Am I eating too much/too little?
c20560
Posts: 14 Member
Hey guys,
I’ve had a really ropey relationship with food in the past from being 16 and half stone and eating far too much to practically starving myself and over exercising at the beginning of the year.
The past few months I’ve tried really hard to increase my food intake (as I had at my worst dropped to around 700 cals a day whilst still trying to exercise for 2 hours a day) to better myself and train better. I’m now 9st 6 and my focus is not on my weight anymore but to lower body fat and increase muscle/strength. I’m not following any specific diet just eating homemade and nutritious food but as I’ve had a warped idea of what I should be eating in the past I’m doubting if I’m doing it right now. Here’s my general food breakdown for a day:
Breakfast- overnight oats with protein powder and serving of fruit (mango, apple etc)
AM snack- homemade protein bar (no sugar, sweetened with little bit of date syrup)
Lunch- baked tofu with bulgar wheat, broccoli and peppers
PM snack- baked peaches or apple (not baked with any sweeteners or anything, just as is)
Pre workout snack- 2 rice cakes with powdered PB and banana
Tea- egg white omelette with mushrooms and spinach.
My exercise usually consists of:
Mon- 5/6 miles running in morning and CrossFit in evening
Tue- 30 mins circuits at home in morning, 30 mins in gym (strength training) in evening and Pilates
Wed- same as Monday
Thurs- 30 mins circuit training in morning and metapower in evening
Fri- same as Monday and wed
Saturday- PT session for 1hr general cardio and strength combo
Sunday- rest
Sorry I know this is a right ramble I would just really like some advise on what I’m doing wrong/right as years of bad food relationships is making me question if I’m doing things in the best way I can now and if I should eat more or less.
Thanks so much 😊
I’ve had a really ropey relationship with food in the past from being 16 and half stone and eating far too much to practically starving myself and over exercising at the beginning of the year.
The past few months I’ve tried really hard to increase my food intake (as I had at my worst dropped to around 700 cals a day whilst still trying to exercise for 2 hours a day) to better myself and train better. I’m now 9st 6 and my focus is not on my weight anymore but to lower body fat and increase muscle/strength. I’m not following any specific diet just eating homemade and nutritious food but as I’ve had a warped idea of what I should be eating in the past I’m doubting if I’m doing it right now. Here’s my general food breakdown for a day:
Breakfast- overnight oats with protein powder and serving of fruit (mango, apple etc)
AM snack- homemade protein bar (no sugar, sweetened with little bit of date syrup)
Lunch- baked tofu with bulgar wheat, broccoli and peppers
PM snack- baked peaches or apple (not baked with any sweeteners or anything, just as is)
Pre workout snack- 2 rice cakes with powdered PB and banana
Tea- egg white omelette with mushrooms and spinach.
My exercise usually consists of:
Mon- 5/6 miles running in morning and CrossFit in evening
Tue- 30 mins circuits at home in morning, 30 mins in gym (strength training) in evening and Pilates
Wed- same as Monday
Thurs- 30 mins circuit training in morning and metapower in evening
Fri- same as Monday and wed
Saturday- PT session for 1hr general cardio and strength combo
Sunday- rest
Sorry I know this is a right ramble I would just really like some advise on what I’m doing wrong/right as years of bad food relationships is making me question if I’m doing things in the best way I can now and if I should eat more or less.
Thanks so much 😊
0
Replies
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how many calories is all the food you have listed there?3
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Generally speaking I don’t count calories anymore as it became an obsession... I’ve seen more progress since eating more and stopping calorie counting than I did in months before but want to make sure it’s right going forward. I tend to just go by a palm sized portion of protein, a fist sized portion of vegetables, a cupped hand portion of smart carbs and a thumb sized amount of healthy fats per meal (as suggested by PT).3
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Generally speaking I don’t count calories anymore as it became an obsession... I’ve seen more progress since eating more and stopping calorie counting than I did in months before but want to make sure it’s right going forward. I tend to just go by a palm sized portion of protein, a fist sized portion of vegetables, a cupped hand portion of smart carbs and a thumb sized amount of healthy fats per meal (as suggested by PT).
Without counting calories, nobody can tell you whether it's too much or too little. Gauge it off your weight loss results - if you're losing too fast (or experiencing the health problems commonly associated with undereating), it's too little; if you're maintaining or gaining weight, it's too much.5 -
Generally speaking it’s about 1lb loss a week (I do weekly weigh in) sometimes it can be the same weight as week previous but body fat down/muscle up. Last week weigh in was exactly the same no change to fat/muscle ratio.4
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Generally speaking it’s about 1lb loss a week (I do weekly weigh in) sometimes it can be the same weight as week previous but body fat down/muscle up. Last week weigh in was exactly the same no change to fat/muscle ratio.
How tall are you? How much more weight are you trying to lose?0 -
Overall the food you have listed looks ok, possibly a bit light in fat.1
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About 5ft 5 so quite short! Not too fussed about losing more weight (if it happens, great) happy if my weight maintains and my body fat/muscle ratio just gets better. Ahh the fat is the part I’m never too sure about and think I still shy away from...0
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Difficult to provide an opinion other than as long as you're not losing/gaining too significantly week after week then it appears you might be OK, just go by how you feel. Not sure if you're getting enough protein or fats though.1
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About 5ft 5 so quite short! Not too fussed about losing more weight (if it happens, great) happy if my weight maintains and my body fat/muscle ratio just gets better. Ahh the fat is the part I’m never too sure about and think I still shy away from...
5ft5 isnt short. You're right in the middle of being a healthy weight. You shouldnt really be losing more than 0.5lb per week.
