How I Broke My Plateu
Beatrix0810
Posts: 138
Hey everyone! A lot of people have been asking me what my "new approach" is since I posted a topic about friends dropping you like last week's fashion magazine. The short version is that I posted a message on my profile that I was trying something new, something that didn't involve calorie counting, and as such, would not be on the site very often in the coming weeks. Unfortunately, about two weeks later I logged on to find like half my friend base gone like the wind. No matter, though, I've received a lot of positive feedback from some of you and made some new (more understanding) friends :-) So thanks for that!
My new approach gave me better results in three weeks than counting calories on this site did in 8 months. Thus, I will be sticking with it and sharing it for all of you who care to know :-)
The Theory:
It's not so much "how much" you eat, as it is "what and how often" you're eating. Eat too often and your blood sugar spikes causing the body to store fat. Eat not often enough and your blood sugar drops, causing your body to store fat AND burn muscle. Thus, feeding your body every 3 to 4 hours keeps the metabolism working and allows your body to feel comfortable burning fat and keeping the muscle.
The Components:
Women should consume about 130g of protein per day. Men should consume around 180g. The nutritionist I saw just took my and my boyfriend's weight and used that as a basis for how much protein to eat, so these are rough estimates not neccessarily transferable to everyone. For every time you have protein, you must also consume carbs and fat. Easy right????
The Schedule:
6am: Breakfast: 26g of protein, 17g carbs, 7g fat
Typical breakfast is 1 cup of vanilla non-fat Greek Yogurt mixed together with half a scoop of whey protein powder and vanilla Almond Milk.
You could also eat a packet of oatmeal (flavor of your chosing) with a spoonful of peanut butter and a protein shake (or skip the pb and eat 2 to 3 eggs).
9am: Snack: (3 hours later) 26g of protein, 17g carbs, 7g fat
Typical Snack is a gala apple with pb and a protein shake. You can sub protein shake with some more greek yogurt, but the shakes are just so much easier to take to work with you.
12pm: Lunch! (again, 3 hours later): 26g of protein, 17g carbs, 7g fat
Typical lunch is a turkey sandwich on whole wheat bread with mayo and mustard and pickles. You can really eat anything you want as long as it satisfies the protein/carb/fat intake. Please don't take this to mean you can eat McDonalds everyday because you can't. The fat far outweighs everything else and it needs to be a protein heavy balance.
3pm: Snack: 26g of protein, 17g carbs, 7g fat
Typical afternoon snack is a rice cake with pb and a protein shake. You can switch it up and do oatmeal here with some greek yogurt, or maybe some cottage cheese with fruit. I would try to eat your fruits in the morning, however, so you have time to burn off the surgar/carbs.
5pm: Work out: Any type of work out you want - don't worry about how many calories you're burning, just make sure to do a mix of cardio and weight lifting for the best results.
5:30 - 6pm: After work out snack: 26g of protein, 17g carbs, 7g fat
Typical snack is just a protein shake mixed with Almond milk, but again, you can do some yogurt or whatever you want.
8:30 - 9pm: Dinner: 26g of protein, 17g carbs, 7g fat
Typical meal is chicken/steak/pork/fish with grilled or sauteed veggies. It's best to eat whatever bread or past you're going to eat earlier in the day so your body has time to burn it off. So rather than a turkey sandwich for lunch, you can have chicken and pasta or something like that.
If you go to bed at 10, you're done for the day. If you go to bed closer to 11:30 or 12pm, then you'll have a before bed snack. For this, I'd just do cottage cheese or yogurt or something and not get too crazy.
I've only been at this for three weeks, and I've lost almost 3 inches from my waist, dropped about 1% body fat, and gained 4lbs of muscle. I'm feeling leaner, and have more energy and the most important part is that my plateu is broken and I broke it in a healthy, natural way that is SUSTAINABLE. I've gotten to the point now where my stomach just starts growling 3 hours exactly after my last meal. It's also helped a lot with binge eating and portion control. eventually, you're eating often enough, that you don't feel like you need gorge yourself every time you sit down to take a bite of something. It's been a life, and game, changer.
