What's the lowest number of calories I can eat without compromising my athletic performance?

Well.....Hmmm....Just go for 2000 a day.

eat whole food. good fats, produce, whole grains, lowfat dairy. eat smaller meals frequently throughout the day. Fuel your body healthily and your weight will settle where your body is predisposed to be at.

Don't obsess with calories. It is a very fine line between that and an eating disorder that dominates your entire life. believe me, I know. I've been there. Oh, and I'm a male

gym halpert wrote:

eat whole food. good fats, produce, whole grains, lowfat dairy. eat smaller meals frequently throughout the day. Fuel your body healthily and your weight will settle where your body is predisposed to be at.

Don't obsess with calories. It is a very fine line between that and an eating disorder that dominates your entire life. believe me, I know. I've been there. Oh, and I'm a male

You mean: full-fat dairy, avoid grains.

Last year, I gained 15 pounds due to a long-standing injury. I knew that I had gained weight, but didn't know that I had gained that much, b/c I had convinced myself that it was unhealthy to weigh myself every week--which was a terrible mistake, so now I weigh myself at least once weekly. But anyway.

I EASILY lost 15 pounds, really without any dieting effort, and no deprived feelings, by doing the following:

(1) never ever counted calories or "dieted," ate when hungry but always stopped when full, slightly reduced my portion sizes, again stopping when full.

(2) Followed Superfoods RX--the book--works like a charm. I started eating the foods prescribed in that book, not to lose weight (actually I didn't know that I had gained that much weight when I bought the book--learned shortly after I bought the book that I had gained weight). Basically I eat the breakfast that the author of that book eats--1 c. blueberries or strawberries (frozen/thawed in micro per package directions in off-season_, plain, non-fat yogurt (1 c.), 1/2 c. uncle sam cereal--original (no sugar), and one packet of truvia for sweetening...every day...lunch is a salad topped with lean protein (3/4 oz.) or salmon...salad ingredients: spinach or romaine (2 c.), 1/2 c. of the following: brocolli or cauliflower, shredded carrots, any beans or green peas, red peppers, topped ONLY with 2 TBSP. of your fave dressing, preferably light or make your own (even better). I use Newman's Own Light Balsamic Vina. 2 TBSP. measured. On weekends I might vary when we eat out, but I still tend toward veggie dishes b/c veggies fill you up with few calories. Dinner is some combo of sauteed veggies (spray pam, no oil)--add whatever seasonings, again lean meat (turkey or chicken breast, or fish), and maybe if I'm really hungry 1/2 c.(measured) of brown rice or MG pasta. Sometimes a broth based veggie soup--basically we just buy 2 cans of broth based organic soup, add 1 package organic chicken broth, then add tons of your choice of veggies, 1 can of tomato sauce if you like tomato flavor, maybe a couple of potatoes on your kind of mileage (I added them), carrots, chicken or turkey breast cooked ahead of time/chopped. Bring to a boil. Then simmer 10-20 min. Very easy and quick. Or a salad like lunch. All super quick.

(3) I would ocassionally eat bad food just out of convenience or desire, like a couple of slices of pizza once a week, but just keep portion sizes small. No deprivation feelings--but don't keep your favorite bad foods around the house.

(4) We purchased a lock box for the freezer to put our treat foods (cookies) in during the day b/c I work from home--only my husband knows the combo. After dinner, I eat 2-3 cookies (depending on workout that day), recipe at superfoodsrx.com---super delicious and with healthy ingredients, but still indulgent. No milk with them (extra calories). I drink hot tea or water with them.

(5) eliminate calories that don't really matter to you--e.g., milk with cookies. That piece of bread that you don't really care if you eat or not. Or an extra large serving.

(6) weigh yourself daily (they have studies now confirming this is the best way to lose weight even though old school thinking was once a week).

(7) Any recipe from cookinglight.com if you are looking for more pizazz or variety on any given day.

(8) NO processed food (boxes of rice, mac & cheese, chips, etc, nothing with more than 5 ingredients (okay, my special bread from the deli has 8 ingredients, but be picky), nothing with high fructose corn syrup--note this includes MOST bread on the bread aisle. That stuff creates insane cravings. Try to avoid added sugars--again increases cravings...eat sugar when you want dessert, but not just in every meal.

(9) NOOOOOO fast food. Ever. Ditto with sodas. But I was already doing that.

Honestly just adding in lots of veggies and fruits--I mean not just lip service but really truly eating them as your main course for most meals, or at least 1/2 to 3/4 of your plate will do the trick. And eliminating ADDED sugar (like in yogurt) and HFCS will work wonders on eliminating cravings.

One book I read talked about a study that found that people eat the same VOLUME of food daily, regardless of caloric content (maybe 3 pounds, but i can't remember for sure). Anyway, since fruits/veggies are so low in calories, if you eat a lot of them, you will eat less of other food...guaranteed. Your cravings will drop to almost nothing...honestly...and no deprivation is necessary.

