Calories, clean eating and exercise

hbunting86

Hi all

Just a few questions really about the above topic. I've always eaten 'clean' (before I knew it was a 'thing') so cook my meals from scratch etc etc although obviously trying to lose weight, I've cut the fat right down and looking more to protein and complex carbs for sustenance.

I want to lose around half a stone, and go to the gym daily - usually pilates, a HIIT type workout and/or weights depending.

I just wondered if anyone would care to look over my diary and tell me where I'm going wrong, and what I need to do to maximise the effectiveness of my workouts and diet on weight loss. Unsure as to how many calories roughly per day I should be eating, and the breakdown of that nutrition.

Any advice is welcome!

Thanks
H

kommodevaran

Don't cut anything too low. Your diet should be balanced even if you are eating at a calorie deficit. I'm 5'3" and aim for 70 gram of protein and 70 grams of fat, no matter if I'm losing or maintaining. You have to find out what's working for you. ("Working for you" means that you can stick to it, not that you lose faster.) A diet that makes you satisfied and energetic, and is filled with food you like, is most likely easiest to stick to.

hbunting86

Thanks that's helpful - I just always wonder about quantities because I'm always hungry! I don't know whether to put that down to increased exercise or just my brain telling me I should be eating more. My friend and I have joined the same gym and he doesn't seem to get half as hungry as me, although he is taking phentermine so I suppose that has some effect. Guess its just trial and error.

rainbowbow

hbunting86 wrote: »

Thanks that's helpful - I just always wonder about quantities because I'm always hungry! I don't know whether to put that down to increased exercise or just my brain telling me I should be eating more. My friend and I have joined the same gym and he doesn't seem to get half as hungry as me, although he is taking phentermine so I suppose that has some effect. Guess its just trial and error.

In general for satiety you can try to increase:
fat intake
fiber intake
water intake
total volume of food


Our hunger hormones (specifically ghrelin) are swayed by total volume of food and how long the stomach stays stretched, not the calorie density of the foods we eat.


And yes, he is taking a legal amphetamine, so i am not surprised he isn't hungry.


As the other poster said, its a good idea to have a minimum protein and fat goal and aim to hit these each day as we have minimum requirements for these foods. Carbs can be lowered or increased depending on your personal satiety and preferences. I know I personally do better with around a 40%c/30%/30% split.

In any case, "clean eating" doesn't actually mean anything. hit your calorie goal and micronutrient needs and you don't have to worry about anything else.

ajwcyclist2016

It's all trial and error also learning to listen to your body and feeling satisfied. It's all very well eating with in your calorie count but if you don't feel satisfied then the little voice is going to scream feed me in side. Just keep things balanced a note of how much how you feel you can always change the amount either up or down as you progress.

hbunting86

Thanks guys that's great advice - yep I think I need to up my total intake as if I'm hungry, it's obviously for a reason! I don't believe in diet pills myself per se, but he wants to get a quick start as has more to lose. Each to their own!

I might up the fats a bit, see if that increases satiety. I used to eat a lot of avocado and hard boiled eggs but seem to have dropped off over the winter months. I'll definitely rectify that and stick to my training regime. It's great having more energy, that much I do know

WinoGelato

OP here is what I would recommend:
1. Set up MFP with accurate stats (height, weight, activity level), goal weight and rate of loss. With less than a stone to lose you should aim for 0.5 lb/week.
2. MFP will calculate a calorie target for you.
3. Aim to hit that calorie target
4. You can eat any foods you like, focus on nutrition (macro and micro nutrients), satiety (things that will fill you up, seems like this may be something you need to play with) and leaving room for treats to keep this enjoyable and sustainable.
5. Log everything you eat as accurately as possible, ideally using a food scale
6. When you exercise, log and eat back a portion of thatcalorie burn so that your net calorie total is always near what MFP provides.
7. Be patient, monitor and adjust as needed.

Good luck.

hbunting86

WinoGelato wrote: »

OP here is what I would recommend:
1. Set up MFP with accurate stats (height, weight, activity level), goal weight and rate of loss. With less than a stone to lose you should aim for 0.5 lb/week.
2. MFP will calculate a calorie target for you.
3. Aim to hit that calorie target
4. You can eat any foods you like, focus on nutrition (macro and micro nutrients), satiety (things that will fill you up, seems like this may be something you need to play with) and leaving room for treats to keep this enjoyable and sustainable.
5. Log everything you eat as accurately as possible, ideally using a food scale
6. When you exercise, log and eat back a portion of thatcalorie burn so that your net calorie total is always near what MFP provides.
7. Be patient, monitor and adjust as needed.

