ahhhhh

[CindyN]

here I go again. I just wrote out a whole post and my computer ate it so I'm going to have to take another 20 minutes to write it all out! grrrr hehe.

Anyway, I'm back and I was saying that I learned a lot from you guys last time around when I had plateaued and was asking for diet advice and whatnot.

Just a week before Xmas I got a real bad sinus infection that stopped me from doing a lot of things. Constant pounding headache and crap in my lungs...awful stuff but I'm glad that's over. Just before I got sick I was noticing awesome changes in my physique...like I had a 4 pack instead of a 2 LOL. I want a 6 but wow the discipline ya need for that! I saw a lot more muscle definition in my legs as well so I knew I was on the right track. Then I got sick...and then the holidays came filled with food food and some drink haha. Glad to say I didn't do too much damage when I stepped on the scale and took my measurements again just this past Monday. But anyway, who knew I needed that break because I noticed strength gains!! All my weights have to go up for next week! We always remind ourselves that taking time of weights for a week or longer really helps you fully recover and you actually get gains from it...but some of us are stubborn lol.

Anyway so I'm doing:
Mon Back/Bis
Tues 45 minutes cardio using different machines for 15 minutes at a time (stairclimber/treadmill/elliptical..not neccesarily in that order.I mix it up) with 15 minutes of HIIT when I'm on the treadmill.
Wed Legs/Abs
Thurs Same cardio as Tuesday
Fri Chest/Tris
Sat same cardio as Tuesday or if I'm rushed I'll do about 30 minutes of HIIT.

This was my intake for today (from fitday):

Calories Eaten Today

source grams cals %total
Total: 1648
Fat: 33 299 19%
Sat: 8 73 5%
Poly: 4 38 2%
Mono: 6 56 4%
Carbs: 134 469 30%
Fiber: 16 0 0%
Protein: 198 793 51%
Alcohol: 0 0 0%

Meal 1) 4 egg whites scrambled, 1 cup cooked oatmeal with 1/2 cup of unsweetened applesauce and dash of cinnamon and tsp of splenda.

legs/abs workout

Meal 2) Right after my workout: Protein shake with frozen strawberries and 1/2 small container of vanilla fat free yogurt.

Meal 3) 1/2 tuna sandwich on 100% whole wheat bread with 1 cup of spinach salad and 1 med sized apple (peeled)...no dressing or anything.

Meal 4) Stuffed turkey cutlets with 1 ounce of partly skimmed mozza and 2 med. mushrooms. 1.5 cup of spinach salad including 1/2 cup of regular lettuce (no dressing) and 1 cup of cottage cheese.

These two are planned meals:

Meal 5) Protein shake made with water and 1 tablespoon of Adam's unsweetened, unsalted peanut butter.

Meal 6) 4 egg whites scrambled before bed if hungry.

So what do you guys think? Is there enough fibre in there now? I only have two meals with starchy carbs. I think the calories are high enough too. I don't feel hungry and I do feel like I have energy.

But critique away by all means!

And here's a recent pic of my back....most accomplished bodypart as of late! hehe...I guess you'll have to copy and paste it because I can't figure out how to get it to show from yahoo.

http://briefcase.yahoo.com/bc/savannah25/vwp?.dir=/Yahoo!+Photo+Album&.dnm=yahoo.jpg&.src=bc&.view=l& .done=http%3a//briefcase.yahoo.com/bc/savannah25/lst%3f%26.dir=/Yahoo!%2bPhoto%2bAlbum%26.src=bc%26.view=l

[CindyN]

hmm okay

Sorry you had to wait so long for a response. I saw your post yesterday but to be completely honest with you, I just didn't feel like taking the time to respond at the time.

Right off the bat looks like you are not including enough fat in your meals. I'd also ditch the yogurt, it's loaded with too many sugars/carbohydrates, at least the ones I've seen.

Other than that it's difficult to really comment on your diet since I don't know enough about you, things like:

1. Your stats
2. how long you've been on this particular diet with those numbers
3. if this was the same diet you were using when you were getting good results

Also, when you speak of strength gains, again, I don't know your stats but I'm willing to bet that the reason you were able to gain strength again was because you went OFF your cutting diet over the holidays. The same thing has happened to me, which is one reason why I'm not cutting my calories at all, cause I want to gain strength. I have a feeling that your getting back on that diet you posted, it's probably not enough calories to allow you to gain strength, unless of course you are a TOTAL beginner. It's just been my experience that anytime you cut your calories below your maintenance calories, that it's VERY difficult to gain strength, of course it also depends on how lean you are already.

Anyway, hope this helps. The more details you give me, the more details I can give you. /forum/images/graemlins/wink.gif

P.S. Oh, and that link to your photo doesn't work. Make sure you have the photo album labeled "Public" and not "Private". Also, in yahoo you cannot link to a SINGLE photo. You have to link to the whole folder, at least in my experience.