questions about balanced nutrition
Nathalie
I was wondering... I haven't lost much in 2 weeks : last week I stayed the
same, and this week I lost 0.8 lbs. I have eaton on points every day, and
drunk my 2 liters of water each day. Since I still have such a long way to
go I decided to have a closer look at what I'm eating, instead of just
counting points. So I vowed to enter everything in Fitday for a long period
of time, to be sure I eat well- balanced meals.
And now I 'm looking at Fitday, and I'm really puzzled! I know there are
low-fat and low-carb diets etc. but I have no idea how low is low fat or low
carb. So my question to you : which are good numbers ? Today for instance
the balance is 32 % fat, 40 % (mostly complex) carbs, 28 % proteins. Is that
good ? Do I need to change anything to become more healthy ? What about
fiber ? I'm more familiar with the other numbers : vitamins and minerals
etc. There I know what to look for. But about the fat/carb/protein balance,
I really don't have a clue.
Other question about Fitday : where do I enter sugar ? Isn't it measured ? I
don't see a field for it when I enter 'custom foods'.
And last question : I weigh 272 lbs, and I am on 26 Belgian points a day.
(appr. 1700 cals a day) Is that OK ? I mean, 26 points are enough to make me
never go hungry, but maybe I'm not eating enough ?
Thanks in advance for your advice !
--
Nathalie from Belgium
134.1/123.4/10 % 120.5/68 Kg
295.6/272/10% 266/150 pounds
andy gee
"the zone" is 40% carb, 30% fat, and 30% protein. i believe the usda
recognizes anything below 30% fat as a "low fat diet." the japanese,
longest lived, lowest fat eating, and in pretty good shape, have a 10 to 20%
fat diet, although that's on the increase lately. i myself get about 600
calories per day in protein, 300 to 400 in fat, and the balance (usually
1500 calories left after that) in mostly whole grain complex carbs, with
some left over for candy. you need about 20 grams (180 calories) of
essential fatty acids as part of your diet each day. the usda is looking
for about 35 grams of fiber per day. hope that helps!
---andy the schismatic
248/172/187
"Nathalie" <nathaliedotwittemansatskynetdotbe> wrote in message
news:3d1a2948$0$8156$ba62...@news.skynet.be...
roxan
fat no higher and anything below 20% is too low. Stay around 30 or 40 % for
carbs but I like to keep to the lower end and 30 to 40% protein. I use the
higher end for protein. Hopefully Alan will add something to this thread.
Most people on diets don't eat enough protein and since protein keeps you
from getting hungry longer then carbs it is wise to eat about .09 to 1 gram
for every pound of body weight especially if you are doing any weight
lifting.
As far as Belgian points I don't know anything about them, but as far as
calories go you should be eating about 10 to 12 times your current weight in
calories, this will give you about a 1 pound loss each week. 1700 calories
for a 272 person is too low I would up the calories and see what happens
especially since you will have to reduce the calories level as you lose
weight and if you start so low it is going to be harder to reduce it much
further to keep losing weight and not feel hungry. Plus going too low in
calories slow your metabolism something you don't want to do. If you eat
food high in fiber, whole grains etc. you should be ok with fiber.
Roxan
"Nathalie" <nathaliedotwittemansatskynetdotbe> wrote in message
news:3d1a2948$0$8156$ba62...@news.skynet.be...
Joy
--
Joy
285/257.5/150
10% Goal 256.5 (Reached 6/11/02) / J4C Goal 254
"Nathalie" <nathaliedotwittemansatskynetdotbe> wrote in message
news:3d1a2948$0$8156$ba62...@news.skynet.be...
RoadRunner
A half-pound to two pounds of fat loss per week is the most you should
aim for. And maybe you can get away with 3 pounds per week if you are very
overweight due to a higher calorie deficit. Anything more is water,glycogen
loss , and muscle.
