Suggestion for Health and Fitness

[Miss Demeanour]

I used to run marathons and I still love to run now but have lost my confidence doing it outdoors. Luckily I have a treadmill I use once or twice a week if I can motivate myself, and I walk every day as I have a doggy.

 

[lonelyfairy]

- drink lot of water
- eating every 3-4 hours
- one sugary day in the week
- some exercise at least three times a week
- walks up the stairs instead of the elevator
- a lot of vegetables and fruits

 

[Haz]

i've been spending every night at the gym since I recently lost my job, trying to burn off some aggression

it's helping a lot

 

[wewillbebest]

THANKS. I'm a guy who likes his food. so i developed a habbit of eating everything in small bites and ridiculously slow. It's actually helping me to eat less

 

[jjam]

I'm doing gym everyday except Saturdays and Sundays. My workouts are usually 35 mins to an hour.
MWF-upper, TTR-lower (+abs), Sat or Sun-intense cardio session outside
Sticking to this seems easy. The fact that I'm paying a decent chunk of money is actually kind of helpful. Anytime I think about lazying out on the gym, I think about money being wasted... helps a lot.

My biggest hurdle seems to be with diet. I'm trying to get myself to a point of eating about 6 meals a day while meeting requirements with regards to what I take in the way of calories, fats, carbohydrates, and protein.

 

[jjam]

So, yeah...
Why am I running again? I know this sounds crazy, but I feel like I've lost weight since running yesterday. Throughout the week while I'm lifting, I feel like I'm gaining. Then I skate and run one morning just to feel like I've cancelled progress out. I like being able to say I'm fit enough to run what I can run (and will be able to run if I keep up with this routine), but sheesh! I'm actually trying to gain weight here. Is this stuff a catch 22 for us naturally skinny people, or do I REALLY need to kick up the amount of food I'm taking in?

 

[Cerberus]

How many calories are you eating a day?

 

[jjam]

I don't know.

I've never been one to monitor such stuff. I recently created a spreadsheet (looks quite nice) for 6 meals a day (rows) and columns that would tell me the amount of calories, protein, carbs, and fat I'd be taking in with those meals. Formulas are in cells so that when I actually get around to filling in the blanks, I'll have my totals. The problem is I haven't looked at the numbers. With everything I eat, I should take the time to find out just what I'm getting out of it and fill in the blanks in my spreadsheet.

 

[Cerberus]

Alright, what are you eating per day? What is an average day in the jjam food diary?

 

[jjam]

It's so inconsistent that I'd rather not say. The important thing is that I am changing and I do have a path that makes sense. The habit I am trying to develop is inputting the values from the Nutritional Facts section with EVERYTHING I eat. I am still trying to figure out how many calories I need to be taking in a day, but I'm going to play with 6,000.

Moments ago, I put in values for an alternative meal that gets me around 1025 calories.
Campbell's Chunky Soup - Hearty Beef Barley (2 Cans) = 640
Sarah Lee 100% whole wheat = 140
Banana (1) = 85
Nature Valley 100%... Granola - Apple Crisp (1 pack) = 160

I kind of enjoyed what little work I did.

 

[Badjedidude]

I am still trying to figure out how many calories I need to be taking in a day, but I'm going to play with 6,000.

6,000 calories daily?

wowsas... that's... quite a bit. :/

 

[Cerberus]

lol 6,000 is way too many! Assuming you want to put on good weight, and not just get fat, you should be looking to eat at most 3,000 a day if you're really that skinny (not knowing your weight, I couldnt say whether that was a good estimate or too high possibly). As long as you have a good macro spread and are lifting sensibly, you'd put on good muscle weight.

 

[jjam]

I have lost something like 10lbs since December (last time I can recall seeing 180 or so on the scale), which may actually be since fewer months ago being that the only cause I can point to is the skating/running I've been doing this season. I am about 6'4 and I am now at 171. I could stand to put on 20.

 

[Badjedidude]

There's a reason that the FDA put the daily calories amount for food labels at 2,000.

Even that's slightly above what you should be eating, given the activity level of most people today. If you work out/exercise most days, then 2,000 should be fine.

But I'd recommend 1,500. Trust me, you won't starve. You'll just FEEL like you are for the first couple of weeks. Then your body will adapt and if you require more after you've lost weight, then you can up it however far you need. But generally, you're NEVER going to need more than around 2,300 calories... unless you're a super-athlete.

