Need Advice Nutrition

Killsocket

My diary is set to public and swear it is honestly filled out. Here is what I do now: I wake up, work out and drink lots of water. Come home and make breakfast. I scan everything. Then I prelog everything I plan to eat that day on Mon thru Fri (work). Weekends are different but same results.

A coworker mentioned I am not taking enough calories. I am starting to think she is right. Can you all check out my diary. I am moving in more of a protein direction because it fills you up and limiting my carbs. I have noticed lack of energy this week and am wondering if this is partly the problem.

One more thing... please do not rag on me for the Coke. It is a vice that I plan to kick but my personal life has to settle down. I rarely drink and don't smoke. I know it is bad.... just kinda give me a pass on that for now please.

Or am I actually doing really well?

gingerjen7

Is there any particular reason you want to limit your carbs?

When did you start?

What results have you seen?

If your energy is very low consistently, then eating more could help. I would eat more fruits and veggies.

Also, I'm cool with you drinking Coke--I adore the stuff myself, though I haven't had one in...a long time, I don't even remember when. BUT, Coke is really nothing but carbs, which you apparently don't want.

Killsocket

My goal is 40% carbs 30% protein and fats.

I started like 3 weeks ago and down 9 but I am hoping to do a "kill two birds..." by adding muscle while losing weight. Thus the protein. (I will view exercise forum for more on that) but my big immediate concern is energy level.

mockchoc

I'm a 5"2' 42yr old woman that is quite small now and I eat 1500-1900 per day. I only walk and don't lift weights yet so yes I think for sure you should eat more! Most of the guys on here that have very nice muscles from lifting eat tons.

valeriejean1407

I recently read some good articles online about losing fat and gaining muscle simultaneously. You might want to check out some info on all that first because from what I understand, it's very difficult to do that at the same time... especially if you are low on your daily calories. You might want to check out some of these links for some advice. Hope this helps

http://getfitguy.quickanddirtytips.com/how-to-lose-fat-and-gain-muscle-at-the-same-time.aspx
http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/kelly3.htm

gingerjen7

My goal is 40% carbs 30% protein and fats.

I started like 3 weeks ago and down 9 but I am hoping to do a "kill two birds..." by adding muscle while losing weight. Thus the protein. (I will view exercise forum for more on that) but my big immediate concern is energy level.

1600 isn't terrible, but you have to listen to your body. If I were you, I'd up my calories with veggies (well, fruit--I eat more fruit than veggies), maybe cut back on the bacon a bit.

FredDoyle

Try tracking your sodium.
I'd up the calories if you don't have enough energy. Just try at a smaller deficit.

savageman69

Cant kill 2 birds with one stone its impossible.....You choose one, weight loss or muscle growth cant have your cake and eat it to.

1600 calories? are you a 12 year old girl? You want to add muscle and lose weight but your going to way under eat and lose muscle because of it

MoreBean13

DEF not enough food, IMO. That wouldn't be enough to sustain me WITHOUT working out! I would suggest starting to track your strength training under cardio- search "strength training" and record the time to get a rough estimate of your calorie needs from doing those workouts, and then eat back at least half of your workout calories (including the strength training cals). You will see results in the gym, and your weight will come off predictably, and most of all- you will feel great. This low of calories for a man is not sustainable. The minimum recommendation for men (comparable to 1200 cals for women) is 1800 calories.

Flowers4Julia

Hey there! I am low carb as well and find that after the inital getting used to it, I have MORE energy because of the higher dietary fats and proteins.

Your foods look good ( well yeah, the coke - lol!) Fairly real, foods not so much boxed canned or processed.

It will be tough to add muscle and lose fat BUT that doesn't mean you can't strengthen what you've got as you lose the fat!

So keep it up, be as accurate as possible when you weigh foods, and record exercise calories etc. and you will get there!

Best of Luck!!

Krys_140

Question for ya: Why are you choosing to eat so much lower than what MFP is telling you should eat? Seems like you're leaving an awful lot of calories on the table (so to speak)...

Are your goals different from what you told MFP they are?

jroselive2012

Hey! I looked at your diary and it really seems like you are not eating nearly enough. I eat way more than you are and I'm a 5'8 150 pound woman! Have you found the calculators that tell you your BMR and all that? You should calculate that before cutting down so much on cals. When I started I thought I had to go to the 1200 cal diet and thought I was going to DIE. Now I'm eating around 2000 per day and still losing inches. Slowly, but still losing inches and gaining muscle.

kelp99

This post may help you!

