I am a newbie to T-Nation. I have read most of the newbie articles including the TDawg diet, Nutrition for Newbies (all parts) and several other nutrition articles. I have been eating 1200 calories for what seems like forever. I began a training program about 3 months ago. I have seen some changes in my body, but haven’t lost any fat. From reading these articles I think I have been depriving my body of calories and thus my body has been hanging on to the fat.
I currently weigh 147 and I am 5’1 (on a good day, usually 5’.5). My goal is to be around 125-130, which according to my height is an ideal weight. I want to be lean and muscular (but I am female and don’t want to look like a professional body builder).
After reading the articles it seems that I should be eating about 2191 calories to maintain my weight. So, since I am trying to lose fat I have set my target at 1691 (500 less). I have set my carbs at 70 on non training days and 100 on training days. I have my fat at 80g per day and Protein at 220g per day. Other than that, I am planning on following TDawg for what I should be eating. I am seeking critques, advice and any other suggestions.
Because you’ve been so low for so long, take a few weeks and eat at maintenance. Then drop down to 500 below.
If you want us to critique, you’ll need to post a sample daily menu so we can see what foods you’re actually eating. Obviously you read the t-dawg article and set it up accordingly. You numbers look good, but the real test is what you’re eating.
Pre TDawg My menu was:
1st meal:
FiberOne Cereal
Fat Free Milk
2nd meal:
Premier Nutrition Protein Shake
3rd meal
1/2 Turkey sandwich w/ cheese and mustard
4th meal
fresh fruit or vege
5th meal
chick breast + vege
NOW I am trying to get all of the calories in, but it has been tough. I am not use to eating that much food. Adding in the veges fills me up quite a bit. For example, yesterday I was only able to eat about 1450 calories.
Here is what I ate yesterday:
1st: Egg white omelet w/ Parm cheese, 4 slices turkey bacon, 1 cup mixed berries
2nd: Premier Nutrition Protein Shake
3rd meal: 1 cup mixed frozen veges
4th meal: grilled salmon salad (with caesar dressing)
5th meal: 2 cheese sticks
I am struggling with the best way to reach my nutrient goals (so much protein! I haven’t been on a “diet” like this before).
Training: I train with a trainer (who is fantastic, he is the one who turned me on to this site) 3 days a week for about 1 hour of what I would call circuit training. I don’t know if that is the correct categorization.
We do three segments. 1st segment is 12 reps of about 5 different exercises (repeated 3 times), 2nd segment is 15 reps of about 5 different exercises (repeated 3 times) followed by triceps, pikes and biceps. Then we do 10 minutes on a stationary bike, one minute at 5 then 30 seconds at 9. We repeat every 1 minute increasing until we reach 12.
On days I do not train, I do either 1) spinning or 2) step aerobics. The other two days I either walk or run on the tradmill.
I try to take one day a week off. I always make my training appts, but sometimes I am not always albe to get in my cardio days
Here is what I ate yesterday:
1st: Egg white omelet w/ Parm cheese, 4 slices turkey bacon, 1 cup mixed berries
2nd: Premier Nutrition Protein Shake
3rd meal: 1 cup mixed frozen veges
4th meal: grilled salmon salad (with caesar dressing)
5th meal: 2 cheese sticks
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This doesn’t look awful.
A few things:
-Your first meal looks awesome.
-You need to eat protein WITH EVERY MEAL. a cup of veggies is not a meal, it’s nothing.
-take a look at protein shake, make sure it doesn’t have crap you don’t need in it. it should just have protein and a big of fat (1 or 2g) and bit of carbs (less than 5g, probably). Add olive oil to the shake if you want some healthy fats in there.
-Dressing on salads=no good. Especially creamy white ones loaded with useless calories and not so great fats. Oil and vinegar should be your salad buddies.
-eat a few whole eggs, you won’t die. And Saturated fat is the not the evil monster it’s made out to be.
-no beef?!
-Cottage cheese as a meal an hour or so before bedtime would be a good addition.
-two cheese sticks is probably not enough of a meal.
-shoot for 6 meals/day.
Check this out:
read and apply, the 7 habits work with in the context of any nutrition program. I wouldn’t get too anal about the fats as JB suggests in there. focus on getting protein at each meal, eating 6 times a day, and getting carbs at the right times.
Keep increasing the protein until you hit AT LEAST 1 g/lb bodyweight. Try to exceed that 1 g number every day, as much as you can.
Use a quality protein powder to help hit those protein targets, especially at first. But make it a goal to eat at least 3 meals a day with meat, fish, or eggs.
I think that fish is a great protein for fat loss. It is also easier to eat and digest than other sources.