Weight maintained - next steps

tattykitty

Hello, I'm looking for some opinions/advice on my diet and exercise please.

I was always big until about six years ago when I lost 34kg. So far I've managed to keep the weight down (with the occasional holiday-related blip!) but now that things are more stable, I'd like to address my diet again, and also lose a little more weight.

I have kept a food diary since March, writing down what I eat and how much I exercise every day, and calculating the calories/fat consumed.

Here's a sample from last week:

Wednesday 26 July

-50g homemade granola (255cal, 5.8g fat) w/ fresh blueberries and raspberries and semi-skim milk
-low fat yoghurt (110cal, 2g fat)
-chicken and chorizo paella (approx 600 cal, 29g fat?)
-1 small banana, 1 apple, handful of grapes
-small portion of homemade chickpea and butter bean chili (200cal, 6.5g fat) w/ rocket leaves and half a bagel (120 cal, 1g fat)
-1 tsp peanut butter
-another low fat yoghurt

Total: 1860 cal, 52g fat


Saturday 28 July
-50g homemade granola w/ fresh blackberries and semi-skim milk
-yoghurt (200cal, 3g fat)
-2 seeded spelt crackers (220cal, 10g fat) w/ slice of cheese (72cal, 5.6g fat), 1 oatcake (50cal, 2g fat)
-2 glasses of wine (340 cal)
-garlic bread (560cal, 12g fat), 2 slices parma ham (100cal, 6g fat), 1.5 slices cheese (144cal, 11g fat), 4 slices salami (100 cal, 7g fat), teaspoon pesto (80cal, 4g fat)
-handful of grapes

Total: 2300 cal, 67g fat

Saturday evening's meal was a bit of an Italian feast, which I paid for the next day due to all the bread!

Background: I'm a lady, 163cm and 65kg.
Sedentary office job.
I walk 6km to and 6km from work four-five days a week, do an hour of cardio twice a week at the gym (usually crosstrainer and bike), and have recently started taking long walks at the weekend - I try at least once a month to do an 18km or 25km walk. I was never, ever fit before, so I'm gradually building up the exercise a little at a time.

Health issues: I've a weak knee due to cartilage damage, so I can't run or do any kind of heavy resistance training. I also have some problems with my elbows, so I'm limited with weight/resistance there too. I've mild Asthma but it's well-controlled. I have mild IBS that is particularly affected by wheat/bread, so I've been cutting that out of my diet as much as possible.

Any advice/ideas for how to improve my diet and general health? What am I missing? I'd like to lose some more weight as I'm still too heavy, but I also want to be able to enjoy my life - I love food and I admit, I do love a drink too. I guess I should cut out the low fat yoghurt because they're sugary, correct? I notice from other threads that people recommend upping fat intake, but I think mine's already quite high (I eat eggs about twice a week, in case you're wondering) - do those of you who recommend this also watch for cholesterol (I know eggs aren't an issue here)? Very high cholesterol runs in the family so I have to keep an eye on that.

Thanks, all.

El_Dangeroso

Can you really track/count everything religiously like you have for the past few weeks for the rest of your life? Or is this approach just to lose the extra weight? I'm exhausted just reading it tbh!

You're BMI is 20 so I just don't see where the extra weight is coming from? You might feel a bit deflated from the weight loss (well done by the way - 34kg is staggering!), but extra weight loss won't help with that and you'll start to look gaunt soon.

I know you have an issue with cartilage but there are gentle weight bearing exercise that can help with that, for example pilates. A good physio can also provide a program that won't exacerbate existing damage. Also a good hyalauronic acid combined with a good collagen sup are great for helping to repair the cartilage. (I love neocell's brand from iherb, v tasty!)

Looking at your diet overall it's quite low in protein and fat, and a little bit heavy on the 'dense' carbs, by that I mean the bread (which you know doesn't make you feel good), granola, spelt crackers and oatcakes, nothing wrong with these intrinsically but you don't want to base most of your diet on dense carbohydrate, potatoes, rice, beans and other veg are better options nutritionally speaking.

TDR: Up the protein, ditch the dense carbs.

tattykitty

Hi, thanks for the reply El_Dangeroso. My BMI is actually 24.5 so I'd be considered borderline and heading for overweight, but I tend not to pay too much attention to BMI - it's more how I feel/look. No chance of me looking gaunt!

I haven't heard of hyalauronic acid so I'll give that a look, thanks.

You're right about the carbs - I do eat too many. I used to eat a heck of lot more than I do now, but I know there's still room for improvement.

In terms of the food diary, I suppose it is a bit excessive but it's been helpful to see where I'm going wrong...which is quite often. I have a big appetite and I like my food, so it's extremely easy for me to overeat. If I'm writing it down, I'm paying more attention.

tattykitty

Does anyone have any suggestions for foods containing protein/good fats that won't adversely affect cholesterol levels? I don't eat much meat (just chicken and the occasional chunk of chorizo), can't stand fish, and too much cheese gives me migraines. So that leaves nuts, eggs...and anything else? Are beans a good option? I make a homemade chili once a week full of chickpeas and butterbeans; more of this?

