Exercise, Nutrition, WLS, and Cooking Q & A - 2/5/2014

We had some really good questions yesterday! If you have any questions about Exercise, Nutrition, WLS, or Cooking I am here to help. You can also always get me via PM here or email at [email protected].

So! Let's Hear Those Questions!

Well I read your post yesterday about BMR, and decided to look mine up, according to the calculator mine is 1724, my weightloss has slowed(it was never fast from the start) I am currently doing 2 HIIT classes a week and 30 min of elliptical 3 days a week(exercise has never been my fav, I have found the HIIT classes tolerable, I hate running!!). I know I can do more. My NUT has me on 900 cal a day, I dont ever go over that. I am 60-70 g protien and under 50 carbs a day. I guess my question is what is my best attack here to reving up my BMR? I need to get my butt moving more.

OK, so just to confuse matters even more looking up or calculating our BMR is rarely accurate, particularly for overweight people. Given your weight (and I am assuming you are a woman) and I do not know much else about you like age, activity history (i.e. are you or have you ever been muscular, etc.) my guess is that your BMR is probably a bit higher than calculated but depending on how long you have been doing cardio and HIIT could actually be lower. The problem is that unless you measure it with a body comp scale (closer to accurate) or a BodPod (very accurate) you can only go based on an educated guess which is based on the average. So lets assume that the number is accurate for now. If you are resting and burning 1724, then eat, you have a base deficit of 824 calories per day (thats with no exercise) and lets assume through exercise and normal activity that you are burning another 500 calories per day so that is 1224. I would expect to see you lose 1 lb about every 3 days. That is actually not that bad because that is a nice steady 2lbs per week. 

So to answer your question, the only way to raise BMR is to build muscle so the HIIT and ellipitical are not doing you any favories in that respect. In fact they are keep your muscles about the same or even reducing them. The only way to build lean muscle mass is to exercise your big muscle groups (i.e. your legs, chest, arms, etc.). Am I suggesting that you stop doing those other exercise, no way, they are great for burning fat. But so is walking. Given your higher calorie mark and 50 carbs per day I am guessing you may not be getting into ketosis (which is the way to cheat BMR). By getting into ketosis when your body burns fat for fuel it has to spend some fuel to convert the fat to ketones. That takes 1/2 of a calorie. What does it do with the other half? It throws it away. So its like getting a two for one deal on fat burn. Ketosis is a very powerful tool and you hear about it and we all know its the basis for a low carb diet, but not a lot of NUTs realize that 50 carbs for some people will keep them out of ketosis. You may need to be more like 40 or even 20 (which is really really hard). Your protein looks a little low to me too UNLESS your NUT/Doc told you to eat more fat (which is good advice), paricularly heathy fats like avocado, olive oil, and coconut oil. Eating the extra fats is a great way to kick start the keto process (again as long as you keep your carbs low enough).

Thank you so much for the reply, does the Fitbit calculate BMR? I have been tossing the idea around of purchasing one of those or a similar item to see what my expendage is. I'm female 34 and muscular build.  I am going to see about lowering my carbs too. My NUT never said anything about good fats just that 60g of protien is sufficient, so I will see about upping it a bit. I would be happy with 2 pounds a week but I seem to be stalling out, throwing around the same 3 pounds for the past month.

Hi Keith! I  am adding fats back into my diet and am taking your suggestion to use coconut oil. 

http://www.obesityhelp.com/forums/VSG/4635819/Coconut-Oil/

How much coconut oil would you use to cook say, a tuna steak or salmon, and does the coconut oil impart any taste? If you have any recipes that you found are VSG friendly, please share the links! 

Thank you so much

Colleen

There are a couple different kinds. Organic extra virgin does have a bit of a coconut flavor to it. Quite pleasant actually. Great for in coffee or cooking sweet and Asian food. There is also refined coconut oil which has no flavor. The cheaper it is the less chance it has a flavor. 

I think about a tablespoon should do it. I never really measure just eyeball it. 

I will have to look to see what recipes I have. There are lots out there. 

Hi Keith my question is I have recently discovered syntax nectar what do you think about making up a pitcher of it and drinking it all day, plus eating my dense. Protein, I am just 3 weeks out and have only lost 12 pounds since surgery,  thanks for any advice

Not sure what would happen. My guess is that it could thicken up as the day goes on or maybe even clump and settle. Worth trying once. 

my calorie counter on my fat secret said i should be eating 2800 calories but I am only eating between 6 and 8 hundred calories so why have I stoped losing weight?

I assume you are pre-op. An average sized woman should eat more like 1800 to maintain weight. 2800 for a woman sounds like someone who exercises a lot or is building muscle. A VSG patient should never be eating 2800 calories. 

There are several things that could cause you to stall. If you carbs are not low enough you might not be getting into ketosis. Not drinking enough water is a common cause. Not enough or poor sleep. In women hormones are a big contributor to stalls.