time to buckle down.

[rubes00]

okay what do you guys think of my diet plan. i just realized that i only have like 4 months left to reach my goal of 17% bf... and im no where close to it :(
too much cheating here and there to get anywhere. so its time to get serious.....
Here's the food, quantity, cals, carbs, fat, and protein
*This is pre/post workout early morning
Apples, fresh, 1 large (3-1/4" dia) (approx 2 per lb) 125 32 1 0
EAS Protein Shake, 70 gram(s) 300 6 5 54

*Meal 1 10:30
Old Fashioned Quaker Oatmeal- Plain, 1 serving 150 27 3 5
Egg white, 2 serving 34 1 0 6
Egg, fresh, 1 large 75 1 5 6
Splenda Brown Sugar Blend, 1.5 tsp 30 6 0 0
*Meal 2 4:30
sweet potato raw, 6 oz 144 36 0 0
Atlantic Salmon (fish), 3 oz 155 0 7 22
Broccoli, fresh, 1 cup, chopped 25 5 0 3
*Meal 3 10:30 pm
Egg white, 2 serving 34 1 0 6
Egg, fresh, 1 large 75 1 5 6
cottage cheese, 2 oz 50 3 1 7
*These are taken (35g) in between Meal 1 and 2 (1:30) and Meal 2/3 (7:30)
EAS Protein Shake, 70 gram(s) 300 6 5 54

CALORIES CARBS FAT PROTEIN
1,495 124 32 169

This is for training days which right now is 5 days a week. On off days I just cut out the pre/post workout shake and apple.

Thanks guys!! I still have about 5-6% bf to drop :(

[rubes00]

no one :(

[Outdoor Girl]

I noticed your thread because we are the same height and have the same BF goal. I'm still trying to figure things out myself, but at our height and weight (although I weigh a bit more than you), don't we need more calories? I am starting to track my activities in Fitday as well as food intake and yesterday had a 1,300 kcal deficit becaused I messed up my meals. Since I seem to be on a plateau, I had decided to try to do a 500 kcal per day deficit instead - I am working out really hard and the low calories seem to be messing with my metabolism - not a good thing.

I am just curious what you think about the 1,500 kcal per day, and if you think there's any possibility you should go higher?

Good luck with your goals!

[gfundaro]

I agree with Outdoor...continually lowering your calories when they're already too low won't do anything but slow your progress.
It can be frustrating when you're reaching a target date and not your goal, but you have to remember that fat loss is NOT linear, and try as you might, the lower it gets, the harder it is to lose. I lost 3% in the first two months of eating clean...do you think that kept up? No way! Despite the fact that I didn't increase calories, my fat loss slowed way up when I reached 20%. I kept lowering calories until I got down to 1400 and felt like absolute crap, and it still didn't work! When I upped my calories, I felt a lot better, and my weight began to drop again. 17% is pretty low for a female when you consider that 13% is essential, and 20-22 % is optimal for fertility (which is where our bodies want us).
This is a marathon, not a race. There's no sense in depriving your body of calories to force it into submission. Work with it, be nice to it, and understand it. You only get one, so make it last, and enjoy the journey to meeting your goals:)

[rubes00]

Thank you both for your advice. 1500 is actually pretty high for me. I've been "cutting" for about 6 or 7 months i would say... or even longer. And my planned cals during this time have been even lower (about 1200).... I know its really unhealthy. My metabolism is so screwed up I wanna scream. But within that time of "cutting/dieting" I was cheating quite a bit. I mean a few times a week. My husband is able to eat a lot less strict than me due to his 8% BF. And I has no will power :(
Anyways, I've upped it to 1500 this time around and am extremely motivated. I've been on this plan for 2 solid days..... I've been stuck around 140 for sooooo freaking long and this morning I woke up to 136.6. YEAH!!!!

Thanks again you guys.

[rubes00]

Oops on that last message i think I meant 137.6 because this morning i weighed in at 136.8!!! I haven't seen those numbers for a really long time :)

Anyways, I was looking for suggestions on how to add more cals to the diet posted above. On my off days I'm only getting about 12-1300 and that's with an apple added. I'm thinking about upping my cals a few days a week to keep my metabolism up and just can't figure out what to add. I was thinking maybe a tbs or so of flax in the morning or my late afternoon shake?? Thanks!!

[gfundaro]

Oops on that last message i think I meant 137.6 because this morning i weighed in at 136.8!!! I haven't seen those numbers for a really long time :)

Anyways, I was looking for suggestions on how to add more cals to the diet posted above. On my off days I'm only getting about 12-1300 and that's with an apple added. I'm thinking about upping my cals a few days a week to keep my metabolism up and just can't figure out what to add. I was thinking maybe a tbs or so of flax in the morning or my late afternoon shake?? Thanks!!

If you're bringing up calories, do it across the board. Increase fat, carbs, and protein to maintain your ratios. Don't be afraid of upping calories...seriously, I increased mine by 250 and didn't do anything but lose. I didn't even gain the water weight that comes with re-introducing carbs. One tbsp of flax is about 2 g of fat and protein, and 2 g of fiber. That's not going to do anything.

