To ask how to get fit?

[happylittlefish]

I'm very slim, but am not fit. I have an okay diet and do a little exercise, but I want to be healthier. I need ideas on exercise that is easy to incorporate into a busy schedule and high calorie but healthy food ideas. In a typical day I'll eat:

• Cereal/porridge & grapes
• Wholemeal sandwich, banana, apple, flapjack/cereal bar/yogurt etc
• Tea, whatever it may be (pasta, burgers, pizza, chicken & rice, fish etc)

The thing I really struggle with is binging - and its always on crappy food. I really want to be healthy and fit. Can you help me??

When I started tracking food when I was lifting weights I discovered I was only eating about 800kcals a day.

And then binged at night. Today has been similar. Quick, healthy food.

And I feel I want to raid the chocolate cupboard.

You need to eat good amounts of food to put on weight and muscle.

For a protein filled breakfast when I don't fancy eggs, I make protein pancakes or stick protein powder in my oats. Protein powders aren't my favourite thing and prefer whole foods. But some mornings I can't face cooking eggs and chicken.

Or put protein powder into Greek yoghurt

I think the key to fitness is to find something you really, really love doing, so that you stop thinking "I've had a crap day, so I'll skip the gym" and start thinking "I've had had a shitty day so I can't wait to beat the crap out of someone at Thai boxing/ bitch about it to my mates at netball/ run on my own until all I can think about is the rhythm of my feet".

Thank you for responses 😊 I'm going to buy some small weights and incorporate some extra cardio.

I need a food plan for tomorrow that I'm REALLY going to try to stick to. So far I'm thinking:

• 2 eggs, one slice wholemeal toast
• Banana, mixed nuts
• Tuna salad, apple
• 2 Pollock (fish) fillets, lots of mixed veg

Tomorrow, will also go for a run in the morning and will walk the dog in the evening

Breakfast for me is chorizo, mushrooms, courgette, spinach and tomato (and coffee). Not an egg in sight.

Fish is good for protein

Have you worked out the calories in that?

Nuts and lentils. I also stopped thinking about food as breakfast food or not breakfast food. Breakfast food is whatever fits your goals and you want to eat for breakfast

What I found mfp really good for is swapping out things I didn't fancy eating for things I did

I'm reakon ing 300 cal breakfast, banana 60 nuts 200 assuming a good handful, 120 for the tuna 60 for the salad 80 for the apple, 250 for the pollock. A generous 100 for the veg.

I think you would struggle to bring that in over 1200 cals. I suspect you are seriously under fuelling your body. Especially for the amount of exercise you are doing

Add lots of olive oil to your salad, also kidney beans or cannelini beans to get your calories up healthily.

Also I love an avocado smooshed onto toast with eggs on top and then some grated cheese. For me it's a treat weekend breakfast, but it is still full of nutritious healthy stuff, and given you need to gain weight / muscle Id say you could have it whenever you want!

See, this is where I struggle. When I try and eat healthily, I skimp on the calories which results in a binge, so then I lose motivation and give up.

Can anyone give me an example of a healthy day but with sufficient calories please?

My usual day is (won't use a day with eggs for breakfast)

Is oats, protein powder and High protein peanut butter

Lunch is mackerel or chicken with veg and butter or olive oil

Dinner is something like home made chilli and sweet potato wedges.

Late evening I eat oats again, with Greek yoghurt. What I throw on top of that depends on what I have eaten during the day.

I bulk my calories out with olive oil, butter and peanut butter.

I try to eat about 1800kcal a day as I run five days a week and train four.

Non eggy breakfasts...

Have toast with
-smoked salmon and cream cheese

• banana and peanut butter (or almond/cashew, avoid those with added palm oil)
• mashed avocado with chilli sprinkles if you like it
• smoked mackerel pate (whizz smoked mackerel with cream cheese, lemon juice and black pepper in blender or just mash to smooth consistency)
• sautéed mushrooms and spinach, grated cheese on top

Or

• porridge or overnight oats with nuts and seeds and berries/banana
• Greek yoghurt with fruit and raw nuts

Lunch-a big salad with as much veg as you can manage but also a fist size portion of protein and some whole food carbs - beans, chickpeas, quinoa..and a dressing based on cold pressed oil - eg olive/walnut. Or a soup on similar basis. Jacket potato with tuna mayo/chilli/coronation chicken/baked beans and salad..

Snack on raw nuts, celery/Apple/banana with nut butter. Homous or guacamole with crudités. Cheese and oatcakes. Feta and watermelon. Greek yoghurt. Dark chocolate. Or a piece of homemade cake!

Dinner, another portion of protein and plenty of veg, with lentils/chickpeas/brown rice/root veg. Include some fat by adding a sauce, or drizzle oil or butter on veggies...

Thank you! Those examples look very nice 😊 I'll see if I can eat similar tomorrow

Just checked my fitness pal for today.

I have only eaten 1127 calories today. Which is why I am feeling like I want to raid the cupboard.

It's been a busy day and I have just grabbed stuff. Healthy stuff. I work from home so it's easier. But I have been for a run and has a 1-2-1 kick boxing session which is brutal and non stop.

I have covered 20,000 steps and according to my Fitbit (which I don't take as gospel, just a guide) burned over 2500 kcal.

I am trying to lose some fat at the moment. So I will go make myself a fairly big meal to get the calories in. But remain in deficit. I will try to finish on around 1800kcal, although it's getting quite late to get all those kcals in.

I have given you these figures to show you how you could be under eating. Especially if you want to gain weight.