Hey guys! For the past 8 weeks I've been dieting/exercising, and while I believe I'm staying on track with my exercise routine, my dieting hasn't been consistent. I would be doing great with eating right and a weekend will come along where I will go out of town and I literally eat everything possible. This is exactly what happened this past weekend again and I want to find a regimen that I will definitely stick with.
I wake up at 6 45 AM and run on the treadmill for 30 minutes. Then, I work on either my arms, butt, or legs with machines or mat exercises. Sometimes I do cycling for 30 minutes after the treadmill. I do this 5 times a week.
In terms of eating, I was thinking of eating a big breakfast (breakfast burrito with 2 eggs, bacon, sausage, mushrooms), a special K protein meal bar for lunch, and a salad for dinner. I don't eat after 7:00 PM so dinner is fairly early. If i don't eat a big breakfast I will probably drink a fruit smoothie instead, and eat a sandwich in place of the protein meal bar. Basically, I am trying to eat one normal meal a day, a protein bar, and a salad. If I were to snack, it would be on some saltine crackers, trail mix, or fruit.
Advice on my regimen is APPRECIATED! Am I eating too little, too much, or just right? Thanks!
Full Version: My Regimen
It is not not good to have lopsided meals. A protein bar is not a meal, and neither is a salad. Also, the artery clogging fest you described as bfast is also not a good idea. If I were you, I'd eliminate sausages from your diet completely, and keep bacon as a once in a while treat.
Better to chose either 3 meals of ~ 500 calories, and if you're exercising, add 2 snacks of 100-200 calorie value, or 5 meals of roughly 300-400 calories. Yes, you will lose weight even on 1800-2000 calorie if you exercise everyday, unless you're really really tiny. Mind you, I'm 5'4 and I've lost weight on 2500 calories when I ran 5 times a week.
It's been proven that, for 3 a day meals, a meal that's under ~500 calories will leave your brain sending out hunger signals, which fuel cravings, and increase the BAD kind of hormones (the ones responsible for triggering fat depositing, and lowering metabolism). Also, it's been proven that one meals of 500+ calories, even if your other meals are small, will trigger your body to deposit most of it as fat. It's not good to BINGE, and that includes really big meals.
Secondly, it's a diet, make each meal nutritious rich. Heck, you should do that even if you're not on a diet, but when you're restricting calories, it's completely reckless to skip major food groups. Eat a variety of vegetables (cooked, but also raw), eat 1-2 pieces of fruit per day, include a handful of nuts and seeds (buy each kind in bulk, and make your own mix), eat good quality protein and skim any visible fat, eat non-processed carbs (brown rice mixed with wild rice, rye/whole wheat bread), consume non-fat dairy, but don't be afraid to use olive oil in your salad, eat beans once in a while, a mix of them as protein they're as good as chicken breast.
Helpers: Take a good vitamin and mineral supplement (diets usually provoke deficiencies, if you exercise you need some things in more quantities, plus sweating causes the loss of certain minerals). Use home-made soups as a first course (most likely they'll end up at 20-30 calories per bowl but they'll fill you up). Arrange a meal with half the plate being vegetables. Eat them first, Drink 1-2 green teas per day with no sugar. Drink one coffee per day no sugar if you're into that. Use fiber pills if you must (but if you're doing it right, you're eating enough veggies for fiber). But say you're DYING for something fatty. Well, drink a tall glass of water, with a couple fiber pills, and then 20 minutes later eat your fatty treat in a small portion. You get your kick, and you minimise the damage as fiber traps in some of the fat so it doesn't get absorbed. Avoid diet drinks, replace with watered down 100% juice with no added sugar or better yet, bubbly water.
Finnaly, it's best to have cardio days, and weight days. That way you don't over-train, and it's more efficient. So strenght, cardio, strenght, cardio, strenght is your best bet for keeping your metabolism in high gear. Cardio is overrated. yes it does burn the most per hour, but the effect tapers off after your work out. Strenght training burns a bit less while exercising, but then you continue burning high for 24 hours.
Better to chose either 3 meals of ~ 500 calories, and if you're exercising, add 2 snacks of 100-200 calorie value, or 5 meals of roughly 300-400 calories. Yes, you will lose weight even on 1800-2000 calorie if you exercise everyday, unless you're really really tiny. Mind you, I'm 5'4 and I've lost weight on 2500 calories when I ran 5 times a week.
It's been proven that, for 3 a day meals, a meal that's under ~500 calories will leave your brain sending out hunger signals, which fuel cravings, and increase the BAD kind of hormones (the ones responsible for triggering fat depositing, and lowering metabolism). Also, it's been proven that one meals of 500+ calories, even if your other meals are small, will trigger your body to deposit most of it as fat. It's not good to BINGE, and that includes really big meals.
Secondly, it's a diet, make each meal nutritious rich. Heck, you should do that even if you're not on a diet, but when you're restricting calories, it's completely reckless to skip major food groups. Eat a variety of vegetables (cooked, but also raw), eat 1-2 pieces of fruit per day, include a handful of nuts and seeds (buy each kind in bulk, and make your own mix), eat good quality protein and skim any visible fat, eat non-processed carbs (brown rice mixed with wild rice, rye/whole wheat bread), consume non-fat dairy, but don't be afraid to use olive oil in your salad, eat beans once in a while, a mix of them as protein they're as good as chicken breast.
Helpers: Take a good vitamin and mineral supplement (diets usually provoke deficiencies, if you exercise you need some things in more quantities, plus sweating causes the loss of certain minerals). Use home-made soups as a first course (most likely they'll end up at 20-30 calories per bowl but they'll fill you up). Arrange a meal with half the plate being vegetables. Eat them first, Drink 1-2 green teas per day with no sugar. Drink one coffee per day no sugar if you're into that. Use fiber pills if you must (but if you're doing it right, you're eating enough veggies for fiber). But say you're DYING for something fatty. Well, drink a tall glass of water, with a couple fiber pills, and then 20 minutes later eat your fatty treat in a small portion. You get your kick, and you minimise the damage as fiber traps in some of the fat so it doesn't get absorbed. Avoid diet drinks, replace with watered down 100% juice with no added sugar or better yet, bubbly water.
Finnaly, it's best to have cardio days, and weight days. That way you don't over-train, and it's more efficient. So strenght, cardio, strenght, cardio, strenght is your best bet for keeping your metabolism in high gear. Cardio is overrated. yes it does burn the most per hour, but the effect tapers off after your work out. Strenght training burns a bit less while exercising, but then you continue burning high for 24 hours.
I'm going to have to chime in and say that Suzu's post is flawed. Even though S. has good intentions. But I'm pretty sure you could run with Su's suggestions and do just fine.
I'll just say that there is no "best" way ~ only the way you will apply yourself.
Your inconsistent eating just means your not committed - the binge eating junk for entire weekends
I'll just say that there is no "best" way ~ only the way you will apply yourself.
Your inconsistent eating just means your not committed - the binge eating junk for entire weekends
What Kinein said.. plus a special K bar is not a protein bar. Eating a special K bar for a snack is okay, but for a meal? no. Don't stick to eating the same 3 meals every day.. have variety in moderation. Something you could do is have either yogurt or string cheese with the special K bar to make it more macronutrient-balanced. And you can replace the special K bar for an apple. Also.. with your breakfast burrito.. you can omit either sausage or bacon.. either one. You definitely don't need both. Also.. just like i said you should vary your foods you should vary your exercises or energy systems.
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