Ready to change my life-style (long post)

[da_mao33]

Hi,

I have been around these forums for a while, reading all the interesting posts and decided to create an account to join the action. :)

For the past year or so i've was a freshman in college and physically it wasn't a great year for me. I guess you can say I cared about my body but lacked information. I worked out way too much because i was afraid of getting fat, and on top of that I would only eat really healthy foods for the same reason. I guess in other words, you can say that i had a ED.

Now in summer, i realize that I have lost about 15 lbs since college and i have heard some pretty scary stories about ED's so I am ready for a change. I lowered my running because i can't afford to lose anymore weight and maintained my weight training . However, the thing i'm the most concerned about is my diet.

This is where i really need help on because i want to just increase to my normal weight. Its extremely hard for me becasue i have been used to this "healthy" eating lifestyle for so long. Whenever i see unhealthy food, i immediatly turn my head away unless i am with friends or something (i try to hide this healthy lifestyle as much as possible). Due to this lifestyle, i can see my weight dropping as I'm starting to see my ribs in the mirror. I really would just want to gain some weight, but i find it so hard to eat unhealthy food.

i know i have some pschological ED or something and should go see a doctor and will do so if i don't see any results by the end of summer. I read the massive eating article here on this site and went to the store and bought the foods the author recommended (Cottage Cheese, Skim milk, chicken breast, deli meat, natty pb, etc.) i just really need help setting up a diet. Sorry for this long and boring post, but any help would be appreciated...

i'm 5'11'' male and only 135lbs (used to be 150)

since it's the summer now, i don't have access to the schools gym. I plan on resuming "real" working out in september. here's my summer workout:

Wed,Sat - Run 2-3 miles
Rest of the week - crunches, pushups, train with dumbells
play bball 2-3 times a week

i can't elatborate on my workout more if you guys want, but what i really need help is on a diet. i know there are a lot of posts on the "bulking diet" but most of them just say , "eat everything in sight", but as described in my situation above it's really hard for me to do so (although i'm slowly trying to change that).

well.. thx for reading this... any help would be appreciated..

[Praetorian]

congrats on changing your lifestyle man! :thumbup:

I've you are looking for some healthy food, take a look here,
http://www.wannabebigforums.com/showthread.php?t=46565

Setting up a diet is really not that hard, but whats hard is to stick by it. I suggest that you start by keeping track of what you are eating during a normal week and see if your weight stays the same or increases/decreases. Then go to www.fitday.com and plug in your daily food intake (you'll get an overview of your carb/protein/fat split and total calories. If your weight has stayed the same, just increase the number of cals consumed each day (eat more). Simple. I suggest that you do this gradually in order to gauge the reaction of your body.

If you have other questions, I suggest that you check out the stickies at the top of the forum and even do a search. If you can't find an answer to your question then, feel free to post.

[WBBIRL]

At 5'11 and a buck fifty you should have no problems with fat. You should be able to pack on pounds of lean muscle mass and alter your phsycial looks without too much trouble. If your worried about the weight, then diet is the key and calories are the king. Scrap half the cardio your doing now, its not helping your weight as much as you think. Some people on here can tell you (Built comes to mind) that fats are this horrible nasty thing to stay away from at all costs, the aren't and neither are carbs. Your diet should have alot of protein in it, and then moderate levels of carbs and fats. Saturated fats aid in testosterone production and thats a good thing.

[Drai's]

You said your "problem" is you can't eat UNhealthy food. That's not a problem, that's a good thing. It shouldn't stop you from pounding down plenty of good, clean cals.

[spencerjrus]

You said your "problem" is you can't eat UNhealthy food. That's not a problem, that's a good thing. It shouldn't stop you from pounding down plenty of good, clean cals.



Exactly.

[da_mao33]

hi

thanks for the replies guys

the thing is, I went from a healthy 150lbs to 135lbs (ribs sticking out when i see myself in mirror). I believed this happened because I was too concerned with what was entering my body. I was earning for a six-pack... now i kinda have one, but it's one of those "skinny kid" ones.

so basically my goal is to return to my previous weight (150) with a normal person's diet with healthy aspects to it (not super healthy). Today was my first day at this new lifestyle. Can you guys evaluate it?

-Workout: did a couple of dumbell excercises, crunches, and pushups (about 40 mins)

-Breakfast: Salad with 2 spoons cottage cheese, 1 cup skim milk, 1 package instant oatmeal, half a bagel

-Lunch: Rice, Salad with 2 spoons cottage cheese,

-Snack: Raisans, strawberries, 1 apple fritter

-Dinner: planning on 1 Chicken breast, salad with CC

-snack: planning on natty pb with 1 cup milk

water throughout the day.

i really don't want to go into calorie counting using fitday as thats what i did before and that's kinda what got me to this low weight. thanks and any suggestions and support would be greatly appreciated :)

[Ironman_1964]

I wish you well. Remember a journey of 1000 miles begins with a single step.

[Built]

Not enough food, not enough calories.

Fitday is your friend - it can make sure you eat ENOUGH food, too!

Try for 1-1.5g protein per pound, and you'll need to eat more calories than I do to gain weight - I'm a middle-aged chick, and I'm cutting on more food than you eat now.

Okay?

Good luck!

[YungLifter]

Yeah you should add some more EFA's in your diet, olive oil, nuts, avacado, you already got some natty pb in there. Also, instead of having "2 spoons of cottage cheese" have a serving which is 1/2 cup I believe. Try to get some more meat in your diet tuna(any fish)/turkey/chicken all good for you. Don't be afraid of eating I weight less then you and im eating triple what you are and still having trouble gaining weight.(on a bulk)

[da_mao33]

yeah... that's my problem... i guess

sometime i'm just afraid to eat too much. guess i'll just have to force feed...lol

[da_mao33]

hey

here's an update on what i ate today:

bfast: salad w/ half cup cottage chesse, rice crispie treat, 1 cup milk

lunch: turkey sandwich on wheat, granola bar

snack: apple, 1 cup milk, raisans, tea

dinner: 1 can clam chowder, sweet potatoe,

snack: planning on some CC with wheat bread.

how does that look? any suggestions would be great!

[Unreal]

If your trying to gain weight, seems like you need to eat alot more than that. Thats less than I eat and I'm on a pretty drastic cut losing around 2lbs a week.

[Drai's]

how does that look? any suggestions would be great!

Again, no healthy fats, not enough protein, and not enough total calories.

[CarlP]

yeah... that's my problem... i guess

sometime i'm just afraid to eat too much. guess i'll just have to force feed...lol

You may have to force feed, but spread it out over several meals. It may be tough at first, but your mind/stomach will adapt to it and it won't be so hard.

[da_mao33]

yes i shall try that :)

i used to be a chbby little kid (that's waht cost me to become so food conscious) so hopefully gaining weight won't be that much of a problem for me. Besides PB, what are some other healthy but calorie dense foods?

[YungLifter]

avacado, olive oil, nuts