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12

Killsocket

Question for ya: Why are you choosing to eat so much lower than what MFP is telling you should eat? Seems like you're leaving an awful lot of calories on the table (so to speak)...

Are your goals different from what you told MFP they are?

Good question. I was a dummy and thought "I'll show MFP" and eat considerably less to "beat" the calories. However, I am not hungry between my small meals and am very comfortable (hunger wise) aside from energy. My competitiveness got the best of me I guess.

It sounds like it either is impossible or not wise to try to add muscle AND lose weight. I am more interested in dropping fat weight off my body then. Would 40 carbs 30 protein 30 fat be on the right track (generically speaking)?

MoreBean13

Question for ya: Why are you choosing to eat so much lower than what MFP is telling you should eat? Seems like you're leaving an awful lot of calories on the table (so to speak)...

Are your goals different from what you told MFP they are?

Good question. I was a dummy and thought "I'll show MFP" and eat considerably less to "beat" the calories. However, I am not hungry between my small meals and am very comfortable (hunger wise) aside from energy. My competitiveness got the best of me I guess.

It sounds like it either is impossible or not wise to try to add muscle AND lose weight. I am more interested in dropping fat weight off my body then. Would 40 carbs 30 protein 30 fat be on the right track (generically speaking)?

Hunger isn't always a predictor of caloric needs- consider very obese individuals that eat well over their caloric needs- they still get hungry between meals. And you're an example of the other end- where you don't get hungry when you should. Generally, we get hungry on a schedule based on when we usually eat. For example, if you were to eat a big breakfast, often you'll still get hungry at your normal lunch time, even though based on calories you should be full until dinner- it's largely a trained response.

40/30/30 is a good place to start- and you can adjust as necessary to suit your needs and preferences. No one macro division works best for everyone. I did 40/30/30 for a while, and recently decided more fat is more satiating for me, so I've changed it to be about equal across the board. To each their own.

Killsocket

Question for ya: Why are you choosing to eat so much lower than what MFP is telling you should eat? Seems like you're leaving an awful lot of calories on the table (so to speak)...

Are your goals different from what you told MFP they are?

Good question. I was a dummy and thought "I'll show MFP" and eat considerably less to "beat" the calories. However, I am not hungry between my small meals and am very comfortable (hunger wise) aside from energy. My competitiveness got the best of me I guess.

It sounds like it either is impossible or not wise to try to add muscle AND lose weight. I am more interested in dropping fat weight off my body then. Would 40 carbs 30 protein 30 fat be on the right track (generically speaking)?

Hunger isn't always a predictor of caloric needs- consider very obese individuals that eat well over their caloric needs- they still get hungry between meals. And you're an example of the other end- where you don't get hungry when you should. Generally, we get hungry on a schedule based on when we usually eat. For example, if you were to eat a big breakfast, often you'll still get hungry at your normal lunch time, even though based on calories you should be full until dinner- it's largely a trained response.

40/30/30 is a good place to start- and you can adjust as necessary to suit your needs and preferences. No one macro division works best for everyone. I did 40/30/30 for a while, and recently decided more fat is more satiating for me, so I've changed it to be about equal across the board. To each their own.

The 40/30/30 thing is where I would like to start. I can adjust. I just want to be sure I am not in left field.
I know people are helping and getting lots of responses, but is it a matter of just eating MORE of my diet (I want to add in more fruits and veggies and plan too, that was a glaring hole).

Krys_140

I agree with MoreBean. 40/30/30 is a great place to start.

However, since you're still new to this whole thing, I would recommend that you just work on eating your calories. You may find that your energy level goes way up with the simple increase in fuel. My guess is that you're tired because you're not feeding yourself enough.

Again, MoreBean is absolutely right - hunger is not the best indicator of a need to eat. But a lack of energy is a generally sound indicator of same.

I think you should just try to eat as much as MFP tells you to, and once you're there, and you see how that feels, then you can start to monkey around with the macros. You'll have a much better baseline to work from.

