# needing nutrition advice



## bughut (Aug 18, 2007)

Recently joined the gym for a 6 week "empowerment" course. I've also signed up for 6 months after that. I'm 3 1/2 stones overweight and looking forward to ditching 2 of them. the rest I can live with.

I don't eat breakfast. Usually its a brew and 3 ciggies...Yeah i know!!

Anyway, i know i have to eat something before a workout. I'm driving on fumes! They do advise when to and when not to eat, but not _what to_...Maybe thats next weeks class.

In the meantime, Is it carbs or protein? I know i shouldnt eat a lot. Is salad with cheese and seeds really a good idea?

I've got till Monday to figure it out. (next session) I'm going twice a week inbetween sessions, but i'm staying away at the weekends.

Also pleased to say I'm eating healthy (NOT DIETING) But i did get a bargain on a bottle of Nuit st George 2000 That i will be enjoying all by myself tomorrow night with oatcakes and Stilton.

Edit. BTW UK members. Tesco are reducing a lot of their wines to make way for christmas stock. The above mentioned, i got for £5.53. On average, they're reducing by 75% tho. ..Get it there!!

Back to the matter in hand. Please help. I'm so confused as to what i should be eating before a workout


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## dc sunshine (Feb 26, 2007)

Good on you Bughut....stick with it  Getting started can be the hardest part, but you've committed to it, that's always a big step.

Wht time of day are your classes? Morning/afternoon/evening? Makes a difference for what you'll be likely to be wanting to eat. 

If morning, I'd go along these lines.....
Nothing too heavy obviously, but I'd keep it mainly carb, like a good balanced cereal, or multi-grain toast, low-cal jam or a scrape of honey, or some cottage cheese, low cal margarine, coffee or tea and a piece of fruit, Shy away from fruit juice mostly, too many cals. too little fibre. If you enjoy yoghurt, can mix it with a good fruity muesli the night before, keep it in fridge, enjoy with a drizzle of honey next morning.

And around 8 glasses water a day - helps flush out your system, and makes you feel fuller. Make sure to have some about half an hour before your fitness session to get you hydrated, and some after as well.

There's a lot of debate of carb vs protein. You know what healthy balanced eating is...just stick to that. Shy away from fats where you can, but don't ban them...you'll end up craving them. Use EVOO where you can, spray on for cooking. Trim most fat from your meats. If you're comfortable with artificial sweeteners, use them if you have a sweet tooth.

Just eat healthy, then by increasing your exercise, the pounds will go. And please weigh once a week  NOT every day.

Good on ya!


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## oregonyeti (Jun 16, 2007)

I've read more than once about studies showing that yogurt for breakfast helps weight loss. I follow that, but then I have been for a long time anyway. I love plain yogurt:smiles:

I'm sure you've heard the argument for making changes in diet that you can live with permanently, instead of having a temporary diet that only makes a temporary difference.

Good luck:thumb:


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## kyheirloomer (Feb 1, 2007)

One question: What, exactly, is a stone in real weight?


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## bughut (Aug 18, 2007)

14lbs KYH. Although we're blooming metric now. I still set my scales to Stones and lbs

OK, betwen Yeti and DC i reckon Yogurt and some meusli might be the the way. I love plain yogurt btw, When i buy peaches, and they're under-ripe, i give them 2 mins in the micro and they go all sweet and juicy. I then eat them with a huge dollop of plain greek yogurt

Thanks for the input guys.


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## ishbel (Jan 5, 2007)

I only have one word to say to you, Bughut.


PORRIDGE!


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## bughut (Aug 18, 2007)

OOh OOh! Ishbel! So close to home but so far from my savvy. That's it!! How could i be so daft!


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## henry (Jun 12, 2001)

Bughut

Good for you and your determination to make this change! It will involve some pain but so worth it. Establish some short term goals to help you get through it. The 6 week time period is great.

As for what to eat, I'm clueless, hopefully your gym instructor can give you some good advice. I like to start my breakfast with 2 softpoached eggs, but that's probably not the best thing.

Do you watch "You Are what You Eat" You Are What You Eat - BBC America We love to watch the program and see the before and after results.

