Judge me, go ahead!

Sageyoku

2nd time posting this, hoping to get some feedback...please?
My food diary is now OPEN. Take a look!


I've been doing mfp for about 3-4 weeks now.
I am STARVING most of the time at work (an office job where I sit and do nothing).

At first, I thought this was because I was bored.
So I started eating green beans, carrots, and nuts between meals, while working,
to ward off boredom and keep my tummy full.
But then after lunch, I experience this VERY horrible drop in blood sugar(?) and/or
anemia that lasts for the next FOUR HOURS.
I feel like I'm about to collapse, and no amount of coffee, vitamin B, water, or sugar has helped.
It is beginning to affect my ability to do my job effectively.

I have opened my food diary so you can see what I've been eating.
This is pretty much EXACTLY what I eat; I don't cook, and don't keep junk food in the house other than
dark chocolate, and I'm poor so I buy the same foods over and over

Recently I've had more treats than usual (b-day's coming up haha), but if you look at
the overall picture I think you'll agree, I do my best to eat well.

As for exercise, I burn around 1500 calories per week according to mfp, but
it's probably actually less than that (don't have a hrm).

Does anyone have any advice? Am I not eating enough? Over-exercising? Does my body need more time to adjust?
Any constructive advice is much appreciated!

beach_chelle

have a question just an intial glance at your profile. are you only trying to lose 4 lbs? or is this your first goal and when you get there you will add more weight to lose?

that being say if you are only trying to lose four pounds you may want to set your goal lose for 0.5 lbs a week. i say this because you are trying to lose so little that your body may be in shock. to me it looks like you are eating good. increase your water in take.

of course i am not a doctor and if this problem persists see your doc!

SammyKatt

You need to be eating more protein. Protein and fat are what keeps you feeling full. You are eating way to many empty calories. Cut the cookies, candy and dried fruit. Eat more veggies and fresh fruit. And have protein with every meal.

dsak

I only went back a week, but I agree with the previous poster.... Cut out the candy and cookies. I'd also track your sodium and sugar... processed food contain a lot of both. Also...drink more water!

angied80

I agree with everyone else. You need to up that protein. You should be consuming 1 gram for each lb of body fat.. so if you are 150lbs.. you need 150 grams of protein per day. You say you dont cook? Is that a personal choice or you just are not any good at it. If you are "poor" as you say, then opting to cook your meals will save you more than buying from subway. If you suck at cooking there are many EASY things that you can cook. You should try buying a bag of boneless chicken. Walmart has it for like 6.00 for like 5lbs. CHEAP plus it could be your lunch meals for the WHOLE week. . easy.. unthaw it throw it on a pan, throw seasoning on it.. i use steak seasoning personally.. or salt and pepper.. bake it on 350 for 20 mins or until done in the middle. Some weeks, I buy a whole turkey and throw it in the oven and bake it. Thats my meals for the whole week. A good size turkey is only 16-20 dollars.. cant beat that. Throw some broccoli or whatever veggies you prefer. Instead of opting for 100 cal snack packs, cookies. etc... try an apple... they are healthy PLUS they are a natural fat burner. Eat it with almond butter or natural creamy peanut butter... Try to lower your carbs. Most of my daily carbs come from apples but at least its healthy carbs... opt for jerky (but not too much, lots of sodium) or something like that. Just a few pointers!

Sageyoku

have a question just an intial glance at your profile. are you only trying to lose 4 lbs? or is this your first goal and when you get there you will add more weight to lose?

beach_chelle, thank you for responding. I am not technically trying to lose ANY weight, I'm here on mfp participating in a fitness challenge with some family members
I am 130lbs, 5' 5" (or 5' 4.5" as my sister would argue :P) and at a healthy bmi.
My goal is to get into a workout routine and motivate my family.

I do have my goal set to 1/2 pound per week, just to see if I will actually lose weight,
but plan to switch to 'maintain' in about a month.
I will try to drink more water

I only went back a week, but I agree with the previous poster.... Cut out the candy and cookies. I'd also track your sodium and sugar... processed food contain a lot of both. Also...drink more water!

You need to be eating more protein. Protein and fat are what keeps you feeling full. You are eating way to many empty calories. Cut the cookies, candy and dried fruit. Eat more veggies and fresh fruit. And have protein with every meal.

