Way to lose through exercise mainly?
missfancy1980
Posts: 326
I've been reading up on a lot of these great sounding diets like body for life etc, the only problem is, they advocate diet more over exercise. Now I'm finding it hard money wise to keep buying fresh fruits, veggies and stuff that doesn't last long. It's adding about £40 per week to my shopping bill. It's also difficult working out what to eat with what (meal planning) and the preparation is a hassle. Honestly the whole thing is such a faff I'm getting very tired of it.
On the other hand, I'm loving exercising. I go 6 days a week to the gym and just did my first outdoor run too which i plan to keep up 3 or so times a week.
So is there a way to work this to my advantage - Exercise as much as poss but just eat low fat ready meals/ weight watchers stuff which is much easier?
On the other hand, I'm loving exercising. I go 6 days a week to the gym and just did my first outdoor run too which i plan to keep up 3 or so times a week.
So is there a way to work this to my advantage - Exercise as much as poss but just eat low fat ready meals/ weight watchers stuff which is much easier?
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Hi, you don't have to spend alot of money to eat well. I use frozen vegies, fruit with basic meats. It is how we cook them such as baking instead of frying and seasoning instead of sauces. I would look up some of the Clean recipes on the Tosca web site that members put there. You will find they use frozen stuff all the time, plus I freeze thing like banana's so they don't go to waste. Hope this helps.0
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Missfancy... I know you don't want to hear it, but as slim as you already are and as active as you are, you could pretty much eat whatever you wanted and get away with it. Stop stressing about the diet. Just focus on the training. Be sure to eat enough to maintain your energy levels... you've got this!0
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If your body allows for the calories in - calories out model to work then you should loose weight/tone up regardless of what you eat...
I found that exercising and eating processed foods and just counting calories didn't work for me...so I choose to go the Paleo lifestyle...
Fresh fruit and veggies can be expensive if you don't buy what is in season - like a PP stated frozen veggies work as well - when the good brands go on sale I stock up to have in my freezer for grab and go convience...
Meat and fish and such - I can't afford the grass fed/wild variety but every so often so that is what it is...
Cooking fresh does take some planning - I prep the night before and when I cook dinners for my family I make sure I have enough for at least lunch the next day. I boil 2 dozen eggs a week to have on hand to grab and go (my daughters eat them up as well) - in a pinch things like buying a whole roasted chicken at the grocery can give you a few meals...eat hot day one...use some for a good soup that you can eat off of for a few days or use the chicken to make some awesome salads...0 -
I've been reading up on a lot of these great sounding diets like body for life etc, the only problem is, they advocate diet more over exercise. Now I'm finding it hard money wise to keep buying fresh fruits, veggies and stuff that doesn't last long. It's adding about £40 per week to my shopping bill. It's also difficult working out what to eat with what (meal planning) and the preparation is a hassle. Honestly the whole thing is such a faff I'm getting very tired of it.
On the other hand, I'm loving exercising. I go 6 days a week to the gym and just did my first outdoor run too which i plan to keep up 3 or so times a week.
So is there a way to work this to my advantage - Exercise as much as poss but just eat low fat ready meals/ weight watchers stuff which is much easier?
i know its been said millions of time but, eat what u want in moderation (blah blah blah). i have the same issue with groceries except mine is worse because its me and my wife dieting. our bill went up roughly $100 more. anyhow, my wife gave up on the diet cuz she said it was boring and now she is loosing more weight then before... go figure. and she is at the weight where it is harder to loose (117lbs) so i am saying its all in how hard u exercise and keep ur calorie intake at a reasonable level.0 -
Thanks, some good ideas here
I don't eat meat. I eat fish, but fish is fairly easy as i just buy frozen. I don't like a lot of veg or fruit so my list basically consists of broccoli, asparagus, avocado, bananas, oranges, root veggies, salad stuff... all of which goes off pretty quick unless eaten within a few days. So I find myself buying all of this at once then wasting it because i don't know what to cook with what, or i have to shop every couple of days. Ugh. I just want to reach in the fridge/ freezer and pull something out. I was always a pretty boring eater before starting to count cals anyway, so trying to eat fresh and healthy is becoming a real ball ache lol.