[WannaGetLean]

If you're bringing up calories, do it across the board. Increase fat, carbs, and protein to maintain your ratios. Don't be afraid of upping calories...seriously, I increased mine by 250 and didn't do anything but lose. I didn't even gain the water weight that comes with re-introducing carbs. One tbsp of flax is about 2 g of fat and protein, and 2 g of fiber. That's not going to do anything.


Lucky girl.. upping you cals and losing weight. I posted on here before and got the answer to eat more cals instead of the 1500 40/40/20 and then 2 days a week of 1800 55/30/15 ratios. So i've upped them to 1600, 1660 ish and then 2000 as my high day.

I am still stuck at the same exact weight lol.. I've upped them for a week now. For two weeks as an example of cals burned doing my cardio/weights w/ my heart rate monitor was 4,100 cals, and then this last week was 4,500! lol I'm a calorie burning machine! But **** w/ that kind of a calorie deficiet and my nutrional calorie deficiet i would have expected to have lost a few lbs. Typically i burn at the minimum 2,800 a week but usually either 3,500-4000 a week. 6 days of cardio and then the 4 days of lifting.
I just don't get it..? haha.. I wish i could have seen 136 like the other girl said:) congrats on that!!

Do you think eating 6 meals a day is better than the 5 meals that i'm currently eating?..

[Ntoma1224]

I have the same problem as you...those little cheat foods are so tempting! But its time for me to crack down too! If ya need any motivation girl I am just a message away! Good luck!!!

[ozigal]

Thank you both for your advice. 1500 is actually pretty high for me. I've been "cutting" for about 6 or 7 months i would say... or even longer. And my planned cals during this time have been even lower (about 1200).... I know its really unhealthy. My metabolism is so screwed up I wanna scream. But within that time of "cutting/dieting" I was cheating quite a bit. I mean a few times a week. My husband is able to eat a lot less strict than me due to his 8% BF. And I has no will power :(
Anyways, I've upped it to 1500 this time around and am extremely motivated. I've been on this plan for 2 solid days..... I've been stuck around 140 for sooooo freaking long and this morning I woke up to 136.6. YEAH!!!!

Thanks again you guys.you've just posted the reason as to why you're having so much difficulty cutting. No-one should be cutting for 6-7 months regardless of the fact that they have cheats in that time. You've been eating too little for too long and your body has just become far too efficient at storing fat at that caloric level because you've increased your cortisol levels so high and reduced your t3/t4 levels so low. Here is what i propose:

1. Figure out your maintenance and eat at that level or slightly above to get your t3/t4 levels higher and to reduce your cortisol. If you do this for about two weeks it should be enough to bring your metabolic rate back up whilst minimizing additional fat gain

2. After those 2 weeks try calorie cycling, whereby you have your lowest calorie days on your lightest workout (this being cardio only) and higher on light weights days (still below maintenance) and slightly above maintenance on a heavy weights day (namely legs)

3. I would also rely less on your EAS. Instead of the shakes in-between meals add in another full meal (protein, fats, fibrous carbs) and aim to eat every 2-3 hours

4. Allow yourself one cheat a week mainly for the mental factor and if you're still having trouble a lot of people find a square of 85% dark chocolate every day or every few days helps them stay focused

[gfundaro]

Lucky girl.. upping you cals and losing weight. I posted on here before and got the answer to eat more cals instead of the 1500 40/40/20 and then 2 days a week of 1800 55/30/15 ratios. So i've upped them to 1600, 1660 ish and then 2000 as my high day.

I am still stuck at the same exact weight lol.. I've upped them for a week now. For two weeks as an example of cals burned doing my cardio/weights w/ my heart rate monitor was 4,100 cals, and then this last week was 4,500! lol I'm a calorie burning machine! But **** w/ that kind of a calorie deficiet and my nutrional calorie deficiet i would have expected to have lost a few lbs. Typically i burn at the minimum 2,800 a week but usually either 3,500-4000 a week. 6 days of cardio and then the 4 days of lifting.
I just don't get it..? haha.. I wish i could have seen 136 like the other girl said:) congrats on that!!

Do you think eating 6 meals a day is better than the 5 meals that i'm currently eating?..

Meal frequency really doesn't matter much...you can eat 6 if you want. Sometimes I eat 4, sometimes 7.

Sometimes it takes longer than a week. Sometimes you've lost fat and gained water weight. Sometimes you've gained muscle.

Scale weight doesn't say a whole lot girls, and patience is a virtue :) It's not about luck. It's about science, application, hard work, and enough guts to say poo-poo to the scale and try something new since nothing else works.

[WannaGetLean]

haha I love your post.. poo poo to the scale:)
This is true. I haven't weighed myself in ....2 weeks. Wait.. yes I did 4 days ago but it had been 2 weeks in the unknown.. :) haha.. and it said 150 @ night time soo that means about 148 or so. So no gains, but I am losing fat.. I have to be..lol w/ as much out put in cals and eating completely to plan, I write my menu out the night before and tinker around so the macro's are right. Pumpin Iron..haha I really love it. Sometimes I look at my workout of my scheduled exercises and muscle group..and i'm like thats it.. .i'm already done :( darn, until tomorrow:)

Stupid scales.. :)
I just get so confused on how much to eat beacuse one article will say one thing.. then another will give me a higher number and or way lower than i'm eating now.. so it's always a toss up..haha.
This website has been soooo informational for me and I love the feedback from everyone and all the nice comments/helpful everyone is. :)
Thanks again!