Please critique me...

stim1986

Hi, I have little knowledge in this field and i'm basically winging it so far but having read over the forums I can see my daily intake probably isn't as much as it should be. I don't aim for a low calorie diet, I just eat foods I enjoy and the calories don't seem to add up to more than 1200.

Here's what I had today and is my normal sort of daily consumption.

09:00 3 weetabix, covered with reasonable amount of milk topped with 1 medium banana and a handful of blueberries.

11:30 Hot and spicy cous cous, 1 tin of tuna mixed with 1tbsp of light mayo and beetroot on the side.

14:00 Diet Protein Shake

17:00 2 Turkey steaks, 2 cups of mixed vegetables and a wholemeal pitta bread.

20:00 GYM. I'm currently doing the 12 Week Lee Labrada programme, I normally finish off a weights session with 15 minutes on the bike and 15 minutes on the rowing machine.

21:30 Whey Protein Shake.

I'm 6ft1" and around 14s4lb, I'm looking to get rid of belly fat and tone up a bit.

How does look so far?

Thanks in advance.

Tim,

DirrtyH

We can't see your diary, so it's hard to tell if what you've listed is A. what you're really eating, and B. truly less than 1200 cal as you state.

ell_v131

What you describe sounds like it could be well over 1200 but hard to say without seeing your diary and the way you log.

If you are overweight you must have been eating more than your body needs to get there right? So I find it strange that all of a sudden you'd find it difficult to get to 1200 on foods you enjoy and keep you full.

stim1986

I ate this almost every day of January alongside the Dryathlon, went off course a bit in Feb and am a week into it again.

I got lazy logging because the numbers were the same each day.

I'm not sure why I would come on here and dream up numbers when im asking for advice.

Extra info... I go gym 5 times a week, rest on a sunday and play 5 a side on the other day. Sunday is the only day I eat anything outside my normal diet and the only day I consume alcohol.

LKArgh

open your diary

DirrtyH

What exactly is your question? Are you wanting us to tell you you're not eating enough? We don't know because we can't see your diary.

ell_v131

I ate this almost every day of January alongside the Dryathlon, went off course a bit in Feb and am a week into it again.

I got lazy logging because the numbers were the same each day.

I'm not sure why I would come on here and dream up numbers when im asking for advice.

Extra info... I go gym 5 times a week, rest on a sunday and play 5 a side on the other day. Sunday is the only day I eat anything outside my normal diet and the only day I consume alcohol.

it's not about dreaming up your numbers. if you are going to be defensive then what's the point of asking a question?

It is very easy to log something inaccurately, research shows that even nutritionists get their caloric income wrong by about 250 calories. So opening your diary would give us an opportunity to see where these small inaccuracies may be, since they add up over time.

If you haven't been logging then we can't really help, I would suggest you start logging precisely again (using a digital scale and weighing everything, including condiments) and see what happens in a week or two and come back so we can have a look...

ell_v131

Oh and 1200 calories is very little for someone of your build. However I wouldn't increase your intake until you have verified this is indeed your intake via accurate logging.

Eliska

mccindy72

Hi, I have little knowledge in this field and i'm basically winging it so far but having read over the forums I can see my daily intake probably isn't as much as it should be. I don't aim for a low calorie diet, I just eat foods I enjoy and the calories don't seem to add up to more than 1200.

Here's what I had today and is my normal sort of daily consumption.

09:00 3 weetabix, covered with reasonable amount of milk topped with 1 medium banana and a handful of blueberries.

11:30 Hot and spicy cous cous, 1 tin of tuna mixed with 1tbsp of light mayo and beetroot on the side.

14:00 Diet Protein Shake

17:00 2 Turkey steaks, 2 cups of mixed vegetables and a wholemeal pitta bread.

20:00 GYM. I'm currently doing the 12 Week Lee Labrada programme, I normally finish off a weights session with 15 minutes on the bike and 15 minutes on the rowing machine.

21:30 Whey Protein Shake.

I'm 6ft1" and around 14s4lb, I'm looking to get rid of belly fat and tone up a bit.

How does look so far?

Thanks in advance.

Tim,

If you are serious about losing weight, you need to actually start weighing your food and logging your calories. You can't do it if you have no idea how much you're eating. Take the time to find out how many calories you should be eating for your size and activity level (TDEE) and then subtract calories from there for your deficit goal. Weigh and log all your food so you know EXACTLY how many calories you are consuming.