whitney i like your comment about eating what i want, the problem is, when i started counting calories i realized i never used to eat enough. If I eat what i want that would be one meal a day i.e. dinner. So this is helpful for me somewhat.0 -
Thanks, some good ideas here
I don't eat meat. I eat fish, but fish is fairly easy as i just buy frozen. I don't like a lot of veg or fruit so my list basically consists of broccoli, asparagus, avocado, bananas, oranges, root veggies, salad stuff... all of which goes off pretty quick unless eaten within a few days. So I find myself buying all of this at once then wasting it because i don't know what to cook with what, or i have to shop every couple of days. Ugh. I just want to reach in the fridge/ freezer and pull something out. I was always a pretty boring eater before starting to count cals anyway, so trying to eat fresh and healthy is becoming a real ball ache lol.
whitney i like your comment about eating what i want, the problem is, when i started counting calories i realized i never used to eat enough. If I eat what i want that would be one meal a day i.e. dinner. So this is helpful for me somewhat.
You know... you should research intermittent fasting. That might work really well for you. I know some of the leanest people on this site like to practice that method. I'm not a fan of it because I don't like hunger pangs, but you should check it out.0 -
You mean like detoxing? I have done stuff like that in the past (cabbage soup diet, juice diet etc) just to cleanse my body, but never clocked if i lost any weight doing it. I also get hungry if i go more than a day without real food.
Do you think the ready meals are a bad idea? I read that they're full of salt etc. Also not sure i really want to eat ready meals for the rest of my life, but the ease of use appeals to me.0 -
Interim fasting is when you go for extend periods of time without eating. But there is a window where you need to consume all your calories. I do a 16/8 which means I fast for 16 hours and eat for 8 hours. In that 8 hours, I have to eat 2700 calories. Some do 2 days of 24 hour fasting as well. It's the eat stop eat method. I won't do that, but I like the 16 hour fasting.You mean like detoxing? I have done stuff like that in the past (cabbage soup diet, juice diet etc) just to cleanse my body, but never clocked if i lost any weight doing it. I also get hungry if i go more than a day without real food.
Do you think the ready meals are a bad idea? I read that they're full of salt etc. Also not sure i really want to eat ready meals for the rest of my life, but the ease of use appeals to me.0 -
Exercise is king. Nutrition is queen. Put them together and you've got a kingdom.”―Jack Lalanne0
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I go to the store every few days so I always have fresh produce. I buy the bulk once a week still. Like others have said, buy frozen, even your fruits, just make sure there is no sugar added. Meal planning is hardest for me as well, especially when you have picky teenagers that could live on burgers, pizzas and Taco Bell:)0
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i love himExercise is king. Nutrition is queen. Put them together and you've got a kingdom.”―Jack Lalanne0 -
Interim fasting is when you go for extend periods of time without eating. But there is a window where you need to consume all your calories. I do a 16/8 which means I fast for 16 hours and eat for 8 hours. In that 8 hours, I have to eat 2700 calories. Some do 2 days of 24 hour fasting as well. It's the eat stop eat method. I won't do that, but I like the 16 hour fasting.
Sounds interesting. So you're still eating all your calories, just not day to day. But which do this instead of normal?0 -
What about buying frozen veggies? We buy a lot of frozen veggies because the fresh ones are either too expensive or they go bad too quickly. As a rule, I find the frozen stuff to be just as good as the fresh - well, except for asparagus. I've yet to find frozen asparagus that doesn't turn to mush when you cook it.
Buy large bags of frozen meat (whatever kind you prefer)
There are definitely ways to cut costs - you just have to do some planning ahead of time.