Thank you for your opinions, dsak and SammyKatt. I'm going to try to defend myself here, so please don't get offended :ohwell:

For one thing, I should have mentioned that in my food diary, all my junk food
is listed under 'Snacks' no matter what time of day I eat it. I'm not actually eating all that bad stuff at one time.
I am putting it all in one place so it's easier to see how much crap I eat Sorry for any confusion!

And...honestly...am I really overdoing it on the junk food?
Well, I mean, I'm a little disheartened after reading these actually. I thought I was doing well,
as I've only been over my calorie goal twice since starting this program a month ago. :frown:

I mean yes, I eat some crap food, but I thought it was a pretty small percentage of my overall calorie intake.
I track sugar and salt using the MFP ipad pie chart and nutrition summary to determine a good
carb/fat/protein balance, using the MFP standards.
I try really hard to keep processed foods to a minimum.
The veggies I eat are either fresh or frozen, fruits are raw (except the prunes), and meats are
cooked with a little olive oil and no sauce besides spices, lemon juice or ketchup.
Nuts are raw/roasted and always unsalted. The only juice I drink is no-sugar-added cranberry, 1/2 cup once in a while.

I completely appreciate your advice and will cut back on my processed sugars to see if
that's what's causing me to be anemic at work.

I'm just disheartened because I guess I don't like to be told I need to change! and because as someone who's not currently striving for weight loss, I guess I felt it was "ok" for me to eat as much crap as I do. But thank you for the reality check

Just don't tell me I have to cut ALL of it out...please?? Haha.
And I will drink more water

You say you dont cook? Is that a personal choice or you just are not any good at it.

angelad80, I do cook as necessary, but not much. This DOESN'T mean I eat out frequently though!
I am very familiar with the Walmart 5 for 6 chicken bag lol!!

Basically I cook the barest minimum; that is, the meats and pasta/rice only. I've got kind of a cooking phobia due to some childhood trauma...too stupid to explain here LOL!!

I get frozen veggies, throw them in a box with a walmart chicken breast or unbreaded fish filet (cooked)
and some bread or 1/2c pasta. This is my meal for work.
I bring a piece of raw fruit and another bag of raw veggies and nuts for snack. That's the extent of my 'cooking'.

I eat at least one apple or orange every day.
I eat some sort of nut product--unsalted/sweeted almond butter or raw/roasted unsalted nuts, almost every day.
I do NOT eat 100 cal snack packs at all.

Thank you for your advice. I will work on upping my protein intake and lowering my carbs, especially bad or 'empty' ones.

Thank you very much, everyone! I'll do my best! Good luck to you all as well!

piyubole

I agree with everyone else. You need to up that protein. You should be consuming 1 gram for each lb of body fat.. so if you are 150lbs.. you need 150 grams of protein per day.

if she is 150lbs, then unless she is 100% fat then I don't think she should be consuming 150gms of protein - thats actually too much and you can get kidney problems if you do that long term. you'd need to know your body fat percentage, then calculate how much of your weight is body fat and then adjust accordingly. Most women who are overweight are 37% fat. So 0.37(150lb) = grams of ptn you need to eat.

also - anemia doesn't settle in quickly enough for you to feel anemic within the span of a day for a few hours. BUT, you should take iron and vitamin supplements while you are dieting to make sure you are not starving your body of the essentials anyways.

chevy88grl

I only went back a few days and honestly? I don't think you eat poorly at all. You seem to have a pretty well balanced "diet". Perhaps I didn't go back far enough, but I didn't see an huge amount of "junk". I eat "treats" every single day and they are far more than you're consuming.

A lot of people say to eat more veggies - they'll keep you fuller longer. This does not work for me. I NEVER feel full after eating veggies. You should aim for your lean body mass in protein a day (mine is set at 144g, but I figure if I'm over 100g, I'm good).

freogirl77

Boiled eggs are a great snack, the protein fills you up. Good luck

1a1a

My 2 cents, eat more :-) Half a pound is a good goal but you have calories to spare every day (for a person in a healthy weight range) so really, you're in a more severe deficit than you think. Keep the cookies, add some protein. Just looking at Monday. I'd say try having eggs for breakfast one day and turn your lunches back into a balanced meal (not excluding food groups so, a little oil or fat and some small portion of carbs). The nailing breakfast and lunch thing ties in with your need for energy at work.

