I've struggled for two years to gain back the weight that I lost while breastfeeding my DD. I'm almost there (only 4 more pounds! Yay!) My question is... I had no problem before because I wasn't working out. Now that I've started working out again, I'm afraid that I'm burning too many calories.I'm only doing 15 minute workouts and more toning excersizes vs. cardio. I don't want to lose even an ounce of weight, so I need to know how many calories I should be consuming. I got down to 90lbs at one point and I have gained back almost 15, so that's great. I'm scheduled to talk with the doc on the 14th, but was wondering if you ladies know of a website that I can use to keep track of my calories burned vs. taken in, etc. I know I can't be the only one with this problem.
I eat healthy, balanced meals and I take prenatals (dr. orders but not preggers), b-12, magnesium and iron in case that matters.
are your diamond shoes also too tight as well?
sorry i couldnt resist,
try adding more healthy but yet fatty foods to your diet, macadamia nuts, avocados, things like this, make your diet rich in full fiber carbohydrates. Good fats and complex carbs will pack on the lbs. Limit your work out routine to a healthy 20 minutes a day, strictly for heart rate maintenance and muscle training.
Spark People lets you track a lot, nutrition, workouts, etc. It would be a good place, plus lots of good info, forums and support.
Keep in mind, muscle weighs more than fat so building muscle will help. I have always been a light weight...not until I was in my 30s and after my 3rd child did I weigh over 100 lbs. Weight training has really helped and I feel great at 44!!
Get something like a body bugg. I know they are expensive but they will tell you your daily caloric output so you know exactly how many calories to consume to keep from losing any of that weight.
Well fist I have to ask if you are underweight to begin with? I mean 90 pounds is thin but how tall are you? Cause that makes a big difference on what is a healthy weight for you. Like I am 5'3 and when I was at my thinnest (i'm 6 months pregnant now so totally not underweight LOL) I was 107 and most charts said 107 and above was healthy for my height and age. So if you've gained 15 your what? 105. If you are shorter than me then your fine. But yeah if your taller then your are still under weight. so just keep adding in a little more calories each day until you reach your goal weight. You have to eat 3,500 calories in a day in order to gain a pound. So just make sure you eat that.
Diet. Go for periods of time without eating, or eating half of what you ordinarily eat. Then BINGE. (not bulemia type binging, do NOT NOT NOT stuff yourself, but eat rich nutrient rich foods at odd times or only 3 meals a day with the heavy one being the last one before bed, instead of the healthy way of eating 5-6 small meals a day, and then start eating healthy amounts 5-6 times a day). Diet typically about 4 times per year. Diet for a 2 weeks - 1 month, binge for a couple weeks, eat healthily (not dieting) for 3. The dieting that most people do to LOSE weight is what triggers your body to hoard calories. In the beginning of dieting you lose weight, but then the weight stacks itself on like crazy. Eating almost constantly, otoh, while working out, and you'll gain weight to begin with, but then your body will start releasing calories like crazy. If you trick your body into going into "starvation mode" you can pack on weight like crazy.
ALSO follow weightlifter guides. EAT A TON OF PROTEIN right after working out. My husband does 4,000 calorie shakes right after lifting (so gross... protein powder, icecream, and peanut butter... makes me want to gag. Sometimes he'll add in chocolate syrup, too. Ugh). When you get a sudden influx of protein after tearing muscle your body shunts those amino acids straight to the muscles. You get stronger and more stamina a lot faster. It doesn't matter whether you're doing weight lifting (to pack on muscle) or aerobic exercise/yoga (to pack on muscle)... whether you're going for bulk or strong clean lines... the protein and calories right after spending is *exactly* what bodies need. I joke and think of it as "hunt your prey and eat it".
As an overweight anorexic (yah yah I should be happy about the added weight, I'm not), TRUST ME, gaining and losing has sooooo much more to do with nutrition and eating patterns over time than daily calorie intake. Calories are just a SMALL piece of the puzzle. At one point I was eating a max of 400 calories a day while hiking 10 miles AND dancing for 6 hours every day. And gaining weight. (can we say "murdered metabolism"?). It's taken YEARS of making sure that my intake/expenditure is as equal as possible to even be able to be healthy again / allow my body to send nutrients where they belong.
Also, as an anorexic (myself, I have no idea if you are, how could I? Lots of people are underweight and NOT anorexic), work with your doctor/nutritionist and DON'T do anything ANYONE SAYS (including me!:) without running over the science behind it *for your particular case* with them!!! Horror story, I *listened* to someone telling me I needed to up my exercise when I was finally gaining, and had a heart attack because my heart hadn't healed enough yet. Later on, that advice was dead on accurate, but in my case... I hadn't healed enough yet from being too low.
