Good cals Vs Bad cals? Is there such a thing?

[DvSxx6]

Hey everyone,
So I'm 22 years old, 5'1 and about 110 Lbs. I think I'm 107, not sure since I've stopped weighing myself 2-3 maybe even 4 months ago. I typically work out about 4-5x a week [running/dumbbell exercises/yoga & pilates] and have been recommended to eat 1500 cals/day. I recently had a conversation w/ a guy friend who is in top physical shape and I told him that I have difficulties reaching 1500 caloric limit. He said "Why? It is so easy for me to reach that. He also mentioned that it actually looks like I should be getting 1800 cals, esp for size and activity level" and I said "What do you mean it's easy to get that amount of cals? It's hard to find the right kinds of foods and told him about daily meals. Just to give you an idea of daily meal plan, it consists of the following:

Breakfast: About a cup of oatmeal with soy milk, About a cup or a lil more than a cup of Honey bunches of Oats w/ soy milk, and an apple. Vitamins [fish oil, calcium, b-12, and one-a-day [lol yeah, hence the name "one-a-day but didn't want it to go to waste after someone bought it for me.]

Lunch: A turkey sandwich on wheat bread [with only one slice of bread lol], sometimes baked lays original chips and a big salad [exotic greens] with chopped chicken, boiled egg, olives, tomatoes, cucumbers, radishes, turnips, and two small teaspoons of gargonzola cheese.

Snack: A banana or an apple or an orange [rarely an orange] or baked lays chips or the 60 cal hersheys stick mmMm! On days I feel constipated [since I hardly eat any fatty foods], I indulge in a nutty brownie which makes me flush out all the healthy stuff I ate. Love those days.

Dinner: A turkey sandwich with baked lays [I live at the dorm and the food here is incredibly fattening and nasty. It's either a salad, sandwich, or greasy goodness. I'll stick to healthy, thank you.]


So, going back to convo with friend. He said that each person needs a certain amt of carbs, protein, fat, etc. in his/her diet. I forgot the numbers he gave me. I don't know if I should know the exact number since for one thing, there is no way of gauging how much I'm consuming since the crap food on campus have no nutritional facts. Knowing the numbers may help in the future but not now. How should I go about making sure I get the adequate amount of nutrition from each 'source?' [I guess that's the word?]

Also, was friend right about getting calories from anywhere but that I should "just watch out for the fat/sugar/etc" content? How does portion size factor in with all of this good/bad calories? I was always under the impression that I'm supposed to get calories ONLY from "good sources" meaning ONLY salads/sandwiches etc as opposed to pizzas, fried foods, cakes/etc. [please tell me this is the case, I will run around dorm praising the Lord and be the happiest person on earth if this is true!].

I've just started eating brown rice and white rice again. I avoided both brown and white rice for about a month. I gave in 2 days ago. Har. Could've gone longer but cracked under the enormous pressure from school. I know, carbs are not bad, but I have been extremely busy with school and unfortunately, have not been able to get work out in, in the past 4 days Rice is good for you in moderation, right? Would having a scoop of rice one meal a day be good or should it be eaten sparingly?

Lastly, I've been taking "Fucothin" for the past 3 weeks and 4 days [For the first week and 4 days I took 1 pill, 3x a day. For the past 2 weeks I upped the dosage and have been taking 2 pills, 3x a day]. It takes 6 weeks to see results, coupled with proper nutrition and exercise. Anyone try it before? It's a completely natural product without any stimulants in it and is made from seaweed. I've heard great things about it but would like to know if any of you here have tried it.

Thank you to any comments/feedback in advance.. and thank you if you've read this far, you are the best!~ lol.

[Boss Man]

Frankly I'd forget the Fucothin, it's a waste of time almost certainly.

As for getting calories from dud sources, unfortunately it is going to be hard when you have Canteens or refectories, serving stuff out of the packaging, and with no nutritional listings.

As for the servings, when in doubt you could try to have a portion of Flesh food, and a portion of Carb food, about Palm of the Hand sized.

If you get any foods that are Protein and Carb mixes, like Mushrooms, Legumes, Corn, Rice, then go for the Palm sized amount, and add about another half a sized portion, of an added Card source, so you boost Carbs, and keep Protein in check.

