GF Needs Diet Help

[DianaBallBusta]

Hey ladies. My girlfriend is looking to get back into shape for the spring. She asked me to put together a diet for her, but I honestly don't know where to start.

21 yrs old
5'5
122

She doesnt weight train, she just runs and does crunches. She said she wanted to lose about 8-10 lbs. She isn't fat at all, but she's a bit bottom heavy. The holidays put and extra inch on her ass.

Any help would be great.
Thx

DBB

 

[slinky]

Well, if you're lost and she's lost - that means you need to find out what exactly her diet is like now.

And THAT means: food log. Have her begin to log everything she eats. Now. Find out exactly where the problems could be in her diet. For example, how many calories a day does she consume? Is she getting sufficient amount of protein? Too many carbs late at night? Not enough earlier in the day?

And you should also find out what her BF% is now, too. That way you can monitor her progress. For instance, 6-weeks from now: did she lose BF and gain LBM or was it the other way around?

Also, she should begin a weight training program. By gaining LBM, her metabolism will become elevated, even at rest. And that's a good way to keep pesky BF away. Running doesn't do that. And it has a tendency to tear down precious LBM. Who'd want that? She doesn't need to embark on anything extreme. Nice, simple two - three day a week routine. Two days (split lower body/ upper body) and the third day could be a cardio day.

 

[DianaBallBusta]

Thanks slinky.

I think her problem is that she doesn't eat often enough. She skips breakfast, and then sometimes lunch. Then for dinner she'll eat pasta or something filled with carbs.

I'm wondering how much protein women need daily. If I made a diet for her and it contained too much protein I'm afraid she'd get fat.

I've been trying to get her to go to the gym but she's stubborn and stuck in her ways, and running, or cardio, is all she'll do. I will try to convince her otherwise.

 

[JJFigure]

If you increase the protein in her diet, you'll probably need to decrease some of her carbs. I think most of us who are lifting are eating at least 1g protein/1lb bodyweight. I'm eating 1.5 g per lb. bodyweight right now, but you'd hardly be able to call me fat.

You really need to work on getting her to change her eating patterns - eat more early in the day, less in the evening. Most of my kcals happen before 2:00 pm, since I lift in the am. After 2:00 pm, I start eating less. I also eat 6-7 meals/day - the first 4 meals are higher kcal than the last 2-3.

 

[FitFossil]

...I've been trying to get her to go to the gym but she's stubborn and stuck in her ways, and running, or cardio, is all she'll do. I will try to convince her otherwise.

Hehehe. My husband tried to do the same with me, telling me to eat more, lift heavier, and do less cardio. I kept telling him "...but I'll get fat...I don't wanna get big..."

Three years ago I saw a picture that changed my life. It was of Kelly Nelson, a 70 year old woman who didn't pick up her first weight until age 53. Her body at 70 was better than most 20 year olds. And even though she's a professional bodybuilder, she wasn't "big", just rock hard and no fat - Damn!

I figured if the bodybuilding training and eating lifestyle worked so well on her, it could do great things for me, since I was a lot younger. I wasn't looking to be a BB, just to tone up my fat legs. Best decision I ever made. Totally changed my body and my life. Every now and then my husband will say "Told you so", but that's the thing, sometimes we're stubborn with those closest to us and don't want to listen.

Here's the link to the pictures. Also pictured is her daughter, who's in her 40's and looks awesome too. She started training in her 20's, so she's another testament to weight training.
(Go to the "Gallery" link)
http://www.agelesstraining.com/indexx.htm

 

[slinky]

Fitfossil: Kelly Nelson is friggin' amazing. Agree. And waaaaaay back in '86, I got to train with a woman who was 55 and a competitive bodybuilder. She's the one who inspired me to stick with it.

Okay, dude: Sounds like your gf has got the "bulking up" fears typical of many women who have never weight trained. And it sounds like you also believe in the "women need to do this and men need to do this". And that's not the case. Diet and training is geared to the individual's needs, regardless of gender.

As for her fears: that's why alot of women follow that minimal protein type of diet.

I follow about the same way of eating as JJ: I eat more earlier in the day and less as it progresses. My breakfast is normally big, but my lunch is now the biggest meal of the day. Sometimes, I'll have two hamburgers (ground sirloin patties, no cheese - just in case alot of you got worried 'bout that) for lunch. Or a steak, and another steak for a midday meal. My boyfriend's a chef and prepares all my meals for me (yes, I'm a lucky gal) And I'm faaaar from bein' fat and bulky.

It takes ALOT of work for any women to gain a ton of muscle and begin looking like a She-Hulk (even though the John Byrne drawn version of She-Hulk would actually be cool). If that is indeed the fear here, explain to your gf that fat is bulky and shapeless. Muscle is sleek, shapelier; not to mention a hell of alot more sexy!

 

[JJFigure]

I need to get a boyfriend like yours, Slinky. Or a houseboy - may be less of a hassle.

Anyway - just show her some of the pictures of the women from Elite. Slinky is a prime example - she's been lifting for 15+ years (I think close to 20), and she has a very tight, compact, lean, muscular physique any woman would be happy to have. You just have to get your gf's mental image of the professional female bodybuilder out of her head and replace it with the image of tight, sexy, natty physiques.

 

[Dingo12]

Eating too many kcals will increase your mass/fat, not too much protein. In fact swopping protein for carbs can actually decrease bodyfat.

 

[smoknjilly]

#1 - throw out all scales. 5'5 and 122 is already low in my book. She should focus on inches and the way her clothes fit, and NOT on lbs lost.

she should start a diet like spatts cutting diet and an easy split to start like these ladies are talking about.

i lost weight by starving and doing cardio about 10 years ago, and you know what..i was a little smaller, but i had exactly the same shapethat I always hated. I am sure your GF does not want to be even smaller on the top (which is what happens to women) compared to her bottom.

with weights i am losing inches and changing my shape...which I am sure is what she wants to do...

