Diet

robby denning

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Cindy, just take the number of calories you require for current body weight you want to be and multiply by .20 and .35., then divide number by 9 to get range of fat grams.

Example, 150 pound person x 11 x .2 divide by 9 = 37 grams on low end; x.35 = 64 grams on high end.

so 37-64 grams/day.

If trying to lose weight, aim for the lower end of the range.
 
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DEW

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Been staying on the diet for the past couple weeks and the last couple of days my energy level is way down, tired feeling all the time?
 

marshrat

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Wanted to update a little. On myfitnesspal.com, I put in that my goal was to lose two pounds per week. I know that this is probably fast, but I am pigheaded, and I think that I can do it. This also has me consuming between 1700-1800 calories per day. I have had a couple of cheat meals in the last week and a half, but I am holding up well. I have already made some progress, losing almost two pounds. I have maintained my levels of Crossfit and strength, thank God, but I feel hungry within an hour after eating. I'm not taking in virtually any carbs, unless from fruit, which could be the problem. I am at 245lbs down almost forty pounds from January 1. My goal is to get sub 200. The CF is making a huge impact, and I feel stronger and more capable than any time since high school. I'm just tired of being hungry. CF is also making me want to rest more as it takes a whole helluva a lot out of me. Anyway, rambling, but thanks Robby for helping me get on the calorie bandwagon. I have heard this, and I have known about it for a long time, but I guess I completely refused to put stock in it because I like to eat what I want and just lift heavier. This has not worked well for me in the past, and I feel like with the addition of a few more calories, I will be right in my wheel house and losing weight toward my goal. Thanks again. Not trying to hijack the thread.
 
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DEW

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No worries about hi-jacking this thread, this is a subject where we can all learn from each others experiences!!!!!
 

robby denning

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DEW,
OK, if you are tired, two things:
1) Sleep. It is the number one thing most people do wrong when training and/or trying to lose weight. There are good studies on this, but I'll just say, if you aren't sleeping 7-9 hours everynight, training will catch up to you and harm your progress.

2) It's probably the lower calories you're taking in. Try to bump up calories no more than 200. Fruit (not juice) is a good option to get those calories from or whole grains.

If it's the calories, you'll feel better soon after eating. Sleep deprive might take a few nights of restful sleep. Let us know.
 

robby denning

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marshrat,
hunger is not a good thing when trying to lose as it can backfire big time if you get in a situation where you are hungry, surrounded by high-calorie sugary/fatty foods and alone. We have a joke here in the training world for our hungry clients: "you'll fall face down in a plate of brownies and won't get up until they are gone".

Three things to try:
1) If you are eating 5-6 times per day, you might not be getting full (as meals tend to be smaller.) The good data does not say conclusively we must eat more frequently to lose weight, so don't make a mantra out of that. Our mouth, esophogus (sp?) gut is full of sensory organs that indicate fullness and for some clients, eating small amounts throughout the day can leave them hungry. Now I'm not talking a pig-out here, but try and go with 3 meals and a snack if you've been doing the 5-6 meals.
2) More protein at each meal. You can go overboard with this, so don't turn into a caveman. Protein still has calories just like carbs so if you eat too much = fat on the body. Protein has the most satiety (fullness) effect of the macronutrients and can help you feel fuller longer. Try taking in more at each meal, but don't exceed 50 grams for each meal or no more than 245 per day. Chewed protein vs. liquid is much better for fullness in most people.
3) Fiber is filling too, but you have to be careful or you can get too many carbs along with it. Veggies provide quite a bit for few calories.

If you are really eating 1800 calories per day, you should be losing 2 pounds per week pretty consistently. If not, you're eating more than you think.

Best of luck!
 

marshrat

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We will see about the consistent weight loss, but I have only weighed once in the last week. I've been counting everything, so I expect to lose even more. Sleep is what gets me the most. The longer that I stay up, the more I want to eat. I am having a hard time with rest also. I want to stay busy and do something, even though I know how counterproductive it can be after a while. As far as more protein, my meals are mostly protein, however two of my meals are protein shakes, which I discovered a long time ago don't really fill me up. I will let you know on Friday or Saturday when I weigh next as to how it is progressing. Can't believe I didn't realize how easy just paying attention to calories can be, not even from the standpoint of just knowing but of having the accountability right there in front of you.
 
