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)

Its not so much that the people who have replied do not think she should eat that many carbs, as such, but I think we are looking at it through a personal trainers eyes and trying to see what she might be on about. Rather than it be the cheese like one poster said, if there is anything to tweak I suspect it would be the carbs.

You can only do 2 things with carbs, and that is store them or burn them.

Calorie wise it is lowish but I dont think its low enough to be in starvation mode - I do however think you could increase it by a good 300 calories a day by eating more protein, less carbs, and still lose more weight.

If you are losing at a good rate and consistently and feel happy and healthy with a more carby diet (some do! I'd be ravenous but if you are in the swing of it...) then stick with it.

Also, if you want to increase your lean mass (build muscle, basically) then you need to be getting adequate protein in your diet. Increasing lean mass should be the ultimate goal as it will increase your metabolism and give your body a toned, strong and balanced form.

I would fire the PT and get a new one then go to Slimming world or Weight Watchers to learn how to get a balance in your diet

From reading that I actually dont think you are allowing your body enough callories and bulky stuff to eat

You need more bulk food and you need more fruit and veg..

well done on loosing 3 stones though now make sure you dont endup with a eating disorder at the end of it

I have had Personal Trainers since I was 19- TBH from my experience- you're not snacking enough.

Lokk at the time of day you eat and what you're drinking. More water = less retention

Also you are doing well on the excersize thing but how much do you move during the day generally? this has a big iumpact

Mosschops 3 stone is amazing well done to you

Your diet looks ok to me, but personally i would cut out some of the carbs, maybe have grilled bacon and tomato for breakfast on some days, instead of cereal, also i would be starving on that diet, i dont think what you ate on friday was enough calories, but i am a gannet

Why not just ask your PT what she means by her "really need to work on your eating" message? Until you know, it's all guess work isn't it?

Just one thought, are your portion sizes a bit generous perhaps?

Most of the above is a load of bollocks. There is nothing wrong with carbs, is what's put on them that is more relevant. Carbs are in themselves low fat and filling. You could ban cheese, as some people have stated, but otherwise your diet looks fine to me. Small portions with as little fat as pos and try to avoid snacking on anything other than an apple.

If in doubt get a calorie book and start counting them. The only way to lose weight is to burn off more calories than you eat and the only way to be sure of that is to count the calories in what you are eating. Provided you limit yourself to around 1000-1500 calories per day, you should lose weight.

Is there anyway you can increase the exercise? A long walk each day with the pram will burn off about 100 calories per mile.

5 a day a marketing ploy? Because fruit and veg aren't actually a good idea? WTF?

I second the fact I don't think you are eating enough tbh! I would add in a few snacks in the morning/ afternoon. Also depends what cereal you are eating, perhaps more porridge or protein for breakfast as lots of cereals are loaded with sugars.

What about Yoghurt, honey and fruit as an option? But check for hidden sugar content as you might be better off having a smaller amount of fat in the full fat product (greek yoghurt) than the larger amount of saturating sugars in a low fat yoghurt.

Also I would swap you bread for Rye bread open sandwhich much more filling and sustaining.

Now if only I could follow my own advice I would be fine!

5 a day was a marketing thing in the US. Not to say that eating fruit and veg is a bad idea, just that there is no statistical evidence to say that eating 5 portions is better than 4 or 6 portions.

What I meant was, as long as you have fruit and veg in your diet, don't worry if it is not the 5 a day.

Of course it was a marketing thing, all over europe too in dif quantaties, but its not a "ploy", its a PSA. Fruit and veg are good things and people need to be encouraged to eat more of them (and hopefully less crap). It was only 5 a day here because people would have ignored it had it been the 10 a day that is more correct.

Isn't it that there's little statistically to say 5 a day are better at preventing cancer? I'm sure there is plenty of evidence to show that 5 portions of fruit and veg a day are better for you than, say, 5 portions of CAKE [imagine said in Marjorie Dawes voice].

OP, I still think the key question here is - are you continuing to lose weight? If so then I wouldn't change anything. I'm relieved others have said this looks like not much food - I thought so but am aware I'm a gannet.

More protein, fewer carbs.

Doesn't look like too much at all, in fact as others have said I'd be starving on that.
Looks perfectly healthy and I think your PT is mad.

However, if you want to try adjustments, I'd say try upping the protein. More beans and pulses, nuts (great as snacks) as well as lean meat and fish. Tofu/soya if you like them (I don't much...). Miso soup is great.

You need the protein to convert to muscle if you're doing a lot of exercise. If you do a lot of exercise on that diet I think your body will struggle.

If you up the protein you may find you can cut back some of the bread as well.

LOLing at all the varied responses!

Well done on your loss so far mosschops. That is fab.

I would agree that your trainer may mean that your diet is a bit carb heavy and veg and protein light. But she may not so it's prob best to ask her to email you a suggested day's menu.

I used to go to a gym years ago and the gym manager was fantastic and it was like having a PT. I used to keep a food diary too and he would go through it every few days with a red pen! He would always suggest more protein and less white/processed carbs.

