Diet Diet Diet

[Mandy Polk]

up your protein to your BW or a little over, and bring your fats to 40-50g for proper hormone regulation. fats play a big role in female hormones.

 

[Tatyana]

There is a school of thought that belly fat is associated with a cortisol/insulin imbalance.

As you are not eating enough calories, and also quite active, this is very stressful to your body, which would have cortisol released.

Cortisol in turn triggers insulin, adrenaline and noradrenaline (epinephrine in the US).

This causes a whole body response where glycogen is released from the liver, flooding the bloodstream with glucose, and free fatty acid are also released.

It does seem that all these nutrients will be stored again by insulin, and the most common site is the belly.

I would highly recommend getting a copy of Tom Venuto's burn the fat, feed the muscle.

His book is just awesome.

 

[JerseyGirl143]

To calculate your BMR based on lean body weight (Katch-McArdle Formula)


BMR = Basal Metabolic Rate

This basically means the calories your body needs to function, breath, heart beating, neurons firing, all those things just to keep you alive.

BMR (both sexes) = 370 + (21.6 x lean mass in kg)

THis will give you what your body requires for all of your basic biological processes, such as digestion, nerve transmission, respiration etc, or your basal metabolic rate.

NEVER DROP YOUR CALORIES BELOW THIS LEVEL!!!!!

OKay, my BMR is 1470. So if I minus 500 cals form that its about 1778. This is the amount of calories I should have in a day?

Wow, I reallly do need to start eating more....

 

[JerseyGirl143]

I think I was under the impression that I should minus 500 from my BMR......

THe only thing I've had to drink in over a month has been water. Maybe I can start drinking gadorade also. That should add calories....

 

[Tatyana]

Don't take any calories off your BMR.

I had calculated your BMR earlier I thought, and it was close to 1800 kcals, based on the information you have given.

You have to multiply your BMR by the activity level as well, I usually go for moderate in my off season (1.55) and then intense when I am getting ready for a comp as I do so much cardio.

Gatorade is full of sugar, I am not fond of sports drinks at all.

The only place that a simple sugar really works well is post training, when you want an insulin spike to transport glucose and amino acids into your muscles.

If your calories have been that low for some time, I wouldn't all of a sudden start eating 1800-2000 kcals a day.

I would add about 10-20% of what you have been eating, so add 130-260 kcals the first week or two, see how it goes, then add the same amount the following week, and so on, until your calories are in a more healthy range.

That is the good news hun, you can EAT MORE and still build muscle and burn fat.

 

[fitness-rubber]

I think I was under the impression that I should minus 500 from my BMR......

THe only thing I've had to drink in over a month has been water. Maybe I can start drinking gadorade also. That should add calories....

but those aren't calories that are going to do anything but add sugar to your diet really...