Nutrition & Calories

izu87

Hello all! I suppose that all of you have calculated your TDEEs and are eating according to them. Do you manage to hit your calorie goals? What about your macros?

I'm having incredibly hard time with both. I'm having huuuuge difficulties reaching my TDEE-20% which I calculated at 1700ish. Of course I can easily reach it if I eat a chocolate or something, but I'd rather not >.> I'm currently snacking on raw nuts in order to bump the numbers up... but it's just so hard -__-

I've never eaten much, which I suppose is why I've been having so many difficulties losing weight. I didn't really gained my weight because I ate too much - I'm an emotional eater, and a very emotional person, who's gone through a lot of really depressive-ish periods... so... yeah... I'm here not because of quantity, but because of the quality of the food I ate...

So.. yeah... Anyone who thinks they've got a good diary? I'd love to peek at yours and see how you're doing... might get some inspiration!

Mine is open, I personally don't think it's worth looking at...

Astronomically_Im_Tiny

I am a dude, so any quantities of what I eat are irrelevant to you. But I do keep things pretty simple, and I do eat frequently.

My diet consists of simple meats, dairy, fruits (summer fruits are awesome right now!), and starches, like cereal or rice. I eat some sort of dairy every day, usually about 5-7 servings. This can be in the form of milk, eggs, cheese, or yogurt. I love to eat potatoes, and I have developed a desire for avocados this year. I ate one when I was high with my girlfriend one time, and it just stuck, I guess. But that and olive oil, or some real butter when frying something, those are healthy fats (Monounsaturated and Polyunsaturated).

Can't miss with fruits. Cantaloupe is in season, as well as watermelon and bananas (although bananas are always around). Grapes, those are good ones.

What should be the bulk of your intake, though, if you want to eat more, is meats. Lean ground beef is one of my favorites. You can usually find the red meats on discount at the grocers in the morning time, as they have to make room. That would be the time to get some lean ground beef. Chicken is always a good one. You can buy the bone-in chicken thighs for like 6 bucks in a bundle, and just take the skin off to get rid of like 75% of the saturated fat, so it is just mostly protein. You can also do boneless skinless chicken breasts...cant go wrong there, but they are a bit more pricey. Check the Wednesday ads for deals.

Feel free to look at my diary (disregard yesterday), and friend me if you wish. Let me know what you think. There is a gap right around July 5th, but it continues "after" the 28th of June.

Astronomically_Im_Tiny

I would also add that if you are trying to eat more, you should eat more frequently. The best way to increase your metabolism, which is the action of your body taking food and processing it in the most efficient way, is to give it food more frequently. If you read the meal plan for Insanity, it says to eat about every 3 hours, about 300-500 calories (for women). Of course, those numbers are on a case by case basis, but the timing is still the same.

izu87

Hey, thanks!

I think this is my main problem - not eating enough meat. Not a fan, so I'm literally forcing myself to eat it. I do eat a lot of yogurt (I believe in the US the closest to our yogurt is the Greek one) . Other than that what you described is more or less what I eat - fruits and veggies, rice, chicken breasts, lean turkey and pork, dairy, eggs not so often, cheese... But my diet is not clean. I allow myself a small treat here and there, usually in the morning with my breakfast, otherwise I will completely go nuts...

Astronomically_Im_Tiny

I have looked over your diary, and I do see that you are definitely eating well.

One change I would try to make is to keep the carbs/fat in balance. I track my fat intake, and I have goals set for how much healthy fats I take in compared to overall fat.

I see that on most days, 60-80% of your energy source is comprised of carbs. I would try to dim that down a bit, and try to add a little more protein and healthy fats into your diet. The nuts are good, but it can't be your only fat source. Differentiate it a bit. I definitely do (because, as I stated before, I love avocados!)

Do some research on how your body uses and stores different fuel sources. Then, apply that information to your diet.

izu87

Thank you for the tips! And yeah, carbs is the only macro that I can hit without any problems >.>'
It's on my to do to start eating more protein, but after eating mainly meat for a full year 7 years ago when I was doing the Ducan diet despite working it just made me hate meat... -sigh-