Healthy eating is giving me a fat a$$, help!

ClubDead

Three months ago I made a drastic change to my diet by cutting out processed foods and cutting down (nearly completely) on junk food (chocolate, cakes...). I’ve never been a good cook so teaching myself to cook meals from scratch has been a steep learning curve.

My reason for the change is improved well being and weight loss, however I’ve noticed over the last few months that I’m putting on weight. I think one of the culprits is olive oil. Most recipes I’ve found seem to require a dash, splash, drizzle of the stuff and I think it’s adding up.

Could this just be a period of adjustment for my body, as in, its been subjected to nutrient deficient crapola for so long and now it’s actually having to work? If not, is anyone aware of any lower calorie alternatives to olive oil?

listermint

Are you exercising aswell?

Have you tried cooking with virgin coconut oil ?

Id also maybe invest in an olive oil sprayer like a mille one as they give realistic portions of olive oil. But id imagine that it has nothing to do with what you are experiencing unless you are bathing in the stuff.

SunnyDub1

I doubt you are gaining weight from a little olive oil.

Post your average days diet and exercise?

ClubDead

listermint wrote: »

Are you exercising aswell?

Have you tried cooking with virgin coconut oil ?

Id also maybe invest in an olive oil sprayer like a mille one as they give realistic portions of olive oil. But id imagine that it has nothing to do with what you are experiencing unless you are bathing in the stuff.

Ive never had virgin coconut oil. Stupid question, does it taste like coconut?

Yeah I do exercise, walking daily and 40-60 min resistance workout (4-5 times a week).

SunnyDub1

ClubDead wrote: »

Ive never had virgin coconut oil. Stupid question, does it taste like coconut?

Yeah I do exercise, walking daily and 40-60 min resistance workout (4-5 times a week).

Yes it does!

Post your diet.

Breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks

ClubDead

SunnyDub1 wrote: »

I doubt you are gaining weight from a little olive oil.

Post your average days diet and exercise?

Before: (Breakfast) tea with 2 sugars. (Midmorning) tea with 2 sugars, large scone with butter (Lunch) Large white role with fried breaded chicken breast, cheese mayo, onion and a chocolate bar (Diner) Oven chips with processed chicken or processed fish. .....I know terrible.

After: (Breakfast) Porridge with half water/milk and small handful of nuts, tea with 1 sugar.
(Lunch) Green smoothie – spinach, berries, half water/orange juice. OR Homemade soup – Roasted veg drizzled with olive oil, chicken stock, garlic. (Diner) Carrot and Parsnip mash OR homemade oven chips (drizzle with olive oil, rosemary and garlic) OR baked potato with flora light. And some kind of protein, typically chicken breast drizzled in olive oil baked in the oven OR fried. And 3-4 cups of green tea.

Exercise: an average of one hour walking daily. Four to five days a week I do 40-60 minutes resistance training (squats, lunges, sit-ups, press-ups) using a restance band.

listermint

As above. need more detail.

ClubDead

Snacks include mixed nuts (no added salt or flavoring, just plan) OR rice cakes (1 or 2) OR fruit juices OR wasabi peas...

listermint

At a first step, i dont think there is enough Protein in your diet. Personally i prefer to eat regular and smaller than far apart and large.

every three hours or so.

I suggest eggs in the morning as they are a great start to the day and will keep you full. You can also have them with bacon if you want.

Need protein also in your lunch.

And no need to 'drizzle' your dinners in olive oil. A spray would do.

SunnyDub1

ClubDead wrote: »

After: (Breakfast) Porridge with half water/milk and small handful of nuts, tea with 1 sugar.
(Lunch) Green smoothie – spinach, berries, half water/orange juice. OR Homemade soup – Roasted veg drizzled with olive oil, chicken stock, garlic. (Diner) Carrot and Parsnip mash OR homemade oven chips (drizzle with olive oil, rosemary and garlic) OR baked potato with flora light. And some kind of protein, typically chicken breast drizzled in olive oil baked in the oven OR fried. And 3-4 cups of green tea.

Have you worked out how much cals you are eating and how much you should be eating?

