Current Events > Question about daily calorie intake and dieting?

(+) Yeah! (+)

I've never tried dieting before and for the past week ive been eating an avg of 1700 calories trying to slim down and learn healthy eating habits.

I understand 6 days doesn't mean anything significant but I really expected to be hungrier than I am. I use to gorge at every meal and reducing down to 1700 I mentally prepared for hunger pangs or some sort of transition period until I got use to such a reduced amount of food.

It sounds kinda pompous but is it this easy once you decide to be serious about it?

Once you start doing it, habits form and it becomes second nature.

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The truth will out over long time periods (say, monthly). The hardest thing about counting calories is actually estimating it accurately. Since you're new to it, it's possible (even likely) that you're overshooting it.


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pinky0926 posted...

The truth will out over long time periods (say, monthly). The hardest thing about counting calories is actually estimating it accurately. Since you're new to it, it's possible (even likely) that you're overshooting it.

Ive been tracking everything in the myfitnessapp, even things like the oil and butter used to cook and the tbsp of creamer in my coffee. Ive been extremely thorough so far.

Ive also been alternating 40 min cardio and weightlifting each day.

examples of what I mean:

https://imgur.com/a/xos2L1l

https://i.imgur.com/tdkNE1w.jpg

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Sounds like a good start. I'd encourage anyone to do that meticulously for at least a month to really understand where calories come from, it's not what people think.

Do you have any food scales? Might seem overkill but going by weight (instead of volume) is the most accurate way.

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pinky0926 posted...

Sounds like a good start. I'd encourage anyone to do that meticulously for at least a month to really understand where calories come from, it's not what people think.

Do you have any food scales? Might seem overkill but going by weight (instead of volume) is the most accurate way.

Yes. I use a digital scale and input the grams and oz. I use the barcode scanner and make sure it matches the nutrition on the package.

I like looking at data so seeing the macro numbers and nutrients helps me plan the next meal.

The hardest one seems to be sodium which I go over about half the time

That's good. The thing you need to watch out for then is burnout, which will inevitably happen. That's why it's important to form habits instead of just relying on motivation.

What have you found the most surprising about what you were eating before?

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I honestly wouldn't worry too much about the micros. Sort out the macros first and the rest kind of takes care of itself.

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pinky0926 posted...

What have you found the most surprising about what you were eating before?

I always knew I ate way too much and drank too much alcohol before but just relied on my metabolism. The thing that surprises me I'd say is that I could eat a huge meal and still be hungry later in the day where now it seems that smaller healthier meals don't give me that same hunger later.

It just seems counter intuitive.

The "metabolism" thing is something people say ("you're lucky now, but once you hit 25 your metabolism will slow down", that kind of thing) but doesn't actually reflect what happens as people get older. The variance of metabolism is quite small in most people, only really accounting for what, 300-400 calories from slow metabolisms to fast ones.

What really happens is a lot more obvious. When you're 20 you work in a bar, you eat once a day because you're broke, you're getting drunk on 2 vodka shots and running around and doing lots of things because you're 20.

By the time you're 30 you're working behind a desk, knocking back 4+ craft beers a night and spending your evenings on a couch. As each year passes, your weight just creeps up slightly. Only needs to be 5lbs a year, such a small amount you barely notice and adjust to the new normal naturally.

By the time you're 30 you're 50lbs heavier than you were when you were 20. That's the real reason people get fat.

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pinky0926 posted...

What really happens is a lot more obvious. When you're 20 you work in a bar, you eat once a day because you're broke, you're getting drunk on 2 vodka shots and running around and doing lots of things because you're 20.

By the time you're 30 you're working behind a desk, knocking back 4+ craft beers a night and spending your evenings on a couch. As each year passes, your weight just creeps up slightly. Only needs to be 5lbs a year, such a small amount you barely notice and adjust to the new normal naturally.

By the time you're 30 you're 50lbs heavier than you were when you were 20. That's the real reason people get fat.

This is all nonsense.

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vigorm0rtis posted...

This is all nonsense.

