Post baby belly....am I doomed?

[SNPiccolo5]

For most people, 1200-1300 calories is too low, especially if they're excercising 5 days/week! I would say eat _at least_ 1500, and more on the days you excercise. Make sure to eat more before and after in order to fuel the excercise. Doing this too much, however, will prevent fat loss, so find a balance.

I would up it to 1500 at first and see how you feel. If you feel better and don't see negative results, you could even try eating more, and then assess how that goes. What does your exercise regimen look like now? How many of those workouts are cardio, how many are resistance training. What excercises do you do?

Btw- like other have said, I don't think you're as far from your goal as you think!

-Tim

[.V.]

OK, lets start here.

1500 calories/day
150g protein
100g carbohydrate
50g fat

Try to spread this out over 6 meals/day if you have the time. 4 meals/day minimum. Preferably eat no further than 4 waking hours apart...absolutely no farther apart than 6 hours. One day a week, plan a cheat meal. This helps make you feel better about dieting, helps replace any nutrients that may be accidentally missing from your plan, and gives the ole panceras and thyroid a workout.
We don't want the pancreas firing off too much insulin all the time, this makes us fat and insulin resistant. But it does occasionally need a challenge so it doesn't get lazy. The thyroid will get sluggish, working against your weight loss and slowing down your metabolism if you don't give it a bit of extra work with some extra calories occasionally. Your cheat meal will be anything you want in a reasonable amount. Which means have your pizza and ice cream but only eat until satisfied, not stuffed. When you are no longer hungry on the cheat meal quit eating, a little extra won't harm you but...don't go back for thirds.

did you start your fitday account yet? Go there and plug foods you like into it and make some meal plans that you can live with, not feel deprived, and succeed.

If you find you are getting hungry, add a little more fat to your diet.

Try to keep the carbohydrates centered around your workout. The rest of the days, eat your protein/fat meals and lots of green, high fiber veggies. The easiest is salad veggies, but broccoli, asparagus, cauliflower, spinach, etc... are good choices too.

If you workout very late and don't want to be eating carbs that late then do a carb cutoff, consume your carbs during the morning and have a set time say after lunch after which you eat nothing but meats and green veggies, including eggs and other protein/fat foods.

Go to the gym your 5 days a week. Lift 3x a week and do cardio 4x a week.
You only have 91lbs of lbm using your 30% BF estimate. Making more muscle mass will help you burn more fat by increasing your body's caloric need and metabolic rate.

This is only a starting place and if you aren't getting the results you want then we can re-calculate. If you are losing more than 2lbs a week, or not losing at all we'll have to re-calculate.

This seems like a high amount of fat, but it really isn't. Just try to make healthier fat choices by using olive oil to cook with, eating oily fish like salmon...healthy foods. This doesn't mean don't eat red meat if you want it. I eat it every day. Sometimes 4 or 5 times a day.

Good luck with this, you can do it. Remember, these are just our initial calculations and will have to be re-done from time to time. Right away if you are hungry at any time. With the perfect plan for your body, you get all the nutrients you need with a slight caloric deficit and are NEVER hungry.

[tgw0501]

Where is the fitday account again?

Well, my exercise plan is as follows (it may need tweeking)

Monday- 45 min cardio early AM (like 7:30-8:15 am) come home, eat breakfast get the kids ready and then off to the gym for strength training (40 min). I think I will try and get 3 strength training sessions in per week. Monday will be upper body- tri/chest/shoulders (my shoulders are weak)

Tuesday- Leg workout

Wednesday- 45 min cardio AM

Thursday- Arm workout (bi/back/shoulders)

Friday- 45 min cardio AM

Saturday- spin class (I really like this class!)

I can do weights Monday, Tuesday, Thursday can't I? As long as I am not doing back to back (like legs Monday AND Tuesday).

My cardio routine usually consists of interval type training and I absolutely have to vary it. I'll do 20 min running and 10 min stairstepper- the real kind and 15 min eliptical- something like that. I get bored very fast with the same things other than group fitness type classes.

[cursor]

Food choices can make all the difference in the world when trying to lose fat. Eating calorie dense foods will typically leave you feeling empty.

Creating a plan: workout & nutrition
cursor's calorie calculator
Fiber Ratio
Fiber info index
Need inspiration? AARS progress :

[Lady C]

Your workout routine looks fine. You can do it like you have laid out. Just make sure you are pushing yourself hard in each session.

[.V.]

www.fitday.com

It's free to use online. You can keep your account private or make it public and add a link to it in your log or signature if you wish.

What cursor said about nutrient dense foods leaving you empty can be right on info...if you find that you are not feeling full - extra fat can help, BUT if you need volume to feel satisfied you can't get it all from protein/fat foods because then you go over your caloric needs and gain weight..SOOO...add more green veggies. I consider green stuff as "free foods". I count them in my nutrition plan, but the fiber in them isn't really digestable so it really doesn't count. The more of your carbohydrates that you consume as fiber, the less your net calories that work against you at the end of the day add up to.

[CF-OC_gal]

To the original poster:

^^^ What he said for sure. Some people feel full with calorie dense food and others feel full longer with low calorie more fibre. In the end count calories and of course make quality food choices. If you need calorie dense then things like nuts, seeds and avocados and cheese are going to be better choices than fast food, fatty meats and sugary sweets.

You are in a great situation. Eat what you would want your kids to eat, wholesome foods and lots of fresh fruits and vegetables. Limit packaged foods and sugary or fatty snacks.

