Official Off-Topic VT Thread

[Forty_Sixand2]

It depends. See how you feel for the next few days. If it makes you sluggish and not able to exert as much as you would like to, it is too much of a deficit. I would add in one more snack somewhere (best before or after your workout). Calorie count is important, but so is calorie composition. You should consume 5g of protein for every 1 gram of non-fiber carbs, I have been told. Pay attention to that as well.

Does your workout include cardio and weight training? How are you counting what you burn?

 

[NickVT10]

It depends. See how you feel for the next few days. If it makes you sluggish and not able to exert as much as you would like to, it is too much of a deficit. I would add in one more snack somewhere (best before or after your workout). Calorie count is important, but so is calorie composition. You should consume 5g of protein for every 1 gram of non-fiber carbs, I have been told. Pay attention to that as well.

Does your workout include cardio and weight training? How are you counting what you burn?

In the app, it has nearly every food product stored and its nutritional facts (even fast food stuff) so it gives a breakdown at the end of the day the goal % of fat, carbs, protein and I was pretty close. A little ahead on protein. After the workout I had a tuna sandwich and a little mini burger then some snacks and a bowl of cereal later so i was refueling after it.

As for what I burn, you enter the general exercise (walking 3 mph, jumping rope medium pace, weight lifting) and the time you did it for and it calculates calories burned based on your weight. My workout includes cardio (jumping rope, also cut the grass so entered that in as walking) and weight lifting.

 

[Chrish1023]

I'm pretty sure that 1870 calories is what your body burns just by you being alive. So the 450 calories should actually be added to 1870. I'm not an expert on dieting, but if you're weight training, you should be getting lots of protein. I think the biggest mistake that people make when they're dieting is that they start eating too many foods that have no macros. When I see girls at dining halls, they are always eating salad and pasta which may seem healthy, but it does hardly anything for your body. People automatically assume that you have to have carbs or you won't have energy, but this isn't true. Carbs do give you energy, but so do proteins and fats.

From what I can tell, you are on the right track with how you're dieting and exercising. Just make sure to get the right macros and you'll be down to 185 sooner than later.

 

[ckhokie]

In the app, it has nearly every food product stored and its nutritional facts (even fast food stuff) so it gives a breakdown at the end of the day the goal % of fat, carbs, protein and I was pretty close. A little ahead on protein. After the workout I had a tuna sandwich and a little mini burger then some snacks and a bowl of cereal later so i was refueling after it.

As for what I burn, you enter the general exercise (walking 3 mph, jumping rope medium pace, weight lifting) and the time you did it for and it calculates calories burned based on your weight. My workout includes cardio (jumping rope, also cut the grass so entered that in as walking) and weight lifting.

What app do you use?

 

[Forty_Sixand2]

What Chrish said is important but also if you are exercising, it is important to keep on carbs as well, just the right kind. Skim milk, peanut butter and certain fuits (berries, melons) have a perfect balance for you. Don't starve yourself of carbs or your body will go into ketosis and immediately store any type of carb you eat the next time you do which is bad. Just make sure you eat the right carbs, (complex cabs). Skim milk is the perfect post-workout balance. Celery with peanut butter is good for a few hours later, etc ettc etc.

757 would know more about this than me though, I think.

 

[NickVT10]

What app do you use?

MyFitnessPal

As for the calories burned by metabolic rate and what the calorie requirement would be to lose weight at a healthy rate (1-2lbs a week), to maintain my weight it would be around 2100 calories and to lose the weight it was 1870.

The types of calories I am eating i think are pretty balances. I had 89g of protein (goal was 87) 62 g of fat (77 was the goal) and i was pretty low on the carbs. I ate normal foods though but healthier snacks. Had an apple for breakfast, a jersey mike's sub for lunch, tuna sandwich and mini burger for dinner. Snacks were celery and peanut butter, cottage cheese, bowl of cereal.

 

[NickVT10]

The amount I ate was pretty normal, just healthier choices and the calories dropped down a good bit. I was very close to goal on the intake but the workout dropped the net way down. I usually only drink water and sometimes juices but ill start drinking more milk (i drink skim anyways) for more carbs and help get a little more calories.

It was concerning because i was comfortable with what I ate through the day. wasnt sure if i need to force another snack in there or change what the snacks are so i get a few more calories. I ate whenever i got hungry so i wasnt starving myself or anything.

 

[hokiecheme11]

Copied my post from another forum so its a little formal.

I'm a 23 yr old male who wants to lose some weight. I am an athletic build but have a little extra around the middle. I want to get from 200 to 185 lbs. I started using an app that tracks calories eaten and burned yesterday. It also gives you your target net calories for the day to meet your goals. My target net was 1870 calories. I entered everything I ate and it came to 1750 calories. Through my exercising i burned 450ish. That gave me a net of 1300 or so calories. My question is was that too few calories to have? A deficit is obviously good but 550 calories below the target is pretty low. I ate pretty healthy foods so the calorie counts were lower but i ate when i was hungry (many small meals) and was satisfied throughout the day. I will not be burning 450 calories every day through exercise in the future. I will do cardio most days and lift 3 days a week. Yesterday I did both and also had to cut the grass.

Is that big of a deficit actually going to negatively impact my efforts?