No, no it is not

Metabolism accounts for something and does slow down but it is not the reason people are overfat.

https://tinyurl.com/ybe5xgc6
Metabolic rate does vary, and technically there could be large variance. However, statistically speaking it is unlikely the variance would apply to you. The majority of the population exists in a range of 200-300kcal from each other and do not possess hugely different metabolic rates.

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In my case thats exactly what happened. 6'1 170ish at 19-20. At 30 im 220 on a good day. looking to get back to 190ish within the next 9 months or so.

pinky0926 posted...

No, no it is not

Metabolism accounts for something and does slow down but it is not the reason people are overfat.

https://tinyurl.com/ybe5xgc6
Metabolic rate does vary, and technically there could be large variance. However, statistically speaking it is unlikely the variance would apply to you. The majority of the population exists in a range of 200-300kcal from each other and do not possess hugely different metabolic rates.

Your examples are nonsense.

Metabolism changes a bit, but body composition changes a lot. Maintaining muscle past 40 becomes a whole different beast, and that's a huge factor in how your body uses what calories you give it.


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vigorm0rtis posted...

Your examples are nonsense.

Metabolism changes a bit, but body composition changes a lot. Maintaining muscle past 40 becomes a whole different beast, and that's a huge factor in how your body uses what calories you give it.

So the anecdote bothered you? Sorry, I didn't think it was necessary to be explicit that it was an anecdote.

Ok:

When you are 20, you do more [insert physical activity] that expends overall more energy. When you are 30 you do less [ insert physical activity]. It has also been observed that older demographics consume more alcohol. There are other changes - hormonal, etc.

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Any tips on fighting the burnout you mentioned earlier?

Blue_School posted...

Any tips on fighting the burnout you mentioned earlier?

Approach the changes you're making in terms of discipline, and not in terms of motivation. You don't have to psych yourself up to put gas in your car, and yet you do it routinely without thought or argument, even though it's expensive and annoying and time out of your day. That's what you need to aim for.

That's why the changes you make need to be sustainable, and things you're willing to do long term. If your goal right now is to never eat anything fun, that's only going to last as long as you feel like you hate yourself enough, and that's not good. So figure out the things you're happy to cut out forever, and the permanent reductions you're happy to make. Figure out delicious and nutritious food that isn't calorie dense.

A simple way to moderate this is just to do your decision making at the supermarket, rather than at home. Can't have that argument with yourself at 2am on a bad day if there is simply no ice cream or chocolate cake in the fridge.

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I've been doing the exact same thing but with working out and I dont feel that hungry either.

Honestly don't judge anything by how you feel, just use objective data - so at the end of 2-3 weeks, calculate your total calorie deficit and determine how much weight you should've lost. Then weigh yourself and see how much weight you actually lost. If they line up, then you're on track, just re-calculate your goal calories every so often and keep going. If you're not losing as much as you should, then use the weight lost and go backwards to calculate how much your maintenance calories actually were, and re-calculate your goal from there. When calculating your goal, I'm assuming you used a calculator. The problem is everyones "estimated activity level" is very different. By doing this calculation after a few weeks, it'll be exactly accurate for YOU.

pinky0926 posted...

examples of what I mean:

https://imgur.com/a/xos2L1l

https://i.imgur.com/tdkNE1w.jpg

Good lord wtf are they putting in their coffee to make it nearly 300 calories a cup
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MyTummyHurt posted...

Good lord wtf are they putting in their coffee to make it nearly 300 calories a cup

One of those tall cappucino/latte/frappe whatevers from starbucks with sugar syrup in it, probably

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Billy__Beane posted...

at the end of 2-3 weeks, calculate your total calorie deficit and determine how much weight you should've lost. Then weigh yourself and see how much weight you actually lost. If they line up, then you're on track, just re-calculate your goal calories every so often and keep going. If you're not losing as much as you should, then use the weight lost and go backwards to calculate how much your maintenance calories actually were, and re-calculate your goal from there. When calculating your goal, I'm assuming you used a calculator. The problem is everyones "estimated activity level" is very different. By doing this calculation after a few weeks, it'll be exactly accurate for YOU.

It makes perfect sense to do a weekly or monthly reflection this way and was something i hadn't thought of. I was only focusing on my day to day "score."

MyTummyHurt posted...

