Feedback if possible

[Becky]

I am a 5'4 female...I used to run and lift weights along with practicing Karate 2 hrs/week. My diet consisted of eating as little as possible, which I know now isn't healthy. I was in a bad car accident in 2003 and shattered my right ankle. A couple of months ago I discovered that I was at my highest weight (136lbs) and feeling lethargic and depressed. I've lost 5lbs since joining a gym and starting a new routine.

My concern is getting maximum results from my workouts and mastering this proper balanced diet business.

My diet is complicated because I have a lot of intolerances and allergies...no dairy except some yogurt, no wheat, no gluten, no legumes of any kind including beans and no mushrooms.
I'm terrible with keeping tract of calories so I've been using fitday.com for the past week or so but Im not sure I've figured it out completely.
I can't do 6 meals a day because I find it causes me to overeat..Im an emotional eater I find it best to have 3 square meals and 2 snacks.
I've been splitting my breakfast in half, a small bowl of cereal with All Bran and rice milk before the gym and a scrambled egg after.
Ideally I'd have an apple for a snack then chicken in salad for lunch, almonds for a snack and fish and rice and veggies for dinner. I'm also a sucker for dark chocolate and have a piece most nights after dinner, or a sugar free popsicle.
I only drink water and herbal tea. Ok thats a lie...I also indulge in this dairy free light hot chocolate and I try to limit diet soda to no more than 2/day (usually much less) because I read that in The Abs Diet.
I've been finding my diet goes on the back burner on the weekends. I don't drink but I do live with my bf so he'll want a pizza and chips on a Friday night and its so hard to resist!!
(I see a naturopath about my stomach problems btw)

OK so my work out regime...I'd LOVE feedback and suggestions
Monday: bike to gym 20 min warm up/ spinning 1hr/ bike home
Tuesday: bike to gym/weight train with Personal Trainer 45mins/bike home
Wednesday: Yoga 90 mins
Thursday: bike to gym/weight train with PT 45mins/ bike home
Friday: bike to gym/spinning1 hr/bike home
Saturday: bike/either day off or barbell training class (its called Body Pump)/bike
Sunday: bike to gym/ 1hr spinning/ bike home

Should I add anything?

Also, I'm getting really freaked by so much conflicting advice... like my bf said not to eat too much protein or I'll bulk up but I read that you should worry about that (in terms of weight training anyway) unless you tend to be stocky..which is not the case for me.

Plus, I just read this great article in the May/JUne issue of Muscle and Fitness Hers which details why things that work for guys wont work for women. One of the things suggests that women not add high intensity exercise to their routines because they're bodies will compensate by overeating. SO I don't know if maybe I shouldn't be spinning??

Now that I've written a novel (sorry!) I'll just ask one more thing..could someone help me figure out an estimate of my daily calorie needs? I'm 23, 5'4, 131 lbs (11 lbs over my goal weight, does this seem do-able?).

Thank you for reading/ helping!!!
Becky

Originally Posted by Becky

Also, I'm getting really freaked by so much conflicting advice... like my bf said not to eat too much protein or I'll bulk up but I read that you should worry about that (in terms of weight training anyway) unless you tend to be stocky..which is not the case for me.

Try to keep in mind that women's bodies are not geared hormonally to building big muscles, regardless of your protein intake. No doubt, you can put on muscle. But not to the extent that men can.

Originally Posted by Becky

Plus, I just read this great article in the May/JUne issue of Muscle and Fitness Hers which details why things that work for guys wont work for women. One of the things suggests that women not add high intensity exercise to their routines because they're bodies will compensate by overeating. SO I don't know if maybe I shouldn't be spinning??

I've never heard of that before....do they list any studies that support that claim?

Originally Posted by Becky

Now that I've written a novel (sorry!) I'll just ask one more thing..could someone help me figure out an estimate of my daily calorie needs? I'm 23, 5'4, 131 lbs (11 lbs over my goal weight, does this seem do-able?).

Resting Metabolic Rate Calculator
Basal Metabolic Rate

[Lady C]

Psst. . . 5-6 meals daily are typically the 3 meals plus a few snacks. Nothing that complicated. Did you see this? and This

You are not eating enough to gain muscle mass. I am almost your same stats and I eat a lot more than you.

