How many calories a day?

[MedChic]

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Ok, so I'm realizing that with an insane amount of studying, late night hours, and lack of sleep I've started to consume more meals and snacks. I work out 3 times a week but first year has already made me put on some weight. So I was wondering if any of you guys

1.) count calories?

2.) how many calories do you consume a day? (are you male or female?)

I work out 3 x a week but sitting and studying in the remaining hrs of my day leaves me hungry so I snack. And I know, I should eat healthy etc etc, but sometimes you just can't.

 

[coldweatherblue]

ya I won't lie my daily schedule in med school is a lot less conducive to exercise than before (when I was working/walking around 12hrs/day).

I do NOT count calories, because I am lazy.

I do, however, randomly make it a point to know the caloric content of pretty much everything I eat. So subconsciously I can let myself know when I'm being fat and lazy.

Basically I slap my wrist when eating fatty crappy foods and make it a point to be crazy about exercising; surfing skateboarding soccer running etc. Hopefully it all evens out in the end. if not more substantial means may be necessary....

 

[ZagDoc]

Don't count calories personally. Not disciplined enough when it comes to food. But the two things I try to take in a lot of are fiber and veggies. Fill ya up without the excess calories. Stick to chicken and fish when I eat out. Brown rice, never white. That sort of thing. That combined with running 15-20 miles a week and the gym 1-2x a week does me alright.

The biggest thing for me was what you said, cutting out the snacks. I study away from home, coffeeshops and the like, so I don't eat all the time when I study. It's done well for my snacking, but not so much for my coffee intake.

 

[SoCuteMD]

I counted calories before med school. Gave it up shortly before I started, though.

The key to me not gaining weight during preclinical years (I lost some, and actually got TOO skinny for a short time) was that I never let myself snack idly. If I was eating, that's ALL I was doing. It kept me from overeating.

 

[mmmcdowe]

My junior year of college I gained like 30 pounds because of a buttload of courses and a research position. It wasn't the lack of excercise that did me it, but my choice of food. I was eating a lot of pasta because it was quick to cook. Having switched to a lot of grains (rice/cous cous) and fish, the weight has come off pretty quick. I favor cous cous for a busy schedule, because it takes 5 mins to make.

 

[MedChic]

hmm ok,

how much would be ideal then? is 1800 too much for a minimally active fem?

I know not according to those biochem charts but ideally in order to not gain weight?

I've been trying to stick to 1400 but that's not working...maybe I should just stop counting bc it's getting to be a hassle

gah, it's like studying brings out the snack monster in me

 

[M41]

Hey there,

I think I remember hearing the average daily caloric intake of your average female should be close to 1600...but it all depends on your height, weight, and how active you are. There are online calculators to help you figure out around how many calories you burn by just being alive there are others like this one http://walking.about.com/cs/calories/l/blcalcalc.htm that will tell you approx how many your burn a day. Hopefully that will help you figure out about what you want to intake if you are trying to lose weight, then you just need to keep track of what you are taking in. Good luck!

 

[sparkleflower]

1400 calories might be ok, unless you're 4'3 or 6'5 ;-) How tall are you?

I'm not a student, but I work some crazy hours. I definitely eat more when I'm tired, so I'll share what has helped me. You can still snack; just change what/how you eat. Lowfat popcorn is a great snack--takes a while to eat, relatively few calories, and it's filling. Carrots, celery, fruit. High fiber snack bars, like Gnu bars--12g fiber, 130 calories. If you drink soda, switch to diet soda, water or tea. Cut back/eliminate alcohol.

That said, it's not as exciting or sexy as some of the trendy diets, but in the end, studies show calorie counting works best. Keep a food journal. It's kind of a pain, but it works. If you have an iPhone, there are some great apps that can help. Good luck!

 

[masterofmonkeys]

Caloric intake should be done on an individual basis. It's really not as simple as a chart.

