How Much Food Do I Need?

[walker_in_aus]

I have absolutely no idea how to figure this out now. I'm sort of picking up the peatarian macros but I'm coming from paleo/no sugar. And I'm trying to keep an open mind right now because I was definitely mentally signed up to sugar=devil for many years...

Is there a method anyone used and found helpful?

 

[Dhair]

People here generally take in more calories daily than mainstream medicine would recommend.
I would say around 300g carbs and 80g protein daily. Calorie intake varies, but always remember that you'll need more calories the more you increase your metabolism.
Many times I've taken thyroid or a lot of caffeine or methylene blue and I've been hit with a stress response and a wave of anxiety because I simply wasn't getting enough calories.

 

[walker_in_aus]

People here generally take in more calories daily than mainstream medicine would recommend.
I would say around 300g carbs and 80g protein daily. Calorie intake varies, but always remember that you'll need more calories the more you increase your metabolism.
Many times I've take thyroid or a lot of caffeine or methylene blue and I've been hit with a stress response and a wave of anxiety because I simply wasn't getting enough calories.

Thanks!
I guess as hypothyroid with clear stress response for the last few years I should worry less about eating too much and more about eating enough right now. I was just curious as to whether there was a peaty methodology or something you just have to figure out yourself.

 

[tara]

There is probably some variation in needs, between people and across time for the same person.

Ideally, appetite would be a good guide. But some of us have so habitually overridden our appetite (or had it overridden by circumstances) - either too much or too little - that we are not so good at recognising it, and sometimes other factors interfere. In some cases people seem to have eaten so little for so long that their metabolism has adapted (down-regulated) to significantly less - at a cost to various structures and functions. Once this has happened, I think there are questions about whether to increase rapidly or more gradually, in step with increasing metabolism. I suspect that the optimal approach varies from person to person.

I have not seen Peat spell out an answer to this question, but I have seen him refer to 3000 cals as normal or average (don't know if he was thinking of adult men at that time or a more inclusive group), and maintaining on 1500 cals as representing a low metabolism.

I consider youreatopia guidelines to be a very rough ball park estimate for running a sustainably healthy metabolism, because it is based on measured calorie consumption of weight-stable non-dieting adults, rather than self reports (which typically underestimate). This site is about recovering from restrictive eating disorders, which probably applies to some people here, but not everyone. Olwyn of Youreatopia suggests these values as minima for recovery from restrictive eating disorders (RED). For people who have not had REDs, it's an average - some may need a bit more or a bit less. But not 1000 cals less. I'm suspicious when any one is regularly eating less than those averages by many hundreds of cals.
Recovery From Undereating - Youreatopia
I Need How Many Calories?!!

Blossom posted this calculator:
Total energy expenditure
which also seems more reasonable than some of the public calorie calculators.

Chronically undereating sets up eneergy deficit, and the body usually defend itself from the famine with mechanisms like one or more of reduced BMR, reduced lean mass (ie catabolism of organs), reduced NEAT etc.

Peat recommends 80-100 g good quality protein for low-thyroid folks. Probably more can be useful if euthyroid (he eats more than that himself).
Saturated fats are preferable to unsaturated, but not very much is needed to provide some benefit.
People here have reported various carb: protein ratios as working - I've seen from 2:1 - 6:1. Probably depends on current state and activity levels.
People here report various fat: carb ratios - some going very low fat, others eating more 'normal' amounts (and one or two who seem to thrive on cream)

 

[Fearlessgolfer]

There is probably some variation in needs, between people and across time for the same person.

Ideally, appetite would be a good guide. But some of us have so habitually overridden our appetite (or had it overridden by cir)- either too much or too little - that we are not so good at recognising it, and sometimes other factors interfere. In some cases people seem to have eaten so little for so long that their metabolism has adapted (down-regulated) to significantly less - at a cost to various structures and functions. Once this has happened, I think there are questions about whether to increase rapidly or more gradually, in step with increasing metabolism. I suspect that the optimal approach varies from person to person.

I have not seen Peat spell out an answer to this question, but I have seen him refer to 3000 cals as normal or average (don't know if he was thinking of adult men at that time or a more inclusive group), and maintaining on 1500 cals as representing a low metabolism.

I consider youreatopia guidelines to be a very rough ball park estimate for running a sustainably healthy metabolism, because it is based on measured calorie consumption of weight-stable non-dieting adults, rather than self reports (which typically underestimate). This site is about recovering from restrictive eating disorders, which probably applies to some people here, but not everyone. Olwyn of Youreatopia suggests these values as minima for recovery from restrictive eating disorders (RED). For people who have not had REDs, it's an average - some may need a bit more or a bit less. But not 1000 cals less. I'm suspicious when any one is regularly eating less than those averages by many hundreds of cals.
Recovery From Undereating - Youreatopia
I Need How Many Calories?!!

Blossom posted this calculator:
Total energy expenditure
which also seems more reasonable than some of the public calorie calculators.

Chronically undereating sets up eneergy deficit, and the body usually defend itself from the famine with mechanisms like one or more of reduced BMR, reduced lean mass (ie catabolism of organs), reduced NEAT etc.

Peat recommends 80-100 g good quality protein for low-thyroid folks. Probably more can be useful if euthyroid (he eats more than that himself).
Saturated fats are preferable to unsaturated, but not very much is needed to provide some benefit.
People here have reported various carb: protein ratios as working - I've seen from 2:1 - 6:1. Probably depends on current state and activity levels.
People here report various fat: carb ratios - some going very low fat, others eating more 'normal' amounts (and one or two who seem to thrive on cream)

Very nice @tara!

Protein being 80-100 g, what about fat? Carbs seems to be 200g sugar/300g total carb...

 

[Fearlessgolfer]

I've just calculated my calories and macro intake.

It's around 3000 cal, Fat @ 124g (71g saturated, 6 poly, 12 mono)
Carb @ 328g ( 226g sugar)
Protein@ 148g