Thanks in advance...

tattykitty

Anyone out there who can help?

meijin

Well done on your progress so far!

See this thread for ideas on fixing diet further http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=76271181

forget about counting fat, count carbs instead if you have to, add more protein and eat loads of veggies/salads - they are very filling, and there is no way to overeat on broccoli or cauliflower; have some nuts, occasional fruits
cut the dairy and gluten if they give you problems

what is the protein/fat/carbs ratio for your current diet?

560 kcal from garlic bread - that's the amount of carbs I eat after 1h of running/resistance training (77kg male), not just during the day, so way too much for you IMHO

about your knee and elbow - see a physio to get it addressed if possible, or just get exercises that you can do without getting into problems, you can also have a look at http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=70755853 for easy bodyweight resistance training

PS I counted my calories for few weeks, 50-60% of them was from fat

tattykitty

meijin wrote: »

Well done on your progress so far!

See this thread for ideas on fixing diet further http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=76271181

forget about counting fat, count carbs instead if you have to, add more protein and eat loads of veggies/salads - they are very filling, and there is no way to overeat on broccoli or cauliflower; have some nuts, occasional fruits
cut the dairy and gluten if they give you problems

what is the protein/fat/carbs ratio for your current diet?

560 kcal from garlic bread - that's the amount of carbs I eat after 1h of running/resistance training (77kg male), not just during the day, so way too much for you IMHO

about your knee and elbow - see a physio to get it addressed if possible, or just get exercises that you can do without getting into problems, you can also have a look at http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=70755853 for easy bodyweight resistance training

PS I counted my calories for few weeks, 50-60% of them was from fat

Thanks for your reply, meijin. You're right, the garlic bread was insanely bad for me - it was very much a treat and not something I'd usually have. As a bread lover, it's been hard to cut it out altogether but I'm getting better (I've finally succeeded in bypassing the giant bready pretzels in the M&S bakery!). In terms of ratios, I wouldn't be sure, but I'd say high calorie, low protein and fat - which is bad, I know. I'm trying to introduce more fats and proteins and reduce overall calories (I'm looking at you, Beer!) but I live in fear of putting the weight back on, hence the initial nervousness about increasing fat content. As I mentioned, I'm also worried about the cholesterol side of things (my own cholesterol was fine at my last check-up, but both parents are on tablets for theirs).

Regarding veggies - I love them and eat as much as I can...however, if I eat too much, my IBS goes into overdrive and my stomach swells up like a football. Very painful. I'm fine with dairy (love cottage cheese, which doesn't seem to give me migraines like regular cheese) and I eat lots of cherry tomatoes, fresh berries (blueberries, strawberries, raspberries), rocket leaves, radishes, beetroot. I'm trying to eat more chicken and eggs for protein but I need to educate myself better on what else I can eat.

I'll have a look at those threads you suggested - thanks again.

El_Dangeroso

tattykitty wrote: »

Regarding veggies - I love them and eat as much as I can...however, if I eat too much, my IBS goes into overdrive and my stomach swells up like a football.

I have IBS too, so to keep my veggie intake up I go for vegetables low in FODMAPS and relatively low in insoluble fiber.

Glitter

From that sample, which I know includes your cheat day with the garlic bread and wine and whatnot, I'd say your calorie intake is pretty high for a 5'3, ten stone woman. 2 days is only a tiny sample but if you're putting in averages of 2000 cals a day over the week that's too high for your stats unless you're doing some serious exercise.

You seem to have the discipline to log a good food diary so I'd suggest using a site like myfitnesspal to figure out some goals for yourself and as a handy way to log your intake.

Re exercise, swimming is great cardio for weight loss, and easy on your joints.

Well done on the 34kgs! Wowsa! I'm about 22kgs down since January and hoping to get 35-40kg off in total so that's very inspiring to hear!

tattykitty

Glitter wrote: »

From that sample, which I know includes your cheat day with the garlic bread and wine and whatnot, I'd say your calorie intake is pretty high for a 5'3, ten stone woman. 2 days is only a tiny sample but if you're putting in averages of 2000 cals a day over the week that's too high for your stats unless you're doing some serious exercise.

You seem to have the discipline to log a good food diary so I'd suggest using a site like myfitnesspal to figure out some goals for yourself and as a handy way to log your intake.

Re exercise, swimming is great cardio for weight loss, and easy on your joints.

Well done on the 34kgs! Wowsa! I'm about 22kgs down since January and hoping to get 35-40kg off in total so that's very inspiring to hear!

Thanks for the encouragement, and very well done on the 22kg - excellent achievement! It took me about 2 years to shift 34kg, but it's only now I'm a little older and wiser that I'm trying to educate myself on what I should and shouldn't be eating.

