Daily Calories??

RE: Daily Calories??

Former Member — Fri, 11 Mar 2005 17:01:31 GMT

Last night I met with an old friend who is a registered dietian. She said something that I thought was extremely intersting nad I thought many would find it also interesting. she said tht many people who are athletic or active & try to lose weight get extremely frustrated becasue they tend to place higher goals upon themselves. She said this is particularly true for peole who are competitive!! I told her how frequently diet & losing weight comes up on this forum. She said that many of the swimmers she works with are exceptionally hard on themselves because they tend to be so accuostumed to performing up to goals set by other people (coaches, team mates, etc.). She also poointed out that swimmign is not necessarily as good as running with burning fat & to go very slowly. She wished you good luck. She also recommended that you contact a dietian to get advice. Many hospitals, she said, have outreach programs and many dietians woudl talk & help you because they are so excited about the subject.

RE: Daily Calories??

Former Member — Fri, 11 Mar 2005 14:12:20 GMT

Most info on calories burned from swimming reflects recreational swimming. Two sites you can visit for calories burned at workout level are www.Nutristrategy.com and home.judson.edu/.../fitness7.html If your swim time 100s are in the 1:30 to 1:45 range you can figure 20 cals/min. So a 2800 yd workout, done in 50 mins will burn about 1000 calories. From a diet perspective, my belief and experience is the only thing that really works is lifestyle change in diet. By this I mean you should set a long-term goal--6 months or a year and reasonable expectations like 1 lb/wk to lose (keeping a 2000 cal/day diet you can lose this by swimming 10,000 yds in a week). In your diet, don't deprive yourself, just cut out bad items (fried food, nutrition-free stuff like candy and chips, high-fat meats like sausage, etc). Substitute ground turkey for ground beef, baked chicken and fish for fried, minimize use of oils and butter. Instead of chips, make a quesadilla with salsa and a little cheese. Snack on fruit or energy bars instead of highly-processed packaged food. Have cottage cheese and fruit for lunch a couple times a week. It's o.k. to have pizza on Friday night, but get pepper and onion instead of pepperoni--have 1 slice less than usual. Add salads to lots of meals. When you're full, stop eating. This is what has worked for me losing about 25 lbs.

RE: Daily Calories??

Former Member — Fri, 11 Mar 2005 14:08:05 GMT

thanks for all of the suggestions... good ol' counting calories will be the way for me, rather than one of the popular diets... *sigh* I'm so jealous of you guys who don't have to diet... It's a lot of work and it really does suck! :mad:

RE: Daily Calories??

dorothyrde — Fri, 11 Mar 2005 11:33:13 GMT

Caloriesperhour.com bases the swimming calories on how fast you swim a 50, so somewhat useful. I agree with Old FLyer, it is really more about diet, exercise is the bonus. I have lost 35 pounds watching what I eat. It is not easy, and it does not stay off easy. You have to eat what would be correctly most of the time.

RE: Daily Calories??

Former Member — Fri, 11 Mar 2005 10:38:56 GMT

If you can you may wish to try eating just three meals a day and no snacks.

RE: Daily Calories??

Former Member — Fri, 11 Mar 2005 08:26:28 GMT

For years until 2003, I ran about 15 - 30 miles/week. Usually ran at a pace of 8:30 to 9:00 per mile, and raced at about 8:00 per mile. According to the caloriesperhour.com site, swimming at 1:20 per 100yd pace is the same as running at 9:00 pace. Running at 8:30 pace burned an extra 49 calories per hour. Given this data, I'd rather swim even if my main goal was weight loss.

RE: Daily Calories??

Former Member — Fri, 11 Mar 2005 08:10:11 GMT

'She also pointed out that swimmign is not necessarily as good as running with burning fat & to go very slowly" LOL! What, with the swimming, or the diet? If it's the swimming, if I swam any more slowly, I'd float! Thanks for the advice; it does make sense. I took some diet and nutrition courses in college, so I'll go dig out my texts and put together a sensible plan...

RE: Daily Calories??

dorothyrde — Fri, 11 Mar 2005 07:33:19 GMT

Pfffffft to you people who can eat anything! I am envious. I would start by tracking for a week what you are eating now, to see how much you are actually eating to weigh what you weight now. It will be an eye opening experience. Then to lose a pound, take away 500, or take away 250 and add 250 of exercise. There is a website, caloriesperhour.com, or something like that, that has a calorie counter for exercise. Also, the body does not lose steadily. One week you may have a big loss, the next week nothing, but it is what you lose over the long haul that counts. Another thing that helps with hunger when you reduce calories, is to up your protein a bit. Protein will help make a meal last longer. Plan snacks every 2-3 hours, and by snack, I don't mean chips, or a whole meal. A piece of fruit, or carrot sticks, thinks that are good for you. Drink water. Most people do not drink enough, and diet pop(OK I am midwestern, soda), does not count. Good ole water, put a twist of lemon in it, if you don't like it plain. Good luck, and remember, you did not get to your size overnight(even though it may feel like you did), so it will not come off overnight. Be patient.

RE: Daily Calories??

Former Member — Fri, 11 Mar 2005 06:32:37 GMT

Craig, I am with you ... I have no clue how it is to watch my weight.I am lucky to have some really good metabolism and genes.I eat any time when I am hungry(though doing it in a healthy way) and never gain an ounce.Actually I find it harder to gain weight than to lose. But those who are prone to gain weight easily and watch their diet closely and keep it at their desired level I have to give a lot of credit to...That must be hard.It would suck to always be on a diet!

RE: Daily Calories??

ande — Fri, 11 Mar 2005 04:25:51 GMT

mainly drink water ditch sodas for club soda - fizzy water type drinks I now drink way less orange juice than I used to. in 2001 my weight crept up to 238 I currently weigh around 210, I probably need to lose another 10 or 15 pounds to swim faster. Ande

RE: Daily Calories??

Former Member — Thu, 10 Mar 2005 10:59:00 GMT

I would suggest that you start cutting back slowly from where you are right now. Work in blocks of 2 weeks and monitor your weight. I would say to cut out calories in blocks of 10% at a time. If a 10% cut in 2 weeks yields no results then shave off another 10% and just keep working your way down. Depending on your skill level and your workout intensity an hours worth of swimming may burn from 200 calories to 600+. If you reduce caloric intake and continue to burn calories via swimming you are virtually guaranteed to see results. Fat is the bodys way of storing for a time when food is in short supply. If food is in short supply, such as a diet, your body will begin pulling from those fat reserves to sustain itself. What is important is to make the calories that you do take in count. Be sure that a large portion of your diet is healthy. Candy and ice cream are okay but as with most things they need to be enjoyed with moderation. Good luck with your diet and weight loss.

RE: Daily Calories??

Former Member — Thu, 10 Mar 2005 10:25:30 GMT

I eat constantly. I really don't know what it is like to have to diet. From what friend tell me, I think it must be terrible. Before you start on a restrive diet be sure to figure out how much you need ot take in to not cause harm. Also, don't expect swimming to be your salvation.