Stef's Journal-Newbie

[MSW2007]

Hello all...I came across this website and have been lurking around for about a week and I have finally decided to start my journal.

I am 23yrs old 5'6" 143lbs 27% body fat. I have been working with a trainer at the gym for about 2 weeks doing high intensity workouts. I would really like to lose inches, feel better and look better. I began losing weight about two months ago, I weighed 151lbs, I got down to about 141 and began working with the trainer and gained a few pounds in muscle. I am not looking to be a body builder, I just want somewhere to talk about what I am doing and get some feed back from people who know their stuff! I have 5 sessions left with the trainer so I really hope to see more results. After the sessions are over, I plan to continue with working out on my own.

I have started to use fitday.com to track my food and will begin posting my meals and workouts on here. I have an extreme weakness for french fries and I have been working extremely hard to break this bad habit. Any feedback or criticism on anything I post is greatly appreciated.

[freakeefranky]

welcome n good luck!!!

post what u r eating so far/ ur workouts n we'll crtiqiue it n help u out!!!nice to have another newbie :p

[KiwiNovice]

I am not looking to be a body builder, I just want somewhere to talk about what I am doing and get some feed back from people.....Hi & Welcome ... from another french fry addict!!!!

[MSW2007]

Kiwi,

Have you been able to cut out french fries????


Well I forgot to mention that I am a graduate student so my workouts and meals may be a little off for a few weeks. I am trying to go to the gym whenever my crazy schedule alows me to.

I haven't had a great day, I woke up at 6:45am for class this morning and it's been raining here for like a week so I am extremely tired! I also have never been a breakfast person so I have been trying to eat small things to work my way up to a bigger breakfast.

Here is what I have had so far..

Breakfast
Banana

Snack
Celery with natual pb

Lunch
Tuna on whole wheat bread
fat free pretzels

Snack
Protein Bar

Workout
40 mins cardio - 20 mins on standing bike and 20 mins on row machine

Snack
Apple

Dinner
Too be determined

I am sore from working out with my trainer yesterday so I didn' do too much at the gym today. I know that my meals could use some changing but I find that eating 4-6 times a day is hard for me.

[arose70]

I am a graduate student
Welcome fellow grad student :) What are you studying? I am doing an MBA and it does in fact kill the workouts and nutrition at times (ie, midterms, finals!).

A few comments on diet...

Breakfast should include some protein in addition to your banana. Gotta start the morning out right! Maybe some eggs would go well here!

Snack is alright for now.

Lunch---ditch the pretzels, add some veggies! And add a fat source...maybe fish oil caps or a few nuts instead of the pretzels.

Protein bars are tricky---lots of processing in there and they aren't really considered good diet food. I'd ditch that and get some whey protein (much cheaper too) and add some fruit to it or some oatmeal for a good pre-workout shake.

Post-workout the apple is okay but again, need more protein! You could have more whey protein here but 2 shakes is the max you should do per day.

Dinner should be some protein and veg.

I understand you don't want to be a "bodybuilder" but if your goals are to lose fat and get some defined muscle then, I am sorry to say, you are on your way to the addiction of bodybuilding :p. Many girls (myself included) don't have the lofty goals of being in competitions or even getting abs...we just want to look good in a bikini! The diet choices that I gave you will shape up your bod faster than any workout could do. Nutrition is the KEY to losing fat and shaping up! Good luck and come back with questions :D

[MSW2007]

Arose,

Thanks for the great reply! I am studying social work. This is my first year in the graduate program, I received my bachelors in social work. What are you studying?

Thanks for the suggestions. I had a feeling the protein bars wouldn't get rave reviews, I will get some whey protein, is there a specific brand I should get? I purchased some oatmeal today and will eat this before I work out because I need some food that will fuel me through an hour of high intensity with my trainer. I really like pretzels so it is going to take me about a week to phase those out!

For dinner I had grilled chicken breast with brown rice and veggies.

Thanks again!

[MSW2007]

Today is such a great day! I measured my waist this morning and it has gone down one inch. My waist started at 33 inches, it is now 32 inches, after about 3 weeks of training at the gym and eat well. I am so happy, it is nice to see results so soon. Today I have cheated a little and ate half of a piece of cheesecake so I will be sure to do some activity today.

Here's what I've eaten so far:

Breakfast
1/2 cup oatmeal with almonds

Snack
Half a piece of cheesecake

Lunch
Tuna on whole wheat bread
apple

Activity

Walked the dog by the river for 1 hour, had a great time! I have 3 papers I have to write so I should get started.

[Briar]

Hi and welcome well im going to make a few suggestions on your diet!!

I did a few calculations and it came out like this
Your resting metabolic rate (that is what your body needs to function) is
1452 ideally you should be eating about 200-300cals above that for weight loss!

So your cals should sit between 1552 - 1652
so based on that i worked out how many cals and grams you should be having a day of protein carbs and fats

Protein 621cals (155g) - 661cals (165g) 40%
Carbs 621cals (155g) - 661cals (165g) 40%
Fats 310cals (34g) - 330cals (37g) 20%

So i have made a few comments in CAPITALS!!

