Exercise without eating healthily - Is it counter productive?
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I do not see anything you necessarily need to take out of your diet.
You need to add more meat, fat, and vegetables. Vegetables include olives, romaine, tomatoes, cucumbers, green beans, carrots, corn. Add some fruits if you like them more than vegetables.
1 Saturated fats are o.k. We are not living in the 1980s any more. We have better information, so eat the saturated fats. Eat the sodium because you are eating out and eating packaged foods. Salt only matters to certain populations and people with certain health risks. We have VERY few hydrogenated fats allowed to be sold in the US and the UK (vegetable shortening like Crisco, some boxed cake mixes, packaged cakes, artificial creamer, microwave popcorn ). If you do run across an item or two, it will not matter much for now because it is a small amount in your overall day AND you are working on adding regular fats into your days/week.
2 Instead of skimmed, drink regular milk.
You need more fats and oils so eat nuts (the kind with no salt). They will increase your protein and your over all calorie count on days when you need caloires.
3 Eat two steaks a day or find some way to eat more meat. Chicken legs are are easy to cook. So are pork chops. Or open a can of beans for protein. Also, eggs (hard boil a dozen at a time and put in the fridge), hot dogs, home made hamburgers, canned tuna/salmon/sardines.
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Most likely you will reduce some of the sugary drinks to get more protein but you do not have to do everything all at once. Find places to modify.0 -
blueboxgeek wrote: »I have to say..... I wish I could lose weight eating what you do LOL
It's actually what made me post this in the first place to see if anyone else has been in this situation. I have a feeling it won't last forever but I guess I'll have to wait and see. I know I eat fast foods a little too often and should look at cooking for myself when my family gets fast food instead.
It's a shame the food diary can't track 6 macros or it would be easier for me to track sodium as well.
look under the reports tab, and you can also pick it to be the front line tracking by going under food and then settings0 -
I looked at your diary and I'm a little shocked. The amount of sugar and carbs is scary. The World Health Organization recommends less than 50g of sugar per day and preferably less than 25g. You are consuming a very unhealthy amount which will put you at risk of messing up with your endocrine system no matter what your weight is. Your heart, pancreas, brain and liver are all working extra hard due to the high variations in insulin and glucose in your system. It's a very good thing that you want to change your diet because you are young and you don't want to do that to your body. The sooner you make healthier choices, the better results you will get. I would start by getting rid of all the non-water drinks because they are loaded with sugar and unnecessary calories. When you have options for food, choose the option with the highest amount of protein. If it has more carbs than proteins, don't eat it unless it's a pre or post workout food.0
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pstegman888 wrote: »If you don't cook, rotisserie chicken from the grocery store or Sam's Club is a great, fast source of protein. Pick one up on the way home from work while the rest of the family gets carryout. You could eat a half chicken for dinner, and use the rest for sandwiches or over salad/rice/quinoa for lunches.
I cooked myself a steak tonight. Does that count? XD
Oh yeah! I would never come between a man and his bbq grill!
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I looked at your diary and I'm a little shocked. The amount of sugar and carbs is scary. The World Health Organization recommends less than 50g of sugar per day and preferably less than 25g. You are consuming a very unhealthy amount which will put you at risk of messing up with your endocrine system no matter what your weight is. Your heart, pancreas, brain and liver are all working extra hard due to the high variations in insulin and glucose in your system. It's a very good thing that you want to change your diet because you are young and you don't want to do that to your body. The sooner you make healthier choices, the better results you will get. I would start by getting rid of all the non-water drinks because they are loaded with sugar and unnecessary calories. When you have options for food, choose the option with the highest amount of protein. If it has more carbs than proteins, don't eat it unless it's a pre or post workout food.
That recommendation is also probably based on an average-sized adult. Being overweight and having a higher base metabolic rate would mean that a bit more is fine for me. As for my sugar intake, I tend to try to eat and drink carbs and sugars before going to the gym. 30g of sugar comes from the 750ml sports drink I take with me because I prefer it over water. And I typically eat some cereal and a piece of fruit for breakfast. All this sugar in my system will be converted into energy and used up before it's stored as fat.
A lot of my sugar intake does from from sodas and energy drinks. I have cut down on them before I came back here but I do still drink them. I'll probably just phase them out or drink them less regularly as I lose more weight.0 -
You are doing fine. It is good to analyze and consider making changes every so often. 0
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Eating a deficit and working out will draw on fat stores.
That is good.
The food you eat being nutritious helps you have energy and feel full. So eating smart to fuel your body will be helpful long term.
A day where you have a couple doughnuts won't be a big deal. A week of half your calories from doughnuts would be different if you are lifting hard
When I have a weekend of hard training I have to eat right to survive and not fee like I have been ran over.
