Big diet change... Effects?

hbunting86

Hi
After giving up going to the gym for the past 8 months+ and having a poor diet of 1 meal a day, I'm now back on the wagon. Doing the gym daily and following a healthy diet of 3 meals a day. What I'm worried about is my weight going up as I'm eating much more.
Typical day is:
Fruit salad and yoghurt for breakfast
Mushroom omelette/pasta salad with tuna for lunch
Lean protein or fish with salad or veg for dinner.
Snacks tend to be fruit.

I seem to be eating a lot.

Typical gym session is 30mins treadmill, weights.

Not sure what I should really be doing.

Thanks!

RodaRose

Are you weighing your food and tracking calories?

hbunting86

I don't weigh foods but do track calories. I wear a fitbit and average around 17-20,000 steps a day.

HoneyBadger302

I took a quick peek at your diary, and only saw one day with entries. Not sure if you're tracking elsewhere or not?

If you're eating a lot of fruit and the like, then weighing your food is going to be pretty important. If you're actually getting that many steps a day, PLUS working out, that's a lot of activity, and you probably should be eating a fair bit.

Have you been losing? Gaining? Maintaining? If you're losing, how many pounds/week are you set to lose? Are you eating back exercise calories? The tools here are pretty good for getting a baseline estimate of how much you should be eating with your activity and exercise if used properly.

MichelleSilverleaf

If you're not weighing it's hard to be sure just how many calories you're actually eating. A tablespoon of peanut butter can actually weigh out to be a lot more than a single serving, for example. Your weight may go up as a result of there being more food sitting in your system, but that's not actual fat weight. Ideally you eat enough to lose weight but also to fuel your body and its activities every day.

cwolfman13

If you're eating like that and getting 20K steps per day, you aren't going to gain weight...that's not very much food at all. If anything, you're probably substantially under-eating.

hbunting86

Sorry I've been tracking on fitbit but find this better so switched back.

Can I ask why it's important to weigh fruit? I just assumed it was good and healthy alternative to anything processed.

I suppose yes with the exercise and walking I do it is a fair bit of activity. I can't really say if I've gained or lost or maintained as yet as it's too soon to tell. The next few weeks will be interesting around that.

I'm trying not to be too rigid - I.e. have a treat at the weekend like dessert or something so that I don't just crash and give up like I have in the past. I'm 59kg at present and 5'3'' aiming for around 50-52kg as my frame is very petite. However health and being toned is more important to me than numbers so I'm trying to lift heavy at the gym whilst adding I'm cardio.

Thanks

MichelleSilverleaf

Because everything has calories, fruit included. And if you don't have a very large deficit to work with it can easily be wiped out by a little bit here and a little bit there. I kind of agree with cwolfman13 that what you're eating doesn't look like a lot calories wise. It's just as important to not undereat as it is to not overeat.

HoneyBadger302

You can have dessert. And pizza. And all the things. You just can't have all of it, all of the time.

I fit a (large) glass of wine into most days, and dessert when I'm in the mood. Pizza, burgers, whatever are fit in when I'm in the mood for them.

I got fat eating very "healthy." Healthy foods still have calories!

Using a food scale was eye opening. That package of pasta? Weighed the whole thing, and there was a good extra 1/2+ serving of pasta (by weight) than what the package stated. Fruit, while healthy, still has calories, and fruit isn't particularly low in calories (unlike a lot of vegetables where weighing the exact amount maybe isn't such a big deal).

How much per week are you trying to lose? Stats?

dsboohead

Healthy food does not mean calorie free. You can gain and stall on healthy food too. Weighing...measuring is vital even on "healthy" items.

emmamcgarity

The way of eating you describe aligns pretty well with DASH which is recommended by the American Heart Association. A few of us are tracking DASH on another thread if you find that interests you. It all really depends on your goals.

For weight loss the only thing that really matters is calories. The most accurate way to track your calories would be to use a food scale. I personally don’t use a scale but measure by volume and track the DASH serving recommendations for my daily calorie goal. It works for me but I recognize that my tracking could be more accurate. If I stop losing weight I might consider adjusting. My personal goal is not just weight loss but also nutrition which is why I count servings that align with DASH. But I also want fun in my diet and choose a small serving if ice cream daily and an occasional glass of wine or meal out with friends.

zeejane03

hbunting86 wrote: »

Sorry I've been tracking on fitbit but find this better so switched back.

Can I ask why it's important to weigh fruit? I just assumed it was good and healthy alternative to anything processed.

I suppose yes with the exercise and walking I do it is a fair bit of activity. I can't really say if I've gained or lost or maintained as yet as it's too soon to tell. The next few weeks will be interesting around that.

I'm trying not to be too rigid - I.e. have a treat at the weekend like dessert or something so that I don't just crash and give up like I have in the past. I'm 59kg at present and 5'3'' aiming for around 50-52kg as my frame is very petite. However health and being toned is more important to me than numbers so I'm trying to lift heavy at the gym whilst adding I'm cardio.

Thanks

Because in terms of weight loss/gain/maintenance everything that has calories 'counts'. You can gain weight eating excess calories in fruit, the same as you could eating excess calories in potato chips. Calories is calories, is calories

Now, nutritionally speaking-fruit is a nice source of fiber and some micros and is a good addition to your diet. But, you still need to be mindful of the calories.


eta: different fruits have quite a different range of calories, so keep that in mind as well. I love bananas but limit myself to one small-medium per day because they're a higher calorie fruit. I can fit more berries into my day though, because they have a lower calorie load.

kshama2001

hbunting86 wrote: »

Sorry I've been tracking on fitbit but find this better so switched back.

Can I ask why it's important to weigh fruit? I just assumed it was good and healthy alternative to anything processed.

I suppose yes with the exercise and walking I do it is a fair bit of activity. I can't really say if I've gained or lost or maintained as yet as it's too soon to tell. The next few weeks will be interesting around that.

I'm trying not to be too rigid - I.e. have a treat at the weekend like dessert or something so that I don't just crash and give up like I have in the past. I'm 59kg at present and 5'3'' aiming for around 50-52kg as my frame is very petite. However health and being toned is more important to me than numbers so I'm trying to lift heavy at the gym whilst adding I'm cardio.

Thanks

Not weighing is just so imprecise. What the heck is "one medium apple"? There's no ambiguity about 100 grams of "Apples, raw, with skin".

However, it is even more important to weigh calorie dense foods like butter. You could be cheating yourself, or you could be deceiving yourself. Better to just weigh.