Homeostasis is another factor to consider. Once upon a time, even though I was eating well over 2500 calories, I wasn't getting enough carbs at important times (i.e. breakfast and pre-workout). Consequently I was actually PUTTING FAT ON. Adding breakfast and pre-workout carbs to the 2500 calories I was already eating resulted in dropping fat. Nothing in my workouts changed. I was eating more than I had before.

Your body doesn't want to die. If it senses that you're starving, it's going to try to drop your BMR and put you in a more lipogenic state. This is the same reason that steady state cardio for long periods of time doesn't have the strongest effect on fat loss.

If you want to lose fat, you have to convince your body it doesn't need it. Get regular doses of protein (especially morning, after exercising, and before bed). Get your healthy fats (n-3s), and eat meals regularly enough that your blood levels of proteins and carbs don't tank.

Also avoid high fructose corn syrup like it's the devil. Because it is.

 

[Bcblazer]

I don't count calories, but I can tell if I have consumed more calories than I have burned on any particular day. I work out and run about two hours a day, but I love to eat. Some days I'll splurge (and I know it), so the next day I'll just eat less. It evens out. A big thing I've done this year is cut back on the amount I eat before bedtime. Nowadays, I'll wait at least two hours after the fourth meal of my day to go to sleep, and often I'll just eat a piece of fruit right before I hit the sack.

 

[Perrotfish]

These numbers all assume you buy into the 'a calorie is a calorie is a calorie' theory, which I don't think I do. There's been some convincing research (though there's definitely legitame objections to that research) that you can maintain/lose weight with a considerably higher calorie intake with low carb/low glycemic index diets. It's pretty much beyond dispute now that you can eat more calories if you spread out your meals: 5 small meals a day, evenly spaced, means a higher basal metabolic rate than 1 giant meal every night. And then, of course, it's going to vary with things like your muscle mass, etc. A little exercise always helps, of course.

 

[anopheles]

I've done two things since I started med school that actually helped me lose weight:

1. I joined a fitness class at a gym. It meets three times a week, so just like showing up to all my classes, I show up there and do the workout the instructor makes us do. It takes being self-motivated out of it, plus if you go consistently, you'll make friends and actually look forward to it.

2. I only bought healthy snacks. I also like to snack, but I bought a lot of baby carrots and hummus for dipping, single serving bags of popcorn, etc. If you only have healthy snacks, then even mindless munching isn't that bad for you.


Good luck!

 

[bodonid]

calorie counting works.

it will also change your mentality about food, and may be a bad thing in long run. I don't look at cheesecake the same way anymore. And I used to MAKE cheesecake.

 

[MedChic]

Haha so are those calorie websites accurate bc according to the website above I should be eating 1762 calories a day (at a min. activity!)


Well I weigh about 120 lbs and I'm 5'8, but I was 114 when I first started school. I think my body is happiest at 116-118. Hopefully I won't gain more and if so, it'll come off in the summer!

 

[Optimator]

.

 

[Jolie South]

These numbers all assume you buy into the 'a calorie is a calorie is a calorie' theory, which I don't think I do. There's been some convincing research (though there's definitely legitame objections to that research) that you can maintain/lose weight with a considerably higher calorie intake with low carb/low glycemic index diets. It's pretty much beyond dispute now that you can eat more calories if you spread out your meals: 5 small meals a day, evenly spaced, means a higher basal metabolic rate than 1 giant meal every night. And then, of course, it's going to vary with things like your muscle mass, etc. A little exercise always helps, of course.

Have you seen this recent study in NEJM?

 

[Optimator]

.

 

[Jolie South]

Does the study address body weight composition?

As far as selection of participants go:

Participants had to be 30 to 70 years of age and have a body-mass index (the weight in kilograms divided by the square of the height in meters) of 25 to 40.

During the study, they examined body weight and waist circumference. Average decrease in both parameters was not significantly different between study groups. Of the macronutrient combinations tested, there was no diet that proved more effective than the others.

