Advice regarding diet / fitness plan, please :)

T

tamaralnorton

Cathlete
Hello all! I am so happy to be part of this family that you all have established. I have been working out with Cathe for about 3 months now and really look forward to my workout sessions! I've been athletic my whole life.

Since you all give great advice, I'm hoping you can give me your thoughts on what I'm doing... I am about 20 lbs from my goal weight right now and my goal is to really define and tone my muscles as well as slim down. I have tendency to really build muscle fast so I'm excited about the results I've gotten in my upper body especially. I do tend to work out 6-7 days a week although I'm trying to cut back to 5 or 6 (I enjoy it too much!) I don't have MANY Cathe dvds, basic step, Low Max, 4DS & both gym style upper body dvds. I just joined a gym about 3 weeks ago so that I can sneak some cardio in during the day so I'll hit the gym for about 30 minutes and then at night, do 30 minutes of cardio from 4DS, tae bo, or 45 min Low-Max, then I follow that with either a weight segment from 4DS or GS. I also incorporate abs in about 5 days a week although you can't tell at all, haha. The trainer at the gym I go to told me that I have great arms but he recommends I do higher reps with less weight to really tone them up or he fears they'll just get "bigger." I love toned arms and really want to see some muscle definition...

My eating could use some pointers - I don't splurge but I'm very nervous about what I eat, I guess you could say. A sample day consists of: breakfast I'll have scrambled egg whites with spinach, sunflower seeds & flaxseed. A morning snack around 10:30, apple and light string cheese. Then around 11:30, an hour before the gym, I'll have a protein bar such as a Luna bar (yes, I know, after scouring the posts I know that they're not the best choice). Lunch after the gym consists of a soup or a salad (guilty - bacon ranch salad from McDonalds with vinagrette dressing). Around 3, I'll have a handful of almonds or heart healthy nuts and some celery with a tablespoon of peanut butter. I try to work out again before dinner because if I work out after I eat, I get light headed and shaky frequently. Then dinner is always something light - chicken, veggies, brown rice, etc. I always throw in a nice ruby red grapefruit as an after dinner snack. I drink massive amounts of water during the day :)

I have a feeling my eating could use some help because as I mentioned, I have a hard time keeping my energy up and there are times when I get shaky and weak while working out. I bought some gatorade to help replace electrolytes.

Do you all think I'm a lost cause or what?! I love this forum and you all inspire me to do great things. I really enjoy working out and working to get the results I'm after. Thanks so much!
~Tammi
 
Hi, Tammi!
Don't dispair. You're definitely not a lost cause (no one is until they are dead!).

Your eating plan sounds pretty good overall, but here are some suggestions for improvement.

What about subbing the protein bar (very processed) for a smoothie made with hemp protein (not very processed, and providing all essential amino acids in an easy-to-assimilate form) and some frozen fruit in your choice of milk (I like rice milk), maybe a handful of spinach (don't knock it till you've tried it! If you make a chocoate/bluberry smoothie and throw in a handful of spinach, you don't even know the spinach is there.)

You already know that the McDonald's salad is not a great choice, more for the dressing than for the other ingredients (though I doubt the ingredients are that great--is it iceberg lettuce?). Why not make your own salad, with lots of good greens and veggies, maybe some chopped avocado in lieu of dressing, and/or a sprinkle of sunflower seeds? You can also make and take your own soup. When I'm having lunch away from a microwave (or I want to avoid the microwave), I heat up soup in the a.m., then put it in a pre-warmed thermos, and it stays nice and warm until lunch time.

Anyone's diet can be improved nutritionally by adding more veggies, especially dark green ones.

One book I think is helpful in teaching people to rethink their eating habits is "Picture-perfect weight loss." It doesn't promote any particular diet, but shows many comparison photos of two meals or snacks, each with the same calorie density, but with different nutrient make-ups. It teaches you how to make the best (or at least better) choice for foods.
 
Thanks Kathryn - I really enjoy smoothies and tasty protein shakes but my dilemna (sp?) - my stingy boss is taking forever to put a refrigerator in this place! Otherwise, I would be all over bringing my own salads / meals. That's why a lot of time I'll heat up at healthy choice / light progresso soup and have that. I'm not one to drink my meals though - i have to "chew" something, haha. (it's all in my head!)

However, speaking of the chocolate blueberry smoothie, what do you use?! That sounds really tasty!

Thanks!
 
Hi Tammi,

Welcome to the forums and to Cathe-Land!

Before I got a small fridge in my office, I'd use those reusable ice packs that you freeze to keep foods cool. They seem to work pretty well!