 

[Cerberus]

2,000 is too low as well though, and 1500 is getting close to malnutrition levels. Taking into consideration his height and weight, he'll need more than 2,000 just to maintain his current weight.

http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/

According to that, for my height and weight, I need 1759 calories a day AT LEAST. That is 1759 if I was just laying around at a constant temperature, thats what my body needs to just survive. Using the Harris-Benedict formula as outlined on the same site, the following guidelines tell us how much we should eat daily, tailored for our own height and weight, rather than a general suggestion.

If you are sedentary (little or no exercise) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.2
If you are lightly active (light exercise/sports 1-3 days/week) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.375
If you are moderatetely active (moderate exercise/sports 3-5 days/week) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.55
If you are very active (hard exercise/sports 6-7 days a week) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.725
If you are extra active (very hard exercise/sports & physical job or 2x training) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.9

I consider myself lightly active, I have a moderately physical job and do 45 minutes cardio 2 times a week, so I multiply my BMR by 1.375, and I get 2418 calories per day, to just maintain my 149 lb frame. jjam is taller and heavier than me, and his activity level is higher as well so he'd be looking at more calories for maintenance.

Using the parameters he's given us (6'4 171 lbs) I've calculated his BMR as being 1946 calories per day, and his maintenance (this bit is very assumptious, I've assumed he is my age as well, his results may be different if he isnt 22) is in the moderately active frame (exercise/sports 3-5 times a week) which means 1946 x 1.55 = 3016 calories per day to MAINTAIN current weight. If you're therefore trying to gain weight, you need to up that by about 500 a day, which puts you on 3516 calories per day, and with proper weight training you'd see a growth in your size and an increase of weight. If you're trying to cut, take 500 off of your maintenance calories, so you'd be down at 2516, and again with proper training you'd see a decrease in bodyweight and a loss of fat.

***That is all hypothetical based on what you've told us and how I've interpreted it. Doing the calculations yourself is better because you know better than any of us what you do***

If you dont see any results after 3-4 weeks (you should put on or lose 1-2 lbs in this time, depending on your intentions) then up/down the calories by a further 250 per day and carry on training, and in another 3-4 weeks check your progress again.

***Do not go below your BMR though, that would put your health at risk.***

 

[Badjedidude]

2,000 is too low as well though, and 1500 is getting close to malnutrition levels. Taking into consideration his height and weight, he'll need more than 2,000 just to maintain his current weight.

I'm confused... is he wanting to LOSE weight? Or gain it?

Because given a sedentary lifestyle, you will NEED a calorie intake of 2,000 or less to lose weight. It all depends on your activity level. For instance, during Army Ranger training, the candidates are given a daily calorie level of around 2,300 calories, and they BURN around 2,500 every day with the extreme levels of physical activity that they do. This cuts down their body fat and streamlines their bodies quite well.

For someone who isn't NEARLY as active as an Army Ranger, an amount of 2,000 is fine. And 1,500 is NOT malnutrition-level. Many people in developed countries live on less than that and they are just fine.

 

[Cerberus]

2,300 is over the average persons BMR, the BMR being the minimum amount of calories the human body needs per day JUST to be able to funtion properly. I'm shorter and lighter than jjam, and my BMR is higher than the amount of calories you're telling him is healthy to eat per day, which makes no sense. You're effectively telling him to put his body into starvation mode, and while the body CAN live like that, its not recommended and as soon as you start eating properly again your weight will go straight back up.

Army rangers may very well eat 2,300 a day and burn 2,500, they re still eating 2,300 though which is ABOVE the average person's BMR - again, mine is 1759 calories per day, that is how many I burn every day REGARDLESS of activity level. Any less than that and I am starving my body, and forcing it to use fat stores as a replacement for food intake. Now while the body CAN live like this, and you will lose weight, its not recommended and is the cause for yo-yo weight loss. As soon as people start eating above their BMR again because they've lost the weight their body rushes to replenish the stores it lost through the starvation, and you get fat again.

So back to the army rangers, they eat enough to cover their BMR and the 2,500 a day calorie burn simply puts them into a calorie deficit, which is fine, as long as you are getting enough for your body to perform its basic daily functions. 1,500 is never enough food, not unless you weight about 100 lbs

 

[Edwards]

hi am new to join this community..thanks for your sharing nice tips about health and fitness here i got some good information...i appreciate your work for people help..

 

[hahSesViets]

(*removed*)

 

[Badjedidude]

^^^SPAAAAAAAM