Disappointed with how LITTLE calories triathlon training burns. (Page 5)

But calories isn't a theory.  There is no way that you can vary your diet from 1200 calories a day to 3500 and not see weight fluctuation unless you're varying your physical activity accordingly.  It's calories in vs. calories out, that's all it is.

I'm going to go contrary to all this advice here and say that the best way to gain weight long-term is by dieting, because that is the best way to mess up your metabolism.  Unless you have an eating disorder or a hormonal problem affecting your metabolism, you are going to have a natural weight range.  It will require a LOT of effort to maintain a body weight outside that weight range.  Your focus should not be a number on the scale, but on how healthy you are.  Focus on eating nutritious foods, listen to your body and eat when you're hungry, stop eating when you're full.  Eat more vegetables.  Listen to your body's needs.  The fear people have that if they allow themselves to eat whatever they want is usually based on their "diet" of borderline starvation that causes a natural binging desire because your body is starving.

Ever hear of the Minnesota starvation study?  40 young men were put on starvation diets to simulate the effects of the lack of food wartime populations would undergo.  How many calories were they allowed per day? 1600.  They started to have psychological problems, become obsessed with food, had binging behavior and bizarre food rituals.  Read about it here: http://junkfoodscience.blogspot.com/2008/02/how-weve-came-to-believe-that.html

Each person is unique and has a different body.  You have to learn to pay attention to the signals your body sends you and not just rely on some formula you found on the internet, because you are not the same as the six billion other people on this planet.  Furthermore, the vast majority of people that lose a substantial amount of weight don't keep it off for more than five years.  I don't want to knock anyone here who has lost weight, but generally it is extremely difficult to maintain that weight loss unless you deliberately devote a LOT of energy to doing so.  Personally I'd rather be slightly overweight (which by the way, statistically means I will live longer than those that are of "normal" BMI) and healthy and NOT constantly obsessing over calories.

But hey, your mileage may vary.

bingo

Maybe because you're already at a healthy weight??

Actually, I am not sure you went contrary to much of the advice given so far. 

It goes contrary to everyone who trots out the "eat less, exercise more" solution, and those who don't question someone's desire to lose weight.  For some people, "eat less, exercise more" means "starve and do nothing but exercise."

I know not everyone does triathlon because they want to get faster and perform better, but rather to lose weight, and I don't have a problem with that.  However, you can mess up your body pretty good if you try to demand endurance from it without fueling it properly, and I don't think people should diagnose over the internet that wanting to lose that last ten pounds is fine and dandy and should be encouraged.  Your health is more important than being a certain weight or fitting into a certain size of jeans.

Also wanted to add....women's clothing sizes are silly. If you want to see the number 4 and you haven't been to an Old Navy or Gap lately (that is, the size 6-8 is in other brands), then go try on a size 4 there - ON especially. It'll fit. I have clothes from size 4 all the way to a juniors 11 (which is theoretically a 12 in womens) that fit me appropriately, depending on who makes them.

And if you're not built with the long and lean/model/waif figure, you may never wear a size 4. In my experience, it seems like the smaller the size, the more it's built for someone who's straight up and down. I'm hourglass shaped, so my rib cage and hips are wider (and trust me, you can feel bones), and there are 4's and 6's that don't fit me for that reason - because the hips/bust area is nearly the same size as the waist. That is soooo not my problem and has nothing to do with how healthy I am!

prove to what i say is nonsense.

a quick refresh on what TEF is;

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermic_effect_of_food

The thermic effect of food is negligable.  The same theory holds that drinking ice water will burn calories because your body has to warm the water before digestion and that requires calories.  It is true, but irrelevent.  We are taking about multiple thousands of calories. The 50 calories used for TEF is nothing compared to 3200 calories burned riding 20 miles (est 1600cal) and topping that with a 10 mile cool down run (est 1400). Garmin  HRM said 3200. 

On the positive side - The best way to lose weight is to record everything you eat.  Divide your calories into two categories, those that directly support workouts and those for life.  As soon as you become aware of how many calories you consume, you will become empowered to control your food as fuel.  It's fuel, it's not for entertainment.  If you find that your x calorie diet, does not provide enough satisfaction or energy to sustain your workouts, then adjust your calorie mix.  That is the percent of calories for carb, protein and fat.  I perform best if I have carbs in my system during workouts, recovery best if I have protein after workouts and I am happiest if I add a bit healthy fats during life.

I have a picture of myself plus 140 pounds, looking 25 years older, it is a powerful motivator.  Feed the fire, let it become your desire and live life stronger, faster, extra longer.   140 is a long ways to go.  It may take time to prepare and adapt yourself, but you can do it.   You can even turn back the clock.

Stay healthy.

 there you go. the moon is not made of cheese

And fewer calories are used from celery because it's largely made up of cellulose which isn't able to be digested by humans.  It has absolutely nothing to do with TEF.

See?  Nonsensical statements are easy to disprove.

I have not read all the replies but here is my two cents

I am 5'9" and have gone from 198lbs to 152 lbs in the last 18 months and am about to do my first triathlon next weekend.  How did I get here? Started with adjusting my diet, I did not 'diet', I did radically change what and how I ate, I roughly followed the Eat Clean Diet by Tosca Reno.  Following her specific recipes exactly seemed a bit rough sometimes but her overarching ideas really work.  Next I started lifting weights, more muscle = more calories burned even when you are resting, = less injuries, = faster times.  Reno is a big proponent of weight lifting and does body building competitions and so on but some of the same principles apply to endurance racing. Next, after thee months of weight lifting I added in cycling and running and then four months ago, swimming. 

I have gone from 10 min/mi for a 5k to 6:30 min/mi for a 10k race, being able to only push out 20 miles at 12 mph on the bike to being able to do 50 miles at ave 22 mph and my .5 mi swim time from 40 minutes to 16 minutes.  

My training plan is heavy on the cardio now and light on the weights and I have not lost a pound since I made that transition 4 months ago. I do still lift twice per week and s/b/ or r 6 days per week.  If I was you and had your goals I might lift 4 days per week for the next two months with cardio 3 days per week and then transition into more cardio. 

I think you are way under estimating the calorie burn rate for swimming. 

Also make sure you are getting plenty of protein, you should be getting 60 to 70 grams per day while training. That was, IMO, a huge contributor to my improvement.

There's a lot of literature out there about how the Atkins diet puts a lot of strain on your system, especially your kidneys, which I'm not going to reiterate.

I will say that if you want to fuel a lot of exercise, you need to be eating carbohydrates, or you are going to bonk after like ten minutes.  I'll listen to Chris Carmichael on this one - as an athlete, the bulk of your calories should be coming from carbohydrates.  Atkins is NOT meant for very physically active people.

I read something a while ago that kind of explains this to me.  To lose weight count something.

Count carbs

Count steps

Count calories

Count ...

Chocula?

How do you account for the ketosis that occurs on the Atkins diet but not on a typical calorie restriction diet in a similar fashion to an uncontrolled diabetic who eats thousands of calories and sheds weight rapidly?

Technically the ketosis is resulting in more calories being burned.  So there is a calorie deficit.  If someone's metabolism changes, same thing, calories out goes up.