Good fats and calorie limit
 

Right now I'm having to lose a little over 20 lbs. (and I can tell you that is mostly beer, lol) and am on a plan for the next 3 months to do so, after which I plan to start pushing towards muscle although I'm lifting now. My calorie intake is limited to about 1189, but after doing the math on my foods, there is barely any room for things like good fats and such. Can I take like 2 tablespoons of peanut butter or have nuts have my calorie limit or will that throw me off?

220 lbs
6 foot

There is nothing wrong with adding fats from nuts (I like raw almonds) or peanut butter to your diet but they are calorie dense. Meaning that a little can add lots of calories. Fat has also been shown to help suppress appetite (no wonder all those on the no fat diets are always hungry).

1200 calories a day for a 6' male is fairly aggresive (but not crazy) especially if you are exercising. You may want to consider adding or substituting more red meat or a protein shake mixed in whole milk to your diet plan. You need the protein to build and repair muscle anyway.

I think I was reading my calorie chart wrong. I think it meant I would burn that 1189 and my allowed intake of calories was actually 1900+. I did lose 3 lbs. somehow overnight though already, but maybe my body is just playing games with me. lol

1900 sounds more reasonable. I can fluctuate 3 pounds a day easily. I just try to keep the bouncing scale moving progressively downward.

I tried 1200 (or less) which went well for 3 weeks and then I was at a plateau, even started gaining a little… I increased calorie intake to 1500-1600 and weight is dropping again (I guess my body had gone into starvation mode). Am 46, 1m68 and went from 68 kg to 61 kg in less than months time. my goal is 60kg, less fat and more muscle. Keep exercising though. Doing Insanity with Shaun T and is hard but rewarding.

About the fats in nuts: I usually eat 10-20 grams cashew or almonds to lift the fat percentage in my diet and it works rather well. Yesterday, since my food-plan for the day contained lower calories, I decided to eat a 50 grams combo almonds and cashews (300 calories) and felt low-energy for the rest of the day, even after my normal meals. I heavily regretted and have decided not to do this again and stick to the 10-20 grams I used to consume.

20 pounds is not really that much to lose. Personally I would never go below 2,000 cals a day. Especially with weight training also.
Good fats can be added with natural peanut butter, almonds, and cooking your eggs in olive oil. Things like that.
Good luck.
Robb

platau
 

Your body needs food...not any kind of food but good foods and I understand that you guys all know this. but 1900 caleries is crazy for any average size man...we naturally have more muscle than ladies do, your body goes into self-preservation when it doesn't get enough food and starts to save the fat and burns muscle. on another note fruit is good to eat in the morning when your body has gone 8 hours with nothing going into it. Not canned fruit but fresh fruit. Almonds are great, you can try almond butter instead of peanut buter. the almond butter is a better choice cost more but has more protien and good fats.

Im only 5'8" but lean and I push for 2200 cal a day. At 6' you prolly need more. I figure out my protein foods (chicken/fish/cottage cheese, olive oil ,etc) then see how much more fat I need for the day. 7g of almonds and 7g of sunflower seeds are my favorite ones. If your working out water intake is important. To help slow down the beer intake, eat a good meal first,,,,,your likely to drink less. Dont be fooled by thinking low cal intake is the trick, good whole foods are what you need.

If you begin dieting with too drastic of a caloric restriction you will damage you metabolism and have no where to go once your weight loss slows. You should aim for 1-2lb of weight loss a week unless you are extremely obese. Reason being is eventually you will start to eat more and if you metabolism has adapted somewhat to the extremely low caloric intake your on you are going to have a huge rebound in post-diet weight gain. Also once your weight loss has slowed if you are already very low in your caloric intake it doesn't leave much room for lowering it even further.