I am working on coming up with the right "formula" for me. I believe the Curves Weight Management calorie phases is the correct starting point but I am more comfortable tracking my nutrition on FitClick than exclusively using the exchanges and menus in the Curves book. I am using some of the recipes in the book but I am just tracking them in the FitClick food journal instead of using the Curves exchange system.
What I am learning is that because of my difference in tracking method, I actually need to eat a little more that I thought. Curves makes it clear that it can be adverse to your health, metabolism, and weight loss to eat less than 1200 calories in a day. When you do plan to consume only 1200 calories, you should do so for no more that 7 days straight (phase 1). After that, bumping calories up to at least 1500 calories per day should protect muscle and metabolism while still losing weight (phase 2). I found that following these guidelines with my method of tracking calories I would plateau and/or have slight gains in phase 2. Not good. This probably indicates that my metabolism is slowing.
After attending the Weight Management class and further study of the book, I realized that I was not taking their "Free" foods into account. I analyzed my last month of food and found an average of 143 calories of "Free" food per day with some days getting above 250 calories of "Free" food. When I subtract the "Free" calories from my tracked calories, the adjusted calories are way too low. So when I thought I was eating at a Phase 1 calorie level I was actually under eating. When I thought I was at Phase 2, I was actually eating closer to Phase 1. I spent 11 days with my "adjusted" calories under 1500 (too long!). During the first 5 days I lost 3.2 lbs and over the next 6 days I gained one pound back.
On day 12 I started adjusting for the "Free" calories and spent 4 days with adjusted calories over 1500. After those 4 days I lost the gained pound plus another 0.8.
That brings me to today. This will be my 5th day adjusting my calories by taking "Free" foods into account. I am currently in Phase 2 and am trying to get my adjusted calories between 1500 and 1600. In about 2 weeks I plan to switch to Phase 3 for up to a month when I will try to get my adjusted calories between 2000 and 2500. Then back to Phase 1.
Are all calories created equal? I am not a nutritionist, so I don't know all the science. My experience so far has taught me that when I am eating lots of super healthy ("free") foods that I should err on the side of a few more calories than a few less.
What I am learning is that because of my difference in tracking method, I actually need to eat a little more that I thought. Curves makes it clear that it can be adverse to your health, metabolism, and weight loss to eat less than 1200 calories in a day. When you do plan to consume only 1200 calories, you should do so for no more that 7 days straight (phase 1). After that, bumping calories up to at least 1500 calories per day should protect muscle and metabolism while still losing weight (phase 2). I found that following these guidelines with my method of tracking calories I would plateau and/or have slight gains in phase 2. Not good. This probably indicates that my metabolism is slowing.
After attending the Weight Management class and further study of the book, I realized that I was not taking their "Free" foods into account. I analyzed my last month of food and found an average of 143 calories of "Free" food per day with some days getting above 250 calories of "Free" food. When I subtract the "Free" calories from my tracked calories, the adjusted calories are way too low. So when I thought I was eating at a Phase 1 calorie level I was actually under eating. When I thought I was at Phase 2, I was actually eating closer to Phase 1. I spent 11 days with my "adjusted" calories under 1500 (too long!). During the first 5 days I lost 3.2 lbs and over the next 6 days I gained one pound back.
On day 12 I started adjusting for the "Free" calories and spent 4 days with adjusted calories over 1500. After those 4 days I lost the gained pound plus another 0.8.
That brings me to today. This will be my 5th day adjusting my calories by taking "Free" foods into account. I am currently in Phase 2 and am trying to get my adjusted calories between 1500 and 1600. In about 2 weeks I plan to switch to Phase 3 for up to a month when I will try to get my adjusted calories between 2000 and 2500. Then back to Phase 1.
Are all calories created equal? I am not a nutritionist, so I don't know all the science. My experience so far has taught me that when I am eating lots of super healthy ("free") foods that I should err on the side of a few more calories than a few less.
