Hi,

December 29th my weight topped out at 242. I've lost a little and I am down to 236. Recently I had a session at my gym with a trainer who set me up doing some free motion weight training which I do 3 days a week and 60 mins on the treadmill at 3.2 mph on non weight days. I've kept to an around 1200 calorie diet but what I eat is terrible. I can tell that I have gained muscle and the tape measure has moved a little but my clothes don't seem to be any looser and the scale hasn't budged. I have a feeling that the problem comes from my diet and I don't know what I should be eating. What is a good protein/carb/fat ratio for my routine?

Here is my public FitDay profile:
http://www.fitday.com/WebFit/PublicJ...wner=LucyFan81

Thanks in advance for any advice!

Susan

Susan - Personally, I follow the Body for Life plan, and have had great success with it. Although many of us here follow different programs in terms of our workouts, I think it's safe to say that most of us do something around a 40/40/20 ratio when it comes to protein/carbs/fat. And, we try to stick with complex carbs - meaning whole grain products, brown rice, beans, vegetables, avoiding processed foods like regular pasta, bread, and white rice.

Many of us have been using the new Eating for Life cookbook, by Bill Phillips, for new recipes to add some variety. You may want to check it out.

And please do join us over on the main weekly thread, so everyone can give you a proper welcome! Congrats on your progress so far!
Cindy

Hi Susan!

I don't do Body for Life, but try to maintain the 40-40-20 ratio too, 1200-1400 calories a day. No white food, no processed food. I hate to cook so I have no problem eating tuna out of a can. My carbs are low-gly vegetables, and berries. Protein is usually low-fat poultry and fish, and beef up to 3 times a week max, but more like twice a week. I eat one small red potato with my beef. I supplement my protein with whey and fat-free cottage cheese shakes. Most importantly, eat 5-6 small meals each day. Don't allow yourself to get too hungry or too tired. And drink the water!

Every body is different, so you need to experiement around for what suits you best. It takes a little time and patience, but the outcome is as individual as the stars. For example, a banana will send me into a painful carb craving frenzy, but it doesn't bother other people to eat them.

Congrats on your progress so far, and don't give up! You might want to try increasing your cardio sessions each week, but with a little less time, beside tightening up your food. If you do cardio on your weight training days, be sure to do it after your weights. If you can possibly do cardio in the AM, and weights in the PM, or vice versa, that would be even better. There again, everyone is different, and you have to experiment.

Good luck!

dip

I agree with Cindy and Dip ... I also try to keep the 40-40-20 ratio, but I usual have more like 30,30,30 when I average it out on Fitday...

Thanks for putting your Fitday journal on too. At first glance I can suggest firstly eating more protein and less, much less, processed carbs. Such as apple sauce eat the apple... Nature Valley Oats 'N Honey eat natural oatmeal with a bit of Splenda for sweetness... LC Chicken Alfredo Skillet Sensation have a chicken breast with brown rice or a potato and a large salad or fresh steamed vegies instead, those LC's are full of sodium and IMO are not filling at all... Once you get the taste for real food or "clean" food as we call it, you'll never go back to those processed meals...

Another suggestion is to plan plan plan, and then when you're done planning plan some more... You may think that having a LC is quick, but if you cook up 8 chicken breasts then freeze them in 4-5 oz portions for the rest of the week it takes little time preping the frozen chicken with stir fried veggies and some rice,( prepare your rice in advance too, you don't need to freeze the rice tho it keeps a good week in the fridge...) You can do all this quickly when you get home in the evening...

Just my .02 cents... Hope this helps...

Later...

As Dip said don't give up...

Join us on the main thread, we love newbies...

Cindy, Dip, and Lanaii - Thanks so much for your replies. I know I am not eating the right things and I know I am eating too many processed foods. I've been to the Whole Foods Market in my area to buy some healthy unprocessed food but the thing is everything is so overwhelming that I don't know what to buy. I like the Whole Foods Market because there aren't any pesticides used and none or very little preservatives.

My main problem is convenience. I am a full time pre-med college student trying to maintain a 4.0 so I can get into Johns Hopkins. I also take violin lessons and now I hit the gym at least 5 times a week. Cooking the food ahead of time sounds like a really good idea though (maybe I can even get my fiance to do it for me ).

Thanks for your help ladies and I will definately see you around the main thread!

Susan