To think that my PT is crazy .... just look at last weeks food diary

[mosschops30]

I have to send my food diary to my trainer every week (trying to lose 4 stone of baby weight, one stone left to go) This week she emailed me back and said 'yes its ok in some areas but we really need to work on your eating if you want that bikini body for your hols'
Now dont get me wrong, my goal is to be back to a size 8/10 and in a bikini but I really cant do any better with my eating and exercising.

Have a look and tell me what you think:

Mon 3rd
B - Bowl of cereal
L - Cheese & celery sandwich on wholemeal bread
D - Spaghetti carbonara (no cream, small amount of spaghetti)
(30 lengths swimming)

Tue 4th
B - Bowl of cereal
L - Humous & celery, onion bagel with cream cheese & a tomato
D - Homemade beef burgers (no bun) with salad

Wed 5th
B - Bowl of cereal
L - Jacket potato with beans & tuna (no mayo no butter)
D - Chicken breast with roasted veg
(1.5 hours gym)

Thurs 6th
B - Porridge & banana
L - Ham, chicken & swiss cheese baguette
D - Tuna steak & homemade ratatouille
(45 min spin class)

Fri 7th
B - Porridge & banana
L - Leftover ratatouiile & 3 ryvita
D - Homemade vegetable soup (no bread)
(i hr pilates class)

dump the cheese

I guess it depends on what sort of diet you're on. My PT agreed to a low carb, low GI diet so we'd cut the cheese, bananas, humous, bread products, pasta and potatoes from that list (porridge is ok cos of the slow release first thing)

so... as I said - depends on the diet programme I guess but there are things you could choose to leave out if you want to. Maybe that's what she meant?

It does look like I have a lot of cheese, but generally dont as the two sandwiches I had when we were out on two separate days, at home its normally tuna or prawn salad or a jacket potato.
She said I have to cut out carbs in the evening meal which ive done (apart from the spaghetti carbonara) but we only have pasta once a week and I would normally have wholemeal

how much are PTs?

Mine is £30 an hour think gerenally theyre £20-£30.
I only see her once a month, its all I can afford and she does me a new training programme every month. I dont need to train with someone every week

Bump??

So does this mean that everyone is in agreement with crazy woman

Where's your protein on Friday?

yes

there wasnt any

noooooo patterwig

It certainly doesn't look like a huge amount of food to me - but there doesn't seem to be all that much fruit or veg some days. And I wondered about the cereal - is that a bit sugary? Might you be better off with porridge and fruit every day? I'm a big fan of porridge and fruit myself...

Lots very bread/carb heavy to me. You could eat more food but lose more weight if you tweaked it a bit. You must be starving on that. I'm not talking low carb just balance it up a bit to 40/30/30 because that is nowhere near that ratio (not that that is what your trainer said you should do, necessarily, but trust me, give it a try, you'll feel less hungry and more energised and lose more fat/gain some lean mass)

Agree with others - it isn't at all excessive in quantity, or calories, for someone just trying to maintain, but to actively lose weight (any time this century, without neeing to run a marathon a week) it's still too carb-heavy.

Carb heavy and not enough protein, I would say. Also more fruit and veg to replace some of the carbs.

Are you snacking between meals? With that amount of phys you could probably do with some nuts/seeds or protein based snacks.

I don;t get this line
Spaghetti carbonara (no cream, small amount of spaghetti)"

Carb heavy, people think? Oh my. I am clearly carb addicted.

My question, though is - are you still actually losing weight or have you stalled? If you're still losing at a reasonable rate (1-2 lbs a week, most weeks) I would be inclined to carry on as you are and not worry. Then again you may not want to pay someone £30 to ignore their advice, I guess.

Well done on losing 3 stones btw! You shouldn't forget, in the struggle over the last bit of weight, that that's a blood good achievement.

OK, can I be the lone voice of reason here? She's bonkers.

Clearly, if you're eating bin-lid sized portions of the above there's a problem, but if that's really all you're eating in a day, then you don't want to be eating any less. And about the bikini - if you've got a stone to lose, then at a rate of 1 - 2 lb a week that's going to take between 7 and 14 weeks, regardless of when your holiday is. Losing weight any more quickly is not healthy, and not sustainable. And anyway, if you're less than a stone overweight on holiday (which you will be!), then you're going to look more than passable in a bikini!

I'm doing WeightWatchers at the moment, am losing weight consistently, and am near my goal, so eating the least amount of food so far . And today I had

B - Bran flakes and milk
L - Roll with ham and salad, few crisps, a couple of squares of chocolate and some blueberries
D - Sausage and potato hotpot
Snacks - several cups of tea with sugar, blueberry and oat biscuits, and fruit.

I thought the common sense approach these days was small amounts of carbs with every meal (like 50g pasta, slice of bread, potato the size of your fist, which isn't loads), preferably slow burning, together with some protein and fruit / veg?