You could mix both though, for instance Rice and Mushroom, (half a pal sized portion of both), then a bit of added Carb only source to bosot Carbs.

Yes you should be careful of things like Fat and Sugar sources, but sometimes it's not easy. Though obvious ones to avoid are things lie Sugary Ketchup, Pickles / Gherkins, things with the word Cream in, that come in bottles or sachets and Mayonnaise.

What kind of things do they serve, is it mostly Fried stuff and that sort of thing, or do they do other stuff like Baked potatos, Chicken etc etc?

Yes you should get more like 2,000 calories at least as you're exercising.

It's not as hard as you think. It just takes time to get right

[DvSxx6]

Hi Boss Man,

Thanks for your thorough response! I really appreciate it!

As for the servings, when in doubt you could try to have a portion of Flesh food, and a portion of Carb food, about Palm of the Hand sized.

If you get any foods that are Protein and Carb mixes, like Mushrooms, Legumes, Corn, Rice, then go for the Palm sized amount, and add about another half a sized portion, of an added Card source, so you boost Carbs, and keep Protein in check.

You could mix both though, for instance Rice and Mushroom, (half a pal sized portion of both), then a bit of added Carb only source to bosot Carbs.

So basically, you're telling me about the standard portion sizes that "they've" [duno who "they" are exactly, maybe people in general] have been saying about portion sizes. A fist full of rice, a deck of cards size of meat, etc. I need to do more research on that topic and thank you for giving me the basics. I feel like I still need to learn a bit more about it.

What kind of things do they serve, is it mostly Fried stuff and that sort of thing, or do they do other stuff like Baked potatos, Chicken etc etc?

They serve various of greasy things: fried chicken, pizza, grilled cheese burgers, cheese burgers, french fries, indian curry, etc. That's why I usually opt for salads or turkey sandwiches. I'm gettin to the point where I'm almost sick of the same meals and would like to know how to portion/balance things out, which is what you are helping me with

Yes you should get more like 2,000 calories at least as you're exercising.

I'm tryin to figure out which cals to get without sabotaging diet..or compromising good health [IE eating greasy food just to meet daily caloric intake requirements.] This will pose somewhat of a challenge but like you said "it just takes time to get it right".

[DvSxx6]

Btw, by consuming 2,000 cals/day would I lose weight if I continue to be active 4-5x a week?

[Boss Man]

Hopefully not. At your weight, losing is the last thing you want to be doing.

[swanso5]

- pop another mid morning meal in there of 300cal's or so and you're right there...make it fruit and solid protein and veg/salad
- have breakfast as soon as you get up, even before showering
- take fruit out of mid afternoon snack and have solid protein with salad/veg
- if too much solid food then maybe a protein shake will do for now but eventually we want solid food at all meals
- don;t worry about the numbers, focus on the quality of food your eating
- i wouldnlt say get them from anywhere...kfc has cal's but that's not the answer (i wish it was though)
0sandwitrches and salads are fine but you don;t want too much bread
- may need to buy some veg yourself if there isn't a lot going around
- stick to brown rice and only in sml portions having after training only...like the 1 meal following it
- i donlt know what it is but i know already it won;t work long term or short term either
- let's all eat seaweed!!

[DvSxx6]

Hopefully not. At your weight, losing is the last thing you want to be doing.

I suppose I want to lose some weight, specifically, up to 10 Lbs. Yes, that sounds bad but that is what I want to do. Health-wise, I wouldn't say I'd be putting myself in a lot of harm considering I will be exercising and eating healthy.

Some of close friends are 95-100 Lbs and they are age 22 and 23 years old. They do eat/drink alc and such [one of best friend who is 5'4 and 95 Lbs can drink up to 15 mixed drinks on a Saturday night! I've done the same when I was 105 Lbs too! And we didn't use any illegal drugs. Our tolerance is high too]. I feel like I'm the biggest one around being between 107-110 Lbs. They are not influencing me at all and they are the greatest friends anyone could ask for, they are just very petite framed. I'm also petite but have broad shoulders which makes me feel bigger than them [can't do anything about the shoulders though.]

