@jym626 I’d definitely watch “fed up” on netflix then. It explains a lot of nutrition to the audience which isn’t well known.
I recommend, to those that do, eating less salad dressing, not drinking sodas(if you must, don’t do diet soda), eat a good amount of fiber and stick to mostly natural foods.
Goodluck to everyone!
typo in 6339- not sure exactly what I said, but basically agreed with Southfloridamom, that limiting or discontinuing eating at night is helpful
@SouthFloridaMom9, there’s a broad range of different macro % bandwagons and I’m not a particular fan of any of them because any way you cut it, all of them are generalized numbers based on some assumed population and are not tailored to an individual’s particular needs. I guess if I were to choose one as a starting place, I would use 40% carbs, 30% protein, and 30% fat but even then, as I typed that I’m thinking well maybe 50% carbs and 25/25 or, I don’t know, fixed percentages are so artificial.
What I do instead for myself is figure out how many grams of protein I need to sustain, grow and repair muscle tissue based on my weight and activity levels and how many grams of carbs I need for energy sources again based on weight and activity levels. I figure out how many calories I need for my desired weight loss or maintenance and then back fill the remaining calories with healthy fats. There’s a lot of good research out there on # of grams of protein and carbs that are needed per pound of body weight based on different levels of resistance training and cardio. Each gram of protein and carbs is 4 calories.
For me, I need about .75 - 1 gram of protein per lb because of the amount of resistance training I do and my training goals. During the off season for cycling, I need about 1 1/2 grams of carbs/lb and about 2 - 2 1/2 grams/lb during the cycling season. I weigh 154 and want to keep my weight in the 153 -155 bracket. I need about 2200 calories a day during the off cycling season and about 2400-2500 calories/day during the cycling season. I structure and monitor my eating around those metrics, making adjustments to the carbs based on my energy levels and changes in weight. It’s more complicated than simple percentages but works much better for me. I don’t freak out if my carb and protein numbers vary a bit but I have easily measurable and quantifiable targets and I generally am very conscientious about eating “clean”. Using this approach, my weight has remained in my target zone for about 6 years and I never feel hungry or like I’m dieting.
Do you do triathlons or cycling events @MichaelNKat? You sound very knowledgeable about the way you function optimally.
I did a cycle of Body Beast and they up your carbs early in that program, then do a cut.
I can get the knowledge; my struggle is in the application. I did better when I was doing half-marathon training, though, because I could feel the difference it made on runs.
I feel like I need to go to a camp or something, where I don’t have any choice but to do the right thing. 
I’ve been an athlete all my life involved in competitive diving in college, competitive martial arts from college into my 30’s, weight lifting and running since I was a teen and now, for the last 22 years, I’ve substituted performance focused and long distance cycling for running. A couple of years ago, at the tender young age of 60, I decided to take my history and passion about fitness in a new career direction and became a certified trainer. In addition to my certification as a trainer, I have certifications in Functional Movement and Assessment, TRX Suspension Training, Spinning Instructor and am in the process of completing a certification in Fitness Nutrition.
I get what you say about the struggle in application. Adherence is often the toughest part. It’s easy to start off with a bang only to fizzle. That’s why, in my view, diets are unrealistic as opposed to manageable, sustainable lifestyle changes. Getting into a pattern of behavior changes, one small step at a time, which are continued on a daily basis can often be the key to developing new habits that are self regulating and perpetuating. Extrinsic goals and motivation (an upcoming event, a specific weight loss goal etc) can create a pathway to developing intrinsic motivation based on the way your new lifestyle enables you to feel.
Agree about athletes and nutrition. UA football have a great nutritionist (UA had a very good training for the field - through master’s, and former college President Dr Judy Bonner was in the field). Proper nutrition has been key to the athletes being at their best, and Nick Saban praises the lead nutritionist, Amy Bragg, Director of Sports Performance, Nutrition.
Jym- the protein powder I have been putting into my chia pudding contains Maca along with other things which I’m not convinced really do anything. I don’t know if I’ll buy another protein powder when I finish this bag.
Acai - I have Acai frozen packets in my freezer. When my D is home she likes to make Acai bowls. She blends greens, fruit, juice, the frozen Acai. She tops it with fresh strawberries, blueberries,banana and granola. The finishing touch is her favorite goji berries. It tastes delicious. We have a local place in our town that sells all kinds of bowls with different “super foods” blended with greens and fruit. Most of them things I haven’t heard of. they all are pretty tasty which leads me to believe they contain a lot of sugar from the fruit.
Thanks, mom60. I ran out of the goji berries a while back ( they were tasty) and kinda forgot about the other stuff, with the exception of my protein powder. I will look at the container later and see what exactly is in there. I like the plain high protein powder, and have found that it’s hard to find some that isn’t flavored in some way. I don’t want vanilla or chocolate flavored protein powder.
I haven’t put veggies in my smoothies in a long time. I found the kale to be bitter. But I did like the spinach. Forgot about it.
Only did 15 min on the elliptical today and declined all but a tiny bite to taste a carrot cake birthday cake at the hairdressers today. That took willpower. I love carrot cake. My hairdresser had lost 40 lbs this year. Started with B12 shots and some supplements but is now just counting calories. She exercises too. And chases around a new grand baby.
