Calories and Workouts

Hi everyone... Got a question.  How often do you work out and at what extent and how many calories do you consume a day when you work out? I belong to a gym, but they are not used to bariatric patients.  They tell me to eat more because of the amount of time I'm working out.  I work out (actually do my routine - weights, cardio) 2-3 times a week, plus I play raquetball & swim and I also bike and walk.  I'm in training for a "muddy buddy" race coming up in May.  I may or may not do all of the cardio in one week, primarily right now it's biking and running/walking plus my workout routine. I average 1600 - 2000 calories a day.  I've been at the same weight for 6 months, can't seem to lose anymore and I need to lose at least 27 more pounds before I call it quits. I'm just really confused as to whether I'm taking in too many calories or not enough.  Also, I find I can eat more than I used to at one sitting...getting scary.  I know they say your pouch will never be as big as your stomach once was, but if that's the case, then how come people can gain their weight back??? Please help if you can or point me in the direction for further research.  This is driving me nuts. Thanks, Donna

I'm kind of in a similar position.  I exercise a great eal both cardio and weights.  I take in over 3,000 alories a day with at lest 150 grams protein.  I've put a few pounds back on but am fairly stable.  My shoulders and arms have firmed up a lot. Your calorie intake is OK but you actually may be ablet o take in more.  Maybe increase your protein first.  Remember that you're burning calories above your base level.  Also, it's not just wieght loss but how you look. 

How are you doing with carbs?  I gotta admit, the carb monster has me sometimes... I use FitDay to log my nutritional info.  Somedays the carbs outweigh the protein.  I probably do need to increase my protein..I run from 60 - 100 daily.  I tried adding more protein one time, got up to 125 per day and it so constipated me, I backed back down.  Maybe I should've increase my water along with it??? You look wonderful....doesn't it feel great to be able to be so active?  I AM SO BLESSED !!! Thanks for your input. Donna

To be honest I don't worry too much about what I eat.  If I want it I eat it.  Of course I can't eat as much.  One of my things last year was to ahve a double dip of ice cream half way through one of my long weekend bike rides.  A nice shop about 35 miles out.  Carbs?  You bet.  But I was burning them off too.   I think everything in moderation.  There are those of us who will exercise and work off a lot of what we eat.  That's how we use our tool.  Others aren't going to be as active and will have to pay closer attention to diet.  That's how they will use their tool. I've found that the more protein I eat the less I crave carbs.  But you do need them at some point.  You'll find your limit along the way.  Just add them slowly.

Hey...thanks a lot for your input, I really appreciate it.  Tis definitely "food for thought" pardon the pun!

I work out fairly aggressively six days per week.  I am four and a half years out from surgery.  I usually consume 2800-3200 calories per day (still six meals) and about 90-140 grams of protein per day.   I still do two homemade protein smoothies a day, and stay away from those dastardly  "whites": white flour, sugar, bread, etc.  I eat now to maintain my weight, since I can still lose weight fairly easily with spinning and weight lifting classes.   Running on the other hand, increases my appetite and makes it very easy to stay at a stable weight.  I find that weight differential after running is usually attributed to water loss, and comes back quickly.  My portions can actually be normal size at this point in my life, but I try to leave about 1/3 of the serving on the plate. There are some great resources for helping you choose the right nutritiion; Eat This Not That, and the Ab Diet (both by the editor of Men's Heatlh magazine), and Prevention magazine usually has some timely articles in it also. The last thing I would suggest is changing up your exercise routine, so that you fool your body into thinking you are doing something diffrerent.  If you are doing weights twice a week, and cardio three, switch to cadio two (more aggressive) and weights three times a week.  If you doing them on the same day, do your cardio first one day, and weights first the next day.  Anthing to fool the system.  This may help to kick start a weight loss. Above all stay positive and keep working.  You are doing great! Rob

Hi Rob, Thanks for replying...I need all the help and encouragement I can get!  LOL Sept. 11 will be two years out for me and I guess I'm still "new" enough that I'm terrified of gaining the weight back.  But...it makes sense that if I up the protein and lower the carbs, I should start losing again, right?  I have noticed that if I don't eat protein before and after my workout, I get really shaky, so I guess the workout must be doing something, huh?  I know I've lost inches too, even if I haven't actually lost pounds.  Although, I did drop 2 lbs this week, just waiting to see if it's water weight and it comes back or not. Anyway, thanks again.  And you keep up the great work! Donna