Calculating calories burned v carbs ingested

[GayClarke]

Hi All :wave:

I've done pretty well with calorie counting so far. I've lost 25 lb from 166 to 141 and I'm aiming at another 15.

I'm into nutrition BIG time since coming off a load of meds for a vast number of medical problems, including high BP, high cholesterol on and so on. Everthing is under control now. I count and record everything. I weigh every day, including fat and water %, check BP & cholesterol daily (just until I'm sure I understand what puts it up and vice versa).

As you can see, I'm a bit of a control freak where my new found health is concerned. I'm 53 btw. A couple of days ago I graphed my weight loss against my fat % and found that it's only the last few weeks my fat % has dropped much, before that I was burning too much lean. My cholesterol is improving all the time in response to tweaking my diet. I am doing well on lower carbs which I think is the reason the fat has started to come off, but my carbs are not low enough to call it a low carb diet - YET!

The last couple of days I've dropped to about 45 g Sunday, 60 gram today. I was aiming at less but I exercise. I also have CFS and I sometimes burn more calories than expected which complicates things.

So here's my question. :help:

If I eat 60g of carbs, that equates to 240 calories. That's not much if I burn 500-1000 calories per day through exercise.

I was eating about 130g a day - this dropped to 100g over the last couple of months which is when I dropped noticeably more fat.

I'd like to get really going over the next couple of weeks before my holidays. I usually lose 1lb a week but I'd like to drop 2lb a week, ie from 141 to 137 before I go. However I'm a little wary of dropping my carbs so low if I'm burning so many calories with exercise.

Any comments?

[Shazzer]

Hello. Congrats on the success so far. It seems your regimented plan of gradually overcoming carbs and reducing them from your diet is doing the trick for you. Eventually I suggset finding a low carb level you can handle. Since you are active, you may be able to sustain a higher carb level than a lot of other people. But since you don't have too much weight to lose, you may find that the last 15 pounds will be much harder.

On to calories. Calories in do not exactly equal calories out because your body gets more out of fat and protein than it does carbs. Carbs that are not directly used for energy are stored as fat. So if you are eating 240 calories of carbs, what you burn in exercise isn't necessarily first and foremost the carbs. This is why counting calories can be problematic. It is more important in the long run to get to a stage where you are counting carbs, protein, and fat.

I suggest (if you have not already done so) reading Dr. Atkins' New Diet Revolution. It contains a lot of helpful information on these issues.

Hope this helps.

[Dodger]

As you do a lot of exercise, it is important to know the effects of low-carbing on exercise,

The article found at http://www.nutritionandmetabolism.com/content/1/1/2 reviews what can cause problems and how to avoid them. The important points are:

1. Adaption - it can take 3 to 4 weeks for the body to fully adjust to using less glucose.

2. Electrolytes - you must keep your levels of sodium (3 to 5 gm per day) and potassium (2 to 3 gm per day) up.

3. Protein - get at least 1.5 grams of protein for each kg of body weight per day. (That would put you at about 100 grams per day)

[GayClarke]

... your body gets more out of fat and protein than it does carbs.
Thank you Shazzer and Mike.

Shazzer could I ask you to clarify what you meant by the above statement. I thought fats was 9 cals per gram and carbs and protein 4 cals?

Mike, My little stick showed pink this morning after cutting back since Sunday. I will be thinking carefully about the level of carbs as regards exercise. I do monitor my food so it's easy to cover all nutrients and I pay particular attention to salt and potassium anyway because of previous hypertion issues.

My carb intake is around 40-50g and this seems to be low enough to induce ketosis.

I have a another question.

I will be going away 26th July for a week when I will almost certainly increase carbs to some extent, mainly with salad in an evening meal. I will still exercise every day. Is it a little pointless for me to be doing this now if I have doubts about whether I can stay in ketosis while I'm on holiday?

I don't mind doing extra cardio, weights or swimming to burn calories. One of the few benefits of having CFS is that calories burn quickly but as long as I get lots of rest as well, I don't relapse. Holiday is a brilliant time to do more than I could otherwise manage.

What do you think? Can I stay in ketosis if I up my carbs to 100g for example, but burn an extra 200 calories to balance it?

Gay

[Dodger]

I wouldn't increase the carb count too much. The article I cited above says This adaptation process also appears to require consistent adherence to carbohydrate restriction, as people who intermittently consume carbohydrates while attempting a ketogenic diet report subjectively reduced exercise tolerance.
Keeping in ketoses isn't as important as controlling the insulin level. If you do add more carbs, try to spread them out during the day, rather than adding them all at once.

Enjoy your trip!

[GayClarke]

Thanks Mike :sunny: