Weight-Loss diet help?!

Weight-Loss
poker kitten

poker kitten

New member
how many calories should I be consuming to lose weight? Im 19, 5'3", 140lbs.
I work out approx. an hour a day sometimes more or a little less.

Also does it matter what times you eat? Ive heard eating too late at night is bad, but Im suspecting that is a myth.. not sure?

How important are the amounts of protein, fat, and carbs that you consume? I havent been eating what i would consider 'junk' food, but I eat alot of whole grains, vegetables, fruits, dairy. I worry I dont get enough protien because I am a vegetarian? What are the issues with too much sodium?

I know thats a bunch of questions but any help is appreciated :)
 
poker kitten said:
how many calories should I be consuming to lose weight? Im 19, 5'3", 140lbs.
I work out approx. an hour a day sometimes more or a little less.

Also does it matter what times you eat? Ive heard eating too late at night is bad, but Im suspecting that is a myth.. not sure?

How important are the amounts of protein, fat, and carbs that you consume? I havent been eating what i would consider 'junk' food, but I eat alot of whole grains, vegetables, fruits, dairy. I worry I dont get enough protien because I am a vegetarian? What are the issues with too much sodium?

I know thats a bunch of questions but any help is appreciated :)
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First you hit the nail on the head that calories are the first thing to factor. Someone of your size, I would recommend starting with an intake of 17-1800. This assumes that you have not damaged your metabolism in the past through starvation diets and/or chronic undereating.

You will get a bag of mixed answers when it comes to does it matter how many times you eat during the day and eating late. My personal recommendation, I find eating easier to manage if I split if up into smaller meals, but I am also eating a lot of calories per day and have a lot of flexibility with my schedule. In general, it really does not matter how many times per day you eat. I would recommend at least 3.

Eating late.... I eat a meal at 10pm and I am not fat. ;)

Some carb sensitive people may want to keep away from carbs later in the evening, but I have come across many people that this does not apply to, including myself. If it is the case though, stick with a protein/fat meal.

Macronutrient breakdown is certainly important. I would shoot for 100-120 grams of protein per day. Since you are a vegetarian, this amount should actually be higher since a vast majority of your protein comsumption comes from incomplete protein sources. Try and add some nuts and maybe a whey protein shake to the mix? Will you eat eggs or fish? How strict are you?

You also want to get a good amount of essential fats in. I highly recommend taking some fish oil pills. Other sources of EFA include nuts, oils, fish, etc.

I also like to focus most of my carbohydrate intake before and after my workouts. There are a lot of nitty gritty details that I don't think we need to get into until you get these things under wraps.
 
poker kitten said:
how many calories should I be consuming to lose weight? Im 19, 5'3", 140lbs.
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Assuming there's no previous metabolic damage, you can get a general idea of your desired caloric intake by using a calories per day calculator. When I put in your stats I got about 2000 for maintaining. so you are going to want to subtract about 500 or 20% for a caloric deficency.

poker kitten said:
Also does it matter what times you eat? Ive heard eating too late at night is bad, but Im suspecting that is a myth.. not sure?
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Well, it does matter how many times a day you eat and how far apart. You should be consuming 5 - 6 small balanced meals a day, about 2.5 - 3 hours apart.

poker kitten said:
How important are the amounts of protein, fat, and carbs that you consume? I havent been eating what i would consider 'junk' food, but I eat alot of whole grains, vegetables, fruits, dairy. I worry I dont get enough protien because I am a vegetarian? What are the issues with too much sodium?
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Your ratios are going to be very important, especially since you're at a relatively low weight already and don't have a ton to lose. Can you give a daily example of what you eat? Be detailed. It sounds like you may be getting way too many carbs.

Out of curiosity, why are you a vegetarian? (i'm not critisizing, just curiosity.)

Sodium? As long as you're not eating a lot of prepackaged and processed foods (and if you are, stop it :D), and are getting in an adaquate amount of water (around a gallon a day), don't worry about it. however, if sodium problems run in your family or you have a history, it's a different story.
 
Alright well heres what I ate yesterday and the calories were way too low I suppose, but this is why Im asking

7am- Weight Control Oatmeal , 1/2 apple , 1 cup orange juice

10:30-12- gym

12:15- 10 baby carrots/ 2tbs fat free ranch

12:45 - whole wheat pita pocket, small amount of pizza sauce, fat free imatation cheese

6pm- small salad no dressing

7:15- lean pocket

9pm- 15 baby carrots/ fat free ranch

I drink water all day so yea and this is about the jist of how ive been eating the past week.. that came out to 1300..
 
stroutman81 said:
Macronutrient breakdown is certainly important. I would shoot for 100-120 grams of protein per day. Since you are a vegetarian, this amount should actually be higher since a vast majority of your protein comsumption comes from incomplete protein sources. Try and add some nuts and maybe a whey protein shake to the mix? Will you eat eggs or fish? How strict are you?

