Suggestions to add more fat to my diet/tweak my eating
I'm looking for suggestions about how to add more fat to my diet earlier in the day. I work Mon-Fri 7:30-4, then go to the gym for ~1 1/2 hours. I get very, very hungry by dinner - more than I should, I think, even for having just worked out. As a result of trying to keep my calories down I suspect I don't eat enough fat early in the day. Usually I eat ~35-45 g fat on a week day, but ~20g or less before my workout. My weekend eating is a bit more flexible so I don't have this problem b/c I tend to get a bit more fat in earlier in the day, but then I go back to "work eating" on Mon. and by Wednesday am craving fat again.
My nutritional goals include eating 1600-1800 cal/day since I'm in "losing" mode (have tried to lose on less and it results in a bad binge/crash diet cycle), eating ~25-30g fiber, <3000 mg sodium/day, ~100g protein, 2+ servings dairy, and lots of fruit & veggies. I shoot for 6 days of cardio a week (running/walking, elliptical, stairmaster, occasionally biking), plus 1 hr/2 days/wk of lifting weights, abs, other strength moves. I'm 5'5", medium framed and fairly muscular, trying to get to 140#/size 6 to maintain (am currently at ~149 - eek).
This is typically what I eat:
B - high fiber cereal & skim milk (might sub light wheat English muffin, oatmeal in winter), coffee & 1 Tbsp. half & half
B/S - banana
L - lean deli meat on whole wheat bread, veggies
L/S - ff yogurt or string cheese, fruit
Work out
D - varies, includes veggies & lean protein, usually I get more of my fat in here
S/D (not every night, depends on hunger/how much eaten during the day) - fruit, sf ff pudding, granola bar, yogurt, varies
My fat before dinner usually comes from my half & half, string cheese (which I don't eat every day), salad dressings (which I don't have every day), and trace amounts in other foods. I've been actively trying to make myself eat more (~900-950 cal) before my workout, even when I'm hungry it feels "wrong".
Things I might try to add:
hard boiled eggs
in winter - eat oatmeal for breakfast and add a few walnuts
almonds? - I'm wary of nuts b/c of lack of self control, will have to portion these out into bags the minute they come home from the store
If you've gotten this far...thanks for reading! Sorry this is so long - I'm trying to give you the complete picture of what I eat, what my goals are, and my exercise. I'm looking for suggestions of snacks or meals that I can incorporate early in the day that include more healthy fats, or any other general suggestions you may have. Thanks so much in advance!
Hmmm, Megan, your typical diet looks so good to me.
But let's see you want fats. For your cereal: nuts, ground flaxseed, wheat germ, lf (instead of skim) milk. For your muffin: peanut (or other nut butters), cream or ricotta cheese (even of the light variety). For your sandwich: a touch of a mayo/mustard blend, a vinaigrette made with olive oil, avocado. Maybe a switch from ff to lf yogurt if your saturated fats aren't too high. Some snack bars have a more balanced macronutrient ratio (like Balance or 40/30/30) if you want something a little more pre-processed.
For nut control, also a big problem for me, I buy either fully shelled nuts that I have to dig into, or small quantities of pre-sliced/crushed nuts that I store deep in my freezer. It is hard to overdo with either of those methods.
Flax seeds should be ground just prior to eating for best absorption, and they are are great source of omega-3s, which is probably better than increasing milk fats.
FWIW: I like to eat a carb-heavy diet in the mornings and most of my proteins and fats in the afternoon/evening. I can barely stomach protein before 10 a.m. I seem to work better that way, and I can tell when I'm off (over-tired etc) when I start going for carbs (esp starches) later in the day. But different things work better for different people.
Anne
Last edited by AnneWonders; 09-13-2007 at 09:51 AM.
Megan: an easy way to add a modest amount of good fats would be to add avocado to your lunchtime sandwich. Or, spread a tbs of pesto on the bread, though you'd probably want to find a low-sodium deli meat (or slice your own cooked chicken/turkey breasts) to go with it. Or, eat low-fat instead of ff yogurt. I'm a big fan of lf cottage cheese, too.
I'm the same way with nuts. But, if I only bring a few from home, I can only eat a few at work. At home, I store them in the freezer, out of sight and (mostly) out of mind.
Anne already gave you all of my suggestions. Switch to lf instead of ff for your dairy products to add some easy fat. Or stop buying lean deli meat and buy regular deli meat. Put a piece of cheese on your sandwich. If you have toast in the morning (people are going to think I'm crazy for suggesting such a non-diet food) spread some tub margarine on it.
Your diet looks surprisingly similar to mine though. I don't like to eat eggs or meat or cheese in the morning, just cereal and milk or maybe a piece of toast with jelly.
* occasionally eat cream cheese - full fat, but whipped, keeping the calories lower (since you use less)
* eat PB probably 3x week. Often on graham cracker with a cup of tea as an evening snack
* avocado on sandwiches and in salads (my DH won't eat them, so when I eat one, I have to eat the whole thing myself - over several meals)
* occasionally full fat mayo on a sandwich (I cannot stand ff or lf mayo, and I'll go without rather than eat them)
I don't eat a lot of commercial salad dressings, and often use just vinegar, or sour cream and salsa. If I haven't had much fat I will sometimes use olive oil along with the vinegar, or make a small batch of vinegarette.
Thanks for the suggestions everyone. I will definitely look for some flax seed and/or wheat germ next time I'm at the store. I think they, and/or walnuts (I can control myself around walnuts), will be a good addition to my breakfast. Eggs don't keep me full until lunch, my body likes to start the day with lots of fiber. The avocado also sounds like a good idea. I will have to trial and error some of the other suggestions. I might be up to trying to bring almonds in the house, portioned out right away from the store in bags. I LOVE peanut butter but it is so hard for me to control.
I already plan what I'll be eating for a few days/for the week when I do my shopping and my food prep for the week on Sundays. I'll have to add a "and how much fat is that?" question to my "how many cals/fruit/veg/protein/etc" mental question list.
Suggestions to add more fat to my diet/tweak my eating
Switch to lf instead of ff for your dairy products to add some easy fat. Or stop buying lean deli meat and buy regular deli meat. Put a piece of cheese on your sandwich. If you have toast in the morning (people are going to think I'm crazy for suggesting such a non-diet food) spread some tub margarine on it.
