Being Healthy vs. Dieting (1 Viewer)

[Born Dancer]

ok so here is the situation.
im 60kg, and approx 167cm tall.

i must have a very very very fast metabolism because i eat so much crap and dont really exercise. oh and i probably didnt drink much water.

given my bad habits and particularly that i dont want to die before im 40, ive started to eat healthily and exercise. i go for 45min walks at least 3 times a week, im off all soft drink, replace white bread with wholemeal, icecream with frozen yoghurt and dont eat any fast food.

my general diet now consists of:
- 2 pieces of wholemeal toast for breakfast + a glass of milo or juice
- yoghurt + fruit + sometimes snakatas for inbetween meals
- a salad sandwich and a piece of fruit for lunch
- whatever my mum cooks for dinner
- frozen yoghurt for dessert (i eat this in a mug so that the portion size is considerably smaller)
- i drink at least 1 bottle of water per day

my problem concerns losing weight.
i am doing this not because i want to lose weight, but because i want to be healthy. im assuming that this will have implications on my weight though. i dont particularly want to lose it. this is probably obscure to ask on an internet forum, but from reading the above do you think its likely that i will lose massive amounts of weight by doing this, and if so, how can i combat it?

 

[55078]

you could eat things that have good oils (like nuts and salmon) if you want to make sure you don't lose too much weight.

 

[dora_18]

take it from a person who starves herself ( i joke)....

unless you actually stop eating you wont drop that much weight in a small period of time, you dont really have THAT much to lose anyway

if you weighed like 100kg and dramatically changed your diet and started exercising then youd lose a lot in a short period of time

sounds like all you're doing is exercising more and eating better...unless like i said you stop eating or become obsessed with exericse you wont drop that much weight...

 

[Born Dancer]

take it from a person who starves herself ( i joke)....

unless you actually stop eating you wont drop that much weight in a small period of time, you dont really have THAT much to lose anyway

if you weighed like 100kg and dramatically changed your diet and started exercising then youd lose a lot in a short period of time

sounds like all you're doing is exercising more and eating better...unless like i said you stop eating or become obsessed with exericse you wont drop that much weight...

yeah im just concerned because i lose weight / dont put any on now....at all..

 

[dora_18]

lol, thats odd...
i go through phases like that, ill eat like a pig and wont gain anything...
but you're at a healthy weight anyway...your BMI is like 21...
unless you go <18 you're fine

im assuming you've lost some weight and attempted to gain it back...if you really cant then go see a doctor....i would

 

[UnIqUe_PrInCeSs]

your weight is pretty normal.

and plus your general diet and exercising routine looks fine to me, well unless you lose a huge amount of weight.

you should keep track of how much weight you lose, just incase.

 

[Born Dancer]

oh this isnt at all about my weight. im quite happy with my size.. that's why im asking.. im worried that this will lead to big weightloss.
im only doing this so i can be healthier

 

[glitterfairy]

If you are eating healthy (read: making sure you get all your calcium/iron/protein/whatnot) and regularly exercising, then you should be fine

Some people like Cameron Diaz and Cate Blanchett (heehee, and you!) are born with naturally fantastic metabolisms. It's not a bad thing - just embrace it. If its the way your genes decided you'd be, then that's really all there is to it However if you DO notice yourself getting too skinny for your liking, I remember Always posting something up about eating lots of yoghurt and certain varieties of nuts...

On a side note, it appears you share an ailment that I have - I hate vegetables lol. There's no meat listed in your diet however I assume you get some during dinner. But back to vegetables - you REALLY should try and get some of those into your diet. Of late (this is something I'm currently working on) I try to sneak vegetables into my food - a little bit of lettuce in my sandwich, making a salad with LOTS of meat etc in it to hide the taste... lol.

 

[Born Dancer]

If you are eating healthy (read: making sure you get all your calcium/iron/protein/whatnot) and regularly exercising, then you should be fine

Some people like Cameron Diaz and Cate Blanchett (heehee, and you!) are born with naturally fantastic metabolisms. It's not a bad thing - just embrace it. If its the way your genes decided you'd be, then that's really all there is to it However if you DO notice yourself getting too skinny for your liking, I remember Always posting something up about eating lots of yoghurt and certain varieties of nuts...

On a side note, it appears you share an ailment that I have - I hate vegetables lol. There's no meat listed in your diet however I assume you get some during dinner. But back to vegetables - you REALLY should try and get some of those into your diet. Of late (this is something I'm currently working on) I try to sneak vegetables into my food - a little bit of lettuce in my sandwich, making a salad with LOTS of meat etc in it to hide the taste... lol.

oh i dont mind eating vegetables.. a salad sandwhich for me normally consists of lettuce, carrot, and betroot. and mum normally cooks vegetables with dinner.
yes, my only portion of meat comes with dinner, but i will probably add nuts to my snacks in order to boost protein levels.

the eating i posted of course isnt strict, i may change a salad sandwich with chicken/tuna/salmon salad on some days etc.

oh and having a fast metabolism is great - i just have fallen into terrible eating habits and no exercise is really bad!