 

[Optimator]

.

 

[Jolie South]

It just seems a bit simplistic. Even if the claim was true, there's loads more issues involved: performance, long-term body composition consequences, general health. But yeah.

They talk about health to a degree and how the diets can be used to minimize cardiovascular and diabetes risks unique to the patient and select a diet that is culturally appropriate and most easily followed based on current habits. I thought that was a big step towards increasing the chance of adherence. I mean we can recommend that patients eat X and Y (or even try ourselves), but if they don't like it or aren't used to it, they're not going to do it. I know I'm guilty of that.

They actually examined blood pressure, lipids, fasting glucose and insulin levels. All of the diets reduced LDL, increased HDL, and reduced fasting insulin levels though some did more than others.

The major thing not considered here was exercise and incorporating that into a weight loss plan.

 

[Perrotfish]

Have you seen this recent study in NEJM?

I actually did see this study when it came out (or at least I read the news article on it, this is my first time seeing the origional). Honestly I thought it was poorly constructed in that it was testing diets that, even according to the theories of the people promoting low carb and low glycemic index diets, are equivalent.

For example, in a low carb 'Atkin's' type diet, the theory that Dr. Atkins proposed was (basically) that patients underwent a dramatically faster weight loss, with a much greater percentage of their weight loss from fat as opposed to muscle, when patients consisently ate a VERY low carb diet (less than 80g/day digestible carbohydrate at a maximum, most people stick to around 50g/day). The theory here is that the body retools it's metabolism in response to the low carbohydrate system, both running your nervous system on ketoacids (ketoacid metabolism lacks the 100% efficiency of glucose --> more calories lost), while a high ratio of glucagon & CCK compared to insulin, after a meal, promotes satiety and a greater ratio of lipolysis to gluconeogenesis (insulin being the major anti-ketogenic hormone in the body). However, even according to Atkin's own theory, if you're over that 'ceeling' of digestible carbs your body maintains its normal metabolism, normal insulin:glucagon ratios after meals, and normal weight loss for a given calorie intake. In other words for a given calorie intake a 600 carb diet = a 200 carb diet, but NOT a 60 carb diet. At least according to Atkin's theory.

Now, it's reasonable to dispute the Atkins theory, and to do research disputing it. However it is not reasonable to test the theory using, instead of a true low carb diet, a diet that is 'rich in whole grains, fruits, and vegetibles' but has a greater percentage of fat and protien. According to the study

The diets consisted of similar foods and met guidelines for cardiovascular health

.

Diets consisting of 'similar foods' are meeting the current guidelines for cardiovascular health (low fat, at least several hundred carbs/day) are necessarily not what people mean when they're talking about a low carb diet. Basically this study is disproving claims about a diet no one has claimed is effective. Just my opinion, and no I don't have any stock in Atkins.

 

[TMP-SMX]

You don't need to count calories. Just have snacks like fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. Having the fiber will keep you full because it isn't dumping all of the glucose directly into your blood. Just make sure you get enough protein in there as that will make you full also. Low fat yogurts, nuts, and lean cut (turkey/chicken) meats are always a good thing to have for protein.

You also don't have to obsess over food. Just eat things that are not calorie dense or high in saturated fats or that have a high glycemic index. This is important for more than just weight maintenance.

 

[masterofmonkeys]

I actually did see this study when it came out (or at least I read the news article on it, this is my first time seeing the origional). Honestly I thought it was poorly constructed in that it was testing diets that, even according to the theories of the people promoting low carb and low glycemic index diets, are equivalent.