Without knowing your activity levels, I can't say how much you should eat
However, 1700 calories may be a bit low. 10 to 12 x is also a bit too high.
Overfat individuals can get away with higher deficits.
So try bodyweight x 8 = around 2100 calories. And once every 2-3 weeks eat
around 14x-15x body weight for 2, maybe 3 days, preferably lots of carbs.
As to macronutrient breakup, as long as you are getting adequate protein,
the rest(carbs/fat) should fullfill vitamin/mineral/antioxidant/EFA
requirements. Honestly it really doesnt matter how many carbs this or how
many fats that till you reach really lean levels. Just stay away from
simple sugars, saturated and trans fats and you should be fine.
Finally, As to how much protein: 0.9 - 1 gram per pound may be a bit too
high for her. I'd shoot for around 130ish-140ish grams of protein. 20 or 30
grams more if you are lifting + exercising which I hope you are =).
See Roxan the weightlifting guru for more info. I'm sure she could help you
out in that department or you could bug me if you are 0into some
psychotic/hardcore stuff =)
Alan
--
http://homepages.nyu.edu/~aqs200/Index.htm
"roxan" <roxan...@comcast.net> wrote in message
news:BysS8.455107$Oa1.31...@bin8.nnrp.aus1.giganews.com...
Nathalie
sure the carbs I eat are complex carbs.
Do you know in which foods I 'll find those essential fatty acids ? (taking
into account that I'm a lacto-ovo-vegetarian) Or is it better to take
supplements ? What do they do for you ?
--
Nathalie from Belgium
134.1/123.4/10 % 120.5/68 Kg
295.6/272/10% 266/150 pounds
news:ihsS8.44586$QD2.11...@twister.nyc.rr.com...
Nathalie
now because I need to enter a lot of custom foods ! Apparently Belgian food
is really different from USA food... I had carrot soup yesterday,
home-made, with just carrots, vegetable stock and spices, and I couldn't
find it on Fitday, because all their soups have cream or milk in it !
Amazing, since I never ever put any cream or mil in my soups.
Anyway : I was wondering if I wasn't eating too little and you seemt to
agree with me. I'm going to try and up my points, by adding a few almonds or
nuts here, and some protein there. Maybe I should have mentioned that I'm a
vegetarian. So I don't get any protein from meat or fish. I get my protein
from tofu, Quorn and the like, and indeed they stop me from being hungry.
Thanks so much for your reply, Roxan !
--
Nathalie from Belgium
134.1/123.4/10 % 120.5/68 Kg
295.6/272/10% 266/150 pounds
news:BysS8.455107$Oa1.31...@bin8.nnrp.aus1.giganews.com...
Nathalie
Funny, I can eat more, but you know, a litlle voice deep inside of me says
that if I eat more I 'm not going to lose. Still, I 'll make that voice
quiet for a while and will just try it.
I knwo I should be happy with the loss I had so far, but being 'good' for 2
weeks and not seeing the scales move is discouraging when you still have 120
lbs to lose. But I do agree that if I lost a lot, it would probably not be
all fat. And that's the only thing I want to lose, right ?
Euhmmmm... my activity levels....how shall I put this... in Fitday I chose
'seated work, some movement'. So I started 2 months ago with a very
sedentary lifestyle, and slowly but surely I'm incorporating more movement.
I walk every day, I always take the stairs at work, I make sure I volunteer
to go to the printer, coffemaker etc... I know this doesn't seem a lot to
you, but it is already a big change for me ! I will of course add activity.
I'm starting to go to swimming once a week, and would like to do
water-aerobics. I might start weightlifting one day, but here in Belgium
this is very 'men only' and I'm still too shy and selfconscious to enter a
health club at this point. I've been reading Krista's site though and am
thinking of buying weights and start working out at home. And maybe some day
I'll ask you about the hardcore stuff ;-)
About the protein : since I'm a vegetarian I don't get any protein from meat
or fish. I mostly eat tofu, quorn and other soy products to add protein.
