hey everyone. I am a little confused about caloric intake and how to best break it down for my goals...was really hoping some of you could chime in to help me out. I have tried to find my answer by going through other posts and have learned a lot tonight...but I'm still confused as to how to apply it to myself.

I went to the website Lynn recommends for determining caloric intake - it said I need to consume nearly 1900 calories to MAINTAIN my current weight (age 34, 5'6", 110 lbs.). I am nowhere near that. The first day I was more deficient than I'd like to admit, but really didn't realize how few calories I was taking in. The second day (today), I did much better (1228)and was really proud of myself until I saw I should be getting in 1800-1900! hehe. Today, I took in too much fat, but I think I can fine-tune that pretty easily as I explore other ways to get in high protein numbers (will do the tuna on wholegrain tomorrow). Today was 113gprotein(37%), 104gcarbs (32%) and 41gfat (30%)....I guess I'm confused as to whether I really need to be taking in THAT many calories if my percentages are right...it seems like the consensus is 40%p/30%c/30%f???????

Please offer your thoughts, insights, AND corrections and forgive me for how neurotic I am hehe...I would really appreciate it. my goals are NOT weight loss, but simply to be in better shape and tone my abs. I have been doing the workout component for some time, but results have been lacking in the ab area (due to my diet - duh!)

Thanks.
Theresa

The 40/30/30 is a good baseline. You could also do 40/40/20, but if you start to feel any aching in the joints, go back to 40/30/30.

Are you having a protein shake at all? When it get difficult to eat that much protein, you could suppliment with a protein shake.

Since you're numbers are good for carbs and fat, I would recommend one shake, probably in 1cp of skim milk (adjust your carbs for the lactose sugar int he milk) and that should be fine.

Hi there,
keep in mind that calorie calculators are only an estimate. They could be as much as a few hundred calories off in either direction. If I ate what a calorie calculator told me I would starve to death!

Everyone is very different and how much of what you should eat depends on a LOT of factors. When I work with people on nutrition I ask a million questions before making any recommendations since there is so much to take in to consideration. The best thing you can do on your own is experiment. When making changes in calories make only gradual changes. See how you feel. If you have low energy and you're hungry a lot you are probably not eating enough. You can play around with your macronutrients to see what works best for you. It took me a lot of experiementing to find out that I do best with 50% carbs, 35% protein and 15% fat.

Hope that was helpful and if I can be more helpful just let me know.

Sarah

where can I get protein shakes? any ones that are better than others? This is completely foreign to me

Thanks

myprotein.co.uk do good whey powder for protein shakes

i don't really understand what you mean by wanting to "tone" your abs but not wanting to lose weight. the only way you'll ever see your abs is by losing the fat that covers them.

stay at the same weight by gaining muscle and losing fat im sure.
i used to have a keg flexing and not flexing my abs... haha
one thing ive found is that as i started working out on my abs they became visible as a 6 pack when i would flex but it was still a keg when i would stop flexing... basically i need to lose more fat now. lol ive lost a lot but i still have to go further.

Theresa, is there a GNC near you? They have loads of protein powders that you can mix with water or milk, and add some frozen fruit to make a smoothie. Some flavors are gross but other's aren't so bad. You really have to experiement to find what you like. Hope that helps.

Sarah

I do have a GNC nearby - I will check it out - thanks guys!

As for the other question, I am hoping to lose an inch in my waist, going from 26 to 25". I am hoping that I can do that and still maintain 110lbs b/c I don't think it would be healthy for me to lose weight. I'm banking on muscle weighing more than fat I am actually okay if i gain a little weight as long as I look and feel good