Hi everyone! Just joined the site today..it's great! I was hoping I could get some good advice..(sorry this is so long)..
I am 22 and have been working out for years now. weight has gone up and down a little because of traveling, student life, stress, etc..but for the most part I have maintained it pretty well. However, I lived in France last year and put on about 15 pounds thanks to all the wine, cheese, bread, and delicious pastries When I got back to the states I lost a few pounds on own and then got a personal trainer to help me out as it is much easier to put on weight then lose it! I was completely motivated with diet and workouts! I went from about 170 to about 155 in 6 months, more or less. I lost about 3% body fat in 2 months. I felt better than I have in a long time! I had to stop with the personal trainer because I have moved to London temporarily for internship. I have joined a gym here and eat very healthy. However, I find that I eat too much and too late at night perhaps, because I eat dinner after the gym (9pm or so). It seems I always have an appetite throughout the day..I am sure some of this is because I am bored at work and will want to snack. I think I am just consuming way too many calories. I am a vegetarian, but I eat fish and eggs and a lot of them. I eat a lot of fruit and veggies and soy products like veggie burgers. For snacks, I will eat cottage cheese, low fat cheese, dry almonds, unsalted rice cakes, etc..I try to maintain a relatively low carbohydrate/high protein diet.
This is the first time I have had a desk job that's 5 days a week for 8 hours a day too, so activity level has changed. However, I still go to the gym 4-5 times a week on average and I usually do cardio followed by weights everyday. I do legs one day, arms the next. I do cardio and some abs or core everyday usually. I end up spending about an hour and a half-2 hours at the gym and I only feel as though I'm maintaining weight. I also am very bloated lately and do not get nearly as much sleep as I used to.
I am just frustrated because I used to workout 1 hour max cardio & trainer (trainer just 2 days a week, on own the rest of week) before I came here and I ate the same types of foods and probably more carbs (whole grains)..and I was much less bloated and consistently losing body fat..now, main changes are: no trainer (but I try to replicate a lot of what we did), desk job, longer workouts, less carbs/more protein, more snacking, coffee everyday (with just skimmed milk though), even much less alcohol consumption..it seems with these habits (aside from snacking more), I would have lost weight more weight. Maybe I have gained some muscle..but it's hard to really tell. I also walk a lot more than I used to because I don't have a car here and I have to walk most places.
I would love to lose a little weight all over. However, I really would love to lose weight in thighs, legs, and lower abdomen. These have always been the toughest places for me..and most women I think
Anyone have some advice on diet and workouts??? It would be much appreciated! Thanks!
WOW. I just wrote the looooongest reply to you guys and it took so long that it signed me out and didn't post it UGH! I will have to take a break and write a shorter version soon! How frustrating..
Hey guys! Thanks for the tips...Erin, you are probably right about just staying focused and doing the exercises religiously. I guess I hope for quicker results..then I think, well wait I guess I have only been really good for the past 2 weeks haha..it just seems that overall I would be more where I want to be. I think it's also hard when I kill myself at the gym (in a good way) so many days on a regular basis..and I eat healthier than most people I know...and then so many people never workout and don't eat very healthy at all and it looks like our lifestyles should be switched by our appearances hah. ( sister is a perfect example- she's 30..never worked out or played any sports, extremely toned and thin, but eats relatively healthy...she is just blessed I think!) Just doesn't seem fair. I don't consider myself fat or unhealthy by any means..but there are just so many problem areas that I feel like I could work forever at them and they will always be there. I know that's not true however because people change their bodies all the time...I know it is just because of habits or whatever I'm not doing right. Overall, I think it is what I eat, or when, or how much..or all of that. I think the main problem is that I don't know who to listen to...I hear and read so many different things..I try to follow what I hear most often, but everyone is different (different metabolisms, different bodies, etc..so different things will work for different people I guess). I hear a lot of contradicting things too so I will be trying one thing and then change it up (maybe too soon) because I start reading about something else that seems to make more sense haha. It's just a confusing cycle!
As for having the energy after a long day's work...I can't say that I teach tiring 7th graders all day, which I am sure feels like exercise in itself...for me, after sitting at a desk for 8 hours working on a computer mostly..even though I'm tired..I know once I'm at the gym being active, energy will pick up..and it does everytime! I feel so happy and energized after workouts that it motivates me to go the next day. I used to be a nanny for two seven year olds and an eight year old, and just three kids were a handful! I think that was more tiring than job now because I was running around with them so much..it was hard to have energy after those days. I would really like to try and workout in the mornins..maybe this is a possibilty for you? I have to be at work by 9 so to have enough time to shower and all..it means getting up at 6:45am...which sleep is just too tempting (especially when I'm lacking in it these days!)...Once internship is over, I am going to get in the morning workout routine and maybe do a few two a days when I have more time on hands in the future. I used to workout in the mornings and always had to much energy throughout the day..I loved it..slept much better too!