Tryharder - I too am A blood group and bought that book on my Dad's recommendation. I am very over weight and I am convinced it is partly to do with years of following Slimming World and Weight Watchers plans and eating lots of carbs! I have been most successful with Atkins although couldn't stick to it and put it all (and more) back on.

I am currently losing weight steadily by cutting out all white carbs. No bread except for rye bread -the heavy Scandinavian/Germanic one. No potatoes or rice or pasta and nothing made with flour or sugar. So breakfast is either a slice of rye bread with a small amount of peanut butter and a banana or other fruit or granola with skim milk and some fruit or porridge. Lunch is salad with protein or soup. Dinner is protein again with salad or roast veg. Snacks are natural yoghurt and fruit or oatcakes with hummus or Philadelphia light or a banana. I feel I can continue to eat like this as it doesn't feel like a diet. I am eating good food. I also have so much more energy than I did when i was eating 'white' carbs.

Oh - would agree that beans and pulses are great so if you are making soup add a tin of chickpeas or lentils to bulk it out and make it more filling. A fave salad I am doing at the moment is a tin of lentils rinsed and drained mixed with chopped cucumber, cherry tomatoes and peppers and you can add some protein like tuna or chicken if you like but it is filling anyway.

wow thanks for all the replies

I cant believe people think my diet is carb heavy, I would normally eat some sort of carb at every meal but have now cut that down and only monday's dinner was carbs, nothing else.

Why is it light on veg, I am eating 5 a day at least.
I dont drink tea, coffee or fizzy drinks, I drink about 3-4 pints of water a day (more if im training) also green tea one in morning and one at night.

I think people are right about the balancing though, I cant seem to get it right with protein etc.

I just dont want to follow a diet plan as such, I have always been able to maintain a good weight before from healthy eating and regular exercise. If I want to eat at Nandos with my family on a saturday then thats what Im going to do. I think thats where the problems start when you deprive yourself of certain things.

sorry meant that the only time I had carbs in the evening was on monday

Are you sure you have the right end of the stick? When she says 'work on your eating' that is rather vague.

She might mean that she feels you ought to be eating smaller but more frequent meals for example. Has she sent you a sample of what she would regard as a typical 'good' plan?

MmeLindt, there is plenty of evidence that you should eat AT LEAST 5 servings a day. (The phrase itself may have been developed as part of a marketing campaign, but that doesn't mean that it's not true) The diet that the OP has posted has nowhere near 5 servings of fruit and veg a day. It is unhealthy. But most importantly, one should go on a diet that one can sustain long term, so that one is developing good eating habits.

TryHarder, I am thin BECAUSE I eat no more than my body needs to keep a constantly healthy weight, not because I "eat next to nothing." When I was younger and more active, I'm sure that I must have eaten more to maintain the same weight. One needs to adjust according to your lifestyle changes. (ie, I may weight the same as I did when I was 17 and played 4 hours a day of soccer, but I certainly don't eat anywhere near the same amount now at 46 with a sedentary job and no time for exercise). But again, it is important to eat a well balanced diet on a regular basis. And portion control has been shown over and over again to be essential in maintaining a healthy weight.

Fkn hell ozziegirly - you are eating less than 600 calories a day on the diet you propose.
That's not safe. You're risking muscle wastage, mineral deficiencies and bone mass loss.

Not healthy At All.

Nah, it's fine. I felt lovely and healthy and I kept the weight off for ages.

It's not for everyone, but it's a pretty quick way of shifting that last stone, when, for a lot of people, they feel like giving up.

If you're happily losing weight slowly, then wonderful, but for me, I needed to see it going off as I can't be arsed with only losing 1-2lbs a week.

I think of it as a food version of those diets where you just have drinks, and shift the weight super quickly.

Nothing to add just wanted to say well done mosschops go girl!

But Ozziegirly those diets are very bad for you too. Starving your body is a very ineffective way to lose weight in the long term, and the aim of any eating plan should be to get you to a healthy balance diet that you can then adopt for the rest of your life, with no more dieting (ever).

Mosschops I don't know how intense your exercise is, but it looks to me that you really are not eating enough at all.When dh and I weight trained we ate a great deal more than that and lost weight too.

Personally, my body's need for nutrition trumps any psychological need to "see it go off".

i think you need to see your doctor ozziegirl, and I'm not even joking. You have a really dangerous attitude to meals, like all food intake is some sort of weakness.

I'm a PT and would like to point out that even tho we do nutrition courses as part of our training (or she should have) we are not qualified dieticans (which takes a degree). I do agree with your PT your diet doesn't look optimal, I would be making you eat more but of healthier foods however instead of coming to mumsnet and asking their opinion wouldn't it be better to email her back and ask for suggestions?

"Why is it light on veg, I am eating 5 a day at least."

Well if you are then you are not being truthful with us about your food diary as there is no sign of 5 a day in what you have written.