Have a look at my diary back in November or October, before I fell off the wagon, You'll see a lot of food, junk and exercise, and I lost about 10 kilos eating like that. (If you're in a healthy range though I'd be thinking ditch the calorie deficit and do some strength training :-) )

Sageyoku

Thanks piyubole! I will 'carefully' up my protein and I do take a vitamin supplement as well, on top of eating lots of leafy greens and other iron-rich foods!

Thanks freogirl77! I avoid eggs usually because of...well, let's say they 'cause unpleasant odors' but my coworkers will just have to suffer! Hahaha!

Thanks chevy88grl! You're making me feel a bit better
To be fair, I asked for advice without sharing my current weight or goals, so the advice given by others would probably be good if I were trying to lose weight. And I should always watch my sugars and processed foods, I agree!

'Up The Protein' seems to be the gist of everyone's advice. I will try it!!

chevy88grl

Thanks piyubole! I will 'carefully' up my protein and I do take a vitamin supplement as well, on top of eating lots of leafy greens and other iron-rich foods!

Thanks freogirl77! I avoid eggs usually because of...well, let's say they 'cause unpleasant odors' but I'll my coworkers will just have to suffer! Hahaha!

Thanks chevy88grl! You're making me feel a bit better
To be fair, I asked for advice without sharing my current weight or goals, so the advice given by others would probably be good if I were trying to lose weight. And I should always watch my sugars and processed foods, I agree!

'Up The Protein' seems to be the gist of everyone's advice. I will try it!!

I should mention that I follow an "everything in moderation" view on "dieting". I truly feel like giving up things you REALLY love is depriving yourself and for a lot of people leads to binge eating later. I know there's no way I could go my entire life without cookies or candy or cake -- and quite honestly, I don't want to do so. Yes, I want to be healthier and yes, I wanted to lose weight -- but this is the ONLY life I have to live and I plan to enjoy it some.

Sageyoku

My 2 cents, eat more :-) Half a pound is a good goal but you have calories to spare every day (for a person in a healthy weight range) so really, you're in a more severe deficit than you think. Keep the cookies, add some protein. Just looking at Monday. I'd say try having eggs for breakfast one day and turn your lunches back into a balanced meal (not excluding food groups so, a little oil or fat and some small portion of carbs). The nailing breakfast and lunch thing ties in with your need for energy at work.

Have a look at my diary back in November or October, before I fell off the wagon, You'll see a lot of food, junk and exercise, and I lost about 10 kilos eating like that. (If you're in a healthy range though I'd be thinking ditch the calorie deficit and do some strength training :-) )

Thank you 1a1a!
It has been suggested to me that I eat my exercise calories back in protein. I will likely try that.
I will keep some cookies...at least for now...<3 So hard to give them up!! But I can scale back on sugars.

I see in your food diary for Nov. (I looked around the 8th) milk!! I wonder if drinking some 2% with lunch might help?

I am going to start some strength training next week...this is my last week of cardio only. At least that's the plan!!
Thank you very much! Stay on the wagon!

Sageyoku

I should mention that I follow an "everything in moderation" view on "dieting". I truly feel like giving up things you REALLY love is depriving yourself and for a lot of people leads to binge eating later. I know there's no way I could go my entire life without cookies or candy or cake -- and quite honestly, I don't want to do so. Yes, I want to be healthier and yes, I wanted to lose weight -- but this is the ONLY life I have to live and I plan to enjoy it some.

I agree with this I will not cut out junk entirely (I SUGARS) but will continue to be moderate about my choices. Thank you!

jarrettd

I had this same problem. Your insulin-response to sugar is high. When you eat something that is mainly simple sugars, your body produces too much insulin, burning thru all the sugar you ate plus whatever is in your bloodstream. You get shaky and weak? A little light-headed? Somewhat confused? Then, you eat something to try to feel better, and all you want to do is sleep?

You may want to get tested by your doctor, because you could be hypoglycemic. But there are varying degrees, and some (like me) can correct it with it with a few diet changes.