Bossman- I would say most days this is meal plan (more or less):
Mon.-Fridays:
8:45am- 2 eggs scrambled with spinach and a little low fat swiss cheese (sometimes other veggies like mushrooms or red onions), sometimes with 2 strips of soy bacon...cooking with extra virgin olive oil
OR LATELY, like past week (to get some more fiber and carbs in the morning)
I have been eating about a cup to cup and a half of All Bran cerial with about 150ml? of skimmed milk, with rasberries or blueberries (handful).
9:30am- coffee with just skimmed milk or black tea with just skimmed milk
around 11am- I'll have an apple OR a mini light babybel cheese OR handful of almonds (dry, unsalted) OR a tangerine
about 1:30 or 2pm (depending on how long I can hold out...been taking later lunches to make work day go by faster haha)-
I will have one can of tunafish(in spring water), mixed with light mayo, chopped celery or red onions, and sometimes I will chop up handful of grapes and put them in too.
OR I will have a salad: darker mixed lettuce, some feta cheese, cherry tomatos, red pepper, onions, cucumbers, balsamic vinegar for dressing, and somtimes I will add in half an avacado or some king prawn (about handful).
OR sometimes I will have some tomato basil or low fat soup with a veggie burger (no bun) and some ketchup.
OR I'll have two veggie burgers (grilled using extra virgin olive oil) with some ketchup but no buns.
(About 2 months ago, I stopped eating sandwiches even though it was whole wheat bread always..just tried to cut back on carb/ bread intake..but I still eat a lot of carbs because of fruit intake I think)
After lunch, I will usually have something sweet like handful of almonds and very small piece of dark chocolate OR plain lowfat probiotic yogurt with some berries, OR lately small mint chocolate.
When I get off of work, before the gym I usually will eat something like a rice cake with a piece of low fat cheese, OR handful of almonds or some dry peanuts, OR half of a Atkins (low carb/protein) chocolate crisp bar or maybe some cottage cheese and a few dried prunes OR sometimes a hardboiled egg with some salt. I will usually drink a small cup of black coffee or grean tea (nothing added) to get some energy before the gym. I also have heard these are good fat burners...I don't know if getting heart rate up before a hard workout is the best idea though?
When I get home from the gym, it usually is later like 9pm. By the time I cook and eat it is about 9:30pm..I know that's late to eat dinner but I'm so hungry..it's hard to want to eat just a protein shake of something not appetizing haha. I am a vegetarian, but I eat fish and eggs...so I will usually bake salmon (never gets old) with squeezed lemon and spicy seasoning and some sort of veggies (cooked in extra virgin olive oil), usually zucchini, or broccoli, or mushrooms and onions.
OR a salad (like I said for lunch)
OR very rarely I will make tofu or have a veggie burger
Lately, I have not been having eggs in the mornin so I will make one or two eggs with spinach, mushrooms and onions for dinner. I always have a sweet craving after dinner so I will usually eat some honeydew (melon), some plain, lowfat yogurt with a few berries, or a small piece of chocolate.
For about a week I was having a chocolate, low carb, high protein shake (just 1-2 servings)...forget the name of it...It was only about 200 calories...I felt like maybe I was overdoing protein though and adding on extra calories I didn't need so I haven't been doing these after workouts. Do you think I should? I just thought I needed them to restore muscles after workouts..because I usually always do some weights and always cardio...
I usually go to sleep around 1 or 2am because by the time I am done at gym, have eaten, have showered, dealt with some emails or something, talked on the phone maybe, it's that late..then I have to get up at 8 and do it all over again haha. It's a vicious cycle that becomes exhausting. I only have one more month of internship so I will not have an everyday desk job after that. I will just have one class and a part time job...it will be much easier to workout when I want and not snack out of boredom. On the weekends, I was eating about the same (always big breakfast though with two eggs and veggies, half a grapefruit, and maybe some fake bacon)...the rest would be about the same, but I am busier so I don't eat as many in between snacks. However, I'll usually go out drinking one night and I will usually splurge one day with a cupcake or muffin or something more fattening.
I'm so sorry this is so long...but I wanted to describe in detail so you had a good idea...any tips or help would be great!!
Thanks!
OK..I was able to go back and repost it..woohoo!
I forgot to mention that I never drink soda or juices. Water is main intake...with this job, I drink coffee every morning with some skimmed milk and sometimes a black coffee later or grean tea like I said. When I do go out 2 nights maximum..but usually none or just one night on the weekends I will drink vodka with soda water and squeezed lime or diet coke and vodka.
A few years ago, doctor told me that I am very bloated (in legs and everywhere), and she said I'm holding on to water weight and that I should decrease sodium intake or processed foods, and also drink more water...that was about 2 years ago..after France...of course I have lost a lot of weight and built a lot of muscle since then, but I still feel as though I carry a lot of water weight on me, especially in legs..just thought I would add this!
Your diet looks great, but with the amount of training you are doing, I believe you would see better results with more rest. Your schedule is crazy. Do you have full rest days? Do you give yourself a week off every 8 weeks or so? If you don't give your body a chance to fully recover, it will stop responding. Watch your salt intake and take a vitamin B complex, this will help with the water retention. Stay strong.