I might also add core work and strength training, but really not necessary...

You will lose weight without thinking if you follow this plan--main main main thing--don't overeat, watch portion sizes, and eat lots of veggies, measure everything that is not a veggie when prepping food at home.

I swear I magically lost 3 pounds a week with no effort whatsoever, no deprived feelings, nothing. That weight is gone and will never come back for me. I'm sure of it. It's been about a year. And I had never gained weight before. It was just a freak thing. Now I weigh myself and eat this kind of food daily. I actually prefer this food to the crap that most people eat...

Other great books on this subject: the end of overeating and in defense of food...

Good luck!

Holy crap. Did you actually just tap that all out or is it some copy&paste job? Good Lord.

I lost 5 lbs just reading all that.

Oh I don't know. Just waiting for my cookies to come out of the oven while my husband installs doors on our pantry. Plus I type fast and wanted to help, what can I say?

No disrespect to previous posters but I would absolutely stay away from 'measuring everything that is not a vegetable.' Or avoiding all grains. That type of OCD behavior is rediculous. It leads to a slippery slope down to a full-fledged eating disorder. A lock for your cookie jar? really?

Shop the perimeter of the grocery store (unprocessed foods) Everything in moderation. Add weight training to your running 3x's a week. It's not a matter of losing weight. It's a matter of making lifestyle changes.

Vegetables, meat, fish, eggs, and nuts. Full fat dairy if you want dairy, and fatty meats are fine as well. If you need more carbs have sweet potatoes, potatoes, squash, carrots, fruit. Avoid grains

4 can of tuna a day until you don't have the energy to get out of bed... at that point add 4 hard boiled eggs to your diet of 4 cans of tuna. in 3 weeks you won't be able to lose anymore weight. refeed (binge) for 2 days and repeat.

gym halpert wrote:

No disrespect to previous posters but I would absolutely stay away from 'measuring everything that is not a vegetable.' Or avoiding all grains. That type of OCD behavior is rediculous. It leads to a slippery slope down to a full-fledged eating disorder. A lock for your cookie jar? really?

Shop the perimeter of the grocery store (unprocessed foods) Everything in moderation. Add weight training to your running 3x's a week. It's not a matter of losing weight. It's a matter of making lifestyle changes.

This guy ^ is right on. Both of his posts.

Keep it simple. Eat mostly healthy stuff. Vary your exercise at least a bit. Eat when hungry. And NEVER count calories.

brakey wrote:

Holy crap. Did you actually just tap that all out or is it some copy&paste job? Good Lord.

Holy bigger crap. Do women actually post here???

athena runner wrote:

Let's say I'm a female runner who is 5'6" and 155 pounds running around 50 miles a week that wants to lose 30 pounds. What's the lowest number of calories I can eat without compromising my athletic performance?

Forget the calorie count.

Increase your mileage gradually up to about 70pw and include some speed work into your schedule.The weight will drop off.NEVER GET SO LOW THAT ANOREXIA RESULTS.A drop of 30lbs seems to me to be a little more than needed.

The best guide for a runner is to get to your "racing weight" as above and then eat just as much as keeps you at it plus or minus a couple of pounds.

I already do speed work, and 70mpw seems too high for me. I know I'm heavier than I should be, but if I drop the weight, I'll get faster. My training's fine it just feels like my body is hindering me from running my best and being confident about my appearance. I don't want to go about it in an unhealthy way. Thanks for all the input. Any more tips would be good.

By the way, I weigh 250 pounds, and so, like I really know what I'm talking about.

Haha nope not 250 just yet. My body seems pretty content to stay at the 185 mark (I'm 6'2"). And while I absolutely won't claim to be an expert nutritionist, I know a little about what I'm talking about. My senior year in hs I decided to see what dropping weight could do for my running (I was about 155-158 then). I started counting calories. Started dropping weight. Started getting faster. I became obsessed.

I went to college (D2) on a scholarship. During preseason physicals I weighed 135. By this time I had developed a full-fledged eating disorder. I obsessed about weight and eating. I hated myself whenever I ate something and skipped meals. I was antisocial, depressed, had few friends. It was absolute hell.

After I passed out in a practice, coach decided to redshirt me. He got me help with a school conselor. It took me the next 18 months to beat my disease. But with family, teammates, and faith I was able to slowly change my life. I stopped counting every little calorie. I stopped with the whole 'good food, bad food mindset.' Everything in moderation. I still remember the first time I actually let myself eat ice cream on a date with a super cute girl; I didn't know if I was prouder for getting a girl like that to go on a date with me or for letting myself enjoy a treat

I went on to post a 24:55 cross 8k time and a 14:28 track 5k. Nothin spectacular, but I was finally healthy, both mentally and physically (I weighed 168-170 lbs after eating well an adding strength training.)

