as I have done that and lost 118+ lbs .... Good Luck!

Thanks !

You guys rock

ok, sorry... I had entered you as a male -- re-doing it for female it came back with

You should consume about 1615 calories a day to reach your goal weight of 160 lbs by March 29, 2008.

And that's at light activity... the exercise you'll be doing may be more than that.

There's a post that explains about the tools... let me see if I can find it and link to it for you.

:)

This was created by united2gether, one of the (most awesome) volunteer mods

:D

so very helpful!

I honestly dont know why march 29 came up? did i put that in ?? i cant remember.

Two things, calorie-count is aimed particularly at weight loss, while your personal trainer may be thinking more about toning, which in my opinion works better if you have a smaller deficit while weight training. 

And to all of those people saying that you should just listen to the trainer you're paying for, I just want to say that it doesn't hurt to get additional opinions, and it can hurt to blindly follow one person's advice.  People make mistakes, and even though the trainer is certified and studies the material, it's quite possible for them to be flat out wrong.   

George2007 - I started in January with almost the same stats as you (5'8" 221 lbs), and I've been eating anywhere from 1500-2200 cals a day during that time, depending on my activity level (I usually go to the gym 6 days/wk now, whereas in the beginning, I went 4-5 times/wk). I'm down around 44 lbs since January. One of the best things my trainer has had me do is to keep track of my calories in and calories out, so I can figure out my daily caloric deficit and see if it matches up with my weekly weight loss. For the most part, that has worked pretty well. It can be a bit tedious, yes, but the Activity/Food/Weight Logs on CC are extremely helpful for that.

I agree with what starffy said, also. Your trainer is probably a great resource for your diet & exercise program, but what works for one client doesn't always work for the next. From my own weight loss experience, I can tell you that a 3500-7000 caloric deficit did not always translate from paper to a 1-2 lb loss per week on the scale. It's not an exact science, and it takes some tweaking as you progress. Don't be afraid to stick with what works for YOU (as long as it still works), and keeping your trainer's advice in mind all the while.

Good luck!

George,

I'm also working out with a personal trainer and he suggested that I eat 1700 calories on the days that I work out (for me 5 days). I'm much smaller at 5'0 so yours sounds very much inline with me.

He told me that if I went any lower I wouldn't have enough energy to work out properly with him and fuel my muscles.

If you look at the basic math you've probably still cut out atleast 250 calories of what you were eating and are atleast burning 250 calories which means a calorie deficit of 500 of what you used to do. That works out to a pound a week which is healthy.

I've been doing it and seeing it work, plus I find it easier to manage. I don't know how people are so strong to cut down to 1200, I couldn't work out on it. I still need to be smart about what I eat (no fastfood) but I'm never hungry. It'll take a bit longer but in the end it's a life change I can work with.

Give it a few weeks and see how it goes, if you don't see the weight loss talk to your trainer.