ex4cylnotch

ive been reading for a while but this is my 1st post. i started dieting and exercising about 2 years ago. in that time i have lost 130 lbs mostly from running. over the past few months i have started cycling and swimming. right now my weight is 220 lbs im at about 24% body fat. i want to be at between 190 and 200 lbs at 15% body fat. right now i cycle about 14-20 miles on m-w-f morning with weight training in the afternoon. i swim then do yoga on tues and thursdays. weekends usually do a long run or ride.

to get to where i want to be i know my way of eating is lacking. this has always been the hardest part for me.

a typical day for me is.
breakfast
canadian bacon/toast/hashbrowns/12oz of tea
snack
apple or whole wheat crackers & cheese
lunch
chicken sandwich or lean cuisine entree
snack
bananna or salad
supper
chicken or beef with potatoes and green beans or spinach.
snack
frozen yogurt

im curious what a typical day of eating is like for others. and suggestions on improving my diet and nutrtion.

thanks

Jesper T

Congratulations with your weight loss. The key point is patience because you are doing a great job now. Keep up the good work!

DannoXYZ 

Looks like you've been doing just fine, keep up the good work. Only suggestion is to track your total-calorie intake each day on https://www.fitday.com to make sure you're eating less than you burn in order to maintain the weight loss.

Also make sure you eat on the long weekend rides if it's over 2-hours. Low muscle-glycogen is always an issue because your body ends up taking apart perfectly good muscle-tissue and converts it to glucose for energy.

aikigreg

Doing good so far! Ditch the hasbrowns - you KNOW those aren't good. Add some protein to those snacks - string cheese or jerky or preservative free lunchmeat. Start supplementing with fish oil. Change the frozen yogurt to real yogurt with active cultures, and you'll be good to go. I was once exactly where you are now, so I know you're on the right track!

ruechaos

For faster weight loss cut out the carbs except for during and immediately after a workout. Get more green veggies, cut the lean cuisine (too much salt, too much processing), cut the bacon.....frozen yogurt...? wtf? =)

Stick to a pairing of veggies and proteins at every meal. Get the bulk of your carbs from fruits and vegetables. Your proteins should be lean and low in saturated fats. (You need some saturated fats although.)

Peri and post workout get those high gi carbs, but also take advantage of the insulin spike it will create by adding some protein and nutrients to the mix. I like to make protein shakes after a workout consisting of apple or orange juice, frozen mixed berries, 25g of a vanilla whey protein powder, and 5g of creatine.

Your next meal after this post workout shake is also an okay time to get a few more carbs in. Avoid high concentrations of sugar, but this is a better time to eat starchy carbs like bread, or crackers, or potatoes. Don't over do it though.

If you have a sweet tooth, look at sugar free jello with a dab of whipped cream. I personally enjoy sugar free, fat free jello pudding every now and then but with an added scoop of vanilla protein powder for added nutritional value. It also helps thicken the pudding a little more. Mix in a blender for a smoother consistency. So many flavors to choose from. (I recommend pistachio and butterscotch.)

Best of luck, and good job thus far, you must be doing something right. You'll get there in time....unless of course you get hit by a bus first.

You have the best day ever!

-Tony

Al.canoe

To heavy on potatoes and meat and too lean on fruits and veggies from a nutrition point of view. Also, seems too lean on whole grains. I base my comments from pubs like the 2005 USDA nutrition guidelines (7 servings of whole grains and 8 servings of fruit and veggies if I remember correctly) and various recent books published since 2005.

Also, for my activity level, which is not all that high compared to many that post here, I wouldn't be getting sufficient ratio of carbs. I'd be hypoglycemic and suffer from low energy generally. I prefer a high energy diet as I'm more active and feel much better that way

Also, the fat intake may be too biased towards saturated fats at the expense of the unsaturated.

Al

ex4cylnotch

thanks to all for responding. I definatly have some holes to fill in on my diet. looks like im going to have to give up the hashbrowns(darn) and other high fat foods and fill in with some veggies/fruit. but if that is what it takes so be it.

Al.canoe

I suggest you get Monique Ryan's Sports Nutrition for Endurance Athletes, 2nd edition. The first 100 or so pages are focused on eating for health. Most of the rest on eating for both performance and health. The data on food choices is presented to facilitate using the book as a reference.

For example, on the fats issue. You could replace the cheese with walnuts and say peanut butter, the old fashioned kind made with just peanuts and salt. That gets you away from 100% saturated fat to 9% saturated, 67% polyunsaturated and 24% monounsaturated for the walnut component (which also contains omega 3) and 18% saturated, 34% polyunsaturated and 48% monounsaturated for the peanut butter. These data are in a nice table on pages 36 and 37.

She explains of course what percentage of fat you need and what percentages of each type you should strive for and why. The information is very current as the publication date is 2007.

She also discusses loosing weight and does so in the context of maintaining a high energy/activity level. A diet has to last a lifetime, so one that can support a high energy level should be a paramount objective. It also should be enjoyable to eat. That often takes just forming new habits.


Al

ex4cylnotch

im looking for that book now, i searched some other threads and that book looks highly recommended.

thanks