unhealthy and fit

Charmed285

I want a slimmer toned body (fit, flat abs, slimmer thighs and arms and looking good in clothing and bikini next summer) and I mainly do workout dvds to achieve this (my trouble areas are the stomach and thighs). I am not able to eat healthy and I'm pretty sure I'm way below my 1430 calorie limit on a daily basis, however I'm not eating out or eating fast food regularly. usually I will have a peanut butter and jelly sandwich on WHITE bread, scrambled egg sandwich fried with vegetable oil on WHITE bread, oatmeal WITH WHITE SUGAR, FRIED and PACKAGED foods for dinner, WHITE rice and mashed potatoes.. (I'm in the south so think of typical sourthen foods). My main concern is this will hinder my results... what do you think? is whey protein needed to prevent losing muscle and do you think pro-biotics should be taken to help with belly fat and bloat?

shelbyfrootcake

Why are you not able to eat healthy food? And aren't you tracking your food to know your calorie intake?

ldholcombe

Why are you unable to eat healthy? Wheat bread and brown rice don't taste too different..... I always thought southern food was homemade. Well anyways it will effect your results. The better you eat the better you feel as well.

SideSteel

White =/= unhealthy.

opuntia

Are you also eating fruit and veg? I sometimes eat white bread, and sometimes I fry my food, and sometimes I have mashed potato, but I don't consider myself to be an unhealthy eater as a result - I also eat lots of salads and fruit, and find I'm quite healthy in general.

Charmed285

i can't afford healthy foods or anyting. I eat whatever my dad buy and prepares. with my 95.00 phone bill, $77.00 internet, and 100.00 for transportation and only earing $400.00 check or less a month I have no money. sourthern food is homemade for the most part but he also buys packaged and can foods. he refuses to buy and eat healthier foods and we don't have much anyways. I will eat canned veggies if he makes it and no fruit or salads. he doesn't buy them.

Sarah0866

Could you at least invest in a package of wheat bread or some sort of complex carbs like oats and sweet potatoes for yourself? They run at about $2-4 for a package of bread, and something like $5-6 for a box of steel cut oatmeal at my grocery store, so it wouldn't be too major an expense. Also, does he buy any canned lean meats, like tuna in water or chicken? Not all canned food is awful for you. Also, are you getting any fruits and vegetables in?

Charmed285

no fruits and no fresh veggies. I have the quick oatmeal but I add sugar for taste. sweet potatoes are expensive. since I eat bread a lot I will give out of wheat bread quickly and white has more bread in the bag than wheat plus he will buy more but not the wheat bread. he doesn't by canned tuna or chicken unless I ask and it will only be one or two cans.

Sarah0866

I add articifial sweetener, like Splenda for taste, so that I don't add calories, or even Truvia or stevia if you want to keep it natural (in terms of your oatmeal)

What does he buy in cans?

SPNLuver83

Yes it will hinder your results. You cannot get ripped and healthy eating crap food, and not eating enough food in general.

shelbyfrootcake

You're clearly not willing to help yourself, so I don't really see why you're on here even asking the question in the first place. You know the answer.

JuanaViviane

well maybe you should try to lower your phone bill a bit and spend the money on healthy food instead!

opuntia

i can't afford healthy foods or anyting. I eat whatever my dad buy and prepares. with my 95.00 phone bill, $77.00 internet, and 100.00 for transportation and only earing $400.00 check or less a month I have no money.

Can you reduce your phone bill and internet? Are there any packages which combine the two? I pay £25 a month for phone and internet combined.

jamesandalexsmum

maybe cut down on the phone bill and spend some money on fruit and veg... this shouldn't cost too much

Charmed285

I would LOVE AND APPRECIATE suggestions to fix this problem.

shelbyfrootcake

I would LOVE AND APPRECIATE suggestions to fix this problem.

Cut your phone use and spend a few dollars on some veg. Even a bag of frozen veg will suffice.

And gradually cut down your sugar. Do it a bit at a time and you'll barely notice it.

bahacca

Are YOU paying the phone and internet or is your dad? I see your dad does the grocery shopping. Can you go with him or give him a list of a few things you want instead of other stuff he usually buys? Does he(or whomever else you live with) know of your goals?
I understand being in a bind where you are not the one paying for the food so you feel you have no say, but to get ripped like you want, you are going to have to tweak some of your diet.
What do you eat for protein? Chicken, beans, ground beef? Do you guys have a crock pot? Could you invest in a crock pot, even if you have to pick up a used one at Salvation Army? I see them there when I go there(and I'm not poor, so don't feel embarassed if you have to go there to afford one!)
What else is being purchased? Chips, soda? Perhaps ask him to skip a bag of chips he usually buys you and buy a 1 lb bag of carrots instead. That is comparable price-wise, so no "they are too expensive" excuse;-)

Charmed285

I don't know the answer and I am willing to help myself, I just haven't figured out how so I came here. I called and checked about lowering my phone bill but it's not possible since the other two lines talk a lot and I have to consider them, plus it's in my name and I'm still under contract.

shelbyfrootcake

You can eat healthily cheaply. I did it for £8 a week when I was trying to sort out my debt last year. You don't have to eat what your dad buys.