I've heard many people say "You can not work off a bad "diet".. Which means, you can't eat crap all the time (in moderation is fine, but not ALL the time) and expect to work it off at the gym.0 -
I go to the store every few days so I always have fresh produce. I buy the bulk once a week still. Like others have said, buy frozen, even your fruits, just make sure there is no sugar added. Meal planning is hardest for me as well, especially when you have picky teenagers that could live on burgers, pizzas and Taco Bell:)
Ahh thank goodness there is only me to think of. I feel kind of guilty for moaning at all now .. lol. I never knew you could freeze fruit. Does that go for all fruit?0 -
I don't eat meat. Only fish0
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Thanks, some good ideas here
I don't eat meat. I eat fish, but fish is fairly easy as i just buy frozen. I don't like a lot of veg or fruit so my list basically consists of broccoli, asparagus, avocado, bananas, oranges, root veggies, salad stuff... all of which goes off pretty quick unless eaten within a few days. So I find myself buying all of this at once then wasting it because i don't know what to cook with what, or i have to shop every couple of days. Ugh. I just want to reach in the fridge/ freezer and pull something out. I was always a pretty boring eater before starting to count cals anyway, so trying to eat fresh and healthy is becoming a real ball ache lol.
whitney i like your comment about eating what i want, the problem is, when i started counting calories i realized i never used to eat enough. If I eat what i want that would be one meal a day i.e. dinner. So this is helpful for me somewhat.
If you're simply concerned with gaining weight, what you eat doesn't technically matter. As long as you don't eat at a surplus you will not gain weight. It's relatively easy to out-eat even the most rigorous of workout schedules if you want to, so you still have to keep in mind how much you're taking in vs how much you're burning.
If you are concerned with retaining/building muscle mass or anything like that though, what you eat starts to matter a lot more. You mention fresh fruits and veggies being a problem. Buy frozen, they keep a lot longer and are still pretty fast to prepare with a microwave. That and canned fruits/veggies are both relatively cheap. I wouldn't eat them raw like fresh veggies, but cooked in with other stuff I can't personally tell the difference. Eating healthy doesn't always have to be more expensive.
For IF, read this: http://www.leangains.com/. Proponents for it boosts metabolism slightly, helps mobilize stubborn fat cells, and gives you energy. I don't know about all that, my personal take on it is that if it helps you stay in your calories and hit your targets it's probably a good idea. Since it sounds like that's your tendency, and it would make the calorie counting a whole lot easier, it's definitely something you may want to consider.0 -
Will work short term but for long term health, no. They are still processed, chemical laden foods. Body composition is 70-80% percent diet. The rest is a combination of genetics and exercise.
During exercise our bodies get temporarily weaker, not stronger. It’s during rest that we recover and make all our gains. This is a huge, unspoken problem with even the most popular weight-training and exercise programs. Whether you’re at the gym lifting or on the treadmill treading 6 days per week, you can’t possibly have time for the rest your body needs. It’s as if you were trying to grow a delicate crystal in water, but every day you come by and shake the glass. The crystal never has a chance. In the same way, too much exercise can be just as bad for you as too little. You reinjure yourself over and over, and never let your system reset itself and recover. You get muscle tears and strains, joint problems, chronic fatigue, and weakening of the immune system, so you get sick more often. Instead of building your body, you may be tearing it down. It amazes me how many dedicated exercisers hit the wall in their fitness programs and then stay there, month after months, without knowing why. They train harder and harder, when all they need is a little more rest.”
So all that exercise actually isn't good for you. It puts a lot of stress on the body. Combine that with processed foods that are lacking in nutrition and you're setting yourself up for some issues later down the road.
I see weight loss a pointless if you don't have good health. And processed, packaged foods are not good health. (And fat is not bad for you. You have to eat fat so your body knows it's okay to burn fat. But if you are eating high-carb meals all day all you are doing is burning sugar and excess sugar is getting converted to fat (our body converts excess carbs to saturated fat. Go figure...). Do the research on how to keep insulin levels low and your body will start burning body fat without even trying.