ClubDead

listermint wrote: »

At a first step, i dont think there is enough Protein in your diet. Personally i prefer to eat regular and smaller than far apart and large.

every three hours or so.

I suggest eggs in the morning as they are a great start to the day and will keep you full. You can also have them with bacon if you want.

Need protein also in your lunch.

And no need to 'drizzle' your dinners in olive oil. A spray would do.

Thanks good advice. Ive a problem eating enough protein. Up until a few years ago I didn't eat meat, I slowly started eating chicken, usually breaded or smothered in some sort of sauce or flavoring to mask the taste. Ive bought different types of beans as an alternative but lack of cooking skills is holding me back.

listermint

Quorn
Beans
ChickPeas
Fish
Green peas

all have good amounts of protein too so explore them.

SunnyDub1

ClubDead wrote: »

Thanks good advice. Ive a problem eating enough protein. Up until a few years ago I didn't eat meat, I slowly started eating chicken, usually breaded or smothered in some sort of sauce or flavoring to mask the taste. Ive bought different types of beans as an alternative but lack of cooking skills is holding me back.

meat is not the only source of protein.
Fish, eggs, Greek yogurts, flax, beans - the list goes on tbh.
and you're not gonna lose weight of you are eating chicken smothered in bread crumbs & sauces.
Try making your own sauces from scratch.

Cooking beans doesn't require much skills. Infact cooking doesn't require much skill at all. ]
Google is great

ClubDead

SunnyDub1 wrote: »

Have you worked out how much cals you are eating and how much you should be eating?

I've estimated that Im eating (approx) 1500 calories daily. Ive gone from 9.5 stone to 10.2 stone. I don't know how may calories I was eating before but it had to be much more. I was also having takeaway (Chinese, pizza) once or twice a week before...along with snacking on chocolate, crisps.

Have you checked anything besides your weight e.g. waist and leg measurements? Clothes feeling tighter or what?

ClubDead

SunnyDub1 wrote: »

meat is not the only source of protein.
Fish, eggs, Greek yogurts, flax, beans - the list goes on tbh.
and you're not gonna lose weight of you are eating chicken smothered in bread crumbs & sauces.
Try making your own sauces from scratch.

Cooking beans doesn't require much skills. Infact cooking doesn't require much skill at all. ]
Google is great

This is what Ive previously done, I have cut this out. When have these now I make them myself, so no cream or anything. Just oven baked chicken cooked with herbs, spices in tinfoil.

ClubDead

bluewolf wrote: »

Have you checked anything besides your weight e.g. waist and leg measurements? Clothes feeling tighter or what?

My leg, butt, bust measurements haven't changed but my waist definitely has swollen. (No chance in hell Im pregnant) When ever I put on weight its the one place it goes :rolleyes:

runawaybishop

There's something amiss in your diet (given your exercise is decent), can you try using an online tracker for a week or so.

What height are ya

ClubDead

bluewolf wrote: »

What height are ya

I'm 5'8'', I know 10 stone is a healthy weight for my height but I just don't understand how I could be gaining weight have done a complete u-turn on my diet. If I was 10 stone and my weight was distributed evenly all over that would be fine but Ive got a swollen gut Ive gone from having the worst diet but a slim figure to eating healthy and having a belly and love handles.

ClubDead

runawaybishop wrote: »

There's something amiss in your diet (given your exercise is decent), can you try using an online tracker for a week or so.

I think I give that a go.

SunnyDub1

The only thing I can think of is you make a few adjustments to your diet.
like having a smoothie or soup for lunch wouldn't be very balanced & nutritious. Try having salad - Protein & Veg.
or having home made chips and baked or fried potato every other night isn't great either.
Try adding more veg & protein and have sweet potato instead of chips or potato.
Ever make sweet potato fries?... Yuuuuum, I'd actually go as far as saying there nicer then potato chips

You are "drizzling" oil on quite a lot of your foods. Oil isn't the only form of seasoning. herbs are great also.

ClubDead

SunnyDub1 wrote: »

The only thing I can think of is you make a few adjustments to your diet.
like having a smoothie or soup for lunch wouldn't be very balanced & nutritious. Try having salad - Protein & Veg.
or having home made chips and baked or fried potato every other night isn't great either.
Try adding more veg & protein and have sweet potato instead of chips or potato.
Ever make sweet potato fries?... Yuuuuum, I'd actually go as far as saying there nicer then potato chips

You are "drizzling" oil on quite a lot of your foods. Oil isn't the only form of seasoning. herbs are great also.