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DEW

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Thanks Robbie I don't think it's sleep so I'll add a couple hundred calories to see if that helps. Does it take your body a while to adjust to the new diet. I have not cheated since I began the change, never been over on calories. I did notice a 1.5 Lb gain in weight over the weekend but suppose that is just h2o weight. I'll see what the scale says fri. DEW
 

robby denning

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Can't believe I didn't realize how easy just paying attention to calories can be, not even from the standpoint of just knowing but of having the accountability right there in front of you.
Thanks marshrat for pointing that out.

Exactly why I've been arguing this for a few weeks AND is what the data says works the best if you want to keep lost weight off.
I'm fully aware many "diets" produce weight loss, but if we don't teach people how to eat for a lifetime, we're not really helping them. Anyone can lose weight avoiding carbs and eating off a top ten list, but few keep it off that way.
 

robby denning

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DEW,
the gain over the weekend is because you (and almost all people) eat more on the weekends. That is why I coach a Monday morning weigh-in, so people can really see what the weekend is costing them. (I weighed 183 Friday, weighed 183.5 Monday.)

You didn't gain 1.5 pounds of fat, though, as much of the gain is water as we replenish glycogen stores which complex with water for storage in our bodies. It does indicate your calories were up some, but in the long run, that is normal.

Yes, it takes time to get used to it. We sign people up for a minimum of 12 weeks here on same thing I'm teaching you as it takes that long just to get the hang of everything, including some relapses/weight gains when life happens. Just take it slow. This is where the diet guru's try to beat us up because their clients lose faster, but as I pointed out, tend to regain lost weight more often. The turtle wins the race for most normal people.
 
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DEW

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I'm committed to giving it time, just like marsh rat said its really not difficult to count these calories, and I can see where over time it's gonna be real easy. Being able to see what I'm eating sure is helping, it let's me see if I need more carbs or protein or what.
 
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bearguide

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wow there is a lot of information. it is nice to have all that knowledge on this site
 

robby denning

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Step 4: Whole Grains

Oh the diet gurus get really upset when I start touting grains. They've spent years convincing people how bad they are, but that just doesn't hold up in the clinical data.

First, let's clarify:

I agree with Atkins, Dukan, Sears, and all the other gurus that American's eat WAY too many refined grains. They drive blood sugar up, make you crave more, wear out the pancrease, and raise the risk of type 2 diabetes, and some cancers. However, these are the refined grains- the man made grains if you will- that are causing this, not the whole grains.

Time for a definition then.

Whole grain = a product derived using the entire grain as God grew it: The bran, the germ, and the endosperm.

Refined grain = a product derived only using the endopserm.

If you dissect a grain, you'll find it has the three parts named above, all designed to work together to fuel the human body and prevent disease. The endosperm is the starchy center and contains virtually all of the calories, the bran and the germ make up the rest which contain all the vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals, fiber, protein, etc.

When the railroads were finally developed to the point that food distribution allowed food to be consumed miles and years from it's source of origin, people found out that flour was turning rancid due to the small amount of fat contained in the germ/bran. The solution was to remove those parts and "white flour" was born. 150 years later we now know that eating only the endosperm causes disease and weight gain.

By eating products that use the whole grain (cereals, pasta, brown & wild rice, corn, etc) we are eating grains they way they were intended.
The problem is, Americans have become so accustomed to eating refined grains, they don't like the taste of whole grain, at least initially. Good news is that whole grains are catching on and are much more available than 10 years ago, but don't expect to be able to eat fast food/junk food and get whole grains.

Some stats on whole grains:
1) A Finnish study on 21,903 men (huge sample size) found that the men who ate the most fiber rich foods (whole grains are fiber rich; refined grains are fiber deficient) suffered 1/3 fewer heart attacks than men with the lowest fiber intakes.

2) A US study on 43,757 men found that those who ate more than 29 grams fiber per day had a 41% lower risk of developing heart disease than those who consumed the average American intake of 12 grams fiber per day.