In addition to what Kathryn suggested, I'd also really emphasize to keep eating protein at each meal and mini-meal, as you've been doing. Some healthy options are yogurt (esp. the Fage Greek yogurt that everyone's been talking about on the boards), cottage cheese with mix-ins, and nuts and natural nut butters.

It's odd that you get shaky after eating and while working out. If I don't eat a small snack about 20 minutes *before* working out, I get shaky. A light whole-wheat English muffin with some almond butter usually helps me power through my workouts. Could you be getting shaky just because you're not eating enough during the day? You're working out a lot, so more calories may be what your body needs! I find, too, that I have more energy if I eat every three hours on a consistent basis.

Hope this helps!:)
 
I keep reading everyone's posts on natural nut butter. Where do you find this? I shop at Giant Eagle (just a regular grocery store). Would it be by the peanut butter, or in the refrigerator section by the regular butter?
 
Thanks Leanne. I guess my real concern (and always has been!)is eating the right kinds of food to keep me fueled throughout the day. I probably spend more time than I should on these forums during the day (hehe) so I've gotten some really good ideas. Of course I'm frustrated right now because I actually gained a pound this week - not sure if this is because of the heavy weight work or not.... my diet is pretty clean. So, getting pointers from y'all (yes I can say y'all - I live in Texas, haha) is very helpful and keeps me motivated. Thanks!!:D
 
It is with the peanut butter. Smuckers has a natural peanut butter, Laura Scudder (I think that is right) has one, and depending on where you are from, there are others that I think are better - we just don't have them here! These are strictly ground up peanuts. Personally, I buy the Smart Balance peanut butter, which has the Omega fatty acids added with flax, so you don't have to mix it all up - it is already done for you like regular peanut butter. If you buy the 100% peanut butter, you will have to mix in the oil that separates. Don't buy the Jiffy or brands like that - they add hydrogenated oils, at least last I checked, and sugar. You can also get almond butters which are so yummy, but a bit more expensive. If your store has an all natural section, you may be able to grind your own too, but you will have the oil separation. I always eat the Smart Balance now - it requires no refrigeration and tastes really good.
 
>Otherwise, I would be
>all over bringing my own salads / meals. That's why a lot of
>time I'll heat up at healthy choice / light progresso soup and
>have that. I'm not one to drink my meals though - i have to
>"chew" something, haha. (it's all in my head!)

IMO, you'd do better with homemade soups. At least on a regular basis. Most canned soups are very high in sodium, and if they aren't, they are processed to death (look at the color of the peas in them, for example).



>However, speaking of the chocolate blueberry smoothie, what do
>you use?! That sounds really tasty!


I take some chocolate soy milk (or plain, unsweetened soy milk with cocoa powder and agave nectar), a handful of frozen blueberries, and either a scoop or two of Vega smoothie infusion or a handfull of baby spinach and a Tbsp or so of ground flax (that I grind myself from whole golden flax seeds), put it in a Magic Bullet blender cup and blend away.
 
>It is with the peanut butter. Smuckers has a natural peanut
>butter, Laura Scudder (I think that is right) has one, and
>depending on where you are from, there are others that I think
>are better - we just don't have them here! These are strictly
>ground up peanuts. Personally, I buy the Smart Balance peanut
>butter, which has the Omega fatty acids added with flax, so
>you don't have to mix it all up - it is already done for you
>like regular peanut butter. If you buy the 100% peanut
>butter, you will have to mix in the oil that separates.

I just wanted to add : watch out for "pseudo-natural" PB's : those that have crap in that shouldn't be in pb. Skippy (I think) is touting one of their PB's as "natural," but it contains sugar and palm oil. Just look for those with peanuts and (optionally) salt. (A good rule of thumb : never go by what's on the front label of a food---that's advertising trying to get you to buy--always look at the ingredient list, which will give you the real low-down on foods).
 
The McDonalds salad is made with spinach and something else not iceburg though. The dressing is balasmaic vinegrette. Not to bad but could be better. Its my best choice when park play dates get rained out and moved to
McDonalds.


Farrah
 
>Thanks Leanne. I guess my real concern (and always has
>been!)is eating the right kinds of food to keep me fueled
>throughout the day. I probably spend more time than I should
>on these forums during the day (hehe) so I've gotten some
>really good ideas. Of course I'm frustrated right now because
>I actually gained a pound this week - not sure if this is
>because of the heavy weight work or not.... my diet is pretty
>clean. So, getting pointers from y'all (yes I can say y'all -
>I live in Texas, haha) is very helpful and keeps me motivated.
> Thanks!!:D

Hi Tammi,

Yes, the weight gain could be because you're putting on some muscle! I've found that taking measurements and photos helps me more when I start to stress about the number on my scale!:)
 
>I keep reading everyone's posts on natural nut butter. Where
>do you find this? I shop at Giant Eagle (just a regular
>grocery store). Would it be by the peanut butter, or in the
>refrigerator section by the regular butter?