An Intermittent Fast is not detoxing. It's giving your digestive system a break. It's giving your body a chance to actually use some of it's fuel stores (i.e. body fat). I've done a 40 hour fast before. I just sip on coffee and drink water. The hunger will go away after a while (that's the way the body works). The second night of fasting your body will rev up is fat burning while you sleep (Human growth hormone - HGH - this is a fat burning hormone increases five-fold on the second night). Only after 40 does cortisol levels start to increase and it starts having an adverse effect on the body (but you could still go longer - it's done for religious reason all the time)0 -
What exercises do you do in the gym?
A.C.E. Certified Personal Trainer
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Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition0 -
I have started growing my own salad, on a kitchen windowsill at the moment until the better weather gets here
I packet of seeds of the 'cut and come again' type will see me through until the end of summer. Also my own sprouting seeds. Once things are growing more then I will have my own tomatoes, garlic, onions, spring onions, corgettes, beetroot, salad potatoes to name a few
My fruit garden is also starting to show signs of life after the winter - raspberries, strawberries, apples, balckcurrents, blueberries and gooseberries will all save me a lot of money 0 -
I'm actually trying to lose weight rather than maintain. Only looking to lose 17 - 20lbs though.
I guess I'm just being lazy and looking for a cheats way to get all the fresh healthy food i need instead of buying and preparing it every day.
Re exercise I actually had a day off yesterday and haven't done anything so far today. But I really enjoy it, it makes me feel healthy in and off itself and gives me a ton of energy.
I like the idea of the fasting. I'll look into it, thanks 0 -
Elliptical 45 mins, 20 mins strength training (lifting weights, lunges, squats, stretches etc), 30 mins swimming. One hour a week with a PT I focus on core and lower body (he's helping me get a better bum/ thighs lol). I also drum (african drumming, standing up using a strap) for 3 - 6 hours per week, & horse ride 2 - 3 hours per week.What exercises do you do in the gym?I have started growing my own salad, on a kitchen windowsill at the moment until the better weather gets here
I packet of seeds of the 'cut and come again' type will see me through until the end of summer. Also my own sprouting seeds. Once things are growing more then I will have my own tomatoes, garlic, onions, spring onions, corgettes, beetroot, salad potatoes to name a few
My fruit garden is also starting to show signs of life after the winter - raspberries, strawberries, apples, balckcurrents, blueberries and gooseberries will all save me a lot of money
LOVE this Don't have my own garden or allotment, but the window box is a nice idea. 0 -
I spend about 15.00-20.00 a week on fruits and veggies. My biggest debt is my protein. I spend anywhere from 35-50.00 a week on chicken, fish, ground turkey, ground chicken patties, cottage cheese, greek yogurt. :laugh:0
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With that last few pounds, especially when you want to cut up a bit, then it's even more important to eat lean and the right foods. Have you considered eggs, peanut butter? They are all pretty cheap and healthy for you.0
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With that last few pounds, especially when you want to cut up a bit, then it's even more important to eat lean and the right foods. Have you considered eggs, peanut butter? They are all pretty cheap and healthy for you.
Yeah I love both of these. But i can only think of bread to have them with...0 -
With that last few pounds, especially when you want to cut up a bit, then it's even more important to eat lean and the right foods. Have you considered eggs, peanut butter? They are all pretty cheap and healthy for you.
Yeah I love both of these. But i can only think of bread to have them with...
I have my peanut butter with a spoon, personally.
I also mix it in with chocolate protein for my shakes.
Eggs I eat on or with everything. They're kind of like bacon like that.0 -
With that last few pounds, especially when you want to cut up a bit, then it's even more important to eat lean and the right foods. Have you considered eggs, peanut butter? They are all pretty cheap and healthy for you.
Yeah I love both of these. But i can only think of bread to have them with...
And that is an issue why? Bread isn't the enemy unless you have an intolerance to it.0 -
If you try to lose weight mainly with exercise, then there are two problems. The first is that if you don't restrict calories, your body will compensate and you will start eating more. If you restrict calories but don't eat the right foods, then you will feel ravenously hungry all the time and will have trouble staying within your calorie limits.
So that is why it pays to eat more whole foods that have more nutritional value.0
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