It's getting difficult but I'm hanging in

joosefu

New member
I know if I lived on my own I wouldn't have this problem. Well for the past two to three weeks I have lost around 11lbs and gained some muscle. I have been intaking around 1000-1900 calories each day, though each day is pretty inconsistent now that I am approaching week four to five. I have been trying to stick with exercise at the gym on a five day a week schedule and on the weekends just running or jogging several miles. However each weekend I really do not jog or run, I just relax from not having to goto work the previous five days.

I know it would be much easier for me to get into tip top shape if I had someone to run with or do physical activity with, however I don't. I am quite proud of my progress so far, however being that I'm going into the Navy come January or so I would like to get down to a healthy weight of 160 with a great deal of muscle. I'm currently however 173lbs, which is the lowest I have been since the beginning of high school (I've been graduated for two full years). I feel like I'm slipping back by not being able to goto the gym everyday like I wish I could, however I don't have a vehicle and asking my friends to take me here and there makes me feel horrible.

What I would really like to be able to do is take a train ride to Philadelphia every weekend and run with a group of two or three people. Shit, maybe I should just start dating and find a nice girl to run with, though that might be odd? Who knows.

What I have been eating everyday is usually a bowl of cheerios with non-fat milk. Today I had two pieces of wheat bread with light butter (just a tiny bit) with two eggs and a bowl of cheerios. For lunch I had 34 oz of water and some hummus and pita (390 calories). As for dinner I had a small pork chop with bread crumbs some wheat rice and mixed vegetables and some milk.

I think that's a pretty good day, however the only exercise I did today was a 1 mile run and probably 100 or so push ups throughout the day. I would feel much better if I could have done 30 minutes of swimming 30 minutes of jog / running and some push ups, pull ups and machine weight lifting.

The bad thing about myself is that I am quite inconsistent. It's hard for me to complete my ideal getting in shape plan:

6 am wake up
6:30 am run / jog for 30 minutes
7 am eat breakfast (500 calories)
7:30 am do stretches / push ups / sit ups /etc
8 am run / jog for another 30 minutes
8:30 am do stretches / push ups / sit ups / etc
9 am rest until work at 12pm
12 pm work until 6 pm and eat lunch (200 calories)
6 pm finish work and eat dinner (400 calories)
7 pm goto the gym and swim for 30 minutes / jog and run for 30 minutes / pull ups / sit ups/ push ups / machine weights / etc
9 pm finish the gym and come home and watch tv / video games / etc


I think that's a good daily plan, but I'm sure it can be picked apart by someone who has been exercising for longer then I have been living. See, what I am trying to get in shape for is beyond just the military, as I do have an interest in roles that require more then just the average. I'm trying to go beyond and do something big and exciting.

The only time in the last week I felt I did bad in terms of eating was Sunday night for dinner, I ate a little more and the food I had wasn't exactly healthy. Not that it was any fast food, because to me there is no point in fast food in my life style. And for Monday night I was picking at left overs in the fridge and had some ice cream ( a spoon full ) some pretzels and saltines with peanut butter. I really wish I could have replaced all of those with some vegetables and hummus, or just vegetables and water alone.

I'm sure I'm being a little too hard on myself, but I have a goal that I will accomplish within the next two months, that being to get down to 160 and to look and feel good, but almost as importantly as the two following - to be able to do more.

My goals are:
to be able to do 100 push ups in 2 minutes.
to be able to do 100 sit ups in 2 minutes.
to be able to run 6 miles without breaking in under 35 minutes.
to be able to swim 500 meters in 10 minutes.

If you're familiar with some military programs, you might have a clue as to what I'm aiming for. If not, it probably wouldn't enlighten you anyways if I were more direct.

/end rant :sleeping:
 
I know if I lived on my own I wouldn't have this problem. Well for the past two to three weeks I have lost around 11lbs and gained some muscle. I have been intaking around 1000-1900 calories each day, though each day is pretty inconsistent now that I am approaching week four to five. I have been trying to stick with exercise at the gym on a five day a week schedule and on the weekends just running or jogging several miles. However each weekend I really do not jog or run, I just relax from not having to goto work the previous five days.

I know it would be much easier for me to get into tip top shape if I had someone to run with or do physical activity with, however I don't. I am quite proud of my progress so far, however being that I'm going into the Navy come January or so I would like to get down to a healthy weight of 160 with a great deal of muscle. I'm currently however 173lbs, which is the lowest I have been since the beginning of high school (I've been graduated for two full years). I feel like I'm slipping back by not being able to goto the gym everyday like I wish I could, however I don't have a vehicle and asking my friends to take me here and there makes me feel horrible.

What I would really like to be able to do is take a train ride to Philadelphia every weekend and run with a group of two or three people. Shit, maybe I should just start dating and find a nice girl to run with, though that might be odd? Who knows.

What I have been eating everyday is usually a bowl of cheerios with non-fat milk. Today I had two pieces of wheat bread with light butter (just a tiny bit) with two eggs and a bowl of cheerios. For lunch I had 34 oz of water and some hummus and pita (390 calories). As for dinner I had a small pork chop with bread crumbs some wheat rice and mixed vegetables and some milk.

I think that's a pretty good day, however the only exercise I did today was a 1 mile run and probably 100 or so push ups throughout the day. I would feel much better if I could have done 30 minutes of swimming 30 minutes of jog / running and some push ups, pull ups and machine weight lifting.