Be sure to allow yourself at least ONE cheat meal per week. When you reach your goal, you can bump that up to TWO cheat meals. NOT CHEAT DAYS! ONLY CHEAT MEALS!
If you know you're going to have alcohol later in the evening, cut back on the carbs earlier in the day and maybe don't eat the fruits (as alcohol typically has a lot of sugar).
If you have question, please don't hesitate to ask. I probably don't have all the answers, but I'll try to help as best I can. Good luck everyone!!!
One love!
My new approach gave me better results in three weeks than counting calories on this site did in 8 months. Thus, I will be sticking with it and sharing it for all of you who care to know :-)
The Theory:
It's not so much "how much" you eat, as it is "what and how often" you're eating. Eat too often and your blood sugar spikes causing the body to store fat. Eat not often enough and your blood sugar drops, causing your body to store fat AND burn muscle. Thus, feeding your body every 3 to 4 hours keeps the metabolism working and allows your body to feel comfortable burning fat and keeping the muscle.
The Components:
Women should consume about 130g of protein per day. Men should consume around 180g. The nutritionist I saw just took my and my boyfriend's weight and used that as a basis for how much protein to eat, so these are rough estimates not neccessarily transferable to everyone. For every time you have protein, you must also consume carbs and fat. Easy right????
The Schedule:
6am: Breakfast: 26g of protein, 17g carbs, 7g fat
Typical breakfast is 1 cup of vanilla non-fat Greek Yogurt mixed together with half a scoop of whey protein powder and vanilla Almond Milk.
You could also eat a packet of oatmeal (flavor of your chosing) with a spoonful of peanut butter and a protein shake (or skip the pb and eat 2 to 3 eggs).
9am: Snack: (3 hours later) 26g of protein, 17g carbs, 7g fat
Typical Snack is a gala apple with pb and a protein shake. You can sub protein shake with some more greek yogurt, but the shakes are just so much easier to take to work with you.
12pm: Lunch! (again, 3 hours later): 26g of protein, 17g carbs, 7g fat
Typical lunch is a turkey sandwich on whole wheat bread with mayo and mustard and pickles. You can really eat anything you want as long as it satisfies the protein/carb/fat intake. Please don't take this to mean you can eat McDonalds everyday because you can't. The fat far outweighs everything else and it needs to be a protein heavy balance.
3pm: Snack: 26g of protein, 17g carbs, 7g fat
Typical afternoon snack is a rice cake with pb and a protein shake. You can switch it up and do oatmeal here with some greek yogurt, or maybe some cottage cheese with fruit. I would try to eat your fruits in the morning, however, so you have time to burn off the surgar/carbs.
5pm: Work out: Any type of work out you want - don't worry about how many calories you're burning, just make sure to do a mix of cardio and weight lifting for the best results.
5:30 - 6pm: After work out snack: 26g of protein, 17g carbs, 7g fat
Typical snack is just a protein shake mixed with Almond milk, but again, you can do some yogurt or whatever you want.
8:30 - 9pm: Dinner: 26g of protein, 17g carbs, 7g fat
Typical meal is chicken/steak/pork/fish with grilled or sauteed veggies. It's best to eat whatever bread or past you're going to eat earlier in the day so your body has time to burn it off. So rather than a turkey sandwich for lunch, you can have chicken and pasta or something like that.
If you go to bed at 10, you're done for the day. If you go to bed closer to 11:30 or 12pm, then you'll have a before bed snack. For this, I'd just do cottage cheese or yogurt or something and not get too crazy.
I've only been at this for three weeks, and I've lost almost 3 inches from my waist, dropped about 1% body fat, and gained 4lbs of muscle. I'm feeling leaner, and have more energy and the most important part is that my plateu is broken and I broke it in a healthy, natural way that is SUSTAINABLE. I've gotten to the point now where my stomach just starts growling 3 hours exactly after my last meal. It's also helped a lot with binge eating and portion control. eventually, you're eating often enough, that you don't feel like you need gorge yourself every time you sit down to take a bite of something. It's been a life, and game, changer.
