Wow! Sure sounds good tho
I'm SOOOOO GLAD you love fitday! Its an EXCELLENT tool for a reality check on your food intake, and sooo enlightening if you've never sat down and really looked at what you are eating.
Well, I don't have to tell you that you are basically nutritionally starved. I'd estimate your total cals are about 1/2 of what you should be eating. The simplest thing to remember is that you have to EAT TO LOSE BODYFAT! Your body is a nearly perfect biochemical machine that WANTS to run efficiently. Its like fueling a Ferrari w/ high grade gasoline -- filling the tank when its empty, replacing the oil, etc, running it like it loves to be run at high speeds takign sharp corners and looking all sexy, running down all of its fuel and various maintenance items. Then replacign those items with exactly what it needs, cleanest sources available and in just the right amounts for optimized operation. BUT if you have all of that and then throw some mud in the gas tank, expect this amazing machine to run like crap. Thus you get the "plateau" you don't feel as energetic or vibrant any more, your results start to crap out and then you start to feel frustrated with all of your time in the gym because nothing seems to be working.
Its easy to fix - clean the mud out of your gas tank. Get the good quality gas. Change your oil. Basic stuff to get you started:
- Keep your processed food intake to a minimum - this includes Cheerios, ice cream, Ritz crackers, and yes, even wheat bread. Avoid "white" carbs -- i.e. white bread. Replace with good starchy carbs -- potatos, yams, brown rice (though I don't eat much of this), oatmeal (not the quick-oats but the old-fashioned oats, and not the flavored stuff that comes in packets either). Peanut butter - use Natural PB -e.g. Smuckers. The regular stuff has lots of sugars & stuff in it.
- Eat protein at every meal. Chicken, fish, steak, turkey, eggs
- Drink your weight in ounces of water (e.g. i weight 150 lb, i drink 150 oz water) -- keeps you hydrated and your system flushed, helps to carry out the waste/ by-products of your body's daily processing functions
- Fats - make sure you get some fats -- almonds, natural PB, fish, Essential Fatty Acid (EFA) pills, flax seed oil are all options
- Eat 5-6 smaller meals - seperated by 2-3 hrs -- this is because your body can process proteins / fats & carbs from one meal wihin that time -- same as filling the tank on the Ferrrari, running it at top speed across I-75 from Miami to Ft Myers (across the FL peninsula east to west) to burn up all the fuel, and sitting for your next meal in another 2-3 hrs.
- Save your junk food for a single cheat (or call it a "reward" ) meal or day after stayign clean for a week. Its good to throw some junk in your system so it is able to process it occassionally -- i.e. if u eat 100% clean all the time, eventually your body has a hard time processing junk like too much salt, dairy, too many carbs, etc. and it just isn't fun. So every 5-7 days throw in some junk. Not a lot of junk, but some junk. IT also helps you keep from going nuts on a tight diet and also gives you room to plan your socializing.
You can take a gander at the diet on the "Shadow's Project" stickie. I also like to recommend the "Body for Life" book by Bill Philips -- its a bit heavy on pushing the EAS product line, but the diet & training methods are good basic introductions to the world of fitness. If you are looking for a good recipe book, I really like the South Beach Diet book - you don't necessarily have to follow the diet but the recipes are great!
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