new here, how to find the right diet, already eat healthy

[sherri707]

I am new here.
My questions are super basic but I really dont know where else to ask.
How do you deal with cravings? How do you deal with feeling starved most of the day? How do you not feel like you are punishing or depriving yourself? How do you deal with lack of energy and fatigue?

Mostly, I read all of these articles but still cant figure out what I should be eating, when and how much. I eat healthy in general but that doesnt seem to be good enough. How do I find someone or some place, I can ask what I should and shoulndt be eating? I can not afford to see a nutritionalist.

[gbullock32]

NUTRITION

This is the largest factor in your success, learn the basics to get started and then move into more advanced if needed.

BASICS

Spoiler!

Calculate calorie needs: First get your BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate), then multiply by an activity factor to get your TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure).

BMR= 370 + (21.6 x LBM (Lean Body Mass), Where LBM = [Total Weight (KG) x (100 - Body Fat %)] /100

Next take that number and use an activity factor to get TDEE (more active, use a higher number and lower number for less active) but remember this accounts for all activity and not just exercise (busy job/active life, choose a higher value)-
1.2- Sedentary (desk job and little exercise/activity)
1.3-1.4- Lightly Active Light daily activity, light exercise 1-3 times per week)
1.5-1.6- Moderately Active (Moderately active, moderate exercise 3-5 times per week)
1.7-1.8- Very Active (Physically demanding lifestyle, hard exercise 5-7 times per week)
1.9-2.2- Extremely Active (Endurance athlete, very hard physical job)

Now that you have the TDEE, get your macro-nutrient needs (fat, protein, and carb needs). Fat has 9 calories per gram, and protein/carbs have 4 calories per gram, alcohol is 7 calories per gram count it as a carb when fitting it into your macros).

Protein- .8 grams per pound
Fat- .4 grams per pound

Meet those MINIMUMS and then fill out remaining calories as you want with carbs, or more protein and fat, or any combination. Remember to track properly too, use a food scale (measuring cups can be very inaccurate due to density); track everything, each little bit adds up (sauces can be quite calorie dense).

Next decide your goal and eat at a 10-20% caloric deficit or surplus, deficit to lose weight and surplus to gain. For gaining go for ~.5-1 pound per week and when losing aim for 1-2 pounds per week. Reach your macro needs with mostly whole foods and a wide variety to ensure enough vitamins and mineral, but remember to practice common sense and moderation- enjoy life.

Sources and More Information

Spoiler!

Nutrition-
Calculating Calories
Pre, During, and Postworkout Nutrition
How To Ask For Diet Critique
Discretionary Calorie Allowance
Macro/Micro Nutrients Explained
Clean Eating Myth
Insulin and Fat Loss
Insulin and Fat Loss 2

Protein-
Protein Needs
Protein Needs 2
Protein Timing

Fat-
Fat Needs
Fat and Testosterone

Meal Timing-
Meal Timing 1
Meal Timing 2

Micro-Nutrient Guide-
Micro-Nutrient Guide

[Lifts4longevity]

First of all, sorry for the novel. I don't claim to eat the healthiest by any means or have all the answers, but I've tried some pretty strict/limited diets and I always got bored with them. When I started out, I found it easiest to incorporate a few small changes at a time into my meal planning. Nothing radical, just run with short leash and try to start eating (for example) a healthier breakfast to being with. Get an idea of how much you eat per day, and how many meals, then experiment with change.

Pick healthy foods (nothing pre made from a box) that you don't mind eating. Include whatever veggies (raw, steamed, etc) and fruit you like into your meals with no limits (I shoot for 3-5 servings of each, daily), flavored protein shakes a few times a day can help curb junk food and hunger cravings, and basic staples in the house can help you avoid skipping out on healthier choices when you're hungry. Hunger, fatigue, and lack of energy shouldn't be an issue....ever. The only thing worse than eating junk food is not eating at all. If you're hungry, eat (preferably healthy)!

I consider basic staples in my pantry to be brown rice (love the rice cooker), oats, Quinoa, eggs, whole wheat bread, a huge variety of fruit and veggies (fresh, frozen, or even canned), honey, chicken/turkey/lean beef/tuna/fish, potatoes/yams, protein powder, tortillas, milk (I use sparingly), natural peanut butter (again, sparingly), cheese, and sour cream.

With all of that, I have plenty of options and choices. I can make a small salad w/chicken (or other protein source), a berry smoothie, veggie juice (I have a juicer that sees weekly use), a rice dish w/ meat and veggies, french toast, a breakfast burrito, a traditional dinner burrito, toast with peanut butter and honey, a baked potato (or yam), hash browns (with eggs, cheese, and a small serving of chicken or other protein), a quinoa dish (breakfast, lunch, or dinner theme), a fruit salad, or a fast and simple protein shake, to name a few.

I don't worry about adding a little sour cream or cheese if it means I get more enjoyment from eating whatever meal I'm having....especially if it keeps me from ordering a pizza or triple bacon cheeseburger. I find that there are times I really clean up my diet, and there are times slip a little, but with the basic staples I listed, I still get fiber, plenty of protein, vitamins and minerals, fat, and variety with eating on a daily basis. I'm lazy so I make things easy. Having things ready to eat helps a great deal too. If I know I have quinoa, cooked veggies, and tuna at home ready to eat, I eat it. If it is still uncooked and not ready to eat, I'm more likely to grab something else that is easy (which is where protein shakes and berry smoothies come in). Try to get an early start on eating in the morning and stop eating late (after 8pm for me...well, normally). Hope this helps.

