A Week In The Life: Food & Fitness Edition--Help Me Improve!

[joburgcity]

Background: 5'2", 120-122 lbs, my scale says 21% body fat, inbody scan a year ago said 31%, I think it's somewhere in between based on how I look. Mid 30s, work a demanding sedentary job, looking to get back down to 108-112 which is my "happy" weight, with body fat in the low 20s.

Questions/Concerns: Online calculators indicate that my BMR is about 1400. It's really hard to create a calorie deficit when my BMR is so low. I only have time to workout about 3 days a week. What improvements can I make based on the diary below to help hit my goals? I've noticed that if I greatly restrict carbs I look better, but I am miserable. I am a big foodie and am generally grumpy if food isn't "yummy" haha.

Diary of My Week: Where indicated, I am eating out. Otherwise the food is homemade, either from scratch or with some partially prepped items from Trader Joe's or similar. This is a very average week for me, I tried not to adjust my habits based on the fact that I was writing this diary.

Monday

Breakfast: Chobani Zero Sugar Vanilla, Coffee with 1/4 cup of Califa Farms Vanilla Unsweetened Almond Milk

Snack: 1 Bartlett Pear

Lunch: Field Fresh Chopped Salad from Trader Joe’s

Snack: 1 snack pack of white cheddar cheez its

Dinner: Homemade stuffed bell pepper—1 large red bell Pepper stuffed with ground turkey (seasoned with onions, garlic, spices, and Trader Joe’s Roasted Garlic marinara), topped with a sprinkle of Trader Joe’s Quattro Formaggio cheese blend

Workout: 30 minute peloton ride, 300 calories burned

Tuesday

Breakfast: 1/2 sesame bagel from Einstein’s with onion and chive cream cheese; Iced cold brew coffee with 1/2 cup of Califa Farms Vanilla Unsweetened Almond Milk and 2 pumps Monin Hazelnut Syrup

Lunch: Green Goddess Salad from Trader Joe’s

Snack: 1 cup fresh pineapple

Dinner: Carne Asada Tacos: TJ’s homemade flour tortillas (3), TJ’s carne asada; topped with onion, lime, avocado and Herdez Salsa Verde

Wednesday

Breakfast: Chobani Zero Sugar Strawberry, Coffee with 1/4 cup of Califa Farms Vanilla Unsweetened Almond Milk and 1 tsp condensed oat milk + 1 scoop vital proteins collagen peptides

Snack: 1 cup fresh cut pineapple

Lunch: 1 small bowl homemade “Zuppa Toscana” soup with potatoes, zucchini, chicken sausage and spinach, 1 snack pouch of goldfish crackers

Dinner: Ordered Takeout. Korean Fried Chicken (2 drumsticks), 1.5 pork belly bao buns, sugar snap pea salad (raw snap peas drizzled with sesame oil, black vinegar, soy sauce, and sesame seeds)

Workout: 45 minute peloton ride, 300 calories burned

Thursday

Breakfast: Chobani Zero Sugar Vanilla, Coffee with 1/4 cup of Califa Farms Vanilla Unsweetened Almond Milk + 2 pumps sugar free vanilla syrup + 1 scoop vital proteins collagen peptides

Snack: 1 cup fresh cut pineapple

Lunch: 1 slice veggie pizza + 3 unseasoned chicken wings from Dominos (It’s “Pizza Thursday” at work)

Dinner: Tahini Chili Oil Noodles with sriracha baked tofu, ground turkey, bell peppers, sugar snap peas, and spinach

Friday

Breakfast: Coffee with 1/4 cup of Califa Farms Vanilla Unsweetened Almond Milk + 2 pumps sugar free vanilla syrup + 1 scoop vital proteins collagen peptides; 2 large fried eggs, Trader Joe’s hash brown

Lunch: Wegman’s King Salmon Poke Salad

Dinner: Date Night at a local spot. Appetizer is bread with labneh dip. Blue crab spaghetti with Calabrian Chilis for my main. 2 glasses of wine.