McBully4

White =/= unhealthy.

woah woah woah

supplemama

You are 22 according to your profile. When I was 22 I was living on my own and supporting myself. I also see that you are in college now so maybe moving out isn't the best option now, but would you be willing to get a part-time job to have some more spending money so that you can feed yourself properly? If not, work on doing what you can with what you have now. A bag of apples is only $3-4 dollars and can last one person a week. Are you willing to spend just $4 a week on fruit?

2hobbit1

Hi,
It can be hard when yo don't do the food shopping or have any control over the one who does. For a start you should log what you do eat to see what your calorie and nutrition really is at this point. Take a look at your macros to see what percent of your calories comes from carbs, protein and fat. This will give you a look at where you stand so you can see where you can make changes.
I'm sure that a lot of posters will be screaming about the white carbs but it will not really make all that much difference in your loss if you are healthy. If you have diabetes it will make a difference.
What will be important for you is to get a balanced diet with veggies added to your protein and carbs. You want to increase you protein target to around 30-40% of your calories if you can as this will help you with muscle retention as you lose weight and work on toning.

If you can go/help with the shopping you can start to steer your father to healthier choices. See if you can get him to get a bag or two of frozen veggies - you can find them for around a dollar a bag in most big box markets. Store brand is cheaper. Same for tuna and other canned meats. Canned beans are easy but dry ones are very cheap - but take time to cook.

Try to help plan meals and do some of the cooking. Try taking turns - when you cook try one new veggie with your meal, you may find things your dad will like.

If you can't get your dad to do frozen veggies just be sure to drain and rinse the can ones since they tend to be high in salt.

Look at allrecipes.com - they have a lot of good recipes and they can be resized for fewer servings. Making a pot of soup/stew/beans etc once a week can be inexpensive and go a long way.

Charmed285

I have three lines including myself and we split the bill each paying our portion between my uncle, aunt and I. I pay for the internet and my mom helps a bit. my dad only receives 95.00 for groceries on ebt (he's deaf & doesn't work) so he buys the things he think will last so I don't have much say in the matter. no crock pot and we eat beef ( not lean but cheapest he can find) and chicken but it's mainly fried. not much beans but if we do it's canned so it has a lot of sodium. he buys sodas but I only drink water or tea he and my mom drinks it. I would have to travel out to a salvation army since there isn't one near me so it's difficult to get there even if we wanted to.

I'm not trying to be difficult, but it's the truth. I'm having a difficult tme.

Charmed285

I would LOVE to move out and be able to support myself but it's not an option right now. I do work part time and I only receive 400 a month or 200 every two weeks OR LESS. the money I make goes to my bills so I don't really have anything extra and if I did it's not enough to feed myself until next payday.

mercymarque

Is your father overwwight or unhealthy? Maybe both of you can eat healthy. Instant oatmeal is high in sugar. You should try the five minute old fashion oatmeal. It keeps you full. Eat proteins, fruits, vegetables and stay away from white bread. A lot of peanut and jelly will put weight on you.Pb2 is expensive but it is 45 calories where peanut, great source of protein is 190 calories. Drink plenty of water to where u can.

checkmatekingtwo

It sounds like you need a financial adviser more than a food adviser. You are spending 42% of your income on non-essentials --- phone and internet. You're paying for frills and not paying for basics of food and shelter.

Drop the internet and take the financial hit for breaking the phone contract. Buy a no-contract phone and stay within their cheapest minute plan. Get free wi-fi at McDonalds or go to the public library. Start banking the money you would have spent on internet and phone and start saving for a downpayment on your own apartment. Buy your own food. At your age, there's no reason why you should be dependent on a disabled parent for your food.

Without spending hours a day on your phone and the internet, you'll be amazed how much more you'll be able to accomplish. When I was laid off a few years ago, I immediately cancelled my cellphone, internet, and cable --- you can easily live without it!

mehaffeymk

It sounds like you need a financial adviser more than a food adviser. You are spending 42% of your income on non-essentials --- phone and internet. You're paying for frills and not paying for basics of food and shelter.