Does your scale actually weigh in stones and/or pounds? I'm so curious about some of the foods/or the names of your British foods.

So, what are oatcakes, and what exactly is porridge?

Thanks!

H.

PS I've recently lost 5 stones myself. Makes my knees not hurt as much!


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## bughut (Aug 18, 2007)

"you are what you eat" is that with Gillian Mceith? Or do you have a US presenter?She iritates me in a teeth hurting way. I can grasp the concept though and it makes sense, upto a point.

Total koudos to you Henry... 5 stone...72lbs thats blooming marvellous. Are you now the way you want to be? or do you have a way to go?

Porrige is simpy oats, water and salt boiled up. love it that way. But i also like it with sugar on top, But thats the Sassnach way (English) and it just wont do.

Oatcakes are just oatcakes.I dont have a recipe. why not google it. I just buy them

Thanks for your encouragement 

Ps. Scales can be set to kg or Lbs and they show stones. lbs and . of a lbs


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## koukouvagia (Apr 3, 2008)

Good for you for making this committment! As someone who has lost 40lbs since May I can commiserate with you. I made a lot of changes and eating breakfast was one of the most valuable ones. I'm sure you don't want me to reitirate the importance of breakfast but here it goes anyway: I like to think of my metabolism as a deep fryer. The deep fryer has to be turned on and ready to go by the time customers walk in demanding french fries. You may think you're saving money and energy by not turning it on early, but when the time comes to serve french fries you'll lose more customers because your oil is not hot enough and so you'll sit and wait. Breakfast is the same thing.... it's like turning on your metabolic furnace!

I workout first thing in the morning, after a cup of coffee and eat breakfast afterwards. I'm not awake long enough to eat. But if you will be awake for a few hours before you exercise I would recommend eating something: 1oz of peanuts, or a banana, or a couple of crackers with cheese... you do NOT need to eat a complete breakfast before you workout, just a little nibble is enough.

After my workout I pay special attention to have protein and carbs - both are extremely necessary if you are exercising. You'll soon find out that if you only have cereal or porridge or oatmeal that your energy and blood sugar will drastically drop 2 hours later or even sooner. Here's some typical breakfasts I eat after exercising:

- greek yogurt with berries and a sprinkle of bran flakes
- greek yogurt with honey and walnuts, and a slice of toast with jam
- toast with cheese, and an apple
- 2 eggs scrambled, ham, on a toasted english muffin
- 1 hard boiled egg wrapped in smoked turkey, and toast
- 2 eggs scrambled, salsa, in a whole wheat wrap

The advice I've found to be the most helpful is this... Don't depend on motivation to get you through this. It may be here now but motivation comes and goes and never seems to be around when you need it most. Instead focus on committment because that's all it takes. There are more days that you won't feel like doing it than there will be good days and you'll need that committment to fall on. Good luck and check in often - I'm right there with ya!


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## bughut (Aug 18, 2007)

>The advice I've found to be the most helpful is this... Don't depend on motivation to get you through this. It may be here now but motivation comes and goes and never seems to be around when you need it most. Instead focus on committment because that's all it takes. There are more days that you won't feel like doing it than there will be good days and you'll need that committment to fall on. Good luck and check in often - I'm right there with ya! <

Thanks Koukou, I needed to hear that. Feels like the missing link just fell into place. I do have a tendency to over-enthuse and then run out of motivation. Once that happens it's downhill all the way. What you say makes a lot of sense.

You've done incredibly well. Do you exercise every morning? 

Thank you all for your support and advice. I value all of it

__________________


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## koukouvagia (Apr 3, 2008)

Yes, I exercise nearly every day. In the morning I do structured exercise like play tennis, run, aerobics, weight training, pilates, whatever fits my mood.

But I also got a pedometer and do lots of unstructured exercise throughout the day. My goal is to walk at least 10,000 steps a day and I wear the pedometer when I leave the house. In order to get all my steps in I must:

-park further away when I go shopping.
-get off one subway/bus stop early and walk the rest of the way
-walk to the market for groceries everyday for the day's meal rather than buying everything once a week.
-take little walks on lunchbreaks and after dinner

Basically I find a way to inject walking throughout the day. It adds up and doesn't even feel like exercise.... but it is!


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