Diet advice

Kaecklund

Ok, a little about me:
I'm 26, 5'8", 130 lbs. I've lost 10 lbs by changing my diet. I walk a lot at my job and when I get home, I'm tired and crash out in the recliner. I've been eating around 1400 cals/day, my water intake needs much improvement. I leave for work early in the AM, I don't always eat breakfast and by 10am I'm starving. I eat a snack, usually some crackers or something to hold me over until lunch. For lunch I'll have a sandwich, pbj or turkey & cheese (with mustard only). I try to use that 100 cal, poor-excuse-for-a-sandwich bread. I also have some fruit. For the most part I eat pretty well (i think), avoiding eating "naughty" foods. For dinner (since I eat alone, I don't really cook) I usually eat a turkey burger grilled on a George Foreman with melted reduced fat cheese on top (patty only) with a side of veggies.

I still have some extra "flab" I'd like to get rid of, but I think I'm just at a point where what I'm doing can take me no further. I think I have to... gulp... exercise. I don't like the initial soreness of starting a workout routine. About a month ago I did one Jillian Michaels workout and didn't stretch afterwards. I woke up the next day tight. 2 days later, I could hardly move! I had rocks for hamstring muscles.

My goal is to lose my body fat and tone up. I was told I have to lose the fat first before I can tone up, because dieting does not go along with building muscle mass. Dieting eats muscle mass. So that's what I've been trying to do.

I guess my question is my nutrition. Am I even on track with my diet? Are my beloved 200 calorie turkey burgers doing me any good? Any words of advice?

I'm goign to have to buck up soon and start working out, but as it is I have no energy to do anything but loaf around after work. Am I eating too few calories? Why do I feel so tired?

Thanks for reading!

~Kelly

h82bfat

Hi Kelly,

Let me preface this by saying you are in much better shape than I...I'm literally double your weight...so please take what I say with a grain of salt.

I bake all my own bread. We're an extremely busy family with three little kids and can still manage to eat fresh everyday. After going through a couple of breadmakers, we noticed the larger thrift stores have shelves of them for sale. Throw the baking pan in your dishwasher and it's as clean as new. I make a very yummy wheat bread that is 105 cals/slice. Ping me if you'd like the recipe.

Water intake and breakfast are extremely important. So consider fixing that. Also, when I thought I was eating healthy (lots of fruits and veggies, no red meat or cheese) but never lost weight. MFP showed me my caloric intake was out of whack. I actually was wandering the house looking for fatty foods today. (I ended up with regular strength dressing on my salad + some almonds).

I am incredibly out of shape, but treadmills and NordicTrak don't leave me achy like most exercise always has. If you've got the space, these machines are very inexpensive second hand.

Keep up the good work.

hsh0927

Your turkey burgers, for the most part, are not the problem. The biggest problem I can see with your diet is not having breakfast. trust me, I know that getting up an extra 30 mins for a breakfast sounds horrible (I get up super early as well) but it IS worth it. Eating 30-60 mins after(and drinking water 15-30 mins after) waking helps kick start your metabolism. You should still have a healthy snack 3-4 hours after breakfast and lunch to keep you metabolism in check.
I can also relate to having no energy. A mere 3 weeks ago I'd sleep in til noon if I could, take a nap, and still sleep at night. What I found out though was that this was occurring because of what I ate the day before. I wasn't getting enough carbs and protien so my body was drained from work and couldn't recovery properly. Now, I eat more healthy carbs and protien (from whole wheat, chicken, fish, etc.) and I wake up at 6:30 fully rested and ready to go!
As for working out, it may not be fun at first but after a few mins, your body releases dopamine which is the same hormone relased while eating good food (which is why so many people turn to food when their sad or depressed). Also, try making a protien shake with a soy or whey protien mix. These mixes do not taste as great with just milk but blend them with soy milk, fruit and ice and their just like any other smoothie. These mixes help by adding nutrients back to your muscles so they can recover. Not only will this help build your muscle while losing fat, it will also help cleanse your muscles of lactic acid (which is the chemical that makes your body sore). One last thing is to remember that even though working out with slightly sore mucsles hurts at first, (when stretching them properly) it only lasts a few days.

Good luck to you! =D

Kaecklund

Thanks for the advice! I guess I kind of know what direction I need to head in (exercise), but I just don't want to do it, lol! Someone said something about Bromelain - I will look into that because I hate the soreness I get after working out - I usually overdo it and then I pay for it! I'll also check out some of the other posts on here...