Please help with numbers! I'm so confused. page

[hermanda]

Hi everyone,
so I've managed to put on weight the last few weeks and I'm trying to figure out where I've gone wrong.
I'm about 130lbs female 27 yrs old 5'6'' 27.5 inch waist 36.5 inch hips and about 30% body fat.
I 'm nice and lean at about 120lbs but of course will ditch the scale should I see less fat and more muscle.
I've been eating at least 50-60% fat about 35% from protein and the rest from carbs. about 1300 calories. I've been doing squats, lunges, bench presses, and a few other modified body weight exercises. I brisk walk or lightly jog 2-5x per week depending on how I feel. This is sporadic though because I have a painful lower back and sometimes can only walk gently. I've gained this 10lbs in the last year and a half and started eating paleo in June 2010 (excessive oatmeal, honey and chocolate was packing on the pounds.) I did seem to lean out a bit at first but now it's back
I know I also don't sleep well if I eat too much fat and or protein. I sweat a lot and my feet burn.
I know this is not exact numbers by any means but part of what I've been dealing with too is that I calculate my numbers on livestrong and then emotionally overeat, or I eat something my mother has cooked and I have no idea how to count it and stop tracking exact calories. I really don't think it's been way out there. In fact I wonder it I've been under eating.
OK I'm spinning, as I am sure you are too. Im sorry about this. I'm confused and no matter how much I read I can't seem to find a game plan that works for me.
Many many thanks.

[hermanda]

I forgot to say that I eat veggies, meat, eggs, a piece of fruit or so a day, coconut milk and oil and sometimes nuts. I know that sweet potato, chocolate, and nuts can all trigger an intense sugar rush in me sometimes and at other times I have no problem eating a little bit and walking away. Hormonally driven I guess. I do add a bit of half and half in my coffee if I'm out at a coffee shop but it's about 1 tbs worth.
Please feel free to ask anything you want. I'm looking for perspectives and ideas. I've been reading about other journeys and have never quite had the nerve to admit how much I'm struggling with my own.
Thanks again.

[Dragonfly]

First, make sure your vitamin D is sufficient. Also your magnesium, iron, Omega 3 and A & K levels. All are needed if your body is to operate properly.

What worked for me was dropping my carbs and making sure I had a calorie deficit, but not too large of one. See my PB & FitDay journals for more ideas/info. If you try this, I suggest dropping your carbs slowly over a few weeks to minimize the keto-adaptation symptoms (your poor sleep.) My ratios are more along the lines of 70% Fat, 20% Protein and 10% Carbs. I'm eating 1500 calories and consistently losing a pound a week. That said, you may need to tinker differently!

And ditch the scale NOW. It's meaningless and discouraging when you only have a smallish amount of body fat to lose.

Also, emphasize grass-fed beef or lamb as your protein source, rather than chicken (better Omega 3 profile.)

[jlmccracken]

I agree with Dragonfly. Try counting your grams of carbs that you are eating. For me, I know that if I go too much over 100 grams a day, there's no loss in weight. It is definitely a place to start and figure out what's going on. Do you take any fish oil? Fish oil also helps with maintaining a good ratio of n3:n6 omegas, which in turns assists to decrease body fat. Another big thing is to ditch the potatoes and chocolate if you have a hard time with them- just get rid of them for a little while and that might help with cravings and get your hormones in balance.

[hermanda]

Thanks Dragonfly! I'm taking 5000iu of vit D, 2g fish oils, vit B complex, 2 big tsp of Natural Calm to help with the sleep. I seem to recall that a blood test indicated my iron was lowish. Short of having iron, vit K and A tested (short on money and no insurance yay could I supplement for a bit and see how I feel? Are you similar in height, age and weight? 10% carbs is just veggies right? So do you think about 1500 cals would be right for me? No so active due to the back right now but that should resolve in the next couple of weeks (and I'm moving to NY and will be walking everywhere :-)

Ditching scale pronto! :-)

[hermanda]

My carb grams never go over 70. Do you think I need to go far lower? How many calories should I be taking in?
Thanks again!

[gordo]

35% protein sounds like a lot. Unless you're trying to gain weight.

15% might be a better number.

Gordo

[hermanda]

35% protein sounds like a lot. Unless you're trying to gain weight.

15% might be a better number.

Gordo

Yeah I think so too. I've been listening to Robb Wolf who talks about eating 1 g per 1lb of body weight. I'm not sure how much to eat at this point. I'm definitely going to go for a lower number. Maybe .7 per lb of lean body mass?

[Camila]

First, make sure your vitamin D is sufficient. Also your magnesium, iron, Omega 3 and A & K levels. All are needed if your body is to operate properly.

What worked for me was dropping my carbs and making sure I had a calorie deficit, but not too large of one. See my PB & FitDay journals for more ideas/info. If you try this, I suggest dropping your carbs slowly over a few weeks to minimize the keto-adaptation symptoms (your poor sleep.) My ratios are more along the lines of 70% Fat, 20% Protein and 10% Carbs. I'm eating 1500 calories and consistently losing a pound a week. That said, you may need to tinker differently!

And ditch the scale NOW. It's meaningless and discouraging when you only have a smallish amount of body fat to lose.

Also, emphasize grass-fed beef or lamb as your protein source, rather than chicken (better Omega 3 profile.)

Dragonfly,

I was just wondering how you get your 70% fat, 20% protein, and 10% carbs? Can you please give me an example of your daily menu? I am one month into Primal and really struggling with getting the ratio right for weight loss. I am logging foods into FitDay.com and over one month, my average report says that it is about 50% fat, 28% protein and 22 % carbs. I was having 1-2 fruits at the beginning and have cut fruit out except for occasionally blueberries or strawberries. I started eating bacon for the first time in my life, eating more avocados and cooking with coconut and olive oils. I do not know what to do to increase fats even more and it seems my protein may be a little high as well so to decrease protein a bit and also decrease carbs. Please help! =)

[Dragonfly]

Aah...so I just now found this! So glad you pm'd me!