Your right, I do need to expand my menu. I usually use about a table spoon of oil.

i57dwun4yb1pt8

1/ give up the sugar , end of story

2/ limit alcohol to less than 10 units at weekends only

3/ if you are weight trainig you are likley putting on some muscle this will make you heavier.

4/ try to eat most carbs before 5 pm . and mostly protein after

( so big carby breakfast , like oats etc , half and half at lunch , mostly protein evening )

ClubDead

DaDumTish wrote: »

1/ give up the sugar , end of story

2/ limit alcohol to less than 10 units at weekends only

3/ if you are weight trainig you are likley putting on some muscle this will make you heavier.

4/ try to eat most carbs before 5 pm . and mostly protein after

( so big carby breakfast , like oats etc , half and half at lunch , mostly protein evening )

Thats good advice thanks.

btkm8unsl0w5r4

exercise and portion control. You can still overeat on healthy food.

runawaybishop

DaDumTish wrote: »

3/ if you are weight trainig you are likley putting on some muscle this will make you heavier.

With that weight gain and given that she's female its not muscle.

SunnyDub1

runawaybishop wrote: »

With that weight gain and given that she's female its not muscle.

are you saying females don't gain muscle :pac: LOL.

runawaybishop

SunnyDub1 wrote: »

are you saying females don't gain muscle :pac: LOL.

Why don't you read the full sentence instead of selecting highlighting part of it?

SunnyDub1

runawaybishop wrote: »

Why don't you read the full sentence instead of selecting highlighting part of it?

please do explain how it's not muscle because she is "female" ?

runawaybishop

SunnyDub1 wrote: »

please do explain how it's not muscle because she is "female" ?

www.google.com

Educate yourself.

SunnyDub1

runawaybishop wrote: »

www.google.com

Educate yourself.

I do know how to use google and I know what answers I'll get cause your statement is pure bullsh*t and is in fact the most ridiculous thing I have heard to date :pac:. I think your the one who needs to educate yourself there
but please do enlighten me and explain why you think females don't gain muscle ?

runawaybishop

SunnyDub1 wrote: »

I do know how to use google and I know what answers I'll get cause your statement is pure bullsh*t and is in fact the most ridiculous thing I have heard to date :pac:. I think your the one who needs to educate yourself there
but please do enlighten me and explain why you think females don't gain muscle ?

That not what I said. I'm not interested in arguing though, so feel free to ignore me.

SunnyDub1

runawaybishop wrote: »

That not what I said. I'm not interested in arguing though, so feel free to ignore me.

But it clearly is what you said

runawaybishop wrote: »

With that weight gain and given that she's female its not muscle.

You're not interesting in arguing cause you can't back up your argument or explain why you would say "given that she's female its not muscle"

I'll leave it there :cool:

runawaybishop

SunnyDub1 wrote: »

But it clearly is what you said




You're not interesting in arguing cause you can't back up your argument or explain why you would say "given that she's female its not muscle"

I'll leave it there :cool:

No, i said this girl hasn't put on muscle. At no stage ever did i make a general statement that women cant put on muscle. A woman on that diet with that exercise in that time period would not put on that weight in muscle. The OP even tells you where the weight is going.

In summary, its not muscle.

SunnyDub1

runawaybishop wrote: »

No, i said this girl hasn't put on muscle. At no stage ever did i make a general statement that women cant put on muscle. A woman on that diet with that exercise in that time period would not put on that weight in muscle. The OP even tells you where the weight is going.

In summary, its not muscle.

You said "given that she is female" which would suggest to me that you are assuming because she is female that the weight gain is all fat and not muscle.
Are you saying that if the op was male it would make a difference?

