Have I got a very low metabolism ?

----- Original Message -----
From: "Daytona" <[email hidden]>
Newsgroups: misc.fitness.misc,sci.med.nutrition
Sent: Sunday, February 27, 2005 6:46 AM
Subject: Have I got a very low metabolism ?

Quoted message said:

Hi

I think I may have a problem, so I'd welcome some thoughts -

Over the last six months I've been keeping track of what I eat and am
surprised to see that my average daily calorie intake is 1,405 Kcal.

The reason this has cropped up is that I'm taking up backpacking and
am having real problems finding a sleeping bag to keep me warm - the
manufacturers ratings are way too optimistic. They're designed for
average people with average metabolisms. I think I may have a very low
metabolism which means I get cold very easily. I wondered if this is
dangerous or unwise.

In an attempt to control or reduce a beer gut (gained as a result of
over-eating, not over-drinking though!) for several years I've been
attempting to limit the amount of fat I eat to 1.75oz/50g/day and over
the last six months I've reduced the amount of carbohydrates by 2 -
2.5oz / 60 - 70g/day to an average 5oz / 147g/day. I think my weight
has reduced from ~11 St to 9 St 13 lb but I don't take that much
notice, also I've reduced the beer gut. I don't go hungry and am in
good health. I take an average of 30mins exercise a day by fast hill
walking for a mile and a half. I'm an office worker and have always
been.

Details -

Male
Age 37
Height 5' 7.5" / 1.7145m
Weight 139 lb / 63 Kg
BMI 21.4

Daily Diet Split -
RDA RDA Amount Amount Percentage
(Grams) (Ounces)(Grams) (Ounces)of total weight

Protein 53.0 1.9 72 2.5 9%
Carbohydrate 311.0 11.0 147 5.2 19%
- Sugers 22 0.8 3%
- Starch 25 0.9 3%
Fat 73.0 2.6 50 1.8 6%
- Saturates 20.0 0.7 17 0.6 2%
- Mono 5 0.2 1%
- Poly 2.0 0.1 3 0.1 0%
Fibre 7.0 0.2 8 0.3 1%
Fruit/Veg 400.0 14.1 131 4.6 17%
Salt 7.0 0.2 6 0.2 1%

So let's see, if I read this right you're eating 53g Protein, 311g Carbs &
73g Fat per day.
Protein and Carbs are 4calories per gram so (53+311) x 4 = 1456 calories
Fat is 9 calories per gram so 73 x 9 = 657 calories

1456 + 657 = 2113 calories/day intake.

Quoted message said:

RDA = UK Recommended Daily Amounts

The rough calculations I've seen suggest that my Basal/Resting
Metabolic Rate should be around 2000 Kcal (14-15 times my weight)
whereas I feel perfectly happy with 1,400 (10 times my weight).

Is my math off? Seems to me you're getting 2113 calories? One important
thing to keep in mind is that everyone is different. BMR, Caloric Needs,
Etc. are guidelines and tend to vary from person to person. I'd suggest
eating what you require to meet your goals (if it's fat loss than eat less
than maintance, muscle gain, then eat more than maintance, etc.) Adjust
your caloric intake as needed to meet your goals in a steady, long term
approach (i.e. no crash diets or sudden massive changes).

Quoted message said:

Does this make any sense ? Is this healthy and sustainable or
dangerous ?

Thanks

Daytona

Might wanna have your thyroid hormone/function tests checked.

Daytona said:

Hi

I think I may have a problem, so I'd welcome some thoughts -

Over the last six months I've been keeping track of what I eat and am
surprised to see that my average daily calorie intake is 1,405 Kcal.

The reason this has cropped up is that I'm taking up backpacking and
am having real problems finding a sleeping bag to keep me warm - the
manufacturers ratings are way too optimistic. They're designed for
average people with average metabolisms. I think I may have a very

low

Quoted message said:

metabolism which means I get cold very easily. I wondered if this is
dangerous or unwise.

In an attempt to control or reduce a beer gut (gained as a result of
over-eating, not over-drinking though!) for several years I've been
attempting to limit the amount of fat I eat to 1.75oz/50g/day and

over

Quoted message said:

the last six months I've reduced the amount of carbohydrates by 2 -
2.5oz / 60 - 70g/day to an average 5oz / 147g/day. I think my weight
has reduced from ~11 St to 9 St 13 lb but I don't take that much
notice, also I've reduced the beer gut. I don't go hungry and am in
good health. I take an average of 30mins exercise a day by fast hill
walking for a mile and a half. I'm an office worker and have always
been.

