Recent conversation with my trainer

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MrsSki38
MrsSki38 Posts: 68 Member
So I've been working out with a personal trainer about 4 weeks now. I have been wearing a BMF since early July and trust the results I was getting. I wasn't getting traditional exercise in any sense of the word. My high burn days were around 2100 and low burn days were closer to 1950. My average calorie intake was around 1500 - 1700. I was up and down the same 3 calories from May.

Every Monday I give my trainer the 7 day average report I pull from the BMF site. The first week I met with him I gave him my entire food diary for the week. Last week he wanted to have a conversation with me as he had something difficult to talk to me about. I thought he was dropping me or he wasn't going to train anymore (I was on the wait list for a year).

Mind you, my high burn days increased to almost 2500 calories (30 minute training session and a 5k run) and rest days are around 2100 calories. Average daily calories was still around 1500-1700 and the scale was creeping up.

He basically said that after reviewing everything I was giving him and his knowledge, I needed to eat more and needed to eat differently. He said that I was an endormorph (I thought he was calling me a super hero) and he took the liberty of determining my new macros and calorie goals. He gave me so much knowledge about endomorphs and the science behind it. He told me to consider his suggestions. Because that session was in the morning, I changed my goals on MFP to match his macros and have really been trying to stick to them. I'm consistently going over carbs by about 50% and under 50% with fats and protein. I bought a whey protein shake I really like and started drinking those twice a day to try to get to the protein goal. Fats are kind of hard but I'm sucking it up. Carbs are better but I have a serious attachment to them and the break up has been hard. Today has been the best lower carb day so far.

My trainer said that this week would be the week I would start to see changes. He asked me to not step on the scale for two days because he knows that I live by what the scale says (don't most of us?). I got on the scale today and did a very exciting happy dance. The scale has been hovering around 167 for several weeks. Today it was 162.8. I fully trust everything he's telling me and everything I've read here on EM2WL. It's understanding your body and finding that sweet spot.

I have plenty of jiggly yet and a long way to go. I'm bumping up my training sessions to 3x a week coupled with a 5k (walk/jog) on those days along with 2 other days giving me only one rest day. It's like a drug....I like the way it hurts.....
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Replies

  • AnitraSoto
    AnitraSoto Posts: 725 Member
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    That is so exciting! Congrats on your great progress! Welcome to the great world of feeling full and fueling your workouts with healthy choices - it is a wonderful place to be!
  • Raynn1
    Raynn1 Posts: 1,164 Member
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    Sounds like you have a trainer that knows what he is talking about! SO nice to see:)

    Dont expect to change your macros all overnight. Go slowly at it. Concentrate on lowering carbs and increasing your protein and fat. Get rid of any low fat or diet products in your house. Greek yogurt, lean meats, nuts, dairy.. these are great protein sources. For fat.. put some coconut oil into your shakes.. cook with canola or olive oil.. I actually used to put flax seed oil into my morning oatmeal..

    Sounds like you are well on your way now!
  • MrsSki38
    MrsSki38 Posts: 68 Member
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    I could just cry over how awesome Randy is. I wasn't starving before but was eating a lot of fruit or low calorie items and not paying much attention to the other macros. Once I started reading about Endomorphs I kind of got it.

    We don't have much low fat/diet food in the house. We are fairly decent eaters. We do buy reduced fat peanut butter but I just about want to throw up when I eat it. I may try almond butter. We are big greek yogurt eaters. Meats generally come from local farms because it's much tastier. I'm learning to be more heavy handed with the olive oil when cooking. I just forget to add it to my food diary. Can you get coconut oil at the grocery or would I need to get it from a health food store? Any particular brand that is better and does it add a coconut flavor?
  • jyska
    jyska Posts: 728 Member
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    Just out of curiosity, what are your macro ratios set at now for your endomorph diet?
  • woodsygirl
    woodsygirl Posts: 354 Member
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    Mmmmm I wish fats were hard for me, they are one of my weaknesses.... coconut, almond butter, guacamole... mmmmmm
  • MrsSki38
    MrsSki38 Posts: 68 Member
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    For a low burn day macros are:

    Carbs 25%
    Protein - 35%
    Fat - 40%

    I'm working on meeting these percentages before I even think about doing anything about the percentages for high burn days. Randy has me at 1999 calories per day for a non-workout day. I'm having a hard time getting close to that. He gets that and is super encouraging and gives me so many things to think about.
  • Noor13
    Noor13 Posts: 964 Member
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    Love, love, love your story!