[DvSxx6]

- pop another mid morning meal in there of 300cal's or so and you're right there...make it fruit and solid protein and veg/salad

- don;t worry about the numbers, focus on the quality of food your eating
- i wouldnlt say get them from anywhere...kfc has cal's but that's not the answer (i wish it was though)

True, it is about the quality of the food. Today I ate about a cup worth of Indian lamb curry [kinda greasy and the lamb was kinda fatty so I cut off the fat parts] with 1 1/2 scoops of jasmine rice. That wasn't the best food since it was greasy, but mentally I feel so satisfied. tummy is happy too LoL. Overall, I feel so liberated! Would I be able to consume at least 1 greasy meal/day while still eating above menu ? [Breakfast: oatmeal/cereal, Lunch: Salad and a turkey sandwich on 1 slice of wheat bread].

I think at dinner time, instead of having the turkey sandwich with baked lays, I want to eat salmon with white rice. Or bbq chicken with white rice [they dont' have brown rice on campus ] Would this be a good dinner option?

Thank you for your input Swanso5!

[TheAmazingOti]

Eating well and exercising does not mean you're healthy if you're many pounds underweight.

Just thought I'd point that out.

[DvSxx6]

Eating well and exercising does not mean you're healthy if you're many pounds underweight.

Constructive criticism is always welcome, and thanks for your 2 cents. For your info, I am not 'many' pounds underweight.

Depending on which resource you're looking at determines if I am considered underweight, average weight, or overweight.

IE. According to :
http://www.annecollins.com/weight-loss/ ... -women.htm
Women that are 5'1 can range in weight from 100-132

I am mainly trying to eat healthier and tone up. Yes, I would like to lose 2-3 pounds, but overall, I would just like to get more toned. Secondly, I believe education on eating healthy foods and exercise is CRUCIAL for the many, many years to come.

[TheAmazingOti]

It just seems like 100 pounds is a bit low, and just because some charts tell you that weight is ok doesn't make them ok.

Do what you want, I'm just saying, I think it's a bad idea.

[DvSxx6]

It just seems like 100 pounds is a bit low, and just because some charts tell you that weight is ok doesn't make them ok.

Do what you want, I'm just saying, I think it's a bad idea.

I see what you mean. I appreciate and thank you for your concern but this is the best I've felt in a very long time. I know that feeling great physically and mentally is of utmost importance. I quit smoking, drinking, doing all the drugs, being non-ambitious, countless of other things that were destructive and have really made a complete turn-around.

It's hard to trust the information that's out there, and trust me, I am taking some of it with a grain of salt but ultimately, I believe it's how I feel in terms of the wellness aspects that's important

[Boss Man]

A 95lb female may look healthy but probably isn't, height aside.

With all due concern, you should realistically aim to at the very least maintain 105, or preferably go for 110. Trust me, being 95lbs is not a healthy weight, and the fact that some people weighing 95lbs can look healthy, doesn't prove what is going on on the inside.

The individual could have issues with Bone health, immune function, Cardiovascular issues, etc etc, relating to inadequate diet, or metabolic increases from exercicse, coupled with inadequate fueling of the body via food.

You need to make sure you exercise properly and fuel properly, and if you end up 115lbs and lean, that's better than being 95lbs and unhealthy lean.

[swanso5]

answering a lot past posts here from you"

- i think you want to re shape your body...you'd be suprides what 3 - 5pds of extra muscle/less fat would do
- with braod shoulders your born to carry more wt then petite, slender chicks...don't fight it cos you can't... fiance's shoulders are almost bigger then mine...we will have a gold medallist btw us for sure...and good luck to her giving birth to those shoulders too
- 1 a day is too many in any case...your best bet is to simply go without for 28 days...it takes 28 days to change a behaviour which is what that greasy thing is
- for food read "read before posting..." in this section
- rice isn't good, veggies are though
- never take notice of and wt tables or bmi
- great point on the education thing
-

[TheAmazingOti]

and good luck to her giving birth to those shoulders too

Hahaha, that's ALL I could think of as I read the beginning of your post.

And as for rice being bad... Isn't brown rice ok?