My Banded Time

Friday, April 8, 2011

It's a Numbers Game: Who Counts Calories? I do...

After my band surgery,  I had an immediate weight loss and then it stabilized and tapered...and I asked why...I was eating a lot more healthfully and much less than before the band.  I kept with the 3 cups of high quality food, less sugar.  But as I started tracking on myfitnesspal.com and started analyzing my habits, I realize that my body needs less kcals that the prescribed 1200kcals recommended.  To lose weight I need to sustain a net kcal intake of about 1000kcal to lose 1-2 lbs per week...more if I'm exercising.  I'm not trying to be eating disorderish or controversial...The band has just caused me to take a more personalized look at my body, my diet and my bodies requirements.  One body is not the same as the next.  Each body and lifestyle is so unique.  For instance:

1)  Job-my job and lifestyle is not strenuous, most of the time I'm on the phone, reading documents, writing documents or I'm sitting in meetings.  This is different from a stay at home mom who is constantly on the go, running outside errands...or a postman who walks a route of 15 miles during the day.

2)  Thyroid-I had a majority of it removed in December.  I'm stabilizing my levels through medication.  I feel as though my body is adjusting.

3)  Age-I'm almost 47...as you get older, you need less calories for a variety of reasons.
 
4)  Muscle Mass- I think I've lost a lot of since having babies...I'm trying to gain more muscle via strength training.

When I talk about 1000kcal, I'm talking about protein rich and healthy foods.

Thanks for listening!

8 comments:

  1. I have a really hard time counting calories! Or tracking my food period. Maybe once we get moved and settled I will make a better attempt at doing this, mmaking it a priority. Thanks for sharing!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I think you're doing exactly the right thing - taking into account the specifics of your body and your lifestyle. I'm just starting really trying to count my calories - more to figure out what's going so I can have a good, well informed, plan going forward. Great post.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I totally count calories and protein grams.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I am a non-counter. I think different people with different needs and personalities need different methods. I get all angsty and tense with the idea of a return to my horrific calorie counting days.

    Instead I really listen to my hunger and stop when my stomach says I should (well try to anyway). When the scale stops I think about what I am doing to cause this and then analyze what I need to do to get it moving or not moving (if maintaining) again. I have great weeks and not so great weeks.

    This worked very well for my weight-loss phase. I am still perfecting maintenance. I am not happy with the way the scale moves around.

    xxxooo

    ReplyDelete
  5. I so wanna check my thyroid - I swear it's outta whack.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Thank you for your very kind comments on my blog!

    I definitely count calories and protein. I make sure to not go over 1200 cals even when I exercise and I have a min of 60 protein grams a day. I lose better with the more protein I eat.

    ReplyDelete
  7. I only count when I'm struggling to see where I'm messing up. However, I think it's important to know how much you can eat and still lose. I mean, every body is different so it only makes sense to track once in awhile to see how your body metabolizes the food. Great post!

    ReplyDelete