I've been kind of in and out of these boards for the last few months, but I'm hoping someone can help me out with this. I just started doing Crossfit last week with the objective to lose body fat/inches. I would like to lose some weight still, but if my pant size goes down and my body fat goes down I'll be happy. I just wanna be less flabby, haha.
I realize building muscle and losing weight are entirely different, so I guess I'm wondering how I should be eating to achieve my goals. I don't want to gain anything either. Any insight is greatly appreciated. Thanks!
Thanks for the reply. I'm at a gym! The trainer told me they try to focus on having protein at every meal (and pairing it with a carb or a fat) and eating cleanly. It's pretty simple, which I like, and I don't want to eat too little to hinder my workouts, but I don't want to eat too much either. I'm feeling hungry in general so I'm just trying to strike a balance.
Have you tried calorie counting just to see where you are at? There are a lot of online sites that can help. I do my own thing basically, eating a lot of natural, whole foods type things but I follow a vegan diet. I'm gaining muscle/strength but sadly I am eating too many calories to lose.
I think my biggest problem right now is incorporating more protein into my diet. My calories average between 1500 and 1700 (I use the dailyplate to count). I eat a lot of natural, whole foods as well and don't touch anything like artificial sweeteners or HFCS or trans fats and I buy organic whenever possible.
I think the quality of my food is good, but the macronutrient ratios are really off. I'm thinking of getting some whey protein isolate powder to throw in a smoothie at breakfast or something since that's where I lack protein the most. I have been less hungry this week so it could have been my body just adjusting to the new workout's too.
My day (as of now) goes like this:
Ezekiel english muffin with cream cheese OR Kashi cereal with almond milk and coffee. (between 200 and 300 cals). Sometimes I add a piece of fruit (so around 400)
Lunch is either a large salad with chicken or 2 slices of ezekiel bread with turkey and cheese (350-400 cals)
Snack is some greek yogurt with honey and a piece of fruit (150 - 250) calories.
Dinner is usually a protein with some sort of grain (quinoa, brown rice, maybe potato) and a spinach salad. (500-600 cals)
Dinner sometimes ends up being a little higher calorie and I usually have a couple of squares of dark, organic chocolate in the evening. Lately I've still been hungry at night so in place of that I've either been having more yogurt or something.
Hey Rockstar: I know that "Oh my gosh I'm wild with hunger feeling" when my training increases as well. If I choose to eat (and usually I do if the next meal is more than an hour and half away) that's when I look for that additional protein source as well. It may be the Greek Yogurt with fruit mixed in a piece of chicken or turkey breast, or protein powder in milk.
Certainly look to add more protein in the diet to begin with. Look at breakfast and see what could be added there. That's usually where my protein powder comes in. Way too early for meat or eggs for me. (the powder gets mixed into my oatmeal)
If you find that you need an additional snack make certain to look for that good protein source first and then add the carb.
You may want to check mydailyplate.com or fitday.com to further track your macronutrient levels. I know that for me it was key in keeping my ratios consistent.
I would definitely recommend dailyplate for tracking.
Also things I'd see are possibly making swap outs like almond butter or hummus for cream cheese. And similar for your afternoon snack, I'd look at maybe some nuts with fruit. Or maybe something like veggies (carrots, celery, bell peppers) with hummus.
The only other thing is maybe for dinner, incorporate some more veggies. Depending on what your spinach salad looks like but a side of cooked veggies might be good as well.
Thanks for all the input guys. I've started tracking my calories (more religiously) than I have been and I'm planning on looking for a good whey protein isolate powder today or tomorrow (anyone have any recommendations? I found a great one, but I don't know that it's available in Canada).
I agree with you Nelie. The cream cheese probably isn't the best choice, I just kinda veered off almond butter and never went back. I might have to get liking it again. And you can't really ever go wrong with more veggies!
I guess I better get to a store! I was really afraid of undereating and overeating, but I think I just need to be more careful with what I'm eating and be as clean as possible all the time.
Thanks again for all your input! I'm really loving Crossfit and I want my nutrition to make sure I'm getting the most out of it.
@Lydia - I have the exact same problem with breakfast. I hate eating a huge breakfast and grew up in a house where you had a piece of toast and tea every morning. That's mostly what I'd be using the protein powder for (or as a post workout/recovery snack).
Update: I've added a protein shake (100% whey protein isolate, BCAAs, no aspartame or sucralose; sweetened with stevia) and swapped it out for my usual breakfast. I'm averaging about 100gs of protein a day now. I'll let you guys know how it goes!
Thanks again for the help!
Last edited by rockstar87; 11-24-2010 at 08:10 AM.
New to Crossfit
