Tumblr from my treadmill - hell yeah...

Just thought I’d post a follow-up to my post yesterday, Finding the Middle Ground, in which I asked “Is it just me, or is it surprisingly difficult to get a net calorie total for the day as a happy medium (1200-1600)?”. I got some really great tips and suggestions…

 strongereverysecond answered: Add some nuts and almonds and lentils and chickpeas! And olive oil! Those are extremely healthy things with more calories than veggies

 wishicouldbethin answered: I think you should aim to eat in total between your BMR and your total calorie use. Any less and you’ll be lacking, any more and you’ll gain.

 flevrs answered: idk when this happens to me i normally eat a piece of toast with pb/fruit or a bowl of cereal w/ soymilk and fruit for dessert

 fitter—happier answered: I have this problem too. I say eat when you’re hungry and fill up on the healthy stuff. 1200 cal of junk won’t benefit you in any way.

 greentea-lovely answered: MY PROBLEM. Aiming for 900-1100 cal pre-dinner helped me; bulk up breakfast! with nut butter, or some greek yogurt etc. Works for me

 pamsical answered: i’m in this kind of limbo too. After my exercise, i find my net calories way too low and i’m already stuffed up from food!

 onthelightside asked you: Tried to write a reply but there wasn’t enough room! Anyway, that kept happening to me last week and my net was always too low. What helped me was getting up early enough to eat breakfast, workout, then have a mid morning snack before lunch. I got in more calories that way, could plan my day’s calories better, and didn’t feel like I was stuffing myself/eating unhealthy to reach my net. Eating more nuts helps too and if you like chocolate milk it’s a good thing to drink right after workouts!

Wow! A lot of great suggestions here - and how reassuring to know it’s not just me.

And, in replying to a couple of questions I got, I came across the best calorie calculator I’ve ever found: http://www.freedieting.com/tools/calorie_calculator.htm this site has a ton of helpful info that’s helping me get back on track.

Looking over my calories on My Fitness Pal… yikes! I definitely ate too little at the beginning of this month… and have been so all over the place the past week or so I didn’t even record much. What a wake-up call!

Taking into account my schedule and mild hypoglycemia, I’m looking at creating an eating plan that is roughly two meals and four snacks a day. About 400 calories at breakfast, followed by three 200ish calorie snacks throughout the day, a 600 or so calorie dinner, and a 200 calorie snack after that. I am not advocating this approach for anyone else, this is just what I’m going to try for myself. This is assuming a roughly 500 calorie burn from exercise, by the way.

I hope this info is interesting or helpful to others… TBH, it’s partly just for my own sake, so I can find all this info in one spot later. Feedback, suggestions, ideas for some healthy 150-250 calorie snacks?

healthy-fit-happy:

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notyouraveragebelle:

I have from now till September 24th to drop a dress size. I need anything and everything that you can possibly find. Y’all are my support group. I need your help. Thanks so much. If you find something, message me or post it in the submissions or put it in the ask box.

Reblogging because I don’t have room for all my thoughts on this in the ask box… I’ll drop ya a note to let you know.

My advice is

• eat 1600-1800 calories a day (no LESS, or it’ll screw up your metabolism and stall your progress)
• do low-intensity cardio (such as walking or light jogging instead of running) 5-6x a week
• strength training 3-4x a week. (no more than this so you give your muscles time to recover; if you don’t, you will not gain muscle as quickly)
• drink plenty of water
• get as much sleep as you can

Calories estimate comes from: http://www.freedieting.com/tools/calorie_calculator.htm

Muscle is denser than fat - so a 150 lb muscular person is much thinner than some one who weighs the same but has a higher body fat percentage. Muscle also burns more calories even while you sleep than fat, so is raises you metabolism even while you are not doing it. It’s this pro-muscle reasoning that’s why I say to strength train, and why I say lower-intensity cardio; at lower intensities you’ll burn less calories burn a higher percentage of them will be from fat than when you do high intensity cardio.

Drinking plenty of water keeps you body running properly in so many ways, and also helps to prevent and cure “water weight”. If you don’t get enough water (generally around 64 oz) your body will hang onto water the same way it hangs onto fat if you are eating too little; it thinks there is a drought or famine, so it stores it more than usual.

Getting plenty of sleep gives you the energy to give it your all in your workouts, and also gives your body the best chance to build that new muscle.

Oh, and if there is a specific place you want to reduce by the end of September, I suggest minimizing the strength training you do in that area FOR NOW since when you gain muscle there is an initial bulking up since you put on muscle but need a little while to burn off the fat. DO NOT avoid training in that region forever, but if you’re on a deadline, keep it to a minimum for now.