3) In the HUGE Nurses Health Study (238,000 participants- see http://www.channing.harvard.edu/nhs/ ) researches found that the women who had the highest fiber intakes had a 23% lower risk of dying from heart disease.

I could go on with this, but suffice to say that the best evidence show that whole grains are great for the human body. We just have to get them in place of the refined grains so common to the American diet.

While F & V are also high in fiber, it's hard to get enough in to meet the fiber guidelines for Men and Women (38+ for men, 25+ for women) and whole grains taste great and bring a lot of variety to the diet.

The only down side to whole grains are the caloires, which average about 100 per ounce. We only need about 6-9 servings per day- with a serving being 1 ounce (6 for lower weight individuals and 9 for heavier)

Examples of servings:
-avg slice of bread
-1/2 of small bagel (average bagel is like 3 servings!)
-1/2 of bun (so a whole grain hamburger bun is 2 servings)
-1 ounce of dry cereal (about 1/2 cup)
- 1/2 cup rice or pasta.

If you measure your food, you'll see you are probably eating 2-4 servings at every meal, so it's easy to get the minimum.

If you're trying to lose weight, stay closer to the 6 ounces per day as the calories add up fast.

This is why the fad diets virtually eliminate grains- they know if they can get you to drop the biggest portion of calories most Americans eat, you'll lose weight and buy the books/products associated with the diet. Problem is, you get bored and start eating grains (likely refined grains as that is what's mostly available).

So in summary,
get rid of the junk in your diet as it's likely refined grains and fat and is killing everyone who eats it more than once in a while.

Go for the whole grains, you'll have to learn to identify them and change cooking/baking methods a little (it's very easy to overcook whole wheat pasta and biscuits aren't as "fluffy" but taste better) and enjoy having the variety in your diet that humans have enjoyed for thousands of years. If you doubt that, read the book of Genesis in the Bible and you'll see at least how long we've been eating whole grains.

Till next time
 
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Robby, will you please explain what happens in this situation?

I've been counting my calories religiously since April 17th. I'm using the information in this thread to eat bealthy & determine daily calorie intake etc. I lost 8 pounds from the 17th to the 29th? Then Sunday night had a catered BBQ meal where I was very careful how much of and what I ate (brisket, sauce, coleslaw, beans, potato, no dessert) and in proportionate serving sizes. I had over 700 daily calories to use for that meal and I know I didn't eat 7000 calories but the scale said I did. Said I gained 2 pounds! I realize you can't freak about the scale but mentally that's a killer.
 

Eagle

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Robby, will you please explain what happens in this situation?

I've been counting my calories religiously since April 17th. I'm using the information in this thread to eat bealthy & determine daily calorie intake etc. I lost 8 pounds from the 17th to the 29th? Then Sunday night had a catered BBQ meal where I was very careful how much of and what I ate (brisket, sauce, coleslaw, beans, potato, no dessert) and in proportionate serving sizes. I had over 700 daily calories to use for that meal and I know I didn't eat 7000 calories but the scale said I did. Said I gained 2 pounds! I realize you can't freak about the scale but mentally that's a killer.

Cindy, it's likely due to extra water rentention due to all the sugar/salt in the bbq and sauce. Should be gone when you get back to a diet that is normal.

Robby, I'll respectfully disagree with you on grains and on sat. fat. I'll also implore you to go 30 days without eating ANY grains, whole or refined, and see how you feel after that. I can attest to the fact that even if you don't have celiacs or a similar autoimmune issue due to grains and there anti-nutrients, you will most likely notice ill effects when you reintroduce grains. For me, it's pain in my joints, but it varies from person to person. We DID NOT evolve eating grains, we evolved eating lots of tubers and plants, some fruit, meat when we could get it, and nuts/seeds in the fall when they were plentiful. Grains have been a part of our diets for less than 10,000 years, and in those 10,000 years we've gotten shorter, and the wonderful "diseases of civilization" have taken hold. Stay away from grains and you'll thank me later. Fill those 600-900 calories a day you say we need with calories from sweet potatoes or some other similar source, and you'll get plenty of fiber and be in excellent condition.
 
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