Forums >Health and Nutrition>Upping calories with help of an RD
Whippet
Hi there,
I recently had my metabolic rate measured and went for a consult with a highly respected sports dietician (who seems awesome). I have been looking to drop back down to my racing weight but my metabolism didn't seem to cooperate. Turns out I have a Resting Energy Expenditure of 1550/day, and an intake that was something like 1200 day!!! so I was not meeting my basic calorie needs. Oddly, at first when I upped my calories, my weight dropped...then it suddenly crept back on! Has anyone had experience upping their calories and eventually seen the weight drop off once the body is assured that it is receiving proper nutrition?
13.1: 1:45 | 26.2: 3:55
Dream Maker
My doctor keeps pushing this; can you keep up with how it's working?
I gained 4 lbs in a week...am currently very unhappy with this result.
Best Present Ever
Yeah, well, I have been told the same thing by several nutritionists and it's a very popular idea on various internet sites. Upping my calories causes me to gain weight, even though the numbers say I "should" be burning more than I'm eating. Decreasing them causes me to lose weight (and to be hungry and unhappy). I haven't found any actual science to say that increasing calories causes increased weight loss or that eating too few calories causes weight loss to stop, despite the immense popularity of the idea. I gained about 5 pounds a while back by following the advice of a nutritionist and adding about 300 high quality, whole food calories a day to my diet. They were very hard to lose (though very easy to gain).
mamaofthree- In full disclosure, that is exactly what happened to me in 2008. I was at my ultimate racing weight (110 lean, mean pounds on my fairly small frame). She urged me to incorporate more carbs and I gained to 115 within 4 days. I never lost that weight- I continued to gain despite dropping her suggestions, and eventually saw a different RD who got me to 115. I never got to my racing weight again. Ultimately taking the BCP and hypothyroidism knocked me up to 128, and I am currently 122 with a low of 118. Its quite frustrating although I know these numbers are not high. My metabolic rate if it really is 1500, should be able to handle her suggested 1700/day, but it does not seem to be able to.
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What's a race director have to do with the question? Or does RD mean something else in this thread?
It's a 5k. It hurt like hell...then I tried to pick it up. The end.
Registered Dietician...
(RD=) Registered Dietician...
Thanks.
That sounds really frustrating. I just have a question - are you sure that 110 was not some kind of a fluke in the larger scheme of things? It sounds like your brain was happy at that weight but your body, not so much. Do you read Lauren Fleshman's blog? She has had a couple of q&a's and blog entries on this topic. One of the take-home messages was that "calories in calories out" works for men, but for women it's more complicated because of our hormones/reproductive system (=body designed to hold onto fat). She also had this post on losing weight safely: http://asklaurenfleshman.com/questions/2010/03/21/losing-weight-without-risking-injury/
Harriet- thanks for that article. I spoke to the RD and we agreed to keep this going awhile longer. In the grand scheme of things, I was ignoring that my period is 3 days away. I've been running and not having a lot of cramps like usual, so I haven't really been paying close attention to my body...also my weight has been fluctuating up this whole month...god only knows why, I haven't changed my intake...so really, 1600 = 0.6 lbs of weight gain so far...and it might just be my period. I need patience, grasshopper I'm horrible at patience.
110 wasn't a fluke i, I maintained it for like 8 years. I really think 115 is more where my body wants to be though- back tehn I wasn't running as much.