Details -

Male
Age 37
Height 5' 7.5" / 1.7145m
Weight 139 lb / 63 Kg
BMI 21.4

Daily Diet Split -
RDA RDA Amount Amount Percentage
(Grams) (Ounces)(Grams) (Ounces)of total weight

Protein 53.0 1.9 72 2.5 9%
Carbohydrate 311.0 11.0 147 5.2 19%
- Sugers 22 0.8 3%
- Starch 25 0.9 3%
Fat 73.0 2.6 50 1.8 6%
- Saturates 20.0 0.7 17 0.6 2%
- Mono 5 0.2 1%
- Poly 2.0 0.1 3 0.1 0%
Fibre 7.0 0.2 8 0.3 1%
Fruit/Veg 400.0 14.1 131 4.6 17%
Salt 7.0 0.2 6 0.2 1%

RDA = UK Recommended Daily Amounts

The rough calculations I've seen suggest that my Basal/Resting
Metabolic Rate should be around 2000 Kcal (14-15 times my weight)
whereas I feel perfectly happy with 1,400 (10 times my weight).

Does this make any sense ? Is this healthy and sustainable or
dangerous ?

Thanks

Daytona

It may have nothing to do with calories.

Decreased heat/cold tolerance may be related to a Vitamin C deficiency.

http://www.innvista.com/health/nutrition/vitamins/c.htm

quote:
******
Deficiency symptoms include: (rebound deficiency can occur if large
doses are halted abruptly), scurvy, generalized swelling, dry skin,
small skin hemorrhages (ecchymosis and petechiae), easy bruising,
nosebleeds, bleeding gums, increased cholesterol levels, weak teeth and
bones in children, loose teeth, separation of the ends of long bones,
swollen/aching joints, aching muscles/extremeties, dry/thinning hair,
swelling or hardening of hair follicles (hyperkeratosis), drying of
tear glands, decreased appetite, weakness, fatigue, depression, stress,
emotional agitation, shortness of breath, muscle weakness, anemia,
decreased weight, deterioration of digestion, slow healing, decreased
immunity/cancer resistance, gallstones,

decreased heat/cold tolerance,

back trouble.
******
unquote

They used to give South African diamond miners high dosages of vitamin
C to help them cope with the very high heat in the mines. It worked.
And it was very cost effective.

Do you have any of the other deficiency symptoms listed above?

TC

Spammers_Should_Be_Shot said:

----- Original Message -----
From: "Daytona" <[email hidden]>
Newsgroups: misc.fitness.misc,sci.med.nutrition
Sent: Sunday, February 27, 2005 6:46 AM
Subject: Have I got a very low metabolism ?

Quoted message said:

So let's see, if I read this right you're eating 53g Protein, 311g Carbs &
73g Fat per day.

Sorry, I confused matters by giving the governments Recommended Daily
Amounts (RDA) as well which is the figure you've used, rather than
what I actually eat, which is -

Protein 72g
Carbs 147g
Fat 50g

Quoted message said:

Protein and Carbs are 4calories per gram so (53+311) x 4 = 1456 calories
Fat is 9 calories per gram so 73 x 9 = 657 calories

Thanks - I didn't know the food types had a set amount of calories. I
just used the figures off the side of the packets. It differs slightly
from this figure, but not by much.

Quoted message said:

1456 + 657 = 2113 calories/day intake.

Quoted message said:

RDA = UK Recommended Daily Amounts

The rough calculations I've seen suggest that my Basal/Resting
Metabolic Rate should be around 2000 Kcal (14-15 times my weight)
whereas I feel perfectly happy with 1,400 (10 times my weight).

Is my math off? Seems to me you're getting 2113 calories?

So the new calculation is -

72g x 4 = 288 (22%)
147 x 4 = 588 (44%)
50g x 9 = 450 (34%)
-----
= 1,326 Kcal

It seems that I'm eating 45% more protein than government recommended
figures, which doesn't surprise me as I like meat and fish.

Quoted message said:

One important
thing to keep in mind is that everyone is different. BMR, Caloric Needs,
Etc. are guidelines and tend to vary from person to person. I'd suggest
eating what you require to meet your goals (if it's fat loss than eat less
than maintance, muscle gain, then eat more than maintance, etc.)

I was concerned after seeing some of the formulas used eg Kcal =
weight(pounds) x 14 to 15, My goal was simply to lose my beer gut,
which I took as an indication that calories in were exceeding calories
out, and which would otherwise have lead to a steady weight gain when
I was in the top end of the ideal weight range as measured by the Body
Mass Index (BMI). Once I'd achieved this I wanted to stabalise my
weight. It wasn't excessive or out of control, but would have simply
kept increasing until it was - at least I assume it would have ?