[tgw0501]

HOLY COW! I just looked up McDonalds bacon ranch salad and it has 1000 mgs of sodium!!! YIKES. I am very disappointed. I suppose it is some sort of preservative they use to keep the salad fresh? Man....that stinks. My kiddos love McD's but I have trained them to eat the chick nuggets (since they are white meat now...but still battered) and eat the apple slices vs. the fries. They also drink milk instead of sprite. How can you NOT go to McD's when you have kids under the age of 4 years old?

Anyway....I might have to check into the grilled chicken sandwiches they have or find some other substitute when I am there.

I just got back from the grocery store and bought a lot of fresh veggies. I know my kids like the frozen squash medley mix marinated in fat free italian dressing. I plan to start making more of those sorts of things but make me a little side dish without some of the marinades. It's easy to eat light and fresh during the summer because it's so blasted hot here right now!

I LOVE the fitday site. Thank you SO much. It is going to be very helpful. I also found the site www.calorieking.com and it supplies me with a lot of different nutritional value information on fast foods. I hate fast foods but we go to fast food a lot. I hope to break that habit and start planning my days better so I can not do so much fast food.

Alrighty! Let the games begin. I do need to ask.....I need two cheat snacks per week. I really do. I just LOVE my ice cream. I can do fat free frozen yogurt. Can I have it twice a week? It would give me something to look forward to and maybe over time, I will realize I don't really need it. Maybe I can switch to skinny cow ice cream sandwiches or something?

[.V.]

Originally Posted by tgw0501

I need two cheat snacks per week. I really do. I just LOVE my ice cream. I can do fat free frozen yogurt. Can I have it twice a week?

Then have your cheats.

Personally I do a timed carb diet with a postworkout carb cutoff. That means that my breakfast is a preworkout carb/protein/lower fat meal. My postworkout shake is pretty high carb too (whey, 2% milk, banana), my 1.5 hour postworkout meal is either another shake or two pieces of fish with a sweet potato...after that I start increasing my fats and cut out all carbs except for green veggies (which as I said before are pretty much like free foods - eat all you need).

With this plan, fat loss is decent and easy enough, but there is risk of letting the thyroid get sluggish from lower carbs (I ate only 20-30g carbs/day for 1.5 years). So cheat meals are a must.

If you like icecream twice a week, then have it, just don't go overboard. Have the kind you like and stop at a reasonable amount. Personally, my weakness is the burrito, tamale, enchalada, bean, rice plate at the mexican place. Especially since they started letting me have "THEIR" hot sauce instead of the wimpy stuff they sell to the public. It's this or pizza at least one, often two nights a week.

The cheat meal is a vital part because:
1. Good for your mental state...keeps you from hating dieting.
2. Re-feeds, re-loads, re-plenishes (whatever word you prefer) missing nutrients.
3. Lets the pancreas have a workout if you are controlling carbs.
4. Lets the thyroid have a workout if you are controlling calories.
***these glands are both very important to optimum health and occasionally need a challenge. It's our crappy every day diet here in the west that overworks them and does the damage. Eat well all week, have your cheats, and they'll do just fine.
5. The cheat meal just tastes so darn good.

[Gooseneck]

I think a little "blub" can be sexy as long as the rest of your body is relatively trim.

[arbit]

Originally Posted by tgw0501

HOLY COW! I just looked up McDonalds bacon ranch salad and it has 1000 mgs of sodium!!! YIKES. I am very disappointed. I suppose it is some sort of preservative they use to keep the salad fresh? Man....that stinks. My kiddos love McD's but I have trained them to eat the chick nuggets (since they are white meat now...but still battered) and eat the apple slices vs. the fries. They also drink milk instead of sprite. How can you NOT go to McD's when you have kids under the age of 4 years old?

Let me see .....I would not drive to McD ?? Would that work ??:confused:

For the sake of your children, do not take them to McDs, or at least try to minimise the visits.
McDs targets kids, when their reasoning powers aren't that well developed so that the kids will still have affinity for McDs when they become adults. And no, this is not some conspiracy theory - this is according to McDs' memos. Read the book "Fast Food Nation".
Kids dont come out of the womb screaming "McDs!!"
Many (all ?) european countries ban advertising towards kids, not in the fantastic USA.

I dont care if you weigh 300 lbs, but PLEASE dont get the kids addicted to McDs and other junk food places.

[tgw0501]

Funny- arbit but after doing some research on my own, McD's is actually becoming more "healthier" than in years before. My kids actually ASK for apple dippers vs. french fries. They also ASK for milk rather than sugary sodas. Not as bad as I thought! They don't see McDonalds as a junk food place....they see the local ice cream store as the "junk food/desserts" AND....the new white meat 4 pack mcnuggets is only 170 calories (vs a cheeseburger that is 330). It will be inevitable that their "friends" later in life will want to do fast food- I can't stop that. But what I can do is teach them to choose healthier picks from these fast food joints.

Now my complaint is with the adult meals. I was baffled at the 1000 mgs of sodium in a large salad. But, I am grateful, at least, I have better options there.

Although it's tough to eat healthy in a fast food society....I am proud that I am working very hard to give my kids the best of both worlds. I want them to experience Mcdonalds but I will also work hard to train them to eat the healtier choices from such places.

ETA: we do minimize visits there as well. Probably once every two weeks (twice a month- maybe 3x). It's more of a treat for them to go there. If I have to do fast food, I usually try subway. I just need them to put in a playground.

[tgw0501]

PS- proud to say I am down 2 lbs! AND I really feel like my "baby belly" is trimming. I have been doing cycling classes. I really, really like those classes. I used to love to run (and still do) but my knees are so achy afterwards. I found cycling to give me a high cardio intensity workout (like running) but not so hard on my knees.

[.V.]

: Stick with it girl, you are on the right track.