New to the site...Need some help :)

[pineapple]

Hi,

Background
I was referred to this site by my friend who used to come here. I'm not really sure where to start. Here is alittle background. I'm 25 years old 5'2 weigh 133 lbs. For the past 5 weeks (after not having exercised for over about 2 years) I have been doing kickboxing 5 days a week and eating normal. I just wanted to get used to exercising again before I started to change my eating habits. I also have taken alot of caffiene pills (to stay awake for exams) which I think had a big impact on my metabolism so I wanted to help repair alittle .....

Workout Plan
Starting this week I want to start loosing weight and tightening up. My exercise plan is to stick with the kickboxing for another 3 weeks 6 days a week (we do use resistance bands, arm weights, weight balls) and add in 35 minutes of cardio 6 days a week with 1 day off of rest. After those 3 weeks are up I was going to switch to Pilates 6 days a week with the cardio.

Eating Plan

I tried to keep it so that I liked the food as well as that it was healthy. This is the plan I came up with:

7am-4 eggwhites, mushroom, onions, scallions 83 cals, 3% fat, 17% carbs,80% protein

10 am-kashi crunch bar- 190 cals 15% fat, 64% carbs, 21%protein

1pm- 1 serving low fat yogurt 1 cup kashi crunch cereal- 370 cals, 14% fat, 68% carbs, 18% protein

3 pm- 1 cup strawberries, 1 serving almonds-209 calories, 67% fat,19% carbs, 14% protein

6pm- 1 cup of boiled shrimp ( or any other fish), 1 cucumbers ( or other green veggie) with vinegar and herbs-248 cals 29% fat, 9% carbs, 62% protein

7pm- 45 minutes kickboxing, 35 minutes caridio

Total: 1152
Fat:34 305 27%
Carbs:142 465 41%
Protein:89 355 32%

Goals

Current stats: Goal:#1 Goal #2
Weight 133 123 116
Height 5'2
Waist 28 27 26
Hips 39 37 36
Thigh 24 23 22
Arms 10.5 10 9.5

I like the lean look Jessica Biel's body has but her upper body is alittle more muscular than I am looking for. Here are my questions:

What time frame am I looking at to achieve this?
Is my diet okay?
Is my workout good to achieve this?

I really appreciate the help!

Thanks!

[LiftGirl]

With your current level of activity, you may not be consuming enough calories.

I think you should add in some resistance training, more than you are getting in kickboxing class. Building some lean muscle will speed up your metabolism all the time, helping to burn fat. And you won't get big or bulky I promise. Building lean muscle also makes you appear to weigh less than you actually do. Most people think I am 5-15 lbs lighter than what I actually am.

I think you could use more green veggies. You should be having around five servings of green veggies. I also think you could put more fat in that first 7am meal. I'd use the whole egg instead of just the whites. I get the Omega-3 eggs, like Egglands Best or something along those lines. There is only 1g of saturated fat per egg. Besides the yolks taste better Overall, though, I'd say you are doing better than most in the nutrition department.

[pineapple]

I know I know...I wish I could eat a salad for lunch but I dont like it too much, hehe.....Thanks for the input. I will add 1 egg yoke.

*What do you think about this workout routine:

Pilates 2 days, kickboxing 2 days, weight training 2 days? I just wouldn't know what to do on the weight training days? Of course I would still keep the cardio 6 days a week.

If I do stick to all of this religiusly how long do you think it would take me to drop 10 lbs.....also what about cheat days? Are they a nono until you reach your goal weight?

[Lady C]

Welcome to DF Pineapple - You, like many, are quite aggressive in the beginning. I suggest you stick with one workout per day until you become addicted (it does happen). I like the 2 days kickboxing, 2 days pilates, 2 days strength training plan. Varied and combinations of muscle building, endurance and flexibility.

Originally Posted by pineapple

Eating Plan
7am-4 eggwhites, mushroom, onions, scallions 83 cals, 3% fat, 17% carbs,80% proteinOK

10 am-kashi crunch bar- 190 cals 15% fat, 64% carbs, 21%proteinFair, needs more protein

1pm- 1 serving low fat yogurt 1 cup kashi crunch cereal- 370 cals, 14% fat, 68% carbs, 18% proteinDump whole meal. Too many starchy carbs, not enough protein or veggies. Switch to a chicken breast and veggies or similar.

