TypeC Exercise Challenge and Contest

[Udog]

ok thanks. so how many should I be consuming? like how many calories to people need? i've done well this week. *pats back* ooo and NO SODA! but i can't give up coffee. haven't had a cup today and have a headache. :/

First, no soda is an awesome achievement. And if you need to keep coffee for now, then keep coffee for now.

As far as calories, that's always a tricky question because there are so many variables. Here's a site that did a pretty good job matching my calorie needs (I just checked it compared to what I already calculated awhile back).

Calorie Need - Nutrition Guide for Women

How many calories does it recommend?

 

[Haphazard]

No walk today because I was in a toga and that would be too difficult to walk to school in

25 min weight training, and it felt like crap. Probably because I only had about 4 hours of sleep last night?

Calorie counter thingy says with 30 minutes of exercise each day, I should eat 2259.3 and I'll be able to reach my goal weight.

That still seems like a lot...

 

[Udog]

No walk today because I was in a toga and that would be too difficult to walk to school in

25 min weight training, and it felt like crap. Probably because I only had about 4 hours of sleep last night?

4 hours of sleep would certainly make a workout less effective. Working out in a toga may prove difficult as well.

Calorie counter thingy says with 30 minutes of exercise each day, I should eat 2259.3 and I'll be able to reach my goal weight.

That still seems like a lot...

Use the first number - "Calories needed to maintain your weight without exercise". Don't focus on the rest as much. And remember it's just another estimate.

Calorie intake is like Goldilock's porridge: both too many and too few calories will do you no good. You have to figure out what's "just right" for you. It's possible that the number in the website is way too high, but don't simply dismiss it. A number like that has caveats, but it isn't a random number either.

Most people start off with way too few calories, and it makes it difficult for them to lose weight. Or they eat a good number of calories, but eat unhealthy food. 2,000 calories of healthy food is much, much different than 1,250 calories healthy food + 250 calorie soda + 500 calorie bowl of ice cream. You can eat 2,000 calories of food and still be malnourished, and your body can resist using fat when it's in a state of malnourishment.

Here's a breakdown of the calories you use each day:

Physical Energy Expenditure: 25-35%
Resting Energy Expenditure: 60-65%
Energy Increases From Eating Food: 5-10%

The highest use of energy, by a long shot, comes from resting energy expenditure. It's called the basal metabolic rate, and you can estimate yours here.

Most people focus on "physical energy expenditure", but the truth is anything you can do to jack up your resting energy expenditure is what will really make the difference. Exercise requires a time investment. If you can increase your resting metabolic rate, you burn more calories even when you aren't exercising. See how powerful a tool that can be?

I geek out a bit more on the topic in my blog:
Energy balance and losing weight
More on the BMR. (Danger, math content)

 

[Udog]

Cool stuff I found:

365 p

shows a time lapse photographic sequence on a man exercising for 365 days.

Oh - this is an awesome video!

However, I've always found it weird how exercising makes men's chest hair fall out. That's a health hazard/benefit I haven't read too much about, yet.

 

[Haphazard]

Most people focus on "physical energy expenditure", but the truth is anything you can do to jack up your resting energy expenditure is what will really make the difference. Exercise requires a time investment. If you can increase your resting metabolic rate, you burn more calories even when you aren't exercising. See how powerful a tool that can be?

I have definitely noticed this.

The basal rate thingy gave me this: Your basal metabolic rate is 1545 calories per day. Your total energy requirements are 2009 calories per day.

that seems a little better.

 

[Udog]

Yeah. 2000 calories of healthy food is a great place to start for you, I think. Just remember, using junk food to reach the 2,000 calorie mark doesn't count.

 

[Tigerlily]

i totally forgot about the calories i burn just moving around! ok then i should be just fine. i consumed approximately 1700 calories today. i splurged by eating a bowl of cocoa puffs (was out of my "diet" cereal) with chopped banana and skim milk. still, better than a piece of chocolate cake or ice cream. ;P

 

[wolfy]

I trained my lower body.

 

[Haphazard]

Yeah. 2000 calories of healthy food is a great place to start for you, I think. Just remember, using junk food to reach the 2,000 calorie mark doesn't count.

I think you need to give a better example of what's 'healthy.'

 

[EcK]

oh btw guys, since you all seem to be on a diet of sorts, it's important to have a day of the week when you eat more, and i don't mean junk food, i mean more food so that your metabolism doesn't start slowing down.

So if you're on a 1700cal day with training, try a day with a little less training and 2200 cal or something like that.
Well it depends on your metabolism of course, the more of an endomorph you are the more i'd recommand not to over do that off day.

What else could I say, ah yes, don't eat too much meat at once (no more than 200gr) as the body can only process about 20 grams of protein every 1.5 hours. Otherwise, if you're on a low calory diet it will tend to make you feel tired after a while, and you'll confuse this with hunger/low sugar levels and end up eating more.

