Am I just rationalizing?

Posts: 1,119
5/31/12 9:06 P

Research shows that the body is designed to self regulate. When you consume more calories, you become more active. When you consume less calories, you become less active. And the opposite is true. When you are more active you consume more calories. When you are less active, you consume less.

Since you are not obese, your body is just following a normal self regulating pattern. Your weight is very close to its healthy target depending on your frame size so your body is just doing what it has done in the past to keep your weight consistent.

Obese people have a different problem. The self regulating system does not work properly. But you are not obese.

Don't try to lose too much too soon since you don't have too much to lose.

Posts: 244
5/31/12 7:56 P

Ultimately, if you are consuming considerably less now than you were before, you will probably lose weight.

I previously consumed at LEAST 2500 calories per day... Many days 3500+

My goal calorie intake was 1300-1500. I consistently ate 1800-2000 for about a month. I was discouraged, but managed to lose 17 lbs in those three weeks. However, after that month I stopped losing weight and needed to start eating around 1500 per day in order to continue losing weight.

It may just be that your body needs more calories. If you truly find yourself hungry at the end of the day, choose healthy, low calorie filling foods to curb the hunger, even if it goes over your calorie limit, but even then I would advise only 100-200 over.

SparkPoints: (32,307)
Fitness Minutes: (20,400)
Posts: 2,704
5/31/12 7:45 P

Let's say every month you earn $1000. And every month you spend $400 on rent, $300 on food, $200 on clothing, $200 on entertainment and $100 on bills. Each month you're spending $1200, which means your debt is increasing by $200 each month. After a year, you'd owe the credit card company $1200. Now, let's say you get smart about your spending. You still spend $400 on rent, but now you spend $250 on food, $150 on clothing, $150 on entertainment and $75 on bills. You've reduced your overall spending by $175! You should be able to pay off your debt soon, right? Well, no. Because you're STILL spending more than you make. You're still going into debt, but just at a slower rate. And for reductio ad absurdum's sake, let's say you change your lifestyle so that you spend $400 on a green, self-powering house, $250 on all-organic food, $150 on clothing made from fair-trade cotton, $150 on socially aware entertainment and $75 on your wind power bill. You're making some really great choices! You're Doing the Right Thing! But YOU'RE STILL SPENDING MORE THAN YOU MAKE.

The same thing applies to your diet. If you're eating significantly more than you're burning, a simple calorie reduction might not be enough to create a deficit... it might just slow the gain. If weight loss is a priority, you MUST ensure that your calories burned exceed your calories eaten, no matter what. And sadly, for weight loss' sake, it doesn't matter whether your calories come from the cleanest, most natural, least processed, highest nutrient foods, or the junkiest of junk. That definitely matters to your overall health and sense of well-being, but for your average dieter (without a medically-diagnosed condition), a calorie is a calorie.

Posts: 5
5/31/12 10:15 A

Thank you everyone. I am so glad to have this forum to go to and just talk through any food problems.

I now feel more confident, and going to think twice before telling myself it's ok to eat this because........!

Posts: 1,372
5/31/12 10:04 A

If person A is eating 1700 calories/day of McDonalds, and person B is eating 1700 calories a day of whole grains, fresh produce, lean meats, and low-fat dairy....and they have the same activity level, they will lose weight at the same rate. Person B shouldn't rationalize and think they can consume 1900 calories because what they are eating is healthier, because they may not lose weight at 1900 calories (or their weight loss will be slower than their goal). If you are having trouble feeling full at the top end of your calorie range, I'd suggest incoorperating more vegetables into your diet! For example, a cup of baby carrots is around 50 calories and that can help make you feel full while not causing you to go over your intake.

Posts: 1,416
5/31/12 9:33 A

Your body is always attempting to come out even...where your calories are balanced with your activity. When we make poor food choices we work against this because we end up consuming more calories than we need, so we store them for later and gain weight.

When we want to lose weight we are also working against this. By really focusing on healthy foods we can cheat the system a bit because high volume/low calorie foods will keep up full for less calories than we were eating with those poor food choices.

When we increase our activity our bodies notice and again try to strike a balance by increasing our hunger. If your desire is to lose weight you need to have a plan for this. The calorie burn from exercising won't help you create a calorie deficit if you eat extra. Your exercise efforts will not help you lose...you'll either stay the same (and strike that balance your body is trying to achieve) OR you'll over-estimate your calorie burn and gain.

Posts: 5
5/31/12 9:30 A

Thanks for the information.

I changed my goals to more accurate. Lessened the amount of calories burned from cardio to be more true. I have been using a heart rate monitor to track calories burned. Also changed goal of 2 pound per week loss done by end of June to 1 pound per week loss by November. Funny it didn't change my calorie intake. Wasn't tracking my calorie intake at all before, but judging by what I have been doing this last week I am pretty confident that it was well over 2000+ per day. Now I am at 1500-1700 per day.

My goal is to be 120 lbs. Until my mid twenties I was at 100 lbs, so now being at 140 I feel huge!

Posts: 10,847
5/31/12 8:35 A

well, let's start with the fact that your ranges may be incorrect. look at your weekly calories burned number for last week. does the number of calories burned [minutes don't so much matter] match what you actually burned? if it doesn't you need to go in and adjust that goal [it's on the start page on the left hand side] so that it matches. you want the number of calories you say you'll burn to be as accurate as possible. minutes don't matter as much because, well, if you enter in 30 min of cardio a day your actual burn is going to be very different if you're walking 30 minute miles or running eight minute miles. so make sure that calories burned number is accurate on a weekly basis. if you're going over some days and under others it doesn't matter. you just want that number at the end of the week to be pretty accurate. make sure you save your accurate info.
then, while you are still on your start page, go to your weight goals and make sure you aren't trying to lose more than a pound a week. yes, the system will let you set up to two pounds per week, but you just aren't large enough to support that kind of loss. if you want to ease into this you could set a half pound a week loss. make sure you save that.
then look at where your ranges are and see how you are fitting into them. and remember that it can take your body weeks to adjust to new routines and you just gave it two new ones. it might take a few weeks for your body to sort itself out.

how many calories were you eating before? how many are you eating now? it's hard to say anything without actual numbers and with so little time invested to see where you are.

Posts: 2,707
5/31/12 8:23 A

Sorry, you're rationalizing. While yes, you're eating better than you were before, honestly, all that matters is if you're at a deficeit. If you're not eating less than you burn, you simply won't lose. As long as you're eating less than you burn, you will (eventually) lose. Now, you can play with the numbers and see if you still lose and eat at the top of slightly over your ranges, but your loss will be slow.

Posts: 5
5/31/12 8:21 A

I started tracking my calorie intake a week and half ago, and added cardio of 30-60 min a day at the same time. Almost every day I go over my calorie intake by a few hundred. Sometimes because I am hungry, other times I am just on a cravings kick. I keep telling myself I should be able to still lose weight because I am eating less and better food then before, plus I cut out my 2-3 cans of regular coca cola out of my diet, combined with the exercise I am doing now. I did none before. Am I just rationalizing that it is ok to go over my daily calorie intake?

My stats: 33 years old, 142 lbs, 5'3", Sparks has me at 1200-1550 daily calorie intake.
For last two years weight has stayed the same, with no diet tracking or exercise.