Andy

[Bean100]

What are your goals?

You should never feel "starved" all the time. If you do, you are doing something wrong. What are you eating?

[ErikTheElectric]

While your questions are "basic" they can be answered by simply incorporating trial and error in your OWN life.

Cravings? Normal people have them, incorporate foods that you may be "craving" in your day to day life in moderate amounts. (the same goes for "deprivation" of so called foods)

[lmcfreekz]

Healthy is a little open to interpretation... food in terms of physique works on the basis of calories and then macronutrients and then micronutrients. Healthy by most people's definition tends to be talking about micronutrients.... vitamins, minerals etc... sure, they're important and great to have in the diet, but calories and then macros dictate what happens to your body along with a proven workout routine... micronutrients are only third in that priority list.

If you work on that basis, then you'll realise you'll be able to eat a hell of a lot of things that you like while still hitting your target calorie number...you don't need to eat chicken. brown rice and broc**** all day every day... you can enjoy burgers, pizza - pretty much everything within moderation depending on your goal... cutting is obviously a little more strict than maintenance or building muscle... do a few weeks of working from a spreadsheet and counting what you eat, you'll then have a decent understanding of what's what and you'll most likely see lots of repetition with what you eat. Then most people drop the spreadsheet and go off the mental numbers...

[Mrpb]

Mostly, I read all of these articles but still cant figure out what I should be eating, when and how much. I eat healthy in general but that doesnt seem to be good enough. How do I find someone or some place, I can ask what I should and shoulndt be eating? I can not afford to see a nutritionalist.

Most of your questions are answered here: https://forum.bodybuilding.com/showt...3439001&page=1

[Slayermanlet]

already good advice itt but personally I've found intermittent fasting and strong black coffee helps blunt hunger and cravings a great deal.

[sherri707]

In general my life usually includes these foods:

Tea, yogurt, banana, oatmeal, slice of high protien type toast, almond butter, apple, Yams, carrots, peas, beets, rice milk, almond milk, blue corn tortilla chips and salsa, avacado, salad, nuts and dried fruit. Sometimes coffee with low fat milk and brown sugar. That at least gives me an emotional lift. Two or 3 times a week I have a pasta, or wood fired pizza. Occasionally wine.
I work in a restaurant. There are nights when its too busy to stop to eat and the only thing I can do to stop my stomache growling is grab a peice of bread. I just statered bringing a jar of almond butter to work so that id have a quick spoon of that instead of the bread. I WAS for the last 3 months eating beets or carrots in those crunch times at work but it just made me feel punished, still hungry and I ended up eating bread anyway. I eat stawberries at work too and sometimes a very small spoon of chocolate.
I never eat any kind of fast food or soda. Dont drink beer. Occasionlly if I am really depressed i will binge on Lattes a few days in a row. I think about sugar and pasta ALL THE TIME. I dont like cow milk, eggs or chicken or handling meat so I try to have tofu, nuts, and a protein bar or shake once a day. I kind of eat like I am backpacking all the time: I nibble through out the day and rarely sit down for a full meal, except when I get a break at work and get a plate of pasta.

[gesler0811]

Once you learn how to control your caloric intake so you're actually eating adequate amounts of food that you don't feel starved, you should have no trouble pre-preparing snacks that you can bring to work and eat while you're there. There are so many things, really, the sky's the limit. But if you feel that beat and energy deprived, you're probably lacking in one or more nutritional categories. Familiarize yourself with the nutritional stickies for sure and then make sure you balance out your meal plan so you feel satisfied. For me, that effectively killed cravings.

[katya422]

In general my life usually includes these foods:

Tea, yogurt, banana, oatmeal, slice of high protien type toast, almond butter, apple, Yams, carrots, peas, beets, rice milk, almond milk, blue corn tortilla chips and salsa, avacado, salad, nuts and dried fruit. Sometimes coffee with low fat milk and brown sugar. That at least gives me an emotional lift. Two or 3 times a week I have a pasta, or wood fired pizza. Occasionally wine.

Sounds like you prefer high carb/high fat/low protein. Me too.

But I know I need to try and keep protein up for overall health and to increase satiety. If your problem with meat is not liking to handle raw meat (empathize) then maybe canned tuna or deli meat could be worked in. Do you hate all dairy? Asking because cottage cheese, Greek yogurt, quark, and whey/casein protein shakes can all help too. Making your first meal of the day protein heavy may be helpful.

Small frequent meals are fine. I do the same. But once I start eating for the day I usually want to eat about every 3 hours, so to keep down the total number of meals I put off starting by just having coffee for awhile in the morning. Right now my first meal is around 11 am.

Happened to snap pics yesterday...includes ground turkey, deli turkey and steak...last pic is quark with some strawberries...114 g protein.

[Bean100]

It's fine if you like to nibble through out the day, but track your intake. All those little bites here and there can add up and you could be eating more calories than you think. Also, almond butter is very calorie dense and it is easy to over portion. It's also easy to forget what you've eaten when you just grab something without sitting to eat.

[Mikeez0]

Why nobody mentioned her to install www.myfitnesspal.com follow the registration guide, buy a food scales, and eat her lovely bread while cutting weight?