This post would have been much more interesting if the title had a ‘the’ in the middle…
Today I went and saw the nutritionist/personal trainer. She co-owns the gym that I go to, and when I talked to her and her partner before Christmas about changing my workout program, they lectured me about diet *sigh*.
Ask anyone who knows about working on body improvements, and they will tell you that the majority of the work is in the diet. My nutritionist estimated 65% diet, 35% exercise… other estimates are more like 80/20.
So, to set the background: Typically, I am not really interested in food. I love great food, but I’m not interested enough in it to cook it. I also love junk food, and I don’t have it in the house because *I will eat it all* (ref: ‘sloth beats greed’). So to me, food is a necessary thing that I shove in my mouth when I am hungry.
Not being interested in food and rarely being hungry generally means that I just grab ‘whatever is around’ (nothing really ‘bad’, but also nothing *good*) a few times a day when my body tells me to. It is thoughtless eating.
A few months ago, I decided to eat more regularly because I felt stalled in seeing results from my workouts, and I knew I wasn’t eating well. I set up a food alarm and got some protein powder and tried to eat better in some vague sense.
My typical day now, with my super annoying food alarm going off every few hours, looks like this:
- Breakfast: Large coffee with milk & two fake sugars, 2 scrambled eggs
- Snack: Protein shake
- Lunch: Half a wrap with cheese, ham and salad
- Snack: Other half of the wrap
- Dinner: Half a dozen crackers with cheese and tomato
- Snack: Protein shake/cashews
- Drinks: Probably 3+ litres of water (champagne… um… sometimes… not daily!!)
Anyone who knows anything about nutrition (or even those who don’t) can pretty easily see that it’s really a very ordinary diet. Certainly not full of McDonalds or other fast food, but also not at all balanced or healthy. I think I must have a slow metabolism because for someone who works out as much as I do, that just doesn’t look like enough food to maintain my weight, much less build muscle (for the record, I have not been losing weight, and nor do I need to).
So, the nutritionist told me a lot of things that I really already knew but chose to ignore (AS WE ALL DO!!). There are no revelations here. But she gave me some very specific targets:
- Cut out all processed carbs and sugar (this is not too bad for me, I eat very little of either)
- 90 grams of protein a day (I have about 75 with the above diet)
- 3 cups of vegetables or 5 cups of salad a day (THAT’S a big change… I figure if I prep a huge salad that will last me a few days, I will have an easy ‘go to’ container)
- One day off a week (a cheat day) when I can have whatever I want (I am dubbing this ‘champagne day’!)
To celebrate my new eating regime (and make myself accountable for sticking to it), I am going to record the food I am eating and make it public. I started today:
I have added a link to the food log on my Check My Workouts sticky also.
So, it’s day 1. It’s 6pm. According to the log, I have had 64g of protein today, I am wondering what to eat to bump it up. Maybe another tin of tuna. Yum (?!).
I am suddenly stressed about food! I need a personal chef!
—
I wanted to send a shout out to two Twitter friends who were inspired by our chats about this to put up their photos as part of their commitment to their diet and exercise regimes. Go and give them some encouragement, I know that will really help a lot:
- Ohio Gent
- Revner
Also a big thank you to slapshot who did the research to find me a food logging tool that allowed me to share my logs publicly.
12 comments
Typically, I am not really interested in food. I love great food, but I’m not interested enough in it to cook it.
I’m right with you here. I only eat so as not to fall over, and have done well enough, as far as that goes. I have even learned to cook after a fashion, so as not to live completely on junk food.
However, I do happen to have a pretty high metabolism, so it seems that every few hours, my body is bitching at me to feed it again and because I’m on the road all day, I never know what I’ll be shoveling into the maw to quiet the din.
Just as your exercise program has inspired me to head off to the gym, (driving fast doesn’t count as exercise) hopefully some of your new dietary enthusiasm will rub off on me as well.
“I have even learned to cook after a fashion, so as not to live completely on junk food.”
*laugh* I have learned how to avoid cooking AND avoid junk food!
“…hopefully some of your new dietary enthusiasm will rub off on me as well.”
I know you have been working on this already – I have complete faith you will work it out.
Ferns
My Nan says that you can do it even if you don’t have much time.
My Nan says that women have got to know ways to feed the family on just pennies.
One way she used was to queue up for ham bones. Pack heaps of them into a huge pan. Fill the pan with cold water and it goes onto the fire to simmer over night.
When it is all cool then the layer of solid fat on the top is best lard. Save every last trace of that.