Would you have any suggestions ? Or do you know any websites where I can
find which food has a lot of protein, etc.
--
Nathalie from Belgium
134.1/123.4/10 % 120.5/68 Kg
295.6/272/10% 266/150 pounds
"RoadRunner" <NoSpamMa'a...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:dutS8.18697$Wi.68...@twister.nyc.rr.com...
Nathalie
healthy. I need to keep in mind that my main goal is becoming healthy, and
only the 2nd goal is being slim. There is no way back to my previous
lifestyle. Onwards I go !
--
Nathalie from Belgium
134.1/123.4/10 % 120.5/68 Kg
295.6/272/10% 266/150 pounds
news:LhtS8.112028$zh2.24...@twister.neo.rr.com...
RoadRunner
"Nathalie" <nathaliedotwittemansatskynetdotbe> wrote in message
news:3d1aa2da$0$8153$ba62...@news.skynet.be...
> Thanks Alan ! I'm going to up my pints just a little and see what happens.
> Funny, I can eat more, but you know, a litlle voice deep inside of me says
> that if I eat more I 'm not going to lose. Still, I 'll make that voice
> quiet for a while and will just try it.
I know what you mean. WE all have those voices in our heads. I didn't
believe i could lose eating 2200 calories average a day(which includes a
day where I eat 3000 calories) but I am.
> I knwo I should be happy with the loss I had so far, but being 'good' for
2
> weeks and not seeing the scales move is discouraging when you still have
120
> lbs to lose. But I do agree that if I lost a lot, it would probably not be
> all fat. And that's the only thing I want to lose, right ?
If you undercut your calories too much, your body goes into starvation mode.
It adapts quickly. Trust me on this Natalie. I've been there, done that.
Metabolism adapts very quickly in some individuals, especially women. Women
have a harder time losing fat for evolution reasons. As Lyle would say,
your body hates you. The fact is that It doesnt want you to die and doesn't
care that you wanna look good etc. It wants to keep you alive so you can
survive. That's why it's not always calories in versus calories out.
What does works is a moderate deficit long term.
> Euhmmmm... my activity levels....how shall I put this... in Fitday I chose
> 'seated work, some movement'. So I started 2 months ago with a very
> sedentary lifestyle, and slowly but surely I'm incorporating more
movement.
> I walk every day, I always take the stairs at work, I make sure I
volunteer
> to go to the printer, coffemaker etc... I know this doesn't seem a lot to
> you, but it is already a big change for me ! I will of course add
activity.
> I'm starting to go to swimming once a week, and would like to do
> water-aerobics. I might start weightlifting one day, but here in Belgium
> this is very 'men only' and I'm still too shy and selfconscious to enter a
> health club at this point. I've been reading Krista's site though and am
> thinking of buying weights and start working out at home. And maybe some
day
> I'll ask you about the hardcore stuff ;-)
Sure np. Exercise should be core of your diet/exercise program. Althought
lifting with some aerobics is best. Some exercise is better then none.
I started off lifting at home too btw. Take a couple of empty milk bottles
and fill them with water - wallah! Instant weights.
> About the protein : since I'm a vegetarian I don't get any protein from
meat
> or fish. I mostly eat tofu, quorn and other soy products to add protein.
> Would you have any suggestions ? Or do you know any websites where I can
> find which food has a lot of protein, etc.
>
Lots of food do. You named a few. Check out:
http://www.vegsoc.org/info/protein.html
Another source you can look into is whey protein supplements.
Nathalie
--
Nathalie from Belgium
134.1/123.4/10 % 120.5/68 Kg
295.6/272/10% 266/150 pounds
RoadRunner
That's just the amount of protein I eat in one meal and I eat 5-6 meals.
Alan.
The Carnivore.
"Nathalie" <nathaliedotwittemansatskynetdotbe> wrote in message
news:3d1b9854$0$6961$ba62...@news.skynet.be...