Thread: Which is better to skimp on - water or sleep?

Originally Posted by KJR55

Due to bladder problems, if I drink more than 2 liters of water per day, I will pee NO LESS than 8 times a day. And 3-4 of those times will be at 12am, 2am, 4am and 6am. Thus, NO sleep. I've been dealing with this for awhile, and am now looking into some sort of medication.

So my question is this: Until I can get some sort of medication or professional help, which scenario is better for weight loss, muscle strength & general health?

No good sleep, 2 hour catnaps broken up by trips to the restroom

OR

Limit myself to 2 liters (sometimes 3) per day max?

Help!!! THIS BLOWS.


Oh yeah - also, could anyone tell me how much I can expect to lose if I am eating 1200 calories per day & burning 300 per day through exercise? I think I have finally figured out the key to losing weight. HEALTH! Once you commit to HEALTH and not a diet or "weight loss", the rest comes naturally. Thats cause health is not a temporary thing. Its a lifetime committment. As opposed to losing weight on a diet..........going off the diet.........gaining weight back.........going back on the diet..........you get the idea.

But please don't tell me my cals are too low. I sincerely feel full throughout the day and this 1200 calorie plan was doctor recommended. I know all about the eat to lose thing. I do eat every 2-3 hours.

Im so sorry...But...ur cals are too low!!!
I dont know how tall u are or how much you weight, but Im almost sure that 1200 cals isnt enought if you plan on training and burning 300 cals a day by doing so. Care to elaborate on ur actual diet(what foods u actualy eat daily)?

As far as what u can expect to loose..I dunno, but Id bet it would be lbm!

I'm curious as to why your Doctor "recomended" such a low calorie consumption? Also, I'm sure many here will tell you that most doctors know very little about nutrition science.

As far as your water problem? That's a toughy. You mentioned a "bladder problem". I am guessing that you mean a "weak" bladder or is it something more severe? One approach you might consider is to consume the majority of your water during the day and taper consumption off in the evening. You're just gonna have to find a happy balance somehow. I certainly would not want to compromise on sleep!

limit you water consumption as the night progresses and you shouldn't have to pee in the middle of the night.

I'll give an example of diet:

9am - 1 cup cottage cheese + blueberries, raspberries, blackberries & 1/4 serving low carb yogurt

11:30 am - 4 oz. turkey, chicken or tuna on whole wheat or 1 cup brown rice with 1 cup veggies (choice of whole wheat bread or brown rice)

2:00pm - apple or orange w/ 1 oz. low fat cheese

4:00pm - peach w/ boiled egg

6:00pm - broiled fish, shrimp or lean beef + 2 cups of green veggies

Only beverage is green tea and water. This varies greatly, but you get the idea.

The doctor recommended I drop 30 pounds and said that calories needed to be based on LBM, not total body weight since fat doesnt need calories to sustain. Therefore, she said 120 lbs. lean body mass x 10 = 1200 cals per day. Made sense to me, and since I'm never hungry, it seems like a good idea.

Witmaster: I don't know yet what the bladder problem is, other than an overactive bladder. I have tried cutting off all consumption past 3pm. I have drank 4-6 liters from 7am to 3pm, but STILL have to pee every 2-3 hours all through the night. Thus the basis for my concern. WHAT am I peeing out? LOL

There are always plastic sheets or depends. Drink up.
Just kidding.
If it is a medical problem and you will be taking meds soon, I would say cut back a little bit on the water, or stop drinking hours before you go to sleep.

Dr. just called. Nothing wrong except an overactive bladder. For which Ditropan XL was prescribed. Wish me luck.........

Also - my doctor is a former fat chick turned health nut. She says I'm not concerned with building muscle right now, so the low calories are good for my goal. I am 190 pounds, 40% BF. Goal is 145 lbs., 20% body fat.

Originally Posted by KJR55

Dr. just called. Nothing wrong except an overactive bladder. For which Ditropan XL was prescribed. Wish me luck.........