For example, in a low carb 'Atkin's' type diet, the theory that Dr. Atkins proposed was (basically) that patients underwent a dramatically faster weight loss, with a much greater percentage of their weight loss from fat as opposed to muscle, when patients consisently ate a VERY low carb diet (less than 80g/day digestible carbohydrate at a maximum, most people stick to around 50g/day). The theory here is that the body retools it's metabolism in response to the low carbohydrate system, both running your nervous system on ketoacids (ketoacid metabolism lacks the 100% efficiency of glucose --> more calories lost), while a high ratio of glucagon & CCK compared to insulin, after a meal, promotes satiety and a greater ratio of lipolysis to gluconeogenesis (insulin being the major anti-ketogenic hormone in the body). However, even according to Atkin's own theory, if you're over that 'ceeling' of digestible carbs your body maintains its normal metabolism, normal insulin:glucagon ratios after meals, and normal weight loss for a given calorie intake. In other words for a given calorie intake a 600 carb diet = a 200 carb diet, but NOT a 60 carb diet. At least according to Atkin's theory.

Now, it's reasonable to dispute the Atkins theory, and to do research disputing it. However it is not reasonable to test the theory using, instead of a true low carb diet, a diet that is 'rich in whole grains, fruits, and vegetibles' but has a greater percentage of fat and protien. According to the study

.

Diets consisting of 'similar foods' are meeting the current guidelines for cardiovascular health (low fat, at least several hundred carbs/day) are necessarily not what people mean when they're talking about a low carb diet. Basically this study is disproving claims about a diet no one has claimed is effective. Just my opinion, and no I don't have any stock in Atkins.

Good points. Another thing is to look at the total weight lost. overweight individuals losing 9lbs over two years. That's a freaking drop in the bucket. If you lose 9lbs in 2 years while attending instructional classes, either your instructions suck, the dietary interventions suck, or your compliance sucks. I lose 9 lbs after taking my morning crap.

Adherence in this study was absolutely abysmal. An average of 225kcal reduction from baseline. A target of 750 lol. And macronutrient targets were off by 10 percentage points or more on carbs! Between the 35% and 65% targeted carb groups, they estimate that the ACTUAL difference in carb consumption was 6%. And lets not forget about self-reporting bias. No one wants to admit how badly they adhere to a diet. So it's likely that even 225kcal is an overestimate

Carb intake ranged from 43-53% between groups that were SUPPOSED to range from 35-65%. With signifant overlap. Protein intake ranged from 19.6-20.8%. Supposed to differ by 10%. Fat intake ranged from 26-35%. Again with substantial overlap.

I'm still stunned by what you can get away with in the discussion of a medical article. I don't consider 9lbs over two years a successful intervention, especially when you consider the intensity of it, with food diaries, individual counseling sessions every two months, and two to three group sessions per month. And I don't think you can conclude anything about difference in macronutrient ratios when the difference in protein intakes between the groups was 1%, and carbs and fats across groups showed such overlap.

I really don't even understand why we have peer review if conclusions like that can be made in one of the most prestigious journals we have.

 

[Optimator]

.

 

[brenster99]

about 4500 calories per day is about sufficient.....🙂
dont think these days will last too long...

 

[M41]

Haha so are those calorie websites accurate bc according to the website above I should be eating 1762 calories a day (at a min. activity!)


Well I weigh about 120 lbs and I'm 5'8, but I was 114 when I first started school. I think my body is happiest at 116-118. Hopefully I won't gain more and if so, it'll come off in the summer!

Well if you were 5'8" and 114, it sounds like you might have been underweight to begin with, in which case I wouldn't worry too much about a few extra lbs.

 

[Dr. Pickle]

Haha so are those calorie websites accurate bc according to the website above I should be eating 1762 calories a day (at a min. activity!)


Well I weigh about 120 lbs and I'm 5'8, but I was 114 when I first started school. I think my body is happiest at 116-118. Hopefully I won't gain more and if so, it'll come off in the summer!

your BMI is 18.2- you are underweight. The fact that you are trying to lose weight might suggest that you have an eating disorder- try to gain some weight by lifting weights- and eat more protein/fruits/veggies/ and some whole grain.

