daily caloric intake

A very rude & mean coworker has me kinda on fire right now. He insists that your body NEEDS carbs & calories in order to survive & by NOT having something like "30%carbs/30%fat/40%calories then you are doing nothing but destroying your body." A body needs 2000+ CALORIES to survive or you binge & over compensate. This "Iron Man" insists that "Your body wont burn fat - it burns muscle. If there are no carbs to burn, then it will go afterprotein which is the next easiest thing to burn." Yes, OK - i get that, but thats when you place the protein by drinking protein shakes & the body will then start to burn the reserves it has of fat & THATS HOW the body burns fat. "NO, ITS NOT!! ...Lose weight the right way" I realize that completely cutting out ALL CARBS is not the "correct way" to lose weight & that he is partially right about the binging yada yada. but the purpose of cutting out carbs for a short period of time & drinking a bunch of water is to PURGE the carbs & carb addition from your system. Losing weight while doing so is simply fricken icing on the cake (so to speak). MAN, it was a whole complete argument & im so frustated. How many flippin calories/day SHOULD an over weight person need to intake in order to lose weight? How many flippin carbs do you need/day?

I don't exactly know how our body decides whether to burn fat or muscle for fuel when we create a calorie deficit.  I do know that we burn different types of energy when we exercise based on how hard we're working; in the lower heart-rate zones, we're supposedly burning fat (that's the "aerobic" zone because our body needs oxygen to be able to use fat for energy), and in the upper heart-rate zones, we're supposedly burning some form of energy other than fat ("anaerobic" because our body isn't using oxygen in the energy equation at these higher zones).  But I'm not how that translates to what our body uses for energy when we're just sitting around like lumps...   I have read that our brains can only utilize the energy from carbs (glucose), so if you totally eliminate carbs from your diet or really limit them, it may affect how well your brain functions.  Here's a link to some basic information about this principle at a couple websites: http://www.fi.edu/learn/brain/carbs.html http://weight-loss-methods.suite101.com/article.cfm/low_carb _diets_can_be_unhealthy I've read the 30% carbs/30%fat/40% protein ratio in many posts - it's a pretty common formula that some folks follow when they are working to lose weight.   In terms of how many calories an individual needs everyday, you can either estimate your daily calorie needs using a BMR/RMR calculator (see link below), or you can pay to have it tested by a New Leaf Fitness franchise or some place that does testing with a Body Gem (it's sort of like figuring out how many "miles per gallon" your body gets). 

http://www.caloriesperhour.com/index_burn.php

For "normal" folks, most dieticians and nutritionists recommend that they create a 500-1000 per day calorie deficit, which should result in a 1-2 pound weight loss per week.  If you're pretty far our from the surgery, that's probably a pretty reasonable goal a well.  Some folks think that the greater your calorie deficit, the faster you'll lose weight.  But if you create too great of a deficit, your body may think it's not going to get enough calories for the long-term and it may cause your metabolism to slow down.  So that BMR/RMR number that you worked so hard to figure out may, in fact, go down if you take in too few calories.  Lower BMR/RMR = burning fewer calories = not losing weight or losing slower than you planned.   What does all that translate to?  Say your BMR/RMR is 1800 calories, meaning if you eat 1800 calories per day, you should maintain your current weight.  To lose 1 pound per week, you'd need to eat 1300 calories per day (1800 RMR minus 500 calories per day).  If you want to use the 30/30/40 ratio for those 1300 calories, here's what it looks like: 1300 calories 30% carbs = 390 calories divided by 4 calories per gram = 97.5 grams 30% fat = 390 calories dividied by 9 calories per gram = 43.3 grams 40% protein = 520 calories divided by 4 calories per gram = 130 grams Probably way more information than you were actually looking for, but hopefully some of it's helpful.  My advice to you = do your own research, figure out what works for YOUR body, and do it, to heck with what other people say!!! Kellie

Great response Kellie.  I should have read your message before I typed all mine out ... would have save my fingers some work.  LOL! Pam

OMG KELLY THATS AWESOME!!! SO not way too much information b/c I am a complete idiot when it comes to this stuff. I mean, i know the basics, but not in depth information ie what you have above, nor would i know how to articulate it (which BTW you did such a wonderful job doing!!). Thanks for "breaking it down" for me. I have never heard of BMR/RMR. well - i THINK the BMR is the basic metabolic rate (or something close to that), but have no clue what the RMR is. Im OK w/ researching things once i have a point to start from. So thanks for providing the link & putting me on the right track :)