It depends. I think it seems perfectly reasonable, but if you really want to lose that last stone (and amazingly well done on the previous weight loss!) then I would consider doing a bit of a fundamental change to achieve it.

I did this 3 years ago to lose a last stubborn stone and I kept it off until I got pregnant 6 months ago.

So;

Breakfast - fruit with a spoon of yogurt
Lunch - soup, 1 wholemeal roll if you're starving, but try to have nothing. Piece of fruit.
Dinner - steamed fish or chicken with loads of veg, or big salad, or chilli with no rice but loads of veg, followed by a piece of fruit.

No snacks, no booze, peppermint tea or water in the day.

Honestly it will fall off and it's not necessarily true to say it will all go back on again - I think my stomach permanently shrunk after doing that diet.

It's hard work, but when you go on the scales and you have lost 3lbs, it is wonderful!

I know I'll get shouted down, and I'm certainly not saying it's the perfect way, but it isn't that unhealthy really.

Where is the well balanced diet with 5 servings of fruit and veg a day? That is a ridiculous diet that you couldn't and shouldn't keep up long term. If you ate a healthy satisfying diet every day, then you could keep it up consistently long term.
For example, I am average height and thin and have been all my adult life (other than when pregnant). I never diet, I just eat a healthy diet and don't snack randomly between meals. A standard day's menu would be:

B - 1 piece of whole wheat toast with butter and 1 cup tea with 2 large sugars and whole milk.

Mid morn Snack - 1 chocolate covered biscotti with green tea, no milk or sugar

L - 1/2 sandwich or left overs from dinner the night before (eg, 1 chicken drumstick + 2 veg) and 1 piece of fruit. Green tea, no milk or sugar.

D - meat, chicken, fish or pasta with 1 starch (potato, rice or bread) and 2 veg (these are always dressed only with a little garlic, olive oil and lemon). I almost never cook with butter. I rarely have dessert and if I do, it's a piece of fruit. And I generally have a glass of sake with dinner (I don't like wine). But if you leave out the glass of alcohol, you will lose weight more quickly.

Use olive oil and lemon with garlic and spices when you cook. Don't use creams and butter. Don't cook too much and don't serve yourself too much. It makes a huge difference if you eat less.
Also, make sure you avoid hydrogenated vegetable oils (trans fats) and high fructose corn syrup. There is increasing evidence that these substances accelerate obesity. don't keep snack foods around the house and find something to do instead of snacking (it's a bit like quitting smoking....you have to change your habits). Drink water or green tea.
Good luck.

I am clearly as carb obsessed as you, OP, as I don't think you're eating too many! I would agree, though, that you're not eating enough food - especially not enough fruit and veg and perhaps could do with a bit more protein but cut out the cheese. I would also stop the cereal (high in calories for what it is) and swap for something egg based/ porridge/untoasted muesli with yoghurt. Well done on the weight loss to date! WHat does the trainer want you to eat?

I actually don't think that sounds like a lot of food - I would lose a lot of weight on what you are eating. I mean, take Friday's menu: porridge and banana = 400 - 500 calories if you had a massive bowl and used full fat milk, less if not; leftover ratatouille and ryvita = 300 calories tops; homemade veg soup - 100-200 calories for a massive bowl probably less. That isn't a lot, it really isn't, particularly if you're doing so much exercise and running around after a baby/toddler. As for the whole carb thing - has anyone ever read the Blood Group Diet? I am blood group A and I lose weight if I follow a high carb diet even I'm eating 2000+ calories a day. If I were to eat the same calories but lots of meat/protein, no carbs, I would not lose weight and would probably gain. Everyone is different.

And SofiaAmes, of course you are thin - you eat next to nothing!

It looks OKish. It would be too carb heavy for me but that is because I don't need to lose weight but need to be able to maintain muscle mass. For instance I would drop the cereal in the morning and have a couple of eggs or a protein/berry smoothie.

It really does depend on what the plan is. If you are paying her and she doesn't seem too extreme then I would listen to her.

If you don't want to follow her advice then not much point employing her at all really.

It isn't just about calories it is about what the calories are made up of.

When I am working out at my preferred level I actually eat almost 3,000 calories a day, just to maintain. At the moment I am only walking and breastfeeding so am eating more carbs and eating around 2,500 a day.

I do feel soft and floppy though so am thinking of seeing a trainer and working out a happy medium between lifting and breastfeeding.

I wonder if you're not eating enough and if your body's gone into starvation mode.

Are you hungry? Are you drinking hidden calories? - sugary ones? Are you getting enough water?

Forget about the 5 a day myth, it has been recently debunked as a marketing ploy.

Your menu looks fine to me.

There has been recent research that some people lose weight best on a low fat, some on a low carb diet. I do not think carbs are the devil's work. Your diet looks pretty balanced to me.

And you are doing lots of exercise.

Are you happy with the speed that the weight is coming off? (Well done on the 3 stone btw, that is fab.)