    Another great success due to eating more to weigh less. Way to go! You are lucky, having such a great Personal Trainer
  • jaeone
    jaeone Posts: 649 Member
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    You have a very smart trainer!!! Keep up the awesome work!!
  • jomatho
    jomatho Posts: 311 Member
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    This is really interesting to me. Keep updating with your progress!
  • wfte
    wfte Posts: 195 Member
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    Nice to hear about a trainer with some commonsense. So used to hearing about ones saying cut,cut,cut!
  • amonkey794
    amonkey794 Posts: 651 Member
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    Hw did he determine your body type? I'm curious as to what mine would be and how to eat properly for it :)
  • MrsSki38
    MrsSki38 Posts: 68 Member
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    I fit the typical traits of an endomorph almost to a 'T'. I was giving him daily averages from the 7-day report I can pull from my BMF as well as letting him know what I was doing outside of his training sessions. While he could see I was getting stronger through our sessions, had a deficit each week that should have me losing 1-1.5 lbs a week, my weekly weight submission wasn't budging or was continuosly going up a few ounces. And I admitted to him that I'm a carb junkie, which he could tell from the weekly food diary I had given him.

    Check this out:

    http://www.muscleandstrength.com/articles/body-types-ectomorph-mesomorph-endomorph.html

    Typical traits of an Endomorph:

    •Soft and round body
    •Gains muscle and fat very easily
    •Is generally short and “stocky”
    •Round physique
    •Finds it hard to lose fat
    •Slow metabolism

    If you determine based on the article above that you are a classic endormorph, read this:

    http://www.mensfitness.com/nutrition/what-to-eat/the-golden-rules-for-every-endomorph

    Yes, it's from Men's Fitness but it's a very good read and very informative.

    Randy advised me to eat plenty of lean proteins, good fats (nuts, avocados, olive oil, etc) and lots of veggies. As I trend towards fruits, he told me for every serving of fruit I eat, he wants me to try to eat 5 servings of veggies. I told him he was crazy. He said an easy way to do that is to put kale/spinach into a fruit smoothie. I have yet to even think about doing that because I have no patience for a blender (ours is fussy and I HATE cleaning it).

    He also wanted me to eat 5 times a day and spread my calories evenly (1999 cals/day). Breakfast is the hardest meal for me. Randy suggested making a cup of coffee the night before and put it in the fridge. The next morning, add a scoop of vanilla whey protein shake, stir and add ice. Instant iced coffee and getting in protein. I haven't tried it yet because I like my coffee screaming hot. I do eat 2 Eggo Nutrigrain waffles with 2 tbsp nut butter (I eat it like a sandwich because I'm normally eating while walking out the door for work). I was having a banana with that but the carbs a banana has made me drop the banana. I'd prefer to have more carbs at lunch and dinner.

    I'm to reserve starchy/sugary carbs only on the days I work out and to eat them immediately after working out.
  • wfte
    wfte Posts: 195 Member
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    1)The mesomorph
    2)The Endomorph
    3)The Ectomorph

    The ectomorphs are the lean, skinny types, They are usually very thin and bony, with fast metabolisms and extremely low body fat.

    The mesomorphs are the genetically gifted types who are lean, muscular and naturally athletic.

    The endomorphs are the fat retainers. Endomorphs have a round body shape and large joints (they are "big boned") and they often have great difficulty losing body fat.

    Very few people are truly one type but its like a triangle and you fit into that triangle somewhere.
  • ktbazzy
    ktbazzy Posts: 110 Member
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    This is awesome information - thank you for sharing!
  • wfte
    wfte Posts: 195 Member
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    Something else I found on the subject, possibly of interest.

    Ectomorph: If you're an ectomorph, you're naturally thin with skinny limbs and a high tolerance for carbohydrates. Usually, your metabolic rate is fast. A good starting macronutrient ratio for you would be something like 25% protein, 55% carbs and 20% fat.

    Mesomorph: Mesomorphs are naturally muscular and athletic. They have a moderate carbohydrate tolerance and a moderate metabolic rate. Mesomorphs can usually start at a 30% protein, 40% carb, 30% fat macronutrient ratio.

    Endomorph: If you're naturally broad and thick, you're probably an endomorph. Endomorphs have a low carbohydrate tolerance and a slow metabolic rate. If you're an endomorph, try a ratio of 35% protein, 25% carbs and 40% fat.

    I don't know how reliable this information is, maybe someone else will be able to confirm.

    Quite interesting that endomorph is listed as gaining fat easily but it's carbs they suggest lowering and have a higher suggested fat % than the other two.
  • MrsSki38
    MrsSki38 Posts: 68 Member
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    wfte - The macro ratio for endormorph is what my trainer gave me to follow on a low burn day. I'm seeing him today so I'm going to ask him why the fat percentage is so high. I'll share with you what he says.