The harder you train and closer you get to elite athlete level the more nutrition becomes critical.
Just getting started, don't go all food obsession with it. Getting used to working out and eating a nutritious meal plan is work and takes time.
So many great suggestions in this thread.
I predict with your current level of dedication and lots of new helpful info, you will see this continue to work!
Stick with it!
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Wow just had a look at your diary and cant believe how much sugar and fat you consume per day. And your loosing weight? I think you will find your weight loss will slow down and you really need to look at fruit, veg, fish, lean meats ect. You eat an awful lot of takeaway foods, maybe have them occasionally for a treat. Best of luck with your continued weight loss. 0
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Wow just had a look at your diary and cant believe how much sugar and fat you consume per day. And your loosing weight? I think you will find your weight loss will slow down and you really need to look at fruit, veg, fish, lean meats ect. You eat an awful lot of takeaway foods, maybe have them occasionally for a treat. Best of luck with your continued weight loss.
Thanks I do eat a lot of takeaway. I just find it hard to say no when my family's eating them all the time. It's partially why I came back to MFP. I wanted to log everything I was eating just so it was there on a list for me to see what I was eating every day. 0 -
KittensMaster wrote: »Eating a deficit and working out will draw on fat stores.
That is good.
The food you eat being nutritious helps you have energy and feel full. So eating smart to fuel your body will be helpful long term.
A day where you have a couple doughnuts won't be a big deal. A week of half your calories from doughnuts would be different if you are lifting hard
When I have a weekend of hard training I have to eat right to survive and not fee like I have been ran over.
The harder you train and closer you get to elite athlete level the more nutrition becomes critical.
Just getting started, don't go all food obsession with it. Getting used to working out and eating a nutritious meal plan is work and takes time.
So many great suggestions in this thread.
I predict with your current level of dedication and lots of new helpful info, you will see this continue to work!
Stick with it!
Yeah. Everyone has gave me loads of helpful tips on here. I'm sticking with it and slowly improving my diet 0 -
Another 2 lbs down this week
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Great that you're losing weight. However, IMO, you're trying to build a house on a plastic foundation instead of concrete based on your diet. For long term heath, get the diet cleaned up. Look for around 90% of your calories from nutrient dense foods, get your macros (looking briefly at your log, probably need to up the protein). The other 10% of calories can be from whatever.
Best of luck.0 -
Packerjohn wrote: »Great that you're losing weight. However, IMO, you're trying to build a house on a plastic foundation instead of concrete based on your diet. For long term heath, get the diet cleaned up. Look for around 90% of your calories from nutrient dense foods, get your macros (looking briefly at your log, probably need to up the protein). The other 10% of calories can be from whatever.
Best of luck.
He said he's going to
Best to learn step by step for some people0 -
Packerjohn wrote: »Great that you're losing weight. However, IMO, you're trying to build a house on a plastic foundation instead of concrete based on your diet. For long term heath, get the diet cleaned up. Look for around 90% of your calories from nutrient dense foods, get your macros (looking briefly at your log, probably need to up the protein). The other 10% of calories can be from whatever.
Best of luck.
He said he's going to
Best to learn step by step for some people
I realize that. I was providing some specific input on diet suggestions.0 -
Scientific or opinion?0
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I looked at your diary and I'm a little shocked. The amount of sugar and carbs is scary. The World Health Organization recommends less than 50g of sugar per day and preferably less than 25g. You are consuming a very unhealthy amount which will put you at risk of messing up with your endocrine system no matter what your weight is. Your heart, pancreas, brain and liver are all working extra hard due to the high variations in insulin and glucose in your system. It's a very good thing that you want to change your diet because you are young and you don't want to do that to your body. The sooner you make healthier choices, the better results you will get. I would start by getting rid of all the non-water drinks because they are loaded with sugar and unnecessary calories. When you have options for food, choose the option with the highest amount of protein. If it has more carbs than proteins, don't eat it unless it's a pre or post workout food.
I just wanted to point out that these numbers are for what the WHO calls free sugars, not total sugar. The WHO defines free sugars asmonosaccharides (such as glucose, fructose) and disaccharides (such as sucrose or table sugar) added to foods and drinks by the manufacturer, cook or consumer, and sugars naturally present in honey, syrups, fruit juices and fruit juice concentrates.
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The WHO guideline does not refer to the sugars in fresh fruits and vegetables, and sugars naturally present in milk, because there is no reported evidence of adverse effects of consuming these sugars.
The MFP sugar number includes both types of sugar so its not a good way to measure by this standard.0 -
I'm 5"9', currently 256 lbs (18st4), 22 years old with a very active job in a warehouse. I also exercise at the gym at least 5 times a week aiming at doing 45 mins of cardio a day.
