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Medical Forum / General / Nutrition / March 2005Have I got a very low metabolism ?
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% 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 "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 ... I take an average of 30mins exercise a day by fast hill walking for a mile and a half." Welcome to the club! I'm another one. The experts claim that I need 3000 calories/day at my height (6'4"), weight and activity level (a field naturalist); my basal (sleeping) metabolism is supposed to be 1600 calories/day! In fact, I maintain my weight steady with only 1500 calories/day. But relax, it's perfectly possible to obtain all the nutrients in RDA quantity on as little as 1000 calories/day, and with an essentially natural diet to boot. See http://sankey.ws/diet.html for some notes on how to do it. As far as outdoor sleeping goes, order from Mountain Equipment Coop. They've got stuff I can use to 40 below. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Daytona" <me@privacy.net> Newsgroups: misc.fitness.misc,sci.med.nutrition Sent: Sunday, February 27, 2005 6:46 AM Subject: Have I got a very low metabolism ? > Hi > [quoted text clipped - 44 lines] > 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. > 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). > Does this make any sense ? Is this healthy and sustainable or > dangerous ? > > Thanks > > Daytona >----- Original Message ----- >From: "Daytona" <me@privacy.net> >Newsgroups: misc.fitness.misc,sci.med.nutrition >Sent: Sunday, February 27, 2005 6:46 AM >Subject: Have I got a very low metabolism ? >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 >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. >1456 + 657 = 2113 calories/day intake. > [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > >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. >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 ? >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 Juhana Harju: "If you would pay attention to phytochemicals, fiber and to the quality of fats, which are all important for good health, your list [http://sankey.ws/diet.html] would look different." I do include dietary fiber in my analyses, also lipids are split into saturated, monounsaturated, O3 and O6 (saturated and O6 give a negative score). I'll include phytochemicals when I can find numbers on them that at least a few people agree on. Might wanna have your thyroid hormone/function tests checked. "christopher.a.dowling@gmail.com" <christopher.a.dowling@gmail.com> wrote: >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 > Hi > [quoted text clipped - 57 lines] > > 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 >It may have nothing to do with calories. > >Decreased heat/cold tolerance may be related to a Vitamin C deficiency. >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 > >It may have nothing to do with calories. > > [quoted text clipped - 13 lines] > > 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 >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 ? >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 > >I would suggest a minimum or 2000 mg per day. > [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] > > 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 >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 There are two aspects to vitamin C. The first is scurvy, which is what the RDA is set for. Then there is the fact that most mammals, except the great apes, make their own vitamin C (carnivores have to, obviously) and they make the equivalent of 2-3 g/day for a human weight. Many of us are justifiably cautious of a 'scientist' who calims that we know so much that we can declare a natural function, developed over long evolution, as useless. Personally, I get about 200 g/day from fruits and veggies, and grab an extra 500 g pill if I feel a cold coming on. That definitely helps me, but I didn't observe any benefit from keeping up the 1 g/day level, so I've stopped - no use poppiing pills if you don't need them. Try a gram a day, and see if you feel better, especially in your case check if it helps you keep warm in cold weather. If it doesn't do anything, get a better parka and sleeping bag! |
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