Why is nutrition so hard?
tigergem86
Posts: 59 Member
Im sitting here at work, with a load of healthy foods in the fridge but yet i am craving crap... why?! WHY is changing what we eat so hard?! Im doing really well getting my 25 minutes in every morning and running after work but i cannot get the nutrition piece in line. I am so annoyed with myself and wish it were easier. I know i need the nutrition to be right to actually make lasting physical changes, which is what i desire.
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I am right there with you!
My workouts are great, I even supplement T25 with continued running and lifting, and yet, in the late afternoon/evenings, I blow it with my eating plan. I decided to increase my protein with hopes that will satisfy me, but just started today so we'll see how it goes...0 -
Nutrition is the hardest part of living a healthy lifestyle? I had to just block out the things that I had been eating for years and just think about what the future me was going to look like. that is what motivated me not to want to eat them things anymore. I can tell you that living this life now is so more rewarding than the old me. Tigergem3 and hbowserfit stay strong I know you guys can do this!!!!!!!!!0
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hbowserfit.... my evening and my days off work are the worst. Let me know how the increased protein goes for you. I believe that if i stay structured on my days off and find something to do in the evenings that keeps my mind busy then i wont eat... hopefully... i was planning on focusing on that this week and monday just went down the pooper around 3pm and i havent recovered. BUT... Bradutah you are are so right.... i need to invision what the future me looks like and eat what would fuel that body, eat what would help create that body.
Its never too late to try again. Its 4pm here and im making better choices from here on out! ive got my cucumbers, strawberries and water at my desk right now instead of going to the vending machine.0 -
I've done a lot of diets in my life. A LOT. I was even a Weight Watchers leader for a year or so. I've lost a lot of weight, and I've gained back a lot of weight. The last year or so, I've been doing a kind of modified low carb/paleo-ish/Whole 30 thing. And I have to say the low carbs have really killed my cravings.
I used to easily sit down and eat a bowlful of cashews, now it's my snack, 1 ounce. One day I "splurged" and had two ounces of almonds and it was actually too much. And I'm not one of those people who goes on and on saying she's never tempted. On other diets, by 3PM, I was ready to eat an elephant. Not so much with the low carb thing. Read up on it, see if it's for you. I ignored the low carb thing for a long long time before becoming a believer.0 -
I agree! Low carb/whole 30 is great! Ive tried low carb before and i generally try to stick to that. I just fall off the wagon soo often that i feel like im always trying to carb/sugar detox. I never get past 3-4 days because i get wicked. I know i need to do it and stick to it and stop making excuses. Im actually planning on going for it, i tell myself every day... this is the day i stick to my meal plan.
Any tricks for that 3pm 'eat an elephant' slump? I get soo tired and then start craving crap.0 -
Try a protein supplement, get a good protein powder or similar. Mix it with 100ml of Soya Milk, not only does it get your protein levels up for the day but if you sip it over a few minutes it gives your body the psychological feeling that you've eaten something and as it's high protein will keep you full for a while. If you want to go crazy you can add things like peanut butter to it and get all sorts of extra tasty.
I've got 2 types of protein depending on what I'm doing:
Optimum Nutrition 100% Whey for straight after exercise
Optimum Nutrition Casein for that afternoon slump or right before bed
The reason I have 2 is that the Whey works quickly, in 30 mins, to get protein into the muscle for recovery as you need straight after exercise, while Casein takes 3 hours to digest so is what keeps you fuller for longer.
There are loads of reports, comments, reviews of protein powders on here and all over the web and as long as you are exercising when using them I've seen nothing negative on them, only positives. Do some research and see what you think.
I'd suggest getting the Optimum Nutrition stuff, or similar as the cheaper ones have a lot of 'filler', ie you end up with high calorie content and carbs with a minimal protein intake which is not what you actually want.
Hope that helps a bit. If you want more info and can't find it / find it a bit confusing I'm happy to relay what I've found...
Or...if money is an issue, look to eat things like low fat Cottage Cheese just before bed, it is high in protein and takes time to digest - so similar effect to the Casein supplement, just not quite as expensive or specialised...
You can change your diet to a much higher protein one so,
◾Lean cuts of meat: top sirloin, flank steak, lean ground beef
◾Poultry: chicken and turkey, white and dark meat
◾Fish: halibut, sole, salmon
◾Eggs
◾Dairy: whey, casein, Greek yogurt, cottage cheese
◾Plants: soy, beans, nuts, grains, etc.
However, I found it's not always possible to do this and / or survive during a hectic day at work, family, kids, dog etc so the protein supplements were a quick and easy way to do it. I changed my diet slightly but used the powders to bring my protein levels up.0 -
Thank you!
Thats really helpful information.
I typically have a protein smoothie in the morning....greens, greek yogurt and protein powder, i like Syntrax nectar Fuzzy navel for the smoothies.
I have also found that i like syntrax nectar medical unflavored or unjury medical unflavored to mix in coffee or advocare spark (for energy and caffeine).
A typical work day for me is pretty good. here is what it looks like:
Breakfast: Coffee with protein powder or unsweetend almond milk
morning snack: Breakfast smoothie (greens, yogurt, and protein powder) and cottage cheese an hour later... because i love to chew lol)
Lunch: some kind of meat, cheese, lettuce (usually spicy and taco seasoned), sometimes a low cal soup from the hospital kitchen
afternoon snack: i usually get ravenously hungry so i eat a hard boiled egg, veggie, fruit, cheese and sometimes i need a spark or drip coffee no sugar.