 

[bodonid]

^nice catch. 5'8" is pretty tall for a girl, and 120 is pretty slim for anyone. FYI 18.2 isn't underweight. <18 is.

yeah, so calorie counting is only for people who need to lose weight and nothing else has worked. If you aren't overweight, just work on eating healthier food rather than counting your calories. Understanding what your patients go through is good though, so being aware of the amount of calories you consume is a worthwhile endeavor.

 

[TMP-SMX]

^nice catch. 5'8" is pretty tall for a girl, and 120 is pretty slim for anyone. FYI 18.2 isn't underweight. <18 is.

yeah, so calorie counting is only for people who need to lose weight and nothing else has worked. If you aren't overweight, just work on eating healthier food rather than counting your calories. Understanding what your patients go through is good though, so being aware of the amount of calories you consume is a worthwhile endeavor.

Uh no <18.5 is underweight. OP you should stop worrying so much about your weight and just eat better food.

But yes, it is not a good thing to be worrying about weight when you are already under weight. Unfortunately, many anorexics are also obsessed with food.

 

[badasshairday]

OP, what the hell are you doing in med school? 😕

5'8 120lbs. You should be a model with those stats instead.

 

[Richspiders07]

....marfans

 

[bodonid]

Uh no <18.5 is underweight. OP you should stop worrying so much about your weight and just eat better food.

But yes, it is not a good thing to be worrying about weight when you are already under weight. Unfortunately, many anorexics are also obsessed with food.

yeah sorry- I'm bad with details. Wrong profession, right?

 

[TMP-SMX]

yeah sorry- I'm bad with details. Wrong profession, right?

Nothing a good PDA won't solve or one of those sliding charts. 😉

 

[turkeyjerky]

your BMI is 18.2- you are underweight. The fact that you are trying to lose weight might suggest that you have an eating disorder- try to gain some weight by lifting weights- and eat more protein/fruits/veggies/ and some whole grain.

Careful about diagnosing someone you've never met based on two posts in an internet forum.

 

[ar2388]

hmm ok,

how much would be ideal then? is 1800 too much for a minimally active fem?

I know not according to those biochem charts but ideally in order to not gain weight?

I've been trying to stick to 1400 but that's not working...maybe I should just stop counting bc it's getting to be a hassle

gah, it's like studying brings out the snack monster in me

dude i feel your pain like you wouldnt believe.. and 1800 is a bit too much based on what youre saying.. if you have an iphone, a great app is called Lose It! but i try to be around 1300 cals or so to maintain and not gain weight..

 

[MedChic]

Thanks, well I was actually just trying to gain perspective on how med students maintained their weight/worried about gaining/cared about their calorie intake on average. I don't really want to be too open when talking to other ppl at my school because I know that would be viewed as unhealthy.

I know I was slightly underweight prior to med school. I was involved in the fashion/modeling industry so I was surrounded by people who were crazy about losing weight/maintaining/gymming and whatevs. I was also super active. No, I do not have an eating disorder, but I was kind of in an environment where maintaining weight, height, and proportions was important so it's hard to get out of the mindset and not feel like blob sitting in the library and snacking on M&M's. (bc in all honesty lets face it, when you're memorizing pathways, carrots will not make you happier)

I kind of want to gauge how much people really limit their food intake to balance the sedentary lifestyle.

 

[TMP-SMX]

You don't have to limit food intake at all. The whole point was to watch what you eat instead. Hell I sit at a computer all day long. Instead of having candy you should snack on fruit/trail mix/granola.

 

[moe_4eva]

So unless I've missed it with my skimming, I find it somewhat interesting that no one has brought up the fact that the fewer calories you eat, the slower your metabolism is. Eating 1300 calories a day, your body will adjust to make sure it only needs that amount. I wouldn't necessarily say that's the healthiest thing to do. Eating the right types and quanitities of food seems infinitely more important than counting calories.