Water on the Legs is Edema. Cutting Salt intake will reduce the likelihood of occurance.
Protein increase for Breakfast. The Eggs are a good choice.
Snacks. Almonds or Blueberries are a bit low cal. Almonds less so, because of the mild Protein, mild Carbs and healthy Fats, so I'd combine the Fruit and Almonds in one. If you need more Protein add a bit of Chicken, Turkey or Ham in there. Give Fruit 10-15 minutes to digest to reduce impedence of the Fruit. Fruit with the possible exceptions of things like Cucumber, Peppers and Tomatos, don't digest as optimally in a shared food environment.
Tuna is high Mercury, so I would limit it to 2-3 times a week, as per current consumer guidlines. You can have things like Chicken, Turkey, low Fat Cheese etc, instead anyway.
The other way is to have lower Mercury stuff like Tilapia and Salmon, if you want Fish daily, but don't go overboard on it. I would suggest a daily cap of 100g, (3.5OZ), which you can have with one meal, or split into 2 x 50 g.
If you do it the latter way, add Peas, Beans, Lentils, Mushrooms or Rice in to replace some of the cut protein, then because they have Carbs, add a usual carb source or two in, but reduce the portion(s), to account for the Carbs in the aformentioned 5 foodstuffs.
Thanks guys! I was thinking maybe I need to rest more..I usually don't work out on the weekends though( and if I do, just one of the days), but it makes sense that I would need a break in between..just feel guilty when I don't work out because I'm in such a routine I guess. It also just makes me feel great when I workout so I just do it as much as I can. I will try and take a day off in the middle though.
As for diet...thank you for all the tips! I will try some out. I don't know if I'm ready to stop being a veggie though :/ I have thought about it though..as for the Edema. I just don't feel like I take in much salt at all..that is why I'm confused. I rarely add salt to food. Sometimes a little to eggs in the morning. I don't eat processed foods, I eat dry nuts (never salted), I do use a spicy seasoning on salmon when i make it...perhaps it's high in sodium. Also, I have heard that soy products (which I eat often) are high in sodium. How much sodium should I be taking in daily. Could is also be that I am not drinking enough water, and maybe too much caffiene?
Also, should I be taking the protein shakes after workouts? I don't want to put on weight, but I don't want workouts to be pointless either.
Protein before and after is a must in opinion. I take in about 20g 30 minutes before and 40g immediately after. You aren't looking to gain, so cut those in half and you will definitely benefit.
Protein before is good, but primarily I'd aim for something with a meal, around 30-90 minutes before. Not directly before, because when you've finished you'll just have potentially too much protein in your system that won't get used.
Anyone not looking to gain weight and add mass should stay in the 15-20 g as i suggested, if you are looking to gain the weight and mass the extra protein is needed after more intense weight lifting.
Okay, so I should maybe try to eat 15-20g of protein (in meal form) about an hour before I workout and then maybe a shake after? However, I eat dinner (usually fish and veggies) when I get home from working out, so wouldn't that be overdoing the protein? Also, I thought if you want to lose weight, you should workout on a fairly empty stomache?
I am following a low carb/high protein diet...and I have done it successfully in the past, which is why I am trying to follow a similar diet now (except with some carbs-not none like before!) I never used to hear that you could eat too much protein and put on weight from it. I thought with the diet I'm following, you could eat about as much protein as you wanted?
I'm sorry if I'm asking repetitive questions...I just always hear different things and I want to know what I'm doing.
Never ever work out on an empty stomach. I would still have a whey protein drink before you leave the gym. Not only will this help to rebuild and repair the muscle you broke down during training, but it will also help you eat a little less when you get home. I see that you eat dinner very late and then go to bed. I don't know how big your meals are, but its never a good idea to eat a full meal so close to bedtime. I know your schedule dictates that, so small portions would be ideal and also try to get low to nonfat dairy in that meal. The casein protein in dairy products is slow digesting and will keep your metabolism going throughout the night and help you wake up feeling less hungry.
I will try to eat more of a dinner before the gym then and maybe just a snack after, like low fat cottage cheese..thanks again! This site is great..everyone's so helpful.
When I got back to the states I lost a few pounds on own and then got a personal trainer to help me out as it is much easier to put on weight then lose it! I was completely motivated with diet and workouts! I went from about 170 to about 155 in 6 months, more or less. I lost about 3% body fat in 2 months. I felt better than I have in a long time! I had to stop with the personal trainer because I have moved to London temporarily for internship. I have joined a gym here and eat very healthy. However, I find that I eat too much and too late at night perhaps, because I eat dinner after the gym (9pm or so). It seems I always have an appetite throughout the day..I am sure some of this is because I am bored at work and will want to snack. I think I am just consuming way too many calories. I am a vegetarian, but I eat fish and eggs and a lot of them. I eat a lot of fruit and veggies and soy products like veggie burgers. For snacks, I will eat cottage cheese, low fat cheese, dry almonds, unsalted rice cakes, etc..I try to maintain a relatively low carbohydrate/high protein diet. 
UGH! I will have to take a break and write a shorter version soon! How frustrating..