Contrary to popular belief, more isn't always better when it comes to exercising and exercising has a minimal positive effect, at best, when it comes to weight loss. In some people, it can actually slow their metabolism and increase appetite.

I'd read stuff Volek and Phinney have written.

Yah..i dont do it for weight loss though. I do it to stay in shape and i do it for my sanity.

Just curious. Why did you switch to your current program, if the previous one was working?

On not losing like you expect -
I bet it has something to do with your exercise volume and the food you're eating to support that exercise volume.

A combination of too much stress and not enough food.

One stress - a 50% calorie deficit.
You mentioned you like to count calories.
I put your numbers into a calorie calculator assuming age 30, 248, and 5'8".
It's something like 3000 calories a day between "moderately active" and "very active".
So 1500 calories a day is a 50% deficit.
that's pretty big and shown to depress metabolism when combined with...

Daily cardio.
An hour a day doesn't seem that much but maybe for YOUR body at THIS time, it's generating cortisol and inflammation over the top.

Sort of related to the first two:
Are you eating enough protein to get 240 glucose calories a day from protein? or enough fat?
An hour a day of swimming is 600+ calories, of which 240 calories must be glucose (assuming moderate intensity).
Every day.
If you don't eat enough protein or fat, that glucose will be drawn from your muscle lean body mass.
Glucose for glucose-demanding exercise has to come from somewhere.
It's a stressor if your body can't provide the food demanded by your daily swim.

One simple thing you could try is to switch some pool sessions from hour-long swims to HIIT sprints. Or something.

Personally I'd look at your amounts of protein, fat, and carb.
I know athletes can stay uber low carb but for me, I'd just add the carbs to cover your daily workouts. I think it's easier on the liver and metabolism not to make glucose from extra protein. (not to mention expensive ha)

Check out Sisson and "compromises for athletes." and "17 reasons why you're not losing"

Amen.

[QUOTE=Seejay]Just curious. Why did you switch to your current program, if the previous one was working?

On not losing like you expect -
I bet it has something to do with your exercise volume and the food you're eating to support that exercise volume.

A combination of too much stress and not enough food.

One stress - a 50% calorie deficit.
You mentioned you like to count calories.
I put your numbers into a calorie calculator assuming age 30, 248, and 5'8".
It's something like 3000 calories a day between "moderately active" and "very active".
So 1500 calories a day is a 50% deficit.
that's pretty big and shown to depress metabolism when combined with...

Daily cardio.
An hour a day doesn't seem that much but maybe for YOUR body at THIS time, it's generating cortisol and inflammation over the top.

Sort of related to the first two:
Are you eating enough protein to get 240 glucose calories a day from protein? or enough fat?
An hour a day of swimming is 600+ calories, of which 240 calories must be glucose (assuming moderate intensity).


I switched up my low cal plan over to low carb because of a couple reasons:

1- i am very gluten intolerant but i am addicted to eating it..a loaf of bread mine as well be heroin to me.

2- i have a past hx f binge eating but i find i only binge on carbs and sugar

3- though undiagnosed..i think i have somthing like pcos maybe?? Issues with PMS and hormone imbalance.

4- i was told by my dr that i have non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and a low carb diet is said to be beneficial vs low calorie. It has potential to shrink the size of the liver.

All of those combined made me want to try low carb. Honestly, i saw a dr who made me try it when i was 16. I was too immature and young to be on a diet at that point. I never gave it a good shot and back then..there was no sugar free anythings in the grocery store..

BTW..im 6ft 0 and weigh 230 lbs... Now i would be curious about your calculations given my information. Like i said..im averaging between 1200-1500 cals and swim 6-7 x a week for an hour at a vigerous pace..so how many cals should i be eating????? and carbs? I cut out the polyols like others suggested and cut out the salted almonds and uppd my net carb count to 30 for three days by adding a 1/2 serving of root veg and i guess somthing i didworedcause my scale dropped another 2.8 pounds.

That's fantastic news, Pothardy.

With your health history, very low carb is better than worrying about the glucose needed for exercise. Eat enough protein for gluconeogenesis, and enough fat to support your caloric needs (along with body fat), and you won't rob muscle for the gluconeogenesis.

The absolute needs for carbs has not been established; most of the research has been done on insulin adapted, not ketone adapted athletes, so is pretty meaningless for us.

If you are interested, look up Sami Inkinen. He's a Finnish athlete who was developing health issues from his carbo loading diet, and switched to low carb. It greatly improved his performance in the extreme endurance sports in which he specializes.

You do mention that you have had health issues. One of the truisms about low carb is that, if you are basically unhealthy when you start, it's completely normal not to lose at first, as your body first heals, then loses.

I commend your commitment to both your physical and mental health with your way of eating and your swimming.

Nearly three decades ago, I spent many hours in the water, too, lapping out the frustration and anger at the behavior of my ex during our divorce proceedings. I still remember that feeling of absolute peace, for the time I was in the pool. If you are going through stressful times, I really understand why you don't want to give that up!

It really is a lifesaver and my peace.. I find so much peace in he moment when doing it!

Agree with this mostly, except with a history of binge/restriction, undereating can just start a hormonal cascade that just craps things up and is the opposite of what you want.

Here's a calorie calculator that uses the Houghton-Miffin equation, one of the best.
Calorie calculator
According to that one, your calorie needs are around 3200 per day.
Even a 30% reduction would be 2200 a day.

One thing - all those calculators have been done based on carb eaters. Low carb folks can shoot for lower calories (Mark Sisson reports his calories are 10-15% lower on low carb).
So reduce another 10% because you're low carb, that would be 2000 a day.

Only you can say how many carbs, protein, and fat for you.

Do you have a tracker you use?
You can put in some food and play "what if." I do that all the time with Fitday.

For example, you could use the macro breakdowns some people use (not me)
5% carbs = 25 g
70% fat = 223 g
25% protein = 125 g

But if I were in your shoes, or flippers ha ha, I would vary the exercise so as not to do hard aerobics every single day.
It has consequences on your hormones and metabolism.
I'd do a mix of sprinting, lifting heavy, and easy movement.

In the water you could mix sprinting hard & fast and easier stuff right?
Or is it the long and hard that you're using for mood control?