Former Army Mom of 2 and PhD Student hopes to go from fat to fab

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drdaco

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Hi everyone.

I hope all of you can help me with my daily struggle to get fit again.

I was an Army buff chick, had first child, lost the weight++, but entered grad school and had a second child and gained 50lbs. Now I need to go from 200 back to 155 at least. I'd be happy with 165, but I want to get myself well within my 5'8" goal weight.

But this isn't just about my weight...I need more energy and health to keep up with my kids and the grueling school work I do.

My biggest hurtle is portion sizes. Its not hard for me to cut sweets (cause I hate sugar), or to add healthy stuff because I love brown rice and LOVE veggies even just steamed. But I eat too much and too fast (army way I guess).

So the diet I'm following is the one I did to get back to my weight after the first child. Its high protein, complex carbs, northern fruits, and lotsa veggies.

So my questions are:

If my lunch is say, brown rice, veggies and chicken breast, how big should the portion sizes be?

Also, my metabolism is shot...so besides eating more often and smaller, how else can I naturally increase metabolism without resorting to high-caffeine containing drugs.

My kness are shot also, so swimming is my cardio. What knee friendly butt-ending weights are there?

Any other tips that involve food and cooking for a family while "dieting" (it's really not much of a diet, just choosing better options) is welcome.

Thanks to everyone! :newbie:
 
Are you eating 3,4,5 or 6 meals a day? You need to determine your maintenenace calories (BMR (base metabolism rate) + calories burned through activity) then subtract 200-500 for a calorie deficit, divide by the number of meals per day and then set your portion sizes from that. Be sure you get enough protien (1-1.5 times your body weight per day).

BTW, what kind of engineer are you? I am ex Navy electrical engineer, but only made it to a MS before work and family diverted me...
 
Yes, I'm trying to eat more often, but Im really not getting hungry! I think I'm going to break up my breakfast into two meals. I had 1/2 cup of oatmeal with 1/5 of an apple cut up, some cinnamon sprinkles and a 1 tsp of brown sugar. Then I made a 3 egg white 1 yolk ommellet . When I was training it was 4 egg whites but I think the yolk has great nutrients to give up and I'm going agains my old trainers advice. When I counted up the calories with CalorieKing it said 640! gasp!!!

CalorieKing software says I need no more than 1530 cals per day and with lunch I got only 400 left. And I didn't nothing today, it's freezing outside...I might have to get some *married* activity later for the sake of exercise lol

So I found online that 4oz of meat = deck of cards.

I have to add some exercise so I can have some room to add snacks like a protein shake and break up breakfast.

Should I do eggs first or oatmeal? Next week I start swimming PE classes at the university and it's 2 hours 2x/week. With some weight training in between and some weekend play with the kids and I should be good.

PS, I'm in Materials. Navy? They tried to recruit me for the Nuke program...almost went until I learned of the whole 6 months at sea deal.
 
drdaco said:
Yes, I'm trying to eat more often, but Im really not getting hungry! I think I'm going to break up my breakfast into two meals. I had 1/2 cup of oatmeal with 1/5 of an apple cut up, some cinnamon sprinkles and a 1 tsp of brown sugar. Then I made a 3 egg white 1 yolk ommellet . When I was training it was 4 egg whites but I think the yolk has great nutrients to give up and I'm going agains my old trainers advice. When I counted up the calories with CalorieKing it said 640! gasp!!!
Click to expand...

never mind me...I put 4oz because I made a 1/2 cup of oatmeal...instead it should have been 1.4 oz or like the box said 39g. So my breakfast was actually only 346 calories. And after I found that out, I still had a protein shake at night (Muscle Milk) and still only had 1413 calories all day. This calorie / food choice thing is kindda fun because I can search for foods that maximize health instead of stuffing my face with crap I have no idea what they put inside!
 
Sounds like you're starting to get the hang of it! It is fun to play with the data like this.

Don't forget to look at the macronutrient composition of the meals you are creating too. That goes hand in hand with the portion sizes you choose. There are a lot of ways to make a 250-400 calorie meal of chicken breast, brown rice, and steamed veggies, but they are not all nutritionally equivalent!

Keep up the good work!
 
thanks for the kudos! it is very true. I love mixed veggies but I know that it has both corn and carrots, not great at night. So I'm not going cold turkey cause I think even corn has it's benefits perhaps not nutritionally...hehe but I'm not giving up on carrots simply on GI, I'll just choose to have it in the afternoon or have it at night once in a while.
 
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