And remember, you need energy to exercice. You'll lose more weight on the long term and be healthier by eating that extra snack and have a higher metabolism all day round.

 

[Laurie]

Ok just finished my workout. It was pretty funny to be all ready to work out this morning, bike ready, outfit on and have my daughter call and tell me I had to bring her trumpet to school. At least it was a day that I'm not gone all day so I was able to get it done.

That's four for this week, so I need to work out tomorrow to make my 5. It's going to be difficult with getting up at 1am and working for two hours on friday, saturday and sunday morning. I'm going to be so tired by the end of this weekend.

 

[Udog]

I think you need to give a better example of what's 'healthy.'

Unhealthy:
Foods with lots of sugar or refined flours. (Cake, most fruit juices, white bread, candy, etc.)

Some examples of healthy foods - this isn't an all inclusive list:
Veggies. It's hard to go wrong with them. Tomatoes!!!
Fruits. Consider this a "eat freely, but not all the time" food. Calories add up.
Lean proteins such as chicken/turkey breasts and most fish.
Beans. Very nutritious, high in protein, and has healthy fats. These are staples of vegetarian diets, and should be a staple in yours as well.
Whole grains. A good compliment to beans, but be careful not to get carried away with them.

Nuts like almonds, walnuts, cashews, and pecans are healthy, but high in fat. A little bit can go a long way with these.

 

[EcK]

Unhealthy:
Foods with lots of sugar or refined flours. (Cake, most fruit juices, white bread, candy, etc.)

Some examples of healthy foods - this isn't an all inclusive list:
Veggies. It's hard to go wrong with them. Tomatoes!!!
Fruits. Consider this a "eat freely, but not all the time" food. Calories add up.
Lean proteins such as chicken/turkey breasts and most fish.
Beans. Very nutritious, high in protein, and has healthy fats. These are staples of vegetarian diets, and should be a staple in yours as well.
Whole grains. A good compliment to beans, but be careful not to get carried away with them.

Nuts like almonds, walnuts, cashews, and pecans are healthy, but high in fat. A little bit can go a long way with these.

It's also about energy density. High energy dense food are fine before worksout as they are digested fast, but meals should be constituted of low energy density food: low fat meat, fruits, vegs..

 

[EffEmDoubleyou]

I actually did a second workout last night after also having done one in the morning. For some reason, after dinner my body seemed to want it. I felt sluggish and fat, and had a real urge to exercise. I got up and did it again today, so that's 3 workouts in 24 hours! I'll be one over on my workouts this week

 

[Udog]

It's also about energy density. High energy dense food are fine before worksout as they are digested fast, but meals should be constituted of low energy density food: low fat meat, fruits, vegs..

True. The same leniency goes for after a workout as well, when the muscles are like a sponge for glucose.

 

[Haphazard]

Unhealthy:
Foods with lots of sugar or refined flours. (Cake, most fruit juices, white bread, candy, etc.)

Some examples of healthy foods - this isn't an all inclusive list:
Veggies. It's hard to go wrong with them. Tomatoes!!!
Fruits. Consider this a "eat freely, but not all the time" food. Calories add up.
Lean proteins such as chicken/turkey breasts and most fish.
Beans. Very nutritious, high in protein, and has healthy fats. These are staples of vegetarian diets, and should be a staple in yours as well.
Whole grains. A good compliment to beans, but be careful not to get carried away with them.

Nuts like almonds, walnuts, cashews, and pecans are healthy, but high in fat. A little bit can go a long way with these.

What about soybeans? Are they, er, beans?

it's like, foods with dubious health value:

peanut butter
red meat
dairy products

you know, the things I actually eat...

 

[Laurie]

Did someone say cake??

 

[Kyrielle]

Did:

180 jumping jacks
50 sit-ups
15 overhead lifts
14 curls
10 half curls
15 squats

walked the dog

 

[Tigerlily]

still eating well. haven't worked out much this week but i blame getting used to my new eating regime. i wouldn't say i was weak but i'd rather my body get used to a lower calorie diet and start working out next week.

this seems weird to me but i think i overall feel better since i cut the crap and have been sticking to the basics. i guess the saying you are what you eat isn't complete rubbish! also i've had diet coke sitting on the counter all week and haven't touched a drop! had a salad tonight instead of our usual splurge. husband travels so we usually have a nice meal and he expenses it but tonight i opted for a 7 points weight watchers salad on the take out menu.

Did someone say cake??

nooooo!!!!!

 

[kyuuei]

XD Not so motivated today I'm afraid, one workout DVD on level 1. I have a weekend of hardcore cleaning at my shop for the Ren Fest, so plenty of exercise to be had this weekend.