Be sure to allow yourself at least ONE cheat meal per week. When you reach your goal, you can bump that up to TWO cheat meals. NOT CHEAT DAYS! ONLY CHEAT MEALS!
If you know you're going to have alcohol later in the evening, cut back on the carbs earlier in the day and maybe don't eat the fruits (as alcohol typically has a lot of sugar).
If you have question, please don't hesitate to ask. I probably don't have all the answers, but I'll try to help as best I can. Good luck everyone!!!
One love!
0
Replies
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what's the total daily fat, protein and carbs (you might have it to hand and save me adding it up !)0
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Sounds a little like bffm (burn the fat, feed the muscle) but he has a calorie count too, and then 40/40/20 on carbs/protein/fat or 50/35/15, depending...
Glad its working for you though, keep up the good work!0 -
Sounds a little like bffm (burn the fat, feed the muscle) but he has a calorie count too, and then 40/40/20 on carbs/protein/fat or 50/35/15, depending...
Glad its working for you though, keep up the good work!
Yeah, I mean same idea here, but I haven't worried about the cals and it's been working for me like a dream. I think everyone just has to find their own thing, but I thought "hey, if this worked for me, it might help someone else!"
:-)0 -
Bump0
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I essentially do this without counting grams of anything, protein, fat, whatever. I just try and make sure that there is protein at every meal/snack and eat every few hours or so - it's laid-back and sustainable.
Way to go for working something that fits with your lifestyle and your needs
Kudos! 0 -
I essentially do this without counting grams of anything, protein, fat, whatever. I just try and make sure that there is protein at every meal/snack and eat every few hours or so - it's laid-back and sustainable.
Way to go for working something that fits with your lifestyle and your needs Kudos!
Thanks! And yes, its so much easier to make a permanent part of my life :-)0 -
P: 26g x 6 = 156g x 4 = 624 calories
C: 17g x 6 = 102g x 4 = 408 calories
F: 7g x 6 = 42g x 9 = 378 calories
Total calories 1410
235 calories each of the 6 meals
How many calories were you eating previously?
It's good to see its working for you.0 -
I have noticed there are no legumes, fruits, or even vegetables for three weeks. that sounds a bit crazy!
how could you manage eating the same breakfast for three weeks? any ideas for usual lunch and dinner0 -
I eat at 530 600 pm everynight and i am always sooooooo hungry around 8 what can i eat that wont hurt me0
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You gained 4 lbs. of muscle in 3 weeks???:huh:0
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bump0
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That's no different from what I've been doing since joining MFP. The benefit of logging is that you have a visual of what your consuming. You will still hit a plateau doing this method you mentioned, just as I did. However, once you do you'll need to re-modify your eating and exercise. I re-modified April 1st and was able to lose 12 pounds that month. I eat more, worked out a little harder but still eat every 3 hours. Difference is I lowered my carbs and upped protein to range from 125-150g per day. That slight change got me out of a almost 3 month plateau!0
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I eat at 530 600 pm everynight and i am always sooooooo hungry around 8 what can i eat that wont hurt me
Egg whites!0 -
Bump0
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This is similar to the 40/40/20 diet that body builders use. You sure love your protein shakes (think you have 4 a day).
I was actually looking into this. I'm still doing research. It seems like the amount of protein required varies by source. Some places state 1-2 g per pound of body fat (incredibly broad) and Men's Health advocated .5 to .77g per lean Lb of muscle mass. Those number vary too much for my liking. Any additional insight OP??
This is still a form of counting, just instead of counting calories you are counting grams (broken down by protein/fat/carb).0 -
bumpity bump0
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This is similar to the 40/40/20 diet that body builders use. You sure love your protein shakes (think you have 4 a day).
I was actually looking into this. I'm still doing research. It seems like the amount of protein required varies by source. Some places state 1-2 g per pound of body fat (incredibly broad) and Men's Health advocated .5 to .77g per lean Lb of muscle mass. Those number vary too much for my liking. Any additional insight OP??
