I need HOW many calories a day?! *long*

Okay. I'm a very active mama. I'm very proud of my figure, as I've put a lot of work into it over the years, especially after having my three kids. I work out 7 days a week for at least 30 minutes every other day and around 60 on the other days. I feel great physically, and I'm happy with my results.

Anyway, my SIL and I were talking the other day, and she goes to a gym to work out 3 days a week, has a personal trainer, and had a "diet" plan worked up for her. She is currently on a 1300 calorie a day diet. Not that she needs to lose weight, I think she looks really good, but she's really unhappy with how long it's taken her to lose the baby weight after her second child. So she's trying to shed some pounds/inches.

When I looked at her diet plan, I couldn't believe how much she has to eat daily. I was shocked! And it was only 1300 calories, which was mind boggling to me.

After looking at her plan, I decided to adapt some of the eating recommendations on it, see if I noticed anything (loss or gain). So at the moment, I'm *trying* to eat 3 meals a day plus 2 snacks (although on her plan it recommends 3 snacks).

I then did some research on my own, and was shocked to find out that as active as I am my daily recommended calorie intake in order to maintain my weight is around 2178! I'm like, what in the heck?! How can that be?! Wouldn't I get huge?

I have no idea as to what my daily calorie intake is at the moment, I tend to count fat grams moreso than calories, whether that's good or bad. But I know I am nowhere near that calorie amount, and heck, I almost question if I'm even at a decent range for the level of activity I engage in. Like, am I negatively counteracting my work outs by not having enough fuel so to speak? I've thought I've been pretty good at the amount I eat daily, the foods I consume. I'm big on protein, so I know I definitely don't lack there. I watch carbs, but not ridiculously so. I'm really into veggies. Fruits, not as much, although I have been making fruit smoothies a lot more recently.

And the other thing is, I've definitely lost inches over the past several months. But pound wise, I'm still a few more than I was several years back. My SIL claims it could be muscle weight, but...it still kind of bothers me, even though I actually wear a size smaller than I did when I weighed a little less. Hmmm.

So okay, I've rambled a ton. Let me get to my point. From what I've been researching, if I'm not eating enough in a day, it can make my metabolism more sluggish, right? That my body will hang onto things (fats) moreso than if I was eating the correct amount.

But what my concern is, won't upping my daily caloric intake result in weight gain? That's what my main concern is. I put a lot of effort into my body and it's maintence so to speak, and I don't want to sabatoge it!

So what's the deal? Part of me has been considering setting up a consult with a dietician, just to get a work-up done. I want the most out of my work-outs, and I want to keep my metabolism running at it's highest.

Opinions? Experiences? Suggestions?

 

Being that I don't know any of your stats (mainly your weight), its hard to give you an estimate for your maintenance calories...but its real easy to do. for an estimate, 14-16 calories/lb of bodyweight would be around your daily maintenance calorie expenditure.

now a moderate calorie deficit would put those numbers down to 11-13 calories/lb of BW.

now, remember, this is all based on estimates, so real world numbers will have to be adjusted based on the results you are having.

for you, i would start with 14 cals/lb of BW to see how close that is to your maintenance. you may lose weight on that based on activity you do, you may gain weight as well.

now to your question: if you are chronically eating under maintenance, and with your activity levels it may slow your metabolism down a bit - i really wouldn't worry about that with you...when dieting, protein needs to be a priority - you said you were on top of that, but just to make it clear, you should be getting 1-1.5g/lb of BW in protein (say you weight 125lbs - you would get at least 125g of protein). carbs aren't bad, some people tolerate them better than others. fats, now you do want to eat omega 3s. fats are 9 calories/gram, which is a bit more than double that of protein (4 cal/gram) and carbs (4 cal/gram). once you know you can reach your protein needs - which will allow your body to not use muscle as fuel when dieting - which is also important for females in particular for many reasons - then you can fiddle around with your carbs and fats and see how your body responds.

if you are weighing the same, but wearing smalled sized clothes, then you've had some muscle growth, so i wouldn't be concerned with that. i don't think you are undermining your workouts (thats just a guess, i have no idea what your workouts consist of)...but if you want, you can include a pre/post workout meal. if you are wanting ot be careful with the carbs, i would time them to be around or after your workout.

enough of me rambling -
some things you can do in the next week or 2 are:
-getting an accurate account of what you are eating while tracking the total calories and total macro nutrient values (total amount of protein, carbs, fat)
-do your maintenance estimate, weigh yourself daily (same time each day - do the same routine before you weigh yourself)
-if possible, take your temperature when you wake up every day for this whole period of time
-how much water are you drinking a day?

 

I knew you'd be a help fitzy!

Thanks for all the info!

As far as water intake goes, I've upped it again recently. I would say I'm at around 128 oz. a day or so. The glass I tend to drink from holds 16 oz. and I refill it at least 8 times a day or more (although some days slightly less).

I had not been drinking as much the past few months due to the cold. I've always been that way, winter months my H2O consumption drops, but I've made it a point to start drinking more again.

 

glad to see you have upped your water intake...its really important in the cold weather to do so...more so when its a dry cold, hydration becomes real important because its hard ot know how much water you are losing

i'm more than happy to help, just let me know everything goes

 

Thanks sweetie. You 'da man.