The bad thing about myself is that I am quite inconsistent. It's hard for me to complete my ideal getting in shape plan:

6 am wake up
6:30 am run / jog for 30 minutes
7 am eat breakfast (500 calories)
7:30 am do stretches / push ups / sit ups /etc
8 am run / jog for another 30 minutes
8:30 am do stretches / push ups / sit ups / etc
9 am rest until work at 12pm
12 pm work until 6 pm and eat lunch (200 calories)
6 pm finish work and eat dinner (400 calories)
7 pm goto the gym and swim for 30 minutes / jog and run for 30 minutes / pull ups / sit ups/ push ups / machine weights / etc
9 pm finish the gym and come home and watch tv / video games / etc


I think that's a good daily plan, but I'm sure it can be picked apart by someone who has been exercising for longer then I have been living. See, what I am trying to get in shape for is beyond just the military, as I do have an interest in roles that require more then just the average. I'm trying to go beyond and do something big and exciting.

The only time in the last week I felt I did bad in terms of eating was Sunday night for dinner, I ate a little more and the food I had wasn't exactly healthy. Not that it was any fast food, because to me there is no point in fast food in my life style. And for Monday night I was picking at left overs in the fridge and had some ice cream ( a spoon full ) some pretzels and saltines with peanut butter. I really wish I could have replaced all of those with some vegetables and hummus, or just vegetables and water alone.

I'm sure I'm being a little too hard on myself, but I have a goal that I will accomplish within the next two months, that being to get down to 160 and to look and feel good, but almost as importantly as the two following - to be able to do more.

My goals are:
to be able to do 100 push ups in 2 minutes.
to be able to do 100 sit ups in 2 minutes.
to be able to run 6 miles without breaking in under 35 minutes.
to be able to swim 500 meters in 10 minutes.

If you're familiar with some military programs, you might have a clue as to what I'm aiming for. If not, it probably wouldn't enlighten you anyways if I were more direct.

/end rant :sleeping:


200 calorie lunch?
 
I probably should bump the lunch to maybe 300 calories. I need to throw in healthy snacks as calories as well. I use to do about 1200 calories a day when exercising but that's sort of like starvation. I would probably have energy to run longer and do more workouts if I upped it to 1800 calories a day.
 
You are simply not eating enough calories to make any of those push-ups, pullups and machine weight count for anything.

If you want to get stronger (esp. for the Navy!) you really need to introduce another 50-100 grams of protein a day into your diet. You are going to plateau quick...any gains in strength you are gaining now are neurological efficiency gains. Those are going to start disappearing fast.

Michael

Edit: Stop worrying about having a scoop of ice cream and pretzels. They are carbs, just like whole wheat spaghetti and brown rice. It certainly isn't going to hurt you. You're a young guy doing a LOT of running and other exercise.

What you should be doing is stuffing two extra chicken breasts down your throat every day.
 
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You are simply not eating enough calories to make any of those push-ups, pullups and machine weight count for anything.

If you want to get stronger (esp. for the Navy!) you really need to introduce another 50-100 grams of protein a day into your diet. You are going to plateau quick...any gains in strength you are gaining now are neurological efficiency gains. Those are going to start disappearing fast.

Michael

Edit: Stop worrying about having a scoop of ice cream and pretzels. They are carbs, just like whole wheat spaghetti and brown rice. It certainly isn't going to hurt you. You're a young guy doing a LOT of running and other exercise.

What you should be doing is stuffing two extra chicken breasts down your throat every day.

Amen to this post!

Finally.... someone who 'gets' it!
 
Here's what I had the other day.

Calories: 380 + 340 + 320 = 1040 meals
Total Fat: 11g (1g saturated)
Cholesterol: 0mg
Sodium: 400mg
Potassium: 690mg
Total Carbohydrates: 160g
Dietary Fiber: 40g
Soluble Fiber: 8g
Insoluble Fiber: 33g
Protein: 26g
Sugars: 46g

I had a little more of each by a small amount because measurements aren't always 100%. I had a few crackers for snack and a 1/2 cup of apple.

I know I should be eating more meat but I don't feel bad, and I'm loosing weight.

My question to the experts is the following. If I'm eating a light calorie diet and then I revert to eating more calories but I increase my exercise by 50% more but eat more, say 1500-2000 calories, will I gain weight over my current diet? I'm almost in the 169lbs weight, 171 lbs to be exact from today's reading. I'm planning to begin eating more healthy foods like I currently am, but to intake more calories and other nutrients for the extra edge on exercising.

Thanks.
 
I'll commend you for keeping close tabs on your food intake and your detailed eating plan. I'm really rooting for you! However 26 g of protein a day is not enough! Not even close.

Your muscles NEED protein to maintain themselves, let alone grow. Muscle tissue is constantly breaking down through out the entire day. To rebuild, your muscles need to have amino acids (which ONLY come from protein) sent to them.

This is a continuous process. Try and at LEAST eat 50 g of protein a day. At a minimum. This is not what i'd recommend...my recommendation is far more than that (i'd love to tell you a daily minimum of 100 g and ideally 150 g, but I dont want to scare you off!)

So ya, pretty please, 50 g a day? That extra 100 calories of protein (from 25 g a day) will do you so much good.

Michael
 
Thank you. I will try it out and see if I notice a difference. I'm sure I will. :)

Edit: Yeah, I just read I need to at least double my protein intake. 45-60g a day is average for an adult male.
 
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