Dinner is leftovers or a premier protein shake after the gym and then bed time.
evening snack: air popped popcorn
My days off and the weekends are much less structured so i usually have 4 great days and 3 bad days. i am trying to get those days off to be mroe structured so i dont lose everything i did a few days before.0 -
So how many calories are you having a day and what is your bmr?0
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BMR is about 2300 and im taking in about 1300-1400 on my good days. about 2000 on bad0
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And that is made up of what % ratio of carbs : protein : fat?
Eating less than your target calorie amount is actually bad as you need fat and carbs to actually lose weight, believe it or not, and also you are far more likely to fall off the wagon as you are hungry and start to crave sweets etc.
So in a week you total calories is about 16000
4 good day = 5200
3 bad days = 6000
Net calorie intake = 11200
Almost 5000 less than your bmr so you should be losing some weight???0 -
Totals 1,406 117 54 119 2,211 44
Your Daily Goal 2,337 293 77 118 2,300 87
Remaining 931 176 23 -1 89 43
Calories Carbs Fat Protein Sodium Sugar
Im not sure how to figure out the percentages so i just copied over the numbers from what i ate yesterday. i had a fairly typical day (like i listed earlier) except for a bag of chips with lunch and 1 square of dark chocolate in the afternoon. The daily goal calories take into account the exercise i did yesterday, it usually says 1350calories. I swell really easily so i started the program on monday 3/3 at 214, the friday before on 2/28 i was 211.4 (weekend crap food) and saturday 3/8, after a week of T25 i was at 216, i think some lactic acid in my muscles and not enough water. Last week i did not do that great nutrition wise, even on my work days. This week i have been trying harder. Monday i was 218.6 (again weekend/day off crap and swelling) This morning i was 215.6. I keep going up and down, up and down, because i lose my mind certain days (which i am recognizing and working on, truly i am trying to change this bad habit). it comes off easy when i follow a plan, but i dont think its fat, im pretty sure its water weight.0 -
The trick is to eat to your goal. The problem you might be having is that when you starve the body, ie eat a lot less calories that you need the body goes into shock mode.
When it does this it looks to hold onto the main energy stores you have, your fat, and uses up the short term energy stores, muscle.
It also might explain why you get tired at 3pm, if you work out in the morning and your body is in shock then you've used up your muscle store energy and so get tired.
I don't know if this is true but is guess some of your yo-yo weight is down to this. Water retention is also a possibility, same principle if you don't drink enough your body tries to store what it needs.
It's an amazing thing your body, it does everything it can to self preserve.
I've struggled with hitting my calorie goals and it's taken a bit of time and effort to get them right, I hit them generally now but I'm currently wrestling with the right carb:fat:protein ratios work for me.
My suggestion is if you have low fat Greek yoghurt, try full fat for a few days, adds calories, fat and protein, tick. Work through your diet and see where you can add little gains here and there. Don't go and think 'I've got 1000 calories left - Pizza Hut for me!', it doesn't work like that either. It takes time to get it right and everyone is different.
As long as you are honest with your BMR, exercise calories and log everything that passes your lips it's all possible to lose weight, tone up and make it a healthy lifestyle - that lasts.
Your ratio is basically 40% carb / 40% protein / 20% fat which is great for weight loss and exercise, I just think you need to eat more in the same ratio to burn fat and not muscle.
And drink more!
Oh, and don't weight yourself each day, it will just stress you out - once a week is more than enough - it's why Shaun T asks you to measure yourself too, some people don't lose much weight but really tone and shape up, and feel great for it, (remember muscle weighs more than fat)...
Hope that helps somewhat.0 -
Looks to me like you are drinking most of your food. I wouldn't feel full on that either.
Here is a typical day for me:
Breakfast - 2 eggs or 2 veggie breakfast sausage
Lunch - grilled chicken and a bunch of veggies
Snack - beef jerky
Dinner - grilled chicken or beef or fish and some rice
Snack/Dessert - 1 oz almonds
Sometimes I add in more or less veggies, or a purely vegetable soup (no past or rice or beans), sometimes I add some cheese here and there. And I drink lots and lots and lots of water. I have found when I don't drink the water, I crave sweets. Strange, but true. I drink water, and I don't have those sweet cravings. (And believe me, I can demolish some sweets when I'm not eating this way).0 -
Thank you for all your help MadFrankie!!! I really appreciate the time you have given me! I will work on the suggestions you gave me And keep at this T25 thing, i cant wait for measurements this week. I think i made more progress in my waist ! 0
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Running Kathy, I do drink my calories in the morning for sure because i just dont have time to make or eat anything else. If i have the protein smoothie made and in the car with me, i will drink that instead of getting drive through or coffee stand crap. Even getting up to get in T25 is a challange on most days. 4 out of 7 days i get in at least 12 cups of water, which is almost half my body weight, the other three days im lucky to get in 8 cups. I agree with you! When i drink water i am less hungry and when i add lemon, if i am really hungry, i can usually wait until meal time (sometimes as much as an hour later).
These 10 weeks is helping me grow and change and make real lifestyle changes. im excited and exhausted at the same time. But i keep on going with these good decisions, nutrition and exercise wise.
I am so grateful for your input!!! Thanks! 0 -
Thank you for all your help MadFrankie!!! I really appreciate the time you have given me! I will work on the suggestions you gave me And keep at this T25 thing, i cant wait for measurements this week. I think i made more progress in my waist !
Oh, and another thing, don't get hung up on your weight. As I mentioned before muscle weighs more that fat. Try calculating you % body fat and use that as your weekly comparison.
I know most online ones aren't exactly accurate but if you use the same one and measure and calculate it in the same way you need to just see a decrease in the numbers. Remember it's not about just losing weight to make you slim and toned, you want to lose the fat and keep the lean muscle.
You might find your weight stays the same but your body fat % is going down! the more it goes down the more you will appear toned and slimmer.0
