Nutriton/Fitness question?

normawesjean

Hello, I have some questions. I'm 18, 190 lbs, 5 10" and I have some extra flab I really want to get into shape bad. My goal is to get down to 170-164 by this summer. I just recently got a YMCA pass and go the gym 5 days a week and do about 90 mins of cardio(I do climb machnines for 30 mins, fast walk/jog for 30 mins, and bike for 30 mins) and 25 mins of weight lifting each day. I really want to maintain a healthy life style for as long as I can. Something I really don't understand is the whole food process. I'm trying to stay away from bad food. I can't eat all the fruits and veggies, I just hate the way they feel in my mouth, but I have come to handle some. I can handle the simple ones basically. Right now the thing that is really bugging me is what do I eat and when? I heard eat 6 times a day or 3 times a day. I understand that, but when do I eat and what do I eat? (also, how do I throw that in there when I'm working at my job for 5-6 hours?) Like name some foods that are healthy and won't hurt me, and when I should it them. This is what I did everyday for the past 2 weeks. Breakfast-Bannana or oatmeal, or eggs or oatmeal. I eat about 4-6 hours later and I eat some turkey or blue berries or another bannana. I really don't eat afterwards. I feel satisfied when I eat, but a few hours down the road I'm hungry and I don't know what to eat, and if I do eat I feel I'm doing more bad than good.

Any help would be great, thanks!

LaurelFisher

:flowerforyou: Good Afternoon Norma, sounds to me as if you are not consuming ENOUGH calories. You need to eat at least 1200 calories a day or you will put your body in starvation mode. Are you logging in food and Exercise? I usually eat either cheerios with fat free milk or Slim Fast for breakfast. App. 2 hours later I have a banana or other 100 calorie snack. For lunch if I have a slim fast for breakfast, I eat a Lean Cuisine / Healthy Choice or some other frozen low cal meal I can through in the microwave at work and the walk a mile. If I have Cheerios for breakfast I have Slim Fast for lunch and walk 2 miles on my lunch break. App. 2 hours later I have another snack, fruit, raisins, low cal crackers just a little something to keep me from over indulging at dinner. For dinner see how many calories you have left and plan accordingly. I like baked chicken breast, baked potato with low cal margerine and lots of veggies. Make sure to drink at least 8 glasses of water and log in your exercise. This is just a suggestion, it is what helped me lose. I am not perfect and slip more times then I would like. You have to find something that works for YOU.
May god bless and help you on your travels through diet and life changes, Rosemary
:drinker: :drinker: :drinker: :drinker: :drinker: :drinker: :drinker: :drinker:

normawesjean

See, I'm afraid to consume more cause it feels like my workout was a waste if I get an extra 300 calorie meal in or something.

singcoz528

You should DEFINITELY eat your exercise calories or else your body will go into starvation mode and your metabolism will suffer. You exercise to tone your muscles, and when you build up muscle, you burn more calories. You will not be wasting your time exercising by eating the calories you burn. As for what to eat, I mainly just eat what I believe to be healthy, it seems like what you are eating is fine but you should definitely be meeting your calorie goals. You don't want to starve your body. You will lose more weight faster by doing it the right way. And don't worry about taking a cheat day every once in a while. I take one once a month and it actually shocks by metabolism to get me away from plateauing. Oatmeal is GREAT to eat in the morning because it will make you feel fuller throughout the day.

Trust me, before my baby I lost 40 pounds with this site. I lost about 10 pounds a month and I did NOT starve myself. I just exercised and ate healthy. And I ate ALL the calories allotted to me.

Skinnydana

You definitely need to eat more than you are in order to give your body the energy it needs to burn off the fat!

I would definitely lean more towards eating 6 times a day: Breakfast, snack (2-3 hours later), Lunch, snack, Dinner. It will help speed up your metabolism which will make you lose weight quicker.

It sounds like you are burning tons of calories at the gym, so don't worry about consuming more calories. You should be consuming 1200-1600 a day. That gives plenty of room to eat healthy snacks in between meals.

A couple ideas for snacks are: Raisins, almonds (even though they are high in calories, they are super good for you and will keep you full for a longer period of time), plain yogurt (add fruit if you want), Apple sauce, whole grain crackers... check out some website for more ideas.

If you aren't a huge fan of fruit and veggies, try adding stuff to them. Like apples & peanut butter, or celery & peanut butter, or baby carrots w/ hummus.

I think if you continue to work out as much as you are, and eat as little as you are, you are probably going to get pretty sick of it and end up quitting or eating bad. It's always a good idea to have a weekly plan for meals & snacks so that you don't eat altogether or end up eating something bad.

I hope this helps!! Good luck!

JessicaT2007

I only have a comment about your fruit and veggies. If it is really hard to get them in because you do not like their texture, what about making them in smoothies? I used to do this. I would do 2 fruits and then spinach. that is 3 servings right there. It is always a green color form the spinach but I never tasted the spinach. I made it with either vanilla soy milk or fat free milk. Just an idea. :happy: