Is the Diet I Am Eating Acceptable?

I

Immaier

New member
Hi there,
I'd really appreciate it if someone would give a quick scan at my food log and see if there are any changes that can be made to really produce optimum results. I'm 21, around 5'4" and currently 121lbs. About a month and a half ago I was 128 or 129, and my jeans were about to be much too small, so I decided to get as fit as I possible could while still young, rather than going in the opposite direction. I know to most people, that is their goal weight, but I had just noticed that over the course of five months, my habits had really degraded and I was feeling rather stuffy.

My largest problem has been my lower abdomen and upper thighs, like most women. Excitingly enough, through (what I believe to be) pilates, I've sculpted my bum to (near) perfection, for my comparable standards, and hope to have it "perfect" in the coming months. This is all relative.

My goal is to have a lean frame. Though I am thin right now, for the first time in my life I would love to have more tone. I'm on my way, but I think with a little advice I could do better. I'm still going to focus on my thighs and stomach, but I would really like to add my arms into the routine which I have been neglecting. Does anyone have some great ways to tone up my arms and keep them lean? And is there anything I should take out of or add in to my diet?

Secondly, I have a big problem with snacking post dinner. While most of the time I will have a piece of whole grain bread and some almond butter, yogurt, or carrots and hummus, I wonder if this may be the reason why it's been hard to rid of the cellulite on my legs. Perhaps I'm not eating enough during the day, or is it habit?

Thank you for any help!
 
Hi, great to hear that you got yourself is good shape.

The key to sculpting your body is basically lowering body fat. To do that you want to restrict the amount of fat you eat and do aerobics to help burn off a little fat. Women have it much harder in that area than men because they were gifted and cursed with extra fat for various reasons. Although you still need fat in your diet so don't try to eliminate it completely.

Calisthenics are great for toning your body. Squats, crunches, bicycles, oblique crunches, push ups, lunges and a multitude of more will gradually help you tone up your body. There are great videos on this subject and I would personally recommend Scooby () for help in that area. He makes a number of workouts which do not require a gym and only limited equipment. He also goes over what you should eat in order to aid in lowering your body fat.

If you go to the gym then things can be easier for you. Weight lifting by virtue is more affective than calisthenics because you can easily go over your body weight and control how much resistance you use.

I would recommend both so you can rotate your exercise regime more and keep things interesting.
 
Just like to add....drink plenty of water! Water, good old H2o is fantastic for flushing toxins and hydrating the skin. A lot of people also reckon it's great for getting rid of celulite. Must be honest here..... I don't know!
 
To do that you want to restrict the amount of fat you eat
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No no no no no!

People get on this low fat kick - like eating fat makes fat. Not true.

Your body NEEDS healthy fats. If you cut back on your healthy fats too much, you can mess with your weight loss and your health.
 
And...unfortunately, cellulite is something that some are more genetically predisposed to.

As you lose weight and tone you will see improvements, but no amount of exercise or dieting will get rid of all cellulite.

I have seen some pretty fit women at the gym and some have more of that dreaded dimpling that others. Just how it is sometimes.

There are some creams out there, but they don't get rid of it. They just help disguise it by swelling the skin a bit so that it looks smoother. I personally take l-carnitine and CLA because they are supposed to be good for metabolism and fat reduction....it "supposedly" helps with the appearance of cellulite too. Don't know the verdict on that, but they are good supplements so I take them for overall health too.
 
I didn't mean it quite like that Kara. I simply meant to not eat too much fat, ie stay within your recommended level. That kind of restriction. I did say you still need fat in your diet, didn't I?
 
I simply meant to not eat too much fat, ie stay within your recommended level. That kind of restriction. I did say you still need fat in your diet, didn't I?
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Well, no. What you said was "lower your body fat by restricting fats in your diet". You have to remember your audience. People who are very new to nutrition - and notice I didn't say new to dieting, because many of us (myself included) have dieted like crazy w/out any good knowledge of nutrition - see a statement like "restrict your fats" and think that it means Eat As Little Fat As Humanly Possible.

I've seen it too many times on this and other boards. I know that it happens.

Restricting fats does not guarantee weight loss. Many people who restrict fats think that means they can eat more of everything else. Or they unconsciously eat more because they're cutting out too many fats. And they cut out healthy as well as unhealthy fats and wind up losing some weight but being unhealthy with dull skin, brittle hair and nails, and feeling like crap because they're not getting healthy fats or the vitamins that need those fats to metabolize.

Eating a reasonable but restricted amount of calories and making sure that 25% of that is HEALTHY fats is one of the positive steps towards weight loss.
 
Oh, I didn't think it would misinterpreted. That's why I added the little "Although you still need fat in your diet so don't try to eliminate it completely. " after I said that. I'll be clearer next time.
 
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On average I consume about 44 grams of fat per day. Looking back on my food journals, it seems to mostly come from almond butter, other nuts and seeds, olive oil, yogurt, avocados and my meats, so I think where it is coming from is good, but whether or not I should be consuming more or less, I am not too sure of. I drink plenty of water, but that's more out of habit. I used to drink three glasses of water any time I would eat a meal, even as a kid. I tend to get thirsty a lot.
I feel as though this is the part where I just really have to work hard doing various strengthening exercises which is something I've neglected. I do pilates for toning and I've noticed a large difference in my thighs, but I think I may venture over to the nautilus section when I'm at the gym tonight.
Thanks for the help and I'll try out some of the advice given, and see what happens.
 