QUOTE]

I ate about 45 grams of protien yesterday, quite short from what you recommend.. I do eat eggs, and dairy, but not fish. What kind of protien shake do u recommend, most of the ones Ive seen have so much saturated fat in them.
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poker kitten said:
Alright well heres what I ate yesterday and the calories were way too low I suppose, but this is why Im asking

7am- Weight Control Oatmeal , 1/2 apple , 1 cup orange juice

10:30-12- gym

12:15- 10 baby carrots/ 2tbs fat free ranch

12:45 - whole wheat pita pocket, small amount of pizza sauce, fat free imatation cheese

6pm- small salad no dressing

7:15- lean pocket

9pm- 15 baby carrots/ fat free ranch

I drink water all day so yea and this is about the jist of how ive been eating the past week.. that came out to 1300..
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Yes, I would up the calories quite a bit, unless you have been chronically eating this low. If you have, the damage is already done and your metabolism is running much more inefficiently than it should be.

I never looked at the nutritional facts on the lean pocket, but I really don't like my food coming out of a box in general.

You certainly need to up the protein. And add more green veggies!
 
poker kitten said:
stroutman81 said:
Macronutrient breakdown is certainly important. I would shoot for 100-120 grams of protein per day. Since you are a vegetarian, this amount should actually be higher since a vast majority of your protein comsumption comes from incomplete protein sources. Try and add some nuts and maybe a whey protein shake to the mix? Will you eat eggs or fish? How strict are you?

QUOTE]

I ate about 45 grams of protien yesterday, quite short from what you recommend.. I do eat eggs, and dairy, but not fish. What kind of protien shake do u recommend, most of the ones Ive seen have so much saturated fat in them.
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Ok, so for upping your protein, I would look for a whey protein powder. I use AST VP2 whey powder and mix it with milk or water. Pretty much any whey protein powder will do the trick though. Also, add some eggs into the meal plan. I really don't have a problem with egg beaters either, though I much prefer the taste of real eggs. And don't be afraid of nuts. They are high in cals, but have the good fats and protein as well. Just watch your servings and calories.
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to get more protien out of the eggs with lower fat (and cals), eat the eggwhites. with a little low carb ketchup, good stuff.
 
Ive never really tracked my calories before, but I have eaten whatever I want whenever I want since forever, so I probably am going to low right now huh? Ive always loved fruits and veges but I just cut out all the junk food. Im going to try to find a decent whey protein mix today, but if it tastes terrible I know I won't drink it, which is why I worry about wasting my cash.

I eat lean pockets just because they're quick and have alot of protein, also Ive been eating Lean Cusine potato broccoli and cheese meals... are they really terrible for me?
 
poker kitten said:
Ive never really tracked my calories before, but I have eaten whatever I want whenever I want since forever, so I probably am going to low right now huh? Ive always loved fruits and veges but I just cut out all the junk food. Im going to try to find a decent whey protein mix today, but if it tastes terrible I know I won't drink it, which is why I worry about wasting my cash.

I eat lean pockets just because they're quick and have alot of protein, also Ive been eating Lean Cusine potato broccoli and cheese meals... are they really terrible for me?
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I really don't know about the packaged products you are eating. I would have to see the labels and ingredients to be sure. I try to eat as natural as possible

My advice on caloric deficit dieting is; use the smallest reduction in calories that allows for slow and steady fat loss. Rushing it only causes bad things to happen.

I wish you could taste my protein shake before buying it. It tastes better in milk than it does in water, but I have come to love it. I use chocolate, but I know many manufactuers a large variety of flavors.
 
oh score, I have some "Precision Engineered Whey protien powder," guess I will try it today.. 17g protein per scoop.. but there must be a reason why its just sitting in my cupboard, probably tastes horrible.

90 cal, 1.5 fat, 1g saturated fat, 35mg cholesterol, 60mg sodium, 75 potassium, 1g carb, 1 g sugar, 17 g protein

what about that cholesterol, anything to consider?
 
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Steve said:
Fat might not necessarily be a bad thing since she is already deficient in calories.
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I'm definantly not a person who thinks eating fat makes you fat. It just isn't so. My thoughts behind that post was that if you're going to eat 100 calories worth of eggs, you can either eat whites and yolks and get X protein, or you can eat 100 cal of whites and get X times 2 of protein. And being a vegetarian this is a good source of protein for her.
 
yea i actually like just plain hardboiled egg whites, and as I understand it the fat in egg yolks in all saturated so I dont want that kind of fat anyway.. how much protein is in just the egg whites? how many days do you think you can store those in the fridge, or cant you do that at all?
 
If you don't peel them until you're ready to eat them you can store them a few days.

Here's the down low on that egg white:

APPROX: 16cal, 3g protien.

here's also a good breakfast idea for you:
cook some old fashioned oats in the microwave with twice as much water for 3 min, when done stir in some protein powder and some mixed nuts - great breakfast with some good protein!
 
Steve said:
poker kitten said:
Ok, so for upping your protein, I would look for a whey protein powder. I use AST VP2 whey powder and mix it with milk or water. Pretty much any whey protein powder will do the trick though. Also, add some eggs into the meal plan. I really don't have a problem with egg beaters either, though I much prefer the taste of real eggs. And don't be afraid of nuts. They are high in cals, but have the good fats and protein as well. Just watch your servings and calories.
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so im at the bar playing poker last night from 7-midnight and basicly all they had to eat were nuts.. so i had 2 packs a couple hours apart.. 330 calories each pack... holy crap.. that pushed my calories up to 2400 yesterday
what kind of serving are u possibly suggesting ha?
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Haha, an ounce is normally a serving. Nuts are high in fat. Fat has 9 calories per gram opposed to protein and carbs which each have 4 calories per gram. Nuts are good in moderation.

And you are a poker player. That is hot.
 
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