Carbs convert readily into sugar. If your meals/snacks consist primarily of carbs, your body is overreacting to the sugar-spike and causing you to crash. I found that I have to eat more protein to prevent this. I can still have cereal for breakfast, but I also have an egg. An apple for snack? Sure, with a handful of almonds and a container of yogurt.

MFP's protein numbers are way low for me. I adjusted my ratio to 40/30/30 carbs/fat/protein, and try to each meal or snack close to that ratio. Sometimes it's rough, and I just want to gorge on bread and pasta, but I know what I get in a few hours if I do that! If you really have to have your sweets, there are several really good high protein/low carb bars that taste wonderful.

Good luck, and I hope you find what works for you!

Sageyoku

I had this same problem. Your insulin-response to sugar is high. When you eat something that is mainly simple sugars, your body produces too much insulin, burning thru all the sugar you ate plus whatever is in your bloodstream. You get shaky and weak? A little light-headed? Somewhat confused? Then, you eat something to try to feel better, and all you want to do is sleep?

You may want to get tested by your doctor, because you could be hypoglycemic. But there are varying degrees, and some (like me) can correct it with it with a few diet changes.

Carbs convert readily into sugar. If your meals/snacks consist primarily of carbs, your body is overreacting to the sugar-spike and causing you to crash. I found that I have to eat more protein to prevent this. I can still have cereal for breakfast, but I also have an egg. An apple for snack? Sure, with a handful of almonds and a container of yogurt.

MFP's protein numbers are way low for me. I adjusted my ratio to 40/30/30 carbs/fat/protein, and try to each meal or snack close to that ratio. Sometimes it's rough, and I just want to gorge on bread and pasta, but I know what I get in a few hours if I do that! If you really have to have your sweets, there are several really good high protein/low carb bars that taste wonderful.

Good luck, and I hope you find what works for you!

Wow! Well that would explain a lot!
Thank you very much for this advice. I can't get tested right now (no health insurance), but will make the changes I can and keep this in mind if/when I see a doctor again!
This is especially important because--something else I didn't mention in earlier posts--my summer job is very physical, so my 'sedentary' lifestyle will quickly become 'active' in only a few short weeks! I want to adjust accordingly!
Thanks again! Protein bars, here I come!!

k1mcat

Are you drinking enough water? If not that may contribute your feeling tired etc. Just a thought and worth looking into. :happy:

Ziyaeen

Cut out all junk food COMPLETELY. You should even stop soft drinks. Maybe one or two a week.

Have as much healthy and filling veggies as you can --> broccoli, cauliflower, carrot, green beans, celery

Have a decent amount of HEALTHY protein with each meal. By healthy protein, I mean no processed protein of any kind.(I.e. no minced meat)

Have some fruits between meals. But not too many, remember, you are tying to lose weight.

Reduce Grains to as little as possible. No rice, no bread. Get your carbs from veggies and fruits.

Finally, to keep the hunger in control, divide your meals into six smaller meals. This means you literally have to stop eating a meal halfway through, keeping in mind that you will have another small meal in a few hours. Ideally every three hours.

Let me know how it goes.

Khaled.

yuckidah

Considering you don't need to lose weight, I think your diary is pretty bloody good to be honest
Protein should do the trick to help you feel better though.

TheFitnessTutor

More protein on some days, more fats, less carbs on most days. Quit buying low fat stuff. Low fat anything is usually marketing nonsense to get you to buy it and it's usually got something in it to take the place of the fat that was somehow taken out. Eat regular yogurt. Fat doesnt make you fat or do anything but get you more calories. You need more real fat in your diet. I'd either try to skip breakfast unless you need it, or do a breakfast of eggs and ham, or some lean meat, whatever etc., with very little carbs. Save the berries and carbs and stuff for before and after your workout. Play with food/meal size and timing, times of day. Watch for reactions to certain food types, grains, etc. And here's one that seems taboo. How about trying to run a dedicated surplus, especially on the days you train. People are so caught up on calories and "not going over" ..."toning" is building muscle. End. You just don't want to build as much as a "body builder". In a general diet approach you need extra for that to be optimal. That also might mean some weight gain! Then you cut fat later while working to preserve the muscle or the "toning" you did. Females are so afraid of using that word muscle but from what I've seen over the years, using the word toning is just a way to confuse yourself and thus stifle your goals. There's no such thing as Toning. Read my article: http://thefitnesstutor.com/why-toning-doesnt-exist/