3 pm- 1 cup strawberries, 1 serving almonds-209 calories, 67% fat,19% carbs, 14% proteinOK

6pm- 1 cup of boiled shrimp ( or any other fish), 1 cucumbers ( or other green veggie) with vinegar and herbs-248 cals 29% fat, 9% carbs, 62% proteinGreat meal

7pm- 45 minutes kickboxing, 35 minutes caridio Do one, not both

Total: 1152
Fat:34 305 27%
Carbs:142 465 41%
Protein:89 355 32%

See my comments in RED. You need more calories, even if you are trying to lose bodyfat. I suggest 1400 calories per day. I would make sure you are getting enough lean proteins and reduce your amount of processed (canned, packaged, boxed, etc) foods and focus more on self prepared meals. Each meal should include protien, carbs and fats. Hence, a yogurt or piece of fruit is not a meal.

Your goal of 10 lbs weight loss is the wrong goal. Look for drop in inches or bodyfat. Scale weight will actually increase as you gain muscle. Wrong indicators will be misleading. Use the mirror, pictures, tape measure, significant other, etc. as a better indicator of goal.

As far as strength training goes, focus on these exercises. Squats, lunges, straight-legged deadlifts, regular deadlifts, bench press, shoulder press, bent-over rows, pull-ups, push-ups, reverse flyes, lateral raises and abs. See exrx.net for how to perform these moves.

Start with whole body workouts with 10 reps, 2 workouts per week. When you can perform 15 reps using the same weight then increase the weight.

Keep asking questions

[Dana_k]

Hi Pineapple
I think you may be overdoing it, and you should start things and do them very gradually or else it won't maintain the wait you want it- I know from experience. For someone who hasn't worked out in so long 6 times a week of cardio is way too much. How about starting with 2-3 times a week and gradually increasing it. Also in regards to your eating habbits, try and make one change a week, and see how that works. On the long run I believe this is the best way.
Tell me what you think

[pineapple]

Thanks for your replies

Lady C-I think you are right about my lunch meal....I am just so picky....I do love chicken I just don't know what else I can have for lunch that incorporates that...that I like besides a sandwhich....What do you think about chicken/white bean chilli for lunch? Would that still be too carby?...or I do like chicken and escarole. It's a tomato based soup with chicken and escarole....I guess I could have that..just without putting the pasta in the soup. I am alittle scared to do the 1400 calories...because I dont think I will loose anything...inches or weights but at the same time I am not full when I eat 1100 cals. What about cheat meals? Should I have that while I'm trying to loose inches? Or wait until I'm at a point where I want to maintain.

When I start to do squats etc...What amount of weight should I go for to start? Would this be holding dumbells? That site is great by the way! Thanks!

Danak-I know you are right about the gradual changes....I'm just scared that if I don't see results right away I won't stick to it....but I can also see it tiring me out...its a catch 22 for me.

[LiftGirl]

Originally Posted by pineapple

Lady C-I am alittle scared to do the 1400 calories...because I dont think I will loose anything...inches or weights but at the same time I am not full when I eat 1100 cals. What about cheat meals? Should I have that while I'm trying to loose inches? Or wait until I'm at a point where I want to maintain.

When I start to do squats etc...What amount of weight should I go for to start? Would this be holding dumbells? That site is great by the way! Thanks!

Danak-I know you are right about the gradual changes....I'm just scared that if I don't see results right away I won't stick to it....but I can also see it tiring me out...its a catch 22 for me.

Actually, as counterintuitive as it sounds, if you consume too few calories, you won't lose fat. That's because the body might think it's starving and will hang onto all the fat it can. You have to eat enough to assure the body that there is no famine so it will let go of it's fat stores.

You will get different opinions on cheating. For some cheating in moderation is good (like for me). For others (like Pierini) total elimination works better. You have to figure out which works best for you, but I think for most people some cheating is more practical. Of course you have to limit it.

For the squats, there are several ways you can do them. You can hold dumbbells at your sides, you can put a bar across your back, or many more variations. Check out exrx.net. There you can see videos of the many variations you can use. Try them and see which is most comfortable for you.

As far as how much weight to use, you want to use a weight heavy enough that it is difficult to do the last rep or two. When it becomes easy to do 10 reps, then increase the weight, just a little bit.

