Where am I headed?

hj1119
hj1119 Posts: 173 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I'm still educating myself on nutrition, and want to know where I'm headed based on what my life is like. Disclaimer: Yes, I've read the sexy pants thread.

Currently I'm high on the BF% side of things. I've started being more active (cardio 3X a week) and I'm very consistant and boring with my food. A typical day for me looks like this: get up, run a few miles, go to work, have a 200 calorie cal meal replacement shake, 90 cal fiber bar mid morning, either another protein shake or a couple ounces of deli meat and some fruit for lunch, have a ~ 100 cal snack an apple or string cheese in the afternoon, and dinner is approximately 600 calories - a nice chunk of lean meat (chicken, pork loin, fish), a side of veg (steamed broccoli, etc) and a good sized portion of salad with a minimal amount of dressing, usually just a balsamic glaze.

Then I drink about 6 beers and eat an ice cream sandwich which brings me up to just under my daily calorie goal and has been a steady ~1 lb a week loss.

So my question is - what kind of body is this lifestyle creating? I don't want to be "skinny fat" but I feel like that's where I'm headed. While I am consistently losing but I feel like I'm losing more muscle than fat. I'm just wondering where my body is going to end up in 20 lbs... and what I have to do to lower my BF%! I don't just want to lose weight - I want to lower my BF% and that feels like it's more complex than just CICO.

Advice?

Replies

  • BigT555
    BigT555 Posts: 2,067 Member
    lift some weights if your concerned about muscle loss. plus then you'll be strong enough to break someones jawbone off. trust me. i seent it
  • Synchronicity
    Synchronicity Posts: 82 Member
    6 Beers? I'm not against a few beers now and again.... but.... you might be better off cutting back on the alcohol and eating some real food. Hope that doesn't sound too judgmental; I'm not trying to be, but that's a lot of liquid calories right there with minimal nutrition.
  • hj1119
    hj1119 Posts: 173 Member
    6 Beers? I'm not against a few beers now and again.... but.... you might be better off cutting back on the alcohol and eating some real food. Hope that doesn't sound too judgmental; I'm not trying to be, but that's a lot of liquid calories right there with minimal nutrition.

    I know. Beers are just my #1 choice of what to "spend" my calories on. I honestly can't think of any food that I'd rather have than a nice, foamy, cold draft.
  • deksgrl
    deksgrl Posts: 7,237 Member
    Lift some weights and get adequate protein. .8 grams of protein per pound of your body weight.
  • likitisplit
    likitisplit Posts: 9,420 Member
    Lift some weights and get adequate protein. .8 grams of protein per pound of your body weight.

    ^^^This.
  • deksgrl
    deksgrl Posts: 7,237 Member
    more than half your calories are being wasted on things that really dont have a lot of nutritional value.....

    you know this

    surely it wont net optimal results...

    quite frankly, your diet is worse than those IIFYM dbags who only eat fast food for months on end (to prove something to someone... not sure who or what that is though)

    Nothing wrong with occasional beer and ice cream..... but yeah SIX beers and an ice cream every day is quite a lot of empty calories.
  • Shalaurise
    Shalaurise Posts: 707 Member
    Lift some weights and get adequate protein. .8 grams of protein per pound of your body weight.

    ^^^This.
    ^^ This.

    I am left curious about what you are running away from though...
  • GoldspursX3
    GoldspursX3 Posts: 516 Member
    6 beers in one sitting is considered binge drinking. Occasionally that may not be bad, even though many health professionals disagree, but nightly cant be healthy.

    I can't imagine you are getting anywhere close to the nutrients you would need to have a "healthy" appearance.
  • AliceDark
    AliceDark Posts: 3,886 Member
    In all seriousness, how long can you maintain that eating plan? It seems really boring, and you're clearly not happy about it (I'm not blaming you -- I can't imagine that anyone would be!). If you can't keep it up for the rest of your life, losing the weight now means nothing because you'll gain it back.

    Anytime you lose weight, you're losing both LBM and fat. Lifting weights and eating protein helps minimize the amount of LBM you're losing. The problem with losing LBM is that it's really difficult to gain back, so it doesn't just happen. When you lose fat+LBM, then gain back fat, you end up with a higher percentage of body fat than if you never lost the weight at all. That's not somewhere you want to be in a few years.

    I would seriously think about cutting down on the beer and add back in some real food. Protein and veggies, and lots of them.
  • brianpperkins
    brianpperkins Posts: 6,124 Member
    Without seeing your diary and some very pertinent details like height, weight, how far and how often you're really running it's impossible to say where you'll be after 20 lbs ... or if you're even on track to lose that weight. The quick look at what you've provided leaves me wondering where the food is in your diet. There is no strength training indicated so lean mass apparently isn't a priority for you. The amount of beer you claim to consume is quite a bit in terms of calories and number of drinks to the tune of 600-1200 calories per day and 42 beers per week with little nutrition for that consumption not to mention what the CDC classifies your drinking level.

    Based on the exercises and diet listed ... you'll be lucky to reach skinny fat. You won't reach fit, toned, firm, etc.
  • hj1119
    hj1119 Posts: 173 Member
    Well. This is all exactly what I didn't want to hear. LOL.

    Cut back beers. Up the protein. Lift weights.

    Got it. Thanks guys :)
  • Lizzy622
    Lizzy622 Posts: 3,705 Member
    Well. This is all exactly what I didn't want to hear. LOL.

    Cut back beers. Up the protein. Lift weights.

    Got it. Thanks guys :)

    You probably knew this already but just needed confirmation. :laugh:
  • hj1119
    hj1119 Posts: 173 Member
    Well. This is all exactly what I didn't want to hear. LOL.

    Cut back beers. Up the protein. Lift weights.

    Got it. Thanks guys :)

    You probably knew this already but just needed confirmation. :laugh:

    Pretty much! I really wanted someone to say "It's okay, a calorie is a calorie - all calories are created equal so go ahead and skip the tuna and broccoli and have a beer with some ice cream!" ;)
  • likitisplit
    likitisplit Posts: 9,420 Member
    Well. This is all exactly what I didn't want to hear. LOL.

    Cut back beers. Up the protein. Lift weights.

    Got it. Thanks guys :)

    You probably knew this already but just needed confirmation. :laugh:

    Pretty much! I really wanted someone to say "It's okay, a calorie is a calorie - all calories are created equal so go ahead and skip the tuna and broccoli and have a beer with some ice cream!" ;)

    You know what? After you've lost the weight and gotten down to a low bf%, you can bulk to add muscle. And bulking involved beer + ice cream + oreos (and tuna and broccoli).

    Learn how to eat like an adult now, and you'll be able to look like a God while scarfing on the fun food.

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