Given your stats I think that for the time being meeting your calorie goal and logging accurately is your primary goal. Given you can eat a fair amount (and still lose weight) it is likely that you will probably meet minimum nutrition standards.
Of course as you get lighter and your wiggle room for a calorie deficit gets smaller you will have to pay more attention in this regard. Over the next few months try to add in more fruit, veg and lean meat into your day / week as you feel comfortable with to get you used to having that in your diet.
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Scientific or opinion?
Would vote for science. I saw it in a USDA publication. Here is a summary poster:
http://www.choosemyplate.gov/sites/default/files/printablematerials/mini_poster.pdf
Suggests 260 empty calories or 13% in a 2000 calorie a day diet.
The text said 10-15% of calories from empty calories, can't find that exact part right now.0 -
Well I spent $3,000 on a personal trainer and went to the gym every day. But I didn't change how I ate and I didn't lose a single pound. Big waste of money.0
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hockey7fan wrote: »Well I spent $3,000 on a personal trainer and went to the gym every day. But I didn't change how I ate and I didn't lose a single pound. Big waste of money.
I would disagree. If you went to the gym every day and put in some work, you did something to improve your health.
Best of luck.
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Packerjohn wrote: »Great that you're losing weight. However, IMO, you're trying to build a house on a plastic foundation instead of concrete based on your diet. For long term heath, get the diet cleaned up. Look for around 90% of your calories from nutrient dense foods, get your macros (looking briefly at your log, probably need to up the protein). The other 10% of calories can be from whatever.
Best of luck.
He said he's going to
Best to learn step by step for some people
Yup. Rome wasn't built in a day. Not everyone can make drastic changes in one go, and for some, the more subtle changes can be easier to stick to long term
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Packerjohn wrote: »Great that you're losing weight. However, IMO, you're trying to build a house on a plastic foundation instead of concrete based on your diet. For long term heath, get the diet cleaned up. Look for around 90% of your calories from nutrient dense foods, get your macros (looking briefly at your log, probably need to up the protein). The other 10% of calories can be from whatever.
Best of luck.
Come on now, don't rain on his parade. He made small changes and they were effective.
Excellent news, Josh.
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rockmama72 wrote: »Packerjohn wrote: »Great that you're losing weight. However, IMO, you're trying to build a house on a plastic foundation instead of concrete based on your diet. For long term heath, get the diet cleaned up. Look for around 90% of your calories from nutrient dense foods, get your macros (looking briefly at your log, probably need to up the protein). The other 10% of calories can be from whatever.
Best of luck.
Come on now, don't rain on his parade. He made small changes and they were effective.
Excellent news, Josh.
I told him great job on the weight loss first thing. The OP asked for suggestions on eating how to eat healthier which I provided and I wished him good luck. How is that raining on anyone's parade?.0 -
Well done Josh, 2 pounds is great.0
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You're losing ...if it aint broke, don't fix it if you stop losing then you'll know you need to make adjustments...some great tips already have been mentioned, it might be easier to incorporate a few of those now, bit by bit and you'll transition easily.... 0
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RunRutheeRun wrote: »You're losing ...if it aint broke, don't fix it if you stop losing then you'll know you need to make adjustments...some great tips already have been mentioned, it might be easier to incorporate a few of those now, bit by bit and you'll transition easily....
Yeah. Even when the weight loss does eventually stop, I'll still be in pretty good shape. I mean, I'm 254 lbs atm and jogging 5km like 3-5 times a week. It's definitely improved my fitness a hell of a lot. 0 -
I've been doing 5km's on the treadmill recently when I go to the gym on top of my usual routine of climbing stairs, walking uphill and rowing (on top of some weight training) and I'm trying to work on getting my time to below 30 mins (10km/hr or roughly 6.5mph average).
My PB so far is 33:40 and my jogging pace is 6mph (9.6km/hr). I'm currently working on cutting down walking time since I end up walking around 300-400m of the 5000m (about 7.5 mins of jogging for every 1.5 mins of walking).
I tried upping my pace the other night to 6.5mph (10.2km/hr) and my body was having none of it so I was thinking to work towards jogging a 10km and work on improving my speed in the near future as more weight comes off.0 -
Of course exercise isn't counterproductive. Anything that helps, helps.0
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jennifer_417 wrote: »Of course exercise isn't counterproductive. Anything that helps, helps.
Yeah. I was just thinking of it from a different point of view when I made this. Like some people have this attitude of "why bother exercising if you're not gonna eat healthily to make the weight drop off quicker" or something along those lines.
I agree though, exercise doesn't just burn calories. It improves your fitness, supercharges your metabolism provided you're giving your body the fuel to do the exercise, and can just generally help you feel better. This is all just from my experience though. I don't have any fancy scientific facts to lay down. XD0
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