Recovering.. Need help

[lyndzyaRunner]

I've been lurking here on and off for the past 3 years and have decided to get serious
I need some help with a clean diet and workout schedule, I'm recovering from various eating disorders so my whole outllook on food and workingout is pretty screwed up.. I need some advice!!
Heres what i normally do

Cardio 6 days a week
Monday: off
Tuesday: 50min cardio (running or eliptical or class)
and 35min. legs
Wednesday: 45 min cardio- usually kickboxing
and 50 min arms and resistance combo
Thursday: 50-60 min cardio
Friday: 50-60 min cardio and Legs
Saturday: 50-60 min cardio
Sunday: 50-60 min cardio and upper body

I dont know if posting my diet is any good since its a bunch of crap
I was a vegetarian but I switched to a high protein diet, I've gained lots of leg muscle already but its hidden under fat right now
I try to eat 6 times a day usually 2 snacks consisting of a protein bar and or shake, Chicken and veggies for dinner, homemade chicken/ tuna/ or egg salad with veggies for lunch

can anyone direct me to or post a list of "clean" foods

Thanks!!

 

[Daisy_Girl]

Too much cardio for fat loss. All that cardio with a diet low i ncalories and protein will give you MAJOR muscle loss, which in turn leads to a lower metabolism.

Check out this thread for a start....
http://www.elitefitness.com/forum/showthread.php?t=302279

There are some clean foods listed on there, and my basic "clean diet" is listed on a couple theads here. Read through the first couple pages of the Women's Board and you should find it.

WELCOME! ANd congrats on kicking the Eating Disorders. I know it is a hard road, one you'll probably fight your whole life. It takes a hella amount of strength.... good for you.

 

[Daisy_Girl]

Here is my "basic diet"....I adjust daily based on how I feel or what my needs might be for that day or week. Meal 1: (post cardio)
1/2 - 3/4 cup Cream of Wheat with cinnamon and splenda
1 whole egg, 5 egg whites

Meal 2:
Protein Shake

Meal 3:
4oz Chicken
3-5oz Red Potato
Almonds

Meal 4: (usually post lifting)
Protein Shake

Meal 5:
4oz Chicken
Green Beans or Salad (no limit)

Meal 6: (before bed)
Protein Shake
Natty PB

 

[lyndzyaRunner]

Daisy_girl
Thanks so much for the advice, after deciding to go into recovery, I have absolutely nothing to base any type of program on, after being so screwed up for so long.. your advice will definatly help! I saw your diet before and i'm going to use it, I need something stable and healthy. I weight about 132 and am 5'5 do you think the calorie amount is good??

Now i just have to convince myself to do less cardio!
Thanks again

 

[FitFossil]

Welcome! I'm 4 years recovered, and let me tell you that muscle is definitely the secret! I wasted 20 years of my life with anorexia and bulimia, and I was going nowhere except getting fatter and weaker, with an all-consuming tiredness that never relented.

Here's the secret: muscle is denser than fat and it burns calories all the time, even when you sleep. Fat doesn't burn calories on its own - it just takes a free ride on your body. While adding muscle might make your body weight go up, your clothing size will go down AND since muscle gives you a higher metabolism, you'll be able to eat more food and stay lean at the same time. When you get to be my age (40), being really skinny makes you look OLD. For proof that muscle keeps you young, take a look at this site to see 75 year old Kelly Nelson and her daughter http://www.agelesstraining.com/indexx.htm

One thing it takes is time and patience. What really helped me was changing my mindset. Rather than thinking of myself as a "dieter", I changed that to "athlete in training" (that's what that "Stronger, Faster, Better" thing in my signature is all about - I repeat that in my head a lot when I'm training, be it weights or cardio ).

Rather than looking at food as the enemy, I began to see it as fuel for my workouts. Training "strong" will give much faster results. All the training in the world won't make up for a lacking diet. I keep a training log, but I don't keep a diet log (1 because I'm lazy and 2 because I don't want to obsess about food too much). If I see my weight/reps going steadily upwards, then I know I'm eating enough. Another saying I like is "Eat like an athlete, train like an athelete, LOOK like an athlete." If you get the first two right, the last will take care of itself.