Sorry about writing a book

gym halpert wrote:

No disrespect to previous posters but I would absolutely stay away from 'measuring everything that is not a vegetable.' Or avoiding all grains. That type of OCD behavior is rediculous. It leads to a slippery slope down to a full-fledged eating disorder. A lock for your cookie jar? really?

Shop the perimeter of the grocery store (unprocessed foods) Everything in moderation. Add weight training to your running 3x's a week. It's not a matter of losing weight. It's a matter of making lifestyle changes.

No disrespect to you, but not everyone who counts calories/measures/and locks away cookies (!!) has an eating disorder. I have a very healthy relationship with food. I just know my limits. If I have cookies available all day, then I will eat them b/c I have a very stressful job working from home and I tend to grab whatever is most convenient, which would include cookies. The idea came from a nutritionist and it works.

Also, I have known several nutritionists as personal friends and they ALL recommend weighing your food. Ditto with the author of Superfoods RX, who is also an M.D. The idea of weighing food came NOT from the idea of counting calories, which I have never done, and which I detest, but in making sure that you are getting ENOUGH of the good foods. Until I started measuring (and in the beginning I also measured veggies), I clearly wasn't getting enough superfoods, although I thought I was. He tells you how much of the good foods you need--e.g., you NEED 2 c. of spinach per day, 1/2 to 1 c. of brocolli per day, etc. b/c those are the amounts proven in studies to help offset various diseases and provide proper nutrients. I stopped measuring veggies only b/c I learned to eyeball the amount and it takes a long time to do so. But I continued measuring foods that are calories dense b/c it is very easy to go over, it only takes a few seconds, and again several nutrionists recommended this practice. Also IT WORKS. I don't measure everything by any stretch. Just those foods that I just can't eyeball very well. When I dip soup, for example, I just eyeball roughly 2 cups, and I know it's filled with veggies, so that's not a problem. I actually started measuring after I read superfoods RX. I would have thought the idea was crazy before then. And I didn't start to lose weight. As I said, the doctor "prescribes" a certain amount of certain foods daily to avoid disease--he is specific like one cup--so the only way to be sure was to measure. And an unexpected side effect was weight loss. I assure you I would never ever put myself on a diet. I hate deprivation and eat good food in large quantities all the time.

You could also try smaller plates. I have been meaning to purchase those.

Also forgot to say of course stay away from bad fats as much as you can, including bacon, cream, cheese, butter, most oils, etc.

As for the idea that I am OCD, well, I don't think so, but for that post to be on this website, particularly on a thread discussing 50 versus 70 mpw is hahahahahahahahaha!!!!!!!!!!!!! Laughable. Are you kidding? If you are running those kind of miles, then you have some sort of issue but don't we all?

Finally, this poster said that she is THIRTY pounds overweight. I have numerous overweight friends, particularly those who are older women. They ALL say that the pounds just crept on. A little every year. And in this day and age, with the processed food nightmare, and addictive ingredients added to almost everything, it will be very hard in my opinion following a normal american diet to lose those pounds and she will likely continue to gain 5-10 pounds at least every year unless she makes changes. (FYI reading nutrition labels on everything you purchase is a must--although this shouldn't take much time b/c you should purchase very few things in boxes/bags.) That will cause her to be at a much higher risk of all sorts of horrible debilitating diseases, including obviously heart disease, diabetes, etc. I have suggested a healthy way to lose a healthy amount of weight. I said she should NEVER be hungry, how would that lead her to get an eating disorder? Eat when she is hungry and stop when she is full, eating healthy ingredients . . . how that could lead to anorexia, I have no idea... She needs to focus on healthier choices b/c her weight may become a health issue w/grave consequences, plus she wants to run faster.

One more thing is I suppose I would change my advice to say measure most things that you prepare in the beginning, including veggies, unless you are making one large batch of soup of something. Eventually eyeballing veggies will be easy. I said not to measure them b/4 b/c I figure most people add too much food to their plate, and too much veggies generally isn't a problem. But it is important I believe to get enough veggies, so I would measure in the beginning, just for a couple of weeks.

This morning I am eating veggie sausage, cheese grits, eggs, and O.J. and will not measure anything. It's our one day a week of a treat for breakfast. But I will eyeball a normal size portion, not too large and not too small. Then for lunch we will go to our fave sandwich shop, where I will order a sandwich with mayo and bacon, but I will only eat half. Who knows on dinner. But these are TREATS, which I generally don't have very often. Sunday is usually our bad food day, but again smaller portions.

Tomorrow I will go back to measuring my blueberries to make sure I get one cup a day, and eating a huge salad with salmon on top for lunch, measuring only salad dressing b/c it is calories dense.

Good luck!

Daily calories: Goal Weight x 1.10 plus 100 calories for each mike you run.

So if you want to be 120 pounds your base is 1200 calories plus if you run, say 7 miles a day you can add in 700 calories. So that's about 1900 a day. You can probaby round off to 2000 and still lose weight.