So from  your surgery date you are out about 4 years.  Are you still losing (or wanting to lose) or are you maintaining at this point?  That is going to make a lot of difference in this discussion. First of all, he's right in that your body NEEDS carbs to survive.  Your brain can not function on the energy provided by protein, it can ONLY function by glucose which is what carbs provide. Many people think that carbs are just bread, pasta, potatoes, etc.  However, carbs are also in fruits, veggies, dairy and cheese.  Your body can use fruits and veggies and diary for it's carb needs wthout ever touching bread or pasta again.  However, we also need whole grains to promote good health, so we need to incorporate those in moderattion too.  If we cut out ALL carbs the only way for our body to provide the fuel for our brain (and other organs that function on just glucose) -- the only way to get that energy is for the body to create it.  and the way glucose is created without carbs is through muscle wasting.  yes, the body uses it's muscle mass to create glucose (in a much more complicated process that that simplified sentence).  I think the key here is BALANCE.  His nutrition balance percentages aren't all that far off from what I've been told by my nutritionist, my trainer and doctor.  Here's what I strive for: 40% protein 30-40% good carbs 20-30% good fats But the number of calories is going to be different for every person.  You're 4 years out, so you probably have a pretty good understanding of how your body reacts to different levels of calories.  You know how many calories your body needs to maintain your current weight.  2000 calories is the federally mandated recommended daily intake for the average person.  But who's average?  Hardly anyone!   It's often said that you should maintain at least 1200 calories to keep your body out of starvation mode.  But for some it 1200 calories will cause weight gain.   It depends entirely on the person and how their body works. And remember that as a former morbidly obese person our bodies DO NOT function the same way as a normal person.  Our hormones, metabolism and endocrine systems are all screw up for life.  Our body doesn't function the same way as a person who has been slim and health all their lives.  We need to compensate for that forever -- even after we lose the excess weight.  Some people actually get a RMR (resting metabolic rate) reading done to determine how many calories your body requires each day.  You can have this done at any good gym or health center.  I'm 7.5 months out and still in "losing" mode.  I just increased my calorie intake to 1000-1200 calories per day.  I maintain the above percentage balance pretty closely.  I get about 100mg protein per day and about 80-100mg carb per day.  On big workout days (I'm training for a half marathon) I try to get more carbs than normal and might get 100-125mg before a long workout. Good luck trying to figure it all out. Pam

ugh - i so did not want to (well.. like hearing) "HE'S RIGHT" I so wanted him to be WRONG WRONG WRONG - even though i know he knows what he's talking about & that he, at least for some portion of what he's blabbing, is partially correct. (grumble grumble grumble) On the flip side Pam, I also very much appreciate your input. Theres a lot of valuable information here!! To answer your question, yes - i am 4 yrs out & i have re-gained 60lbs. So Im trying to lose that 60 & get back down to what was my lowest weight (165). Both of you offer some really good information & hit on some really key points. Not everyone is alike or average. "If we cut out ALL carbs the only way for our body to provide the fuel for our brain (and other organs that function on just glucose) -- the only way to get that energy is for the body to create it.  and the way glucose is created without carbs is through muscle wasting.  yes, the body uses it's muscle mass to create glucose (in a much more complicated process that that simplified sentence)." << which is probably why im been STUPID for the past week **sigh**. & I had no idea about the glucose thing either!! There is so much to re-learn here. I look forward to going through the links provided by Kelly & finding my right balance. Thanks again!! :)

Thank you ladies for taking the time to reply. I will re-read both of your posts so i can truely absorb what you have to say. Best, Candace

I'm glad some of this information is helpful, Candace.  I'm an information junkie, so I've spent a lot of time learning how our bodies use energy and how they respond to exercise.  I, for one, was tired of the generic "eat less, move more" advice that we see so often!  I needed more information about what that really translates to in terms of how I live my day-to-day life.  I did not want to be guessing how many calories I could eat to maintain my loss; I wanted a real, honest to goodness number that I knew I could eat and maintain!  It's not an exact science, but I have a good ballpark number that seems to be working for me.   Good luck figuring out what will work for you!!! Kellie

I found a calculator on www.thedailyplate.com that factors your age, weight, height, and your weight loss goal (to loose 2 pounds or maintain current weight, etc for example) and calculates how many calories per day you can eat to acheive that goal. Check it out.  It is so simple and the website is free.  It even has a data base with millions of foods that people eat every day and all you have to do is click on the food and it adds the food to your daily list and automatically subtracts it from your daily allotted calories! Never a need to look up the calories, fat, protein, etc.  It's all right there.  It is the most amazing website I have found. For me, at 5'2", age 52, 247 lbs...I can eat around 1100 calories per day and loose 3 pounds a week.  If I excercise, I would loose even more.

I KNOW!! I love the daily plate - they make everything SO EASY. I didnt know about the calculator though - thanks for pointing that out.