And I agree with the above recommendations about cutting some of the cardio. Another thing, rather than always doing long sessions, try some HIIT - high intensity interval training - for just 20 minutes. It's awesome for getting lean, takes less time, and (I think) more fun. Here are 2 useful links:

Why too much cardio is bad: http://64.56.238.34/bodyessence/Pages/Articles/aerobicvstrength/chunkysyndrome.html

About HIIT: http://www.betterbodz.com/Tom/interval_training_how_to.html

 

[lyndzyaRunner]

Thanks for the inspiration, I find it difficult to overcome the mentality that lifting more and doing less cardio is better, but i'm slowly working on it, your adivce helped alot, I think i've found a new mantra!
I've wasted so much time being consumed with an eating disorder, did it take a little time for your metabolism to start working normally again? I know mine is in the trash and I just wanted some idea about a time frame for getting my body back to normal again~

 

[FitFossil]

Yes it does take time for your metabolism to start working normally, but spreading your meals out to 6x a day like you're doing will help a lot - mentally and physically.

Also, as you start replacing fat with muscle, there'll be times you might feel "bulky" and be tempted to cut back on the weights and food, but don't! - muscle gain and fat loss don't happen at exactly the same rate. You've got to let that muscle establish itself. Then it'll raise your metabolism and help you get the fat off. And when you're stronger, you're able to work out even harder, which makes progress happen even faster.

As you gain muscle, there may also be times when you start getting too lean, or your lifts start dropping - this is when you need to add in more calories to maintain your new muscle and support your training.

For me it's been a step by step process, making one small change at a time. Each change was hardly noticable, but over time they really add up. It is to your advantage to take things VERY slowly. You want to stay UNDER your body's radar for fat loss.

Having had an eating disorder, it'll be very vigilant against perceived starvation. It all goes back to survival. Your body will fight against any attempts to make it weak and small. This is why traditional weight loss diets so often fail. However, since being lean and strong is GOOD for survival, you'll find that your body will respond positively to eating well and training hard.

 

[lyndzyaRunner]

this makes so much sense, obviously. I've already gained a lot of muscle in my legs which is where i usually do, but the fat is still there, making them seem bulky, your post really helped me alot with keeping the right things in mind and not slipping backwards, and your right, it is a constant battle to keep myself on the right track, but your words definatly have helped! I know its different for everyone but do you know how long it took you to start losing fat after gaining muscle?

 

[FitFossil]

I'm quite familiar with stubborn leg fat, as are probably 90% of the female population. Because females were designed to have babies (even though some of us don't plan to), female thigh fat is more stubborn than any other bodyfat - always the first place we gain and the last place we lose (at least in my case) - it REALLY sucks!

The only way around this is very SLOW steady fat loss - always staying under your body's radar - never dieting hard enough that your body'll want to binge. As for how long it look me to start losing fat, I remember it happened in fits and starts. It was faster at first, when I had more to lose, and then got slower as I got leaner, but this is normal, and another reason to go the slow steady course rather than the all or nothing diet/binge course. This is where focusing on making yourself a stronger, faster, more agile, flexible, etc. athlete will come in handy. As you become fitter and stronger, you'll be able to train even harder, and the fat WILL come off.

I used to shy away from heavy leg training because I thought my legs were genetically "big". One day I decided if my legs were meant to be big, then I'd make them into the biggest baddest most muscular legs ever, because even 20 years ago when I was an 80lb anorexic, I still thought my legs were big and fat, and I figured having legs that were big and muscular would be better than big and fat. I started doing heavy squats, deadlifts, sprints, etc. - all those exercises women traditionally avoid. I gained 10 pounds but dropped 2 pant sizes! I never would've believed that my legs would actually get smaller from heavy training, but they did. You never know 'til you try.

Here's more from my "God of Leanness" Clarence Bass -

http://www.cbass.com/BELLYAND.HTM

http://www.cbass.com/MOTHERNA.HTM

 

[lyndzyaRunner]

Once again your words prove inspirational, i'm slowly training myself to look toward the long term rather than the quick, easy, and short lasting short term results, I think 'im going to print these postings out and keep them with me! thanks for the help. I also went to the website in the links, definatly worth looking at.