How are you measuring your fat/muscle?2 -
TavistockToad wrote: »Overall the food you have listed looks ok, possibly a bit light in fat.
You took the words out of my mouth. My dietary style is low fat. I Stick to between 22-27% of daily calories. I would say, not knowing exactly the quantities of the food you are eating you are waayy below that.0 -
Generally speaking it’s about 1lb loss a week (I do weekly weigh in) sometimes it can be the same weight as week previous but body fat down/muscle up. Last week weigh in was exactly the same no change to fat/muscle ratio.
If you are averaging 1 lb per week, you are fine. Also, don't put much confidence in the body fat levels.0 -
First, without knowing your weight, it's hard to tell if 1lb/week is a good rate. The closer you are to ideal, the slower you should be losing.
Muscle is extremely difficult to increase, most men (testosterone levels in men make gaining muscle much easier and quicker than in women) have to have a near perfect year in order to gain 5lbs of muscle. It's also nearly impossible to increase while in a calorie deficit.
You cannot spot reduce fat. We all wish we could, but we can't. As far as the last little bit of a pouch on your lower abdomen, that might just be your uterus and not fat! There's a whole thread dedicated to this.1 -
First, without knowing your weight, it's hard to tell if 1lb/week is a good rate. The closer you are to ideal, the slower you should be losing.
Muscle is extremely difficult to increase, most men (testosterone levels in men make gaining muscle much easier and quicker than in women) have to have a near perfect year in order to gain 5lbs of muscle. It's also nearly impossible to increase while in a calorie deficit.
You cannot spot reduce fat. We all wish we could, but we can't. As far as the last little bit of a pouch on your lower abdomen, that might just be your uterus and not fat! There's a whole thread dedicated to this.
OP is 9st 6 or 132lbs1 -
First, without knowing your weight, it's hard to tell if 1lb/week is a good rate. The closer you are to ideal, the slower you should be losing.
Muscle is extremely difficult to increase, most men (testosterone levels in men make gaining muscle much easier and quicker than in women) have to have a near perfect year in order to gain 5lbs of muscle. It's also nearly impossible to increase while in a calorie deficit.
You cannot spot reduce fat. We all wish we could, but we can't. As far as the last little bit of a pouch on your lower abdomen, that might just be your uterus and not fat! There's a whole thread dedicated to this.
Men can gain up to 20 - 25lbs in a year if they are bulking and have a good lifting program, especially if it's their firs bulk. If a male is only gaining 5 lbs of muscle, they are doing it wrong.0 -
TavistockToad wrote: »First, without knowing your weight, it's hard to tell if 1lb/week is a good rate. The closer you are to ideal, the slower you should be losing.
Muscle is extremely difficult to increase, most men (testosterone levels in men make gaining muscle much easier and quicker than in women) have to have a near perfect year in order to gain 5lbs of muscle. It's also nearly impossible to increase while in a calorie deficit.
You cannot spot reduce fat. We all wish we could, but we can't. As far as the last little bit of a pouch on your lower abdomen, that might just be your uterus and not fat! There's a whole thread dedicated to this.
OP is 9st 6 or 132lbs
OP, at 5'5 132 you should be losing @ 0.5lbs per week. You are a healthy weight, but you still have room to lose some vanity lbs if you'd like. You do want it to be slow though, to make sure you are maximizing fat loss and minimizing muscle loss. :drinker:0 -
TavistockToad wrote: »First, without knowing your weight, it's hard to tell if 1lb/week is a good rate. The closer you are to ideal, the slower you should be losing.
Muscle is extremely difficult to increase, most men (testosterone levels in men make gaining muscle much easier and quicker than in women) have to have a near perfect year in order to gain 5lbs of muscle. It's also nearly impossible to increase while in a calorie deficit.
You cannot spot reduce fat. We all wish we could, but we can't. As far as the last little bit of a pouch on your lower abdomen, that might just be your uterus and not fat! There's a whole thread dedicated to this.
OP is 9st 6 or 132lbs
OP, at 5'5 132 you should be losing @ 0.5lbs per week. You are a healthy weight, but you still have room to lose some vanity lbs if you'd like. You do want it to be slow though, to make sure you are maximizing fat loss and minimizing muscle loss. :drinker:
There is nothing wrong with going over .5lbs per week. .5-1% is acceptable.1 -
TavistockToad wrote: »First, without knowing your weight, it's hard to tell if 1lb/week is a good rate. The closer you are to ideal, the slower you should be losing.
Muscle is extremely difficult to increase, most men (testosterone levels in men make gaining muscle much easier and quicker than in women) have to have a near perfect year in order to gain 5lbs of muscle. It's also nearly impossible to increase while in a calorie deficit.
You cannot spot reduce fat. We all wish we could, but we can't. As far as the last little bit of a pouch on your lower abdomen, that might just be your uterus and not fat! There's a whole thread dedicated to this.
OP is 9st 6 or 132lbs
OP, at 5'5 132 you should be losing @ 0.5lbs per week. You are a healthy weight, but you still have room to lose some vanity lbs if you'd like. You do want it to be slow though, to make sure you are maximizing fat loss and minimizing muscle loss. :drinker:
There is nothing wrong with going over .5lbs per week. .5-1% is acceptable.
True. I guess I would add, depending on what her TDEE is. I am 5'5 128lbs and I would have to eat 1200 cals to have any chance of losing 1 lb per week (though it does look like she is a bit more active than I am, and younger
). Considering she can't count calories due to her dieting past, if she's consistently losing 1 lb per week, I'd still personally suggest she eat a bit more and slow it down a bit. 4
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