Calories

[Tara35]

Can one of the Mods help us out on this one? Please...............

[Isabeau]

Yes, eat over your BMR and below your AMR. Your BMR is the the amount of calories your body burns to just live and breath.

[spirittalker]

Thank you Isabeau. That was starting to worry me.

[Tara35]

It was starting to eat at me too!

Thanks for clarifying that for us.

[Isabeau]

No problem. Glad I had a chance between appointments at work! If you're using fitday, you'll notice that your BMR will go down as you start to lose weight, which makes some degree of sense because your body is smaller. It's not a perfect scenario, but more of a guideline especially if you're building lean muscle mass.

[californiacasey]

Ok ladies, if that’s true then I need to eat more…I have been losing like crazy these past 12 days and I’M loving it. However, I’m only eating between 1250-1500 cal per day although my Basal Metabolism says I need 1847. I am stuffed at 1500, I don’t know if I can get 400 more calories into my mouth in a day. I’ve also been working out a lot.

I feel fantastic and full, it seems like 1847 is a lot of calories. What do you all think? Should I try and cram some more cals in so that I’m closer to basal, or keep doing what I’m doing?
I don’t want my loss to slow down b/c I ‘m not eating enough……..

[Isabeau]

It's kind of tricky. We're only supposed to eat until we are satisfied, so continue to do that. I would also look at averages. You want to try to eat over your BMR but there will be days where you can't, and some days where you can. Make sure your percentages are good too at the end of the day. 65% fat, 30% protein, 5% carbs. If you can handle them, half an avocado or 10-20 olives per day add a lot of calories without a lot of food. I don't eat a lot of cheese, but when I need a calorie dense snack, I'll incorporate some, especially cream cheese. Eggs are a great food choice too. I think it's just good to be aware of what you're eating but don't let it drive you crazy. I'm one of those weird people that's into keeping track of all this stuff, so, I like it.

[SugarFreeSheila]

The times I have counted during my losses and after having made goal, just for personal reference, it was approximately 2,200. More than a little ironic, considering the fact that I spent years keeping my calories well below 2,000 and walking on the treadmill since the age of 10 ... all to not lose an ounce. Once I nixed the added sugars and foods with starches and almost doubled my calorie and fat intake, while maintaining the same cardio I'd always done, BOOM. 30 pounds gone in 5 months.

We have such an edge with low-carbing! (Yes, I know, preaching to the choir here. lol) I see so many women at my gym who are running like crazy on the treadmills next to me while I'm walking, and the few I've spoken to are doing low-fat/low-cal - yet they still have weight to lose. I know what they're going through and hope someday they give Atkins a shot ...