Beginner’s advice?

[5nailcross]

Hey guys, I’m currently at about CW: 165-170, I’ve definitely plateaued since dropping from 230 about a year ago. GW: 135 ; 5’3 28 y.o

I’ve been doing my best but I find it so hard to consume the right amount of calories/protein. Anyone have suggestions? I’m not a big fan of meats and can’t eat too much soy products due to sensitivity. Definitely no dairy as I am lactose intolerant as well.

I’ve tried protein shakes and bars but don’t like some of the content they have, especially sugar content for some. The texture for some products makes it difficult.

Edit: Had to go through over the post, apologies for all th e missing information.

I work a highly active job, hitting a little over 18k steps a day 4x a week at work so I definitely hit my cardio. And lift a little with work, more or less around 20-35lbs on a daily basis.

Since I have a fat protein efficient body I apparently need to eat tending to those needs. Hitting high protein isn’t easy at all. I typically don’t have that much time to eat when I am at work so I usually will eat one large meal with a few restrictions due to some food sensitivities, but I do eat anything healthy vs junk/processed, before lunch time then snack on nuts when I can in between the busy period. I don’t like eating late night so the days I work I eat a lot less than my days off. Currently I am at about 1700cal, my TDEE is apparently around 1300 so I definitely need to eat more with how active I am. 1700-2100 feels like maintenance at this point.

Any advice is appreciated, everything I’ve been doing above has been researched and suggested to an extent, but as a beginner still I have a lot to learn.

Love this community btw!

 

[canadianscott]

@5nailcross That's such amazing progress!

Can you give a specific example of what foods you might eat on a average day?

What is your workout routine like?

I'm also not a fan of protein bars and shakes, I've been finding it pretty easy lately to hit my protein goals with whole non-processed food.

 

[5nailcross]

@canadianscott I edited the original post, I was at work when I typed it during a short break haha. My brain flew the coop now that I look at it the next morning.

 

[canadianscott]

@5nailcross I think everyone's bodies react differently to different methods of getting fit, so take my suggestions with a grain of salt and try to really notice your bodies response to changes in your diet/exercise. We are a similar age, your current weight was my starting weight, I hit 18k steps everyday, I eat about 1800-2000 cal everyday, my only food goal is to hit at least 90g of protein, I'm a couple of inches shorter and in the low 140s but hopefully this will be helpful.

I think a good place to start is with all the numbers. How did you calculate your TDEE? If you weigh 165 at 5'3" your BMR alone is around 1600cal and with how active you are your TDEE is probably closer to 2000cal. Personally, my BMR is 1345 but I don't lose weight unless I eat at least 1600cal a day.

Is it all meat you don't like or some meat? Is it because it's not cooked properly or you are just never a fan? Eating poultry is a really easy way to get your protein in if you like chicken, I find it easy to snack on. I usually cook 165g-200g of raw chicken breast everyday and cut it into slices and eat it as a snack if I don't feel like sitting down and adding it to a meal. What about eggs? There are so many different ways to eat them. I am also not against eating peanut butter by the spoonful.

I track what I eat with a food scale because I have gone through phases when I "eyeball" food then calculate the measurements later and find that I will easily eat 3000 calories a day if I'm not paying attention. Nothing wrong with that, I just don't have a need for that right now!

Can you give a specific breakdown of what you are eating and how much? If you are busy but have the time and the resources to make healthy snacks for your work days that could be helpful. I'm assuming you are in the US, if you have a Trader Joe's near you I think they have a nice selection of frozen whole foods that are easy to cook without too much effort. I had also purchased one of those egg cookers so I could just hit a button and walk away.

I'm mildly lactose intolerant but can eat mozzarella just fine so I will have a ball of mozzarella as a snack, its 306 calories with 23g of protein. What kind of nuts are you eating? Not all nuts are created equally.