My concern was finding that I only need ~1,400 calories and that I
must have a slow, or very slow metabolism. Is this is a bad thing
and/or unsustainable, as I don't know much about diets ?

Quoted message said:

Adjust
your caloric intake as needed to meet your goals in a steady, long term
approach (i.e. no crash diets or sudden massive changes).

Absolutely; not knowing much about diets, it seems to me that sudden
large changes would be working against your body, and will provoke a
reaction. Millions of years of evolution are always going to win when
that happens......

Daytona

"[email hidden]" <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Might wanna have your thyroid hormone/function tests checked.

Yeah that's an option, but first I'd be interested to know from people
that know more about these things than I do if 1,400Kcals is stupidly
low.

Daytona

TC said:

It may have nothing to do with calories.

Decreased heat/cold tolerance may be related to a Vitamin C deficiency.

Quoted message said:

Do you have any of the other deficiency symptoms listed above?

Interesting stuff thanks TC !

Other than thinning hair, I don't have any of the symptoms.

I always assumed I was getting enough VC, but now I think about it you
may be on to something as I don't eat much fruit & veg - 131g/day (400
recommended), this would have been the case for around 10 years. The
multi-vitamin pill I take every 3 days gives 60mg of VC (100% of
recommended amount) so I'll get some VC pills.

Daytona

Daytona said:

TC said:

It may have nothing to do with calories.

Decreased heat/cold tolerance may be related to a Vitamin C

deficiency.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Do you have any of the other deficiency symptoms listed above?

Interesting stuff thanks TC !

Other than thinning hair, I don't have any of the symptoms.

I always assumed I was getting enough VC, but now I think about it

you

Quoted message said:

may be on to something as I don't eat much fruit & veg - 131g/day

(400

Quoted message said:

recommended), this would have been the case for around 10 years. The
multi-vitamin pill I take every 3 days gives 60mg of VC (100% of
recommended amount) so I'll get some VC pills.

Daytona

I would suggest a minimum or 2000 mg per day. Best taken smaller
anounts at intervals thruout the day too. No toxicity issues
whatsoever.

TC

TC said:

I would suggest a minimum or 2000 mg per day.

Why such a large overdose - does it make up for my low levels in the
past ?

Quoted message said:

No toxicity issues
whatsoever.

I vaguely remember that the body simply takes what it needs and
excretes the rest, I'll do some research. Even so, I'm nervous of
extremes if there's no good reason to go to an extreme.

Thanks

Daytona

Daytona said:

TC said:

I would suggest a minimum or 2000 mg per day.

Why such a large overdose - does it make up for my low levels in the
past ?

Quoted message said:

No toxicity issues
whatsoever.

I vaguely remember that the body simply takes what it needs and
excretes the rest, I'll do some research. Even so, I'm nervous of
extremes if there's no good reason to go to an extreme.

Thanks

Daytona

That's not extreme at all. Many people can take upwards of 20 to 30
1000 mgs per day without problems. The upper limit is a matter of what
your stomach can handle. If you get the runs, you've taken more than
you can handle. And that shouldn't happen in anything less than 15 or
20 1000 mgs for most people.

2 to 3 1000 mgs is about the minimum that I recomend and that I take.
If I feel a bit out of sorts, kinda lke a cold may be coming on, I'll
take 2 or 3 or more 1000 mgs 2 to 3 times a day. I haven't had a cold
since I started vit C, seriously.

Any excess will be excreted. Vit C is a water soluble vitamin. All the
water soluble vitamins are handled this way. Very low or non-existent
toxicity issues.

Although some people do have touchy enough stomachs that very small
amounts can upset their stomachs. In that case, or in the case of
people wanting to take very large amounts without the stomach problems,
you can swith from the typical ascorbic acid tablets form of vit C to
the powdered calcium ascorbate, pottassium ascorbate or sodium
ascorbate, which is much easier on the stomach. You just disolve the
powder in a liquid, like water, and shoot her back. The vit c in the
ascorbate form is easier on the stomach, more stable (lasts longer on
the shelf), and it appears to be cheaper in the long run.

TC

TC said:

That's not extreme at all. Many people can take upwards of 20 to 30
1000 mgs per day without problems. The upper limit is a matter of what
your stomach can handle. If you get the runs, you've taken more than
you can handle. And that shouldn't happen in anything less than 15 or
20 1000 mgs for most people.

OK - Thanks !

Daytona