Hi Nancy,

I'm 31 years old, 5'0, 172 pounds. I'm in Week 4 of Insanity and I've lost 1 pound (well, gained 2 then lost 3). I've been eating about 1500 calories a day and I think I'm supposed to be eating more like 2000-2200 but I'm scared to eat more calories.  Here's a sample menu for me:

Breakfast: kashi go lean w/half banana and 1 tbsp. ground flax (333 calories)

Snack: whey protein shake & 8 oz. of silk soy milk (200 calories)

Lunch: whole wheat tortilla wrap w/turkey breast & tomatoes (250 calories)

Dinner: 4 oz boneless skinless chicken breast; collard greens; baked beans (350 cals)

Snack: whey protein shake; 8 oz silk soy milk; 1 tbsp ground flax (225 calories)

I usuallly can get the 40/30/30 with the carbs/protein/fat pretty well each day. The issue is the Beachbody website suggests a balanced meal plan with 2200 calories for 1 pound of weight loss a week.  I figure for 2 pounds a week I should subtract another 500 calories bringing me to 1700 calories per day. I think I could bump up to eating that many calories comfortably, but I wanted to get your thoughts on if I'm doing myself a disservice by not eating in the 2000 calorie range.

At 5'0 and 172, I am severely overweight so I would think that the weight would just be pouring off with this new level of activity lol. The only reason that I keep going is because working out and eating right is how I want to live so I know the weight will come off eventually. I just want to be sure to be at the right calorie intake.

Thanks for your time and input!

JT

Hi JT and Welcome!

Your question is a common one where people don't immediately lose weight and wonder what is going on.  You are correct that the calories calculated by the Beachbody programs tend to be too high for women.  I think you are more likely to get better advice from the Slim in 6 or Chalean Extreme programs.  What I recommend to the women I coach is to set your caloric count to 10x your body weight.  This should bring about weightloss of about 1 - 1.5lbs per week.  Shooting for 2 lbs per week when you are only 5' tall is a bit aggressive.  Losing 1 - 1.5 lbs per week can mean losing up to 1.5lbs - 2lbs of fat if you are doing resistance training and adding muscle which will cause your body to shape up quickly.

When looking at what you eat each day, on the surface it looked pretty good except for one thing.  If you are using a vanilla soy milk you are likely taking in too much sugar.  I'm not a big fan of soy milk admittedly but unless you are drinking the unflavored type (which has a very soy flavor) there tends to be a ton of useless sugar in them.  Moreover that sugar does not act as a slow release sugar form like lactose in milk.  So I don't know if you are milk intolerant but I'd strongly prefer to see you drink 1% organic milk over soy milk.  Also be sure to drain off the 'sauce' from baked beans as that also has a ton of sugar in it.  Even whole wheat tortillas typically have added sugar.

Finally drink lots and lots of water.  Aim for 1/2 oz for every pound of body weight or a minimum of 75 oz a day.  Water is crucial for weight loss.  And breathe deeply throughout the day - whenever you think about it.  Stress can be a big inhibitor of weight loss but by breathing deeply you will immediately reduce your stress levels.

Nancy

You are awesome! Thank you, Nancy! I'm going to shoot for about 1700 calories and ease up on trying to lose 2 lbs. per week. See, all I need is someone's good sense to help me out!

I'm lactose intolerant so I drink the soy unsweetened milk. I don't mind the taste :)

I track my food on www.thedailyplate.com and I have been noticing my sugars being kind of high and I didn't consider the whole wheat tortillas so I'll look out for that.  I consider the baked beans my sweet treat lol. Good advice! Thank you so much!

Thanks for being a part of what will be my success story! I'll keep you posted!

JT

Welcome to the forums!  Ironically, I'm also 5"0 and 31 years old.  When I started my weight loss journey last September, I was 167lbs, so I wasn't to far from where your starting.  I am now 141 lbs.  So, fortunatley you're not alone!

Here is what I did.  Since I am so short, just like you, through trial and error, I figured out that I needed to cut more calories than most nutritionist or dieters would suggest.  I started out at about 1700 calories per day and then moved down to 1400 - 1500 calories per day.  I know that may sound frightening, but that's the only way I would consistently loose 1 - 1.5lbs per week.  Most weeks I lost 1lb, but I would occasionally loose 1.5lbs.  My main goal was to consistently loose!

I also didn't eat hardly anything after 6pm.  And my main focus concerning my diet was cutting calories.  So, I think you're on the right track.  After a few more weeks of training and cutting calories, do an analysis of where you are.  If you're not where you think you should be, make more adjustments.

I took the approach of take action, then analyze your actions, and finally make adjustments!

Also, just so you know, I started P90x about 3 weeks ago.  I'm trying to loose another 16lbs, but I also want to build muscle.  Even now, I still only intake about 1400 - 1500 calories per day, but I'm allot more focused on the right percentages of carbs/protein/fat.  I try to intake lots more protein, than anything else.  I also don't eat much bread, pasta, rice, potatoes and stuff like that.

Anyways, stay focused!  The weight will come off!

Schamonda - thanks for sharing your story with JT!

One thought for you.  I know there's a LOT of popular advice out there that suggests you'll lose more weight if you don't eat after around 7PM each night and I noticed you said you don't eat anything after 6PM.  But I do take a protein shake before retiring and find it helps to both burn fat and build muscle.

The reasoning is that your body repairs itself during sleep time so if you are fasting, the body has fewer resources to make those repairs.  Adding in a protein shake provides the body the amino acids to make the repairs.  Moreover, it sets your body up to produce less cortisol which is a catabolic hormone that will have your body use precious muscle mass to produce aminio acids to offset cortisol levels.  Cortisol also has your body hold onto fat.

Of course, the shake has to be taken in as part of your overall caloric budget for the day.  You can't just tack on more calories.

Nancy

Coach Nancy,

Thanks for that suggestion.  I actually just purchased Shakeology, so maybe I'll try that in the evenings, since it's only 140 calories.  I'm curious to see how good it taste and I also want to be able to give my own honest review on the product.

So we'll see how that goes.  It's actually quite expensive, so I hope it taste as good as advertised:)

-Schamonda

Hi Schamonda,

Let me know what you think of Shakeology.  I don't know which flavor you ordered.  I like Green Berry but honestly we all dislike the Chocolate.  Perhaps it's just us and our chocolate taste preferences though.  Also it does have more carb than I take late at night (the shake I take at night has only about 5 grams of carbs).  It is great for mornings IMO.

I think it's a very healthful product.  I don't like the price.  But I have been trying to create something close and honestly what I can come up with on my own doesn't taste as good as their Green Berry.

Nancy