If you have a Trader Joe's near you, they have a TJ's brand wonderful, fairly inexpensive PB that is just peanuts -- with nothing else added! They also have a salted version, but I get the unsalted. They also have their own almond butter, which is also delicious!:)
 
Trader Joe's was the best - I just moved from Connecticut to South Texas last July and of course there's no Trader Joe's. But I found that the Smucker's natural pb is quite tasty.

Something I meant to ask in my original post - could i be doing "too much" cardio? Like I mentioned, I spend WAY TOO much time browsing the forums during the day (hehe) and while it is my main goal to lose weight AND build muscle, there's days where I'll workout at the gym for 30 minutes at lunch time and then go home and do a workout from 4DS or a step dvd and THEN do weight training. I go between 4DS and GS. What are your thoughts on the amount of cardio I should be doing? Thanks everyone so much - lately it feels like my head is spinning! :p
 
>Trader Joe's was the best - I just moved from Connecticut to
>South Texas last July and of course there's no Trader Joe's.
>But I found that the Smucker's natural pb is quite tasty.
>
>Something I meant to ask in my original post - could i be
>doing "too much" cardio? Like I mentioned, I spend WAY TOO
>much time browsing the forums during the day (hehe) and while
>it is my main goal to lose weight AND build muscle, there's
>days where I'll workout at the gym for 30 minutes at lunch
>time and then go home and do a workout from 4DS or a step dvd
>and THEN do weight training. I go between 4DS and GS. What
>are your thoughts on the amount of cardio I should be doing?
>Thanks everyone so much - lately it feels like my head is
>spinning! :p

I know that everyone's body is different, but perhaps you could try doing less cardio. I know that I started getting my best results once I started doing three days a week of weights (esp. the Gym Styles and Slow & Heavy), combined with just 2-3 days of cardio. (I had been doing 5-6 days of cardio and circuit workouts before then, and was steadily putting on weight once I hit 30 about six years ago). I've read that doing too much cardio can actually impede muscle growth, but I need at least two full hours a week to de-stress and melt off fat.

So much is about experimenting to see what works best for our bodies! Right now, I'm doing an endurance rotation for the upper body. My results seem alright, but I think that I got better results with heavy lifting. I want to commit to finishing up the four weeks, though, just to make sure that I'm really trying. In the meantime, though, I'm worried that I'm wasting these four weeks when I could be doing some weight work that would have more of an impact on my shape! :)
 
Thanks Leanne..once again...so much more motivation! The endurance rotation seems like fun - let me know how it goes! However, I love heavy lifting...eventhough my trainer says to stop or i'm going to bulk up, I really like my results :)
 
>Thanks Leanne..once again...so much more motivation! The
>endurance rotation seems like fun - let me know how it goes!
>However, I love heavy lifting...eventhough my trainer says to
>stop or i'm going to bulk up, I really like my results :)

Ah, I wish I could bulk up more! I envy you! I have such a hard time putting on muscle -- even though putting on fat comes easy to me!;-)
 
Tammi welcome to the forums,

Your doing fairly well. Just a little modification and You'll be on the right path.

Try bringing/packing/buying in your snacks/lunch and make it as non processed as you can. There are coolers to put refrigerator stuff into (blue ice or ice cubes work to help things cool), perhaps hot chili/soup to put into thermos containers. It takes planning but it's all part of being healthy with such busy lives.

Heavy training can take a toll on my muscles, and when I'm training hard every day my body may not be able to produce sufficient Glutamine (essential amino acid) for recovery. I use Glutamine in powder form. I use 1 teaspoon into my beverage an hour before the workout and another one immediately after the workout to speed recovery.

Hope this helps,

Janie

The idea is to die young as late as possible

http://www.picturetrail.com/janiejoey
 
Thanks Janie. I'm actually revamping my daily meals to add in more protein and to eat more frequently...I really notice a difference in my energy level so far. I'm also going to see if I can scale back on some of my cardio to see if it makes a difference.

Yes, I am going to invest in a cooler this weekend because I'd prefer to pack my own cool / hot lunches.

Like Leanne pointed out, each person is different. We're programmed to think that lots of cardio = weight loss and while this is true to a certain extent, it isn't everything and I really think they key is in the weights. So, let's see if this gets me headed in the right direction again! :7
 
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