Here is sample diet of mine. Reason being is I don't think you are feeding the machine (body) enough to get to where you want to go.

Pre-workout
1/2 plain yogurt & 1/2 oz flavoring

Workout
3 day split

Post workout meal
Protein and fruit shake

8-8:30
1 oz rolled oats
1 oz brown & wild rice blend, cooked
1/2 scoop protein
lots of cinnamon

11:00
2 oz chciken breast
4 oz broccoli

2:00
1/2 cottage cheese
apple

5:00
veggie pattie
4 oz broccoli

8:00
2 oz chicken breast
6 oz steamed califlower

On non-workout days I eliminate the first two meals and adjust the timing to spread it out throughout the day.This is about 1300 calories - and it drops to about 1000 on non-workout days. The most important thing to do here is spread you meals out evenly throughout the day.

Keep in mind I don't have food issues except lactose intolerance (no whey, cultured products and isolate are OK).

I mostly do HIIT aerobics and rarely do I do aerobics longer than 30 min. Too damned boring!!!!

Do three days weight training, three days HIIT aerobics, one day rest. EXAMPLE: M-Weights,Tu-Aerobics, W-Weights, Th-Aerobics, F-Weights, Sa-Aerobics, Su-Rest

[Becky]

Originally Posted by IronMan

I've never heard of that before....do they list any studies that support that claim?

I may not have described it well...
"What works for him:
Adding strenuous exercise to his workout routine
Why it wont work for you:
You'll pig out to compensate. Researchers at the University of Toronto found that women who exercised intensely usually consumed enough calories to make up for what they burned.
"When overweight men increase the amount they exercise, they lose weight because their bodies do not encourage them to eat more," says Nancy Clark, M.S., R.D., author of Nancy Clark's Sports Nutrition Guidebook. "When women exercise, their bodies say, 'Let's eat!'"
The article goes on to suggest lower-intensity exercise and moderate physical activity as the ideal way to shed body fat.

Thanks for your help and the links!
Becky

[Becky]

Ok so I just calculated my RMR and it's 1418..does that mean that's what I should be aiming for?

[cursor]

Originally Posted by Becky

Monday: bike to gym 20 min warm up/ spinning 1hr/ bike home
Tuesday: bike to gym/weight train with Personal Trainer 45mins/bike home
Wednesday: Yoga 90 mins
Thursday: bike to gym/weight train with PT 45mins/ bike home
Friday: bike to gym/spinning1 hr/bike home
Saturday: bike/either day off or barbell training class (its called Body Pump)/bike
Sunday: bike to gym/ 1hr spinning/ bike home

Boy ... I hope you like spinning. That'd drive me absolutely crazy!

Keep in mind that fat-loss (and fat-gain) depends on finding a sensible balance between energy output and caloric intake. There is no need to do spinning (or jogging) for umpteen hours in order to control your body-fat level. By developing an adquate base of skeletal muscle and strong connective tissue, your metabolism can ensure efficient processing of dietary intake (provided, of course, that you don't over-eat). Focusing on resistance training (vs. cardio) will ensure long-lasting, youth-ensuring results.

Seemingly endless aerobics is valuable ONLY to the aerobics enthusiast. If you love it ... then do it. Understand, however, that lengthy and frequent sessions are NOT necessary to maintain a lean body.

Originally Posted by Becky

I do live with my bf so he'll want a pizza and chips on a Friday night and its so hard to resist.

Eat the pizza. Just don't eat huge amounts in the same sitting. Be sensible.

[cursor]

Originally Posted by Becky

Ok so I just calculated my RMR and it's 1418..does that mean that's what I should be aiming for?

RMR = Resting Metabolic Rate
That means that your body [may] need 1,418 calories while you are lying in bed ... doing nothing. Consider how much exercise you do ... then add enough fuel (calories) to support that activity. Consider how you live your live (when you're not lying in bed, doing nothing) ... then add enough fuel (calories) to support that activity. It may well be that with the level of activity that you've expressed above your body should be fed 2,800 calories a day (or possibly more).

[cursor]

I'd suggest that you become a Premier Member, then download (and put to use) my BMR & calorie calculator. Once a Premier Member, you'll also have access to my 6-Meal Planner.