Workout: 50 minute solidcore (high intensity pilates) workout (370 calories burned)

Saturday

Breakfast: 1 fried on English muffin with half slice of American cheese and Jone’s Farm sausage patty; Coffee with 1/4 cup of Califa Farms Vanilla Unsweetened Almond Milk

Lunch: Grilled Ham & Cheese Sandwich

Dinner: Thai Restaurant: Crispy Basil Duck, Jasmine Rice, Thai Beef Salad, Mangos for dessert

Sunday

Breakfast: 1 fried on English muffin with 1/4 avocado; Coffee with 1/4 cup of Califa Farms Vanilla Unsweetened Almond Milk

Lunch: N/A

Dinner: Grilled steak + veggie kabobs, 1/4 cup jasmine rice, cucumber tomato salad, homemade baba ghanoush, 1 glass red wine

 

[nezsruiz]

@joburgcity The changes I'd make without changing it so drastically you are miserable:

Eat out less. You have restaurant meals listed on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. Can you cut one of those and have something homemade?

Get more fiber (it will fill you up) - maybe hummus instead of cream cheese on the bagel, tacos turn into burrito bowls with brown rice (or black beans or corn), whole wheat english muffins instead of white (if it tastes "bad" while transitioning, literally use the top of a white muffin and bottom of a wheat until you get used to the flavor)

Quit the snack packs - they are just empty calories. Maybe try a savory trail mix so you can still get some salty carbs but mixed with some nuts/seeds for protein & healthy fats. Or try popcorn with nutritional yeast sprinkled on it (tastes surprisingly cheesy) - would be much lower calorie and still 100% "snack vibes".

 

[joburgcity]

@nezsruiz Thanks! These are great suggestions. We do have a problem with eating out. I need to either prep more or learn to be okay with simpler meals, and not deluding myself that I can have a restaurant quality meal every night.

 

[nezsruiz]

@joburgcity I find that I'm happier to accept simple meals at lunch - so maybe you could turn your Zuppa Toscano that you were making anyway into dinner and skip the Korean takeout (or whatever else you are likely to order). Would you consider leftovers for lunch?

Also, I love DIY "raw bars" as a meal. You can usually buy the seafood ready-to-eat from the store (no effort necessary) but feels fancier than a home dinner: shrimp cocktail, smoked salmon, raw oysters, etc. Have it with a nice green salad & a crusty roll from the bakery.

 

[rodneys]

@joburgcity BMR and TDEE aren’t the same thing. BMR is the bare minimum amount of calories you need to stay alive. TDEE is your total amount of calories you burn in a day. Use an app like MacroFactor or a TDEE spreadsheet in order to find your accurate TDEE. Focus on getting in movement throughout the day other than exercise.

 

[joburgcity]

@rodneys I think I need to get a walking pad! I’m chained to my desk about 10 hours a day…

TDEE calculations say 1430-1530 depending on body fat.

 

[rodneys]

@joburgcity Again, you’re far better off using a spreadsheet or an app like MacroFactor, as those are just a rough estimation at best

 

[dawn16]

@joburgcity You should add more protein and fiber to your breakfast and snack in my opinion! That will help you feel satiated until lunch.

The general rule is breakfast should be savory and not “dessert”. Both your breakfast and snack during the week lean more towards the dessert spectrum, even with the zero sugar yogurts.

 

[joburgcity]

@dawn16 I love to have eggs for breakfast, what would you throw in for fiber? Making a veggie omelette every morning seems time consuming…

 

[dawn16]

@joburgcity Turkey bacon is my personal fave! For fiber I make a smoothie with added celery and cucumber. Pomegranate seeds apples and berries are good fruit fibers

 

[huffygal]

@joburgcity I scramble a couple of eggs and throw in some black beans for fiber, dump some salsa on top for nearly-calorie-free flavor. Just make sure you’re getting a fresh salsa, not one with sugar added. The ones that are refrigerated tend to be better.