TheFitnessTutor

I agree with everyone else. You need to up that protein. You should be consuming 1 gram for each lb of body fat.. so if you are 150lbs.. you need 150 grams of protein per day.

if she is 150lbs, then unless she is 100% fat then I don't think she should be consuming 150gms of protein - thats actually too much and you can get kidney problems if you do that long term. you'd need to know your body fat percentage, then calculate how much of your weight is body fat and then adjust accordingly. Most women who are overweight are 37% fat. So 0.37(150lb) = grams of ptn you need to eat.

also - anemia doesn't settle in quickly enough for you to feel anemic within the span of a day for a few hours. BUT, you should take iron and vitamin supplements while you are dieting to make sure you are not starving your body of the essentials anyways.

.
Please quit spreading this nonsense. 1gram per lb of bodyweight for protein is not too much and it will not give you kidney problems. Especially for someone who is active and exercising. The research has been done. The only people that get kidney issues with any intake realy are people with weak or diseased/malfunctioning kidneys. You probably think that eating fat makes you fat too or runs up your cholesterol?

People already have enough to worry about without someone scaring them with myths and pseudo science. There's been a plethora of research on this matter. Geez....ugh! Here's one just on a quick whim. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10722779

dvcab

Im the same just veges or salad with no protein doesnt fill me up either.
If you are not trying to really lose weight just tone you should just be on maintenance and up the exercise this will do both add a bit of weight loss and firm your body

TheFitnessTutor

Im the same just veges or salad with no protein doesnt fill me up either.
If you are not trying to really lose weight just tone you should just be on maintenance and up the exercise this will do both add a bit of weight loss and firm your body

There's no such thing as toning: http://thefitnesstutor.com/why-toning-doesnt-exist/

HorrorChix89

Im the same just veges or salad with no protein doesnt fill me up either.
If you are not trying to really lose weight just tone you should just be on maintenance and up the exercise this will do both add a bit of weight loss and firm your body

There's no such thing as toning: http://thefitnesstutor.com/why-toning-doesnt-exist/

Well that destroyed everything I could have ever hoped for

c2me12ad6

I eat something small every four hours when I am at work. I will have a motts apple sauce...then four hours later a healthy choice soup only 180 calories....then work out then when i get home have a half cup of cereal with one oz of milk....so on and so fourth.

juliekaiser1988

Protein, girl!! Where's your protein???

Protein= satiety!

If you can't get it in another way, drink a protein shake. Lots of RTD versions available in low sugar.

juliekaiser1988

I also agree with other posters: "low-fat" equals mega carbs. You're already eating plenty of carbs without that other stuff. Any whoever the poster is that says too much protein is "bad for you"- you're nuts. I eat 1 gram per pound, so I'm getting in around 130-140 a day. Been stable at this weight for almost 3 years. It is NOT bad for you kidneys.... take it from me- I do the urinalysis in the lab that I work in. That science is out-dated.

diver71_au

While I dont disagree with much of what has been said there is another possibility for the afternoon crash - sleep.

How are your sleep patterns. I know if i have a fitful night tossing and turning I crash out about 2pm and am pretty much zombie-like for the rest of the day - regardless of food.

Ryhenblue

Your diary looks great for the most part. Like others have said, drink more water and try and eat more protein. I would also add fiber to that and aim for 25g a day.

Fiber helps control blood sugar levels. Fiber, particularly soluble fiber, can slow the absorption of sugar, which for people with diabetes can help improve blood sugar levels. A diet that includes insoluble fiber has been associated with a reduced risk of developing type 2 diabetes. http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/fiber/NU00033

ChefSuzzieQ

Every time you eat eat carbs, protein and fats. That combination helps you feel full. You don't have to eat a bunch or anything but the combo works.

1a1a

Ha ha, the milk isn't intentional, it's my 'cookies'. Who knows, it might have played a significant role, you'll just have to experiment.