Additionally, I've found exercising during the week is so incredibly important for both weight loss and maintaining my mood. If I don't exercise 5-6 times a week for at least 1-2 hours at a time, I feel terrible and have a lot more trouble concentrating, both in and out of class. Plus, then I don't feel nearly as bad about the occasional cheeseburger and fries 😉

 

[thebeatblitz]

Don't snack on random stuff while studying. Drink water, Crystal Light, or chew gum if you get hungry.

3/wk of gym time is plenty to maintain your weight even on a non-optimized diet. However, is your gym time girly cardio on the recumbent bike or elliptical or is it lifting + light cardio?

Spending 45m-1h jogging is not an efficient caloric burn strategy. You're much better off doing some heavy lifting/light running or HIIT than spending all your time on the treadmill unless you're training for long-distance runs.

The snacking is probably the culprit. Eating 2Kcal/day + 3/wk exercise is pretty much the "norm" for maintaining body weight. I eat about 4Kcal/day and do 3/wk lifting + 1 day HIIT and maintain/lose body weight depending on how close I get to 4Kcal.

 

[crystalgreen]

i certainly dont count calories...it's such a waste of time and i'll probably end up frustrated. medical school is already very stressful and i dont want to make eating a stressful event too. i'll have to admit tho that it's so easy to gain weight when you're always sitting on your butt studying and if you must nibble all the time...like me..nibble on things like fruits instead of junk food.

 

[hb2998]

Count everything with apps on my iTouch. I went from a BMI of 30.2 --> 24.6 (41 pounds so far) with lots of Cardio, and limiting myself to 1500 calories per day -- I've been losing about 2.4 lbs/wk. [Male]

 

[TMP-SMX]

Count everything with apps on my iTouch. I went from a BMI of 30.2 --> 24.6 (41 pounds so far) with lots of Cardio, and limiting myself to 1500 calories per day -- I've been losing about 2.4 lbs/wk. [Male]

Wow that's great. Congrats. 🙂

 

[hb2998]

Wow that's great. Congrats. 🙂

Thanks 🙂! My diet is definately not bland, but I have to cook everything myself so that I can measure everything with my scale (down to my 28g of cereal w/ 165g of 1% milk for breakfast). Tedious? Yes. Anal? Yes. But it works.

I also put tv shows on my itouch and watch them on the elliptical. I can't wait to get my body fat below 10% (started at 26%) so I could start a bodybuilding routine.

I make sure I cheat every Friday (1 meal... Try to keep the day below 2500 cal) and snack on McDonald's vanilla frozen yogurt cones -- only 150 cal, but super satisfying.

 

[Jwax]

2. I only bought healthy snacks. I also like to snack, but I bought a lot of baby carrots and hummus for dipping, single serving bags of popcorn, etc. If you only have healthy snacks, then even mindless munching isn't that bad for you.

I was reading over this thinking about how I needed to buy some carrots, but I hate eating them plain. I used to really like the vegetable dip you could buy at the store but it is really fattening, killing the healthiness of the snack. Thanks for the tip on the hummus - I think I will really enjoy that with my celery and carrots!

I started using the livestrong.com website. I put in everything I eat and any exercise I do (which, besides walking/running/swimming/yoga, it includes walking to school, studying if I do it for >8 hours a day, cleaning the house, etc.). It is a relatively simple way to keep tract of what you're calories and activity. It also has an automatic calculator, so you put in your height and weight when you begin and it tells you how many calories you need to eat in order to maintain weight, lose 1lb a week, or whatever your goal is. I was using it a little obsessively until test block came along and I forgot about everything else. It also forces you to think about having to put those 200 extra calories into your daily plate and makes you less interested (more guilty) in eating whatever you were craving.

 

[hb2998]

Thanks for the tip on the hummus - I think I will really enjoy that with my celery and carrots!

I started using the livestrong.com website.

I'm all about negative calorie foods 👍, especially before each meal to slow down GI motility (considering we don't eat much fat).

Livestrong.com is awesome and everything is synced with thedailyplate.com (even your login/password). I preferred thedailyplate because of cleaner interface. Also they have a great iPod Touch/iPhone application.