SezxyStef

I ate this almost every day of January alongside the Dryathlon, went off course a bit in Feb and am a week into it again.

I got lazy logging because the numbers were the same each day.

I'm not sure why I would come on here and dream up numbers when im asking for advice.

Extra info... I go gym 5 times a week, rest on a sunday and play 5 a side on the other day. Sunday is the only day I eat anything outside my normal diet and the only day I consume alcohol.

HOw do you know what the numbers are? You aren't logging measuring or weighing your food..."a reasonable" amount of milk??? how much is that 1/2c, 1c? is is skim, 1% full fat????

If you aren't losing weight you aren't in a deficet and the only way to ensure you are in a deficet is logging accurately by measuring and weighing and actually putting in the food diary.

LarryDUk

I assume you are talking about net intake? If you exercise a lot then that may be difficult to achieve. Your menu is definitely over 1200 total. I exercise a lot (walking more than 20 miles a day), weight train and do cardio three times a week. I eat between 2000-2400 a day and lose 1-2 pounds a week, depending on the week.

I'm not really sure why you are asking the question, but if you are hungry and are currently losing more than a pound a week, I suggest you eat more.

rockmama72

Hi Tim,
I don't actually agree that you have to weigh and log everything in order to lose weight. Lots of people are successful without. HOWEVER, since you're concerned about what your average daily intake comes to calorie-wise, pretty much the only way to figure it out is to...

Weigh and measure your food. Meticulously.

We can't estimate your calories because we don't see many quantities. Two turkey steaks can weigh 2 oz. each or a pound each.

lamps1303

09:00 3 weetabix, covered with reasonable amount of milk topped with 1 medium banana and a handful of blueberries .

How many ml is 'a reasonable amount of milk'? How many grams was your medium banana? How many grams was 'a handful of blueberries'? - if you are unable to answer these questions you are not acurately logging, and are more than likely underestimating what you're eating - you could be eating closer to 2000, but it's hard to know without seeing your diary.

You need to be strict with logging, weighing every food item, right down to the olive oil you use, and weighing your fruit, especially bananas as they can be calorific.

Your exercise seems to be on the right lines, it's just your diet you need to look at - as the saying goes, "fat is lost in the kitchen".

RhysJ13

It's hard to know without seeing what you log each day, but my guess is that, as a tall man, if you were only eating 1200 calories you would definitely notice. A lot of much smaller people really struggle with that target, so I would have to assume if you're eating 'normally' you would be over that - although anything up to around 2200 cal/day would probably still leave you with a deficit.

Fastingtoday

hi
by your states\d numbers your BMI is 19.0 That makes you in the very low edge of normal....no need to loose weight now. Cannot *kitten* food intake w/o taking into account how YOU are doing. How is your energy level? Is your weight stable.? What is your body's lean muscle percentage? Are you giving your muscles enough time to recover and rebuild in between your workouts or do you vary areas worked on each day? Knowing your age would help too.
good luck looks like you are doing pretty well.

LarryDUk

hi
by your states\d numbers your BMI is 19.0 That makes you in the very low edge of normal....no need to loose weight now. Cannot *kitten* food intake w/o taking into account how YOU are doing. How is your energy level? Is your weight stable.? What is your body's lean muscle percentage? Are you giving your muscles enough time to recover and rebuild in between your workouts or do you vary areas worked on each day? Knowing your age would help too.
good luck looks like you are doing pretty well.

Um...No. He is 197 pounds and 6 foot 1 inch. His BMI would be around 25.

mccindy72

hi
by your states\d numbers your BMI is 19.0 That makes you in the very low edge of normal....no need to loose weight now. Cannot *kitten* food intake w/o taking into account how YOU are doing. How is your energy level? Is your weight stable.? What is your body's lean muscle percentage? Are you giving your muscles enough time to recover and rebuild in between your workouts or do you vary areas worked on each day? Knowing your age would help too.
good luck looks like you are doing pretty well.

:huh:

ell_v131

Hi Tim,
I don't actually agree that you have to weigh and log everything in order to lose weight. Lots of people are successful without. HOWEVER, since you're concerned about what your average daily intake comes to calorie-wise, pretty much the only way to figure it out is to...

Weigh and measure your food. Meticulously.

We can't estimate your calories because we don't see many quantities. Two turkey steaks can weigh 2 oz. each or a pound each.

While I agree that people can be successful without, he clearly has doubts and this is a logging website. So of course we will suggest he logs accurately since it doesn't seem he has an idea of how much he eats, let alone how much he should