Breakfast
Banana THIS IS SO NOT ENOUGH

1/2 cup oatmeal with almonds THIS IS OK BUT NOT ENOUGH IN THE MORNINGS. AFTER FASTING ALL NIGHT YOU NEED A GOOD CLEAN MEAL WITH EVERYTHING IN IT. PROTEIN CARBS AND FATS (FATS DEPENDING ON WHEN YOU WORK OUT) SO YOU SHOULD EITHER ADD SOME EGG WHITES, PROTEIN POWDER HERE TO INCREASE YOU PROTEIN AND FOR MUSCLE RECOVERY AND BUILDING AND WEIGHT LOSS PROTEIN IS ESSENTIAL

Snack
Celery with natual pb THIS IS OK SOME OTHER OPTIONS
TUNA ON CRACKERS
TUNA
COTTAGE CHEESE
COTTAGE CHEESE AND FROZEN BERRIES AND ALMONDS (MY FAV)
FRUIT AND A PROTEIN SHAKE
ALMONDS AND A PROTEIN SHAKE
OATS
ETC

Lunch
Tuna on whole wheat bread THIS IS OK BUT LIMIT THE AMOUNT OF BREAD YOU EAT IF YOU CAN AND TRY FOR LESS PROCESSED SOURCES OF CARBS WHAT ABOUT BROWN RICE, OATS, SWEET POTATO
fat free pretzels I WOULD GET RID OF THESE THEY ARE USELESS CARBS AND NOT WORTH WAISTING THE CALS ON
FOR LUNCH YOU SHOULD BE HAVING A GOOD SIZED MEAL OF PROTEIN AND VEGES/SALAD AND CARBS LIKE THE ONES MENTIONED ABOVE IF YOU HAVENT HAD MANY FATS EARLIER THAN YOU CAN ADD SOME NUTS OR AVACADO TO YOUR SALAD

Snack
Protein Bar I WOULD ONLY USE THESE IN AN EMERGENCY, THEY ARENT GREAT AND IF YOU HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO GET REAL SOURCES OF PROTEIN THEN ITS MUCH BETTER FOR YOU! WHAT ABOUT ANY OF THE SNACKS MENTIONED ABOVE
IF THIS IS YOUR PRE WORKOUT MEAL YOU NEED CARBS AND PROTEIN IN HERE NOT FATS

Workout IS THIS WHEN YOU USUALLY WORKOUT IF IT IS MAKE SURE NOT TO INCLUDE FAST IN YOUR MEALS ABOUT 2 HOURS BEFORE AND AFTER SO LUNCH AND AFTERNOON SNACK WOULD BE JUS PROTEIN AND CARBS
40 mins cardio - 20 mins on standing bike and 20 mins on row machine

Snack
Apple THIS IS NOT ENOUGH FOR SNACKING EXPECIALLY POSTWORKOUT YOU ONCE AGAIN NEED CARBS AND PROTEIN

Dinner
Too be determined
WHAT KIND OF THINGS DO YOU USUALLY HAVE HERE


Half a piece of cheesecake THIS ISNT VERY GOOD

hope i havent overloaded you to much i knw its alot to take in!!!

[MSW2007]

Wow, so yea just a little overwhelming but very good suggestions. Thanks.

It is hard to totally change my eating, I am in school so I really do not have a lot of money so I am having to eat what I have in the house and then go and buy healthy stuff. So, I am working my way to eating healthy but I have gotten used to eating stuff that is easy to make since I am sooo busy. So thanks again for the suggestions, I hope to improve on my eating within the next week.

For the calories that you worked up for me, briar...If I do not workout everyday should I decrease the amount of calories when I do not workout? I usually do 1 hour 2-3 times a week with my trainer(high intensity) and then on the other 3 days I will go and do cardio.

[MSW2007]

Well I didn't get to the gym all weekend long :( I am planning on going today to do some cardio, I am going to wait until Wednesday to do any weights because that is when I meet with my trainer.

I have ben trying to eat better but I really need some suggestions on meals. Here is what I ate today so far:

Breakfast
Oatmeal with almonds
1 egg

Lunch
Salad with chicken, cucumbers, carrotts, sprouts, oil and vinegar dressing
cottage cheese with cantalope(sp?)

I really am not a fan of cottage cheese so struggled through eating this and the salad was just not what I wanted today! Anyone else feel like this? I want to eat healthy but I'm just not craving this stuff! I am going to the store today to get some whey protein so I will be having protein shakes as my snack in between breafast and Lunch. I also need ideas of meals that are easy to make for being on the go, so any suggestions would be great!

[MSW2007]

I went to the gym last night and I never go at night. It was so busy! I really couldn't do anything. I did some cardio on a stationary bike for 20 mins and did the row machine for 15. I will not go to the gym at night anymore!
I have done well with eating today, I think I have found things that will work for me.

Breakfast
grape nuts cereal with strawberries
egg white

Snack
almonds about 10

Lunch
natural peanut butter on whole wheat bread
fat free jello(I know I will get some comments about this!)

Snack
2 egg whites
apple

Dinner
I think some shrimp and veggies

I think I have done pretty well today. I will be going to the gym later this afternoon.

[MSW2007]

Well I am back. I have been taking care of my mother who has been sick and in and out of the hospital. I have been trying to stick with my diet but I have been having some trouble. As of next week I will be working out by myself without a trainer so any suggestions as to what days I should do what would be great.

I have been eating egg whites(which I really do not like, any suggestions to make them taste better would be great), veggies(carrots, celery, cucumber, lettuce, green beans, peppers, etc.), tuna, whole wheat bread, cottage cheese(which I also really do not like) I put fruits in the cottage cheese and it taste alittle bit better, chicken, shrimp, natural peanut butter, grape nuts, milk, etc. I just feel like I do not have much variety in my diet and I think I might fail if I don't have more variety. Is sushi okay to eat? Sandwich meats?

I haven't gained or lost any weight since beginning my workout program, maybe up or down 1 lb but I have lost inches, I would like to keep doing this. I will find out Friday where my body fat is after a month with the trainer. The only thing that I have been having problems with is the diet.