@michaelnkat thank you sharing your expertise!
Thought you might like to see this nytimes article - about protein amount and effective weight loss ( not muscle loss)
Learning so much from this discussion.
Probably starting Whole 30 next week, along with increased exercise ( beginner level, although I was gym rat 30 years ago, so counting on muscle memory kicking in)
Motivation -mother of the groom July
Just subscribed to comcast fitness tv, $6.99 month, no excuses now …Gaiam fitness
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Thanks to all posters - inspiring …
@SouthJerseyChessMom , thanks for the link! As I noted in some comments on the “other forum”, the article was interesting in that the study attempted to use scientific method to test a theory that has been “conventional wisdom” in the body building/power lifting/strength conditioning world for many years. Of course, the test protocol in the study was unsustainable but the application of this approach to muscular development and weight loss has been applied successfully on a long term basis “in the field”. It will be interesting to see the results of future studies with a different population and a more reasonable protocol.
@mom60,
My protein powder is listed as “super high protein” (24 gm/serving) but I dont see any of the supplements.
Jym-http://www.livebeaming.com/products/beaming-organic-raw-plant-based-superfood-protein-blend-w-greens-1lb/
This is the protein powder I have. I use 1 tablespoon in my chia pudding. It doesn’t have anywhere near the amount of protein of your powder… I find I have to make sure it gets blended in. It tastes pretty chalky if you don’t get it mixed in. I ordered it at the suggestion of a friend but I doubt I will reorder it. I use power greens which I buy at Costco. They sell smaller bags at the regular grocery store. It is a mix of baby kale,spinach and I’m not sure what else. As part of getting healthy for a longer life I’m trying to eat more vegetables.
I am on Cipro for an infection and I’ve added probiotics to my diet. I wonder if they will help with bloating. I have noticed that today I am wearing a blouse and I am pleased with how it is fitting.
I would love to get a high powdered blender and start making smoothies. My bullet blades aren’t that great any longer. I find that every few years I have to replace it. I’ve made some green juice in the food processor. I blend everything and put it through the strainer. It is a lot of work.
I’d also like to get a new fitness tracker.
For those interested in protein powders, Plant Fusion is an excellent vegan protein source. My daughter, who is a very experienced trainer, uses it for herself and recommends it to all of her clients who want a vegan option. For those looking for a whey based protein powder, Biochem makes the platinum standard. It’s the one I use. Both are very clean and produced under the best standards.
My bullet blender was also mediocre. I got the ninja thing that makes smoothies and have been happy with it.
,I don’t get the attraction of smoothies.
1% organic milk, frozen organic strawberries and blueberries, whey protein powder, organic peanut butter and a banana. The perfect exercise recovery meal for me. And it tastes soooo good. That’s the attraction of a smoothie for me. I have a Nutra Ninja Duo blender which is a work horse.
@MichaelnKat Do you put chia, flax or any other seeds into your smoothie?
Also for protein powders do you recommend getting the plain ones vs the flavored ones?
I don’t put any seeds in my smoothies simply because I use ingredients that I would have around the house to eat as food anyway and I’m generally not a seed eater. I also tend to use ingredients that serve my limited objectives of providing post workout protein for muscle repair and building and simple carbohydrates (the fruit) to provide a quick high glycemic replenishment of glycogen for fuel. I use chocolate flavored powder because I like the taste with the other ingredients. With flavors, you have to watch the added sugar and artificial sweetening and flavoring content. The Biochem I use has only 6 gms of sugar per serving (cane juice) and no artificial sweeteners or flavors. Biochem also makes a sugar free chocolate powder (again no artificial sweeteners or flavors) which I would prefer but it’s not available in my local stores. But since I’m mindful of and avoid added sugars in general, the 6 gms of sugar aren’t going to “kill” me. I’ve tried adding kale but am not crazy about the taste alterations in a smoothie even though I like kale with a cooked meal. For me, my smoothies are like the taste and texture experience of a really good milkshake but healthy and I don’t want to add ingredients that will detract from that sensory experience :).
@mom60 here is a review of trackers
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/projects/activity-trackers?ref=well-ccol
Just noticed that is dated 2014 FYI
I do like my Fitbit tracker. And I really like the look of the new one coming out in March - Alta I think. I tried a Garmin and it was just too big on my wrist so I gave it to my son. Even though I can’t see the number of steps on mine (flex) I can easily check the app on my phone. And I use the app to log what I’ve eaten. Plus I have a friend who invites me to join challenges and since she’s does an amazing job walking it keeps me motivated! Although I can never beat her weekend totals!
The walking I’ve been doing is really helping. I’ve lost 3 percentage points off my BFI since I started the end of October. Half of that in the past month since I’ve really started to track what I eat and try to eat much better. Lots of veggies, 2-3 servings of fruit a day and limiting grains and alcohol. I do eat a bit of dark chocolate most days - I can’t give that up and it’s a nice treat! And I’ve been pretty religious about walking. I’ve hit 10,000 steps every day for the past 3 months except Christmas Day and the day I flew home from visiting my parents in Florida. I was too exhausted to get on the treadmill when I got home!