NOTE: After review it is obvious that my original calorie intake estimate was wrong. I've edited this post to revise it to 2,000 calories. I originally said that it was 1000, which makes no sense.
I am looking for dietary advice in order to maximize my results. Prior to getting into swimming I was consuming about 2,000 calories per day and trying to favor protein. Considering that I was sitting in front of a computer most of the day even 1,000 calories may have been too much. My weight pretty much stayed around the same 220lbs (lean weight target being somewhere around 185lbs).
Now that I am swimming I probably need to change my dietary intake. I do want to get rid of the extra pounds as soon as possible. However, with these 1 1/2 hour workouts and only 2000 calories I felt out of energy for the first couple of days. My lack of conditioning probably had a lot to do with it.
Some of the questions I have are:
Should I try to remain close to 2000 calories in order to expedite weight loss and then stabilize at a higher caloric intake?
My workouts are at 5:30AM. I can't have breakfast prior to the workout. This means that I am working off of energy from dinner and stored fat. Should I favor certain foods for dinner?
Also, what would be the best distribution of caloric intake throughout the day? Should I front load (heavy breakfast) or have a larger dinner to put some energy away for the morning workout?
Any other thoughts/advice would be appreciated.
Thanks.
I'm wondering where that target weight came from. If you're 48 and 5'8", I'd guess a healthy weight would be around 150.
I'm 5'11" and my weight is 165-170.
Depends on body type. I'm 5'9" and my balance point seems to be about 180 when swimming (I just seem to hold onto a little more fat). I am going to try to be 175 for spring, but I just can't be lower than that. There'll be nothing left to lose.
The key is to find your own balance point. Clearly it's not your current weight or you wouldn't be asking about this stuff.
I went through this a few years ago. I decided to figure out how to lose the weight before getting back into swimming, though. I found that, for me, counting calories was the way to go. But if you are going to count them, you need to accurately count them -- weigh food and get a reliable source for the calories. (I used the CalorieCount web site). You also need to accurately determine how much you burn in an average day. Lots of sources are out there. It took me a lot of trial and error to figure it out -- when you're not 'hungry' and you don't put on weight at that calorie level, your at your breakeven point. Once this is determined, you can make a plan to shed the weight.
I also try to maximize my nutrition per calorie. I was a nut about it while losing weight, and now I just wing it. But I used World's Healthiest Foods to figure this out. It also helped me get a variety of foods into my diet instead of the same old 'healthy' things which I got tired of.
I was about 225 at my heaviest, btw, so I know what you've got ahead of you. It will be worth it. Good luck.
I'm wondering where that target weight came from. If you're 48 and 5'8", I'd guess a healthy weight would be around 150.
I'm 5'11" and my weight is 165-170.
Depends on body type. I'm 5'9" and my balance point seems to be about 180 when swimming (I just seem to hold onto a little more fat). I am going to try to be 175 for spring, but I just can't be lower than that. There'll be nothing left to lose.
The key is to find your own balance point. Clearly it's not your current weight or you wouldn't be asking about this stuff.
I went through this a few years ago. I decided to figure out how to lose the weight before getting back into swimming, though. I found that, for me, counting calories was the way to go. But if you are going to count them, you need to accurately count them -- weigh food and get a reliable source for the calories. (I used the CalorieCount web site). You also need to accurately determine how much you burn in an average day. Lots of sources are out there. It took me a lot of trial and error to figure it out -- when you're not 'hungry' and you don't put on weight at that calorie level, your at your breakeven point. Once this is determined, you can make a plan to shed the weight.
I also try to maximize my nutrition per calorie. I was a nut about it while losing weight, and now I just wing it. But I used World's Healthiest Foods to figure this out. It also helped me get a variety of foods into my diet instead of the same old 'healthy' things which I got tired of.
I was about 225 at my heaviest, btw, so I know what you've got ahead of you. It will be worth it. Good luck.