Rub the lard into some flour to make pastry. Roll the pastry and put it in a cool place.
One by one take out the bones to look for the ham still on them.
All you have left in the pan now is the water. But the water is not now water but jelly with the ham salt and smoke flavour.
With the jelly make soup.
With the ham and pastry make pie.
Fucking nutritionist?
My Nan says.
Satan
I shall tell my nutritionist what your Nan said, “Satan’s Nan said…”
I expect she will be very interested…
Ferns
My Nan says thank you. And she was pleasantly surprised that you were interested in her food comments. But that she is far more interested in your sex comments.
S.
Typically, I am not really interested in food.
Ugh. Lucky you. I’m addicted to food. I’m just at home eating a McDonald’s burger as I am eating a Filet Mignon.
When it comes to salad, I like getting a large greek salad from the local diner. It’s good because I’m equally lazy in preparing food most of the time and it lasts a few days worth of lunches.
Go and give them some encouragement, I know that will really help a lot:
:3
“Ugh. Lucky you. I’m addicted to food. I’m just at home eating a McDonald’s burger as I am eating a Filet Mignon.”
I really don’t think it’s luck. I haven’t always had the healthiest relationship with food, which is why I make some of the choices I make.
Refusing to have junk in my house is a reaction to my *knowing* that if I have it in the house, I will eat it all (I will, I have no willpower when it comes to yummy food). That’s a choice I make to manage my eating habits.
I try *consciously* not to think about junk food *because* I love it. And I am lucky (?) that I am pretty much always too damn lazy to go out and get it when I crave it.
“When it comes to salad, I like getting a large greek salad from the local diner.”
That’s a great idea. And have protein (I know you said you are doing a keto type diet, well if you eat enough protein, you will just be full) – going hungry and not having something easy and healthy at hand is the enemy of *any* eating plan.
I’m going to buy a big airtight plastic container today, make a huge salad, and stick it in the fridge so I can just add some protein to it and have a meal ready to go.
I know it’s really hard, because yummy things are yum, and the mouth feel is awesome and all that, but you can do it!
I’m so glad to see some folks went over to give you a shout! Yay!!
Ferns
I see that you Ferns actually want to put food into a big airtight plastic container and into the fridge? That is a great start! I am very very impressed! Ok then remember that a simple throw away food bag is a big airtight plastic container. You can use that. And then you have no need to wash it up. You can just throw.
Or – I’m not joking, this is important – you can grow or buy a nice fresh lettuce shaped like an erect penis. Stand it in a table spoon of water to keep it fresh in a bowl. Store it on the shelf in the door of the fridge. Peel off leaves as you need them. You should not need to wash the inner leaves. Each leaf is a foreskin. It keeps the next leaf clean underneath.
Simple is best.
We do care about you.
Satan
Chocolate is all you need to eat well
Coug
Really?!! Yay!!!
Hoooolllddd on… *squints suspiciously*
Ferns
That’s not a lot of calories/day, especially for a tall woman who exercises. Is this an impediment to building muscle? Are you supposed to be avoiding unrefined carbs (fruits, whole grains), or is that just your preference?
(I’m not trying to say your nutrition program is or isn’t good: obviously you’re working with a professional who knows your needs. This is just curiosity from a food nerd.)
I don’t have a calorie target from the nutritionist. The emphasis is on healthy eating (though not traditionally ‘balanced’ eating) and enough protein to support the muscle building.
I put a calorie range into the tracker (1200-1550) only because it required a value. I based it on my resting BMR (which is actually closer to 2100 if I include my activity levels even though I am convinced my metabolism is really sluggish). I am trying to make sure I AT LEAST hit that calorie count.
But you are absolutely right (and observant!! *smile*). I’m finding myself struggling to eat enough calories to even hit the ‘targets’ I have set. It’s because the food I am ‘allowed’ to eat is low in calories, protein is filling, and (unsurprisingly) I really don’t think to myself, “Om nom nom… imma have moar tuna!!”
“Are you supposed to be avoiding unrefined carbs (fruits, whole grains), or is that just your preference?”
Yes that came from her. While she emphasised avoiding processed carbs, she wanted avoidance of all carbs, including grains, and fruit (because of the (natural) sugars in it). All allowable carbs are from vegetables, and if I crave fruit, I have to have it immediately after a workout.
My objective with this is to support muscle building and lose the little layer of fat that is *hiding* my muscles (I want that 6-pack, dammit!). So I guess I will see in a couple of weeks how it’s working out.
Thank you for the questions!
Ferns