[sweetdream]

Cheat days:

let's just put it this way: you have mentioned it a number of times so it seems to me like you would look forward to those days, so go for it, set a side one day every 2 weeks to start off or if you can't manage that at least once a week to indulge in something to treat yourself for being so good

just know not to go overboard and eat [insert weakness/ bad sugary food here] all day or something like that

I had a hard time giviing up a lot of bad foods that I ate and not eating them for some time. After a while it gets easier and then once I got to eat some ice cream it was sooooo delicious!!!!

Consistancy is key and if you don't have that or motivation you will only get so far before you fall behind again.. This website really help me get my ass in gear

make a workout journal for yourself in the other section on here-- you will get great feedback and it helps keep you motivated!

Good Luck!

[pineapple]

Okay what do you think of this re-vamped version of my diet?

Meal #1 quaker oatmeal, 4 eggwhites, 1 cup muhrooms
252 cals 8% fat, 54% carbs, 39% protein

Meal #2 Kashi Krunch Bar
180 cals, 25% fat, 54 carbs, 20% protein

Meal #3 1 cup chicken, 1/2 cup garbanzo beans, 1 cup escarole
364 cals, 17% fat, 26% carbs, 57% protein

Meal #4 lowfat yogurt, 1 cup berries 1 serving almonds
359 cals 44%fat, 41% carbs, 15%protein

Meal #6 1 cup of boiled shrimp ( or any other fish), 1 cucumbers ( or other green veggie) with vinegar and herbs-248 cals 29% fat, 9% carbs, 62% protein

Workout 1 hr

Total

Total: 1438 Fat:38 341 25% Sat:8 70 Poly:9 79 6% Mono:14 129 9%Carbs:156 532 38% Fiber:23 0 0%Protein:129 518 37%Alcohol:0 0 0%

Would this be better?

[CF-OC_gal]

Hi pineapple,

I've been following along here and think that you are being given some good direction, but there are some things about your food choices that are just going to leave you feeling unsatisfied I am afraid.

First, I saw your other post about oatmeal. I don't buy into the "oatmeal = perfect health food" mantra. It's a good high fibre grain but it is not a meal. It's great if you need to add carb calories to your diet and have no where else to turn but more starch and grain. According to your goals, that is not your problem. Oh and Kashi anything is a total rip! It is low quality protein, high calorie (for what you get from it), high in poor quality fat and it is highly processed. Think about it. Eat a piece of chicken and an apple equivalent to 180 calories. Now that would be good! If it is not satisfying then add all the green lettuce and celery (with olive oil dressing) that your stomach has room for. I guarantee you won't be hungry.

Meal #1 quaker oatmeal, 4 eggwhites, 1 cup muhrooms

make it one full egg and 3+ whites, mushroom and a 1" cube of american cheddar. Add only 1/4 cup of oats if you have to, but some fresh fruit like oranges or berries would be better.

Meal #2 Kashi Krunch Bar

What I said above

Meal #3 1 cup chicken, 1/2 cup garbanzo beans, 1 cup escarole

OK but skip so many g-beans and add more vegetables and fruit.

Meal #4 lowfat yogurt, 1 cup berries 1 serving almonds

Make it full fat yogurt and adjust the almonds accordingly. Better yet make it full fat plain yogurt - no added sugar or starch in other words. With that many berrys you don't need flavoured yogurt.

Meal #6 1 cup of boiled shrimp ( or any other fish), 1 cucumbers ( or other green veggie) with vinegar and herbs

Please eat some fat! And eat more vegetables than just a freaking cucumber! How about 1.5 cups of broccoli or spinach or something else filling!

Other than that you are on the right track, good luck!

[minime]

Hi pineapple, welcome to DF! you have recieved some good advice from the others. i too eat kashi bars on occasion, but i agree with brat for the calories they are not satisfying. In a pinch, i find them to be superior to other bars simply because they don't have artificial sweeteners or Hyrodgenated oils BUT if you are able to prepare a meal, a peice of meat a cup of broccoli and some berries would be much more satisfying!

I find lately that when i eat oatmeal it makes me feel lethargic afterwards. I put peanut butter in mine so if i am way low on calories i will eat it to get a quick 250 in there. If you are trying to make your calories 'stretch' then getting 150 cals from fruit and veg will make you fuller I think.

oh and also i too am a picky eater, in terms of veggies i find broccoli to be the easiest to eat. Also I eat a lot of green salads these days.

good luck!

[Gooseneck]

Welcome.