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ORIGINAL: Nigeepoo

I partly agree with James in that all of these numbers are pure guesstimates and that the most important thing is to get enough protein, get enough carbs to fuel your activities, get enough EFAs to keep you healthy and get enough fat to exercise your gallbladder muscle. Did I mention to eat, monitor and adjust accordingly?

I partly disagree with James in that I think you need some sort of a kcal number & P/C/F grams to start with. I don't like just pulling numbers out of my ar$e, which is why I show the calculations. Cheers, Nige.

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Did you parents count your calories when you were growing up to make sure you had adequate for growth and didn't get fat? I doubt it.

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ORIGINAL: ElfinTan

Oppps! sorry posted before I'd finished.

I know where you are coming from NDB and I am very fortunate in that I have a pretty healthy relationship with food but if I recall correctly you are eating certain amounts at certain times so somewhere along the lines quantities have been crunched (avoided saying numbers there ) There must be some staring point somewhere.

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ORIGINAL: R3261

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Did you parents count your calories when you were growing up to make sure you had adequate for growth and didn't get fat? I doubt it.

and what about all those obese people out there. sure it works if you're eating clean all the time. same food day in day out. but what about those of us who don't wish to?

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ORIGINAL: ElfinTan

So all I have to do is eat good food. Well I thought I did...in fact I still think I do. I was unaware that requesting advice on 'guesstimates' for my height, weight, ect would actually be so traumatic. I am aware that there are many variables that could affect any kind of weight loss/gain. We've not talked gender or race here either which I'm sure has some affect too. I am a layperson and was looking as such for advice and I actually thought it was a legitamate question.

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James thanks for your input although I am unsure about some of your points. No my parents probably didn't count calories but that doesn't mean to say they were right. I could, for anyones information, have been an obese child growing up into an obese teenager and adult. Luckily this wasn't the case....and it really was luck because my mum cooks EVERYTHING with butter and cream lol! And we only have to look around ourselves now to see grossly overweight children from a very young age so these parents obviously DON'T know how to feed their children. Anyway that's off the point slightly. I understand your point on getting too hung up on numbers/tables and breaking things down too far. And maybe that has become my problem, the more information you gather the more you realise how much you don't know and become unsure of any knowledge that you do have, if that makes sense?

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I have also been reading the lovely ladies comp prep journals and they have been very informative. However surely they do have a set amount to eat at a set time and not just 'chicken & oat cakes' and they decide how much chicken and how many oat cakes. Or maybe they do and I've misunderstood. There has to be some reasoning for amounts to be eaten and timings of them or anyone prepping for a comp would not be so pedantic about it. Understood is though if the progress that is desired is not being made then adjustments need to be made accordingly (regardless of what tables/charts are saying).

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The reasoning behind the original request was so that I could actually try to go away and put something together, diet wise, for myself rather that just come in here and ask for one. When I had put it together, doing my own workings out and stuff I would then have posted it for advice on tweaking it.

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I've just read this last post and I know it may come across as being @rsey but that is not my intention.

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ORIGINAL: nodumbelle

Tan - you didn't look like you were carrying much bodyfat to me Is 6.30pm the latest you eat? Maybe you should be having something during the evening and just before bed?

I am NOT in any way shape or form an expert on eating - that's why I got someone who is to sort out a meal plan for me (thank you James), but after suffering eating disorders in the past and being consumed with counting numbers, for the first time, I'm eating without the number obsession and viewing food with a healthy appreciation - this at the age of 42 is a first for me. There is far more to understanding the real values of food and its effects on the body then you could ever learn by merely reading a few books or magazine articles. I thought I knew a fair amount - in hindsight I was in a state of total confusion

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ORIGINAL: ElfinTan

James - I'm glad we have our wires uncrossed I'm not patient enough to go back and keep quoting everything like you are.

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I think the fact that I asked for calorific values was perhaps wrongly worded to start with. As I said all I was looking for was a starting point. I wasn't going to get hung up on calorie counting but was aiming to work within certain perameters(sp). I think I misunderstood (or it was maybe not explained clearly enough for lil' ol' me) your reffering to portion sizes. As I understand that as 'counting' too. I have NEVER weighed my food and now I'm getting to thinking 'oh is this enough/too much'.

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ORIGINAL: ElfinTan

This was Friday
8.15 slice wholemeal toast - natty PB
9.15 Cardio
10.30 Whey Pro + apple
12.30 120g chicken breast, 100g (cooked weight) rice, salad + veg
2.00 whey + banana
3.00 train
4. 15 pro bar + whey
(4.45 had an hours massage to do)
6.15 as 12.30
10ish - I did have pro powder and fat free from frais

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Obviously this is not every day....I do eat fish, steak, eggs regularly, sometimes the rice is pasta or a wholemeal pitta.....really what I'm trying to get at is I don't really eat much sh*te! I eat fresh veg and or salad every day. I have a whole variety of oils that I use to prep food. The last time I bought chocolate was at Easter - 3 of the small bars (100g) from Hotel Chocolate and we still have half of it left.

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ORIGINAL: James

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ORIGINAL: ElfinTan

James - I'm glad we have our wires uncrossed I'm not patient enough to go back and keep quoting everything like you are.

I actually find this easier as I can respond to each bit in turn. All who know me, know me as VERY impatient!

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I think the fact that I asked for calorific values was perhaps wrongly worded to start with. As I said all I was looking for was a starting point. I wasn't going to get hung up on calorie counting but was aiming to work within certain perameters(sp). I think I misunderstood (or it was maybe not explained clearly enough for lil' ol' me) your reffering to portion sizes. As I understand that as 'counting' too. I have NEVER weighed my food and now I'm getting to thinking 'oh is this enough/too much'.

TBH a starting point would be to post up your current diet - then we can change it

BTW when I say portion sizes, I only mean weigh initially, to get an idea of what an approx portion looks like. Plus I don't mena to the gram - only approximately - or this would contradict much of what I have previously said

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ORIGINAL: James

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ORIGINAL: ElfinTan

This was Friday
8.15 slice wholemeal toast - natty PB
9.15 Cardio
10.30 Whey Pro + apple
12.30 120g chicken breast, 100g (cooked weight) rice, salad + veg
2.00 whey + banana
3.00 train
4. 15 pro bar + whey
(4.45 had an hours massage to do)
6.15 as 12.30
10ish - I did have pro powder and fat free from frais

diet looks ok - sorry I ahve lost your current goal though with the length of this topic - remind me.....

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Obviously this is not every day....I do eat fish, steak, eggs regularly, sometimes the rice is pasta or a wholemeal pitta.....really what I'm trying to get at is I don't really eat much sh*te! I eat fresh veg and or salad every day. I have a whole variety of oils that I use to prep food. The last time I bought chocolate was at Easter - 3 of the small bars (100g) from Hotel Chocolate and we still have half of it left.

Great - a little won't hurt either