I'm 22. I gained about 30 lbs sophomore-junior yr at Tech. Mostly the product of binge drinking and eating way too much. I went on a workout/diet routine two summers ago where I religiously watched what I ate and then did P90X sorta half-assed. I was consuming roughly 1500 calories a day (I was at 192 lbs and wanted to get back to 168) and working out for about an hour 5 days a week.

It only took me about 2 months to get in really good shape and lose the roughly 25 lbs. I'm working out less now but still watching what I eat (about 2300 cals/day) and I'm still right at 168 lbs.

In my opinion, if you are relatively active (ie cutting grass, working out a few times a week), and you're consuming under 2000 cals/day (good calories, not shitty food), you will lose weight. The general rule of thumb is that 3500 cals = 1 lb. So if you cut out 7000 cals a week (for me, this was easy), you'll be dropping 2 lbs a week. And that's not even including redistribution of weight by lifting and stuff

 

[hokiecheme11]

The amount I ate was pretty normal, just healthier choices and the calories dropped down a good bit. I was very close to goal on the intake but the workout dropped the net way down. I usually only drink water and sometimes juices but ill start drinking more milk (i drink skim anyways) for more carbs and help get a little more calories.

It was concerning because i was comfortable with what I ate through the day. wasnt sure if i need to force another snack in there or change what the snacks are so i get a few more calories. I ate whenever i got hungry so i wasnt starving myself or anything.

Don't be too concerned, you'll be surprised how quickly you can get used to eating less. Depending on what I eat (and how often), 1500 calories in a day will keep me much more full than 3000 of crap

 

[NickVT10]

I'm not concerned about eating 2000 or 1750 calories, thats not too big of a problem. I was worried I wasn't netting enough calories a day to lose weight in a healthy manner.

On a side note, if i can get to 185, i will be rather chiseled so that is some good motivation.

 

[sparko]

you also might be surprised as to how you can get used to eating healthy. and my general rule of thumb regarding food ... in general, stay away from sweets, white potatoes, pasta, bread, rice, corn, too much fruit, and for the most part -- stick to water .. fortunately for me, i've never had much of a sweet tooth, drink little soda, and have little problem dealing without potatoes, corn, or pasta (though i like them all) .. the bread though -- had to just decrease that .. oh and yeah -- alcohol (especially beer) needs to be decreased << that was a real pisser

nuts are also a healthy, low carb snack (that's what she said)

 

[hokiecheme11]

you also might be surprised as to how you can get used to eating healthy. and my general rule of thumb regarding food ... in general, stay away from sweets, white potatoes, pasta, bread, rice, corn, too much fruit, and for the most part -- stick to water .. fortunately for me, i've never had much of a sweet tooth, drink little soda, and have little problem dealing without potatoes, corn, or pasta (though i like them all) .. the bread though -- had to just decrease that .. oh and yeah -- alcohol (especially beer) needs to be decreased << that was a real pisser

nuts are also a healthy, low carb snack (that's what she said)

fwiw, I don't think there's anything wrong with having 100% whole grain bread and pasta

 

[NickVT10]

I don't eat pasta too often so when i do imma eat the best tasting stuff...
I also lost my sweet tooth over the past couple years. I have cookies sitting on my counter from Christmas and Easter (prolly should toss them out)

In general I will have some days I have wayyy too many calories and bad stuff but thats ok. I need the occasional day off but i will stick to a good diet 90% of the days and thats what i will focus on. I had been working out and trying to eat normal portions and not over eat for about 2 weeks before i got the app and went a little stricter and i lost some size in that 2 weeks. I didn't lose much weight but I had been lifting so i prolly added a little muscle but my pants are looser and went down a belt notch in those 2 weeks so adding eating healthier on top of better portion control i think i will lose the weight without many problems. I wasn't active at all and ate very poorly during some tough personal times and that is when I added the weight and I only added ~10lbs over 6 months. Just adding the exercise routine will be a huge benefit.

 

[Chrish1023]

fwiw, I don't think there's anything wrong with having 100% whole grain bread and pasta

There's nothing really wrong with them, but they're not ideal for weight loss. I've looked into it, and the general consensus among "knowledgeable people" is that whole grains are marketed as these great foods in order to get consumers to buy them. The truth is that they are extremely easy to produce and companies are profiting handsomely on them.

I'm not saying don't each carbs, but definitely try to balance them with your other macros.

 

[NickVT10]

Well now when everyone reads through this we will create a healthier Hokie Nation

 

[Camfantasy]

It's amazing how a college anatomy class can make the reproductive system seem so damn boring. Didn't think i'd ever refer to the hippity dippity as "boring." Thanks AnP2.

 

[sparko]

yeah ... whole grain (in form of pasta, bread, oatmeal) are good for you -- in modest amounts .. it's VERY easy to eat too much of starchy foods due to cost, easy to prepare, tastes good, fills you up

... and guinness is healthy ... enough

 

[NickVT10]

It's after the draft. Time for a new banner isn't it?

 

[hokiecheme11]

It sounds like Junior Seau may have committed suicide
Being from San Diego, and watching him play througout the 90s, this one hurts

NFL legend Junior Seau found dead at his California home | Shutdown Corner - Yahoo! Sports

 

[hunzworth]

Seau's poor mother

This is heartbreaking!