This is still a form of counting, just instead of counting calories you are counting grams (broken down by protein/fat/carb).
Additional note:
Anyone who wants to give this breakdown a try you can do this through MFP. Go and change your goals. Select custom goals and you can select your protein carb and fat breakdown. It won't change your overall calorie intake, just where the calories are coming from.
If you don't set this up in custom mode MFP will automaticall default to 55%carbs, 35% protein and 10% fat (or that's how it appears on mine).0 -
Thanks for the Great Ideas! Congratulations on your weight loss!0
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Ive been reading so many different things on here and its making me wonder what i should be eating everyday so i can drop more weight and build my muscles! I always get so confused on the numbers and i know how much protein is great for u! Just cant wait to find what works for me as i cant eat the same thing everyday! I get to bored! Good luck and congrats! :bigsmile:0
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P: 26g x 6 = 156g x 4 = 624 calories
C: 17g x 6 = 102g x 4 = 408 calories
F: 7g x 6 = 42g x 9 = 378 calories
Total calories 1410
235 calories each of the 6 meals
How many calories were you eating previously?
It's good to see its working for you.
I was eating about 1400-1500 cals before. But it's not so much about how many calories, as it is what you're putting in your body. I was eating MOSTLY veggies and very little protein before. This system of eating in a balanced way has kicked the progress into high gear!0 -
I have noticed there are no legumes, fruits, or even vegetables for three weeks. that sounds a bit crazy!
how could you manage eating the same breakfast for three weeks? any ideas for usual lunch and dinner
There are definitely veggies involved. For dinner, I get my carbs solely from veggies. During the day I will get them from breads or pastas, but it's best to eat those things earlier in the day and to make sure you're including plenty of protein :-)0 -
I eat at 530 600 pm everynight and i am always sooooooo hungry around 8 what can i eat that wont hurt me
The BEST bedtime snack is cottage cheese. Tons of protein and a good amount of fat and it will typically keep you full all night so you're not starving when you wake up. Although, no matter how good I am at staying on track, I'm always hungry when I wake up, haha. I also sometimes do a shake of Vanilla Greek Yogurt and Vanilla Almond milk. Tastes great and it's satisfying :-)0 -
You gained 4 lbs. of muscle in 3 weeks???:huh:
Yep! And lost one pound of fat! It's almost time for me to weigh in again!0 -
bump...luv the menu0
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This is similar to the 40/40/20 diet that body builders use. You sure love your protein shakes (think you have 4 a day).
I was actually looking into this. I'm still doing research. It seems like the amount of protein required varies by source. Some places state 1-2 g per pound of body fat (incredibly broad) and Men's Health advocated .5 to .77g per lean Lb of muscle mass. Those number vary too much for my liking. Any additional insight OP??
This is still a form of counting, just instead of counting calories you are counting grams (broken down by protein/fat/carb).
Additional note:
Anyone who wants to give this breakdown a try you can do this through MFP. Go and change your goals. Select custom goals and you can select your protein carb and fat breakdown. It won't change your overall calorie intake, just where the calories are coming from.
If you don't set this up in custom mode MFP will automaticall default to 55%carbs, 35% protein and 10% fat (or that's how it appears on mine).
Thanks for the info (and good point)!0 -
Ive been reading so many different things on here and its making me wonder what i should be eating everyday so i can drop more weight and build my muscles! I always get so confused on the numbers and i know how much protein is great for u! Just cant wait to find what works for me as i cant eat the same thing everyday! I get to bored! Good luck and congrats! :bigsmile:
Well that's just it! You don't have to eat the same thing every day. It's more about understanding the ratios of Protein to Carbs to fats. If you understand what these are, you'll always be able to switch it up! I'll look for the list the nutritionist gave me that breaks it down and post it on here :-)
I hope you find what works! Good luck!0 -
bumping bumphytie bump! :happy:0
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BUMP0
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Thanks for sharing! I'll definitely try this!0
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Thanks for the idea of adding protein in every meal. it seems PB is an easy addition to snacks. Thanks from Chicago.:flowerforyou:0
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