Thoughts on my diet?

S

SpearJ

New member
Hi all, just curious on your thoughts and opinions on my diet plan...

First, my day is mostly sedentary. I am unemployed, do not have much to clean. Spend a lot of time on the computer job searching. I think I've gained about 10 lbs being unemployed these last 3.5 months!!! OMG it's been that long...

So, I'm doing a 1300 calorie a day/9100 calories a week limit. I'm cutting out sugar, alcohol and most bread.

I'm eating a diverse breakfast that includes protein, fiber, grapefruit and sometimes dairy.

I'm eating about 5-6 times a day. Lot's of vegetables.

I'm going to the gym every day. Cardio class every day adding weight lifting every other day. I'm also making use of the sauna.

I'm drinking about 70-80 oz of water every day.

For vitamins I'm taking a calcium w/vitamin D, a women's one a day, an Omega 3-6-9 and St. John's Wart.

Tell me what else I can do!? I just really want to attack this - I'd like to lose 20 lbs by the middle of May. That's a little under 2 lbs per week. I know 2 lbs per week may be a lot to ask for. But, I have no waist, no jeans left to wear, I had to buy a new suit to interview in...this is getting ridiculous!

Oh, I'm 5'8", female, small frame, 160 lbs. I do not carry it well. People that haven't seen me in a while, double take at the weight I've gained (too polite to really mention it but no one is saying how great I look). I weighed 150 lbs four months ago.

Thoughts? Suggestions? Ideas to help me reach my 20 lb mark?

Thank you!
 
Looks pretty good but just a few thoughts. Don't completely cut out carbs such as rice or whole wheat bread. If you find yourself getting too weak to have a good workout you might need more carbs. Just make sure all of your portions are not too big. Also, don't overdo the sauna. I use it as a reward after a good swimming workout but I only sit for about 5 to 8 minutes. Finally, stick with it no matter what. How long have you been at this?
 
Thanks Derrick, yeah I suppose the sauna is easy to overdo. I just love it so much! I usually stay in there for three songs on my ipod. Since I'm going every day, perhaps I should go to two.

I'm embarrassed to say I've only been at this since Sunday. Not very long, I know. I think I'm in the "zone" though. A person couldn't make me eat pizza right now. :) I feel pretty good.

What about pasta? I have some orzo I wanted to use. I'm not really cutting carbs, per se. Just trying to cut out things that turn to sugar right away and things that don't have much of a nutritional value.
 
Oh and I'm only weighing myself once a week. Rather than seeing a gradual change, I'm hoping to be more motivated by whole pounds. We'll see how that goes.
 
I personally try to stay away from pasta, that stuff is dangerous for me. I have tried weighing myself only one time per week in the past with success but I actually prefer weighing myself almost every day now. Sometimes several times per day. Just out of curiosity sometimes, like "how much did that drink and meal really weigh" or "how much water weight did I lose from my bathroom visits last night?" :smilielol5:

In all seriousness, if you understand that sometimes you may or may not have lost weight from one Monday morning to the next it doesn't mean you aren't heading in the right direction. Just pay attention to what you ate on Saturday and Sunday for example. If you had a big meal and a lot to drink on Sunday before bed, chances are you might weigh a little higher. Also, even if you do have a bad week, who cares? Just get serious the next week. I'm glad to hear you feel like you are in the zone. Now you just have to stay in the zone...forever!!! :D ;)
 
Good news! I have lost 6.2 lbs so far!

The first week I lost 5.2 and this week I lost 1.

I hope I'm not heading for a plateau.
 
If you're a big pasta lover (I am) one way to help cut down calories and sugars without giving it up completely is by using whole wheat pasta. I have a huge weakness for chicken alfredo, so what I do now is use whole wheat pasta and a reduced fat/calorie alfredo sauce and cook the chicken with a non fat non calorie cooking spray. It's not quite as good as the old stuff, but it's still good. Plus I think I actually prefer the taste of whole wheat pasta to regular. It has more flavor.
 
Thanks for the tip on whole wheat pasta. I have used it before, yes, not the same but still good!

Today I found the trick to making good brussel sprouts (shocker, there is such a thing). You have to steam them for 5 minutes and no longer than that. They have a chemical makeup that smells and tastes bad if you over cook them.

They are so filling and they are good!

And, I stand corrected because I weighed in today and as of today I am down 8.2 lbs since I started!!!

Yee Haw!!!

When I hit my plateau I will be sure to look you up Derrick because I would love to kick it's ass!
 
Hehe. I was just being silly but kind of serious too. It just makes me workout harder and I try to be even smarter with my eating.

As for the weighing, I now like to weigh myself a lot. That used to not work for me but now it does simply because I have learned how much weight can truly fluctuate throughout the week. If you just so happen to weigh yourself on a bad day then you might be misled to think the whole week was a failure when maybe you really had lost a pound or two if you had just weighed yourself the next day or the previous day. You might already know this but I'm just mentioning it. Good luck and the most important thing is perseverance. You have to be in it for life now. How much you enjoy it is up to your attitude and creativity.
 
I think you may be right. I lost another 3 pounds this week!

I think the running is really helping. Running is hard!

I'm down a total of 11 lbs in 3 weeks!

I'm still eating my 1300 calories. The last couple of days I've had more hunger issues. Is this because the muscle I'm building is requiring more? Should I increase or let be?

I'm inclined to let be and just deal with it. But, if eating a little more will keep me away from a plateau, that would be better.

Thoughts?
 
You're eating under your BMR, which is around 1500 calories. Not a good thing to sustain for a long period of time. also Make sure you're getting adequate protein
 
Actually, I went and did the new leaf test at the YMCA and found out that 1150 calories is all my body needs to function. That would be if I sat around all day and didn't do any physical work.

Kind of a bummer when you think about it, that's not a lot!

So, I think 1300 covers my body's needs to function plus a little extra.
 
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