Drop the internet and take the financial hit for breaking the phone contract. Buy a no-contract phone and stay within their cheapest minute plan. Get free wi-fi at McDonalds or go to the public library. Start banking the money you would have spent on internet and phone and start saving for a downpayment on your own apartment. Buy your own food. At your age, there's no reason why you should be dependent on a disabled parent for your food.

Without spending hours a day on your phone and the internet, you'll be amazed how much more you'll be able to accomplish. When I was laid off a few years ago, I immediately cancelled my cellphone, internet, and cable --- you can easily live without it!

i second all of that

Laddiegirl

I'm not sure where you live but the dollar stores around me have suprizingly large fresh veggie sections. Yes you do have to carefully check them to make sure they're still good, but a few minutes is nothing to pay $1 for fresh veggies. I'm talking all of the regular things, bell peppers, carrots, celery, potatoes, lettuce of different kinds, peppers, zucchini, squash, ect. It varies a bit from time to time. Maybe try checking that out?

FlaxMilk

I agree with dropping the internet and hitting up free places. If you are in college, you should have lots of access to computer labs. It's a pain and a sacrifice. Right now you are choosing the internet over the healthier foods. I'm not judging, just pointing out. It really does come down to which of the two is most important to you.

Can you ask for an extra 8 hours of work for a food budget for yourself? If you made an extra $64 a month, you could buy tons of lentils and dried beans, eggs, potatoes, frozen veggies, and on sale fruits. You could also investigate healthier eating and ask your father if you can take over cooking and grocery shopping for a month and seeing if he can live with the lifestyle changes.

skinnyitaliannn

See if there is any produce stores in your area. there is one in my city i go to almost all of the time and a bag of apples there (organic) is only $1. I never leave there without spending UNDER $30. You said that you put sugar in your oatmeal to taste .. well don't! Enjoy it without the sugary taste and you'll be surprised how much better you'll feel. It seems like a lot of the things you stated, you can control yourself.

californiagirl2012

I want a slimmer toned body (fit, flat abs, slimmer thighs and arms and looking good in clothing and bikini next summer) and I mainly do workout dvds to achieve this (my trouble areas are the stomach and thighs). I am not able to eat healthy and I'm pretty sure I'm way below my 1430 calorie limit on a daily basis, however I'm not eating out or eating fast food regularly. usually I will have a peanut butter and jelly sandwich on WHITE bread, scrambled egg sandwich fried with vegetable oil on WHITE bread, oatmeal WITH WHITE SUGAR, FRIED and PACKAGED foods for dinner, WHITE rice and mashed potatoes.. (I'm in the south so think of typical sourthen foods). My main concern is this will hinder my results... what do you think? is whey protein needed to prevent losing muscle and do you think pro-biotics should be taken to help with belly fat and bloat?

For weight loss all that matters is calories. Nothing else matters. For building muscle you only need ENOUGH protein, not extra protein. I built muscle without a bunch of protein powder, mostly real meat. You can see my diet. I built muscle. Don't freak about my low calories, I'm small and I eat around my RMR and I allow 10-12% for calorie estimates being incorrect.

Bloat: You body loses weight in chunks, not linear. I have found that you can do everything right and your weight loss seems to plateau but if you are patient and keep exercising and eating at a deficit (however slight) you will lose it, it will suddenly "whoosh". There are so many variables for the scale; water retention, digestion, allergies, sodium, carbs, water intake, DOMS, inflammation, the list goes on. People mistakenly think they lose or gain weight when they eat more or less because of these fluctuations.

Losing weight requires tremendous patience. You will not lose it when you want it or where you want it. The body does its thing. Some apparent plateaus can last a month or so. You can not make it happen faster. You must focus on two things; calories and exercise. Nothing else matters. Scales and metrics don't matter. The day in and day out grind of exercise and calories are all that matters. It is not very exciting until things fall into place. You get your victories and you ride one victory to the next.

The scale is a trend tool. The scale is good but put it away and only check once a week and only use it as a trend tool. It will fluctuate, it does not matter. Take front side and back progress pictures at least once a month. You will see differences that the metrics won't tell you and it's that little bit of NSV that will keep you going until the next victory.

For body shape: Lift weights is KEY. I recently had my DXA scan done and at 51.5 years of age I have the bone density of a super athletic 30 year old. That is a direct result of lifiting for over 30 years. Now if that is not scientific proof that lifting weights keeps you younger I don't know what is!

Focus on a weight training routine for toning.

Focus on calories for losing fat.

Just those two things. Nothing else really matters.

I was successful, my full story here with before and after pictures. I'm not a fake Photoshopped fitness model --> http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/740340-i-lost-60-lbs-at-age-51-anyone-can-any-workout