Do you know what shape the op is in, what her current measurements are, or what her before and now body fat % is?
cause IMO you would have to know all that to determine whether the weight gain is all muscle or fat.


my argument is you cannot tell someone that the weight they have gained is fat simple because "given that she's female its not muscle"
Someone telling you how much pounds they have gained doesn't give any reason to say that it's fat and not muscle.
Yeah her diet isn't overly great but it's not completely crap either, you don't know how hard the op is working or what kind of strength training she is doing or of any other active things the op may be doing.
If she wasn't working out and was pigging out on pizza and chocolate I'd wouldn't argue against the possibility of the weight gain being muscle.

runawaybishop

SunnyDub1 wrote: »

You said "given that she is female" which would suggest to me that you are assuming because she is female that the weight gain is all fat and not muscle.
Are you saying that if the op was male it would make a difference?

Do you know what shape the op is in, what her current measurements are, or what her before and now body fat % is?
cause IMO you would have to know all that to determine whether the weight gain is all muscle or fat.


my argument is you cannot tell someone that the weight they have gained is fat simple because "given that she's female its not muscle"
Someone telling you how much pounds they have gained doesn't give any reason to say that it's fat and not muscle.
Yeah her diet isn't overly great but it's not completely crap either, you don't know how hard the op is working or what kind of strength training she is doing or of any other active things the op may be doing.
If she wasn't working out and was pigging out on pizza and chocolate I'd wouldn't argue against the possibility of the weight gain being muscle.

"My leg, butt, bust measurements haven't changed but my waist definitely has swollen. "
^^ Op said this

weight: 9.5 stone to 10.2 stone.

Its not muscle. The fact that its a female involved is certainly not the only factor, but it is a significant factor given the opening post.

draiochtanois

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ClubDead

This thread is so derailed it’s come off the track.....it’s on its side and all the passengers are now dead...the next of kin have been informed and flowers are being placed on the accident site

ClubDead

draiochtanois wrote: »

This post has been deleted.

Thank you. Yeah I just beginning to understand about sugars. Doesn't the nutrients and vitamin content in these fruit and veg outweigh the negativity of the sugar content?

draiochtanois

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RobAMerc

I might get sh1t for this but I find I lose weight much slower when I have porridge for breakkie. It could have something to do with how carb sensitive you are, I am not that up on it but I defo have noticed I see less weight loss if I am tucking into oats compared to when I dont all other things being equal

dechol

Is 1500 calories not too much? I am about same height and female and would always have thought I need to be about the 1000-1200 calorie mark to lose weight. Try my fitness pal app for a while and note everything that u put in your mouth.

colman1212

It's not rocket science.

High Protein, low carb, low fat. Exercise routine. Portion Control

If you are not losing weight after week one, reduce portion etc.
Repeat. You will lose weight. Simple as.

colman1212

RobAMerc wrote: »

I might get sh1t for this but I find I lose weight much slower when I have porridge for breakkie. It could have something to do with how carb sensitive you are, I am not that up on it but I defo have noticed I see less weight loss if I am tucking into oats compared to when I dont all other things being equal

Ben Pakulski agrees with you

http://www.benpakulski.com/i-really-dont-think-i-will-ever-eat-carbs-at-breakfast-as-long-as-i-want-to-continue-building-muscle/

Penny Dreadful

dechol wrote: »

Is 1500 calories not too much? I am about same height and female and would always have thought I need to be about the 1000-1200 calorie mark to lose weight. Try my fitness pal app for a while and note everything that u put in your mouth.[/QUOTE]

Like the OP I too am 5' 8" and would like to drop some (not much) weight and have been watching and tracking what I eat and exercise but to no avail.
Currently stand (as mentioned) at 5' 8" (172.7cm) and weigh in at 143lbs (65kg) first thing in the morning. Ideally I would like to be at 60/61kg (132lbs/134lbs).
I was allowing myself 1200 calories per day with My Fitness Pal and it was telling me that I was eating too few calories. I added 100 extra but out of the 16 days I've been tracking according to the app I've been eating too few on 7 of the 16.
I've exercised 9 out of the 16 days for a minimum of 1 hour with a variety of bootcamp, strenous walking, mountain climbing (Spinc, Galtees, etc so not easy gently climbs) and have shifted feck all from my ass. Its quite frustrating.
My daily diet goes along the lines of:
Porridge for breakfast (microwavable oats - 2scoops oats, 4 scoops low fat milk with half teaspoon of sugar).
Mid morning snack - 2 Yakult lights (addicted to these)
Lunch- homemade tomato and courgette soup, 2 slices McCambridges brown bread with low low spread thinly on top, apple & orange
Afternoon snack - apple & Jacobs Mediterranian Crackers.
Dinner - backed fish (seabass or salmon) twice per week, chicken stir fry, home made curry never with coconut milk or cream, half cup of brown rice or 2 small potatoes, carrots, broccoli, sugar snap peas.
Anytime- possibly have 2 - 3 Rich Tea biscuits or not.
Drink 2 litres of water per day, 3-4 mugs of tea (no sugar with low fat milk).
Alcohol - occasional glass of wine - max 2 per month.
Takeaways - never
Everything is made from scratch and the smallest amount of oil is used to cook with.

