I'd really appreciate some input on this... I have asked my doctor who tells me not to worry about this, that she's monitoring me, and all is well. But. I do NOT want to screw up my metabolism or some such thing. So any input at all is appreciated.

I am following a doctor-monitored low carb, low fat program. Right now I am limited basically to proteins, green veggies. No dairy, no tomatoes/carrots, etc. Foods will be added in slowly - so my calories will be able to be increased, just slowly...

My typical meal plan includes 6 meals spread evenly throughout the day. I eat 3-4oz protein with each meal, and then a giant salad, or 2 cups of spinach cooked, etc. My calorie range is fairly low, but I can usually - playing with the type of protein (i.e. salmon or beef with high calories due to their higher fat) I can bump it to 1200 calories.

If my reading is correct, 1200 calories is the minimum I should be eating.

The problem ? I need to exercise. Not just for weight loss. I NEED to exercise. It's the only way I can cope with a somewhat stressful life right now. When I don't exercise, my depression acts up, I don't sleep as well, my attitude on life goes down, my energy decreases, etc. My doctor says to walk 30 minutes a day 3 times a week. Nice ... but that's not what my body needs.

Right now my workout program is like this:

Monday - Morning - 45 min upper body strength, 30 min cardio (treadmill). Evening - 1 hr cardio (bike)

Tuesday - Morning - 45 min lower body strength, 30 min cardio (treadmill). Evening - 1hr cardio (bike)

Wednesday - Morning - 1 hr cardio (bike) - Evening - kickboxing class

Thursday - Morning - 45 min upper body strength, 30 min cardio (treadmill). Evening - 1 hr cardio (bike)

Friday, Saturday, Sundays - I do a minimum of 1 hour of cardio each day, aiming for 2. I'd say I do 2 hrs per day on 2 days out of the 3.


Seems like alot, apparently. But as I said - the mental, physical, emotional difference it makes in me makes it so important. The weight loss that hopefully comes with it is a side benefit.


While I am only eating 1200 calories - admittedly some less than that - for whatever reason I am not tired out by this. In otherwords I have more energy than ever before. And yes, this has been going on for well over 2 months, maybe 3 or 4. I did go off LC'ing earlier this year for ~3-4 months due to an overwhelming stress level (stupidly), and thus the slow down in weight loss. But the exercising continued.

If I can make myself eat more to up the calories, I will - but if I stay with my current food selection for another month, it will be incredibly difficult. So, will staying at 1200 calories or thereabouts end up screwing up my metabolism more ? Or am I doing okay because I am faithfully feeding my body every 3 hours without fail ?

TIA !

Shan

Exercise is futile for fat loss. It may help you otherwise though. Such as for stress relief as you've noticed. Or becoming stronger or faster or more agile and stuff like that. But for fat loss, not going to happen.

In my opinion, you are eating too little. Don't go hungry. Cut the carbs. Increase the fat. Keep the protein adequate. Prefer whole foods. Limit processed foods. Eat to satisfaction. There is no reason to cut the fat if you already cut the carbs. If you cut both carbs and fat, you just end up using protein for fuel. That's detrimental, if you ask me. I wouldn't want to use up my muscles just for that. I'd rather use anything else but that. Fat is the best fuel anyway.

If you use protein for fuel, it's about 50% efficient. Fat is twice as dense as protein in calories. So, you'd need to eat four times as much protein to take care of your fuel requirements. It's a waste and you probably can't eat that much protein anyway. Especially not on such a low carlorie diet as you are eating right now. Stick to fat, preferably animal fat, it's the best fuel for the job.

Hi Shan,

I love exercise too, the endorphins are amazing for total health. What are your maintenance calories? In other words, how many calories do you normally eat with no gain or loss? Just at a glance it seems you are doing al lot of cardio. 2 hours is a lot and on 1200 calories definitely too huge of a deficit. That'll mess with your metabolism for sure. You should refeed the body to reset your metabolism (i.e. refeeds, cheat meals), diet breaks. I am on "diet break" at the moment, still low carb but not cutting cals to the extreme. Check out the link under my signature. It's my trainer's info and she has some great articles regarding some of the questions you are asking. Hope that helps.

Just to reemphasize what Flawless and Levac stated..you must increase your fat. cardinal rule, if you lower carbs you must raise your fat..protein should stay constant or increased a tad.

Usually when studies are done on weight loss, 2,000 is the base..then it is reduced accordingly. The lowest I have seen is 1,800 for over a 3 month period. I'm sure there are studies done with a lower calorie consumption, but I believe you are way low.

Plus you are doing to much cardio..do more weight lifting and do your cardio 3 times a week for no more than a 1/2 hour. Do as much work as you can in the shortest amount of time..beat the clock, work very hard..you may find that 15 minutes is plenty if you are indeed working out hard.

Plus the longer I do this, the less I am for meals "every 3 hours" ..is it really necessary, and it does tend to be a pain in the butt.