questions about nutrition for weight loss and fitness routine

akrynski wrote: »

Hi! I am currently 192# and 5'5.5" (down from 240# in 11/17). My goal is 140#. I've been using MFP on the lose 1 lb/week setting and not eating my exercise calories. I occasionally go off my food plan and don't log for a day, maybe once every two weeks or so, but otherwise I stay usually a few hundred below my calorie goal. I am a vegetarian and often don't meet my goal for protein.

I have been increasing my exercise and now am going to a spin class 4x/week (M, T, Th, S) and just last week added crossfit 2x/week (W and F). With the exception of Saturday which is late morning, all of the classes I am doing are really early (5:30 or 6 am).

I have some questions about whether what I am doing is going to help me reach my goals or if I need to make some changes. I want to get my weight down and also increase strength and definition. I've heard it's better to do crossfit on consecutive days, which I am not. My current schedule is dictated by when the spin class happens. I would be open to switching one of the spin days to a crossfit day if that would be better. I've never done any sort of consistent weight training before so I am a total novice.

I am also looking for advice about what to eat before and after these classes. I generally have a small breakfast of an egg and cheese spread on a sandwich skinny (about 180 cal) or oatmeal before my workout, and a banana after. Because I have been concerned about not getting enough protein, I tried a protein drink mix (it's about time, 24 grams of protein for 100 cal) this morning instead and added a scoop of pb2 for another 25 cal and 2.5 grams protein) before spin and had a banana after. I was nauseous toward the end of class, but felt better when I ate the banana after (I take medicine in the morning so it's possible that the nausea was from having only liquids, but I'm not sure).

Should I be worried about making sure I eat as much protein as MFP recommends? Will I be ok cutting calories like I am and adding strength training? Are these protein mixes a good idea? Do I need to eat differently before and after the crossfit workouts? Believe me, I am already embarassing myself fully in there, so I don't want poor nutrition to make it even worse

Thanks so much for any insight!

1. What you're doing is a reasonable starting point. You want to eat enough to sufficiently feed your body (both energy/calories and nutrients), but not so much that you gain/maintain your weight. If you're doing that, then you're probably fine. My biggest "concern" would be the fact that you aren't hitting your protein goal. If your goals include definition/body composition, then protein will be important.
2. What you eat before and after a workout is 99% personal preference. Eat whenever and whatever helps you stay on track with your calories, macros, and nutrition... and whatever/whenever helps you feel the best for your workouts.
3. Cutting cals (assuming you're cutting them to an appropriate/reasonable degree) is necessary for weight loss. Strength training is beneficial for a number of reasons. I think you're fine there.