Good lord wtf are they putting in their coffee to make it nearly 300 calories a cup

I was feeling bad about the 70 I was putting in with creamer. Thankfully i've never got into the fancy coffee trend.

It's easy once you take out the crap like sugary drinks.

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Squall28 posted...

It's easy once you take out the crap like sugary drinks.

I think this was the biggest one for me, i'd drink one 44oz soda after work 4 times a week, now its only water, coffee 2 cream, and a small glass of milk.

weighing your food and counting macros are for people trying to reach extremely low body fats. Why are you eating 1700 calories a day? Thats extremely low for a male, even competitive body builders dont eat that low.

Use 0 calorie cooking sprays/butter lightly(1-2 seconds spray not for a good minute).

Quit eating rice regularly! Its hard to measure and extremely easy to over eat. Theres plenty of better healthy bread options like pita, the healthy bread wraps, and etc. Even if you decide to splurge on some fried butter donut ****, its like 400 calories vs the potential 700 calories from rice. If rice is a must, stick to the uncle Bens packs since its a certain amount and can be counted.

Do some form of cardio everyday. I hike, run 2 miles, or walk 4 miles everyday regardless.

Make yourself accountable, learn to say No sometimes. Sorry that spontaneous Buffalo Wild Wings trip with the bros cannot happen because I cant fit them in. However, if you were given an advance notice, prepare for it and youll be fine. Theres no such thing as fast metabolism, people just eat too much. That skinny friend that eats junk food all day doesnt eat as many calories as you think and he or she looks like **** naked anyway.

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JBaLLEN66 posted...

Quit eating rice regularly! Its hard to measure and extremely easy to over eat. Theres plenty of better healthy bread options like pita, the healthy bread wraps, and etc. Even if you decide to splurge on some fried butter donut ****, its like 400 calories vs the potential 700 calories from rice. If rice is a must, stick to the uncle Bens packs since its a certain amount and can be counted.

How is rice hard to measure? weigh it out in a cup before cooking it and divide the toal calories by number of servings, even if the serving size between days is different, the total calories consumed will be the same, I.E. you cooked 700 calories of rice, ate 300 cals one day, 400 cals the next, but logged 350 for both days.

also 700 calories of rice, is nearly 4 cups cooked, thats a fuck ton of rice

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JBaLLEN66 posted...

weighing your food and counting macros are for people trying to reach extremely low body fats. Why are you eating 1700 calories a day? Thats extremely low for a male, even competitive body builders dont eat that low.

Use 0 calorie cooking sprays/butter lightly(1-2 seconds spray not for a good minute).

Quit eating rice regularly! Its hard to measure and extremely easy to over eat. Theres plenty of better healthy bread options like pita, the healthy bread wraps, and etc. Even if you decide to splurge on some fried butter donut ****, its like 400 calories vs the potential 700 calories from rice. If rice is a must, stick to the uncle Bens packs since its a certain amount and can be counted.

Do some form of cardio everyday. I hike, run 2 miles, or walk 4 miles everyday regardless.

Make yourself accountable, learn to say No sometimes. Sorry that spontaneous Buffalo Wild Wings trip with the bros cannot happen because I cant fit them in. However, if you were given an advance notice, prepare for it and youll be fine. Theres no such thing as fast metabolism, people just eat too much. That skinny friend that eats junk food all day doesnt eat as many calories as you think and he or she looks like **** naked anyway.

Who are you talking to?

Nubcake13 posted...

How is rice hard to measure? weigh it out in a cup before cooking it and divide the toal calories by number of servings, even if the serving size between days is different, the total calories consumed will be the same, I.E. you cooked 700 calories of rice, ate 300 cals one day, 400 cals the next, but logged 350 for both days.

also 700 calories of rice, is nearly 4 cups cooked, thats a fuck ton of rice

its a lot easier to eat 700 calories of rice then toast two pieces of 60 cal 6 grams of protein/6 g of fiber pita bread because rice is essentially just carbs. Your standard restaurant portions of rice are probably 500-1000 calories easily. Rice is the least fulfilling carb by far, but I always gloated as this Goat tier health food.

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Blue_School posted...

Who are you talking to?

everyone

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