Dietician visit...

I had my visit with the dietician today.  Once today got here, I was somewhat reluctant to go, because I was thinking that there was likely nothing that she was going to tell me that I didn't already know.  When the dietician came out and led me into her room my heart sank - she had all these plastic foods laid out and measuring cups.  I thought that this was going to be a lecture on portion size and calories.

Fortunately I was proved totally wrong.  She introduced herself and she is a Registered Dietician and, as an added bonus, is a runner and so she was totally on board with what I wanted to talk about.  She opened the floor to me and I started asking questions about my ideal weight and my embarrassing questions about my bowel issues.

I was totally comfortable talking to her, which was great.  She spent a full hour talking me about every question and issues I am having.

First off, she said my weight is absolutely perfect.   She said that I absolutely should not go below 115 pounds.  If I wanted to, she said that 125 as a high would be fine, too, but that a top limit of 120 - which is my goal - is perfect.

We spent a long time talking about the exercising I am doing.  She said that I am cold all the time because I have extremely low body fat.  She believes that I have an ideal balance of cardio and strength training and explained why both are SO important in weight loss and maintenance.  But she also feels that I totally underestimate how intensive my exercise routine is.  She said that running 6 miles is quite a long run and it does take a toll on the body and that certainly running 10-12 miles on the weekend is extremely taxing.

Which leads to the next issue -  calories.  She had me go through my typical day of food.  She said that I am not eating enough at all.  She did a bunch of calculations and told me that I should be eating 1700 calories per day AT A MINIMUM.  On the days I exercise - which I do daily - I should be at 2200.  She also wants me to focus on a larger carb intake on my run days and more protein on my weight lifting days.  I have been doing this to some extent but she said I should be focusing more on this.

I expressed some doubt on the calorie intake.  She said that since I'm new to maintenance I might not have seen the effects, but I will if I keep under-eating.  She feels that I am risking injury.  Also she said that  if I eat more, I will have more energy and can work harder in my workouts and will burn more calories.  That was interesting to me...

Finally the BM issue...first we looked at things that normally work.  From diet, to exercise, to drinking coffee, etc., I am doing everything right!  Damn!!  She said that over the past 2 years my body has been through tremendous changes.  Not just in terms of the actual weight loss, but the restructuring of muscle and fat.  So it is hard to determine what the cause or the solution will be.  If I eat more calories there will be more in there to push through.  Also, she feels that my fiber intake is too low and gave me some ideas on upping my fiber.  I need to do some trial and error.

All on all, I felt it was worth my time and I did learn some things.  As I reflected tonight I realized that as in denial about how fat I was in my past, I have total denial now about how thin I am now. I see myself not as FAT anymore, but as high normal.  I also don't see my exercise routine as that intensive.  But she talked to me quite passionately about what is happening to my body with my routine, and while it is good and healthy, how crucial it is for me to fuel my body to keep it strong, healthy and injury-free.

So, I have a lot to think about...