 

[slinky]

I need to get a boyfriend like yours, Slinky. Or a houseboy - may be less of a hassle.

He even delivers my food for me to my work. What's great (and yes, I'm taking up space to brag about my boyfriend), is that when I'm in precontest, all I need to do si tell him "how" I'm going to eat for the week; i.e. optimize my carb intake, more fibrous, less starchy, need to pick up my protein: and he accomodates it.

Today it's chilly - low fat, too with plenty of ground sirloin. Yummy! I'm trying to get him to add some of his recipes to the board. He's got some goooooood ones!

 

[newgirl-chargeback]

I agree with smoknjilly -- her height and weight are fairly small.

Three years ago, cardio only -- and eating mostly carbs, only one to two meals a day.... I was a size 2 or 4 at 5'7 and 127 pounds. I was tiny.....NOT a muscle on my body. While I was "small" and fit into really small clothing, naked I hated my body with the exception of my long torso which was nice flat stomach (again no muscle though). I still refused to wear shorts or a bathing suit.

NOW enter protein, eating 5-6 meals a day and weight training. I am now about 150 pounds. Sure I do not fit into a size 2 or 4 -- but I do not HATE my body when I see it naked in the mirror. While I still have a way to go.....it like seeing my biceps in the mirror as I put up my hair, or get a glimpse of back.

For the amount of weight I lift or push (and mind you I am NO power lifter like some of the incredible women here) but I certainly am not big, bulky or manly looking. I am barely as muscular as I wish to be. She needs to get that bulky image from lifting out of her head. Equally the covers of magazines like the Shape and Fitness that have painstakingly thin models posing as fitness chicks. Just not a reality.

As JJ suggested -- eating 1-1.5 g of protein per pound will be a good beginning. If she feels the need to keep her cardio, then tell her to do it on days she is not lifting weights -- if you can get it to lift. And again as JJ suggested, looking at the pics of some members here will help her greatly.

Hell, it inspires me every time I see FitFossil's avatar or Mrs.Puddles back or BrickGirls abs. I know I will never get that lean - but sure do not view any of these women as less the feminine and sleek.

It is all about perception. Bring her here....have her read. There is sooo much to learn and so many to help. Good luck.

Oh and Slinky: brag all you want. I have one of those guys at home too -- makes me breakfast and lunch everyday. Packs up my snacks and sends me off every morning.

She cannot change nor spot reduce her bottom heaviness overall. But she can add muscle to her upper body and strengthen her lower body and look more proportional and thus fitter and thinner. There is nothing like a size 2 on top and a size 6 on bottom to make her feel heavier than she is.

 

[DianaBallBusta]

These are great replies. Thank you so much.

newgirl your right about her size. Her top is so small and petite, and her legs and ass are sexy too, but she'd like to drop a few pounds.

Can any of you give me some ideas for a small meals to eat throughout the day. I've come up with a pretty basic diet including wheat toast, eggs, tuna, chicken, ground beef, yogurt, Balance bars, celery, carrots, vegetables, etc. Some other ideas would be great. And she refuses to drink protein shakes, which really makes it difficult for me to add small meals between lunch and dinner.

Tanks alot.

DBB

 

[FitFossil]

What's wrong with protein shakes? Does she not like the taste or texture? What brands has she tried? Not only are protein shakes convenient, they also digest quickly, which is what you want after a work out. There really are some tasty ones out there, she just needs to find her brand.

As for protein bars, use these sparingly. They can contain quite a few mystery ingredients, especially hidden sugars. I think of them as "candy with protein". Real food and shakes are much better.

As for some meal ideas, don't forget oatmeal. My favorite breakfast is oatmeal mixed with protein powder and a dab of natural peanut butter. Turkey breast and ground turkey breast is good too, very low in fat. Each of her meals should contain some protein. I never eat carbs w/o some protein.

 

[slinky]

newgirl: arent' we lucky? What's really cool, too is that both my boyfriend and I have a Asian background, so, on his days off he'll cook up a nice beeg Asian inspired meal. I do like to cook, but with a busy schedule, it's nice not having to worry about that. I'm sure you understand that, too!

Which brings up a meal idea for DianaBallBusta: What my bf does is this: cooks up a bunch of red meat, puts that in a one container. In another container is either brown rice or several sweet potatoes (which I love) and spinach or brocoli. What goes in another container is mixed vegies. There's enough of all this to last me three days. The red meat is sliced into strips so that I can place it ontop of the rice or potatoes.

He'll do this with salmon, chicken, ground turkey or beef. Occasionally we'll splurge on beefalo, buffalo or osterich. Oh, and I heard that emu is pretty tasty, too. Another thing to consider is quinoa - it's high in protein and a nice substitute for rice.

As for breakfast: as FitFossil said, nothing beats oatmeal. I throw a egg with mine and create a sort of "oatmeal soufle". Yummy. Have never tried it with peanut butter, though. Hmmmmmmm. Maybe tomorrow.

Brands of protein powder I use regularly: Bioplex or Biotest. As for protein bars, agree that the lot of them are "glorified candy bars" - but I do like munching occasionally on Grow! bars (by Biotest).

 

[a12345]

weight training v cardio

Hi all-
I am new and I just got a personal trainer. He and I weight train about 3 times a week and he said on the days that i don't meet with him i should do intense cardio. do you guys think that it would be better to weight train on those days that we don't meet? and if i should do cardio what are good forms of cardio that won't burn through my muscle. I am looking to lose 15 lbs