[Lady C]

Originally Posted by Becky

"When overweight men increase the amount they exercise, they lose weight because their bodies do not encourage them to eat more," says Nancy Clark, M.S., R.D., author of Nancy Clark's Sports Nutrition Guidebook. "When women exercise, their bodies say, 'Let's eat!'"

Well I simply don't believe it. Look at my progress and tell me I've done it all wrong by doing intense workouts. I don't eat like a pig. I eat when it is time to eat, and if your meal sizes are right you will be hungry.

I think you need to find out what works for your body.

Originally Posted by Lady C

I think you need to find out what works for your body.

I agree....

It takes time and effort. Keep food logs and workout journals. They will let you know if what you are doing is correct for you or not.

Also, be careful of magainzes. They have some great info, but they also need to fill pages each month.

[cursor]

As far as seeking (and adopting) advice is concerned, choose your mentors carefully ... then follow their advice. Evaluate your personal progress as time passes, then fine-tune your approach. If you feel that you've been deceived/duped by a personal mentor, then dump them and keep up your search for reliable sources of fitness information (or on any subject of interest).

[CF-OC_gal]

Originally Posted by Becky

"When overweight men increase the amount they exercise, they lose weight because their bodies do not encourage them to eat more," says Nancy Clark, M.S., R.D., author of Nancy Clark's Sports Nutrition Guidebook. "When women exercise, their bodies say, 'Let's eat!'"
Becky

This is a good example of knowing yourself. I can absolutely do that! My appetite and metabolism respond immediately to exercise. I eat like a pig when I exercise hard and I eat moderately when I don't. That is what my hunger tells me to do. I don't miss food when I'm not eating a lot and I don't wrap my rewards around it with cheat days. This approach doesn't work for everyone but then it is not supposed to.

I have that book but I don't recall reading that passage. I'd love a page reference to put the quote in context. I do respect her writing and credentials but I think the way it is presented seems to make women out to be some kind of helpless victims in the war against their bodies. I say, "uh uh ,(wagging my finger) no one gets off that easily."

If your body says let's eat, then dammit eat, but for godsake know what and when to stop! We have to take responsibility at some time.

[Becky]

Well its a relief to know that I can keep my intense workouts because I find they help my mood so much and keep my appetite in check most of the time.

I'm doing Fitday.com and it seems pretty good.

Cursor, I think you're right, I just wish I had a better mentor. My Trainer seems to be dealing with a lot of her own weight issues, but I found out today that she has a background in Kinesiology and physiotherapy so I feel a little reassured.

We worked on stretching and strengthening my old injuries today along with my workout and she told me that I should chill with spinning. She said weights are more important with how much I bike anyway and that she doesn't want me spinning more than 3x a week. So I was happy because I think it was Cursor saying the same thing about cardio.

I do think that I might not be eating enough but its so hard for me because so many foods give me stomach aches.

I love this site, you're all so lovely and helpful!

[Becky]

Originally Posted by Brat

This is a good example of knowing yourself. I can absolutely do that! My appetite and metabolism respond immediately to exercise. I eat like a pig when I exercise hard and I eat moderately when I don't. That is what my hunger tells me to do. I don't miss food when I'm not eating a lot and I don't wrap my rewards around it with cheat days. This approach doesn't work for everyone but then it is not supposed to.

I have that book but I don't recall reading that passage. I'd love a page reference to put the quote in context. I do respect her writing and credentials but I think the way it is presented seems to make women out to be some kind of helpless victims in the war against their bodies. I say, "uh uh ,(wagging my finger) no one gets off that easily."

If your body says let's eat, then dammit eat, but for godsake know what and when to stop! We have to take responsibility at some time.

Well that's just it...the magazine I read it in Muscle and Fitness Hers probably took it out of context. See I have developed this bloody emotional eating thing since my car accident and I hate it. Tell me more about this not having cheat days thing...because right now my weekends are disastrous. I still do my workouts but I share chips with my boyfriend and I "indulge" in chocolate. I am too scared to count the calories so the weekends usually end up being a 2.5 day cheat. *I know* that its supposed to be *one* cheat meal or treat.. but there seems to be a real block for me between knowing and doing.

Sigh. BTW Brat, what are your stats, if you don't mind?

[CF-OC_gal]

Where abouts in Ontario are you? TO?

It sounds like your trainer may have been on track all along.