 

[dayumgina]

Oooh, questions about food. My fave.

Last year I was in this crazy master's program where I took the 1st year of med school courses...and had to get straight A's! It was intense, and I was adamant about not putting on weight or letting my diet go to ****. This is what I did:

1. Sundays were a cooking day. I'd go grocery shopping on my way back from the library or stop by the farmer's market to buy a bunch of good ingredients. I'd take an hour or two to cook like a mad woman and then put everything into little tupperwares for the rest of the week. I literally had dinners for Mon - Friday, and maybe gave myself one off day to buy dinner in between.

2. Bake some chicken breast and stick it on a salad. Mix up the toppings and dressings. That was my lunch for a year. I sometimes stuck in some carbs for good measure, like soy protein pita bread. The proteins keeps you full.

3. Now for snacking issues. Studying makes you really snacky, so you have to be careful. I realize it just gave me an oral fixation, so I just needed to be doing something. So I bought lots of teabags, stuck them in my locker. Brought lots of carrots and hummus. Nuts are great in moderation. Protein and fluids, basically.

4. Don't worry about the calories. Worry more about the type of food you're eating. Stay away from carb-heavy foods, pre-packaged foods. Eat lots of fruits and veggies. Work out more if you can.

5. A solid breakfast was a godsend for me. 1/2 a cup of instant oatmeal + some fruit + some protein powder in it. It takes literally 2 minutes to make, and keeps you full for hours.

I promise you that it works. Worked for me.

 

[masterofmonkeys]

Thanks 🙂! My diet is definately not bland, but I have to cook everything myself so that I can measure everything with my scale (down to my 28g of cereal w/ 165g of 1% milk for breakfast). Tedious? Yes. Anal? Yes. But it works.

I also put tv shows on my itouch and watch them on the elliptical. I can't wait to get my body fat below 10% (started at 26%) so I could start a bodybuilding routine.

I make sure I cheat every Friday (1 meal... Try to keep the day below 2500 cal) and snack on McDonald's vanilla frozen yogurt cones -- only 150 cal, but super satisfying.

No reason to wait for a bf% of 10 before you start a bodybuilding routine. Building muscle will provide a synergistic effect with dieting and cardio. More muscle, higher BMR, and higher excerise and post exercise energy expenditure

 

[BlueElmo]

Do you guys know how to stop binge-eating? When I'm stressed, I start eating and I can't stop even though I tell myself I should.🙁
And I'm only in college, I can't imagine what's going to happen to me in medical school.

 

[masterofmonkeys]

binge-eating is just an inappropriate psycho-endocrine defense mechanism.

Stress increases cortisol. Cortisol increases appetite. Stress basically tells you to eat more.

Its an evolved response to living out in the wild. Stress in that case was mostly due to physical danger and overexertion, and the best counter was eating more.

The best way to combat binge-eating is thus breaking the hold stress has over you.

lots of stress-reduction methods out there. And exercise is a great method in its own right.

Sleep enough. Eat well. Exercise.

You miss any o fthose three and the rest doesn't matter.

My fave stress-reduction program is probably mindfulness-based stress reduction. Kabat-zinn is the biggest researcher and promoter of it, and has a couple of books and audio thingies out.

 

[hb2998]

No reason to wait for a bf% of 10 before you start a bodybuilding routine. Building muscle will provide a synergistic effect with dieting and cardio. More muscle, higher BMR, and higher excerise and post exercise energy expenditure

I agree with you on the benefits of strength training, but right now all my time goes to cardio, with a full body workout thrown in once a week (bench, military, pullups, seated rows, deadlift). It's really hard to gain real muscle when on a caloric deficit (I'm almost 1000 cals under what I need in a day), and I'm very scared of injury because I feel weak right now. Plus, strength training is much more difficult than cardio... I'd rather watch a nice tv show on the elliptical than have to concentrate and lift stuff 😀.