Good luck to you, and congratulations on taking the first steps toward a new lifestyle. That takes guts!!

jdennisj

I have worked with a dietician who suggested the I eat 55% carbs, 15% protein and 30% fat. A few years ago, those proportions worked great and I loss weight without problem. I am not suggesting unhealthy carbs - I eat lots of vegetables and fruit. I try to limit my meats or poultry while keeping my cholesterol intake to under 200 mg. May not not for everyone, but it does for me.

RobynMWilson

Ok...I only looked at today...you could do with leaner proteins than ham and bacon. Bacon is a treat for me. I eat 2 whole eggs and egg whites with a slice of cheese for my breakfast protein. And I won't yell at you for the Coke, but if you want results you would def be better off replacing 240 empty cals with 240 cals of protein. I'm 5'7", 136lbs and eating more protein than you.

the reason why you have no energy is because you're not eating any carbs. What good is exercising and healthy eating if you have no energy. Throw some healthy, slow acting carbs in the mix rather than sugar from Coke (sorry..had to lol) I eat a banana almost every day and a Thomas' whole grain English muffin with my late breakfast so that I don't crash in the afternoon. And then there's some carbs in my Shakeology, too. Add me if you wanna lookk at my diary for ideas

awesomek001

Cant kill 2 birds with one stone its impossible.....You choose one, weight loss or muscle growth cant have your cake and eat it to.

1600 calories? are you a 12 year old girl? You want to add muscle and lose weight but your going to way under eat and lose muscle because of it

I beg to to differ on this. You CAN loose weight and add muscle at the same, but you need to work smart (not harder) at the gym. Cardio isn't the way to do it - - but also don't go too crazy on big weights. I had the best personal trainer who has helped me loose over 50 lbs as well as increasing the amount of weights I can lift.

I didn't look at your diary (yet), but I found that I got tired when I didn't eat at the right time, and also if I didn't have enough healthy fats in my diet. Make sure you eat some soft protien right after working out (ie: eggs, yogurt, protien shake) as well as making sure you have healthy fats in your diet (ie: avocados, nuts).

Killsocket

Thanks everyone for their input. It's overwhelmingly positive that the answer is eat more. My coworker was right confirmed by you all.
I guess I was too competitive and instead of struggling to stay under, I need to work to get to my calorie goal.

Here goes day 1 on that.

macdiver

If you want to gain muscle and lose fat, try upping your protien. A nice targer would be 1 gram per pound of body weight. While it is difficult for an experienced weight lifter to gain muscle and lose fat, you have the benefit of being a newbie. It is quite common for newbies to gain muscle while losing fat and eating at a caloric deficit. Mr. Rippetoe has (or used to) a nice article on his website regarding newbie gains.

kayduro

If I were you I would eat more fruits & veggies and drink at least 8 glasses water each day. For me, the water really helps me to lose weight. HTH!

Killsocket

Would you guys and gals be so kind and glance at today's diary of mine? Other than Coke... is this more like it?

Thanks in advance. I really appreciate all the help you all have offered.

Killsocket

Would you guys and gals be so kind and glance at today's diary of mine? Other than Coke... is this more like it?

Thanks in advance. I really appreciate all the help you all have offered.

Why are you stressing on coke? If someone said it's bad for you, they have no idea what they're talking about.

Yous aid you're losing weight, that's your goal right? You're achieving your goal, so who cares about anything else. You're done fine stop stressing it.

Just dont want 20 replies saying get rid of Coke. I want to get an idea how today stacks up to where I wasnt eating enough calories yesterday. Paranoid maybe

fldiver97

Would you guys and gals be so kind and glance at today's diary of mine? Other than Coke... is this more like it?

Thanks in advance. I really appreciate all the help you all have offered.

first, I am not an expert......I am female, way older than you and have different goals I only looked at a few days of your log and I think the macros and cals today don't look bad. I have found out that I do poorly on the MFP setting for carb/protein/fat. I am not looking to 'bulk' but I want to lose a few pounds and be leaner and fitter. I also want to eat well, not feel hungry or deprived. I think setting (and sticking as best as you can) to 40/30/30, keeping sodium as low as you can and drinking water should help you. I noticed you don't log water.....do you not drink it or just not log it???? Also, some of your meals seem a tad light so to speak. I would not be able to a lunch of just some ham and be satisfied. I don't think you need a lecture on fast food/processed food but if you watch your log and sodium intake you will figure out that you will get more 'bang for your buck' by eating a bit cleaner. But I also don't know what our circumstances are.....able/willing to cook, food preferences, etc. Make small changes and listen to your body. Low energy is a sign that you are possibly lacking some nutrients/fuel/vitamins etc. Up your protein, when filling your plate for lunch or dinner look at about 1/2 plate veggies, 1/4 meat/protein and 1/4 carb/starch to get a rough idea. I also feel a bit better with a bit of Vit D and B complex added. Good luck

SideSteel

Hello from MN!

