Gym joined…now what to eat!

[Jtdoyoveme]

Hi all,

I joined the gym in December and I’m doing around 4/5 classes a week. A mixture of bodybump, legs bums & core and yoga.

Now I need to concentrate on my diet…I am 39 and 12st 5lb. I have read low carb is good for weight lost, but have also read I need to have carbs after exercise so I don’t know how to plan my meals? also, should I be taking any supplements…I keep overhearing the PT’s talking about them.

Thank you 😊

In all honesty I would just focus on eating healthily and track calories because you can eat low carb all you like but if you're still eating more calories than you burn you'll still be overweight! Do not take dietary advice from fitness trainers unless they have specific qualifications in nutrition. For a middle aged woman doing a few gym classes a week you do not need to be taking protein shakes / powders etc. If you take anything I would go for a decent multi-vitamin and everyone should be taking vitamin D throughout the winter.

Low carb is intense if you do it properly and, if you're just starting / establishing an exercise routine I wouldn't do anything that drastic.

I try to:

Eat a a plant rich diet
Full fat, low UPF wherever possible
Smaller portions
30 different plants per week
Low sugar eg dark choc not milk for treats
Replace refined carbs with more natural so use courgette and mushrooms instead of pasta, salads not sandwiches, potatoes over pasta, make cauliflower rice
Snacks: veggies, nuts, boiled eggs, sliced ham, cheese, Greek yoghurt

For treats I'm trying to have only home baking - I do less so see each slice / cake as a real treat rather than being tempted to eat half a pack. Plus then what I have is healthier especially if I've added eg ground almonds to boost protein or done a seeded flapjack etc

Forgot the most important things!!

Sleep
Water

Thank you both 😊

Personally I dont agree with cutting out food groups EXCEPT ultra processed food. Listen to this podcast to understand why. Its excellent.

https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/feel-better-live-more-with-dr-rangan-chatterjee/id1333552422?i=1000640341125

Thank you. I’ll have a listen 😊