 

[transcendent]

yeah fast metabolisms are sneaky. i can sit at the computer for a month and eat and wont gain much or at all. i know this is unhealthy but my body doesn't show it. i should get exercise but i don't want to lose weight. thing is i can't go lower then 55kg even after food poisoning and eating very little the next fortnight or so. i've tried to gain weight and got as far as 62kg =\

 

[selurkcin]

yeah, eating that sample diet u posted, you will lose weight. (assuming you are a normally active teenager)

You need to encorporate more good fats (polyunsaturated and monunsaturated) into your diet such

- avocado
- nuts (cashews almonds etc)
- canola oil
- peanut oil
- corn
- fish.

And remember that as long as you are exercising and also easting healthily, especially if yo arent looking to lose weight, then you can eat the occasional 'bad foods'

 

[Always]

I doubt you will lose a lot of weight, certainly not enough for you to look emaciated or anything. Chances are you'll still snack on a little junk food inbetween your healthy meals, which is perfectly okay, but it just means it's unlikely you'll drop too much weight.

If you're worried, include more healthy fats in your diet eg. nuts & olive oil, or perhaps dried fruit?

 

[hYperTrOphY]

Keep track of your weight. If you start losing, eat more.

If possible, you could work out how many calories you were consuming before, and compare that to now. Assuming you didn't gain/lose weight on your previous diet, this number is likely your 'maintenance' number of calories. Thus, you would just have to ensure you're eating a similar (more if you're exercising now) number of calories per day. The difference, of course, would be from where these calories are derived, which would also determine whether your diet is 'healthy'.

 

[lourai*87]

In general, energy in should equal energy out. If the kilojoules you are consuming is significantly lower than what you will be excersising off (or if you arent meeting your body's energy requirements in teh first place), then yes you can expect to lose weight. Base on some calculation thingy that we got given in a Dietetics tute, your daily energy requirement would be between 8634-9785 kJ (i worked it on light to light-moderate activity level). Youre probably closer to the light activity level (ie the 8635kJ).

Since youre not dieting there is no point being fussy about exact kJ intake, but just having a look at nutrition panels can give you an idea of what contributes. If you thing youre falling short then include things that contribute energy (ie proteins, fats and carbs).

 

[ujuphleg]

Random but totally depressing:

I found out today I have the metabolic age of a 38 year old. 38!! Thats double my age!!


*cries*

Everyone else is right. If you do feel you're losing too much weight, eat some good, fatty food like avocado, nuts, salmon etc.

 

[Skeeta]

uh how did you find that out!?

i would kind of like to know what mine is

 

[melimoo]

oh me too!!
im also curious about my bodyfat % etc as well
where can i get that done?

 

[jebbie]

yay for going healthy. i would do it but i am a sucker for chocolate

anyyyway. if you want to maintain weight keep up the carbs. you burn carbs before fat, so they will give you energy and you will not use your fats as your fuel source whilst exercising. so have some light carbs before your jog/run.

also, its fine to swap higher gi foods for low gi foods, ie white bread for wholemeal, but maintain the carbs (as youre doing ) so have some brown rice or potatoes, or even have some cereals in the morning.

a hint that i have (not from personal experience unfortunately, but those around me) change things (what you eat, how you exercise, where you exercise, exercising alone or with friends) around otherwise you'll get bored and think its a diet - your mentality shouldnt be 'i cant eat junk food', but more that its a lifestyle change, that you want to be a healthy eater. if you dont indulge every now and then youre more likely to have a diet mentality that will be too much to handle so you will break it with binge eating and feel guilty afterwards.
since youre all about healthy eating, everything in moderation, but more towards healthier.

hope that helped. even though its all hypocritcal haha pdhpe was a waste on me. i will never be healthy but this has motivated me to think about what i eat. i seriously should lose a few kilos..

thanks for the inspiiiiration (even if youre not trying to lose weight lol)

 

[lourai*87]

@ Skeeta and Melimoo.

Im studying to be a Dietician and in our tutes we were doing hypotheticals with different individuals of gender, weight, height, activity level. I have a sheet that has the formula for working it out. I can do it for you, just need your age, weight and activity level (its obviously an approximation, but gives a good idea). Activity levels 'sedentary', 'light' (just every day walking around etc), 'light-moderate', 'moderate' (some type of sport/gym/fitness), 'heavy' (lots of sport/ heaps and heaps of gym).

To find out your body fat you use body fat scales. Thats the easiest way. I dont know if a doctor or health clinic would have one. I know they sell them at Kmart but theyre $50+

 

[jujujellybean]

Wanna swap metabolisms? jokes... just make sure you eat when you feel hungry. If you get full quickly, eat smaller meals but more often.