In my opinion, today's intake, while still perhaps a bit low, is certainly nothing that I'd call "ridiculous". Looks better to me.

Regarding coke: A philosophy that you mind find reasonable would be to allow yourself approximately 20% of your calories to fall under a "discretionary" intake. That is, if your calorie limit is 2000, you would allow 400 calories of that 2000 to come from whatever the F you want, while still hitting your calorie and macronutrient intake goals . If that means you have a small bag of chips and a coke, go for it. This is a rather simple method of ensuring that "most" of your food is nutrient dense and "some" of your food is allowed to be whatever you want, simply for adherence purposes.

Eventually, at some point down the road in your dieting, you may wish to switch to diet soda simply to free up those calories for other foods, but provided you're not ingesting buttloads of it, I wouldn't stress over it. Focus primarily on hitting your numbers and don't neglect to eat a lot of nutrient dense foods. Beyond that, no need to complicate things or start bucketing foods into "good" and "bad".


Now, regarding your quest to gain muscle and lose fat -- this has been hashed over repeatedly and unfortunately people don't go into enough detail and instead provide a blanket "yes or no" response.

A more detailed answer that I believe to be correct (and I'll reinforce with a great article) is as follows:

The conditions under which someone gains LBM in a hypocaloric diet are as follows:

a) Overweight/overfat beginners
b) People returning to training from a long layoff

And in a), the duration and amount of LBM gained is typically not all that much and it's relatively limited in duration.

Many people who are getting leaner while lifting will make the mistake (and often boast about it on the forums) that they have gained absurd amounts of muscle ("I lost 18lbs of fat and gained 17lbs of muscle in 5 months!") because their lifting and dieting has them both LOOKING more muscular, and getting much stronger but they don't understand that strength gains come largely (but not exclusively) from neurological adaptations (you can get much stronger without gaining muscle).

At any rate, Lyle McDonald is the man here:

http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/adding-muscle-while-losing-fat-qa.html

EDIT: However you DO still want to lift weights while dieting, at least most people probably should. There is still great benefit because it helps retain LBM as you diet down. Dieting down in the absence of resistance training will result in larger losses of muscle, and you probably don't want this.

katevarner

Listen to SideSteel.

Eat less sodium.

Don't drastically change what you are doing if what you are doing is working, but the tiredness may well be from too few calories. Add them back slowly.

Good luck!

xo_Sarah_xo

I'm the type of person who gains weight just LOOKING at the pie that I am finishing...any advice?

CarrieStL

Your intake seems a little low to me. My husband is 6" 1 and weighs 228 currently. He has dropped 30 lbs since June 1. He works out (running or bootcamp) 5 days a week typically. He was at 1600 and our trainer told him he HAS to eat more to lose fat and gain muscle. You (lucky as hell) guys need more calories, plain and simple. If your net is too low, and your body hits starvation, evolution kicks in and it locks your system down. He eats up to 2500 calories many days and is still seeing steady fat loss and major changes in his physicality. It is true when they say you have to eat more to lose. We have both experienced that. Adding more calories got both of us over plateaus over the past month or so. If you don't put your body under stress, it will do what you want it to do. Just a sloooooooooow process, unfortunately.

LPCoder

Not criticizing the soda, just providing support!: I completely understand the soda craving. I cut out soda a year ago and it was hard. If you want to eventually get rid of the soda, try replacing it it with sparkling water. That really helped me when I got the craving for the bubbly. I will add flavored stevia to sweeten and give it flavor.

If you are looking to add a nice protein to your diet, research Jay Robb Whey protein powder. This is the only protein I have found that has no carbs, 23g of protein for 110 calories. It makes a good shake as well and blended with fruit is great. It also goes well mixed with the Chobani.

I agree that you should increase you overall caloric intake. Eating fresh fruits and veggies is vital.