    He's always given me the science behind what he's talking about and I've researched a couple things to confirm what he's saying and not just throwing stuff out there to make me believe him. I've yet to find anything contradictory/un-true in what he's told me.

    I've been following the macros for a full week. The scale is staying consistent at 162.8 (day 3 of this after it fluctuating from 165-167 for weeks) and I feel so much better. While I'm not meeting any of the macros, I haven't gone over carbs by much in the last couple days and my protein is up since starting the whey protein drink 2x a day. I'm under fats by 50% consistently and still not meeting the caloric goal of 1999.
  • amonkey794
    amonkey794 Posts: 651 Member
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    I fit the typical traits of an endomorph almost to a 'T'. I was giving him daily averages from the 7-day report I can pull from my BMF as well as letting him know what I was doing outside of his training sessions. While he could see I was getting stronger through our sessions, had a deficit each week that should have me losing 1-1.5 lbs a week, my weekly weight submission wasn't budging or was continuosly going up a few ounces. And I admitted to him that I'm a carb junkie, which he could tell from the weekly food diary I had given him.

    Check this out:

    http://www.muscleandstrength.com/articles/body-types-ectomorph-mesomorph-endomorph.html

    Typical traits of an Endomorph:

    •Soft and round body
    •Gains muscle and fat very easily
    •Is generally short and “stocky”
    •Round physique
    •Finds it hard to lose fat
    •Slow metabolism

    If you determine based on the article above that you are a classic endormorph, read this:

    http://www.mensfitness.com/nutrition/what-to-eat/the-golden-rules-for-every-endomorph

    Yes, it's from Men's Fitness but it's a very good read and very informative.

    Randy advised me to eat plenty of lean proteins, good fats (nuts, avocados, olive oil, etc) and lots of veggies. As I trend towards fruits, he told me for every serving of fruit I eat, he wants me to try to eat 5 servings of veggies. I told him he was crazy. He said an easy way to do that is to put kale/spinach into a fruit smoothie. I have yet to even think about doing that because I have no patience for a blender (ours is fussy and I HATE cleaning it).

    He also wanted me to eat 5 times a day and spread my calories evenly (1999 cals/day). Breakfast is the hardest meal for me. Randy suggested making a cup of coffee the night before and put it in the fridge. The next morning, add a scoop of vanilla whey protein shake, stir and add ice. Instant iced coffee and getting in protein. I haven't tried it yet because I like my coffee screaming hot. I do eat 2 Eggo Nutrigrain waffles with 2 tbsp nut butter (I eat it like a sandwich because I'm normally eating while walking out the door for work). I was having a banana with that but the carbs a banana has made me drop the banana. I'd prefer to have more carbs at lunch and dinner.

    I'm to reserve starchy/sugary carbs only on the days I work out and to eat them immediately after working out.

    Well, I have no idea what I "naturally" am. If you looked at me in person I am a tiny person, very lean and boney, but still very athletic body type (I have muscles ;p ), but I workout VERY hard to look like this. It is in no way natural.
    Maybe I am naturally fat? I used to be VERY overweight (even with ever so slight activity), but I also didn't watch my food intake so I know a lot of it was that as well. . .?????
  • MrsSki38
    MrsSki38 Posts: 68 Member
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    OK, so I talked to Randy about why the grams of Fat were so high. He basically said that because the carbs are being lowered, the Fats step in to help burn energy. You don't want to have those both be so low that your body starts to burn through proteins and go all cannibal on itself.

    He said that when people think of higher fats, they freak out. They think of fat like it's bad fats.

    I personally feel much better having lowered my carbs. Granted today I'm already over and I'm feeling rather awful. However wanted to experiment since my macros on high burn days are much higher (I worked out with Randy today and am running later). I've already decided I'm not getting anywhere near them. I've blown the carbs already and will just suck it up. I want to take back lunch in the worst way and have a do-over....ugh.
  • lforner46
    lforner46 Posts: 103 Member
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    I like what your trainer has to say. My train says to eat 1200 calories, which I CANNOT do.
  • wfte
    wfte Posts: 195 Member
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    Thanks MrsSki. Might look at shaking my macros up a bit. Def somewhere between endomorph and mesomorph but more towards the endomorph end of the scale.

    I know I won't be able to hit 35P/25C/40F straight away. I'm usually closer to 25/45/30. But I'm gonna try to aim for 30/30/40 and see how it goes. Really don't know how I'm gonna drop the carbs but willing to try.

    Currently sat at work with 2 sheets of paper with all my regular foods listed with cals, carbs, fat (+ sat fat) and proteins listed next to them so I can survey them easily. Like some other people have said of themselves, I'm a very science/figures kind of guy so even get a weird enjoyment from doing it. :-P