Is my diet/exercist plan good so far? (vegetables, scan, weight loss)
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Okay so I am, 32 years old, male, 6'0 and weigh about 215 lbs. 32 inch waist. For my height I should be at 180-185lbs. However, I have a bigger frame than most guys my height, so I am aiming for 190-195lbs as I think that is more realistic.
Currently my body fat percentage is 17%.
My goal is about to reach 11%.
Here is my diet (I have been on this for weeks now):
Calories I eat per day - 2,500-2,600
Daily diet consists of 3 protein shakes (one protein shake includes banana and strawberries), quinoa with vegetables and chicken, fiber/all bran cereal with unsweetened almond milk, vinaigrette salad with chicken, a multigrain egg white spinach wrap, handful of almonds, apple, and orange juice mixed with flax seed and chia seeds.
I allow 3 cheat meals a week (but try to not go crazy ie, burger, without fries or soda).
Exercise - 8 hours a week
2 hours per week of moderate to heavy weight lifting
2 hours per week of crossfit/interval type workouts
4 hours per week of running
My concern comes in if I am eating enough, or if I am over exercising?
If you're not losing weight, your numbers are off. I adhered to a daily 1,500 calorie budget when I lost weight last year. I currently follow a 2,000 per day budget to maintain. I'm a male, just under 6', and weigh 190 pounds.
I exercise 4/5 days per week from anywhere between 1.5 - 2 hours including running, hiking and resistance training and tend to average around 20k steps per day (I move an awful lot, mostly on purpose).
Everyone's metabolism is different and so you need to figure out how your body works and plan accordingly. I learned early on in my weight loss journey last year that whatever total calories burned my tracker reported, it was likely closer to 600 less than that. Part of that is the technology, while great, is not flawless and because I have a thyroid condition and so my burn rate is lower than the average would dictate.
Track, tinker, adjust and move forward; you'll figure it out eventually.
If you're not losing weight, your numbers are off. I adhered to a daily 1,500 calorie budget when I lost weight last year. I currently follow a 2,000 per day budget to maintain. I'm a male, just under 6', and weigh 190 pounds.
I exercise 4/5 days per week from anywhere between 1.5 - 2 hours including running, hiking and resistance training and tend to average around 20k steps per day (I move an awful lot, mostly on purpose).
Everyone's metabolism is different and so you need to figure out how your body works and plan accordingly. I learned early on in my weight loss journey last year that whatever total calories burned my tracker reported, it was likely closer to 600 less than that. Part of that is the technology, while great, is not flawless and because I have a thyroid condition and so my burn rate is lower than the average would dictate.
Track, tinker, adjust and move forward; you'll figure it out eventually.
So prior to a few weeks ago, I was a little all over the place. I worked out consistently by my diet was a little out of whack. Some weeks eating healthy, some weeks eating really bad. So my weight kept fluctuating between 215-220 in those weeks.
Since I started this, I usually use how I look in the morning to see if I am losing weight. In all honesty it seems to fluctuate too. Like yesterday and today morning it looks like I have lost some fat, with almost the 'V' forming in hips/abodomen area. But two days prior to that, I looked bloated.
In terms of weight, again it seems to fluctuate between 214-216.
Now with that being said, prior to this diet plan, I lost a lot of muscle mass, because I was not taking in enough calories. I was eating about 1,500 calories per day and exercising 7 hours a week. I noticed I was losing a ton of muscle mass. This is why I revamped my diet to eat 1,000 more calories per day. I can see I am starting to put some muscle back, so I am wondering if that is negating weight loss?
I am trying to stay away from the scale though because as mentioned, naturally I have a bigger frame than most guys my height, so I will weigh a little more than what I am supposed to .
I don't think you're over exercising. I work out about 8 hours myself.
There will be some muscle loss when you are restricting calories. How much is determined by training and diet. When i was losing, I mitigated a lot of the muscle loss by working out but have no big gains since I am not eating more.
While 1500 is way too low for an active man such as yourself, why not experiment and drop a cheat meal and see what happens? I follow a 80/20 healthy eating plan and that seems to work.
I (42, F) lift as a hobby and would love to see gains while keeping the fat down but I'm too scared to eat more on a consistent basis, even if it is healthy food.
I don't think you're over exercising. I work out about 8 hours myself.
There will be some muscle loss when you are restricting calories. How much is determined by training and diet. When i was losing, I mitigated a lot of the muscle loss by working out but have no big gains since I am not eating more.
While 1500 is way too low for an active man such as yourself, why not experiment and drop a cheat meal and see what happens? I follow a 80/20 healthy eating plan and that seems to work.
I (42, F) lift as a hobby and would love to see gains while keeping the fat down but I'm too scared to eat more on a consistent basis, even if it is healthy food.
Real food, as in not processed. If you want to go low carb then concentrate on protein and vegetables, and monounsaturated fats. If you don't want to eliminate food groups then focus on the same but add in whole grains, (not processed foods that tout whole grains) like faro, quinoa, bulgar, brown and black rice, etc...
It is going to take more work to prepare your meals, but in the long run it will be better because you will already know how to make meals for yourself, unless of course you plan on drinking shakes forever.
LOL that's just a term I saw somewhere for what I do. I eat healthy 80% of the time and not so healthy 20% of the time. With no guilt whatsoever. I'm sure to the purists that may cost me body composition wise (or not!) but life is too short. I eat burgers with fries. Today I ate fajitas, rice, and chips and queso. My body fat is 22% (took a Dexa scan) and maybe to be uber ripped I'd need to take it down to the high-teens but I'm not willing to give up my cheat days. I'm satisfied with my physique as it is - just the right amount of definition. May be different for lifter guys, who want to go as low as they can possibly get.
I don't see an issue with the protein shakes given your caloric needs. A lot of lifters drink shakes. I also drink a protein shake in the morning due to convenience. You may want to vary things though.
My weight fluctuates constantly as well. I'm at my skinniest on Wednesday, lol. But it's always within a few pounds of my desired weight.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
