HI! New and any advice?

[jcrewgirl]

Hey girls! I'm fairly new. I read past posts a LOT but haven't been able to really find the answers to some of my questions. I thought maybe one of you could help me out since you all seem to know so much and yeah, I definitely know very little.
I'm 5'7, 120lbs. I do the elliptical about 30 min 3x a week and then a bit of tae-bo and pilates every other day or so. I'm just looking to continue cutting body fat. Granted, there isn't all that much but I'm just trying to keep it as low as possible.
Here's where I'm most in need of guidance/advice- my diet!
I really don't know how to diet correctly in order to continue cutting fat/getting to the lowest BF % possible.

I usually eat fruit all morn until about 3 or 4. Apples, grapes, blueberries or strawberries. If I dont eat fruit all morn/early afternoon, then I'll just have a granola bar- kaski bars, nature valley granola bars or south beach granola bars.
Then I'll have a HUGE salad around dinnertime. Usually a ton of romaine lettuce and throw in all kinds of crazy stuff. I'll usually pick 3 or 4 of the following to add in- a can of tuna, chicken or fish, soynuts, blueberries, grapes, low fat mozarella cheese, mushrooms, celery, carrots. It just depends on what I'm in the mood for.
Snacks include a cottage cheese or yogurt with a little bit of cereal, all natural PB with wheat crackers, scrambled eggs.
I dont drink anything really besides a ton of water or some diet green tea.

Anyway, any advice on my diet or anything would be MUCH MUCH appreciated.
Thanks girls! You guys seem so great!

 

[Sassy69]

Hey girl - welcomme aboard! -- Suggest you start by reading the stickies at the top of teh board -- lots of excellent info there.

As far as your diet & your goals. You've forgotten an *EXTREMELY* important component. MUSCLE! At your height & your weight, you sound pretty damn skinny (if you will forgive me...) It doesn't sound like you eat nearly enough protein to support any sort of muscle preservation much less muscle building. You can cut all the bodyfat you want, but if your muscle is getting wasted too, then you are left w/ "skinny fat" -- you know -the look like marathon runners. Even some extra bodyfat will look much better w/ some muscle.

I would suggest that you not worry too much about bodyfat and focus more on buildign up some muscle. Note that you dont have to worry about looking like a guy because women don't have enough testosterone to get that big so please don't use that excuse. It is imperative that you preserve the muscle you have and add some quality muscle to make your whole body & frame stronger.

 

[jcrewgirl]

Thanks so much for all of your advice! I read over those stickies- thank you!
Yeah I do try to eat protein. Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast, Tuna, Tilapia Fish and PB. And ever since I pulled out my old Tae-Bo tape a few months ago- I love my arms! But I'd rather it be purely toned muscle on my arms and not just a little bit of muscle.
How much and how do I incorporate more protein?

Oh and yeah I'm a bit skinny. LOL. AGain, thanks for your advice!

 

[bettyboop]

I usually have about 110-140 grams of protien a day, and I incorporate it into each meal I have and will add a low- carb low- sugar protien shake a day. I weigh about 107-109 lbs, and I aim for at least 1 gram of protien per pound.

There is alot of good info in the stickey`s so check it out!

Also fruits are okay in moderation but try not to have too much in day, they are full of sugar.

 

[Sassy69]

u should eat 1-1.2 g protein to 1 lb of your weight --- you shoudl eat at least 120 g protein / day