i57dwun4yb1pt8

funny ,

i lost more fat and gained more muscle by loading carbs in morning . ( oats and fruit ) then training 40 minutes later .

than eating normally , or having a high potein breakfast .

and i know others who have done same

SunnyDub1

Like the OP I too am 5' 8" and would like to drop some (not much) weight and have been watching and tracking what I eat and exercise but to no avail.
I was allowing myself 1200 calories per day with My Fitness Pal and it was telling me that I was eating too few calories. I added 100 extra but out of the 16 days I've been tracking according to the app I've been eating too few on 7 of the 16.

1200 cals is a very small amount of calories for any one to be eating.
Dropping weight isn't all about counting calories. Most important thing to consider is what foods we eat. Clean diet and proper amount of calories with exercise and you will get results.

I've exercised 9 out of the 16 days for a minimum of 1 hour with a variety of bootcamp, strenous walking, mountain climbing (Spinc, Galtees, etc so not easy gently climbs) and have shifted feck all from my ass. Its quite frustrating.

You need to up your cal intake to fuel your body.

My daily diet goes along the lines of:
Porridge for breakfast (microwavable oats - 2scoops oats, 4 scoops low fat milk with half teaspoon of sugar).

What's two scoops of oats in grams? A portion of oats is aprox 30-40g. You should try having eggs some mornings instead for protein.

Mid morning snack - 2 Yakult lights (addicted to these)

Is there a need for having 2 ? either way the are full of sugar and I would try replace with natural or Greek yogurt.

Lunch- homemade tomato and courgette soup, 2 slices McCambridges brown bread with low low spread thinly on top, apple & orange

Try having some chicken/fish and loads of veg/salad instead and cut out the bread. One piece of fruit is more then enough.

Afternoon snack - apples & Jacobs Mediterranian Crackers.

another apple? Crackers - full of sugars and salts.

Dinner - backed fish (seabass or salmon) twice per week, chicken stir fry, home made curry never with coconut milk or cream, half cup of brown rice or 2 small potatoes, carrots, broccoli, sugar snap peas.

Fish is good! Why never cook with coconut milk :eek: you should so some reaserch on coconut milk it is extremely good for you.
start using it (occasionally, not every night)
Up the veg and cut out the potatoes and rice. Or replace with sweet potato.

Anytime- possibly have 2 - 3 Rich Tea biscuits or not.

No need or good in eating these. Just simple cut them out.


My advice for you would be to work out how calories you need here -> http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055963342 (see post 12 by Gem)

Your diet is very high processed foods. Stop buying crap foods (rich tea biscuits) and you will stop eating them. Fruit is OK once in a while but not the amount you eat daily. Fruit is high in sugar.
Have a read at the stickies and focus on cutting out processed foods and simple carbs and switch to clean eating.