Good luck.

Thanks that's really helpful, I'll look at my settings, adjust accordingly and go from there

trigden1991

You need a calorie deficit. "Clean" eating does nothing.

hbunting86

trigden1991 wrote: »

You need a calorie deficit. "Clean" eating does nothing.

I'm aware of that - but I'd rather put decent, whole foods into my body than a load of processed junk!

janejellyroll

hbunting86 wrote: »

trigden1991 wrote: »

You need a calorie deficit. "Clean" eating does nothing.

I'm aware of that - but I'd rather put decent, whole foods into my body than a load of processed junk!

You should choose foods in line with your preferences, but when it comes to weight loss it's going to be the calories that determine how you do -- not the "decency" of the foods you're eating. I would focus on the calorie goal and then you can use whatever foods you like to meet that goal.

NorthCascades

Stop doing HIIT if you're trying to lose weight. High intensity cardio depletes your glycogen stores which are vital and must be replenished, the way your body gets you to do that is with hunger cues, this is what's behind "runger." Do longer (more time) moderate intensity exercise instead. It will burn more calories, do much more to improve your fitness, and produce less hunger as a side effect.

Tacklewasher

hbunting86 wrote: »

trigden1991 wrote: »

You need a calorie deficit. "Clean" eating does nothing.

I'm aware of that - but I'd rather put decent, whole foods into my body than a load of processed junk!

And since you've already been doing that, eating a little less of your "clean" foods won't be an issue. I think folks are missing that this is the way you have been eating and are fine with it, and that you didn't start eating this way under some idea it was how to lose weight (as is the usual case).

Looked at your diary. Be careful with the cups and tbsp if you aren't actually weighing the foods but since one entry is 0.21978000000000003 cup (35g) (3 x 3 piece) it looks like you are weighing (that one just made me laugh). But you've got a lot of days under 1200 calories, less if you deduct your exercise calories burned. Are you logging everything? Because that is not a lot of food.

What are your stats?
Sex
Age
height
weight
goal weight
loss per week

hbunting86

Tacklewasher wrote: »

hbunting86 wrote: »

trigden1991 wrote: »

You need a calorie deficit. "Clean" eating does nothing.

I'm aware of that - but I'd rather put decent, whole foods into my body than a load of processed junk!

And since you've already been doing that, eating a little less of your "clean" foods won't be an issue. I think folks are missing that this is the way you have been eating and are fine with it, and that you didn't start eating this way under some idea it was how to lose weight (as is the usual case).

Looked at your diary. Be careful with the cups and tbsp if you aren't actually weighing the foods but since one entry is 0.21978000000000003 cup (35g) (3 x 3 piece) it looks like you are weighing (that one just made me laugh). But you've got a lot of days under 1200 calories, less if you deduct your exercise calories burned. Are you logging everything? Because that is not a lot of food.

What are your stats?
Sex
Age
height
weight
goal weight
loss per week

Hi

I log everything except water - I drink over the recommended amount so don't really see the point.

I don't weight EVERYTHING, but I do weigh most things or look at the weight on the pack and log the amount I've used/eaten and put my own recipes into MFP to make things a bit easier, like I did with the soups etc. 3x3 was basically a bite of something I had so I'm pretty thorough.

My stats are:
F
30
5'4''
58kg
Loss per week is at .75kg I think

Not sure where I'm going wrong - and I understand what you mean about clean eating. I've always eaten this way so it's not a 'diet' for me, just a way of life. I'm aware that there's a lot of hype around it as something 'new' which is why I said clean eating so people would understand what I was talking about. I've never done any fad diets or taken any diet supplements and don't intend to. I'm quite a purist in that way, right or wrong.

Any advice you have would be great

Tacklewasher

hbunting86 wrote: »

Tacklewasher wrote: »

hbunting86 wrote: »

trigden1991 wrote: »

You need a calorie deficit. "Clean" eating does nothing.

I'm aware of that - but I'd rather put decent, whole foods into my body than a load of processed junk!

And since you've already been doing that, eating a little less of your "clean" foods won't be an issue. I think folks are missing that this is the way you have been eating and are fine with it, and that you didn't start eating this way under some idea it was how to lose weight (as is the usual case).