Also - my doctor is a former fat chick turned health nut. She says I'm not concerned with building muscle right now, so the low calories are good for my goal. I am 190 pounds, 40% BF. Goal is 145 lbs., 20% body fat.

What concerns me in that statement, is that the simple fact of building muscle and adding LBM would not only help, but also speed up the weight loss! Muscle burns calories even when u sleep(Oh god, I sound like a bad infomercial!)...having more LBm also speeds up ur metabolism, once again burning more fat and cals....

Im no doc of course, but I have found them to be wrong when it comes to nutrition...

I asked that & she said, "If you want to build muscle, you must eat more. And your goal is to lose fat first. The best way to accomplish this is LBM x 10 for calorie intake per day. Once you get to a healthier body fat %, then you can concentrate on building more muscle if you'd like. But for now, let's burn the fat." When I asked about the ratios, she said not to worry about all that & as long as I eat protein + carb at every meal, watch my cals & fats and avoid the forbidden foods, I'll be fine.

Originally Posted by KJR55

I asked that & she said, "If you want to build muscle, you must eat more. And your goal is to lose fat first. The best way to accomplish this is LBM x 10 for calorie intake per day. Once you get to a healthier body fat %, then you can concentrate on building more muscle if you'd like. But for now, let's burn the fat." When I asked about the ratios, she said not to worry about all that & as long as I eat protein + carb at every meal, watch my cals & fats and avoid the forbidden foods, I'll be fine.

I dunno Like I said, I aint got no PHd, Im simply thinking that by eating so little, U wont burn fat, ull burn muscle or nothing at all as ur body will go into starvation mode...You should give the stickies on cutting, bulking and maintenance in the nutrition forum a quick look...Jodi really knows her stuff.
Guide to Cutting, Bulking & Maintenance
In there you will notice things such as:

"Cut - 10-13 cals per lb of BODYWEIGHT
Maintain: 13-15 cals per lb of bodyweight
Bulk: 15-18 cals per lb of bodyweight"

its worth your time...

I have read that. Which is why I asked the doc so many questions. (I think I pissed her off, lol.) But like I said, her explanation was calories for every lb. of LBM, not total body weight since fat doesn't need energy (calories) to sustain. I figure I'll try it for a while, see if she's for real or full of $hit!

Originally Posted by KJR55

Dr. just called. Nothing wrong except an overactive bladder. For which Ditropan XL was prescribed. Wish me luck.........

Also - my doctor is a former fat chick turned health nut. She says I'm not concerned with building muscle right now, so the low calories are good for my goal. I am 190 pounds, 40% BF. Goal is 145 lbs., 20% body fat.

what do you do for work ? do you have kids, etc ? if you are not active outside of the gym then 1200 cals is about right for the BMR of 114 lbs of LBM.

Nope, not active at all. I'm a secretary. No kids. Desk work all day.

So you think she's right on as far as cals? If so, then how many pounds should I expect to lose per week? Doc said between 2-2.5.

One other thing is that over half your carbs come from sugars, that in combination with the 13 hour gap between two of your meals will probably throw your body into starvation mode seeing as how it has no energy for nearly half the day.

Originally Posted by KJR55

Nope, not active at all. I'm a secretary. No kids. Desk work all day.

So you think she's right on as far as cals? If so, then how many pounds should I expect to lose per week? Doc said between 2-2.5.

1-2 lbs a week is what you want. anymore and you will lose a lot of muscle which will screw up your metabolism.

but as XcelKrush stated too many off your carbs are coming from fruit sugars. you should eat more low GI carbs like oats, beans, lentils, etc. you need to add some high fiber carbs to your diet. fiber is essential for fat loss and for overall health and fitness

Also, what time do you go to sleep at night? Your last meal is awfully early, unless you go to bed at 7 or something.

I usually shower, watch tv in bed about 7-8, then go actually fall asleep between 9-10pm.

Ideally, u could throw in a slow digesting protein/efa meal in there, within 1/2 hour of ur bed time...(ff cottage cheese + almonds etc...)