Diet question, is caloric intake roughly proportional to body weight? I've started a diet. Help me not quit on day 2.

slept at a holiday inn wrote:

I really thought this was a toll post or a hack job, but its real.

What you posted is not sustainable nor are you really learning the good, bad, and ugly of what you're eating..

It may be a pita, but tracking calories for 1-2 wks, measuring servings, etc, will lead to a more sustainable approach to ones diet. You'll have an estimate of calories in, and then decide on average what you want to reduce it by to lose weight. Throw in a couple of guardrails for minimum consumption, mix and source of calories, etc. Said another way, without having baseline info for a runner (current experience, paces, goals, etc) , what paces, distances, etc would you prescribe?

And to the initial question, caloric intake is a function of what you burn. Heavy person burns more than light. Athlete burns more than couch potato. Genetics can be a thing, etc.

My fitness pal or chronometer are both simple apps to track caloric intake, along with a $10-$20 scale and you're set. Unless you're a chemist making your own pre-workout, wal-mart scale is fine.

rojo wrote:

Hello letsrun.

My wife's friend recently started some sort of fitness regime that involves a special diet and exercise. She raved about it and gave us her specially formulated food plan.

We agreed to try it out. I like it as I don't like having to think about what I want to cook. Each week, it gives you a few options for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

We started yesterday. I must say it's been a big success as I lost 2 pounds on day 1.

The issue is halfway through the day I realized I was thinking a lot about food. Then it hit me, "Why would I eat the same amount as my wife and her friend? I weigh 50% more than them."

The meal plan was designed for someone who is small, ten years younger and probably weights 120. I am over 180. So to make it right for me, should I just up it by 50%? Or does it not work like that? If not, what are my options other than paying for the detailed meal plan for myself?

Here is the lunch I had yesterday.

Ground Turkey (100g)
Cauliflower Rice (150g)
Broccoli (150g)
Cooking spray

By my math, that's only 300 calories. I just added up the entire day and it comes to just under 1000 calories. Oh wait, I forgot the 170 calorie protein shake. So just under 1200 calories.

No wonder I'm hungry.

rojo wrote:

Hello letsrun.

My wife's friend recently started some sort of fitness regime that involves a special diet and exercise. She raved about it and gave us her specially formulated food plan.

We agreed to try it out. I like it as I don't like having to think about what I want to cook. Each week, it gives you a few options for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

We started yesterday. I must say it's been a big success as I lost 2 pounds on day 1.

The issue is halfway through the day I realized I was thinking a lot about food. Then it hit me, "Why would I eat the same amount as my wife and her friend? I weigh 50% more than them."

The meal plan was designed for someone who is small, ten years younger and probably weights 120. I am over 180. So to make it right for me, should I just up it by 50%? Or does it not work like that? If not, what are my options other than paying for the detailed meal plan for myself?

Here is the lunch I had yesterday.

Ground Turkey (100g)
Cauliflower Rice (150g)
Broccoli (150g)
Cooking spray

By my math, that's only 300 calories. I just added up the entire day and it comes to just under 1000 calories. Oh wait, I forgot the 170 calorie protein shake. So just under 1200 calories.

No wonder I'm hungry.

OhRoJo wrote:

rojo wrote:

Hello letsrun.

My wife's friend recently started some sort of fitness regime that involves a special diet and exercise. She raved about it and gave us her specially formulated food plan.

We agreed to try it out. I like it as I don't like having to think about what I want to cook. Each week, it gives you a few options for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

We started yesterday. I must say it's been a big success as I lost 2 pounds on day 1.

The issue is halfway through the day I realized I was thinking a lot about food. Then it hit me, "Why would I eat the same amount as my wife and her friend? I weigh 50% more than them."

The meal plan was designed for someone who is small, ten years younger and probably weights 120. I am over 180. So to make it right for me, should I just up it by 50%? Or does it not work like that? If not, what are my options other than paying for the detailed meal plan for myself?

Here is the lunch I had yesterday.

Ground Turkey (100g)
Cauliflower Rice (150g)
Broccoli (150g)
Cooking spray

By my math, that's only 300 calories. I just added up the entire day and it comes to just under 1000 calories. Oh wait, I forgot the 170 calorie protein shake. So just under 1200 calories.

No wonder I'm hungry.

Does the co-founder of "the home of running's #1 fans" intend to do any, you know, running to help lose weight? Or is still okay to be a sedentary fan if you were fast 25 years ago?

Ruxton Towers XC wrote:

Commit to a Healthy And Powerful Life wrote:

Stop drinking.

Quit being angry and then self-medicating with alcohol and poor food choices.

Restructure your business, take back control of the site, strip bad moderators of their site access, and then change all of the passwords.

In all seriousness, once you have more control over your business and your life, the pounds will come off. The constant cortisol dump that you call daily life is what made you fat.

This is actually a powerful post.

Calories are what allow us to gain weight but things like metabolic processes and blood hormone and liver enzymes are what cause us to gain the weight.

That is why a 150 lb 18 year old runner can chow down like crazy and not gain weight for a decade. But if a 150 lb 48 year old runner ate the same exact foods, they would be gaining weight day by day.

Moderately hard worker wrote:

Ruxton Towers XC wrote:

This is actually a powerful post.

Calories are what allow us to gain weight but things like metabolic processes and blood hormone and liver enzymes are what cause us to gain the weight.

That is why a 150 lb 18 year old runner can chow down like crazy and not gain weight for a decade. But if a 150 lb 48 year old runner ate the same exact foods, they would be gaining weight day by day.

Yep, although Calories in, calories out ( CICO ) or in simple terms, energy balance, is what governs weight, it’s often too simplistic for people.

It ignores hormones and the huge effect it can have on your weight, ability to diet, recovery, ability to perform and lacks nuance.

Recovery should be number 1 for you here, starting with sleep and stress reduction. If you can nail these, then you can think about supplements