Looked at your diary. Be careful with the cups and tbsp if you aren't actually weighing the foods but since one entry is 0.21978000000000003 cup (35g) (3 x 3 piece) it looks like you are weighing (that one just made me laugh). But you've got a lot of days under 1200 calories, less if you deduct your exercise calories burned. Are you logging everything? Because that is not a lot of food.

What are your stats?
Sex
Age
height
weight
goal weight
loss per week

Hi

I log everything except water - I drink over the recommended amount so don't really see the point.

I don't weight EVERYTHING, but I do weigh most things or look at the weight on the pack and log the amount I've used/eaten and put my own recipes into MFP to make things a bit easier, like I did with the soups etc. 3x3 was basically a bite of something I had so I'm pretty thorough.

My stats are:
F
30
5'4''
58kg
Loss per week is at .75kg I think

Not sure where I'm going wrong - and I understand what you mean about clean eating. I've always eaten this way so it's not a 'diet' for me, just a way of life. I'm aware that there's a lot of hype around it as something 'new' which is why I said clean eating so people would understand what I was talking about. I've never done any fad diets or taken any diet supplements and don't intend to. I'm quite a purist in that way, right or wrong.

Any advice you have would be great

From your stats, you currently have a BMI of ~22, which is perfectly healthy. And you are trying to lose 1.5 lbs per week? You aren't going to be able to do that and I'm not entirely sure why you would want to.

Honestly, I'm going to bow out as I'm not sure I'm a good person to suggest anything at this point.

hbunting86

Ah I see what you're saying - I should say it's body fat % that I want to lose which is why my goal is set to that... although not sure how I'd lose that without losing weight? Although my BMI is 22 my body fat % is 35% which is really rubbish...

rainbowbow

hbunting86 wrote: »

Ah I see what you're saying - I should say it's body fat % that I want to lose which is why my goal is set to that... although not sure how I'd lose that without losing weight? Although my BMI is 22 my body fat % is 35% which is really rubbish...

how was this tested? because this seems highly unlikely.

in any case, a goal of 0.5% of your total body weight per week is realistic in your case. Usually i recommend no greater than 1% of body weight per week, but you're already within a healthy range so that's just not reasonable.

hbunting86

Ok I'll change my settings and go from there. I used a weighing scale/body fat machine in the gym. Measures height, weight, BMI, body fat % - not sure how reliable it is. I was a bit shocked to be honest when I saw the body fat % as I didn't think I was overweight (which I'm not), I just need to tone up and get fit. My body frame is small so when I put on weight it is pretty obvious. I have a 2 1/2 year old and never really lost the 'mum tum' - but other than that I have no major issues with my body size. Basically I want to get toned and lose a little bit around my middle area and thighs. Nothing major. So to lose 0.5% body fat what would my goals need to be on here? Sorry for all the questions!

WinoGelato

hbunting86 wrote: »

Ah I see what you're saying - I should say it's body fat % that I want to lose which is why my goal is set to that... although not sure how I'd lose that without losing weight? Although my BMI is 22 my body fat % is 35% which is really rubbish...

You need to look into recomposition - reducing body fat while maintaining existing weight.

Great info in this thread:
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10177803/recomposition-maintaining-weight-while-losing-fat/p1

hbunting86

WinoGelato wrote: »

hbunting86 wrote: »

Ah I see what you're saying - I should say it's body fat % that I want to lose which is why my goal is set to that... although not sure how I'd lose that without losing weight? Although my BMI is 22 my body fat % is 35% which is really rubbish...

You need to look into recomposition - reducing body fat while maintaining existing weight.

Great info in this thread:
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10177803/recomposition-maintaining-weight-while-losing-fat/p1

Hi - thanks for that, that's exactly what I need! Will do much more reading on this and then adjust accordingly

lemurcat12

hbunting86 wrote: »

I just wondered if anyone would care to look over my diary and tell me where I'm going wrong, and what I need to do to maximise the effectiveness of my workouts and diet on weight loss. Unsure as to how many calories roughly per day I should be eating, and the breakdown of that nutrition.

hbunting86 wrote: »

I just always wonder about quantities because I'm always hungry!

I agree with what everyone else is saying, but also I looked at the last week of your diary and you seem to be way undereating vs. your targets. The targets are probably fine (although I also think recomp and/or aiming for a .5 lb loss makes sense). If I were eating 800-1250 calories while working out I'd be starving too.

One day the protein seemed low, but that was more because overall calories were so low that day.