Hi. A healthy balanced diet, as a rule of thumb, should consist of the three macro-nutrients in these ratios; 55-60% carbs (complex and some simple) lower GI the better though. 30-35% protein (white meats and fish are best) and 10% fat. Yep.....10% FAT! I don't mean butter, margarine or generally dairy but omega 3 (oily fish) sunflower (poly unsaturated). Fat has MANY purposes. It keeps us warm, acts as a shock absorber for joints, stops the skin from drying out, lubricates joints, is a great source of natural energy when exercising and so on. DO NOT BE SCARED OF FAT. Good luck and enjoy what you do.
 
and 10% fat. Yep.....10% FAT!
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Absolutely not. You need to get at least 20%-30% of your daily calories from healthy fats. 10% fat is considered a very low fat diet and can have nutritional impact on your body. It can mess with the absorption of other nutrients. Extreme low fat diets also usually result in dull skin, and weak, brittle hair and nails. Too little fat is almost worse than too much.


Adults aged 19 and older - total fat limited to 20%-35% of total calorie intake


These limits are 25% to 35% of calories from fat and less than 7% of calories from saturated fat.


Most people don't get enough of these healthful unsaturated fats each day. No strict guidelines have been published regarding their intake. Prudent targets are 10 to 25 percent of calories from monounsaturated fats and 8 to 10 percent of calories from polyunsaturated fats.


The aim should be for a moderate fat intake (25% to 35% of energy)

I have a whole slew of other reliable documentation for that. :)
 
Hi Kara. Guess we've got to agree to disagree here. That said, it depends upon your goals and diet structure as to what is an acceptable level of fat. The Cambridge diet for instance (and this is one that I would NEVER personally advocate) has it's followers on as little as 400cals a day with virtually NO fat! As I said, I do not approve of starvation diets however I do believe that 10% (15% max) is acceptable. In my bodybuilding days I would aim for no more than 10% during bulking periods and as little as 5% when getting ripped then <1% 2-4 weeks pre contest. I guess it depends on what you want to achieve and how you want to get there. The atkins diet is ALL about fat and low-no carbs.....scary.
Regards.........Dave
 
From what I understand, the body needs the so-called "essential" fatty acids (hence the name), which is basically omega-3 and omega-6, but we tend to get more omega-6, so really what we need is omega-3. The other kinds of fat, the body can make for itself by converting carbohydrate or protein.

So, the problem with extreme low-fat diets is, we don't get the essential fatty acids we need. But I think 10 percent would be plenty IF you make sure to get the right kind of fat.
 
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Hi Harold.
I'm in total agreement. The percentages are guidelines. But everyone needs a degree of fat to function. I've always looked upon 10% (unsaturated, sunflower, Omega etc) as acceptable. Certainly years of bodybuilding taught me that that was right for me. But, hey, we are all individuals.
 
Fats

So, from what I am reading I am doubling my fat intake. This comes from having chicken, nuts and seeds on the same day and cooking with olive oil. Sometimes I used oil-based salad dressings as well. I've lived with a nutritionist, and she's always advocated plenty of healthy oils and forced lean meats and almond butters on me, so I may be consuming more than I really "should". If I were to lower my fat intake, should I cook without olive oil, or not have nuts and seeds on a day when I have protein? Throughout a day, I consume a lot of protein; about 50 to 60g and usually under 200g carbs. This is all based off of a 1347 cal/day diet.
 
KaraCooks said:
I have a whole slew of other reliable documentation for that. :)
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Thanks, Kara. It looks like I still seem to be over-consuming my fats, which is frustrating. My doctor says I have "extremely" healthy cholesterol levels, however, so at least it's not dangerous. I'm not sure how to lower fat intake if I only have one serving of lean meat per day, most days, and limit ingredients that I cook with, as well as what I eat.
 
I'm gonna say it again: 10% is too low. 10% fat is considered a low-fat diet. Now if you're cutting for bodybuilding, that's one thing, but advising that amount of fat to someone who is not cutting, is simply wrong.

About 25% of your daily diet should come from healthy fats. Cutting healthy fats from your diet should not be a focus for the OP.

I would suggest that reading the stickies on the exercise forum - especially the one titled The Conceptual Side of Weight Lifting - will go more to get you the body you want than obsessing about dropping your dietary fat to 10%.
 
It looks like I still seem to be over-consuming my fats, which is frustrating
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How do you figure that?

I"m looking at your diary and it appears that you're averaging around 45g fat per 1300 calories. That's 31% fat, which is perfectly acceptable. Yes, a few days you go over that, but there are also a few days that you go under, which balances out.

I think you're obsessing about the wrong thing (and that's why I totally disagree and disapprove of posting that someone should only eat 10% fat).

What I think you have to remember is that you cannot spot lose fat. It sucks I know - I wish I could target my tummy and butt and thighs as well. They're my problem area. But the simple truth is that you just can't. Cutting fats from your diet isn't going to have any appreciable effect on any particular part of your body.

What you can do is work to alter your body composition - i.e. burn fat and maintain muscle. To do that eating a good bit of protein (about 1g of protein per 1lb of body weight) and doing real weight lifting and body weight workouts (i.e. full body exercises with high weight / low reps) will be far more productive in helping to get rid of those problem areas, than drastically cutting your dietary fat.

This is the thread I referenced in my post above: http://weight-loss.fitness.com/weig...ise/32836-conceptual-side-weight-lifting.html I really strongly suggest that you read it - even a couple of times if it takes that to truly understand what Steve is saying. Those are the types of exercises that will help you... doing a workout like what he suggests 3x a week and then filling in around that with cardio will be of the most benefit.
 
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