Need some advice PLEASE!

N

newborn1

New member
Okay I am diabetic type 2 and I have high cholesterol. My diabetes is controlled but not my cholesterol. Any how, I am in a low carb \ low calorie diet. I exercise about five days out of the week with a mixture of weight training, cardio, boxing, and abdominal workout. I used to last 2 - 3 hours when I used to go to the gym late last year but then I would eat whatever (no diet). I stopped going to the gym and I still do all those activities at home, but with this low carb \ low calorie diet, I can only last close to an hour give or take 25 minutes are for cardio before I give out.

Can any one recommend anything to help me get back in the game like I used to. I don't know if I need more calories or something. I am 165 and 5"4. I actually lost 6 lbs since Dec'07 and gained very noticeable muscle since then. I know I would have lost more weight if I hadn't been focusing on muscle mass. I still want to burn fat and loose weight if possible as I still have noticeable love handles. Thanks in advance for any ideas or suggestions you may give and if you need more details of my daily routine to make a better suggestion, please do ask.

newborn
 
Why are you on a low calorie AND low carb diet?

As long as you can balance your calories taken in with calories burned, you will lose weight. Here is a post I made in another thread... I am by far not an expert, but this is vital knowledge:

As long as you are following the guidelines of calories in and calories out, a long with routine exercise and some strength training, you will lose weight. is a link to a BMR calculator. Input your stats. The number that it gives you is the required calories you need to maintain your weight if you stayed in bed all day. But, if you're like 99% of people, you don't stay in bed all day.

Here is the Harris Benedict formula:



Harris Benedict Formula
To determine your total daily calorie needs, multiply your BMR by the appropriate activity factor, as follows:


If you are sedentary (little or no exercise) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.2
If you are lightly active (light exercise/sports 1-3 days/week) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.375
If you are moderatetely active (moderate exercise/sports 3-5 days/week) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.55
If you are very active (hard exercise/sports 6-7 days a week) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.725
If you are extra active (very hard exercise/sports & physical job or 2x training) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.9

So basically, take the BMR that you got, and multiply it by the number that BEST REFLECTS your lifestyle. For example, if your BMR was 1700, and you are moderately active, multiply 1700 by 1.55 = 2,635 calories in order to maintain your weight.

A good idea is to subtract 500 calories from your maintience weight. This will give you a weight loss of 1 pound per week. So if that were my, I would eat 2100 calories and lose a pounder a week.
Click to expand...

Hopefully that is made clear! There is roughly 3500 calories in a pound of fat, so in order to lose weight, cutting 500 calories a day will give you a pound per week weight loss. The more you exercise with a combination of healthy eating, the easier it will be. Try not to go for more than 2-3 pounds a week of weight loss, though.

As far as low-carb thing, as long as you are heating the good carb's, like whole grain breads and other cereals, not white breads and "empty" carbs in sugary things - and as long as you are keeping track of your calories - you will lose weight. is a free website which offers a VERY handy way to track calories and where you calories are coming from during the day, and its free free free :D It's a great way to start your journey.

Again, I hope that helps, and there are plenty of very knowledgeable people around the forums that will answer your questions if you need any!

EDIT: Oh, and the nutrition section of this forum has some very handy knowledge about nutrients and carbs and all the professional stuff I have no clue about.. they are in the stickies at the top.
 
Thanks for all the info. According to one of the links, I have a BMR of 1723.15, calories I need daily is 2671 and that times 20% is 2136 or so which is only 535 calories under my requirement. I think my goal would be good to be at 2000 calories a day, being around 671 calories under my requirement and to loose weight. Oh and I have a low carb diet for maintaining my diabetes glucose levels down. I have the low calorie diet part to lower intake of high calorie foods that are high in fat and other non-essential stuff. I now see that with that BMR, I need to higher my calories.