Swimming is indeed a great exercise - I love to swim. I'm still conquering the embarrassment of being a such a baggy-fleshed body in a costume, but I do go when I'm feeling brave.

You're right - 2,000 cals per day is too many; at least for losing weight. I find it extremely hard not to overeat, which is why the food log has been useful. I'm trying not to be too militant about the exact calorie consumption, so long as I keep it under 2,000 (which I do, probably 6 days out of 7). Exercise-wise, I don't really know how many calories I burn off, but I don't really trust the calorie counting websites for that side of things. I've used FitDay before now and found it useful because my maths is pretty brutal, but I find the goals too stressful (there's a risk of ED for me so I can't afford to get too obsessed).

My main goals are to eat properly, eat when I'm hungry (and not just all the time!), understand what is good for my body and what isn't (bread = bad), and increase my overall fitness. If I lose some more weight along the way, even better. I'm not interested in being super thin - just healthy and perhaps below 10 stone would be good. I've never been lower than 10, so I'd like to see how it feels! I walked 14 miles in just under 4 hours on Sunday - something I thought I'd never do - so I'm getting there.

I had blood tests on Friday so I'll be interested to see how they compare to last year, considering I've been taking more exercise and trying to change my dietary habits...

Good luck with your continued weight loss, Glitter.

Glitter

tattykitty wrote: »

Thanks for the encouragement, and very well done on the 22kg - excellent achievement! It took me about 2 years to shift 34kg, but it's only now I'm a little older and wiser that I'm trying to educate myself on what I should and shouldn't be eating.

Thanks! I got the first 20kgs off pretty quick but I'm not heavy enough anymore to lose the second 20kgs nearly as fast so I'm hoping to hit goal weight (circa 130lbs) by November 2013 which will be a year and 10 months from when I started.
I'm almost scared to ask how you initially lost so much weight without educating yourself on nutrition! Did you just count calories?

Swimming is indeed a great exercise - I love to swim. I'm still conquering the embarrassment of being a such a baggy-fleshed body in a costume, but I do go when I'm feeling brave.

Pfff, come on girl, you're only 10'3, there are many way, way, WAY bigger girls in the pool. Plus, swimming will make you look and feel dead toned, and pretty quickly too if you go at it hard enough.

You're rght - 2,000 cals per day is too many; at least for losing weight. I find it extremely hard not to overeat, which is why the food log has been useful. I'm trying not to be too militant about the exact calorie consumption, so long as I keep it under 2,000 (which I do, probably 6 days out of 7). Exercise-wise, I don't really know how many calories I burn off, but I don't really trust the calorie counting websites for that side of things. I've used FitDay before now and found it useful because my maths is pretty brutal, but I find the goals too stressful (there's a risk of ED for me so I can't afford to get too obsessed).

Yeah, I've had issues with borderline ED in my past too so I know what that's like. The best thing to do is focus on eating really clean because you can eat loads then, feel full, and still keep your calorie count low (lean meat, green veggies etc). Planned cheat days are very important too if you're prone to binging after too long a period of being "good".
I hear loads of bad press about myfitnesspal's calorie counting for exercise but I have found it works grand for me. *shrug* If you're really concerned I would say try only logging 75% of your exercise cals and eat those back in comfort, knowing you have a 25% cushion.

I walked 14 miles in just under 4 hours on Sunday - something I thought I'd never do - so I'm getting there.

Go you! That's fabulous!

Good luck with your continued weight loss, Glitter.

Thanks.

tattykitty

Glitter wrote: »

I'm almost scared to ask how you initially lost so much weight without educating yourself on nutrition! Did you just count calories?

I had been incredibly unfit and ate a lot of junk food - I was also capable of drinking 7 pints of lager on a night out (1400 cals! :eek:). I was extremely unhealthy. Then I moved into an attic room in a house at the top of a steep hill...I would be crying by the time I got to my room because I was in so much discomfort. That was the point where I knew something had to change. I started walking to and from work (half an hour, twice a day). I cut out cheese, crisps and lager, switched to vodka and slimline tonic, and I weighed my pasta (portion size was my biggest issue - still is, I still have to weigh my granola!). The weight fell off me at first. The final 2 stone took me a full year but I've kept most of it off since, so the slow and steady approach worked.

In the years since, I've been slowly learning what is good for me and what affects my weight, my moods, my migraines and my IBS. I still make mistakes but I'm a lot healthier than I was. (I can only drink 4 pints of lager these days. I try and limit it to two )

Oh, and I got my bloods back from the docs - cholesterol is 3.8, down from 4.1 last year...low triglycerides, LDL decreased. So I must be doing something right!

Glitter

Ah, beer! I remember it fondly.
Yeah, it's a killer, I only drink spirits and wine these days myself.

Well done on your numbers! Sounds like you're definitely on the right path.