ClubDead

Penny Dreadful wrote: »

dechol wrote: »

Is 1500 calories not too much? I am about same height and female and would always have thought I need to be about the 1000-1200 calorie mark to lose weight. Try my fitness pal app for a while and note everything that u put in your mouth.[/QUOTE]

Like the OP I too am 5' 8" and would like to drop some (not much) weight and have been watching and tracking what I eat and exercise but to no avail.
Currently stand (as mentioned) at 5' 8" (172.7cm) and weigh in at 143lbs (65kg) first thing in the morning. Ideally I would like to be at 60/61kg (132lbs/134lbs).
I was allowing myself 1200 calories per day with My Fitness Pal and it was telling me that I was eating too few calories. I added 100 extra but out of the 16 days I've been tracking according to the app I've been eating too few on 7 of the 16.
I've exercised 9 out of the 16 days for a minimum of 1 hour with a variety of bootcamp, strenous walking, mountain climbing (Spinc, Galtees, etc so not easy gently climbs) and have shifted feck all from my ass. Its quite frustrating.
My daily diet goes along the lines of:
Porridge for breakfast (microwavable oats - 2scoops oats, 4 scoops low fat milk with half teaspoon of sugar).
Mid morning snack - 2 Yakult lights (addicted to these)
Lunch- homemade tomato and courgette soup, 2 slices McCambridges brown bread with low low spread thinly on top, apple & orange
Afternoon snack - apple & Jacobs Mediterranian Crackers.
Dinner - backed fish (seabass or salmon) twice per week, chicken stir fry, home made curry never with coconut milk or cream, half cup of brown rice or 2 small potatoes, carrots, broccoli, sugar snap peas.
Anytime- possibly have 2 - 3 Rich Tea biscuits or not.
Drink 2 litres of water per day, 3-4 mugs of tea (no sugar with low fat milk).
Alcohol - occasional glass of wine - max 2 per month.
Takeaways - never
Everything is made from scratch and the smallest amount of oil is used to cook with.

Penny Dreadful – I took the advice of one of the posters and signed up for My Fitness Pal, along with this I dusted of a food weighing scales so that I could accurately measure out my food. I got a huge shock yesterday when I saw what a portion of porridge/pasta/rice etc really looks like, I think it was a major eureka moment for me! :pac: For instance, what I was estimating as 40g was in reality probably about 3 times that much. The same goes for all my other foods. Yesterday I weighed out accurately what I usually eat and imputed it to My Fitness Pal, it said my calories were 1109! I know that’s pretty low but I ate at regular intervals (as suggested by a poster) and didn’t feel hungry at all.

I would strongly recommend weighing out your portions of food if like my you have an over generous eye! :pac:

Penny Dreadful

SunnyDub1 wrote: »

1200 cals is a very small amount of calories for any one to be eating.
Dropping weight isn't all about counting calories. Most important thing to consider is what foods we eat. Clean diet and proper amount of calories with exercise and you will get results.



You need to up your cal intake to fuel your body.



What's two scoops of oats in grams? A portion of oats is aprox 30-40g. You should try having eggs some mornings instead for protein.



Is there a need for having 2 ? either way the are full of sugar and I would try replace with natural or Greek yogurt.



Try having some chicken/fish and loads of veg/salad instead and cut out the bread. One piece of fruit is more then enough.



another apple? Crackers - full of sugars and salts.



Fish is good! Why never cook with coconut milk :eek: you should so some reaserch on coconut milk it is extremely good for you.
start using it (occasionally, not every night)
Up the veg and cut out the potatoes and rice. Or replace with sweet potato.



No need or good in eating these. Just simple cut them out.


My advice for you would be to work out how calories you need here -> http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055963342 (see post 12 by Gem)

Your diet is very high processed foods. Stop buying crap foods (rich tea biscuits) and you will stop eating them. Fruit is OK once in a while but not the amount you eat daily. Fruit is high in sugar.
Have a read at the stickies and focus on cutting out processed foods and simple carbs and switch to clean eating.

Thanks for the reply, appreciate it:)
From what the app has been saying it is clear (and you've echoed it) I am eating too few calories. It is the how to increase these properly that I'm a little confused with. I'll check out the post you mentioned.

The Rich Tea biscuits are a treat and an occasional one at that. Is that really a bad thing?

Re: my diet being high in processed foods, I don't really see where. I accept what you say re: the crackers but everything else I eat is either fresh fruit, vegetables or made myself. I don't use packet or jars of sauces and always make my own. The rice I use is brown rice, the same for pasta and porridge. My carbs are simple surely?
Sugar in fruit can be an issuse I accept that too. I eat three pieces of fruit per day. Can that really be too much?

draiochtanois

This post has been deleted.