I eat a lot of whole grain cereals, whole wheat bread (lite), no high carb foods, only egg whites, fat free stuff like milk, and others are low fat low calorie yogart, chicken, turkey etc. Everything is baked, boiled, or roasted, though if I do fry anything (unbreaded stuff of course) it would be with extra virgin olive oil. I stay away from red meat since its high in cholesterol and fat but I do eat fish though especially salmon, tilapia, and mahi-mahi.

newborn
 
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newborn said:
Thanks for all the info. According to one of the links, I have a BMR of 1723.15, calories I need daily is 2671 and that times 20% is 2136 or so which is only 535 calories under my requirement. I think my goal would be good to be at 2000 calories a day, being around 671 calories under my requirement and to loose weight. Oh and I have a low carb diet for maintaining my diabetes glucose levels down. I have the low calorie diet part to lower intake of high calorie foods that are high in fat and other non-essential stuff. I now see that with that BMR, I need to higher my calories.

I eat a lot of whole grain cereals, whole wheat bread (lite), no high carb foods, only egg whites, fat free stuff like milk, and others are low fat low calorie yogart, chicken, turkey etc. I stay away from red meat since its high in cholesterol and fat though that is probably a good source of protein that I ain't getting. I do eat fish though especially salmon, tilapia, and mahi-mahi.

newborn
Click to expand...

Hey, no problem. Again, I don't know half as much as some people, so they will be around to answer your questions :)

Good luck :D
 
Actually I bought the fitday pc version and it did all that calculations for me. It stated that I need:

Restricted calorie daily - 866
Burned calorie daily - 2556
Estimated calorie eaten - 1690

So there you have it, I need to only eat 1690 calories per day to loose my goal of 25 lbs (estimated). Is that reasonable? Anyone?

newborn
 
So if I am reading that right, you burn a total of 2,550 a day by Basal/Activities/lifestyle, so you consume 1,690 to create deficite of 866?

Sounds like shooting for 1700 calories a day is the right idea. 866 is a semi-large deficit, it will give you close to 2 pounds per week in fact, so as long as it works for you and you feel you can maintain it, then go for it :D
 
I don't understand this but maybe someone else can help. This is what I have so far and I think this program is telling me I am not getting enough calories with what I am eating. I might be eating too much carbs and I thought I was right, hmm but maybe good as carbs is suppose to be at least 60% oh and protein is a bit high at 50 g already and haven't had dinner.. Also any recommendations on high calorie food that is healthy so I can start jamming it in somewhere and replace one of my meals?

newborn
 
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Wait, is this chart for an entire day or for your day so far?

If it is your day so far, don't over sweat the small stuff - simply aim for your reccomended calories. As long as you know how many calories you need daily, the rest is entirely up to you. Obviously, that is not an invite to fill your day with cookies and cake for the missing calories, but I'm sure you can think of some stuff that will help you you throughout the day. I understand completely what you are saying, but at the same time, it's not difficult - just eat more balanced meals, it's not something you need to overthink everyday. If you end up being concerned everyday about what you are eating and what you aren't and what you are missing and what you are filling up on, you are just going to burn yourself out... just go with it! Eat for your calorie goal without a lot of crap food. Once you are in the swing of things with your diet plan, then you can tweak parts of it. Just focus on your calorie needs for now without crappy food.

Thats about the extent of my knowledge :p Check out the nutrition section of the forum for more tips.

If the chart is for the entire day (I don't think it is but I'm not sure?), you need at LEAST 1500 calories every day.

Hope that helps..
 
This chart is for part of my day so far. Still got dinner and a snack left. I go through the day like this, breakfast, then lunch, then snack, then dinner, then another snack. That is five meals. My calorie burn went up because I added my exercise to it, so now calorie burn is up in the 3,102, but I am lost now.

UPDATE
I have done with all my food intake for today and my final calorie intake was around 1,211 give or take. That is way off my goal don't you think? Also, seems all this time I was wrong saying low carb low fat diet, since by what this shows, its around 50 % Carbs, 25 % Protein, and 25% Fat. I found this, but don't know how accurate it is:

Diabetes and Carbohydrates
Best Diet For Diabetics

* Its calorie content should promote a healthy weight
* Its carbohydrate content may amount to 45-55 percent of total calories
* The best type of carbohydrates for diabetics are low-GI carbs - that is, those with a lower GI value on the Glycemic Index
* The diet should include 25-30 grams of daily dietary fiber (the indigestible type of carbohydrate) - both soluble and insoluble
* Carb sugars need not be avoided, but sugar-intake should be regulated by energy needs

I on the other hand an on 50% Carb and also just a little under the fiber regulation at 23 grams. So I think I am good!

newborn
 
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