Need advice/help with calories/carbs/proteins

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BrettS1973
BrettS1973 Posts: 23 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Hi,

I'm getting a bit confused and frustrated with hitting my calorie TDEE. Or even my BMR.

I'm diabetic and my journey to eating healthy began with a visit to a dietitian at our local hospital. She advised me not to worry about calories and just focus on carbs. We went through a very basic food plan, where 1 carb = 15g of carbs.

Breakfast = 2 carbs
Morning Tea = 1 carbs
Lunch = 2 carbs
Afternoon Tea = 1 Carb
Dinner = 2 Carbs
Supper = 1 Carb.

With a total of 9x15 = approx 135 carbs a day.

This was back in March this year, and seemed to work ok. I switched to home cooked meals, started reading product labels and eating around about those carb levels. I didn't feel hungry and have lost weight, about 21 kilograms since march, or 46 lbs.

I recently hurt my back and was informed it was probably because I had lost weight and wasn't getting enough protein and hence lost muscle mass.

This lead me to start looking online for more information. Returning to the dietitian isn't an option as I live in a rural town and she left our local hospital to wok in a city hospital, so we don't have a dietitian here anymore. I made an appointment to see my doctor and have to wait 9 weeks to see him. Got to love country healthcare in Australia. :)

I joined MFP 3 weeks ago roughly. I've been logging my food in my diary religiously. I know not all of my food choices are probably good, I feel I have come a long way from lots of fried foods, takeaway, skipping meals, lots of coke and such forth, but I want to take the next step. I'm committed to losing a lot more weight, although I want to do it gradually so I can maintain it.

At the moment I am struggling to eat the calories that MFP says I should eat without blowing my carbs out of all proportion to what I have been told I should keep them to keep my blood sugar levels level, my blood sugar levels have been excellent for many months now, so I don't want to screw that up as that can do me much more harm than good.

My weight loss also does feel in a plateau.

Some other stats:

Age: 38
Height: 178cm
Current Weight: 141 kg (311 lbs)

I work fairly long hours. 7:30am to 6pm pretty much, so my weekdays exercise is sporadic. But I always walk about 5-6km's a day on weekends plus use stationary exercise bike. I try to get a minimum 10,000 steps every day though in using my fitbit to record.

My food diary is open I believe.

At first I thought I was probably underestimating portion sizes and such, but the last week I have been weighing almost everything I can weigh, and measuring liquids and I was actually overestimating. Which only made my calorie intake seem even worse.

My exercise logs for the last few weeks are a little over estimated I had my fitbit linked and it was syncing a lot of calories burning which I don't think was accurate. So don't pay too much attention to that. I now have a HRM and am just logging actual exercise. (since last weekend)

I know my breakfast is somewhere I can easily improve. I was thinking of changing it to a smoothy with protein powder.

Musashi - P Soy Protein - 30g
Skim Milk - 100 ml
Fresh Fruit - Strawberries - 125 g
Chobani - Greek Yogurt - Strawberry - 3 oz
Fresh - Banana, 0.5 medium (7")
Blueberries - Raw - 20 g

Which works out at about 316 calories, 40 g carbs, and 36g protein.

Its more carbs that I currently eat for breakfast though not much. Its a lot more protein and almost 100 extra calories.

I was also planning to change my sandwhiches for lunch to a wrap using Norganic - Multigrain Wraps. 100 17 3 77 (177 28 0 292)

That will be slightly less carbs again, some protein and a lot less sodium. But it also reduces calories.

Does this seem a good start?

I would love all and any advice.

I've read a lot on starvation mode and why its important to eat my BMR. MFP sets my basic calorie intake at 1920 with a 1000 calorie deficit. Today I have only eaten 1337 calories and I have had three meals and two snacks. My lunch was not the best today my one vice is usually chinese for lunch with work mates on Friday though we did it on Thursday this week.

I also probably can't do a lot with dinner as Its the one meal I don't prepare. And the person cooking it likes the basics. I can certainly look at it but major changes there will be a struggle. My other meals are 100% at my discretion.

Sorry for the long post I have been wanting to post this all week just got the time tonight and wanted to provide as much information as possible in the hopes of some good advice as I often see so many members posting.

Thank you for taking the time to read.

P.S. Also what should I eat when I get to 9:30pm at night and they are 500 calories short of their goal, bearing in mind a large carb intake will likely mess with my blood sugar. Or is this really something I need to be fixing at the other end of the day? i.e bigger breakfasts etc.

Replies

  • Carol_L
    Carol_L Posts: 296 Member
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    You're a guy. I would avoid using soy anything like the plague, since some of the substances within the plant mimic estrogen.

    This is why some menopausal women use soy products to try and make up for lost estrogen production.

    Look for a good quality Whey protein isolate powder and either drink it as a shake, or add it to other things (like yogurt) to up your protein intake.
  • BigG59
    BigG59 Posts: 396 Member
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    Brett, have you seen the Type 2 Diabetes group here on MFP?

    I am sure if you re-post in there people someone will be able to advice, (they may not see the post in this general area)

    I'm in a similar position, I struggle to eat all my calories (after deducting my exercise calories), so would be interested in the answers you get.
  • Koldnomore
    Koldnomore Posts: 1,613 Member
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    I use whey protein powder. Toss 2 scoops in about 1/2 cup of water (if you want to avoid carbs) or milk. It's good for 170 - 200ish calories and 39g of protein. Last night I used 1/2 c milk, 2 scoops powder , 1/2 tbs peanut butter and some ice - was a yummy milkshake before bed.

    I'd say though that in general if you are having 500 calories left over you may want to try eating more during the rest of the day instead of trying to pack it in at night.
  • BrettS1973
    BrettS1973 Posts: 23 Member
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    Brett, have you seen the Type 2 Diabetes group here on MFP?

    No I hadn't, I will check that out thankyou.

    I am sure if you re-post in there people someone will be able to advice, (they may not see the post in this general area)
    I'm in a similar position, I struggle to eat all my calories (after deducting my exercise calories), so would be interested in the answers you get.

    Exercise calories make it even more confusing and make me want to tear my hair out. I guess if you burn them off they shouldn't affect blood sugar levels but then you have to consider when you are burning them, vs when you are eating them.
    You're a guy. I would avoid using soy anything like the plague, since some of the substances within the plant mimic estrogen.

    This is why some menopausal women use soy products to try and make up for lost estrogen production.

    Look for a good quality Whey protein isolate powder and either drink it as a shake, or add it to other things (like yogurt) to up your protein intake.

    I had read that Whey protein was a good option but couldn't find any locally will have to look into ordering some online.

    From what I can read online I think the jury is still out on Soy products. Just as many people on both sides of that fence. But will consider that thank you and do some more reading. But mostly likely will just use it till I can get some Whey protein.

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